by C. B. Hunt
“Naughty little girls don’t have the option of being spanked over their panties. You disobeyed Daddy, and I’m afraid it’s time to learn what the consequence of disobedience feels like.”
My embarrassment and fear of disappointment vanished instantly. I don’t care what anyone says about that first smack. It hurts like bloody hell, especially when delivered by a man who is heavy handed and determined to teach his girl to follow directions. I instantly kicked and squirmed to escape, but his left arm held me snugly in place. His hard palm cracked loudly and methodically against my bare flesh, and I squealed into the mattress, terrified that everyone on the tiny base would hear what was happening in the remote officer quarters.
“I’m sorry! Please stop,” I begged, my voice muffled in the sheets. “I won’t disobey you again. I swear!”
“By the time I’m done with your backend, I’ll be convinced that you’ll at least think twice before you decide to go off and do your own thing again. You might as well stop fighting me and take what’s coming to you. It would be better that you spend your energy thinking about how much you worried me rather than how to talk yourself out of this spanking.” The slaps increased in frequency and harshness, as did my yelping.
“You have my word! A man’s worth is only as good as his word, remember?”
An extra sharp smack made me cry out. I couldn’t muffle my voice anymore and began to screech in earnest. I did everything possible to avoid the burning slaps and was unable to catch my breath. I started to hyperventilate as I fought against him, and he paused to adjust my bottom to a higher angle.
“I can go all night, little one, and you’re just exhausting yourself,” he advised as I panted. “You have the choice. You can keep fighting me or give in, but in the end, it’s going to be my way.”
“Why are you doing this to me?” I shouted, no longer caring if everyone on the base heard. It had become a matter of self-preservation.
“Because I love you, and sometimes we have to do things we don’t like to the ones we love to keep them safe.”
He loved me? No one loved me. I was unlovable. I heard those words my entire life over and over again by people who used and abused me. I gave myself to them in the hopes that I would earn their approval and acceptance, and all I received was rejection and animosity once they were done with me.
His words, however, didn’t bring me warmth and peace. Anger and rage rose and numbed every stinging nerve on my bottom.
“You fucking liar! No one loves me. No one!”
The speed that Ray jerked me to my feet made me dizzy. “Have I ever lied to you before? Have I? Answer me!”
I hesitated, not wanting to respond. My emotions were already on edge. He shook me again and repeated himself. “I said answer me. Have I ever lied to you?”
“No.”
“Then what makes you think that I’m lying to you now? I love you. I’ve taken you under my wing as my little girl. I’ve promised to guide and protect you. I’ve given you my heart and my home. I’ve also given you my discipline. That is all because I love you. If I didn’t, I wouldn’t be bothered.”
I felt it bubble to the surface, the years of despair and loneliness rising to the top of my soul. It was a physical presence, like a giant ball of hot, bitter sludge moving its way from deep inside my body and up to my throat. I first coughed and then choked; before I knew it, I was weeping hysterically into his shoulder.
He rocked me back and forth, kissing my forehead and stroking my hair. Not one negative word left his mouth about my tears being a sign of weakness. Rather, he encouraged me to let them out and stop being controlled by fear. As the tears fell, I melted deeper into his embrace. My entire body, mind, spirit, and soul connected with him, all feeling at the same time instead of being compartmentalized. It was overwhelming.
“Don’t let me go,” I pleaded, clinging to him. “It’s too much to feel at once. Please, don’t let go.”
“I’m not going anywhere. Is it okay if I call Les to bring you some juice? You’re going to need it when you come down from this.”
“From what? What’s happening to me?” I was shivering. He wrapped a blanket around my shoulders and kept me close.
“Your body is detoxifying, sweetheart. All the bad stuff is coming out. It’s scary, but you’ll be all right.” He reached for the phone and left a message with the duty to find Les and have him bring some juice and cookies if he could find some.
“You’re not going to tell him what you did, are you?” I was mortified at the thought that anyone would find out.
“I strongly suspect that he guessed it already by the way he high-tailed it out of here. He knows how to keep his mouth shut; otherwise, he wouldn’t have this job, remember?”
“I’m going to die of embarrassment.”
“No, you won’t. But you will be more careful to follow my directions next time, yes?”
“Yeah.”
“Is that how you answer?”
I paused. “Yes, Daddy.”
“Good girl. Let me get a cloth for your face.”
“How about some ice for my butt?”
“You get to enjoy that warm bottom without any relief. Keep in mind that I only used my hand this first time.”
I was curled up on the bed, wrapped in the blanket when Les knocked on the door. He entered the room with an armful of juice, cookies, candy, and a video. He sat on the bed and looked worried as he handed me a juice box.
“Are you okay?”
“Yeah. Just had a meltdown.”
He looked uncomfortable and glanced at Ray. “I’m sorry about today. I should have known to put a leash on you.”
“I don’t need a leash.”
“Yeah, you do,” he said with a smile, nudging my foot. “I brought you a movie. Little Mermaid. I thought you might want to watch it.”
“I don’t want to be alone right now.”
“I’ll watch it with you,” he offered, kicking off his shoes and sitting on to the bed next to me. Opening up a bag of cookies, he looked at Ray. “Are you just going to stand there or are you going to watch it with us, Pops?”
“Give me those cookies, Junior. Don’t get any crumbs in the bed, either,” Ray grumbled, snatching the bag of Oreos.
Les huffed and wrapped an arm around my shoulder and whispered in my ear. “Are you okay, kiddo? I hung around outside the BOQ to make sure no one came nearby. You guys are the only ones inside, so the coast was clear.”
I have never felt so humiliated! “Oh, my God, you didn’t!”
“It’s okay. Really. There’s nothing to be embarrassed about. I won’t tell anyone. I swear. Do you feel better?”
“I don’t know how I feel, except that I want to crawl under a rock and bury my head in a hole right now.”
“If you do that, then your butt will be right up in the air for him to smack again. Probably not a good idea.” He elbowed me.
I couldn’t help but smile. Les had become my ally and, despite instigating and snitching on me, the closest person to a real friend that I had ever had.
***
“You’re not funny. Daddy, make him stop,” I whined as we traveled north to the city of Seoul. Ray had elected to drive rather than fly so that us ‘kids’ could have the opportunity to see the beautiful, lush countryside. The roads were not well maintained, and every bump reminded me of the night before. Les had taken to ‘bruise pushing,’ both figuratively and literally, and was teasing me unmercifully. I had no idea what had gotten into him, but he made me want to throw a tantrum.
“Do I have to pull this car over?” Ray threatened, looking at both of us from the rear view mirror.
“It would be a nice gesture since this drive is killing me. Are we there yet?”
“We’ve been on the road exactly thirty minutes. We still have another four and a half hours. Les, stop pestering your sister.”
“Is that an order? Because if it’s not, then I’m going to keep bothering her.”
My
mouth fell open in shock. Les had never questioned Ray before. I was also surprised about how fully engaged he was in this game.
“She is uncomfortable, and you know why. There is no reason to torment her.”
“Sure there is. The mere fact that you made her my kid sister is reason enough. Tormenting her is in my job description.”
“Stop pinching me! Daddy!”
Ray swerved the car to the side of the road and turned around to look at us. “This is going to stop right now otherwise both of you will be grounded for two weeks. Got it?”
“But I didn’t do anything!” I argued.
Les looked back and forth between the two of us. He was apparently confused and took the easy route with a simple “Yes, Sir.”
“Why can’t you cooperate like he does?” Ray asked me. I caught the hint.
“Because as long as we are behind closed doors, I don’t have to be a Marine and walk around like I have a stick up my ass … butt.” I caught myself. “Until you change the rules of our civilian versus military relationship, I’m going to give you as little cooperation as I feel like it.”
“So, I don’t have to obey orders?” Les questioned, looking back and forth between the two of us.
“It depends on whether or not you want to face the consequences,” Ray grumbled, pulling back out onto the road.
“I’m not too worried about you blistering my butt. Speaking of which, how are you feeling? Does it hurt?” Les asked, resuming the pursuit to annoy me.
“Yes, it hurts! And this damn car doesn’t have any cushions.”
“What did you say?”
“I can’t win,” I huffed, folding my arms and leaning back.
“What happens when she swears?” Les asked.
“She gets her mouth washed out with soap. If you do, I’m putting you on latrine duty.”
“That’s not fair!” Les argued.
“Would you rather eat soap?”
The rest of the trip was fairly quiet after that. Seoul was nothing like I expected. It was a huge, modern city with giant hotels and bustling streets. Truth be told, it was a little disappointing, but I knew Ray well enough that he planned something different than what we anticipated. We arrived at the Four Seasons Hotel where we had adjoining rooms and then freshened up. Unfortunately for me, that included a trip to the bathroom.
“Aw, come on,” I argued, looking at Les for help. He appeared more interested than concerned.
“Unless you want to get spanked in front of Les on top of getting your mouth washed out, I suggest you mind me.”
“This sucks,” I muttered, stomping into the bathroom.
“Consider yourself lucky that they don’t supply us with full-size bars. Open,” he said after wetting down a new bar of French-milled soap. Tears instantly filled my eyes, and my nose began to run the second that nasty thing was put into my mouth. “Go stand in the corner until I call you and don’t budge. Les, if I hear so much as a chuckle, you are joining her.”
I wanted to throw up. Nothing I could do saved me from the bitter harshness that made me gag. Several minutes later, Ray called me over and removed the bar, but then he held my jaw in his hand as he used my toothbrush to brush my teeth and tongue with the soapy remains. When he was satisfied, he asked if any dirty words remained in my mouth. I shook my head, afraid to speak because I knew I’d vomit all over him.
No amount of rinsing cleared the taste or the scent of that soap from my mouth or nose. When I finally joined the two in the community living room, Ray patted his lap for me to sit on it.
“No more swearing?”
“No, Sir. And if I do, spank me instead.”
Ray stared at me and then burst out in a loud, jovial laugh. “Be careful what you wish for, my dear girl. Let’s visit some old friends of mine. Remember that the Koreans are very keen on manners. Do not refuse anything that is offered unless you are allergic to it. I know you have no food allergies, Les. Breanna?”
“Mangos.”
“No worries. Mango is not a staple here.”
Les grabbed my arm as we exited the room. “That soap is gonna be the best thing you will taste today. Mark my words.”
“You’re an ass,” I whispered, making certain that Ray didn’t hear a peep.
We traveled outside of the city to the smaller, compact houses that were little more than shacks stacked tightly next to one another. The family greeted Ray fondly, and he produced endless pieces of candy out of his pockets for the children, a carving for the man, a necklace for the woman, and a silken flower for the grandmother. Les and I stood silently watching as he was welcomed into the culture with open arms before introducing us as his American son and daughter. The family was all over us at that point. I tend to be fairly shy and just kept smiling and nodded, and they practiced their poor English on me. We were led to a large table and gestured to seat ourselves. Les whispered ‘get ready’ into my ear and then grunted as Ray kicked him sharply.
A bowl was placed in front of us. I followed Ray’s example and tasted the white soup with hopeful expectations. The only way to describe the flavor was white glue. Les touched me with his knee as I forced myself to finish the sticky mass and prayed it would stay down. Thank God for the rice! Several other plates were placed on the table, and Ray picked pieces from each. I did the same, but wisely did so in small portions. I was able to get a taste of the spicy hot Kimchi down with the help of more rice; the vegetables were interesting and very flavorful; and the meat dish was sweet, although very stringy. Ray smirked at me when I went for seconds, making me wonder what I was getting into.
Overall, it was a pleasant afternoon with the exception of the chair that I had to sit in for two hours. It was made of woven rattan—with no cushion—and my bottom felt like I was sitting on hard wires. After saying our goodbyes, Ray took us to the market to shop for things like colorful ‘mink’ blankets, clothes, and anything else that caught our eye.
“When are you going to ask him what we ate this afternoon?” Les asked as we prepared to go back to the hotel.
“I’m not. The look on his face convinced me that ignorance is bliss.”
“Smart move. Especially since the meat that you liked so much was a horse.”
I couldn’t find a trash can fast enough …
Chapter 5
I wish I could say that my first session with Ray changed my attitude and turned my life around, but that would be a lie. If anything, I became more brazen with my bratting. It was as though all the years of not being allowed to be a kid surfaced and the poor man had to deal with it.
I did learn one thing—Daddy did not mess around when his little girl got into trouble. My biggest issue was my mouth so, being me, I needed to find a way to prevent another incident of eating soap. I spoke to the Japanese lady who cleaned the house and asked her how to make soap out of natural ingredients and told her that the stuff I used hurt my skin. In no time, I learned how to make oatmeal and honey soap that actually tasted decent! Several of the bars I wrapped in tissue paper like those in the hotels we went to or tied a little ribbon around them with the intent to switch them up as soon as we arrived. The bigger bars I planted in my bathroom ‘just in case.’
Incidentally, my oatmeal soap plan worked one time and one time only. Pleased with myself that the last mouth soaping was faked enough to be convincing, I let another ‘F-bomb’ slip. Without a word, I was marched into the main bathroom and told to open my mouth. To my horror, the soap had been changed. Ray held up the oatmeal soap as I gagged and then sweetly asked,
“You’re not looking for this, are you? You forget, darling, that I’ve been doing this a long time. There is nothing you can pull that I haven’t seen done before.”
I guess he also knew the string of words that I was calling him in my head because he left that bar in my mouth a little longer than usual. It also made me more determined to outsmart him.
Ray left to go golfing one Friday afternoon and left me to finish up at the office, aft
er which Les was to take me home. When he came by, I lied and said that I had more work to do and that Ray would get me after his game. I watched out the window for the car to drive out of sight and then left the building. The house was an hour walk when taking the route through the town, and I knew my way through the maze of cement walls, twisting narrow streets, and the multitude of tiny houses. I took my time, stopping to look at the hakas and wonder who was buried in the little tombs, drifted into a couple of shops to pick up my favorite candy, and chatted with the mamasan who worked as a laundress on base. She made a pot of rice and okazu—a beef, onion, and scallion dish that I loved, and I practiced my Japanese while she laughed at my accent.
It was starting to get dark by the time I arrived home, and I let myself in without noticing that the front door was unlocked. The Japanese people were known for their honestly, especially in Okinawa, and theft was unheard of so not locking a door wasn’t considered unusual. Unless it involved Ray. Because of security and confidential measures, he was meticulous about locking doors. I stopped dead in my tracks when I came face to face with him.
He was livid and about to turn me into sashimi. In other words, I was dead meat.
“Where have you been, young lady? Les said that you told him I was picking you up.”
I could tell that he was struggling to keep his temper in check. “I needed some fresh air, and it was nice outside, so I walked home.”
“You lied to him. Didn’t I tell you never to go anywhere without letting me know?”
“Yeah, but you were gone. I know my way around town, and you said it’s safe as long as it’s daytime.”
“Go to your room.”
“But …”
“I said, go to your room!” He pointed to the back door.
I was in so much trouble. Hanging my head, I slithered past him and quickly made my way to my little apartment. Knowing that it would be a while for him to cool down, I showered and changed into shorts and a tank top, and then sat on my bed to dry my hair.
“I’m very upset with you right now,” Ray said as he walked into the room. He sat next to me on the bed and took my brush from my hands and began to brush my hair as he spoke. “You know how I feel about your safety, and even more so, my opinion about lying. You could have told Les that you were going to walk home.”