Page 56 of All Tied Up

“Well, we were studying. And I helped him pick out his clothes.”

“Is that true, boy?” Suddenly, Sebastian’s eyes were on him, judging him.

Neil sucked in a breath. He had to answer. Fuck. What was the question? He could see the crowd behind him out of the corner of his eye, hear the quiet sounds as they shifted in their chairs. This would be so much easier if there weren’t people watching, waiting for him to mess it up. “Uhhh… she helped me pick out my clothes, Sir.”

“Right. Did she help you put them on? Or maybe take them off?”

“She mostly got in the way, Sir.”

The audience chuckled, catching him off guard. He hadn’t meant it to be a joke. He was more terrified that he’d disappoint everyone.

He focused on Sebastian’s hands. That’s why he was here. He just had to do a bit more of the role play, and then he could feel those broad hands burning against his skin.

“I just bet she did. What’s your name, boy?”

“Ne… uh… Johnny. Jonathan.” He definitely wasn’t going to remember that. He should have just said Neil.

“Jonathan, this is your first offense, so I’ll go easy on you. Sit over there. Jasmine, you know the drill.”

Sebastian indicated a chair that was stationed on one side of the desk. At first, he thought it would be a reprieve, but it was facing the audience. The “disciplinary committee.”

Neil sat, overly aware of how his too-small shirt bulged around his belly. He had to look ridiculous, a nearly fifty-year-old man in a dorky clip-on tie.

Everyone was looking at him, too. They looked aroused. Eager. Which meant they had expectations that he was increasingly sure he couldn’t meet.

He would let them down, and let Sebastian down, too. The pretend disappointment of the scene and the very real disappointment Neil was anticipating came crashing together. He was a failure.

Why had he thought he wanted this? Maybe he wasn’t cut out for kink after all. This whole thing had been a terrible mistake.

While he was freaking out, the scene was still unfolding. Jamie gave an exaggerated huff and strutted around the desk, the affectation not at all decreased by her uneven gait. When she reached the side, she gave Neil a saucy wink, then bent over the broad, wooden surface.

Sebastian ran one hand up her leg, pulling her skirt up with it. It was dirty and wrong, yet unbelievably sexy. She looked pleased with herself, her naughty behavior earning her exactly what she wanted.

Neil was suddenly very, very sure that he didn’t want the same thing. The cold disapproval, the expectant sea of faces, the names that he might not remember when he was relaxed, let alone when he was stressed… it was all too much.

The only question was whether he should leave now or later. If he could slip to the back, he knew he would. He would even like to watch Jamie get her spanking if he didn’t have to be a part of it, he was sure.

But that wasn’t an option. He was already in the limelight, and the only way out now was disrupting the scene. He should safeword, right? That’s what he was supposed to do.

Sebastian started pulling down Jamie’s panties. They weren’t innocent and white, though. No, she was wearing a red lace thong under the plaid uniform skirt. Jamie and Sebastian were both so far out of his league.

Well, it had been a nice dream while it lasted. He wasn’t going to find a forever Daddy here, and now it looked like he wasn’t even going to get his toes wet with the couple who’d been so nice to him. If he ended things now, in front of everyone, he was sure his chances would be over for the rest of the week. There were plenty of other subs the sexy younger couple could play with, or even just each other.

Neil decided to stay put until Jamie finished her scene. At least that way he wouldn’t be messing anything important up for them. He was mostly tuning them out, though, too nauseous with the thought of screwing everything up to even watch.

“Neil? Hey, Neil?”

His own name finally penetrated that fog. It was Jamie calling him, her voice suggesting that she’d already said his name a few times.

She was standing up beside the desk, and Sebastian was hovering on his other side. Dammit. He’d already messed things up for them.

Neil stood and faced them, hoping that his voice was coming out loud enough to hear. “Hey, um…. Sorry. I mean, really, really sorry. I don’t know what… but I… you should finish the scene. And I’ll… I mean… Red? Red. Thank you for trying to let me join you.”

Then he fled past all of the curious eyes and out the door. He was aiming for the elevator, but he was so focused on getting out of there that he blew right past it and had to double back.

That was where Sebastian and Jamie caught up with him.

“Hey,” Neil made his voice a little stronger, though he kept his gaze down. It was a little easier to speak without the audience, but all he wanted was to go hide in his room. “I really meant it. You two should finish the scene. You were having fun, so don’t let me mess it up for you.”