"You will do that for me, right, Potato?"

"My name is T-Terry..."

"Terry-fied." Silence envelops the room. The longer the silence stretches, the more ragged his breathing becomes, until he's hyperventilating. I can't help it; I live for these moments. "Do that for me, and I'll find a way to reward you."

"Y-you always say that!" he complains. "But I never get an-anything!"

I give him a slow eye-roll. I stretch the moment, milking every last second of his fear. "Maybe I will if you do it one more time?"

"Why should I?" he counters, trying to stand up to me. As if he can.

"Because you want a reward, of course." He flinches a little. I know him too well. I turn my voice into a soft purr. "You do want a reward, don't you, Terry?"

He bites his lip as he looks at my body. I won. Again.

"Okay, I'm in." He frowns, as usual. "But it will be the last time if I don't get my reward."

I can't count on my hands the many times he's said that line.