"I'm on film! There's photographic evidence I do exist!" I shouted gleefully as the boat pulled towards shore. Kev was clutching the prints as if his life depended on it.
Wait, I take that back. My life depended on it.
The girls were still lounging on the beach. It was amazing the amply amount of curves that were currently being hugged by a tiny little scrap of bikini. For a moment I just gawked.
"Kris! Busty! I mean, Becky!" Kev shouted. He hopped off the boat and held the pictures aloft. "You've got to look at this!"
"Do you realize you just yelled out Busty right in front of your wife?" I asked.
"Yes, damnit!" Kev bellowed happily.
"What happened?" Kris asked. She got to Kev first. She started to check him over, no doubt for shark bites.
"Nick and I---we were under the water. He wanted to touch the shark's teeth and well..."
Kev thrusted a copy of the picture into Kris and Becky's hands.
"This is incredible," Becky murmured. She touched my white form.
"You look terrified," Kris pointed out. Kev nodded and nuzzled her neck. "I was totally terrified. But it was worth it."
"This isn't fair," Becky said. Her eyes welled with tears. No girl that looked that good in a swimsuit should ever have to cry. I touched her shoulder. She shivered, but she didn't turn away.
"I'm showing this picture to Bob," Kev said. "Of all people, he should know how bad Nick would have wanted to do this. And the form...it's proof."
' "Honey, we believe you, but to anyone else it will just look like the lens has a film on it," Kristin said sorrowfully.
"No," Kev said. He shook his head. "You're a photographer. You can see that this isn't just a smear."
On one hand, I was on Kevin's side. That was the optimistic 'I wanna live' side. The other side of me, the side that was beginning to come to grips with my fate, realized Kristin was probably right. I walked back over to Kevin.
"Kev, I have one more request," I said. He looked at me.
"What?"
I glanced back over at Becky longingly. "I wanna see Nurse Busty naked."
"I can't help you with that," Kev said quickly.
"You could ask her," I said sweetly. "Please?"
"What's going on?" Becky asked.
"Nick, I'm not going to ask her to do that."
"Do what?" Kris asked.
I got down on my knees and bobbed above the sand. "Kev, please. If I'm gonna die, I want her body to be the last woman's body I see. Please? Pretty please? With a cherry on top?" I thought of something. "Oooh, I wonder if she still has her cherry? Maaannnn."
"You're not going to die," Kev assured me. "This picture--"
"I don't want to take any chances," I said seriously. Kev closed his eyes, seemed to count to ten, and looked at Becky.
"Nick," he said slowly. "Has one last request."
"What is it?"
Kev fidgeted. "He wants to see you, uh--"
"NAKED!" I shouted.
"He wants a striptease," Kev said. I laughed.
"Boy, do I."
"You don't have to go with him do you?" Kris asked quickly.
"NO!" we both shouted. Of course, they only heard Kev.
"Well, I..." Becky blushed. "I guess that would be okay."
"WOOHOO!" I shouted. I jumped up and down. Then I hugged Kev's neck. He yelped.
"Hey Kev?" I whispered.
"What?"
I smiled. "Do you think ghosts can get boners?"
Turns out, the answer is yes.
It was later that night and Kristin and I were sitting on the couch and watched TV. It was rather awkward, knowing what was going on in the next room, but we held each other's hands and pretended to be oblivious.
Kristin kissed my cheek.
"What's that for?" I asked.
"Being so sweet to him," she answered.
Nick's eyes were huge when he came floating out of the guest bedroom in the house I'd rented. "If I somehow live," Nick mumbled, "I swear I will worship her body every single day of my life."
"That good huh?" I asked.
Kristin looked up at me, "They're done?"
The bedroom door creaked open and Becky, bright red in the cheeks and disheveled, came out. "Hey," she whispered.
"You were a hit," I said.
She blushed harder.
"Tell her I like her freckles," Nick grinned wickedly.
I'm pretty sure I didn't wanna know where those freckles were because when I repeated the sentence, Becky turned even brighter red and covered her face. "Oh God," she laughed into her hands.
"Kevin," Nick said, "Please bring Becky to kiss me... I just know that I'll wake up if she kisses me."
"Nick," I said, worried he was gonna get his hopes back up.
"Please?"
I looked at my watch. We had about twelve hours left. I sighed. "Okay."
"What now?" Kristin asked as I stood up.
"Nick wants to know if you'll try kissing him to wake him up," I said.
Becky paused. "Okay." She puckered her lips.
Nick's eyes grew wide.
"He means his --"
"SHUT UP KEV!" Nick zoomed over and pressed his ghostly lips against Becky's. Her eyes opened wide when his mouth touched hers and she gasped into his mouth. He brought his palms to her cheeks, and literally gave the girl chills.
Kristin stared at Becky. She looked at me. "He isn't even visible and I know that kiss was freaking amazing," Kris whispered, "Why don't you kiss me like that anymore?"
"I will," I said simply.
When Nick finally pulled back, he had his eyes closed, he was concentrating. "Please," he whispered, hoarse, "Just... go back in..." he muttered. He opened his eyes and stared at Becky. "God I wanna live so much," he whispered.
"Maybe kissing his- his body- instead," I suggested.
Becky nodded, clearly a little disappointed.
"C'mon," I said, "We've got twelve hours to fix this. Let's go back to the hospital, and try the kiss and if that doesn't work, then... then I'll try to talk to Bob." I grabbed a copy of the shark picture, "We can't give up yet."
