Page 1 of Addicted

Prologue

LIAM

“Acar?Ohmygod!You got me a car?”Excitement bolted through Liam as he hopped off the school bus to find a brand new shiny blue Honda Civic in the driveway. It even had a matching bow on the roof, just like he’d seen in television commercials.

The rumbling bus pulled away but Liam barely noticed. He was too busy running to the car. It gleamed under the late-afternoon sun; even its shadow had a hazy blue outline. Liam’s day had already been awesome due to the beautiful late spring weather, three of his classes having substitutes, and the cute boy in math class looking his way, but this? A car?His own car?That made the day shoot way past awesome and right into Best-Day-Ever-Land.

“Surprise!” His parents yelled from beside the newest love of Liam’s life. His mother was jumping up and down, clapping excitedly, while his father was moving from side to side, taking cell phone pictures as Liam stood there with his mouth open.

His backpack dropped to the ground with a sloppy thud.

“But…but…” Liam couldn’t find the words but it didn’t matter; all the wind was squeezed out of him as his mother quickly enveloped him in one of her fierce, tight hugs.

“You don’t like it?” His father’s teased, pocketing the phone as he patted Liam on the shoulder.

Releasing a hand, his mother playfully smacked her husband’s arm. “Stop it, Logan, don’t tease him!” She was small, with sharp hazel eyes, her bubbly energy and flurry of happiness always reminding Liam of a jubilant bird.

Laughing as she pulled away, Liam dove in for a hug from his dad. He’d inherited his father’s auburn hair but not his height; instead, he had his mother’s delicate size and bone structure. He hoped he might gain another inch or two before he turned nineteen. Boys still grew until they were twenty, right?

“I love it! Thank you so much. It’s perfect! The perfect shade of blue!” His brain kept echoingA car! A car! A caaaaaarrr!over and over, blocking any coherency. “I didn’t expect it!”

“That’s why we saidsurprise,“ his father deadpanned once they parted, which earned him another play-smack, and everyone was laughing now.

“Dad!”Liam was far too happy to roll his eyes.

“Come over here, Lilly.” Wrapping an arm around his wife’s shoulders, Logan quickly kissed the top of her head. She smiled up at him in return, their love for each other clear in their eyes. Then they both turned to Liam, their love for him just as clear, and Liam felt like the luckiest kid in the world. “We’re beyond proud of you Liam. Getting into your first-choice college, doing so well in school. And your SAT score!”

Liam beamed. All those nights poring over the practice tests were worth it, even if his dreams had been filled with grammar questions.His parents just gave him a car!He would have to take it to school tomorrow and show it off. Everyone would be talking about it anyway; the other kids on the bus surely saw everything and Liam’s shouts had informed most of the neighborhood.

This really was a total surprise. They were a middle-class family; his parents made enough to be comfortable and help Liam with college, but to buy him a car? It must’ve been in the works for ages. To be honest, in the last few weeks his father had taken a few calls behind closed doors but Liam thought it had been work-related.

“Since you’ll be leaving us soon,” his father continued, rubbing a hand reassuringly up and down Lilly’s shoulder as she made a sad soft noise. “We thought you could use something dependable for the drive to and from school. Because you’ll be visiting a lot,right?“ Raising his eyebrows, he glanced meaningfully at her.

“Yes, yes of course!” Liam nodded, hoping his mother didn’t start crying again because then he’d cry too. On the one hand, he was more than excited. He was going away to school! He was starting a new life; of course, he had no idea what he was going to study but he was sure he’d figure something out along the way. There were classes to take, clubs to explore, friends to meet, maybe even a boyfriend to fall in love with? The list went on and on.

But on the other hand, he would miss his parents so much. The three of them were close, a solid unit. His mother often referred to them as a team. Logan had been a foster child and Lilly and her sister Diane - who they hadn’t seen in years - had been raised by a single mother, who’d passed when Liam was a toddler. So, they only had each other. A lot of families didn’t get along; Liam saw his friends dealing with it every day and he was grateful that he’d ended up with the parents he had. He’d even come out to them last year, terrified they wouldn’t love him anymore, which was silly because his mother smothered him with hugs like she usually did and his father only ruffled his hair and said it was about time. He’d been scared to death for nothing but just the thought of being without them had made him feel untethered, lost.

“Why don’t you check her out?” His father tossed him the keys.

Liam let out a squeak as he caught them. He’d been side-eyeing the car the entire time but now he could get a better look. A thrill ran through his stomach.

“And why, exactly, is this car a her?” Lilly elbowed Logan, who gathered her up and tickled her.

“Because she’s beautiful like you.” He pecked her on the cheek and she giggled, but it had an edge of incredulity.

“That isthe worstline, Mr. Gray!”

“It is, Mrs. Gray. But you seem to like it!”

More than used to his parents’ flirting, Liam turned his attention to the Honda, fumbling with the key fob until the door beeped and unlocked. Diving into the driver’s seat, he started the car and purred right along with it. After a few seconds, he figured out how to roll the window down.

“This is great! Oh my god, Mom and Dad thank yousomuch!“ Words weren’t enough but he hoped his volume made up for it because he was loud again. He looked straight up. “Wait! This has a sunroof?Nice!“ He started fiddling with the dials as his father approached, taking more pictures. Liam handed him his own phone, wanting a few photos to send to friends and put up on Instagram. “And there’s air conditioning and Bluetooth and - ohcool!A rear camera!“ A screen above the radio showed Liam the garage doors behind the car, and he jumped as someone walked past them.

Well, not just any someone. Although Liam had only seen a pair of legs, he knew exactly who those legs belonged to - Mr. Parker, their next-door neighbor and Liam’s first crush. Current crush. Whatever. The man was a god, twelve years older, the picture-perfect husband and father, and a family friend. Even if Liam rubbed a magic lamp and got three wishes, asking for Mr. Parker would have the genie saying“Are you kidding?”

“I heard the commotion and had to come over.” As usual, his voice made Liam want to melt into the seat.

It wasn’t always like this. For years Liam had looked up to Mr. Parker but recently that adoration had turned into something more. Or maybe it had been there all along, lurking in the background, but Liam hadn’t been mature enough to realize it until he came out. Thankfully, he’d be going to college in a few months and wouldn’t have to deal with seeing his unattainably gorgeous blond neighbor all the time.

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