Page 21 of Taking Her Medicine

“You’re so distracting!”

“Relax. You’re all worked up.” He bid me to enter into the kitchen first. “I’m in the mood for Thai. Does that sound good to you?”

“Yousound better.”

He smacked his free hand against my jeans-clad bottom two times in a row. “I didn’t ask for a smartass answer.”

“Thai sounds great.” I rubbed my burning cheeks, but I understood the situation from Aaron’s perspective. I’d been sitting outside for hours and I hadn’t reached out. If I had messaged him, he could have told me where his key was or helped me to stop spiraling there and then. His observational skills were spot on. It wasn’t just the stupid transition to an office job.

I busied myself with the French press. Coffee would warm me right up. It had quickly become my favorite way to enjoy caffeine. It also gave me something to do, while I tried to quiet the chaos spinning through my head. The tasks he added to my everyday routine were additional things I had thought of after our long conversation about rules. They were important items, but not completing them wasn’t necessarily a punishable offense on its own.

Forcing Aaron to get me back in line, rather than just talking to him about it, had been my overall plan for the day. That had sounded well and good when I’d been at my own home, but after I’d opened up, he would do exactly as he had promised, a thought that aroused me as much as it flared my nerves.

“Food will be here in twenty minutes, sweetheart.”

“You ordered for me, Aaron?”

“Yeah. You have enough on your plate right now.” He tucked a piece of my hair behind my ear. “Would you consider looking for another company that allows the remote flexibility you enjoy?”

I shrugged.

“Okay, we’ll drop this topic for the moment. Why didn’t you do any of your tasks today?”

I shrugged again.

“Go stand in the corner, kitten.” Aaron gestured to the small space in his kitchen. “When you are ready to answer my questions, you may come out.”

“What if I’m not ever ready?”

“Good point. I’ll continue to work on my wording.” He brought me to the corner, clasped my hands behind my back, and pointed my nose to the wall. “Stay here until I come and get you.”

“Yes, Sir. I will.” He wasn’t perfect. And no one could claim to be, especially a few days into a new relationship. Aaron worked hard to do right by me even with his crazy hours. He planted a kiss against my temple and the gesture warmed my heart.

When his footsteps stalked out of the room, tears fell down my cheeks. He wasn’t going to stop caring about me just because I broke a rule. I didn’t have to fear he’d end things because of me becoming overwhelmed. I mentally berated myself as I stood there in the corner since I had pushed for a punishment, but I hadn’t ever been in a relationship where there were rules and consequences.

Aaron wasn’t going to let me slide on what we agreed upon, and that thought forced the tears to fall harder. Our relationship would succeed because of what we were putting into it.

* * *

Aaron

Changing out of my scrubs, I put on a pair of black lounge pants along with a forest green tee-shirt printed with the saying,“Will give medical advice in exchange for coffee.”It helped relax my way out of the work mode that I’d been stuck in all day.

Setting plates and silverware out on the coffee table, I doubled back to the kitchen, pouring each of us a tall glass of iced tea. My little princess had been all over the place when I’d arrived home and it worried me. I understood being upset over the changes in the way she worked; having to travel to an office that had a dress code and co-workers intimidated her. But the other tasks were ones I’d built into her day in order to help her feel good and stay healthy. They included water, exercise, a bedtime, and other means of self-care. I hadn’t spanked her for discipline, yet. But she seemed hellbent on receiving some type of correction.

“Come here, kitten,” I called from the kitchen, and she shuffled over. Her eyes were red from crying, and I brushed my thumbs across her cheeks. “The food is here. While we eat I want you to write down what you accomplished today. No matter how insignificant.”

“Um, can you do it too? It sounds like a really great exercise in gratitude, unless it’s part of my punishment.”

“No, it’s not a punishment. We’ll both make lists.” I strode into the living room, trusting her to follow me, and tugged out two brand new notebooks. Hers had glitter and rainbows on it, while mine had hundreds of little blue and black shapes on the cover.

She clapped excitedly and bounced on her feet. “It’s so pretty.”

We sat on the couch, leaning against each other, writing down our accomplishments as we ate dinner. The food tasted even better than usual, though I’d ordered from our favorite Thai restaurant many times before.

“I’m finished,” she announced and set her bowl on the coffee table. Crossing her legs, she shifted her body around to face me.

“I’ll go first.” I cleared my throat. “Helped an old man cross the street.”

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