Page 12 of Forbidden Billionaires: Vol. 11

Wednesday

"What's the game plan?" Penny asked. "Should I just tell them everything real quick? Just throw it all out there?"

She was adorable when she was nervous. And for some reason, her being nervous made me less nervous. I could be the one in control of this situation. It was going to be fine. I rubbed my thumb against her palm.

"So, slow then? Just let it all unravel?" She bit her lip.

Please stop doing that. I wanted to be the one to bite her lip for her. "Take a deep breath, Penny." I heard a car door slam outside.

"Oh God,” Penny said with a groan. She squeezed my hand as tightly as she had this morning in Joe’s office. "Try to look natural, okay?"

"Natural.” I smiled. “Got it."

"You're dressed really professorly today by the way. I don't know whether that's a good or bad thing."

"Professorly?" I laughed. "Yeah, that's not a word."

"Now I'm making up words. How am I going to tell them that I'm dating my professor when I can't even talk?!"

I held back my laugh this time because I knew she wouldn’t appreciate it when she was spiraling. "Luckily I'm not your professor anymore. Does that make it any better?"

"Not really."

"I think maybe it makes it a little better." I raised my eyebrow.

Her face flushed. "Okay, maybe a little better."

I squeezed her hand. "Thanks for doing this. It means a lot to me. More than you know." I really did want her parents to like me.

"Sometimes it still feels like I made you up. Maybe this will make it feel more real."

"It is real."

She looked up at me and took a deep breath. "I love you, James."

"I love you." And we were going to get through this awkward conversation together. I squeezed her hand again as the front door opened. Coming clean to her parents was the final thing we needed to do in order to move forward. And that made it worth all the awkwardness. I just needed Penny’s parents to realize how much I loved their daughter. How serious I was about this relationship. That’s all that parents wanted, right?

For their kids to be happy? For just a second I thought about my parents.

I pressed my lips together. They certainly didn’t give a shit about my happiness.

Fuck, what if I had it all wrong? What if Penny’s parents were actually monsters like mine?

"Penny?" Mrs. Taylor called from the hallway.

"Hi, Mom!" Penny dropped my hand and hugged her mom as soon as she walked into the kitchen.

"It's so good to see you, sweetie." Her mom pulled back. "And James!" She put down some paper bags from the grocery store and hugged me too.

I was surprised by the embrace. I took a deep breath and patted her back. I had nothing to worry about. Penny’s parents were nothing like mine. And her mom seemed to really like me. I smiled over at Penny.

It looked like she was trying not to laugh.

Was I doing this wrong? I patted her mom’s back again. I was pretty sure this was right. But I couldn’t remember the last time my own mother had hugged me. And I didn’t really know what to do with my hands. "It's great to see you again, Mrs. Taylor."

"I hope sandwiches are okay.” She looked over at Penny. “I stopped by that little French bistro on the way home that you like so much. La Patisserie."

"That sounds fantastic,” Penny said.

"If I wasn't so happy to see you both, I'd reprimand you for skipping classes today. Why the sudden urge to come home?" Mrs. Taylor opened up the fridge.

Technically I wasn’t skipping classes. I’d been fired. But I knew what she meant. The first time we’d met I’d told her I was a student. Which meant I shouldn’t be here in the middle of the day on a Wednesday.

"We both didn't have anything important going on today,” Penny said. “I thought it might be fun to show James where I grew up."

I heard the front door open again. And it was like some of Penny’s nervous energy transferred to me. It was her dad that I was really worried about talking to.

"Hey, Pen." Mr. Taylor opened his arms the second he entered the kitchen.

Penny quickly gave him a hug.

I stared at them hugging. He probably still saw Penny as his little girl.

And I had no idea how he was going to feel when we disclosed our relationship.

I didn’t want Penny’s parents to view her any differently.

Or think she made a mistake. Penny was a good girl.

Well, until she met me. No, she was still good.

She was just bad around me. And I had a feeling her father would really hate that.

Mrs. Taylor set the table, poured us each a glass of lemonade from a pitcher, and gestured for us all to sit.

I sat down next to Penny and put my hand on her knee. I wanted her to go at her own pace with this. But I was kind of hoping she’d just rip the Band-Aid off and tell them.

"So, what's up with you two?" Penny asked. "Do you have anything new and exciting going on?" She took a huge bite of her sandwich.

Okay, so delaying it was the game plan then…

I kept my hand on her knee.

"Just the usual,” her mom said. “What about you two? How's Comm going?" She started to eat her sandwich too.

The food looked great. But it would be easier for me to run away from her father on an empty stomach.

"Comm has been...interesting," Penny said. "Actually, the real reason that I'm here is that I have something I need to tell you." Penny took a huge sip of lemonade to stall.

That was good thinking. Running was easier when you were properly hydrated. I took a sip too.

"Actually, that we need to tell you." She looked over at me.

Was she waiting for me to cut in here? I couldn’t read her face.

"Oh my God." Her mom slowly placed her sandwich down on her plate. "Oh my God, you're pregnant?!"

I choked on my lemonade. What the fuck kind of conclusion was that?

"What?!" her dad practically shouted.

I winced.

"No,” Penny said. “No! I'm not pregnant." She laughed awkwardly. "I couldn't possibly be..." her voice trailed off.

Well, I wasn’t sure that was entirely true. Yes, she was on birth control, but it was still possible . Especially since I really liked not using a condom.

I pressed my lips together. I was pretty sure she was just trying to say she wasn’t sexual active, though, which was hilarious.

Did she seriously think her parents didn’t know we were fucking?

And why the hell were we even talking about this right now?

Penny wasn’t pregnant. But just the idea had made me start sweating.

I’d be a shit father. Just like mine had been. Fuck. What if she is pregnant/?

Her parents were just staring at us in silence.

Penny stole a sideways glance at me.

I had no idea what to say. This conversation had taken a very weird turn. Could she tell how uncomfortable I was talking about her being pregnant? Breathe.

"Definitely not pregnant," she added, staring at me. And I knew she was saying it more for me than her parents at this point.

I knew I was probably pale. We’d barely talked about kids.

My heart was beating funny in my chest and I had no idea why.

Maybe because now I was picturing having a daughter one day.

And her sitting across from me telling me she was fucking her professor.

Penny’s dad was going to kill me. I’d kill me.

"Actually, what I needed to tell you is that James isn't a student at the University of New Castle."

Her mom started laughing and put her hand on her husband’s shoulder. "That's it? You scared me half to death."

Me too. I took another deep breath. Penny wasn’t pregnant. I needed to calm down. Penny needed me right now. Because her parents were probably going to be just as upset about our actual news.

"So what do you do, James?" Mr. Taylor asked. "Are you in vocational school or something?"

Vocational school? The only thing I knew how to fix was computers.

"He's actually done school, Dad. He graduated a few years ago. Several actually. He's 27."

"Oh?" her mom said. She glanced at her husband and then back at us. "Well, that's quite an age difference."

I swallowed hard. It wasn’t that big of an age difference. We were all silent for a second. The disapproval almost seemed palpable. Most of the professors at the University of New Castle were well into their 50s. This could have been a hell of a lot worse.

Penny’s father was frowning. "So that brings me back to my original question. If you're no longer a student, what is it that you do for a living, James? And why on earth are you dating a teenager?"

Because I’m a sick fuck.

"Dad, I just turned 20."

Her parents did not seem to care about that rebuttal.

"Well." I shifted in my seat. Fuck, what the hell do I say to him? He’d already made up his mind about me. I was pretty sure he had when we first met and he kept giving the Eagles’ players weird names. He’d already been fucking with me then.

Breathe. Well, her father didn’t look like he could hate me any more than he already did. And if Penny wasn’t going to tell them I was her professor, I just needed to do it. As fast as possible. "This is not going to sound great. But I want you both to know that I love your daughter very much."

Shit, now I was stalling. I shifted in my seat again.

"I actually resigned from my current position this morning," I continued.

"But before that, I had a job at the University of New Castle.

" I paused and stared at them. They understood, right? Her father was staring at me like he understood. Or did he just look confused? Fuck me. I was usually good under pressure. But it was different when I wanted them to like me. And there was no way they’d like me once I said the words out loud.

"He's my professor," Penny finally blurted out.

I froze.

Penny’s parents froze.

And then her mom burst out laughing.

Her dad quickly started laughing too.

What was happening right now?

I turned to Penny. She looked just as confused as me. I shrugged. I’d expected cursing and for her father to throw a punch. Definitely not laughter.

"I don't know what you've done to Penny," her mom said between bouts of laughter. "Because she never pulls pranks on us. Well done. You both had us going."

I clenched my jaw. They thought we were joking?

"She can't even pull an April Fool's Day prank," her dad added. "That was hilarious!"

I never in a million years expected them to have this reaction. But I guess it made sense that they thought we were joking. Penny had never even had a boyfriend before. Jumping from no boyfriend to fucking her professor was a big leap for someone who didn’t usually break the rules.

"Mom, Dad." Penny’s voice caught in her throat. "We're not joking. You said it yourself, I don't know how to play pranks. It's not even April Fool's Day."

"Of course you're joking," her mom quickly said. "The age difference? Your professor? It's not even believable. It's ridiculous. It's absolutely ridiculous."

It wasn’t that ridiculous. I clenched my jaw even harder. No, I didn’t expect this reaction at all. And I really didn’t like it. My profession or my age didn’t matter. All that mattered was that I loved Penny. And it was like they were laughing at our relationship.

"James is my Comm professor,” Penny said. “ Was my Comm professor, I mean."

"You're joking. You are, right?” Her mom suddenly looked pale. She looked over at me and frowned, as if seeing me for the first time.

I was clearly older than her daughter. And like Penny said…I was dressed professorly today. I wanted to laugh at the made-up word, but I just clenched my jaw even tighter as Mrs. Taylor stared at me. So much for Penny’s mom liking me.

"We met before I knew he was a professor,” Penny said.

"And you..." her mom's voice faded. "And he..." She closed her mouth again.

Stunned silence. I could work with stunned silence. "Mr. and Mrs. Taylor, I know how this might sound, but..."

"She's a sophomore," her dad said calmly. "She's only a sophomore." He was staring at me like I was some kind of pervert.

Penny was 20 years old. It was only a seven-year difference. Seven years was nothing.

But hadn’t I thought of myself the same way? I’d tried so hard to stay away from her. I really had. And yes, I was fucked up in the head. But… Penny belonged with me. I truly did believe that. "I thought she was a senior," I said, as if that would help.

"You thought she was a senior? So you only hook up with seniors, is that it?"

Oh fuck you. I took a deep breath. The last thing I needed to do was say that to him.

"Dad, it wasn't like that at all,” Penny said.

"I think you should probably leave, James. We need to have a conversation with Penny in private."

"I really think we should talk about this," I said as calmly as I could. "I am in love with your daughter. I'm not going anywhere."

"You're a 27-year-old man. She's a sophomore," her dad said again.

"I'm 20 years old, Dad. It's not that big of an age difference."

"Seven years? You need to focus on school, Penny. You're not ready for the same things that he's ready for." He pointed at me as if I was an object instead of a person.

I really did not like that. I glared at him.

And what kind of things was he referring to exactly?

Sex? Because I was fucking his daughter so hard every night.

And most mornings too. Penny was not the good little girl he thought she was.

Not when she was crawling to me and begging for my cock.

A good little slut would be a much better description of her. I smiled to myself.

"I am ready for those things. I love him, Dad."

"You're ready for marriage? And children? And responsibilities? You have no idea what it's like to be an adult. You don't even know how to write a check. You're just a child. He's an adult. You're too young to date him."

Well, that was a leap. We’d only said we were dating. And Penny didn’t need to write any checks. That was all online now. For some reason picturing Penny’s dad writing checks instead of paying bills online made me smile.

This whole conversation was ridiculous. "I'm not even ready to get married again.

.." I instantly closed my mouth. Oh fuck. I hadn’t meant to say that.

I was hoping that could be a discussion for a different day.

Dating her professor was one thing. Dating her recently divorced professor sounded way worse.

"You were already married?" Penny’s mom finally broke her silence.

"I'm recently divorced, yes."

"How recently?" she asked.

"I filed for a divorce last year."

Penny’s parents just stared at me.

Shit. I cleared my throat. "It became official yesterday, but..."

"You got divorced yesterday?" her mom asked incredulously. "You started a relationship with my 20-year-old daughter while you were still married?" She didn't hide the disgust in her voice.

I definitely preferred stunned silence.