October Ghosts
Campus Life - Book 10
Jenny Plumb
Published by Blushing Books
An Imprint of
ABCD Graphics and Design, Inc.
A Virginia Corporation
977 Seminole Trail #233
Charlottesville, VA 22901
©2020
All rights reserved.
No part of the book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher. The trademark Blushing Books is pending in the US Patent and Trademark Office.
Jenny Plumb
October Ghosts
Amazon ISBN: 978-1-64563-605-2
B&N ISBN: 978-1-64563-606-9
Kobo ISBN: 978-1-64563-607-6
Apple ISBN: 978-1-64563-608-3
Print ISBN: 978-1-64563-609-0
Audio ISBN: 978-1-64563-610-6
v1
Cover Art by ABCD Graphics & Design
This book contains fantasy themes appropriate for mature readers only. Nothing in this book should be interpreted as Blushing Books' or the author's advocating any non-consensual sexual activity.
Contents
Dedicated to my husband, the man who made me feel safe and helped me trust again.
Chapter 1
Olivia glared at the back of her roommate's head. "Come on, Paula, the guys are waiting for us."
"Do you believe in ghosts?" Paula asked, keeping her eyes focused on the mirror in front of her as she touched up her eyeshadow.
"What? No." Olivia wondered where this strange tangent had come from.
"Really?" Paula asked, glancing at Olivia's reflection in the mirror. "Not even a little?"
Olivia tried to come up with a way to explain herself without offending her roommate. "Real life is scary enough as it is."
"You think real life is scary?" Paula rolled her eyes. "Please. You're a privileged white girl with middle-class parents who are helping you pay for college."
"Okay," Olivia answered with a shrug, refusing to point out that Paula could also be described with that same sentence. Those were facts that neither one of them could deny, but those facts didn't negate Olivia's previous statement. She was literally the redheaded stepchild of her family, and her childhood had sucked, but there was no point in arguing. She'd only been living with Paula for a week and a half, since the beginning of fall term at Northern Oregon University, but Olivia had quickly figured out that Paula was fanatical about her viewpoints, and she no longer put in the effort to disagree verbally. "Are you done?"
"Almost." Paula focused back on the little mirror on the inside of her closet door and opened her mascara.
Olivia was genuinely trying to get along with her new roommate. On the surface, they had plenty in common, so Olivia understood why the university's housing system had put them together. Paula was majoring in Psychology and Olivia in Art History with a minor in Psychology. They were both native Oregonians, and they were both night owls. But their personalities were polar opposites. Paula was outspoken and brash, while Olivia tended to be introspective and quiet with her opinions.
"Your makeup looks great already," Olivia said. In her opinion, Paula didn't need any makeup to be classified as beautiful. She was tall and curvy with a tiny waist, and she had long black wavy hair that went down to the middle of her back.
"I haven't even put on my lipstick," Paula answered. "You may not care about looking good for Jessie, but I want to look perfect for my boyfriend."
Olivia bristled and crossed her arms. "Jessie's not my boyfriend. I've told you that before." She pursed her lips instead of saying more. Olivia and Jessie had met back in June during summer term at NOU, and they'd connected almost immediately through their mutual love of art, kink, and kinky art, but now they were trying to include their respective roommates in their social circle. So far, it had been a struggle.
Paula shook her head. "Friends with benefits then. Whatever."
Angry, Olivia kept her voice level with effort. "We've never slept together, and we never will."
Paula glanced at her through the mirror again. "I hope he hasn't tried to tell you that he's gay to get close to you. I've seen the way he looks at me. He's not gay. Bi maybe, but he definitely likes women."
"I know he likes women. He just doesn't like me that way."
Paula finished putting on her lipstick and snapped the lid on before turning to face Olivia. Her perfectly sculpted eyebrows furrowed. "Why?"
"He doesn't like me in that way because…" Olivia wasn't sure how to finish that sentence without going into sexual orientations, and she wouldn't out herself as submissive if it meant outing Jessie as well. "I mean he likes you because you're…" the word 'pushy' came to mind, but that didn't sound particularly flattering. Jessie had used the word 'dominant', but Olivia didn't think Paula was dominant in the way Jessie wanted her to be, and he certainly wouldn't want that word repeated. Eventually, she finished her sentence with, "…outspoken. You're not afraid to speak your mind. I'm too quiet for him."
"Oh." Paula smiled. "Okay, I guess I can see why you guys wouldn't be a match."
Several scathing comments went through Olivia's mind, but she kept them to herself.
"Ready?" Olivia asked.
Paula nodded. "Let's go. I can't wait for you to meet