What He Hoped For

Bill eased his car forward until the tennis ball hanging from the length of twine touched the windshield, then he shoved the shifter into park and turned the engine of his Jeep Cherokee off. He punched the controller on the visor and the garage door slowly closed behind him, leaving the outside world behind. It was good to be home in his safe and sane refuge. If only it was not such a very boring refuge. Well, at least here he could relax his mind and allow the need for complete and logical control to drift and meander to the background, to perhaps be just a little bit submissive. Carol's min-van was parked in the far stall, and he sighed as hope reared its' nasty little head. She was home early. Maybe dinner would be done early. Maybe there would not be several hours of teacher reviews or endless e-mails for her to answer. Maybe they could have some quiet time in the bedroom tonight. Or better yet, maybe they could have some not so quiet time in the bedroom tonight; possibly some harsh and exciting time.

Would she want to start as usual by warming his ass with the long wooden paddle he had made for her?

That was not his favorite part of the game, but that was where it usually had to start. In fact it was his least favorite part of the game, but at least it sometimes got her going in other ways. Sometimes it seemed to be the only part she really enjoyed, the only thing that really got her interested in anything else. Maybe she would be up for some other games too. It did not happen very often, but maybe it would happen tonight. He knew that she knew that he was hoping.

He trudged in through the mudroom, turning left into his small home office and quickly docked his laptop. Would there be distractions from work tonight? The factory had been running very smoothly recently. Inventory Control cycle count measures were above ninety-nine percent. Production Control had a total on-time completion measure above ninety-eight percent. On-time deliveries were above ninety-nine percent, and Distribution Center Can't Fills were less than five percent. All of those things gave him a comfortable warmth and peace deep inside. Enough to really let himself experience his deep submissive side without reservation.

If only Carol would find the time and energy to be more dominant with him. She could do a whole lot more of a whole lot of things to him if only she would. Was he ever going to be able to tell her about his fantasies?

Probably not. He had tried several times to start those talks, but they had not gone well. The truth was that he was a little afraid of her.

Bill sighed deeply. The problem, of course, was that she really was not interested in anything sexual with him anymore. Menopause had left her with only a faint resemblance of her younger libido, and it had never been all that great to begin with. She acted like she would be happier if he had no desire or expectation for her.

He loved to lick her pussy, for instance, but to his continual amazement she really had never been that fond of it. She seemed to enjoy long wet kisses, but she really did not like for him to get sexually excited from it. And she certainly did not like the smell of "muffymouth" on him. She felt like edging him was too much work, so that did not happen much. And of course he loved for Carol to tie him up and use feathers, ice cubes, clamps, and spike rollers on him, but those episodes were rather few and far between. And he really wished she got some enjoyment out of those times it did happen rather than acting like she was doing him a favor.

Of course that was the fact of their relationship. Indeed anything she gave him was her doing him a favor. Everything about their sex life was Carol doing Bill a favor. It sure would be nice if he had a mistress who really enjoyed using him. It sure would be nice if just some of his fantasies came true just a little bit. Would he ever really be brave enough to ask her to explore the idea of her dating another man in hopes of discovering her own deep sexuality? Did he really have the courage to be cuckolded just a little bit? What was the point? Those notions would have to just remain his private fantasies. He trudged into the kitchen, hoping on hope that there was a bottle of wine already open in the refrigerator. It was always easier to get away with a second or third glass if she already had a bottle open. "Bill," Carol called from the family room, "I'm glad you're home...come in here please." His heart jumped with excitement. Maybe he should walk in there naked. Maybe she would take the hint. Maybe that would lead to something exciting. Had he ever told her about those CFNM fantasies? Of course not. That would not have gone well. He stuck his head through the doorway to the family room.

Oh crap. She was not alone.

Thank goodness he was not naked. That would not have been good. Doris, from across the street, was sitting on the couch. Doris was a grade school teacher at the same school where Carol was the assistant principal. There was a younger couple sitting on the couch with her; probably grade school teachers as well. They would probably be visiting for hours about some crucial ADHD study or something. So much for his time. So much for any sexual release or excitement. He was really going to need that wine now. He nodded to Doris, then the young man, then the young woman. "Dan...Susan...this is my husband Bill." Carols voice was like spring song of some damned cheerful bird. "Bill, honey...this is Dan and Susan."

"Dan...Susan." He intoned as he stepped forward and shook hands with each of them, studying them quickly as he tended to do with people he just met.

Dan was muscular in the neck and shoulders, short dirty blond hair; a football player or wrestler or both. He did not stand up, which was rather an affront that Bill did not approve of. He looked like he was about six feet tall, and was probably a little older than the young woman sitting next to him. Their eyes only met for a moment, but he obviously did not consider Bill much of a physical specimen and Bill immediately did not approve of him because the young man did not show the respect he should have.

Susan was a mid-twenty dark haired beauty with penetrating blue eyes that seemed to appraise him and capture his imagination. Or was that only wishful thinking? She had light olive skin. Her face was a bit round. Her nose was perfect. Her arms were muscular and she was well built. She had average breasts. She was maybe a little wide in the butt, but it was hard to tell when she was sitting down. "Hello Doris." He smiled mechanically. "Hello Bill."

Her sour smile was a cross between jackal's scowl and a satisfied Cheshire cat grin. He never did like her. "Dan and Susan are student teaching at our school this year," Carol explained. "They both will graduate from the university next spring. Susan is Doris' niece."

"That's nice...very happy for you...I hear it's a great school. Well...nice to meet you both."

He turned to make a hasty retreat, but Carol was not having any of that. Her eyebrows shot up and she gestured with a sideways jerk of her head. Obviously there was something else she wanted him for.

"Dan and Susan have been offered positions next fall at the middle school," she added, "and they are trying to save enough money to pay off their student loans."

"I see," Bill answered. He did not really see, of course. Where in the heck was this going? Did they want to borrow money? With both of their kids in college, it was not as though he and Carol had a lot of extra cash.

"So since the kids are both off to school, and we have plenty of the extra room, we have been discussing having them move in with us for the rest of the school year." Bill knew he looked like a deer just inches away from the front end of his Jeep Cherokee on an icy road in the middle of the night. He wanted to scream at his wife. They finally had just a little bit of privacy in their lives after the last twenty-two years with children in the house. Carol was always paranoid about the kids maybe hearing even a shadow of a sexual thought, and now she wanted to invite strangers into the midst. This was insane. "I guess we could talk about it," he heard himself say, trying to keep his voice as calm as possible. "Why don't they move in with Doris?"

"Our house is too small, " she replied, "and Tom really likes his privacy." "I like my privacy too...and our house is really only a little bit bigger than yours." Doris rolled her eyes, and Carol seemed to completely ignore him.

"It'll be fine," she said in a conspiratorial tone as though he was not even there. "You two kids can start moving tomorrow. I'll have you take Kerry's room across the hall from ours. That will leave Tim's room available for friends or for the kids whenever they come home from school."

"I think we need to talk about this Honey," Bill said in a voice that had lost most of its calm.

She shot him her best disgusted look.

"Why are you being this way? It's just for five or six months. Why are you embarrassing me like this?" "Because I'd like to talk about it. There are considerations you might not have taken into account."

"All right Bill," she snapped, "I've had enough. You have pushed me to the limit. You are going upstairs right now and standing in the corner until I come up to spank you."

Bill just stared at her for a moment. A flurry of emotions danced through him just then, some of them were delicious and some were mortifying. Their spanking scenarios usually started this way, with some slight variations. Some mistake on his part that she wished to punish him for. He loved the subdued mental state that came over him when she acted this way with him.

This was different, however. It was very confusing. She had never acted this way in front of others before. It was exciting, but it was also obvious that she was using their game to stifle his argument. He struggled to get control of his emotional state.

"That's pretty funny Carol," he said, "but I think this is..." "Now you're going without dinner." "But Honey..." "Do you want to be able to sit tomorrow?" she said in a seething snarl. "Right now you are going to have a very warm bottom. If you keep it up then your butt is going to be one red raw piece of flesh before I'm done with you. You know I can do it and I will. You've embarrassed me enough William. Now get upstairs."

Doris' grin was all the way across her face. Susan was considering him with what might have been faint contempt, and Dan was just short of laughing out loud in his face. Carol was livid, and the steel of her gaze had him captivated. Was he really living so close to one of his deep fantasies? He loved and hated what was happening to him mentally, but he was not sure what to do about it. He really resented the timing of what she was doing to him, but he was so conflicted that he did not know what to say. He had worked so long to get her to be more dominant with him that he was not sure what to do to keep from screwing it up. Was he going to risk it all by fighting with her? This was not the time or place anyway. He would enjoy the feeling and reason with her later. He turned and strolled out of the family room and made his way into his office, trying to get control of his nerves. His mind was in a haze. "I said upstairs," Carol yelled after him. "I have to check on the factory," he replied over his shoulder. "Okay...as long as it's for work...but just as soon as you're done in there, then you get upstairs and get ready for what's coming to you." He did not answer her. He let the mental pleasure of her dominance sweep through him. It was kind of fun to feel that hint of mental sub space. "Did you hear me?" she yelled. "I heard you," he replied in a loud voice. As satisfying as the sensation was at a deep level, however, his circumstance was also mortifying. He could hear Carol talking to her guests, and her words stunned him. Was she really being so completely disrespectful of him? The resentment was building up inside of him, sweeping the pleasure away. He needed to make sure that those college students did not end up moving into his house and life and destroying what meager sex life he already had.

"He would like me to spank him every day if I would," he heard her say. "Sometimes it's just like raising another child. I think he was just trying to show off for you kids, but he'll think better of it tonight after we have our episode."

He wanted to say something in response, but everything that came to mind seemed pathetic. Bill reached over and pushed the door to his office closed and locked it. He logged on and accessed the company codes for the factory and production control modules. His macho persona from the outside world was almost hoping there was some problem tonight that he would need to go back into work for. It would serve her right if he did not even come home tonight after embarrassing him that way in front of company.

He really did not appreciate the embarrassment she had caused him. He really hated how much the submissive side of him enjoyed it too, however. Damn! Everything at the plant seemed to be perfect. He had to admit this was the first time ever that was disappointing news. Maybe he should drive back into the city anyway and pretend there was a problem that needed his direction. The problem with that idea was that Carol knew the production control supervisors cell phone number. He would have to make up some story and make sure everyone at the factory would go along with it. There were just way too many complexities with that idea. Better to just sit in here and pretend that there was some problem that he needed to watch closely until the guests were gone. Then he would talk her out of this crazy idea of having that young couple move in with them. Fifteen minutes later there was a knock on his office door. Could he ignore it? "What?" he finally said. "Bill, this is Dan," the muffled voice said. "Carol said for you to open the door."

"I'm busy right now. There is a problem at work that needs my attention." "She said that if there was a real problem then you would have been on the phone before now." "I was on the cell phone." "Now that's not really true...is it Bill? Carol told me that your cell reception is not that reliable here. She said that you would be using the POTS line if it was important enough to be talking to anyone at work. She has been watching to see if you used the POTS line. Now open the door, Bill. " Who did he think he was talking to? This was an outrage. Bill felt that he should put a stop to all of this. This was his house. If he wanted to sit behind a locked door in his own office, then he would do just that. And so he just sat there, looking at the computer screen, feeling a little foolish. Now he was really hoping a problem that needed his attention would pop up on one of the screens. Why wasn't there at least a small problem? There was almost always something not as it should be...but tonight the whole factory seemed to be running perfectly. What were the odds? Suddenly there was rattling at the door. Someone was using a key to unlock it. He heard it click and he stood up and grabbed the doorknob, trying to keep the door closed. "Let go of the doorknob Bill," Dan's loud muffled voice said. "I'm a lot stronger than you and this going to be embarrassing." He was right. Bill had become soft over the years. He was fifty pounds overweight and out of shape. And he had never been as fit or strong as Dan looked. Bill had never even thought about playing football or wrestling or whatever decidedly physical endeavor Dan probably still did with some regularity. Bill released the doorknob and quickly scurried to sit back down at his desk. The door opened slowly and Dan stood looking at him with a fatherly grin. "There's no problem at the factory...is there Bill?" "I'm not sure yet," Bill replied, still scanning the data, hoping on hope that some insurmountable problem presented itself. There was nothing. Amazing. "We're wasting time Bill. We both know there's no problem. More importantly, Carol knows there's no problem. Right now she is still laughing about all this, but I can tell she's getting angry too. We need to get you upstairs and ready for her before she really gets mad. " Bill just sat there, staring at Dan. Had the young man's muscles gotten bigger? Hell, he looked like the Hulk. And he just stood there and waited. "I'm not going," Bill finally managed to muster. "Do you really want it to go down like this Bill? Carol has kindly agreed is letting Susan and I live here for free for the rest of the year. She asked me to take you upstairs and make sure you get ready. I don't want her mad at me on the first day. Come on...make this easy on yourself...and me." Bill heard the women chuckling in the other room. Were they laughing at him? He felt flush, almost giddy, like he had been drinking.

He wished he had been drinking. He remembered the wine that he was going to have, and he wished he had a full glass of it now. "This is my house too, you know?" He tried to sit taller in his chair. "I know it's your house Bill. You make the payments. You get to pay all the bills. You get to fix everything and be responsible for everything. But we both know that you don't get to decide this. I'm getting kind of embarrassed to be standing here like I'm trying to talk a first grader out of the bathroom. Now let's go." Again there was giggling from the other room, and Bill spine stiffened. "I'm staying here," he said, loud enough that all of the women could hear him in the other room. "Dagnabit," Dan grumbled, and quickly covered the distance between them. He grabbed Bill by the his arms and squeezed his biceps so hard that it felt like the pressure wraps the doctor used to check his all too often high blood pressure. "Ouch," Bill said as he teetered on his tip toes. "Let's just get this over with...please," Dan whispered into Bill's ear. "Okay," Bill instantly replied, dancing along being directed by Dan's firm grip. Again the women giggled in the other room. "Thank you Dan," Carol yelled from the family room. The women's combined laughter erupted this time. "Yes dear...you're welcome," Dan said as he and Bill turned the corner at the bottom of the stairs. Bill seemed to bound up the steps, with Dan's aid of course. Had this young man just called his wife Dear? This was too much. He needed to put his foot down. The problem was that he could not even put his tip-toes down. Dan released him at the doorway and sighed deeply. "Okay," he said, "please get in there so I can go back downstairs and join the conversation. They're talking about learning difficulties in ODS children...which seems rather appropriate right now by the way. I'm really interested in special education." "Then go," Bill said indignantly, "I'll be fine." Dan sighed deeply again. "She said I was supposed to make sure you get ready. Do you usually take your clothes off for your spanking?" Bill just stared at him. Did Dan really expect him to answer that? "Susan likes to take mine down for me. Do you have to take yours down for yourself?" Bill felt his mouth drop open. "Susan...? She spanks you...? Really?" "It's our little game," Dan whispered conspiratorially. "She has a dominant streak...and I let her have her way with me sometimes." "I see," Bill replied, though he did not really see, of course. He was shocked.

Did that pretty little girl really spank this hulk of a man? Did he really submit to it? "So will you get ready?" Dan persisted. "Well...yes. But you don't have to...you know..." Bill sauntered into the bedroom and kicked his shoes off into the closet, then slowly began working on the buttons of his shirt." "Tell you what," Dan said quietly, as if they were brothers in spirit, "you can go ahead and leave your panties on if it makes you feel better...just make sure to get them off before Carol comes up here and catches you." "They're not panties," Bill said indignantly, glancing back at him in the doorway. "Whatever," Dan said and took another deep breath as he followed him into the room. "Carol referred to them as your panties, and I'm not really interested in disagreeing with her. Do you have a spanking stool?" " Yes...it's in the corner...there. We only use it for special occasions, however."