Page 41 of Santa’s Little Faker
“I already get dessert and another reward for being good, so let’s say now I get a traditional date one and a silly one.” His lips twitched but he didn’t tell me I was ridiculous. “Thank you for being generous.”
Yep, now he couldn’t take it back because I’d already said thank you.
“You’re welcome.” Bastian seemed to know that rule too because he didn’t argue about it. “Deal.”
Ugh.
Maybe I should’ve played harder to get?
“So…what’s the issue with the decorations?” Before I could find another way to change the subject, he shrugged. “Only good boys get rewards.”
What kind of reward, though?
Ugh.
I was too curious for my own good…and too well-behaved to whine and demand to know what he was going to give me.
Fine.
“Um, well, my mother only let me buy gold decorations, so I’ve got lots of those. She really likes that color but I don’t, and I can’t put them up because I don’t like them, but if I don’t put them up she’s going to get upset.” I wasn’t sure if all families were this hard to deal with, but sometimes I had to remind myself that I loved them a lot.
Especially my mother.
“Would you like to complain about it or would you like me to fix the problem?”
Wait.
“Aren’t you supposed to offer to listen or help me problem solve?” I’d seen that on a YouTube video about relationships. Most of the stuff the guy said seemed nuts, but he seemed to have gotten that one right.
Somehow.
“No.” Shrugging, Bastian didn’t look worried about possibly being wrong. “I’m a bit more take-charge than that.”
Ah.
Dom thing.
“Please fix it.” That was so much nicer than him trying to be nice and make me do all the work. “Thank you.”
Now he had to… Thanking people really was an underrated way to manipulate them.
Bastian looked like he wanted to laugh, but he held it back, probably because he really wanted to fix my problem. “We’re going to decorate your house in silver and red just like you want, and if your mother asks about it, we’re going to tell her that it’s what I like so you were being nice.”
When.
Not if.
Oh.
“I…I’m supposed to be nice to my partner.” She sighed and whined about that every time she had to do something for my dad that she didn’t want to.
Like going fishing.
“Then there’s nothing you can do about it.” Bastian’s shrug had me trying not to laugh. “You’ve got to be nice to me. Especially since we haven’t been dating that long.”
He was right.
It was brilliant.
