As they spoke, Jason would occasionally squeeze her hand and when he did at first she asked him why, and he would say that her hand was so cute, that he couldn't help himself. But actually, he was at the beginning of implanting an Anchor that he would use to later reactivate her into this comfortable state of being.
When the taxi finally pulled up to a stop outside a cosy Chinese place, Isabella looked out, her eyes wide with excitement. "I've never been to one of these before!" she said happily as she turned to Jason.
Jason smiled, realising that she was grabbing onto him even tighter than before unconsciously. She had finally gotten used to his touch. He could escalate physically now and she would probably not reject him.
Perfect.
"Then you're in for a treat." Jason held the door open for her this time, and she walked out, gazing at him in interest but getting nothing from him other than a wink as they slipped into the warm, dimly lit interior.
Previously he had said he only did those things for those who were worthy, however there she was, getting that from him. Did that mean she was worthy?
No. It only meant she was getting rewarded for her good behaviour. But how would she know this? All she would know was that she had opened up to him, and she had been rewarded with a heightened status in his heart. If she wanted more rewards she could continue doing that kind of thing.
Once seated, he signalled to the waiter, and then when the waiter arrived, with a smirk, he said, "Daddy and his little girl would like some hotpot. Could you prepare it for us?"
The waitress raised an eyebrow, stifling a smile as she looked between the two only to see the woman's cheeks flushed as she glared at the man and the man with a smile at her, his arms under the table doing who knows what…
Love was in the air… Why was she so single? Damn it! If she had such a handsome boyfriend, she would call him Daddy too if he wanted it.
Sighing, she turned and left and as soon as she did, Isabella pinched his arm, saying quietly while looking around, "Really, Jason? Daddy wants some hotpot?"
Jason chuckled, squeezing her hand as he leaned in close and whispered to her. "Just making sure you know what Daddy wants," he murmured.
She folded her arms on her chest and Jason continued chuckling. When Jason said that, his hand was under the table and he was squeezing her hand again, and somehow that made her not want to contradict him, at least not while the waitress was around.
Now there he was calling himself Daddy?! What a guy!!
But he was so handsome…
Jason turned to her and leaned forward with his shoulders on the table as he asked her, "Oh come on… Is my little girl mad at me?"
"Litte girl? Who's your little girl!!" she said almost too loudly, looking around in the next moment and seeing that luckily, nobody had heard him and her speaking.
"Hahaha!!~" Jason laughed and then she too smiled, soon chuckling at the mere fact that Jason just kept making her laugh.
Jason was playing this in a cool calm and collected manner. He had to.
Since he knew that she liked tilting her head and doing things that attempted to make herself look smaller, he was going to call her his little girl. And as he did that, he would keep calling himself Daddy. And while he did that, he would keep implanting the Anchor, making her comfortable with it.
Soon enough the discomfort she had was all gone, and as the meal arrived, steaming and fragrant, they were laughing and making jokes amongst themselves. They dug in, the conversation flowing easily in between the bites.
Jason continued his work, constantly paying attention to her, mirroring her gestures subtly… a title of the head here, a lean forward there. And little by little he found excuses to touch her in more sensitive places. A light brush against her cheeks. A gentle lift on her chin as he adjusted her to get a look into her eyes.
All of it was building up. It was Physical Escalation. Nothing more, nothing less. He just wanted her to get comfortable with his touch, and although she shied away, blushing heavily most times, she still had a smile on her face. She was happy. This was exactly what she wanted to see from Jason.
But now it was time to get to the nitty-gritty.
"So tell me about your family," said Jason while taking a sip of his drink, his eyes locked on hers as she sat there across from him. And then seeing the hesitation that came to her eyes, he knew he must have gotten something good.
"It's complicated." She sighed and then stirring her drink with her straw, she continued, saying, "I grew up with my mom. Dad wasn't in the picture. Don't think he wanted to be."
Jason's heart leapt. This was it! An unavailable Dad, huh… Knowing this much, he knew the type of archetype Daddy figure he needed to be so that she could accept him and the image of him as her Daddy. now he just had to pivot to that image.
He nodded thoughtfully, feigning an air of understanding as he said, "It must have been hard to grow up like that. Your mom must be the toughest woman in the world!"
"I know! She was super strong. She is actually the reason why I became a nurse. I wanted to be like her."
So you wanted to make shitty choices in men? Got it… But the Nurse archetype was interesting too. Being of service to others... Her mom must be a narcissist who did not pay much attention to her, and she like her must be one too. Narcissistic parents raised narcissistic children after all. The easiest way to get a narcissistic person to like you was to get them to talk about themselves and how great they were.
Jason smirked in the next moment, saying, "You ever think about finding him? Your Daddy?"
Her eyes narrowed, caught off guard by the question a bit, but soon she shook her head. "I don't need a father. My mother was enough for me," she replied, shaking her head but unable to hide her smirk.
Jason read her expression that was slightly mixed with Disdain and then he finally made up her mind. She was that type of woman. The type who made bad decisions when it came to men and then blamed men for being assholes. She sought excitement and attention from exciting people.
So from now on, Jason just had to be an exciting asshole, and she might just stay with him because he gave her that same feeling she had seen in her mom's frustration with the absence of her dad.
It was fucked up, but most people never really move on from the scars in their childhood. All they do is replay the same scenes from their childhood. All they do is replay the same fantasies they've been wishing for since they were children.
They unconsciously muddle through life not knowing that everything they experienced in their formative years had affected them that much. That was something Jason was going to use right now.
Thinking this far, Jason grabbed her drink and took a sip from it, saying, "I don't know. I think you already have found your Daddy though."
Her eyes glinted with understanding as she smiled at him. She had even forgotten how he had just done something like that without her permission as if what was hers was his. "Really? Why do you say that?"
Jason gave her back her drink, knowing that she was okay with them exchanging her saliva when she drank it almost immediately. "Some things are uncontrollable. Sometimes, people just enter your life. And you guys…" As he said this, he locked hands with her, squeezing her hand as he continued speaking, "...click into place. It's not really something we can control. It just happens. You've felt that before, right?"
Her eyes were dazed by this point, but she listened to him and nodded, saying, "Yeah, I've felt it before…"
Of course, you have. And you're feeling it now too by association. It's already too late for you, Isabella.