“Then tell Grant,” Julie advised. “You two have to work out together what works for you. Communication is critical in a relationship like ours. If you’re going to make it work, you have to talk to one another. I’m serious. I’m not talking about the old proverbs and stuff that people tell you when you get married. When you do what we do, communication is absolutely vital. Matt knows me better than anyone else. Sometimes, I even think he knows me better than I know myself, but as much as I would like him to be, he’s not a mind reader. Neither is Grant.”
“Okay, okay, I get it,” Lainie said in fond exasperation. “I’ll talk to him.” She would eventually, but first she had to figure out how to talk to him out of this DD idea that he was so stuck on. She got that it was a family tradition for him, but just because it had worked for his parents and grandparents didn’t mean it would work for them. She was a different person and needed different things. She just had to make him see that.
* * * * *
“Where are we going?” Grant asked, puzzled, as they made their way down the road toward the entrance. He wasn’t at all familiar enough with the community to know where everyone lived, but he was pretty sure that the majority of the community, including both his own and Matt’s houses, lay in the other direction.
“Brent’s going to let us borrow his practice dummy,” Matt explained. “We’re going to pick it up from his house.”
“Practice dummy?” Grant questioned. He was familiar with the term of course, having seen and used any number of such items in his training as a police officer, but surely Brent did not have a practice dummy of the sort he was familiar with to teach people to spank.
Matt grinned. “You’ll love it. It’s pretty amazing. I’m pretty sure it was supposed to be one of those forensic dummies. It looks like a person, well, as much as a mannequin can anyway. It even has semi-lifelike skin. He uses it when he teaches classes.”
“How the hell did he get his hands on a high tech forensic dummy?” Grant blurted. He had seen them before, in training videos and such, but even the sheriff’s department he had worked with in North Carolina hadn’t had the resources to afford one. It wasn’t something that just your Tom, Dick, or Harry off the street knew where to get or could afford to buy.
“Brent was a cop,” Matt explained, “back before Corbin’s Bend. He worked in New York for a while and still has connections there. I’ve never asked but if I had to guess, I’d say that’s probably where he found it. He has a pretty extensive collection of implements and spanking related stuff too.”
“Wow,” Grant replied. Now he was incredibly curious. He’d been interested in spanking nearly as long as he could remember, but he had never had the nerve to actually act on his interest and collect implements or anything like that. He’d thought about it a few times, but with his job he could never afford to take the risk of someone finding out. The freedom of living here was amazing. “I don’t even have anything – well, except the paddle that came in the welcome basket.”
“You don’t actually need anything special,” Matt told him. “A lot of people prefer just using their hand. There are also plenty of innocuous everyday things that can do double duty: a hairbrush, a wooden spoon, a spatula, a belt, a ruler, a paint stirrer. Hell, I’ve even heard of people using the turning wand from window blinds.”
“Seriously?” Grant said. “Most of those are fairly common. I had encounters with a lot of them myself as a kid, but a rod from window blinds?”
“If it can be perverted, someone around here has probably done it,” Matt told him, chuckling. “I wouldn’t recommend experimenting with that one for a while though. It’s thin and whippy like a cane but plastic doesn’t give much, not the greatest choice for a beginner.”
“Don’t worry,” Grant assured him. “I wasn’t planning on it. What would be a good choice for a beginner?”
“Using your hand is probably the safest, but in terms of implements, you’d probably be better off with something lightweight and solid with a fairly broad surface to spread out impact and minimize the possibility of bruising or injury, like a thin, lightweight paddle.” Matt stopped in front of a house that stood off to itself near the entrance, turning and heading up the steps. Grant followed as Matt pulled keys from his pocket and unlocked the door. Inside the house, Matt headed unerringly for a room on the second floor. Grant trailed behind, curious. When Matt opened the door, it was clear that this room held the extensive collection Matt had spoken of. It was filled to the brim with spanking paraphernalia. A spanking bench held a prominent position. Artwork featuring men and women in the throes of erotic or disciplinary spankings in various positions adorned the walls.
“They’re beautiful, aren’t they?” Matt commented, startling Grant.
Belatedly, Grant realized he had stopped moving and was staring at the artwork, transfixed. Grant nodded, swallowing hard. They were gorgeous. They were also easily some of the most erotic things Grant had ever seen, a fact neither his libido nor his body had failed to notice. He shifted uneasily and tried to discretely adjust himself. He had to get a grip. He wasn’t some pimply-faced teenager. He was a grown man who ought to have some self-control. He typically had more than his share of control, but dayum that was hot.
Taking a deep breath, he mentally took himself in hand and turned away. The dummy they had come to borrow was positioned on a wire stand in a corner of the room. It was an androgynous mannequin, by his reckoning just under 6 foot tall, with an outer covering that vaguely resembled skin. Matt hefted it easily, but the shape and height made it awkward to carry. Matt tried tucking it under his arm in a football carry, but the legs and arms dragged awkwardly. Grant suggested they try a two man carry, and between the two of them, they managed to manhandle it into a position that was relatively easy. Each of them took an arm of the mannequin over their shoulders and carried a leg as though they were helping a third person who could not walk, guiding him in the center between them. The mannequin wasn’t heavy at all. It probably weighed less than 50 pounds so carrying it in itself was not a burden and using the rescue positioning allowed them to easily control the awkward height and arms and legs. It probably looked utterly ridiculous, but it worked.
“I didn’t exactly think this through well,” Matt admitted as they carefully maneuvered their way downstairs and out the door. “This would’ve been easier with a car.”
There wasn’t much Grant could say to that so he didn’t reply and instead concentrated on making his way down the street without damaging this dummy that undoubtedly cost far more than he could afford to pay. It was a good thing most of the community was occupied around the pool and clubhouse. If anyone had seen them carrying Brent’s spanking dummy down the street like an injured hiker, they would have probably been the laughing stock of the entire community for weeks. People were already curious enough with Grant’s family being new, having himself caught out looking like an idiot wasn’t likely to improve matters.
As if conjured by the thought, a man in a pickup truck pulled up alongside them in the road and slowed to a stop, rolling down the window and calling out, “Need some help there, guys.”
“Hey, Lelo,” Matt said. “Would you mind letting our friend here hitch a ride in the back of your truck around to my house?” He gestured to the dummy.
“Sure, no problem,” the man, presumably Lelo, said. “Got yourself a new practice dummy there, Matt,” Lelo asked, clearly teasing.
Matt shook his head. “This is Brent’s. I’m just borrowing it for the afternoon.” He took the dummy from between them, hefted it over his shoulder, and deposited it in the bed of Lelo’s truck.
“You giving lessons now?” Lelo wanted to know.
Matt shrugged. “I suggested that Grant ask Brent, but Brett pointed out that he’d taught me, and there was no reason I couldn’t teach Grant myself.”
“True,” Lelo agreed. Addressing Grant, he added, “Taylor, isn’t it?”
Grant nodded. “I’m Grant Taylor, just moved
in last week.”
“I thought I remembered you,” Lelo told him. “Lelo Stevens, I’m on the housing board. We met when you came for your interview back in the spring. We’re glad to have you here. Are you settling in okay?”
“It’s been great,” Grant replied.
“Glad to hear that,” Lelo said. “Why don’t you both hop in, and I’ll give you and your buddy in the back a lift around to Matt’s house.”
Matt climbed in without hesitation. Grant followed suit, despite his initial momentary alarm at the notion of a virtual stranger offering them a ride. Mere moments later, Lelo was pulling up in front of Matt’s house.
They hauled the dummy out of the back of Lelo’s truck and walked it inside. Lelo gave them a friendly wave and disappeared down the street. Once inside, they deposited the dummy on the sofa in the living room. Matt once again offered him a drink, and this time Grant took him up on it. He was a little surprised when Matt gave him a choice of soda or water. After all, Matt had readily offered him a beer earlier so clearly he had no problem with alcohol. His surprise most of shown on his face because Matt explained, “If you’re going to do this, either for play or for punishment, but especially when it comes to administering discipline, you always want to do it with a clear head. You should never dole out physical punishment if you’ve been drinking or if you are too emotional for whatever reason to think clearly.”
Grant nodded. That made sense. He was well aware that this had the potential to go bad and do real damage. He never wanted that to happen.
“If you’re too angry to be in control, then give yourself time to calm down. Take a walk. Go for a run. Do whatever you need to do, but don’t ever lay a hand on your partner when you’re angry,” Matt continued. “That’s not always easy. In my experience, my wife knows me better than anyone else and can push my buttons the way that no one else can, but that’s part of your responsibility. She’s trusting you and making herself vulnerable to you. You have to stay in control. I’ll tell you right now, if I ever find out you took a hand to Lainie in anger, I’ll kick your ass myself.”
“Got it, and thanks,” Grant replied. To someone else, that might’ve sounded strange, but Grant meant it. He liked knowing that there was someone else who would protect Lainie, even from him if it came down to it. He intended to make sure that that was never necessary, but he appreciated both the warning and the protectiveness behind it. Matt clearly understood because he simply nodded, grabbing a bottle of water and going back in the living room. Grant followed, downing most of his own bottled water along the way. Matt sat down on the sofa next to the practice dummy. “Probably the most basic and traditional way to go about spanking is taking her over your knee.” He positioned the dummy over his own knee in illustration. “It’s a classic for a reason. It’s easy to hold on to her.” He wrapped his arm around the dummy, grasping at the hip and pulling it close to his stomach. “If kicking and moving around becomes a problem you can even put her legs under yours like this.” He lifted his free leg and clamped it over the dummy’s legs. “It gives you a lot of control. It’s the position I normally use or else I have her lean over the bed.”
“That’s what we did when we were playing around with fun spanking,” Grant told him. “I didn’t even really think about it. It seemed natural.”
“It is pretty natural,” Matt agreed. “I’m assuming you used your hand in that instance.”
“Yeah,” Grant replied. “Like I said, we don’t have a lot of implements or toys.”
“You don’t necessarily need them,” Matt said. “Your hand can work perfectly well for discipline too. It’s just more force and speed without the breaks and rubbing and teasing that I’m sure went along with your play.” He gave Grant a knowing look and a teasing grin.
To his complete mortification, Grant found himself blushing like a schoolboy. For crying out loud, he hadn’t been this shy and awkward since he was a teenager. “What about implements?” he blurted, desperate to change the subject.
Mercifully, Matt took the hint. “In this position, you need something that doesn’t necessarily take a lot of room to swing, a small paddle, a ruler, a hairbrush maybe.” They discussed the options for a few minutes more and then Matt stood up. “Okay, your turn.” Even though Grant protested that he already had experience with this position and didn’t need practice, Matt insisted. Grant reluctantly took a seat, pulled the dummy over his lap, and began to spank it. Matt offered several suggestions and tips on where and how to aim for the greatest impact. At first, he felt utterly ridiculous, but after a few moments, the strangeness began to wear off, and he realized he really was becoming more comfortable and confident in his own ability to do this without causing damage.
And so it went. From there, Matt positioned the practice dummy in different ways, demonstrating different positions, even moving it around the house. He bent it over the arm of the couch, and over the table in the kitchen. He leaned it against the counter in the kitchen, and laid it across the bed, hips propped up with pillows. He had Grant practice with a variety of different implements as well. The heavy Corbin’s Bend paddle, a lightweight wooden paddle not all that different from the one Grant remembered his father having, a wooden spoon, even a belt, until Grant was at least relatively comfortable with each one. As Grant had expected, he was the most comfortable with the paddles. They were what he remembered being used within his own family, and they just felt right, especially the smaller one. He said as much to Matt, who nodded.
“Most of us have certain implements or positions that we like more than others,” Matt agreed. “More often than not I stick to my hand, but it is important not to become too predictable. If you become too predictable, she may start to weigh whether or not what she’s doing is worth what she knows you’re going to do. That’s just going to lead to frustration for both of you. You want to keep her guessing about what you’re going to do.”
Grant frowned. Just before they had left the dome, Jonathan had pulled him aside and quietly explained to him that from the TiH side of things it was very important for an HoH to be consistent. Setting rules without enforcing them or only enforcing them some of the time was confusing and could make it hard to trust your HoH’s word. Now, Matt was saying to keep them guessing. How was that supposed to work?
“What is it?” Matt asked.
Grant shrugged. “It’s nothing really. Jonathan just said something earlier about being consistent.”
“He’s right,” Matt replied. “That’s one of the hardest things to do, but it’s also one of the most important. She has to know that if you tell her something is going to happen or you’re going to do something that you will.”
“So how does that gel with what you just said about keeping them guessing?” Grant wondered. “It seems like conflicting advice.”
“Not at all,” Matt explained. “You do need to be consistent. If Lainie breaks a rule there needs to be a consequence every time. She should be absolutely sure that there will be a consequence, but she should never be too confident in exactly what that consequence will be.”
“Except she does know, doesn’t she?” Grant countered. “I mean she knows she’ll get a spanking, even though she might not know exactly what form that will take.”
“Not necessarily,” Matt said. “Spanking is probably the most common discipline method, but it’s certainly not the only one.”
“No?” Grant said, one eyebrow raised an inquiry.
“No,” Matt confirmed. “You might have her stand in the corner or write lines. In fact, both of those can be effective in addition to a spanking. And then there’s this...” Matt had been standing up against the kitchen counter while they had this conversation. Now, he stood up and went to the refrigerator, pulling out an odd-looking vegetable, a brown cluster finger-like protrusions.
“What is that?” Grant asked.
“Ginger,” Matt replied, grinning. “It’s great for cooking, but it works really well for other purposes too. Ever heard
of figging?”
Grant shook his head. “What does this have to do with discipline?”
Chuckling, Matt explained how ginger could be used to fashion a plug of sorts that when inserted into certain delicate places, produced an intense burning effect. “Julie has something of a love-hate relationship with ginger,” Matt admitted. “She hates it, but it gets her hot in other ways too.”
Grant grinned. “That sounds promising.”
“It is,” Matt confirmed. “Believe me, it is.” Glancing at the clock on the wall, Matt put away the ginger, washed his hands, and pulled out the ingredients for the kebabs he wanted to make for dinner. He put Grant to work chopping vegetables while he made up a quick marinade for the meat and set it in the refrigerator to marinate. “How are you feeling about this now?” he asked as they worked.
“Better,” Grant told him. “I don’t feel quite so out of my depth. At least I will have some idea what I’m doing when the time comes that I do have to discipline Lainie.”
“Maybe the two of you should consider maintenance,” Matt said. “It’s not something Julie and I do, but a lot of people say it helps them to stay connected.”
“What’s that?” Grant asked, carefully chopping a tomato.
“Basically, it’s having a system where you agree to regularly scheduled spankings.” Matt explained. “It’s not a punishment. It’s just maintaining the relationship. A lot of people say it helps to clear the air of minor things so that they don’t turn into big things. In your case, since the two of you are so new to this, it might give you a way to practice and reaffirm your roles without the pressure of having to get to a full-blown punishment.”
“That could work,” Grant said slowly, thinking it through. In fact, it just might be the perfect solution to keeping their relationship on track. It would give him a way to deal with minor things without having to make an unnecessary fuss about them. It would give them a chance to talk about the discipline aspects of their relationship and make any changes they needed to as well. Yes, this could definitely work.
Learning to Live Again (Corbin's Bend, Season Two Book 9) Page 9
