I began by taking a marker pen and writing 'Terms & Conditions' in the most beautiful cursive I could manage. I do not know why I was suddenly compelled to show off my calligraphy skills like a peacock boasting its colourful feathers, but whatever the reason was, it did not keep me motivated for long enough, since it took me five minutes just to write the heading.

We would find ourselves sitting there the entire day if I went with that speed.

Abandoning the previous style, I wrote more casually with the pen when I started jotting down the points that I believed were more than reasonable for the both of us.

The entire conversation about the rom-com he had pulled up, and its plot, swirled around in my head, and as a result, I ended up making the first point about intimacy, just like it had happened in 'To All The Boys I Have Loved Before'.

In the movie, Lara Jean had made #Rule 1- No kissing.

That rule had to be tweaked.

My sisters had seen me kiss men that weren't even half as attractive as Lucifer because I was an openly affectionate person in general. If they saw Lucifer at my side and I kept my hands to myself the entire time, they would know something was up. I happened to know my sisters well enough to also know that they would not approach me about their query and quench their curiosity by holding Lucifer hostage instead.

That was the last thing that I needed.

However, another thing I did not need was getting far too entangled in the devil's web. He was the father of all sinners, after all. If I did not draw physical boundaries, he most certainly wasn't going to draw any by himself.

Then I would get attached, and scare him off.

It was sad how predictable my love life had become.

I finally decided that we would keep the physical contact between us to the absolute necessary levels only. A small peck on the lips every other hour or so, ought to do the trick.

We could hold hands, or he could hold me by the waist, but that was it.

I couldn't risk anything more with the Devil.

It wasn't that I was perverse to men. On the contrary, I was quite fond of them. I could see myself settling down, just like Paris, eventually. This 'bring-a-date-to-my-wedding' thing just put an unnecessary deadline that made my competitive nature clash violently with my social anxiety.

I needed to show my sisters that I could step up to their challenge, but I was also entirely too aware of the fact that I would not be able to keep this test a secret from any guy I could approach.

It wasn't as if I hadn't tried going on all these blind dates, and seeing if one of them could work out. Paris had even managed to convince one of Oliver's groomsmen to take me out to a fancy restaurant.

I had been incredibly nervous, and had accidentally dropped the lip-gloss that I had been fidgeting with, hoping to calm my nerves. Being the ever chivalrous date that Percy had been, he had bent down to retrieve it for me. Unfortunately for the both of us, I hadn't gotten the memo that he wanted to help me, and had bent at the same time as him. We had butted our heads too hard, which had made both of us stumble.

I had tried to regain my balance by taking support of a structure that I later realised was a long ornamental candelabra and not a wall. It had not, quite obviously, been strong enough to support my weight, and had slipped and fallen right at the hem of the curtains. (Honestly, if anyone had to be blamed for the massive fire that followed, it should have been the interior designer who put the candelabra right near a curtain of lace)

If you were thinking that was where my embarrassing escapade ended, you were sorely mistaken.

Percy, too, had stumbled away, in the direction opposite mine, and clashed with a waiter who had been in the middle of opening a bottle of champagne. The push from Percy made the waiter spill the sparkling water all over a distinguished looking gentleman, who, lo-behold, had turned out to be Percy's boss.

When Percy had finally come back to me after profusely apologising to his boss for half an hour straight, after being evacuated from a restaurant on fire, I had timidly asked him if he wanted to try giving me another shot by being my date to Paris and Oliver's wedding.

He had collapsed from the smoke inhalation before he could give me the resounding 'no' that I had mentally been preparing myself for.

After this disaster, summoning a demon had seemed less embarrassing.

While I quickly added a few more rules at the top of my head, Lucifer resumed his Netflix search for a show or a film worthy of his time and attention.

When I cleared my throat to let him know that I had finished making the first rough draft, he threw the remote back on the couch. With one swift leap, he managed to cross over the coffee table and seat himself right beside me.

I had to look away while he skimmed through my small DIY contract.

The muscles on his forearm had become pronounced when he had balanced on his right hand to pivot himself around it and fall in line with me on the floor.

Hand veins were one of my weaknesses.

And his hands were a thing of beauty. They were magnificently carved, and looked incredibly strong and steady.

What else can those hands do? I had to wonder.

I pushed away that thought as soon as it occurred to me.

We hadn't even agreed on all those terms and I was already reduced to a maniac state, close to shredding the rules and adding sexual pleasures at the top of the list, instead.

I needed Lucifer to agree to the terms for anytime that I might fall weak.

I let him go through the list, silently observing him.

"I heartily agree with the last one," He replied, frowning.

Even an expression like a frown did not make him look weird or bad, in any sense of the manner.

He looked good no matter what face he made.

Focus, Sydney!

"You have a problem with these rules?"

He looked at me and scrunched his eyebrows, "Are you sure these are the rules you want to abide by?"

I nodded my head vehemently. They were certainly a work in progress, but it was a good start. It would help in keeping us focused.

"Well," he sighed, "I am fine with these, then. Just to clarify, however, I do not do any demon voodoo magic, whatever that is. We are not wearing matching outfits because we do not work in a circus, and I really do want to know what exactly 'convincing Sydney to join the dark side' entails? If you think I go around convincing people to turn into a demon, then I'm afraid that isn't the case. Demons are born, not made. At least the supernatural kind are."

I still did not believe that he did not do any demon voodoo magic, but I let that slide since I did not have any concrete proof against him except for a hunch in my head.

I did not want him to bonk me over on my head to get rid of that.

I did, however, decided to address the bit that I could, "I meant you must not entice me to sin or commit a crime. Don't be a bad influence on me."

He rolled his eyes at me, "Darling, I am never the bad influence on anyone. Do you see any spirits of the damned or demonic entities walking around? I do my job extremely well, and abide strictly to the celestial laws. If anything, I am the best kind of influence one can have."

It was my turn to cock my head to a side and raise my eyebrow, the signature move that Lucifer had already done multiple times since I had summoned him.

He scoffed, "Bit of an overkill, huh?"

"You think?"

He decided to ignore me, and made a beeline for the pen that I had kept away. He went to sign right under my own signature, but I only felt a feeling of unease.

Lucifer hadn't mentioned the first term at all. It was one thing to be told that I was the most convenient and easily available woman to take to Lilith's wedding in Hell, but it was an entirely new realm of disappointing when he did not even acknowledge that I had put such restrictions on us.

It was as if he could not care less either way, as long as his requirements were being met.

The sour taste in my mouth lingered even after he signed and capped the pen, returning it to its stand.

He turned to look at me, and gave me a mischievous smirk.

Maybe I had assumed things about him a bit too early.

"We need to make the contract binding by celestial rules," He added each word with a growing amount of anticipation and relish, making me increasingly worried about where he was headed with this.

"Seal it with a kiss."