Leading and Learning: In Unexpected Places

From the Sarah Saga

Sarah stood up, stretched, and smiled with relief as the bus finally pulled into the station- a euphemism if there ever was one. The station consisted of a quiet turnaround point, small carpark, and wholly inadequate shelter. Fortunately the threatening storm had held off, and Sarah was mostly dry as she waited for Brian to disembark.  

 

He beamed a grin at her, wider than it was when she had first glimpsed him through the window of the bus.

 

“An absolute pleasure to be here,” he greeted her with a hug. “Thank you again for inviting me.”

 

“Thank you for coming,” Sarah responded.

 

As they set off towards her apartment, it occurred to her that this was the least she had known about anyone she’d invited into her home.  She was going off of one hurried conversation at a munch, one spanking at Suzanne’s, but also off of the confidence of everyone else at Suzanne’s. That counted more than anything else. Sarah had never before experienced such an intense sense of belonging, safety, and fun. These were good people. This was a man who could be trusted, who would be good fun, a good friend, and would respect her and the hospitality she offered.

 

“Can I get you anything?” Sarah asked as Brian set down his bag and wandered into the sitting room. “Water?”

 

“Sure,” Brian replied, settling himself on the sofa. “I’m easy, just glad to be here.”

 

Sarah smiled, returning with two glasses of water.  They chatted briefly, about the bus trip down, about plans for dinner.  Sarah suggested Jack’s, easily her favourite restaurant in town.  “We’ll have to get there early, though, it’s popular and if we’re much later than six we might not get a table.”

 

“Works for me,” Brian replied, checking his watch. “Fancy a spanking before then?”

 

Sarah smiled.  Brian certainly was eager, though so was she.  She would never understand why so many people went to play parties but hesitated to play until they all rushed for space at once toward the end of the night.  She supposed the same logic applied to one on one meetings, without the need to queue for space.  “Suits me,” she replied happily, and settled over his lap, happy to have found a spanker who agreed with her that spankings didn’t need to wait until several hours of settling-in had passed.

 

He started over her jeans, one of the few spankers who seemed happy to do so.  “I have to compliment you on your choice of attire. These are very spank friendly,” Brian told her as he warmed her up. Sarah purred happily over his lap, savouring the sensation that, while devoid of sting, set her bottom glowing pleasantly.  

 

“We’ll have these down, I think,” Brian said conversationally, giving her jeans a tug.  Sarah lifted herself up a bit, trying to help, but it was only with much struggling that the garment was eventually dragged down out of the way. Brian settled her back down with a firm slap.  “Ah, spank-friendly panties as well, I like you,” he replied, and Sarah could only giggle at the absurd statement.   

 

She wondered briefly how she could ever explain this to anyone outside the scene.  “Yeah, so I had this guy over this weekend. No, just met him a few weeks ago, don’t know him well yet. No, he’s more than twice my age.  No, we didn’t talk much at first, he just spanked me.  It was very nice though.”   Sarah giggled at the thought. Thank goodness she’d never need to explain- not to anyone who didn’t already know about the both of them anyway!  

 

“What are you laughing at young lady? Tsk tsk tsk,” Brian fake-scolded, chuckling himself but spanking her even harder.  “We’ll have to deal with that after dinner I think.”  He let her up and gave her one of his comfy, warm hugs. Sarah hated to break away, but her stomach growled, setting both of them giggling.   “Best head out then,” Brian told her with one final swat to her behind as she stood.

 

There was almost no one in Jacks, for once. Sarah wasn’t sure whether to be relieved or not as she looked across the table at the man she barely knew. They had established very few common interests, and those they had established were not suitable dinner conversation- not in public, anyway.

 

Not that that stopped him- Sarah was pretty sure that nothing could stop Brian from talking. He chatted away, as she sat shyly across from him, mostly silent. Funny, she thought, that she had no reservations going across his knee, and yet felt to timid to engage fully in a conversation.

 

Brian didn’t seem to mind, happily sharing stories of past spankees, past parties, favourite memories.  Sarah blushed as she looked anxiously at the restaurant’s employees flitting between the three or four tables of customers.  Could they hear? Did they know?  If they did, they gave no indication.  Sarah told herself to relax.  It would be ok, Brian would be discrete. He did get quiet whenever mentioning anything telling. . .mostly.  

 

Her discomfort didn’t last past the first course.  Soon she was chatting away as well, sharing her experiences, few though they were, caught up in Brian’s ever cheerful mood.  His stories, too, were comforting. She knew several of the spankees he mentioned, and all seemed to be on good terms with him still. This was a good sign, she reminded herself.

 

When the last plates were cleared away, the bill paid (which involved only a small argument before he gave in and allowed her to pay for her half of the meal), they hurried back to her apartment, eager to finish what they had started.

 

Before settling onto the couch, Brian pulled a large, plastic bag out of his suitcase, the contents rattling.  “I brought a few toys,” he said with the mischievous grin of a small child about to cause untold chaos.  “See if there’s anything in there that interests you.   

Sarah grinned back and proceeded to dump the bag’s contents over the floor near the sofa.  As she settled onto Brian’s lap, she rummaged through the pile and passed back a strap with a grin. “Leather usually works well,” she told him as she braced herself for the impact.

 

They passed the next hour or so working their way through the arsenal. Brian was cautious at first, hitting lightly before increasing the force of the blows until Sarah’s limits were approached. Sarah reveled in the sensation, but found herself struggling with the context. While working her way through the implements was no doubt educational, this was not the sort of lesson she’d associated with spanking previously.  Spanking was a serious thing to her still, and Brian’s light mood jarred increasingly with the part of her mind that wanted to slip into a calm submission, something more akin to repentance than play.

 

Still, she had to admit she enjoyed the experience, and when her bottom could take no more, she rose and gave him a big hug, regretting only that there were a few straps and spoons left that she’d not yet tried.  As if sensing the direction of her thoughts, Brian reassured her, “There will be time for those later, we have tomorrow as well.  As for now, would you let me get you a drink?”

 

Sarah agreed- she wasn’t one to refuse a pint when offered, and after a quick trip to the bathroom to make herself look somewhat less rumpled, she joined him in an excursion to her local.

 

The pub was humming, which was probably good. Sarah wasn’t worried about being seen with Brian, but was also not quite in the mood for the high-stakes storytelling that an introduction of her new friend would require.  

 

Instead of joining her usual group at the bar, she and Brian opted for a small corner table, close enough to the fire to be cosy but not so close as to be roasting.

 

One pint turned into two, then three, with plenty of stories and giggles, though afterward Sarah would struggle to remember what they talked about.  Conversation flowed freely and loosely from spanking to vanilla topics and back again.  Sarah was relieved- any anxiety she had felt about inviting Brian to spend the night had vanished. She may not have known him well, but the spark of friendship and compatibility had proven to be true. This was no romance, this was something far easier, with far less pressure and far more fun.

 

Sarah felt more relaxed than she had in ages, and wondered if it was the spanking or the company that had put her so at ease- probably both, she reasoned, but didn’t dwell on the matter. This was an evening to be enjoyed.

 

They stumbled home several hours later, Brian still chatting away even as tiredness started to mute Sarah’s contributions.   When they got home, Brian made one final, lovely offer. “Would you fancy a bedtime spanking? I’ve alwaysed loved spanking over pyjamas for some reason. Just a light one, I don’t want to overdo it this late, and especially not after this many pints,” Brian added.  

 

Sarah agreed enthusiastically, thinking of no better way to end the perfect evening. She changed quickly, opened her door to invite Brian in, then, on impulse, placed herself in the corner with her hands on her head.

 

Brian came in a moment later. She heard him pause as he took in her position. She hoped he didn’t mind. . . .

 

She felt his hand firmly grasp her arm and pull her wordlessly to the bed. She chanced a glance up and saw a pseudo-stern expression on his face, but one that broke into another grin as he helped her over his lab.  “Thank you again for inviting me, this has been wonderful.”

 

“Thank you for coming,” Sarah replied as the spanking began, just a few stinging swats, just enough to reignite her glowing bottom.  

 

“We’ll finish with a few with my belt,” Brian said as he helped her up.  Sarah grinned as she bent over.   The belt had been her favourite from earlier. He had noticed!  
Six swats later, Brian tucked her into bed with a final hug and departed for the guestroom.  Sarah smiled as she sank back into the pillows. It had been a truly wonderful evening.  Opening her eyes, she caught a glint of light from the sitting room.  Well, almost perfect.  She roused herself again to turn off the lights, the crawled back to bed and slipped into a blissful slumber.