This was a fucking disaster!

Max's heart pounded inside his chest in such a way that made him physically ill. His sense of urgency to fix everything and make everything better for Nina was overwhelming. Max knew he had hurt the one person in his life who brought him nothing but goodness and happiness and light.

Without a moment's hesitation, Max dove into a frenzied explanation, "Nina, I swear, there's nothing going on between Lexi and me except all the bullshit that I already told you about! She hugged me first! I barely touched her back! Everything they're saying about us online is completely made up!"

He tried to make eye contact with Nina through the screen, but she kept her gaze downcast. She wouldn't look at him.

Max continued brokenly, "All of this is my fault. I shouldn't have put myself in that position in the first place. I regret ever reaching out to Lexi. I'm so, so, so sorry for putting you through this crap. I'm going to do everything I can to make it go away so that we can move on, okay?"

Nina smiled and nodded. She didn't say anything, though.

"Nina?" Max begged. "Please talk to me, baby. I'm going crazy over here. Tell me what I gotta do to make this better for you. For us!"

Fear gripped him when she didn't respond right away. He wanted to stay calm, but his nerves were wound tighter than a drum.

She started hesitantly, "I..."

"Yes?" Max prompted eagerly.

"I told my grandma about you a few days ago."

Max gulped nervously. "Okay..."

That was a good thing, right?

Right?

Nina groaned, "It was really shit timing because, just this morning, my grandma stumbled on the photos of you and Lexi. Now, she thinks the rumors are true, and they really set her off. I've been on the phone nonstop with her ever since I got out of my meeting around noon."

Max's stomach dropped. He knew how much Nina valued her grandma's opinion. Max sensed he was in deep shit.

He was almost too scared to ask, "What did your grandma say to you?"

Nina sucked in a deep, shaky breath. "Long story short, my grandma doesn't think that you and I are a good fit. It's not just the Lexi thing. There are a few other reasons as well."

Her voice had faded even more at this point. Nina sounded like she was about to cry.

Max's stress levels shot through the roof. "Does your grandma want you to break up with me? Or something?"

"Kind of, yeah."

His knees nearly gave out. Max quickly sat down on the edge of the mattress and tried not to give in to the sheer dread coursing through his veins. He could barely push out the next string of words from his mouth, "Is that... what... you want? For us... to break up?"

Nina shook her head immediately. "No, that's not what I want at all!"

Their gazes locked.

Max asked, "You believe me, then? You know that all the stuff they're writing about Lexi and me is fake?"

Nina gave him a wobbly smile. "Yes... I believe you, Max."

Relief flooded through him.

Oh, thank God!

Thank God!

Thank God!

"You have no idea how happy that makes me, mami! I love you so much!"

"I love you, too," she mumbled quietly.

Max put his game face on. Now that he knew Nina was still his to fight for, he was ready to do whatever it would take to win over her grandma. "Why doesn't your grandma like me, Nina? Tell me everything, and I'll do whatever I can to fix it."

Nina grimaced. "It's not that simple, Max. My grandma is really old school. And traditional. I don't know if you can change her mind about something once it's made up."

"I still wanna try, though," he insisted. "Other than the Lexi shit, why doesn't she approve of me?"

"Well, for one thing, you're younger than me."

Max cursed inwardly. This was something he couldn't change. He was about to turn twenty-six in a week. Nina was twenty-eight. But their age difference had never bothered him. It wasn't like they had a twenty-year age gap. It was only two fucking years, after all!

"So?"

Nina released a heavy sigh. "My grandma tends to be really conservative. She thinks a guy should be at least the same age as me—or older—in order to be a mature and reliable partner."

"So, basically, your grandma is worried that I won't treat you right? That I can't take care of you because I'm younger? Is it because I'm a YouTuber and don't have a quote-unquote real job?"

With some reluctance, Nina admitted, "Yeah, your career is definitely a big part of the equation. I told her that you have a really successful channel, but she's super fixated on the fact that, you know, you never graduated high school."

Max offered, "I can get my GED! And then I'll go to community college or something!"

"You shouldn't go back to school unless you want to, Max."

"My mom has been nagging me to get a degree for the longest time as well. She says I need a fall-back plan, and I kinda agree with her. YouTube money may not last forever. I gotta think ahead for my future. For our future."

Nina fell silent again. It made him nervous. He prompted, "Baby?"

"Yeah?"

"What's wrong?"

Nina blinked dazedly. "Sorry, I'm a little out of it. Today has been so crazy with everything that's going on regarding you and Lexi and my grandma..."

"I totally get it."

"I guess I should've known that dating a YouTuber would come with its own set of problems, but, like, living through this shit in real time is so much worse than anticipating it in my head. I hate seeing all these complete strangers online making up stories about you. They don't even know that I exist. Sometimes, their words are so convincing that it makes me second guess the validity of our relationship."

"Do you want me to make a public announcement about us?"

"Not really," she mumbled. "You know how I feel about being in the spotlight."

When they started dating, Nina wanted to keep their relationship private. Even now, she kept insisting on it. Nina was a cautious person by nature, and she didn't feel comfortable on camera at all. If Nina had let him, Max would've definitely pronounced his love and devotion to her for the entire world to see by now.

Max attempted to reason with her, "We can't keep our relationship a secret forever."

"I know, but... I'm just not ready to let other people into our little bubble, you know?"

Max tried not to let his disappointment show. "Okay, that's fine. Take your time. Just know that—I'm ready whenever you are."

"Thank you."

"Did you see that video I posted earlier this afternoon? Lexi posted a similar one, too, on all of her platforms."

"I saw the video. I'm glad you guys took the opportunity," she remarked mildly, "to set the record straight."

"I did it for you."

"I know."

Nina looked so sad and lost on the screen. Max's face crumpled with worry. His hands clenched at his sides.

Long distance was such a bitch.

Max sighed sullenly, "I just wanna hold you and kiss you right now, mami. I miss you so much."

"I miss you, too."

"At least, we'll get to see each other soon. I'm counting down the days to my birthday!"

Nina cleared her throat uneasily. "About that..."

Something in the tone of her voice alarmed Max.

"Yes?"

"I dunno if I should come down next weekend, you know, in the middle of all this drama between you and Lexi."

Panic clawed at Max. "What? Why? I don't understand!"

"Well, we were planning to go clubbing with your friends, right? I don't know if it's a good idea for us to be seen together in public. It'll only fuel more rumors about your dating life."

Max protested heatedly, "But it's my fucking birthday! I want my girlfriend to celebrate with me!"

Nina winced. "I promise I'll make it up to you another way. I just think we should lay low until this shitshow with you and Lexi simmers down."

His heart clenched as he argued, "Dude! That makes no fucking sense. If you don't wanna go clubbing, then we don't have to go clubbing! I'll cancel my plans with Chase and the guys. We can just celebrate at home. Just the two of us. That's fine with me!"

"I don't want you to cancel your birthday plans! I want you to go out and have fun."

"I'm not gonna have any fun if you're not with me!"

"Listen to me⁠—"

"Are you mad about Lexi? Is this your way of punishing me or something?

Nina shot back, "Not everything is about you, Max! What if I told you that I need some time to myself? To think things over?"

"Wait, wait, wait! What?" Max demanded, "What is there to think over?"

Nina's eyes glistened with tears. Distress marred her pretty face. "Try to put yourself in my shoes, baby. You know how hard I've worked to become more independent, to live for myself and not in the shadow of whoever I'm dating. As much as I love you and want to be with you, I realize now that, as your girlfriend, I'll have to give up a big part of myself to the public, to your fans, to your haters, once we become official in their eyes. You're a celebrity on the internet. There will always be scandals and rumors and lies swirling around every move you make and every word you say. Dealing with this kind of thing isn't easy for me, and, to make matters worse, I'll have to fight my grandma every step of the way. To put things lightly, Max, I'm fucking stressed right now, and, if you care about me at all, then, please, give me some time to process all this shit!"