Presents (Part 2)

Mila and Grace both loved their gifts, which was a relief. Next, however, came the one I was dreading the most: Sarah.

Thing is, Sarah was simultaneously the easiest and hardest to pick a gift for. You see, my thought process for picking their presents was if whatever I would give them would make them happy or not. After all… I was dating five rich girls. Whatever they wanted, they could easily buy. Of course, I couldn’t be stingy and buy cheap stuff, either, mostly because I’d feel bad about it, but the fact remained that I couldn’t impress them with expensive gifts. So with that in mind, I had to make their presents more personalized, think hard about things they’d really, really like.

I had the perfect gift for Sarah. It came to me the moment I started thinking of what to get her. Problem was… I only had a strong feeling she would like it, not outright certainty like I did with Mila’s and Grace’s gifts. On top of that, it was relatively cheap. Certainly cheaper than Mila’s necklace. And to top it all off… It was an embarrassing, possibly offensive, maybe even distasteful present to give.

My solution? Two gifts that when put together would be worth about the same as the other presents. That way, if she didn’t like one, at least there was another.

“Hm? What’s wrong?” Sarah asked me when I gave her her present. It was a small, black bag. “Your face is red.”

“It’s… You’ll see.”

“What? Did you get her something naughty?” Alice teased.

Unable to hold her curiosity any longer, Sarah opened the bag. She took out the first gift.

“Perfume?” Sarah asked, mostly surprised, as she examined the white box.

“I know you’re not a big fan, but… Try it. I think you’ll like it.”

Sarah took the small bottle out of the box and sprinkled a bit on her wrist. A nice smile crossed her face when she smelled it. “Oh wow. It’s really subtle. Lightly sweet and woody.” She closed her eyes and smelled it again. “Mmm. Yes, it’s amazing. What the hell? I didn’t know you had good taste in perfumes,” she teased, poking my stomach.

“...The lady at the store recommended it, but I really did think of you when I tried it,” I admitted. “And… there’s something else in there.”

Sarah blinked and stuck her hand inside the bag again to take out a smaller, flatter box. She opened it to find a thin, black leather choker with a small metal ring at the front.

“Aaaah, I see.” Alice chuckled. “No wonder your face was red.”

Sarah looked at it, tracing her finger along its length. She then looked at me with serious eyes. “Did you… read my mind or something?”

Huh? “What? W-What do you mean?”

“I… I was thinking of how to ask you to give me one of these,” Sarah admitted. “But asking for it would’ve felt weird, and yet…”

“You’re joking,” I said.

“I’m not!” she insisted. “I’ve always thought chokers looked nice, but never wore one because…”

Mila grinned and spoke in whispers. “She was embarrassed and afraid people would think she was submissive.”

“Beat me to it,” Grace said.

Sarah blushed madly, then glared at her friends for spilling the beans.

“I didn’t read your mind, I swear,” I told her. And it was true. Would’ve been much easier if I had, but the times I read their minds were still random. “I… wanted to give it to you, but was afraid you’d…” I didn’t finish the sentence. Sarah understood.

She put the perfume bottle down on the coffee table, then immediately put the choker on. She was still blushing and looked bashfully at me.

“H-How does it look?”

“It’s perfect.”

Sarah looked down and fidgeted shyly.

“You’re making too big a deal about it,” Grace told her easily. “It’s just a choker. plenty of girls use them.” She then smirked. “That it has an extra meaning for you two is an entirely different thing.”

“Alright! Next present!” Isabelle said loudly. She was also blushing deeply. “God, did you all forget I’m here, too!?”

I blinked. “I… kinda did, yes. Sorry.”

Isabelle pouted with arms crossed. “Rude.”

Sarah sat down and ran her fingers along her new accessory, smiling bashfully.

Anyway, yes. Next present. Noelle’s present. The first one I tried to get, yet the hardest one to find. It was a medium-sized box, smaller than Isabelle’s PC tower. I picked it up and gave it to Noelle, who accepted it with blushing cheeks.

“T-Thank you,” she said, yet she looked away from me as she received it.

{He’s giving us presents but his isn’t here. He probably feels anxious… God, I feel so bad.}

I blinked again, surprised. See? Totally random, but… fitting. If any of them would feel some guilt over a scheme like this, it would be Noelle. Still, this meant there was a present for me after all.

…

Maybe.

Like mom, Noelle carefully removed the wrapping to preserve the paper. When she finally got it, her jaw dropped with eyes as wide as plates. The box was that of a model kit of those robots she liked to build, one that she’d told me she was looking for but seemed to be sold out everywhere.

“I looked around all the hobby stores in town!” she told me, her smile growing by the second and her eyes shining with the threat of tears.

“I actually found it at a toy store,” I told her sheepishly. “I asked at hobby stores, too, but then got a tip from a guy working at one, saying he’d seen some random model kits at an old toy store on the other side of town. I figured it was worth a look, and I found it.”

Noelle giggled and examined the box all over with a big smile. “This is one of the newer kits, and it’s apparently so good that it sold out immediately, even before I could get one to review it in my channel. This is perfect. Thank you, Oliver!”

Noelle set the box aside to throw herself at me and give me the strongest hug her small frame was capable of. I hugged her back and kissed her forehead.

“Glad you liked it.”

“I love it. It’ll have the most special place on my shelf!”

“I’ve never understood why you like those so much,” Alice said with a soft giggle. “Your room is full of those.”

I flinched and winced, and regrettably I wasn’t able to hide it. Alice looked at me, seeming afraid that she’d said something wrong.

“Uh oh… Don’t tell me…” Isabelle understood what happened in an instant.

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