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“It’s been five years since my mother passed away, and to this day, the first thing my father does whenever he walks into the house is press a kiss to that picture.”
Another unexpected tidbit of information. I had so many stereotypes and preconceived notions about Max and his family. The more time I spent with him, the more I realized how wrong I’d been. Even with women who got paid to have sex on camera at his fingertips, Max’s father still came home to his wife every night.
It was sweet.
“She’s beautiful.”
He nodded. “This is how I remember her. Most people, once they found out what she did for a living, couldn’t see past her films. After that, no matter how much she downplayed her face and body, she was always a porn star.”
It made me sad that such a beautiful woman was thought of so poorly by so many people simply because she’d liked to have sex. It made me even more sad that Max had to witness that ignorance.
“Are you going to tell me what we’re doing here?”
He jerked his head toward me. He had traveled somewhere else in his mind while looking at his mother’s picture. I hated to interrupt, but I was dying to know why he’d brought me here.
“We’re here to check another item off your list.”
He ushered me through a small hallway off the kitchen and down into the basement. Flicking on the light at the top of the stairs, I followed him down. Max had to duck his head when we got to the bottom.
He pulled me to a stop in front of a door and smiled. “We’re standing outside the Levin Accomplishment Room.”
“Your family has an accomplishment room?” And I thought my f
amily was bunch of overachievers.
“Before we go in I should warn you that what you’re about to see may scar you for life. I know it has me, so…just a warning.”
Excitement danced in my stomach. I had no idea what to expect. Well, maybe a lot of high school athletic trophies. A PTA certificate or World’s Greatest Dad mug.
“Ready?”
I nodded as a sudden rush of excitement coursed through me. It was something I was feeling much more often, made doubly exciting because it was something I didn’t feel often. Max was opening my eyes to new opportunities. With him, there was a surprise around every corner. I hated surprises. I liked to be prepared, equipped, and knowledgeable. The more time I spent with him though, the easier it was to throw that out the window.
The door swung open and a bright light illuminated the space. I took one step inside and my jaw practically fell to the ground.
“Welcome to the Levin Accomplishment Room.”
It was filled with accomplishments all right. Shelving lined three of the four walls and they were covered with porn DVDs, adult film awards, magazine covers, and sex toys. They were separated by year, dating back to 1995. But interspersed between the adult film industry items were child drawings, high school merit ribbons, and science fair certificates.
“This is almost fifteen years of ego-stroking all in one room.”
I stepped to the middle and glanced from one end of the shelving to the other.
The year 1995 had a Playboy magazine in a plastic cover with a beautiful blond on it, two glass penis statues—best female star and best orgy—and fifth place science fair honorable mention certificate.
The year 2000 had several glass penis statues, more sex toys, including a vagina that was molded after his mother. And in between it all were two first place high school track and field trophies.
I finally tore my gaze away from the shelves and looked at Max. He eyed me with a blank stare. He was waiting for my reaction. Was it weird that, as a child, Max’s successes carried equal weight with his parents’? Was it sad that his entire life had been one embarrassing orgy and sex toy after another?
Hell, no. It was fucking hilarious.
I couldn’t hold it in any longer. I let out a boisterous laugh—one that started in my belly and roared without hesitation. I think I may have even slapped my thigh.
“You find this amusing?” He crossed his arms over his chest. He didn’t look embarrassed or angry. He just watched as I moved closer and inspected the items with greater detail.
“Imagine you’re me for a minute.” He settled against one of the only wall spaces without a shelf. “Imagine the teasing I got simply because my family was in the porn industry. Imagine your best friend—in my case, Ben—finding my eighth-grade graduation diploma hanging next to a dildo.”
I continued to laugh. I couldn’t contain it.
