On the floor, my fingers sinking into the thick carpet, I kept my head down. It was
part of the role I was playing, but it was also because I couldn't look him in the eyes.
"I have a confession to make," I whispered, staring at his shoes.
"Tell me," he urged, his voice a soft rumble.
Tears were stinging in my eyes, but thankfully, he couldn't know. This was supposed to
be a lighthearted way to explain my inability to find him a decent present, but it was turning
into so much more than that.
"I couldn't...I haven't been able to..." I took a deep breath. "I don't know what to get
you for Valentine's day."
There was a moment of heart-stopping silence.
"Is that so." I thought I heard the edge of a chuckle in his words, but he was holding it
back. "Sneak up on you, did it? Tricky holiday. Same day every year."
My ears burned.
"No," I said. "I've been looking and looking. But nothing seems..." I let out a long
breath. "...right."
"Get up," he said, with a dismissive twitch of his finger that I barely saw, in the corner
of my vision. I stood, slowly. My legs felt unsteady.
"Look at me."
This one was harder. I swallowed reflexively, lifting my eyes up to his face. He was
affecting a stern look, but it wavered when he noticed the hint of wetness in my eyes.
Only for a moment, though.
"Do you think you need to be punished for disappointing me?" he asked, almost languidly. Like it didn't matter to him, one way or the other. My ears burned hotter. I didn't
want to have to choose anything, or ask for anything. That was why I'd started this game.