An Unusual Courtship, Chapter 4

Copyright by Mael DelaVara


Chapter 4


On Saturday morning, Audrey opened her front door to be greeted, at eye-level, by an enormous bouquet of roses. Hiding behind the flowers was Michael.

"Please come in," she said to the bouquet.

Michael had dithered all week over what to bring Audrey. He found her both desirable and comforting, yet something about her quiet air of authority raised in him long-buried feelings of shame and guilt. Yes, he had a secret fantasy life that centered on spanking, and he would definitely enjoy a playful warming of his bottom as a prelude to something more intimate. But that's not what Audrey wanted. Certainly not the intimate part, at least until marriage. And the spanking she intended did not promise to be pleasurable. Even so, he rationalized, his self-gratification during the week did not really violate Audrey's prohibition. After all, he never fantasized about her while playing with himself. He could never do that and then look her in the eyes later. Indeed, he never created images of any real person during those languid moments of self-indulgence. The fantasies accompanying his busy hand were just that--fantasies, nothing more. And so he bought the biggest bunch of flowers he could find.

"What have you done?" Audrey said sharply as she jammed the roses into a vase empty of water.

She felt constricted. At home over the weekend she relished the loose comfort of fleece and flannel, but in anticipation of Michel's visit--and she just knew he would come after all--she had dressed with the formality befitting a chamber music recital. Black patent leather shoes raised her height and made her back stiff as a ramrod. Thick brown stockings concealed the graceful turn of her ankles. Her black skirt, tight-fitting and calf-length, forced her to move with a slight hobble. Her belt, wide as a cummerbund, shielded her loins and belly from prying eyes, while giving prominence to the pleasingly full breasts nestled behind a starched white blouse. The outfit was completed by a heavy, chain-like necklace, all the more prominent because her hair was coiled away from her neck into a well-fastened bun.

"I said, What did you do?" repeated Audrey, as she inched her way into the living room and sat right in the center of the couch. Michael followed, and then stopped, uncertain as to where he should sit. Audrey gestured toward an armchair on her right.

Tightly wound, Audrey snapped, "So you're going to tell me that even though you've masturbated every day, probably since you were a boy, you stopped this past week."
Michael was stunned at the absence of any small talk. He anticipated they would eventually get around to discussing his private hobby, but he thought the topic would arise much later in the morning's conversation, and by then he figured he could finesse the issue.

"Well, no," Michael began, and then, correcting himself, he continued, "It wasn't really masturbation."

Audrey felt her back stiffen, and with fiery eyes and raised voice she turned to Michael and snarled, "Don't you lie to me. Never lie to me. Do you understand?"

"Yes, Mmmm." Michael found his lips pressed together ready to say "Ma'am", but realizing how foolish that would sound he mumbled Audrey's name.

"So, did you masturbate this week?" Audrey was relentless.

"Yes." Michael's reply was barely audible.

"Speak up," demanded Audrey.

For the first time, Michael felt anger toward the woman he loved. She was forcing him to say out loud--to name, to acknowledge, to own--the very habit that gave him so much pleasure but that also brought him a secret shame.

Checking himself, he said, quietly and clearly, "Yes, I masturbated."

Audrey felt her breathing relax and her posture droop. She inclined toward Michael as if she were a priest hearing confession.

"I will help you," she said kindly. "I will help you become a better man. And that would be good for us."

Michael glanced up at the word 'us'. He like the sound of it. Then finding Audrey's intense gaze too much to take, he sought out the rug as a restful object for his eyes.

"But you have to want this," continued Audrey. "You have to open up, to accept the guidance I am offering you. You are free to leave at any time, but as long as you are with me, I expect you to obey."

"I don't want to leave," Michael ventured.

Audrey bit her lower lip. She would have preferred a more affirmative response, an express wish to stay. But these were early days, she reassured herself.

With a tightened jaw she asked, "What did I say would happen if you masturbated?"

Michael surprised himself by meeting Audrey's eyes as he replied, "You said I'd get a spanking."

Once again Audrey was disappointed. She had hoped for a less impersonal response. In fact, she wanted Michael to make explicit that she, yes she alone, would administer the punishment. O why didn't he say, "You said you'd spank me"?

Michael looked at Audrey with puzzled anticipation.

"Come over here," she said, tapping her right knee with her index finger.

Michael got up out of his armchair with the graceless lurch of a man more than twice his age.

"Stand there," commanded Audrey, and Michael tingled as her right knee brushed against his left leg.

Audrey noticed her hands were clammy and trembling as she reached for the buckle on Michael's belt.