[ WP ] Since you 've been going out for quite some time , your lover arranges for you to meet his/her parents . When you get to their house and you enter the front door , you hear him/her say `` I 'm sorry . '' as the door closes behind you .

I stretched out across my bed, groggy but awake, as the smell of pancakes and bacon roused me from sleep. I let out a yawn as I entered the kitchen. 
 
 `` Morning, babe,'' I mumbled as I took a seat at the table. I held my head in my hand, still fuzzy from the night prior. 
 
 `` Looks like *someone* slept in late,'' Levi teased. Another yawn escaped as my girlfriend set a plate and glass in front of me. Taking a moment to pour a liberal amount of syrup over my breakfast, I looked at Levi, clad in nothing but a frilly pink apron. I shook my head in mock offense. 
 
 `` It's not my fault,'' I insisted. `` You're a demon in the sheets.'' 
 
 Levi laughed and shook her bare ass at me. Despite my aching back and lack of sleep, I still felt that instinctual pull like a magnet. 
 Shaking my head again, I took a swig of orange juice to distract myself. Levi was taking me to meet her parents tonight, to have dinner with them. I figured it was about time - we've been together for about six months now. 
 
 `` Are you excited?'' Levi asked from the sink. 
 
 `` Of course,'' I said, `` I've actually been eager to meet them.'' 
 
 It was true. Levi had met my family a few weeks back, my mother loving her from the first minute. My father, meanwhile, just met my eyes with a disbelieving stare, mouth agape, to which I just answered with a chuckle and a nod. 
 
 Levi had been a bit evasive about her folks, however. When I first asked about her parents, all I received for an answer was some awkward shuffling and that they traveled a lot. It was a pleasant surprise when, one day recently, she let me know that they'd be around soon, and suggested we go see them. 
 
 I finished my breakfast and gave Levi a peck on the cheek. 
 `` Let's go!'' 
 
 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- 
 
 Levi was n't quite herself on the drive to her parents. Though she started the day with her usual pep, she had fallen unusually silent as we started the final hour of the trip. She had taken to staring out the window, and I thought she had fallen asleep a few times. Maybe she still had some reservations about me meeting her folks... 
 
 `` We can turn around, you know?'' I suggested, `` If you're not comfortable with this, I mean.'' 
 
 She looked at me, almost seeming sad, and shook her head. `` We're already here,'' Levi said as she pointed out a gated community, *Pearl Gates Estate*, coming up on our right. I pulled into the entrance, and Levi flashed a card in front of a reader. The gates opened silently, permitting us forward. 
 
 The residences here were gargantuan, easily in the eight to nine figure cost range. Levi directed me through the streets as I marveled at the opulence around me. 
 
 `` Your parents live here?'' I asked incredulously. 
 
 `` Occasionally,'' Levi nodded. `` Turn here, and it's the last house on the lane. You ca n't miss it.'' 
 
 Even as I turned the corner, from all the way down the street, her parent's house was indeed impossible to miss. It was easily the largest residence in the community. Hell, I'd even bet that it was the biggest in the state! It seemed to cover an impossible amount of land. I was n't sure even the highest paid celebrities could afford something quite like this. 
 
 We pulled up the driveway, and I parked the car. I let out a sigh of relief - it had been a long drive. 
 
 I looked over to Levi, still in her funk. `` Listen,'' I said, `` It's clear that something's bothering you. Is it me? If you do n't want me to meet them, just say so. I'll understand.'' 
 
 She cracked her first smile since that morning. `` You would understand, would n't you? Come on, hun,'' Levi said, motioning to the front door. We got out of the car and headed up the driveway. 
 
 As we approached the door, I could see intricate carvings lace through the wood, no doubt the work of none other than a master craftsman. I blanched at the fact that the front door probably cost more than I would earn in my lifetime. Levi got there first, and held the door for me. `` Come on in,'' Levi said. 
 
 As I entered, I saw out of the corner of my eye that Levi had reverted to her worried expression. I stepped through the threshold, and suddenly the interior of the house went black as pitch. Confused, I waved my hand in front of my eyes experimentally, but I saw nothing. I turned back to Levi, who was but a silhouette against the light from outside. 
 
 `` Babe?'' 
 
 As I watched Levi close the front door, a sound, so soft that I was unsure that I had really heard it, brushed my ears. `` I'm sorry.'' 
 
 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- - 
 
 I held my arms out around me in the blackness of Levi's parent's home, hoping to gain a hold of something in the darkness. 
 
 `` Levi?'' I inquired out loud, `` Is there a light switch somewhere?'' 
 
 Before she had a chance to answer me, the lights flashed on all at once, temporarily blinding me. As I cradled my eyes, I heard Levi speak. `` Oops, sorry hun, I did n't think I'd be that dark in here.'' 
 
 `` No worries,'' I said as I winced, finally adjusting to the light. As I fully regained my vision, I took in my surroundings. We were in a main hall of some sort, with a grand staircase directly in front of us. There was a man on top of the stairs, and that could only be her father. 
 
 `` Heya Dad!'' I heard Levi shout. She ran up the stairs and caught him in a hug so tight that I was sure his ribs would break. 
 
 Her father let out a throaty chuckle. 
 
 `` Levi! It's so good to see you,'' he said. He had the most beautiful voice I have ever heard. I was stunned, and stunned doubly so when I finally reached the top of the landing, for where I had expected a father, there stood a man who could be no older than thirty. 
 
 `` And who is this man you've brought with you, Levi?'' He inquired in his golden voice. 
 
 Levi blushed, scuffing her foot on the floor. `` Dad, this Greg.'' 
 
 I reached out to shake his hand. `` Pleasure to meet you, sir.'' 
 
 He smiled an Emmy-winning smile and grasped my hand, `` Likewise.'' 
 
 I was thrice stunned as his grip held mine. He skin felt like the perfect love child of velvet and silk, and yet there was an immense strength under it all. I had a feeling he could turn my hand to dust, should he choose. 
 
 Levi spoke again, `` Greg, this is my father... He's been called a lot of names in his time, but you may know him best as...'' she paused, wary, `` Lucifer.''
