Late. Yes, I was late. Charles, my boss and friend had graciously given me a job at his bookstore with only one condition, don't be late. But he was currently in the back so hopefully he wouldn't notice. I felt terrible. It was the first time I was late, so maybe he wouldn't say anything. I tossed my purse under the counter and quickly opened the store.
About five minutes later, Charles walked out of the back room, a scowl marking his features. He knew. Thankfully, I was waiting with a steamy cup of coffee. I was holding it up like it was the holy grail and I had a huge smile on my face. He didn't say anything, just took the cup, gave me a pointed look and walked to the front counter.
His mood improved over the day and by the time I left for my shift at my other job he was smiling. The next day I made sure that I was on time. I did well about not being late, but about a week later, I really started slacking off and there were a couple days that I was about fifteen minutes late. The first two times it was because of traffic, but the third I was an idiot and didn't pay attention to the time. For some reason I felt the need to spend some extra time on my appearance. I was wearing a pretty simple pink sundress, but underneath I was wearing a white bustier along with a matching white thong. I do love my fancy underwear.
I didn't even get a chance to sneak around him. No chance to bribe him with coffee. Charles grabbed hold of my arm, dragging me to the back room. He didn't even bother with opening the store, he just slammed the door behind us, shoving me against the back wall. "I fucking told you not to be late!"
"I'm sorry," I whimpered. I felt like his hand was going to leave a bruise on my arm.
"I should fire you, Dot! This is the third time! In a week!" Charles shouted, finally releasing my arm.
"No, no, no, no, Charles! I'm sorry! I'm so sorry! It won't happen again," I pleaded, "Please don't fire me, I'll do anything. Punish me anyway you see fit, just don't fire me!" With my words Charles had paused, looking intently at me. I couldn't figure out what he was thinking, and I was so worried. He yanked on my shoulders, pulling me toward him. His nose was practically touching mine now.
"This is a fucking business! I have to have reliable employees. Did I make a mistake by hiring you?" I stared at him with wide eyes, scared to say anything. I had never seen Charles this angry. Normally he just got a little irritated, then got over it. He never raised his voice.
"Answer me," he said menacingly. I jumped a little at his soft spoken words.
"No, I'll be on time from now on. I promise," I said meekly. I could feel tears starting to prick my eyes. I wasn't used to my friends yelling at me. I guess the difference was that Charles was not only my friend but my boss too. My lower lip quivered a little and I tried to turn away before he could see it, but he caught my chin keeping me facing him.
He was staring intently at my lower lip. He was very serious, and he still looked angry, but his thumb trailed tenderly across my trembling lip.
"Charles?" I questioned as I was finally able to quell my urge to cry.
"Shut up," he said quietly. I didn't say anything else, trying to figure out what he was thinking. I could feel my brow begin to furrow after a couple moments of silence. Charles's face was still formed into a scowl, while his thumb stroked across my lip. It was like he was in a trance and I couldn't help but stare up into his eyes, which were still trained on my lips.
He began leaning forward, his lips almost grazing mine. He continued to stroke across my lip and his other hand buried itself in my hair, gripping at the base of my skull, yanking my head back. I stared up at him, lips parted. I was panting a little bit now, seeing the look in his eyes. Charles looked like he wanted to devour me. Angrily devour me, but nonetheless devour me, and I wanted him to. He gripped my chin, his thumb pressing a little harder than normal.
Charles was no longer looking at my lips but intensely into my eyes, gauging my reaction as his tongue licked across my bottom lip. I could feel myself gasp. I was so surprised by his action that I wasn't paying attention to what was happening again. His teeth sank into my lip, pulling at it. I couldn't take it anymore, lifting my hands up to bury them in his hair. Charles apparently didn't like that because he quickly grabbed me by the wrists and pulled my hands away from him.
I was very confused by now, not understanding why he wouldn't let me touch him after what he just did. He was glaring down at me like I had just done something rather offensive. I'm sure my confusion was showing on my face.
"I'm still fucking pissed at you," Charles stated, his voice quiet.
"Then why...?"
"Don't say anything. I'm trying to figure out how I want to punish you."
"Punish?!" I asked in a shocked voice. What the hell was he talking about? Charles pressed his index finger onto my lips, forcing my silence. He was smirking like he was having a private joke.