She didn’t want to hurt Bertie. But it was coming to the point where that pain would be inevitable. Two years, Rachel remembered. It had been two years since they finished couples’ counseling, two years since their therapist of all people had introduced them to a community of kinky people like themselves. Since then, Rachel had seen more red or marked butts – her own included! – than she’d ever thought she’d lay eyes on....

Bertie had been called a number of unpleasant things in his life. An ex-girlfriend had called him spineless years ago. An employee he’d fired for drinking on the job had said he was a narc, and his own mother in a moment of frustration years ago had called him an ungrateful child. But, having his own girlfriend refer to him as a ‘tight-ass’? That particularly hurt. Less than an hour before, in a rare moment of serendipity...

The moment that she opened her door to Jeff, with a guilty Leanne lingering behind him, Rachel was able to piece together what had happened. “You told him?” Two weeks ago (Two and a half now), Rachel had found a used cigarette carton that Leanne had previously hidden from her Daddy in her sister’s room. Knowing that Jeff would spank her if he found out, Leanne had sworn her to secrecy in exchange for taking her punishment...

The gray hairs had been the first sign. They’d started to sprout after Rachel stopped dyeing her hair, the occasional silver streak running through her short, dark locks. It had been endearing at first – Rachel had always appeared younger than her years, almost ethereal, and that first reminder of her years made her somehow more real. There were other signs as well – loose skin and wrinkles where he hadn’t noticed them be...

After seeing her sister’s apartment, Rachel decided that she owed her boyfriend an apology. Much as Bertie’s hyper-punctual housecleaning schedule could irritate her, it had never occurred to her that his efforts could be keeping something like that from happening. “So,” Leanne mumbled, “where do you want to start?” Even for a studio the apartment was small, and it was clear that their parents had set Leanne up with a mis...

“What have I gotten myself into?” wondered Jeff to nobody in particular. He’d put up the online ad on a lark, after a few beers and a tough-love pep talk from his buddy Carl after he’d spent another boys’ night complaining about how he’d never find anybody else like Mika, not at his age. Carl had grabbed him by the shoulder and said, “Frobie, you were luckier than any old fuck like us has the right to be. Not because you...

Have you been a good girl? Leanne refreshed the webpage, half-expecting the listing to vanish as if it never existed, either a trick of her mind or a victim of the public library’s ‘adult content’ firewall. But it returned, same as before, and she dug herself a little further into her cubicle. To answer the question – no, no she hadn’t been a good girl, not by any stretch of the imagination. Even the few friends she had l...

Rachel had been quiet the entire ride home from Jeff’s place. Bertie wasn’t sure how to break the silence – what do you say to someone who’s just watched their grown sister take a bare-bottom spanking? He’d had maybe twenty minutes to decide how to play this conversation, but all of his options had been dependent on reading Rachel’s expression when she returned. And she was… inscrutable, maybe dealing with some conflictin...

Rachel didn’t want to admit it – and it would have come as a terrible disappointment to her boyfriend – but she didn’t really want to go to dinner at Jeff’s house. Bertie had been insisting on this visit for months, telling her how despondent Jeff had sounded since his much younger girlfriend (Read: sugar baby) had broken up with him the summer before. And while Rachel had enjoyed Mika’s company while it had lasted, she’d...

Lacey was uncomfortable. The dress she’d rented for the party felt alien against her skin, and static cling drew the material to her scrawny legs every time she moved. The faculty chair’s lavish house reminded her with every step of her less-than-impressive financial situation. But perhaps the most uncomfortable element was just how well Rae had adjusted to being the centre of attention. Nine months had now passed since L...

Upon reflection, Bertram decided that his Scott Pilgrim Versus the World poster had to come down. He was proud of how he’d gotten it for free, and no doubt it added a splash of colour to his drab dorm room wall – but the awkward truth was that he hadn’t actually seen the movie while it was in theatres, and he suspected that Tessa would likely judge him for that. He’d met her in his Early Twentieth Century Literature cours...

Prince Charming was waiting at the door when Lacey got home from work. Then again, the lazy fucker didn’t often go anywhere else. “Good afternoon to you too,” she cooed as he pawed lustily at her calves. She’d had him neutered too late, and certain habits had never gone away. Jodelle, her ex, had warned her about picking up strays. Prince mewed softly, having seemingly lost interest in his typical molestation. Lacey glanc...

Bertie awoke to the smell of fresh coffee. Ignoring the early hour and his own internal screaming to stay in bed, he pushed the covers aside and followed the sweet smell wafting out of the apartment kitchen. He was surprised to find Rachel there, in the dim light from the coffeemaker - still in the clothes she’d worn yesterday, her eyes sunken and lined. She jumped a bit in her chair when she saw him coming, having clearl...

Rachel, please see me in the studio. H. Rachel felt a chill that had nothing to do with the cold inside the radio station garage. She didn’t have to the check the number to see that the message had come from Mr. Hardecker, the station manager. But why would be texting her when she was supposed to be leaving with the street team? She waved to Stephen, the husky Baltic kid trying to start up the broadcasting van. “Sorry, th...

In the dream, he stood in a house. Not an apartment as he lived in now, a man of thirty-five, but a house like the one in which he’d grown up. The floor strong hardwood that creaked in the night as if haunted, doors and stairways going up and down so many ways that a boy could get lost, and a great roaring fireplace in the den for the family to gather for Christmas eve. It struck him as too large – surely the ceilings had...