“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 were dating a girl in her twenties, but because you met her by accident. There might be another young lady out there who needs a Daddy, but this time you’re going to have to find her.”

If he’d had a cooler head that night, he might have started the ad with something more neutral, like “Divorced male, 69, seeks female partner for domestic discipline role play. Age gap a plus”. But in a fog of inspiration and Moosehead, he instead came up with “Have you been a good girl?”

And then… he forgot about it. The post didn’t draw any immediate attention, and even though Jeff was retired, he was busy with other things. He had a couple of woodworking projects on the go, and though he was loath to admit it, his eyesight was fading and giving him some trouble with the fine details. That was all right, he’d always been able to get the job done as long as he had the right tool.

After a little online research, he found the tool. And she found the ad.

Looking back on it, he’d been an idiot. What had he expected – some dewy-eyed coed a quarter of his age? Instead he’d met up with a single mom in her thirties who barely grasped the fetish implications of his proposal.

He should call it off, he knew. He’d played it cool when he’d met her, but anyone with working eyes could see that the young woman came with serious baggage. Jeff wasn’t her father or her therapist, and he had no business trying to be. What Leanne needed…

…Wasn’t for him to decide.

She’d been the one to bring up the ad. She’d asked the right questions, and while she pointedly had no experience with domestic discipline, she wasn’t ignorant of what it meant, either. Maybe she felt that a spanking was what she needed.

And what of himself? Hadn’t he been searching for someone like Leanne, even if she didn’t look the part? As much as he’d loved Mika, she’d only ever been indulging a kink in playing his little girl. Leanne wanted to change, to grow, and she was looking for someone to hold her to task. Jeff could do that, he’d done it before, but it had been so long ago—

A terrible growling noise shocked him out of his thoughts, and he looked down to find his vacuum cleaner caught in the fringe of his rug. He still needed to finish cleaning the foyer before Leanne arrived. At this rate, he wasn’t going to have time to put a last coat of varnish on her ‘surprise’.

His doorbell rang.

He hadn’t expected to see her so soon – he’d assumed based on her appearance that she wasn’t punctual by nature, and had planned to use the extra time to prepare. Either he’d misjudged her… or she’d arrived deliberately early to make a good impression. He felt the pressure of expectation either way.

Jeff straightened his back and let the air flow to his chest. That improved his posture, but he cursed himself for not changing out of the threadbare Edgefest ’96 T-shirt he’d put on to do housework. He opened the door.

With her curly hair washed and tied back, Leanne looked nearly ten years younger. She’d dressed formally, in a blouse and jacket, despite the heat. A pleated skirt drew down just below her knee, exposing a handmade tattoo on her thigh that Jeff would have needed his glasses to read. Her ensemble looked like something she'd wear for a court date and – who knew? – maybe at one point she had.

“I hope I’m not too early?”

His distractions melted away. “Just in time, I think. Please come in.”

Her feet paused at the threshold, and Jeff watched as she took in her surroundings. It was a small house, to be sure, built to his specifications after his second divorce when he was sure he’d be spending the rest of his life alone. A long hallway crossed the distance between the bedroom on one side and the doorway to the garage on the other. But it was neither of these rooms that drew Leanne’s attention.

“Are you cooking dinner?” she asked, feeling the warm air from the kitchen.

“Just warming up the oven,” he answered with a smile. “I felt obligated since I was taking you out all this way.”

She nibbled on her lip, hesitating. “That’s really thoughtful, actually. But it’s going to be a while, right?”

“A little longer, anyhow. If you’re feeling peckish in the meantime, I have some sparkling waters in the fridge. We’ll save the matter that brings you here today until after supper, if that’s alright with you.”

“I… I don’t know if I’m good with that.”

He tried not to let his disappointment show. So she’d changed her mind, it had always been a possibility. He’d still get a good meal and some company for the evening.

“I understand.“

“That’s—that’s not what I meant. I mean, my stomach’s in knots right now, and I just…” She blushed. “Can we just do this now and get it over with? Please?”

He’d wanted to draw it out, give her time to get comfortable. He was going to have to change his approach with this one.

“That’s fine, Leanne. In fact, I think it’s very brave of you.” He gestured to the nearby living room. “Did you bring the photo I asked of you?”

“What photo?”

He gave her a hard stare. “I asked you to take a picture of your apartment since last week so that you could show me what you’d done in the way of cleaning. You have picked up since then, haven’t you?”

“I…” she stammered. “…I forgot.”

“To take the picture? Or did you forget to clean at all?”

“I did a little bit,” she mumbled, but she wouldn’t meet his eyes. “I just thought…”

“Yes?”

Her voice was barely more than a whisper. “I wasn’t sure you’d still spank me if I did.”

She wanted to earn her punishment. Jeff admired her honesty, but it wouldn’t save her bottom, and it didn’t appear that she wanted it to.

The living room was sparse, with only the few comforts that a retired man needed to be cozy. Leanne took in the plush recliner and accompanying side table, the only furniture in the room that she could see. He could almost hear her thoughts: Is this where he’s going to do it? How is that going to work?

“Leanne, could you open the linen closet, please?” He pointed.

Usually he’d store the vacuum cleaner in that space, but for this day he’d made a substitution. He’d been working on this particular project since before Mika had left, made from reclaimed driftwood and hours spent in the workshop in his garage. Even after the furniture polish, it still looked like something raw, something primal, and the carvings he’d made with the help of Leanne’s lamp only added to the image. She knew looking at it that this chair was for Bad Girls.

He heard her gulp from across the room.

“I’ll have you bring that to the center of the room if you please,” he continued nonchalantly. “Do you understand what’s going to happen now?”

Leanne deposited the chair where he’d indicated. Even being lightweight, it made a pronounced thud against the hardwood floor. Jeff sat down, grateful after all that that he hadn’t tried to varnish it before Leanne’s visit.

“You’re gonna… I'm going to get a spanking.”

“And why am I going to spank you, young lady?”

“Because I didn’t follow your instructions, and made up excuses instead of cleaning my room. And because I let it get so messy in the first place.”

“That’s right. Once we’re finished here, you’re going to go home and pick up your things. Clothes on hangars, not crammed into the foot of the bed, you understand.”

Leanne’s face looked hot enough to burn her eyebrows. “Do we have to do this?”

“Absolutely, my dear. This, what I’m telling you now – that’s the lesson. The next part is to ensure that you remember it.” He put his arms to his sides. “Now… over my knee.”

He was prepared for her to be hesitant. What he didn’t expect was for her to reach under her skirt for her panties.

“Leanne?”

“It’s going to be on the bare bottom, right? That’s how it works?”

“Young—“ he choked, but recovered. “Young lady, I will be the one to determine when and if you are undressed. Now, I intend for this to be a spanking you won’t soon forget, but if it comes to the point that you can’t take anymore I want you to use your mercy word.”

“Mercy?” Her voice was barely a squeak.

“Exactly.”

He grasped Leanne by the wrist, guiding her across his lap. She didn’t resist, more intrigued than frightened. Her skirt still covered her backside, and it was on that cover that Jeff brought down his hand.

The fabric muffled the noise, but there was no mistaking the reaction from Leanne. She jerked up at the sensation, a barely-audible “oop” slipping from her lips.

“Not what you were expecting?”

She stayed mum, and he continued, peppering the seat of her skirt with a series of brisk whacks. This being her first spanking, the feeling would be new for her, more intense. She wasn’t ready for the real thing, not yet.

“Is this having some effect, little girl?”

“No!”

“Come again?”

“Seriously? This is all you’ve got? This is bullshit.“

Jeff bit his tongue. He understood her imagination must have been building up this moment since they’d met on Tuesday, and she’d told him right off the bat that she was impatient and impulsive. She wanted the real thing, and she wanted it now.

Challenge accepted, then.

The hand that he’d lightly pressed against her back for balance now wrapped around her waist, holding her in place. He raised his hand above his shoulder this time, and let fly.

“Ah! Ah, ah…”

Confident that he had her attention, he gave her a few more, measured this time and hard. He could see by the way she crossed her ankles that this was no bullshit.

“How about this, young lady? Would you care to keep sassing me?”

“No! I’m sorry, okay?”

“You’re about to be a whole lot sorrier, I’m afraid.”

Grabbing a handful of taffeta, he yanked the skirt up to Leanne’s waist, exposing her pale, dimpled bottom. She yelped as his sudden movement bared her, but made to effort to stop him.

She was barely pink. Jeff had his work cut out for him. He swung again, leaving a satisfying red handprint across one flat cheek.

“Are you taking this seriously now?” He was starting to develop a rhythm now.

“Ow! Yes! Yes!”

“Good. Since this was your first time, I was planning to take it easy on you at first. Then you had to go and push my buttons, and here we are. Are you satisfied?”

“No! I mean yes!”

Her attitude had adjusted nicely, he decided as she moaned and kicked beneath him. But that wasn’t the point of this exercise. He caught sight of her phone where she’d left it on edge of the coffee table.

“Take it,” he ordered. “I want to see that picture of your apartment.”

If she thought that he was going to stop spanking her while she reached out for the nearby surface, she was wrong. It took her four tries before her fingers even found the case, and only quick reflexes saved it from falling to the floor.

 Once she had it under control, Jeff gave her a reprieve, folding his hands over the small of her back. She’d complied up until this time, after all, and that could very well change if something happened to the young lady’s phone.

“Have you found the photo?”

She sniffled and tried to hand him the phone, but he waved her off.

“Put it on the floor in front of you. Full screen.”

Slung over his knee, there had been little more to keep her attention than flooring and the edge of his foot. Well, that, he supposed, and the growing heat in her hindquarters, but as far as something to look at…

“You see that?”

“Yes…”

His palm caught her across the cheeks without warning. She howled, but it was cut off by the fusillade that Jeff unleashed in its wake.

“I want you to remember this every time you see your living space in this kind of disarray. I want you to remember the way your bottom feels right now. Can you do that?”

She whined loudly.

“Can you do that?”

“Yes, Daddy!”

The familiar name gave him pause. She hadn’t even been prompted to call him that.

Only then did he notice the splashes on her phone screen, the push of her diaphragm against his leg. He’d assumed with her antagonizing him that Leanne was too tough to break down – but even a tough girl could cry.

He helped her to her feet and held her weeping face against his shoulder, soaking his shirt. He didn’t see any bruises on her rear end, but that colour wouldn’t be fading anytime soon.

“I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.”

“I know. You think you can keep your apartment clean now?”

Leanne smiled through her tears. “I’ll certainly try.”

“You’d better. And I expect to see pictures.”

She sniffed. “Speaking of pictures…”

He didn’t understand what she wanted, and she laughed.

“I kind of want to see your handiwork.”

“Is that so? But we’re not done yet.”

Her eyes went wide.

“Don’t worry, your spanking is over. But I think something else is called for to deal with your procrastination. Over here, please. Hands behind you.”

He found a blank space at the corner of the living room wall and pointed.

“I want you to take your skirt up and your panties down, and press your nose against this spot while I prepare dinner. Thirty minutes should be enough, I think.”

“What am I supposed to do for thirty minutes?”

“Nothing at all, I suppose,” he mused. “Or, you could go back over my knee.”

She didn’t need any more convincing. Once he had dinner in the oven, he conceded to her request and took a handful of photos of her cooling bare bottom for ‘posterity’. She had to leave her pose twice to help him figure out the camera, but he graciously decided not to count that against her corner time.

“Is it like that every time?” she asked later, between mouthfuls of baked cod.

Jeff shrugged. “If it needs to be. I’m not a sadist, Leanne, and I promise I’m not going to punish you for anything you don’t think you need to be punished for. But the list you’ve given me… it’s ambitious.”

“Is it too much?”

“You tell me,” he replied candidly. “The effort to change your habits has still got to come from you. All I’m doing is providing accountability and encouragement.”

Leanne raised her skirt. “Which one of those is this?”

“Both, if you’ll let it.” The redness had dulled but was still quite prominent. “Will this do for now, or should we plan another session?”

She chewed her fish thoughtfully, weighing her decision.

“What are you doing next week?”