The Kari's Lessons Collection

“Kari, I think you’ve had enough.”

Max. Of course it was Max. Max the compulsive ruiner of fun.
He didn’t seem to get that this was my house and I’d been living here for
eighteen years compared to his two. If I wanted to have a few drinks with my
friends out on the deck before we headed into town then I could do just that. I
rolled my eyes, ignored him and poured myself another glass.

“I said that’s enough.” Suddenly he was right up in my face,
snatching the glass and bottle from my hands before taking them back inside.

“Jesus Kari, your Dad is kind of a dick,” said Andre.

“He’s not my Dad. He’s not even... I don’t know what he is.
Whatever. Let’s get out of here.”

Sometimes I didn’t know what Mom saw in Max. I mean he
wasn’t ugly or anything, in fact he was pretty hot considering how old he was.
However, he could be so annoying. He always acted like he had an enormous stick
up his ass, especially around me and especially when Mom was out of town.

Sometimes, when he was all strict, I got butterflies in my
stomach. Good butterflies. I’m not sure what that was all about, maybe it was
just because it was something I never had growing up. I never knew my Dad and
my Mom was all over the place and never really set any boundaries. I think I
turned out OK though. Well mostly OK. A lot of people seem to think I’m a bit
of a spoiled brat and I do get into trouble a lot, but Max treats me like I’m a
child.

And even if I sometimes got a little thrill out of Max
scolding me, I didn’t like it when he did it in front of my friends. When he
bossed me around or told me off it was humiliating, and more than a little
embarrassing. Especially as most of my friends were getting on with their
lives, going to college, starting jobs even starting families. But I was still
at home sponging off my mom and yeah, acting like a child I guess. Maybe he had
a point. Although I’d never give him the satisfaction of admitting that.

I grabbed my jacket and passed Max in the hall. He caught my
eye and tapped his watch.
Yeah, yeah, yeah
.
Midnight
. After a
couple of minor indiscretions, one of which had involved local law enforcement,
Max had suggested a curfew and my mother had agreed. I didn’t really get a say
in the matter and when he rolled out the “living under
our
roof” line I
just kind of gave up. I mean it wasn’t like he could do anything if I broke it.

- X -

It was around two when I tried to sneak into the house. I
wasn’t in the best of moods. It was fun making out with Andre and everything
was getting pretty interesting when I just kind of flaked out on him. He
accused me of being a tease and we yelled at each other for a bit before I got
one of my girlfriends to call me a cab.

I could see why he thought I was a tease. Most of my friends
were fucking around all the time now, but for some reason I was reluctant. No
one seemed to make a big deal out of the fact that I was still a virgin, but
then again I didn’t go out of my way to remind them.

I couldn’t really explain why I hadn’t done it yet. It
wasn’t like I hadn’t had the opportunity and plenty of boys had tried to get in
my pants, but none of them really did it for me. I guess I was waiting for the
one that did. Don’t get me wrong. I’m not talking about love and marriage and
all that. I just thought my first time should be with someone who really knew
what they were doing. And that someone wasn’t Andre.

Of course my reluctance to go all the way often left me
pretty damn horny and I was feeling it tonight. I kept a little something in my
bedside drawer for this kind of situation and that was all I was really
thinking about as I crept across the lounge room in the dark.

And then the light came on and he was just sitting there in
an armchair like some kind of super villain. All he needed was one of those
hairless cats and he’d be all set.

“Fuck. What the fuck Max? You scared the fuck out of me.”

He didn’t say anything for a moment. Just stared at me. He
did that a lot. Just watched, like he was waiting for me to screw up. It made
me uncomfortable.

“First of all you need to watch that attitude and that mouth
young lady. I’m not kidding. You might have got away with a lot in the past but
things are changing and you’re going to have to shape up.”

Young lady? Seriously?

“And secondly, it’s now well past your curfew. You
understand that there are going to be consequences right?”

Consequences?
 
It was taking a lot of willpower to stop my eyes from rolling right on
out of my head.

“And finally I don’t think you should call me Max. It’s a
little too familiar and disrespectful.”

“Yeah, whatever you say
Max
. Thanks for waiting up in
the dark for me you uptight douchebag. I’m going to bed.”

He was out of the chair and across the room in a flash,
moving so fast he took me totally by surprise as he grabbed my wrist and held
it tight. I felt a little squeeze in my chest as he grabbed me. I felt fear,
tinged with a little excitement. Max meant business.

“I’m serious Kari. I know it’s not all your fault and I know
your mother let you run wild. But there comes a time when you need to grow up
and if you’re intentionally going to push boundaries we’ll end up having to do
things the hard way.”

I could have told him to fuck off or threatened to scream if
he didn’t let go of me. But I couldn’t bring myself to do it. The talk of
consequences and boundaries had my heart racing. I couldn’t really put my finger
on why, but maybe when you grow up without rules, rules become a little more
exciting.

And there was no doubt that Max was an imposing masculine
figure. Something that had been missing in my life. He had a certain effortless
charm about him. When he wasn’t being an ass he was great company and those
were the times when I understood what she saw in him.

But now? I wanted to say that these were the times I
couldn’t see the appeal, but I honestly wasn’t so sure.

I couldn’t bring myself to apologize so instead I asked,
“and if I don’t call you Max what am I supposed to call you? It’s not like I
can call you Mr Standish.”

He thought about this for a moment, but didn’t release my
wrist.

“Maxwell will do. If we’re in a formal situation. One day I
hope you’ll call me Daddy.”

Da...
“Daddy? You have got to be kidding me.”

He gave my arm a tug and pulled me nearer to him. I could
feel real strength there. He didn’t flaunt it but Max... Maxwell was pretty
buff. I knew he worked out and looked after himself, but it was easy to forget
just how strong he was. When I was right next to him he bent low and spoke
softly right into my ear.

“We’ll see about that Kari.”

For some reason his proximity sent a shiver down my spine
and when he was close I got a whiff of a strong earthy scent that started my
pulse racing.

He let go of my wrist and I rubbed where he had been holding
it. I had to admit I was a little confused by the effect he was having on me
and although part of me really wanted to storm off, another part of me was excited
by the mood Max seemed to be in and really want to stick around.

“How about a bet?” He said, visibly relaxing a little. I
even thought I detected a hint of a smile.

I’m listening.
I cocked my head and waited for him to
continue.

“If you’re a good girl and accept your punishment
gracefully... I bet by the end of it you call me Daddy.”

I laughed. "And what will I win if I don't?" I
asked.

He shrugged. "If you win, I'll lift your curfew."

OK, I was interested. "And what if you win? I have to
be in bed by eight? I have to call you Sir?"

“For a start,” and the smile had already evaporated as his
tone hardened again, “you can lose the attitude and start treating me with a
little respect. And then we’ll have a little talk about what I found in your
top drawer.”

I was outraged that he had dared go through my stuff and
embarrassed by the fact that he’d found my vibrator. It wasn’t even that I was
uptight about sex or anything. It was just the way he said it. It made me feel
like it was some kind of guilty secret, something I should be ashamed of.

“How about if I win you leave me and my stuff the fuck alone
and shove your stupid curfew up your ass?”

Nineteen... twenty
. He mouthed the words under his
breath, they were barely a whisper.

“What?”

“Huh? Oh I’ve been adding up the number of swear words. No
matter how many times I tell you to watch your language around me you choose to
ignore me.”

I shook my head. Whatever.

“So what is my punishment then? Let’s get it over with.”

He didn’t answer at first and instead looked me up and down.
I felt small and my stomach squirmed as he did it. It felt like I was a
specimen under a microscope.

“You are beautiful you know. Smart too. I like that about
you. But you’ve grown up without boundaries. You lack an understanding of the
consequences of your own actions. This makes you foolish. You have potential,
but you have no drive or direction. You lack.... discipline.”

The word rolled off his tongue and he fixed me with a
piercing stare. I couldn’t hold it for long and I was forced to look down and
away. I felt a creeping sense of shame. Perhaps he was right.