The crowd of students filed out. Olly closed the folder where essays had been put. It was going to be a long weekend of reading for him. A few students waved to him on the way out. He had been distracted most of the lecture. He was remembering that list Ophelia had written. They were all punishments a parent would give. Did she really think she needed to be treated that way? He sighed, it was only the first draft. That list was just her raw thoughts, she was not thinking it through.
He arrived at Ophelia's apartment and knocked. Ophelia opened the door and let him inside. He was glad to see things had stayed picked up. Granted it had only been a day. She looked slightly nervous.
"Do you want some tea?" She asked.
"Please." He nodded. He was worried she was just going to push the list into his hands and close the door. It took a few minutes for them to get settled on her couch. Last night it had been covered in papers, articles covered in highlighter. "So this list." He began.
"I mean I did think about it more." She fiddled with the folded paper in hands. "Added a few things." He held out his hand and after being given it read through it.
"How serious are you about this?"
"What do you mean?"
"Do you want one of these punishments?" He said plainly while looking at the list. "They are…"
"Childish?" She offered. "I want a way to wipe the slate clean. Like you said back to zero…. But just cleaning just reset how I feel." She explained pulling her knees to her chest.
"I was going to say…" What was he going to say? He went back to this list again. Grounding, time outs? He realized he missed the last one. "Intimate." He looked down at the last word again. "Do you trust me with some of these?" He knew he had always been a mentor to her, maybe a bit more than that but… "Should we talk through them?"
"I…" He watched her toes curl tightly. He never saw them do that before. "I thought it was a hypothetical." She explained. "But yeah, anything on the list I would trust you to do, though I wouldn't ask you to do anything you were not okay with."
"I can say if there is something I don't think necessary, or I would be uncomfortable with."
"Either, both, again I wasn't really expecting anything to come of it. Making that list embarrassing enough."
"Do you want something to come out of it?" He asked. She looked away from him now. "Ophelia." he began.
"Yes and no. I think it might help me feel less guilty about you having to come help me out. I shouldn't let it get that bad in the first place. What if I just let the place get messy again then I have wasted your time on top of mine."
"To keep to the "what if" scenario, would any of these work? Do you have any second thoughts about adding anything on here?"
"What? No…" She shifted slightly.
"So I could pick any of these, and you would agree it is a punishment you want or even deserve?" She nodded the color rising in her cheeks. "Alright let's talk through them."
"Are you serious?" Came the panicked response.
"Yes, hypothetically." He added. "Time outs are for cooling off. I don't think that would be helpful to keep yourself on track."
"I hate that when you say it like that it makes sense." She sighed.
"Grounding might be a good option if there was a way to ensure you were following the terms. At the moment though, it seems like you need to get out more than stay inside. You are not neglecting things to have fun."
"How have you put this much thought into a list you've read once or twice." She muttered running her finger over the fabric of the cushion next to her. "I think you've put more thought into this than I have already."
"This is why we are talking it through. Lines could work, as a reminder to do chores. I would want proof that you did them though. Extra chores I think would add to the issue." She nodded at the remark. "Loss of privileges is like grounding. I would have no way to enforce them."
"Yeah, you'd have to take a lot of extra time out of your day." She agreed.
"I wouldn't be against them, I can just see a chance to falter. I want to help you the best I can Lia." He looked down at the list again. "Was this what you thought I wouldn't find funny?" He pointed to the last item on the list. She nodded, he was worried if her face got any redder it would explode. They sat there in silence for a few minutes. "Ophelia do you want…"
"I mean no of course not." She cut him off. He raised an eyebrow at her. "I mean… most people don't want to be punished."
"You've said you want consequences." He pointed out. He looked her in the eye. "Hypothetically if you let your apartment get messy again… would you want me to give you a spanking?"
Once the word was said it hung in the air.
"Only if you were comfortable with it." She sighed. "To be honest I feel I need a…" she fumbled over the word. "Right now."
"I see. Lia," He put his hand on her shoulder. "Is this hypothetical or…"
"Just forget I said anything." She was trying to dismiss the conversation. He was not going to let her get off that easy.
"I might need time to consider which is why I am asking." He folded up the note and finished his tea. "Should I consider anything on my way home?"
"If it wouldn't bother you." She said quietly while rubbing her arm. "I just don't want you to think I'm weird."
"I don't." He smiled while patting her shoulder. "But I can't read your mind. You need to tell me if you need something."
"Maybe consider it over the weekend. Like you can say no I would understand." She explained.
Olly sat on the couch in his living room looking over the list again. She really wanted him to think about it. Now that he was thinking about it, it seemed insane. She was 30 years old, and how would an old professor get her to do something she did not want to do. Through a small internet search he found a sexual connection to it for adults. He could tell Ophelia just wanted help, but would that help her? Plus hadn't studies shown the positive reinforcement was better. He ran the finger of his free hand through his hair.
"What's got you doing that?" His wife asked while sitting next to him on the couch.
"It's going to sound insane." He shook his hand. "Ophelia asked me to…" He was sure how to phrase it. "She wants me to." He paused again. "She feels like she would be better about taking care of herself if there were consequences."
"I see."
"She's asked me to well... I guess I will just say it. She's asked me to consider giving her a spanking." His fingers went through his hair again.
"Just out of the blue?"
"Well no." He quickly explained the last couple of days. "Then I started researching and it seems to have sexual connotations. So I realized I needed to talk to you about it. And I was trying to figure out how to."
"Well, spanking is an kink but it can be done with the understanding of no sexual contact. Just make sure that boundaries are set.. You are both consenting adults. I don't see the problem."
"Do we need to have a talk?" How had he been married to this woman for almost 20 years and he was just now hearing about this?
"Maybe later." She winked at him. "I will say, if this is going to be more than a one time thing I want to be involved. Also it was anyone other than Lia, I don't think I would be as okay with it."
"I understand." He nodded. "I will always keep you in the loop." She kissed his cheek. "But we should have a talk."