Page 54 of Turn Me On

“Like I said, I rep good guys. I get to know them. Spend time with them. Play golf with them.”

Dad picks up his fork, points it at me. “I played golf with you know who too. I don’t play anymore.”

I clench my jaw so I don’t lash out with,The sport you insisted I learn is not the reason you repped an abuser.Instead, I say, “I know them.”

He just gives a dismissivehmmas the food arrives.

I’m hardly hungry. I’m thirty-two years old and my dad still disapproves of my work choices.

But I don’t. I’ve devoted years of my life to building my business, even when my family didn’t understand. Even when my passion made zero sense to them, I did it anyway.

Because I love it madly. And they make me feel…small.

When the meal is over I say goodbye to the parents I’ve disappointed and hop in a Lyft back to my hotel. For the first time in a long time, I want to talk to someone about them.

Zane.

I want to tell him about this dinner and how poorly it went. Instead, I check Zane’s game stats along the way, then some from other clients, sending a fewatta boytexts to them. As the car cruises closer to the hotel, I’m sorely tempted to ask the driver to change the destination—to head to Zane’s house.

There, I’d ask him to spend the night with me. But then I’d want the morning too so I could take him out to breakfast. Over eggs and coffee, I’d make plans to do it again the next day.

And the next.

I turn off my phone so I don’t text Zane and ask him to come over now. But when I reach my hotel room, I cave, turn on the phone, and reach out.

Maddox:I survived dinner.

Zane:Ouch. I take it the meal was rough.

Maddox:I’ll have scars next time you see me.

Zane:Sorry, man. If it’s any consolation, my dad’s a total hard-ass. I’m not close with him. Not the same situation, but I do understand.

Maddox:Thanks. I appreciate it. It’s ridiculous to hope they’d change.

Zane:Maybe, but it’s human to want it.

Maddox:I’m very, very human, then, tonight.

Zane:You are. And I like that about you.

Maddox:Thank you. I like that about you too. Are your parents still together?

Zane:Nope. Mom left him when I was in high school. Thank God. He criticized everything—how she cooked, parented, even how she brushed her teeth.

Maddox:Wow.

Zane:Nothing’s good enough for him. I guess you and I have that in common.

Maddox:Yeah, we do. It’s weirdly comforting.

Zane:What are you doing now?

Maddox:Lying on my hotel bed, wishing the gym were open so I could work out.

Zane:You like to burn off frustration?

Maddox:I do. I read an article today that sex, exercise, and gardening are the things that make people the happiest. I tried listening to a gardening podcast as I worked out before dinner. Two out of three.