"Oh, it's beginning to look a lot like--"
Jay reached over and shut off his radio clock. He did not remember if he turned it on, but at the moment he had a hard time putting together any thoughts.
Jay lay in bed for what seemed like an eternity. He finally figured he caught his breath and came down from the orgasm he experienced with the strange woman. And his head cleared and his lust subsided, he started to chuckle.
"Yeah, ghost of Christmas past or whatever," he said, wiping his face with his hand. "Goddamn, Jay, you'll believe anything for a good lay."
He sat up in bed and looked at the mess they created on the bed. He got to his feet and walked to his living room.
A soft layer of snow fell on the city. It looked like something out of a Christmas special. For one moment, his heart melted. He took it all in and remembered himself as a child. Pressing his nose against the frosty window to watch the snow fall.
"Geez, she did blow my fuses," Jay said, rubbing the back of his neck. "I'm becoming sentimental."
He looked around his dark and empty apartment. Where most times he saw luxury and elegance, tonight he saw cold steel and reflective glass.
And he did not like the reflection.
Nervous energy pumped through his body. He paced his place, not finding solace in drink or in luxury.
Finally, he put on some casual clothing. He grabbed his coat and scarf and slipped on some high-end boots. He grabbed his keys and wallet and walked out of his apartment without a second look.
He paced in the elevator. He marched out into the foyer, passing by Danny and the rest. They cheered when they saw Jay.
"Sir! Thank you so much for everything!" Danny yelled. "Three cheers for the man with the money and the heart!"
Everyone gave him three cheers. He smiled politely, nodded, and left the building.
The cool wind of the winter night blasted his face. He shivered in place and shook his head. His thoughts cleared, and the memory of what it cost him to fuck that woman entered his head.
He chuckled.
"I'll find a way to make it a tax write-off," he said to himself. He walked away from his apartment.
He found the streets oddly busier than he imagined. People bustling home, to or from a party. He felt a swelling of happiness and joy in the air.
He tried to ignore it. Something gnawed at him, something in his mind he could not put to rest. He continued to walk down the streets searching for the answer.
Finding himself nearly alone on a street, his eyes drifted up to the sky. He saw the puffy flakes of snow drifting and swirling down to the ground. He looked higher and saw hundreds, thousands of those snowflakes falling. He found himself smiling as he watched the snow fall.
"Pretty, isn't it?"
The soft, alluring voice drew his vision back down and to his left. He saw a petite woman with blonde hair in pigtails. She had on red and green eyeshadow, with her lips done up in a dazzling pink lipstick. Blue eyes looked him over. She stuffed her hands in the pockets of a large, thick, coat that showed nothing of her figure off.
"It is," Jay said, looking the woman up and down. "It certainly is."
She rolled her eyes and giggled. "Mr. Roberts, you are everything they said you were."
Jay tilted his head. "How do you know my name?"
The woman smiled at him knowingly. He waited for an answer. As she continued to smile, the answer slowly dawned on him.
"You're the next spirit."
She touched his nose with a well-manicured finger. "You got it, Mr. Roberts."
"Jay, please."
"Aww, come on now. Let me have a little fun."
Jay sighed. "Fine. How did you find me? Are you all stalking me?"
"Nope! We show up when we are supposed to."
She put her arm around his. "Shall we?"
"Shall we what?"
"Go for a walk. That's why you're out here, isn't it? Maybe a little too energetic from what my companion did to you," the woman reached down and patted Jay between the legs. She giggled. "Oooh. Nice. Or, maybe you couldn't find peace and solace in that big ivory tower of yours tonight."
Jay rolled his eyes. He started to walk back down the sidewalk with her still latched around his arm. "Please. I had an incredible orgasm, she disappeared, and I had no one to take it out on. I just need to wear off some energy."
He looked at his companion and raised his eyebrows. "Unless you want to help in regards to that issue."
She giggled. "You bet I do! But, not until you've earned it."
Jay sighed. "There we go again with that. Last one made me feel like a bit of a fool giving away my money."
"What good is money if you hoard it?"
"Says the spirit who has no need for money."
"And you don't need that much money, either. Tell me the truth, you were thinking of a way to write that off as taxes, weren't you?"
