How do I get my girlfriend to knock off this annoying habit?

I like to think that I’m a pretty chill guy. I’m not often annoyed, and when I am, I usually keep it to myself and let it slide. But my girlfriend has this one habit that she just won’t grow out of, no matter how many times I’ve asked her to stop.<br><br>It’s really not a big deal on paper. She just sleeps with her feet in my hands every night. Yeah, that’s it. We’re both lying on our stomachs, and she’ll rest her feet on my chest, with her toes wiggling in my palms. The first time it happened, I thought she was just being a little weird, but when I asked her what she was doing, she said it was her favorite thing in the world.<br><br>I have to admit, it was a little romantic at first. And when we were still together in the early stages, I didn’t mind it that much. But now that we’re living together, it’s just become so annoying.<br><br>Don’t get me wrong, it’s not like I don’t like her feet. They’re very nice, actually. Not too big or too small, and she takes good care of them. It’s just that, well, the way she does it is very frustrating.<br><br>Every single night, she’ll wait until I’m asleep. I know this because I’m a light sleeper, and I always wake up when she puts her feet on my chest. Then, she’ll put her toes inside my palms and close my fingers around them. It’s a very specific gesture, by the way. She always does it the same way. She’ll gently put my fingers around her toes, and then she’ll wiggle her feet a little bit until she knows my fingers are closed around them.<br><br>Once that’s done, she’ll close her eyes and fall asleep. She sleeps like a rock every time, by the way. She’ll never wake up, no matter what. <br><br>But the thing is, I can never go back to sleep after that. I don’t know why she always waits for me to fall asleep first, but I have a feeling it’s so that she can do her little ritual without me noticing.<br><br>It’s so, so frustrating. The first time it happened, I tried to go back to sleep, but I ended up staying awake for the whole night. And in the morning, I confronted her about it. She denied it, of course. She said that she never touched my hands, and that she never remembers doing anything with my palms when she’s sleeping.<br><br>I let it go the first time, but when the second time rolled around, I decided to set a trap for her. <br><br>I waited for her to fall asleep first, and when she did, I pretended to be asleep as well. I closed my eyes and kept very, very still.<br><br>I didn’t have to wait very long. After about thirty minutes or so, I felt her toes wiggling around my palms, and her fingers closing my fingers around them. I caught her red-handed, and the moment she was done, I opened my eyes and looked at her straight in the face.<br><br>But when I did, I saw that she was fast asleep. Her eyes were closed, and she was snoring very, very lightly.<br><br>I couldn’t believe it. I had caught her in the act, but she was still denying it. She insisted that she was asleep the whole time, and that she never touched my hands at all. But how could she have, when she was clearly asleep?<br><br>I let it go again, thinking that maybe I was just imagining things. But the third time it happened, I decided that I’d had enough.<br><br>When I felt her toes wiggling around, I squeezed them. Not too hard, but hard enough to wake her up. It worked, and she jolted upright in bed, looking very, very frightened.<br><br>I looked into her eyes, and I saw something there that I’d never seen before. Something that I couldn’t quite describe. But it was a little scary, to be honest.<br><br>Then, she smiled at me, and told me that she loved me very, very much. I said that I loved her too, and she leaned forward to kiss me.<br><br>The rest of the night went well. We talked and talked, and she was very, very nice to me. But in the end, she still wouldn’t let me go to sleep.<br><br>Because the moment I closed my eyes, she put her feet on my chest, and closed my fingers around her toes. I tried to struggle. I tried to push her feet away and go to sleep on my own, but she held my wrists in place and begged me not to.<br><br>In the end, I gave in. I had no choice. I was already very, very tired, and I knew that I couldn’t win this fight. So I let her do what she wanted, and eventually fell asleep with her toes in my hands.<br><br>That was about a year ago. We’re still living together, and she still insists on doing that ritual every night. But I’ve learned to live with it. She’s still a very nice girlfriend, and she still tells me every day that she loves me.<br><br>And if she wants to put her feet in my hands every night, then so be it. I’ll do it for her, because that’s what boyfriends are for.<br><br>But I do wish she’d knock it off.