Page 30 of One Lovely Lie

Magnus’s eyes widen with amusement, but I’m mortified. There is no universe where I want to be cum drunk and talking to my mother.

But when Sylvia Levingson calls, you fucking answer.

“Daniel. I’m so glad you answered!” she says, her cheery voice coming out crystal clear through the line. “It’s so good to hear from you, sweetheart.”

“You too, Mother,” I say genuinely, flinching when Magnus flicks my exposed nipple with his thumb. I hiss at him as I flip him off. “Cut it out.”

“What did you say?”

“Nothing,” I correct quickly. “What’s the occasion for the call?”

“Do I need a reason to call my son?”

I chuckle and shake my head. “No, but you typically have one.”

Let me be clear, I love my parents. No matter how pretentious they are, no matter how elitist they can be, no matter how much they sometimes make me want to pull my hair out, I love them. They can be terrible, like most parents, but growing up I had wanted for nothing.

“Is everything great at school? How are you doing, sweetheart?”

My cheeks redden as I stare at the smug smile on Magnus’s face as his eyes do dirty things to my body. “Um, everything is great. Everything okay on your end?”

“Wonderful. Your father and I can’t wait until you’re home for winter break.”

“I can’t either.”

And I sort of mean it. The holidays are always special in my house with my parents going all out to decorate. They throw a lavish party that’s sort of okay but always has amazing food. My only hesitation is that it’ll be annoying to not be able to see Magnus.

Things between Magnus and my parents still aren’t okay. Our parents are really great friends, so my mom has had a front-row seat to all things Magnus-related these last four years—the not-so-good and the very bad.

“I think you’ll love what we have planned for you.”

I groan because I know what that means. I was hoping that if I couldn’t see Magnus, I could at least take a break from everything and relax. Turns out, my mother has other ideas. “What are the plans? Are we going on a trip?”

“Even better. We got you an internship at the company.”

How is that better? “Oh, great…”

Again, not really how I want to spend my break. It’s not that I mind working at the company, I don’t. I’ve always known that it was going to be my future, so it doesn’t bother me the way it bothers Magnus when his dad brings it up.

I think someone would need a shotgun to his back to make him voluntarily intern at his dad’s company.

“What do you think? Are you willing to do it? We know it’s menial work, but you’re still in high school and we think it’ll be a great opportunity to see how it all works. Are you interested?”

I let out a deep sigh because there isn’t really another option. “Of course, Mother. I’ll do it.”

“Okay, that’s all I wanted to tell you,” she says and she sounds positively proud of herself. “I love you, son.”

“I love you too, Mother,” I say with a smile, happy to have heard her voice after a few weeks without speaking. “Send my best to Father.”

As soon as I’m done with the call, Magnus is on me again, laying his head on my lap. “What is it that you’re doing?”

“Internship during winter break,” I say, enjoying the feel of his soft hair under my fingertips.

“And that interests you?” He snorts, rolling his eyes before closing them once again. “More power to you.”

I cock my head. “Do you think your dad will offer you one?”

“I think he’s trying to keep me as far away from the company as he can until I graduate from college.” He snickers to himself. “I don’t think my old man has a lot of faith in me.”

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