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My dad swooped in for the kill. “I think you could spare two hours to make your old dad happy.” He leaned in and kissed my forehead, a gesture that caused my mother to roll her eyes. He whispered in my ear, “It’s not like you’d be studying if we left you here anyway.”
My father eyed Max sideways.
Fuck. My. Life. Was this really happening?
“Dinner sounds lovely, Mr. and Mrs. Parker. I have some clothes in my car that would be suitable for dinner.”
I mouthed the word no at him from across the room. He simply shrugged and smiled. It was only fair. I’d met his dad. Although, his dad was cool. My parents were…
I let my head fall with a thunk to the table. This was going to be a nightmare.
My parents took us to the golf club for dinner—and I knew it was on purpose. They wanted to show off, to show Max exactly the type of people they were. Good thing he had more money than my parents could ever hope to make in two lifetimes and he didn’t give a shit about any of this. But the closer we got to the front door of the club, the more I noticed the tension in his shoulders. The tightness in his jaw.
“Are you all right?” I leaned in and whispered low so my parents, who walked in front of us, couldn’t hear.
He seemed to relax with the sound of my voice, and it made me feel special, needed. I knew I should shake it off, but I didn’t want to.
He looked down, pulling me closer to his body, and smiled. “I got this, babe.”
We were seated at a table on the enclosed patio, overlooking the sixteenth hole. The greens were pristine. The foliage and trees surrounding the patio were alive with spring. The soft music humming from the speakers and the low murmur of conversation around us served as a nice backdrop. Considering it was the only sound being made. We all sat, silent once again, until our drinks were delivered, then the conversation took the turn I was dreading.
“Mr. Levin, are you in one of Everly’s classes?” my mother asked as she sipped her red wine.
Her drink of choice. I hated how it always made her teeth and tongue purple.
“No, I’m not in law school.” Max sipped his beer.
“Regular undergraduate classes, then?” she pried.
“No, I didn’t go to university.” He took another sip. “I work in the family business.” Another sip, this one more of a gulp. I should probably order him another one.
“Honorable,” my father said as he looked at my mother with sigh of relief. “What does your family do?”
Max hesitated, and stalled by taking another gulp of his beer. With a clear of his throat, he mumbled, “Films.”
Oh, God. This was it. I had put Max into a situation where he was going to have to defend himself, and his family. All because my parents were judgmental prudes who just wouldn’t understand. All they would see was the sex. They didn’t realize there was a whole business behind it that had nothing to do with penises and vaginas.
“Interesting.” My father sipped his scotch. “In my early years, I once prosecuted a film company for tax evasion.” He looked at Max curiously. “Which company?”
“White Lace Productions.”
Both my parents contemplated his response.
“Is that European?” my mother asked, as she leaned in closer. She was genuinely curious. I could see it in her eyes. “Are your parents from overseas?”
“No, ma’am. They were born right here. We…” I placed my hand over his where it sat on his thigh. He looked over and with a deep breath, he straightened his shoulders and said, “We make adult entertainment films.”
My father’s face scrunched up. “Like…pornography?”
Max nodded.
“I’m sorry.” My mother laughed, a hysterical hyena-type laugh. “I thought you said pornography.”
Max looked at her with the most serious face I’d ever seen on him. “I did.”
I squeezed his hand. “Max’s dad is the largest producer of adult entertainment in the country.” The least I could do was talk him up. “Max has single-handedly doubled their online subscription members over the last four years.”
