Love, Like Ghosts: A Bay City Paranormal Investigations Story

of us.”
Laughing, his father sank onto the sofa next to Adrian’s chair. “He’s a wonderful young man, Adrian. I’m glad you found each other.”
Adrian nodded his thanks. Though they’d never said so—except for Sean, who’d said so a lot—he knew his family used to worry about him being alone. They’d all been happy when he started dating Greg. He knew all of them had to be as thrilled as he was that Greg liked them, and that the feeling was mutual.
His dad leaned forward, elbows on his knees and a serious expression on his face. “You two seem pretty serious, though. I hope…” He paused, as if searching for the right words.
Adrian’s stomach churned with a sudden attack of nerves. That sober look in his dad’s eyes never preceded anything he wanted to hear. “What?”
A pensive smile curved his father’s lips. “I just don’t want to see you getting too serious too fast and end up getting hurt. That’s all.”
Adrian squelched the swell of indignation inside him before it could make him say anything he’d regret later. He just had to remember that anything his dad said came from a desire to protect him.
“Don’t worry, Dad. I’ll be careful.” Adrian picked at the place where the cuff of his sweater sleeve had begun to fray. He studied the dark blue threads so he wouldn’t have to look his father in the eye. “I care about Greg. A lot. And I want this thing with him to last. But I know we’re still young, and I know how different we are. I’m trying not to count on anything.”
“Oh. Son.”
The quiet heartbreak in his father’s voice brought Adrian’s head up again. “What? What’s wrong?”
His father shook his head, dark eyes sorrowful. “You’ve gotten so used to being alone, you think that’s how it has to be. Sometimes I think you actually believe you deserve to be alone. But you don’t. You’re such a loving, wonderful person, Adrian. You deserve to have someone special love and cherish you. And if Greg turns out to be that person, then I’ll be happy for you both.” Leaning forward, he took one of Adrian’s hands in both of his and gazed straight into his eyes. “When you decide to let someone into your heart, you don’t do it by halves. I don’t think that’s a bad thing. I just don’t want you to get hurt if Greg’s feelings wane over time and yours don’t.”
Adrian’s heart lurched. His father was right, and he knew it. Had known it since the beginning. Hadn’t he been waiting for the end—preparing for it, steeling himself for it—ever since his first date with Greg? Of course, he’d expected to bring it on himself via some subconscious sabotage. As time went on and their relationship became a part of his day-to-day life, the expectation of disaster had drifted to the back of his mind. But it still waited there, lurking like a spider. Maybe it was time to learn precisely where he and Greg stood now, and whether or not they had a future together.
He opened his mouth to answer his dad—though what he would say, he had no idea—but the sound of a car pulling into the drive stopped him. His father shot a swift glance at the front door, then pinned him with a fierce stare. “You deserve to be happy, Adrian. Don’t ever let anything stop you from fighting for your happiness. Remember that.”
Footsteps sounded on the front porch. Jumping to his feet, Dad pressed Adrian’s hand once before letting go and hurrying over to open the door. Adrian stood and turned in time to see his dad greet Sam with a tender kiss and take two of the three fragrant paper sacks he carried.
Adrian flashed a quick smile and started toward the door to close it while his dad and Sam walked into the dining room. Almost a month after his miniscule lie, Adrian still had trouble looking Sam in the eye sometimes, even though he was now positive Sam knew perfectly well he’d been less than truthful. Sometimes Adrian wished he could tell little white lies like normal people without it twisting his gut into knots.
Before Adrian could take more than two steps, Greg walked in behind Sam, arms laden with bags from the mall. His gaze caught Adrian’s, and his face lit up like the twinkling white lights on the Christmas tree still standing in the living room’s big bay window.
Adrian’s breath caught. Thoughts of his sins, major and minor, flew out of his head. Crossing the room in a few swift strides, he cupped Greg’s face in his hands and pressed a soft, chaste kiss to his