“Don’t thank me yet.”
“Oh shit.”
“Don’t say that yet either.” I pull my laptop from my bag and open it in his lap.
“What’s this?”
“Well, this is my laptop.”
“Uh huh.”
I click a few buttons and pull up the page. “And this is your new website.”
“What?”
“Okay, don’t panic, it’s nothing I can’t undo,” I explain quickly. “Before you get mad, I got all the stuff off your drive, organized your music a little bit for both your app and the new site so you can globally start marketing whenever you feel comfortable. I also had a friend design your logo, and we can change the name if you don’t like it, but I started a social page on every single platform including the two most used for this kind of application.”
Theo’s eyes roam the page as I try my best to weigh his expression.
“Okay, so when you’re ready, all you have to do is click here.” I show him where to publish the page. “And then post on the social platforms I set up in the folder, here, at your leisure. Some social presence is better than none, and I can run your pages for you, uploading samples of the music if you want. I figure you can double, if not triple your income by expanding your market overseas. If Honda is using your music here, Honda can use it elsewhere. I’ve drafted up an international rights license, and it’s in this folder here. I also gathered a price list from other apps and created a comparable table.”
Theo’s silence terrifies me as he fingers the keypad and scrolls through the online library. “So, everything available here is available on your app but disappears from the site when purchased.”
“Jesus, Laney.”
“If you’re mad, I can change everything back lickety-split. Seriously, I won’t be upset.”
He turns to me with such…pride in his eyes that mine water.
“You like it then?”
He grips my face in his hands and presses the gentlest of kisses to my lips. “This is incredible.”
“You really like it?” I ask, searching his eyes.
“It’s fucking incredible. You’re incredible. I love it. I haven’t had time to do this. H-h-ow have you?”
“I’ve been working on it for a while.”
“How long?”
“A while. I bled a little for your present too,” I wrinkle my nose before he takes my mouth and delivers an intoxicating kiss. When he pulls away, we just stare.
“I may need to rethink my gift.”
“Don’t be silly. I want what you thought I’d want.”
He shakes his head and kisses me again. The look he’s giving me is more than enough. Theo disappears briefly retrieving my gift from under the tree and hauling a beautifully wrapped box into my room. It’s slender and stands about five-foot tall, and I can’t for the life of me guess what’s in it. I rip at the paper anxiously and step back when I’ve done enough damage to see what it is. Heart alight, I’m at a loss for words.
“It’s the best two-sleeper tent out there. It’s supposed to be so comfortable it’ll seem more like glamping.”
“Let’s do it,” I blurt, my eyes shining.
He nods toward the window. “Weather isn’t really up to par
.”
“No, in here. Let’s set it up right now!” I rip at the top of the box excitedly pulling the smelly new vinyl out as Theo chuckles. “Alright then, let’s do it.”