Chapter Ten
Joe
She slammed the lid down on the laptop and retreated a few steps, her hands covering her mouth. I hadn’t intended to scare her, I just wanted to find a way of letting her know I was here. Now I felt terrible. I had tried to get her attention by turning up the television and then turning it off but that hadn’t worked, so I’d tried the music. Maybe the words on the computer had been a little too much too soon. I was desperate to communicate with her. I felt like I’d used a lot of energy up with efforts so I hoped it was enough.
She’d had no idea I had sat and listened to some of the breakfast conversation with her sister. While they had been talking, I had wandered back to Naomi’s bedroom and read through some more of her notes. It seemed she knew all about me. I had found some roughly scribbled pages of what appeared to be memories of conversations between her and I, or notes from a diary written in a strange way. I had sat and tried desperately to puzzle it all out and I had come to the terrifying conclusion that I wasn’t dreaming at all. I must be in a coma from some sort of illness or accident. I could only assume then, that I was in fact having out of body experiences. It’s the only way I knew how to explain it. Everything fit, her tears and shock that first night she had seen me reflected in her computer, the reason she knew my name and I knew hers. It also explained why I recognised her but wasn’t sure why, I must have amnesia! Unless of course out of body episodes caused your memories to be unclear? Either way I knew this must be what was happening to me.
Naomi and I were obviously in a relationship, the attraction I felt for her was solid and real and I knew I had to find a way of letting her know she hadn’t lost me. As stupid as it might sound, I worried that I might be on life support and that it might be turned off if nobody thought I could be saved. I had needed to write those words on the screen. I needed to be noticed. I just thanked God that I was able to physically manipulate objects now, my energy or spirit had been weak at first. I thought back to that night when my body was just a swirling mist of coloured smoke, the difference from then to now was quiet significant, frightening even. What if I was dying and this was why my ethereal essence was stronger than it had been before? I was spending more time in this form than before too, those first experiences had last only minutes, now I seemed to be here for hours at a time. It could only mean that my physical form was slowly slipping away. I had to fight back, I wouldn’t give up, especially on Naomi. She needed me. Her hands dropped from her mouth and she looked around the room in awe. Her initial fear seemingly gone.
“Dad? Is that you?”
Dad? She thought it was her father! Oh, this was not good. I would have to try and type something else, she needed to know it was me not her father. I did the same thing as before and concentrated all my efforts on moving the keys with my mind not my actual fingers. It looked like I was using my fingers but the force came from within me.
“Eh! Non funziona!” It wasn’t working! This couldn’t be happening now. Frustration flooded me, in desperation I tried again but nothing happened. I noticed my hands looked a little transparent once more. I must have used up too much of my energy with the TV and the music.
“Porcco Dio!” Now was not the time to do a disappearing act. I felt utterly helpless.
“Dad, are you here? Please do something else if this is you? ...I miss you.” Her voice broke a touch and I felt so sad for her, on reflection maybe it wasn’t such a bad thing to let her think it was her father trying to communicate. It might offer her some emotional comfort perhaps. I would have to wait until I had recovered before attempting anything else. She waited for a response for quite a few minutes before giving up and sitting rather despondently back on the sofa. I sat beside her while she stared blankly into the room. A lonely tear graced her cheek and she just let it fall. I tried to wipe it away but I couldn’t. I tried to put my hand on hers to hold it. I had no idea if she could feel me or not, I hoped that she could. I would spend my time beside her, offering what little comfort I could and then hopefully, once I was able, I’d leave more messages for her.
At least an hour passed as we just sat together, doing nothing but just being. Eventually she moved from the sofa and began pottering around her flat, I followed when she disappeared from my line of sight, eager to stay close. She ventured to the kitchen and cooked herself some lunch, a simple pasta with a side salad. As she worked she began to hum, I recognised the tune from the film she had been watching earlier ‘That’s Amore’. Glad to see her happy mood I hummed along with her wishing I could cook with her. I was a good cook, I knew that. My mother had taught me although I couldn’t exactly remember my mother right now. It felt like when I had tried to picture my father, just a hazy, vague silhouette. I tried not to let it bother me, I was sure it would all come back to me once I woke up. If I woke up.
After lunch we settled back down on the sofa, her with her laptop perched on her knees, me sitting to the left of her. I could feel the heat of her body next to mine, I wished again that she could sense my presence.
“Naomi, il mio bel fiore. Sono qui con te.” Don’t give up on me. I made a promise to myself and to her, right there and then, that I would fight with everything I had in me to find my way back to her. I brushed my hand against her cheek, barely a whisper of a touch but she shivered and rubbed her cheek against her shoulder. That small indication that she had felt me touch her gave me such encouragement. Excitement filled my veins, if I could make her feel me maybe I could eventually make her hear me or see me?
“Bella donna, voglio conoscerti di nuovo. I want to remember us.” The thought of her and I together made me yearn to touch her again, to know her again. I desperately wanted to remember the feel of her lips on mine and the way her skin felt under my hands. I imagined we must have had some wild nights, her body was perfectly made for pleasure. Her petite but well-proportioned frame emphasised every curve. She had a body Sophia Loren would be envious of. I liked a woman with curves, flesh that I could grip onto in the throws of passion and wrap my arms around at night. My crotch twitched as the desire to possess her overwhelmed me. Well this was an interesting development, an erection during an out of body episode? That was quiet an unexpected perk and one I was more than happy to explore!
Naomi shivered and moaned, her hand went to her neck and her head went back, eyes closed. Was she sensing my desire? A wicked thought crossed my mind, maybe I could send a little good feeling her way and help guide her thoughts towards me. I had an idea that if I could keep her mind on me I might be able to contact her more easily…and I got a kick out of turning her on, it felt like something I was supposed to do. Grinning, I edged a little closer so that my lips were centimetres from her ear and then let out a slow, gentle breath. She inhaled quickly and let her hand slide slowly down over her chest exposing her neck. I concentrated as hard as I could and poured my energy into running my tongue over her exposed skin. Her breasts heaved and she inhaled hard through her teeth. Oh yes! She could definitely feel me. I had a throbbing hard on now, God I wanted her with every ounce of my being. It was unfortunate that having a hard on seemed to drain all the energy out of me. I still hadn’t recovered enough from my previous attempts at communication to be able to carry on but it was encouraging to know that I could affect her physically. I hoped this meant that I could convince her that it was her lover who ‘haunted’ her and not her father. My life might depend on the success of my efforts.
Naomi put her computer on the coffee table and got up, walking towards her bedroom she began to strip off, removing her top as she walked. Beyond thrilled, I followed her. This was my woman but I couldn’t remember what she looked like naked. A part of me felt a little guilty at invading her privacy but the voyeur in me couldn’t quite resist. My conscience told me to stay back, I should not be looking when she didn’t know I was here but my feet had a mind of their own and followed.
While I wrestled with my morals, Naomi threw her shirt on the bed and slipped out of her bottoms leaving her in just her underwear. My heart was beating fast with the anticipation of seeing her fully naked but she turned and went to the bathroom instead. I followed again, my erection leading the way. In the bathroom, she leaned over the bath and turned on the shower and then reached around to unclasp her bra. Oh dear God, stop looking you pervert! My mind screamed at me to turn away but my eyes were totally captivated. I held my breath as her breasts bounced free, her pink nipples peaked as the cool air touched their nakedness.
“Tutti gli angeli! You are mine and only mine.” I vowed. I would find my way back to this angel somehow. I would not allow any other man to have the pleasure of gazing upon my woman. Naomi hooked her thumbs into the waistband of her pants and pulled them down, bending over as she stepped out of them, giving me the most glorious view of her peachy behind. I wanted to take her right there and then. The throbbing in my groin hammering to be free of the restrictive clothing. I grasped my cock through the fabric wishing with all my heart that I could join her in the shower. She stepped into the bath and drew the shower curtain around her, blocking my view. Damn. I groaned inwardly but the drawing of the curtain brought with it the realisation that she deserved some privacy. The unexpected sight of her nakedness had temporarily shoved my conscience to the back of my mind and allowed my cock to lead. I already felt like a pervert for spying on her this long but she was my lady and I just wanted to remember her…and fuck her! Said the voice in my head. Oh yes, I wanted to fuck her. Fuck her hard and fast, possess her and make her mine and then make love to her, gently, softly until she was spent and we fell asleep in each other’s arms.
I stood at the door with my back to the wall as the steam from the shower billowed out of the room through the open doorway. In my mind I imagined the water and soap running over her naked body, I wondered if we had ever made love in the shower? Yes, we must have, it would’ve been impossible not to have done. I wished I could remember. Little sighs and moans reached me through the noise of the cascading water. Was she masturbating? My cock twitched again. Oh dear God this was torture!
“Oh, Joe…Joe, yes! Yes!”
The knowledge that she was pleasuring herself and thinking about me almost drove me over the edge. I banged my head backwards against the wall and swore in frustration. The shower turned off instantly.
“Hello?” She called.
As much as I was happy she had heard me, now wasn’t really the time to try and get her to notice me. Given what she had been in the middle of doing, it didn’t feel appropriate. Neither is playing the voyeur! My conscience piped up. Communicating with her now would probably scare the living daylights out of her and make me look like the biggest creep on earth.
“Who’s there?” She called again.
I heard the shower curtain pull back and the slapping of wet feet on the floor. Her head poked around the door and she looked up the hallway and directly at me. My heart lurched as for a moment I thought she had seen me but then she continued to look through me. She disappeared back into the bathroom and re-emerged wearing a towel. It looked like shower time was over and I felt terrible for interrupting her private moment, although she might not be happy to know it wasn’t as private as she had thought. I shouldn’t have listened. This time, as she went to her bedroom, I didn’t follow. I didn’t wait to hear if she continued her self-pleasuring. Instead I waited in the lounge. Of all the times for the blackness to come and claim me, now would’ve been the most appropriate. I felt like an ass for perving on her, girlfriend or not, she was entitled to her privacy. I made up my mind I wouldn’t do that again. The next time I saw her naked would be when I woke up and I could appreciate her beauty in the flesh, the way I was meant to.