Eyes of Dominance

This is likely to be a series going forward. Make sure to settle in for this one, it's my longest yet at nearly 15000 words. So long in fact that I have to split this individual part into two posts. Links will be included on both posts to the other.

“So what do you guys want to do now?” Kate said, the greasy burger in her face muffling her words. She brushed her dark hair from her face and arched an eyebrow at the couple sitting across from them, similarly tucking into their overpriced lunch. Brent looked over to his girlfriend Taylor, who was tearing apart her bag of fries.

“Well, we’ve done most of the small stuff already. Is there anything major left you want to hit?” Brent asked them, smiling softly at his ravenous girlfriend.

“I haven’t rode Typhoon in years” Taylor spoke between bites. “And it looks like the crowds are thinning a little bit, maybe we can do some coasters without waiting too long."

It was an uncharacteristically warm day, with winter just starting to transition into spring. The trio were taking a extended weekend vacation, and currently were at Grand Expedition, a theme park a couple states over from their home. Taylor and Kate’s jobs had been hectic and stressful the past few weeks, so Taylor's boyfriend Brent had planned a small trip to unwind. Taylor had mentioned to him months ago that she hadn't been to a theme park in a long time, so while it was not the only location on their weekend itinerary, they had driven down to a nearby hotel Friday night after work with the intention to be in the park bright and early. They had already gone through most of the park by one o’clock, but in spite of the season, the nice weather had brought out a sizable local crowd, making the lines for the blockbuster attractions a little lengthy. They had currently stopped to get lunch at a small quick service restaurant within the park.

“That sounds good. Gives me a chance to relax a bit” Brent said, sipping his almost emptied soda.

“Oh, c'mon; I thought you were joking. You really aren’t gonna go with us?” Kate questioned. “You gotta do at least one with us."

“This again? I thought you girls had given up finally” he sighed, “Besides, I already rode that mine cart adventure thing. I’m all roller coastered out.”

“She meant an actual coaster” Taylor chimed in. “One not made for kids. That one didn’t go higher than fifty feet. There wasn't even a real drop.”

He looked at her with a self deprecating smirk. “That's precisely why I got on it.” Taylor groaned and rolled her eyes, and Kate joined her with an exasperated sigh. But Brent waved away their jests. 

“Mankind was not designed to be one hundred feet in the air suspended on flimsy metal bars” he explained sagely, with such a dry sincerity that Kate almost couldn’t tell if he was joking.

“Bullshit” Taylor accused, “you’re just being a baby. Do you know how many people ride those things, with nothing going wrong?”

“I'm not worried about the track breaking. I’m worried that the inevitable heart attack will send me to the morgue. I didn’t know you wanted me dead that badly” he answered back.

Taylor looked thoughtful for a moment. “We’ll if you do kick the bucket, someone gets all your shit, right?”

Brent smirked. “Who says you’re in my will?”

Taylor stuck her tongue out at him in response, then rolled her eyes and tried her best to look unamused as he gently pushed her blonde curls aside and kissed her cheek. She locked eyes with Kate, who smiled and tried to bury the slight pit of jealousy in her gut. She had recently found herself single a few months past, and while she was over her own past situation, part of her was envious of her friend's relationship.

Brent pulled away and started to pick up the trash strewn around their small table. “Well, if you girls want to get going, I can clean this up and meet you over there when you’re done” he offered. Kate smiled gratefully, but Taylor only huffed in response.

“If you don’t want to do anything, why’d we even bring you along?” she complained.

“The only things I haven’t done are the flying metal death machines” he mock lectured. “I’m otherwise content with my day. As for why I’m on the trip that I planned, that’s to keep an eye on the two of you. Lord knows the trouble you’d get into unsupervised.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about” Taylor lied, and Kate hid a smile behind her napkin. Ever since they met working in the same office two years ago, the two were inseparable best friends and partners in crime. It was certainly undeniable that the pair had quite the capacity for mischief and drama, though in different ways. 

Taylor was certainly the more direct of the pair; a smart, passionate girl who was surprisingly sweet, but had an innate sass that hardly ever abated. She often meant well, but her bluntness, headstrong nature, and poor impulse control meant that her mouth landed her in hot water far more than it should. Despite being the more traditionally introverted of the two, she had a habit of finding herself in the midst of drama due to her unique personality.

Kate herself was far more discreet in her troublesome ways. She, to put it mildly, lived for the drama. As the more outgoing friend, she was friendly, playful, inquisitive, a natural confidant. She was coincidentally a notorious gossip, and constantly pumped everyone she knew for every personal detail she could. Her curiosity knew no bounds, and while she didn’t consider herself outright manipulative, she did use her knowledge and her personable nature to her advantage. Taylor had once jokingly accused her of being an instigator, and while it wasn’t the most flattering label, even she had to admit that it wasn’t totally inaccurate.

Brent’s hummed in discontent, unconvinced. In response, Taylor frowned and pointed an accusing finger. “Don’t try to turn this on us. This discussion is about your punk ass not getting on any real rides!”

“As was basically every other conversation this morning” he noted disapprovingly. While not technically true, both girls had been teasing and pestering him about his fear of heights since they walked through the front gates. Taylor had been particularly relentless in her jokes, to the point where Kate wondered if she was annoyed at him for something else. But to his credit, Brent had taken their jesting in stride and often joked back. 

“Well, maybe if you stepped out of your comfort zone and got on a real ride, we wouldn’t have to make fun of you all day” Taylor said, her faux sweet tone laced with judgement.

“Well, maybe if you respected that I prefer not to spend my vacations having unnecessary panic attacks, we could move past this” he said back to her, mimicking her inflection.

“Yeah, but like, where’s the fun in that?” Taylor smiled. “Making fun of you has been like half the fun of the trip so far.”

“Has it really?” he mused. “Well then, next time we can stay home. It’ll be half as fun but we’ll save a lot of money.”

As the couple bantered across from her, Kate smiled and let her mind wander. Brent and Taylor had been together as long as Kate knew her; they had started dating a few months before Taylor started at their office two years ago. She often found herself wondering how a guy like Brent managed to put up with their antics. To Kate, Brent seemed to be a pretty straight laced guy; he was reserved, polite, a little awkward, prone to rambling, but well spoken. He didn’t seem the type to ever cause a scene or lose his temper, in contrast to his firebrand of a girlfriend. Kate loved Taylor, but she knew that her best friend could be a lot to handle, so it was a little odd to her how well they ended up working together despite their differences.

Though now that she thought about it, rather than being incompatible, she figured that they were moreso complementary. Taylor could be a hot mess from time to time, but she always seemed a little more grounded and centered in his presence. And while Brent was reserved and serious, around Taylor he seemed to loosen up considerably, revealing a dry, sardonic sense of humor and quiet confidence. Just as he anchored her, she relaxed him. It was a good match, she thought. And if Taylor’s antics ever got to be too much, Brent had certain means of dealing with her, she considered with a small smile, knowing the secret to their relationship.

Her thoughts were interrupted when she tuned back into the conversation, and realized that their playful back and forth no longer sounded so carefree. 

“All I’m saying is that there are like six other ones here. It’s kind of dumb to just stand around and do nothing instead of trying at least one with us” Taylor complained, her voice agitated, and Kate could tell she was beginning to get a bit worked up.

“Taylor, I’ve rode them before; I’m just not a fan. It’s not a big deal, you guys can do as many as you’d like. I’m alright” Brent responded in a matter of fact tone.

“I'm sure you are” Taylor said dismissively, “but if you stopped being a bitch for like a few minutes, then maybe—“

“Taylor, that’s enough” Brent interrupted, his tone flat and inviting no argument. He stared at her for a few moments. “Be nice. I get it; you guys are just giving me shit, but you need to take it down a notch. I’ve made my choice. Respect that, please.”

Taylor’s cheeks flushed, and she looked like she wanted to argue, but merely shook her head and muttered “whatever” under her breath. Brent continued looking at her with his surprisingly intense expression, and Kate felt nervous. Not that couples arguing was new to her, she had even seen these two get into heated conversation before. But she had never heard Brent use that tone of voice before, low and commanding. It was something completely new to her, and that was intriguing.

The tense moment lasted only a few seconds, and then was broken when Brent turned to her and smiled. “Don’t worry about the trash, I’ll clean up. You girls better get going, before the lines get crazy again.”

Taylor stood up without saying a word, and Kate gave her thanks while pushing her chair in, following after her friend. The two left the small restaurant and pushed past the throngs of people standing around in the plaza, starting off towards Typhoon, which was not too far away.

They walked together in silence for almost a minute, until Kate's curiosity couldn’t take it anymore.

“You alright?” she asked carefully, turning towards her friend casually.

Taylor looked back towards her with a quizzical look. “Yeah, what’s up?”

“Nothing,” Kate replied, “that was just an intense exchange back there. I just thought that someone might be in trouble.”

Taylor’s face blanched, and she looked away in either annoyance or embarrassment. “Really, Kate? That’s what you’re thinking about?” 

“That’s not a no…” Kate noted, unable to keep the amusement from her voice.

“It is, shut up!” Taylor whined in response, not sounding convincing at all.

“Really…” Kate said, managing to sound more serious. “I’ve just never heard Brent actually sound like, actually pissed before. You sure he not planning on doing, y’know, ‘that’ to you later?”

Taylor blushed, surely because Kate was alluding to the fact that she was spanked by her boyfriend.

Kate had learned about Brent and Taylor’s secret just a few months back, right after Kate went through a messy breakup. The best friends were drunkenly commiserating together one night after work, and they were a bottle and a half deep into their wine when Kate was telling her all about the things she said during one of her fights with her ex. Taylor was being a good friend and sympathizing, but accidentally blurted out that if she had said what Kate did, she would have ended the night with a bright red ass. It took several seconds Taylor to realize what she had accidentally admitted, and several more for Kate to realize that she was serious. After a few frantic minutes of frenzied questions and unconvincing denial, Taylor reluctantly gave in, if only to stop Kate from assuming the worst about their dynamic. 

She had told Kate that her and Brent had a kinky relationship that entailed a degree of power exchange, and that she was subject to punishment if certain rules were broken, mainly being spanked. It was completely consensual, and something that she readily agreed to, but by no means was pleasant. Kate tried to push her for more details, but even drunk, Taylor was way too embarrassed to say much more, and ignored Kate’s questions until she had no choice but to drop the subject. But if Taylor thought that would be the end of it, she underestimated Kate’s curiosity. You don’t just tell your best friend something that juicy and expect them not to pry, Kate rationalized.

So she questioned. And pestered. And occasionally joked at her friend’s expense, all in good fun of course. Taylor occasionally would give snippets of insight, but mostly stonewalled Kate’s attempts, often asking why she was so curious about her sex life, which Kate always pushed back against. It’s not as if she was absolutely needed to know, to her it was just a bit of benign interest. And yet she never seemed to let it go for long.

Maybe it was because it was the one thing her best friend tried to keep secret from her that made it intriguing. Then there was the fact that it was pretty odd arrangement; Kate couldn’t deny the fact the whole thing seemed kind of funny to her. Not that she was judging; plenty of girls liked it rough in bed, and Kate herself didn’t mind the occasional slap on the ass during sex. But to be subjected to real discipline for reasons other than kinky fun wasn’t exactly common to her knowledge, so surely her curiosity was only a symptom of her ignorance, right?

“N-no” Taylor finally stammered. “We’re on vacation, first off. Second, he’s not actually THAT pissed. I’m just not really supposed to curse at him like that. And after the past two weeks, he might be a little… I haven’t really been… yeah, it’s whatever” she frustratingly stopped her train of thought, as they had arrived at Typhoon. The large, twisting coaster loomed overhead, and while there was still a sizable line present, it was much better than earlier. The two girls quickly stepped into the queue.

“It’s fine” Taylor continued, looking a bit anxious. “I don’t even know why he’d be mad in the first place; we were just goofing off. He doesn’t need to have to be so serious about it, it’s not a big deal. And he’s all like ‘be nice?’ Like cmon.”

Kate thought about pointing out that he wasn’t taking it seriously until she pushed a little too far, but she could tell her friend was getting worked up about being reprimanded, and wanted to stay on her good side. 

She wasn’t sure why Taylor was so worked up about this. It really wasn’t a big deal if he didn’t want to go with them, after all, there were plenty of things that Kate didn’t like to do that she would be mad if someone kept pushing her into. It almost seemed like she was upset at him for something else, and was using his aversion to heights as a proxy to vent her frustrations.

"You sure that this is just about coasters?" she gently pried again. "You actually seem a bit upset."

Taylor sighed. "It's nothing. We had a bit of a fight earlier this month, and there's still a bit of hard feelings left over." Kate must've made an expression, because Taylor immediately followed up with "Don't you even start with that. It's done with; I'm not talking about it further. I'm just still a little annoyed by him at the moment, and just wanna have some fun today."

Kate stayed quiet, not sure of what to say, when Taylor groaned and pulled her blonde hair back into a ponytail. "It's fine; I wish that he'd join us, but it doesn't really matter. I just don't know why he takes things so seriously."

Kate stayed silent, taking everything in. She knew that as her best friend, she should probably try to deescalate the situation and work to avert Taylor from getting in any actual trouble. And yet she found herself thinking about how Brent firmly rebuked her, the sternness of his expression, how Taylor adorably sulked away. It was a glimpse into something she had never seen before, only oft handedly imagined. And she couldn't deny that she kind of wanted to see more of it.

“Yeah. I mean, I kinda get his point. But beyond the jokes, I just think it’s pretty sad for him to just wait around for the last hour or so while we’re here having fun. It’d be a cool memory for us to all to do at least one of the big rides together” she found herself saying, subtly goading her friend.

“I know, right?!?” Taylor nearly yelled, causing a few people in line to turn around. “This is like, a group weekend. I know he doesn’t like roller coasters, and that’s fine, but it’s not like any of these are real bad.” As if on queue, a screaming cart of park goers rocketed around the track overhead.

“Okay, maybe not this one” she conceded, “but there’s plenty of others.” She stood there in quiet contemplation.

“Well is there any other coasters he might actually do?” Kate asked, this being her first time here.

“There should be at least one,” Taylor considered, “but it’s fine. I’m over it.” He waved her hand dismissively. “He can do what he wants, I don’t really care.”

Kate shrugged and started scrolling through her phone notifications. She didn't really understand what compelled her to stir the pot; she didn’t really want to be the cause of problems between the two, so she shouldn't push further. But she was secretly hoping Taylor still cared a little more than she let on. She didn't have much time to consider her feelings on the matter, as soon they were being seating into the ride, and all over her thoughts were briefly forgotten as she screamed her way though the next three minutes soaring through the air.

Upon exiting the ride, they met up with Brent again. Kate's selfish hope for more drama was looking promising. Despite her words, Taylor was clearly not over their exchange nor his refusal to ride with them, because when Brent asked them how the ride was, Taylor’s only reply was “How was standing around by yourself for a half hour?” But besides her barbed reply, the day continued on. Taylor and Kate rode two more roller coasters, but the fatigue from the early morning rise had begun to set in, and so they decided to do one last ride, the indoor coaster Galaxy Whirl. It was close to the park entrance, and with luck they would get out before the sun started to set and people started leaving en masse.

All three of them walked to the ride together in relative silence. Brent and Taylor had exchanged in some light small talk, but it was apparent that she was still sulking over something. Despite herself, Kate was feeling a bit frustrated. She knew she shouldn't be hoping for some form of conflict, but the simmering tension combined with the earlier glimpse into her friend's private dynamic had her desiring some sort of payoff. As they slowly approached the large building housing the last attraction of the day, flanked by people on all sides, Kate found herself compelled to poke the nest one last time.

"Last chance Brent..." she teased in a singsong voice. "You sure you don't want to come with us? It's indoors, it can't be that bad."

"Y'know, the first two hundred times you guys asked I really didn't want to, but this time I'll surely change my mind" he sardonically responded.

Kate frowned pitiably and started to joke back, but Taylor interrupted her.

“Don't bother, Kate” Taylor sulked. “My boyfriend doesn’t like having fun.”

Brent frowned, and glanced back at her. "Or, he prefers to have his decisions respected and not get an attitude. Haven't we had this conversation somewhat recently?"

Taylor's eyes went wide, and she glared at her boyfriend, looking ready to fight. But after a few moments, she muttered a curse under her breath and muttered a venomous "Whatever. Do what you want. See if I care."

Brent continued looking back to her, his brow raised. “Why are you so fixated on this? It’s really not a big deal.”

Taylor stopped and ground her foot into the asphalt. “You’re right! It isn’t, so quit being such a pussy about it!” she suddenly yelled, unable to hold her composure. Quite a few parkgoers stopped and glanced in their direction, while a mother glowered at Taylor as she led her young kids away. Kate coughed and smiled awkwardly, hoping they would be soon lost in the crowd.

Brent’s eyes were narrow as he glared at his girlfriend. “Taylor…” he finally spoke, and from his tone alone Kate knew her friend had crossed a line. But she didn’t seem to care, as she grabbed Kate by the hand and lead her away towards the line.

“C'mon, let’s get this done with” she grumbled, not waiting for a response.

Kate allowed herself to be pulled away, glancing over her shoulder towards Brent. He wordlessly watched them walk away, his expression stone. He reached into his pocket, but before could see anything she was pulled into the building that served as the ride’s queue. 

The friends stood awkwardly in silence next to each other in line. Kate wanted to say something, but only a minute or so had passed before Taylor’s phone rumbled in her small handbag. Taylor quickly plucked it out and held it to her chest, attempting to keep the message and its sender private, but it was obvious to Kate who sent it. She started furiously tapping and swiping across the screen in response, then jammed the phone back into the bag. However, not a minute later, it vibrated again and Taylor was back typing away. This pattern repeated three more times, until they were close to the loading platform. Finally she roughly put the phone away with a frustrated sigh, and turned towards Kate with a pensive expression.

“Everything alright?” Kate questioned with a half smile, trying to diffuse a little bit of the tension. Taylor continued staring at her with that anxious, questioning look, but then frowned and turned away.

“Nothing. It’s fine” she obviously lied, putting on a dismissive face.

“….. was that Brent?” Kate pressed, but Taylor didn’t answer, and Kate didn't want to anger her further, so she stayed silent and waited in line.

Soon enough, they were on the loading platform, preparing to board the ride. Nervous butterflies filled Kate’s stomach, but they had nothing to do with the coaster in front of her. She had only meant to maybe push Brent’s buttons a little, hoping to see a little more of the stern side of him she never saw before today. But she had unwittingly set off a powder keg she wasn't aware was set to blow, and now her mind was racing considering what would happen now. The coaster roared to life, and Kate was pushed back into her seat by the force of the launch, but the adrenaline coursing through her was purely from thinking about what would happen now.

The car ride back to the hotel was quiet. It would be easy to attribute the silence to fatigue, were it not for the electric tension hanging in the air. Brent looked much the same as usual, but there was a certain rigidity to his posture that gave away his restrained emotions. For her part, Taylor stared out the window with her most unbothered expression. Kate sat in the backseat, phone in hand, not sure of what to do herself.

On one hand, she knew she could probably ease the heavy tension a little bit, maybe get them talking about dinner plans or what they would do tomorrow. But as uncomfortable as the silence was, there was also an exciting, almost sensuous undertone to the quiet. She watched as Brent stole quick glances at Taylor, his hands flexing in vexation on the steering wheel, and began to notice Taylor shifting and repositioning in her seat nervously, her mask of disinterest slowly chipping  away. She imagined herself in Taylor’s shoes; riding in the front seat, clearly in trouble with her boyfriend, stewing in the silence of her earlier words, knowing her best friend is in the backseat is aware of her predicament, unsure of what’s coming next. 

She felt a small, curious surge of adrenaline imagining her embarrassment, and hid a smirk as she went back to scrolling through her feed. She may have not really intended for Taylor to get in trouble earlier, only wanting to create some sparks and see what happened, but now that the flame was lit she certainly wasn’t going to pour water on it.

As they drew nearer to the hotel, Kate’s imagination ran wild. Taylor was clearly in trouble, but would she really be punished? She hadn't really considered it being a reality until now. Would he just scold her a bit, or would he actually... spank her? If he did, would it be after the trip at home, or would he do it here and now, at the hotel? She couldn’t help but fantasize about it. The fact that Taylor got punished by her boyfriend had always intrigued her, but as she had never seen it in action it was more of a fun anecdote to pester and occasionally tease her about. But now that it was a real possibility unfolding in front of her, she found herself needing to know more. 

Her fantasies were brought to a halt as they entered the hotel parking lot. There weren’t too many cars outside; it was not peak season for travel, and still early in the afternoon, so only a little more than a fourth of the spaces were currently filled. Brent pulled into the space next to their entrance, and turned towards Taylor.

“You girls go ahead. I’ll be up in a minute or two.” His words sounded no different than normal, but the way he looked at Taylor made it clear to Kate that it was a warning.

Taylor sighed in annoyance and threw open the car door, and Kate followed behind carefully. They entered the building and walked to the stairwell, Kate thinking of how to ask about five different questions at once, but when they reached the stairs Taylor slowed down and stopped her.

Kate was confused, but felt a strange emotion as she watched Taylor’s embarrassed face as she struggled to find the words to say. 

“So, Brent wants to have a talk with me about what I said in the park.” she finally said.

“Oh, a ‘talk?’” Kate raised her inflection, secretly hoping that the insulation was what she thought. 

“Yeah, a ‘talk’…….” she trailed off, looking like she would rather be having any other conversation. “So it would be cool if you could like, give us a little bit. Maybe take a walk around the hotel, go to the hot tub or something….”

“Oh…. Oh! Sorry; yeah, I can do that” Kate found herself scrambling to say, feeling excitement and disappointment in equal measure. “Is this going to be a long……. conversation?”

Taylor’s face remained the color of a tomato as she grimaced. “I hope not, but it could be a while. Sorry, I don’t want to kick you out on our trip, but—”

“That’s okay!” Kate felt her face flaming up as well. “I’ll find something to do for a bit before dinner, it’s no problem!”

“Awesome” Taylor replied, her voice signaling that it was anything but. With apparently nothing more to say, she turned and started up the stairs.

Kate followed up behind her friend, scolding herself as she stole glances at her legging clad bottom, picturing what would potentially be happening in a few minutes. She had so many questions to ask, but she didn’t know exactly how to, and she had a feeling that Taylor would not be forthright.

They reached the landing, and as they walked down the hall towards their room, Kate made a decision. She was not sure why she was so interested in this aspect of her friend’s relationship, but she knew she needed to know more. She quickly started to scheme, thinking as fast as she could for a way to witness the punishment in some fashion. She obviously wasn’t going to be able to watch, but maybe she could listen in from outside, or catch a quick glimpse on “accident.”

They entered the hotel room, and Kate quickly walked over to her suitcase, pulling out her black swimsuit. She turned towards Taylor, who had flopped onto the bed and was kicking her legs anxiously.

“I’m just gonna use the restroom and put this on, and I’ll be out of your hair” she said apologetically. Taylor grumbled a reply, not getting up from her spot.

She thought about asking to use the shower first, hoping that Brent would maybe start while she was in the bathroom so she could listen through the door, but that seemed far too shoddy a plan, so she took her time relieving herself and putting on the swimsuit. The sound of the room door opening caught her ear, and she held her breath and listened as intently as she could, but heard nothing but a brief, low exchange. She waited a few moments, but hearing no further words and aware of how long she was taking, Kate threw her shorts and t-shirt back on over her swimwear. Setting her plan into motion, she purposefully took out her phone and placed it on the countertop next to the sink. Satisfied, she took a deep breath and opened the door.

Brent was rummaging through his travel bag, while Taylor had still not gotten up from her sprawled position on the bed, looking up at the ceiling as if to ignore his presence. Kate tried to see what Brent was looking for, but when he glanced in her direction at the sound of the bathroom door closing she jumped and offered an apology.

“Sorry! I’m gonna take a walk, maybe check out the hot tub to see if it's worth anything!” she lied. “I’ll be back in thirty to forty minutes. Maybe more?” she added, not sure if that was enough time.

Brent gave her a curt smile, his eyes holding a glint of something raw that she couldn’t quite articulate. 

“That's fine. Well, have fun! If you do jump in the hot tub, maybe we’ll come down in a little bit and join you; we just have something to discuss first” he said warmly, his smile still terse as he glanced in Taylor’s direction.

“Sounds like a plan. I’ll….. leave you to it!” she smiled awkwardly. She shuffled towards the door and with more than a little hesitation closed it behind her.

She sighed nervously, then took a brisk walk around the floor they were staying on, irrationally afraid they might check if she was at the door. She made a large loop around the second floor, and after about three minutes turned back towards the room, going over the plan in her head.

‘Okay, I’ve been gone long enough to hopefully throw off suspicion. Now all I have to do is sit by the door, look casual, and listen in on whatever happens. I’ll stand by for a bit, maybe walk down the hall a few times so I don’t look like a creeper to other guests, and when things sound like they’re winding down, I’ll “accidentally” stumble in, because I forgot my phone in the bathroom while changing. I’ll apologize profusely, grab my phone, and rush back downstairs to the hot tub.’

She smiled nervously to herself; there were a few holes in her plan, and “oopsie, I left my phone behind” was close to as trite as excuses come, but it was believable enough, and she didn’t have any time to come up with a more full proof plan. It would have to do given the circumstances.

When she got closer to their door again, the sound of the room’s TV was blaring from the other side. She surmised that it was to muffle the sound of what was happening within, but as she reached the wall next to the door, she didn’t hear the telltale sound of punishment, but rather a muffled conversation. Though she could somewhat pick out Brent’s voice, she couldn’t always make out exactly what he was saying. Taylor’s anxious words, however, were still quite audible amidst the loud commercials.

“…… that’s not what I meant though!” Taylor whined from across the wall. Brent's voice was low and sounded disapproving.

"________________ It doesn't_____________ You're mad ___________ over the last two weeks _________ taking it out ________________  expressly told you that_____________________" were the brief fragments of his lecture that she could pick out.

“But that’s not fair! I just wanted to unwind and have fun…” she replied.

Whatever Brent said was completely drowned out by the local car salesman’s animated pitch, and Kate could only make out Taylor’s shockingly adorable “Noooo…” in response. 

There was a period of quiet mumbling, where even Taylor’s voice was too low to make out, no matter how hard Kate pressed her ear to the wall. Finally, after about a minute, Taylor’s voice picked back up.

“But what if she comes back?” she exclaimed more than questioned. Kate’s breath hitched and she anxiously leaned in, only moderately aware of how sketchy she might look to a passerby. 

"I warned you that---" Whatever response she was hoping to hear was drowned out by the news traffic report, and she would have kicked the wall in frustration if not for it revealing her presence. 

When the TV volume died back down a bit, she could not hear any more conversation. She waited, lip bit, hoping to hear something, anything, that would clue her into what was happening, but almost three minutes passed in complete silence. She was so focused on listening in that she almost didn’t see the man that turned the corner down the hall until he gave her a friendly smile and a wave. 

She tried her hardest not to show her embarrassment and returned his gesture. Not wanting the encounter to escalate to conversation, she quickly turned back down the hall in the opposite direction and briskly walked away, her head racing.

‘What now?’ she questioned herself, turning down the maze of halls and doors, keeping track of her distance and time away from their room. While that encounter was slightly awkward, it wouldn't lead to anything. But as she walked the halls, mostly devoid of patrons, she began to consider how problematic another encounter could be.

‘What if someone thinks I’m locked out of my room, and offers to call help for me?’ she thought. ‘What if the cameras pick up some weird lady listening into a room and they send someone to question or confront me?’

With it being her room and her friends inside, she knew that she was under no real threat of getting in trouble. But anyone stopping to talk to her would potentially out her presence to Taylor and Brent, and she under no circumstances wanted that to happen, at least not yet. 

Figuring she walked far enough away, she turned back down the path she just walked and returned quickly to the room, relived to see the hallway was empty again. She estimated she was gone about four or five minutes, but without her phone she couldn’t be sure. Deciding to be a little more discreet this time, she quietly leaned her back against the wall and stood nonchalantly by the door, her head cocked ever so slightly towards the wall.

However, despite her walk, there was no new sounds coming from the room. No matter how loud the TV was, she couldn’t possibly imagine it completely drowning out the sound of a punishment. She waited for what felt like a few minutes, but heard nothing but the news droning on. 

Perhaps she missed it, she briefly wondered. As Kate was never spanked herself, her conception of the punishment was based on cultural osmosis, and the few scant stories she’d heard of fraternity and sorority hazing. To her knowledge, spankings weren’t particularly long affairs, from a range of a couple “of the best” with a paddle to a few dozen slaps over someone’s lap. Perhaps things were different in a real discipline session between adults, but Kate had nothing to judge it by. From the few times Taylor was comfortable, or at least drunk enough, to briefly allude to her punishments, they didn't sound particularly short, but maybe Kate misunderstood.

There was also the possibility that Brent decided not to spank her, she reasoned. He was always very polite and understanding around Kate, maybe he decided not to embarrass Taylor on vacation, or was afraid Kate would walk in on them. Maybe Taylor was wrong about what he had intended, or maybe Kate had misinterpreted her words.

Regardless of the reason, the only sound coming from the room was the TV, and Kate knew the longer she waited to get her phone, the less believable a story leaving it behind was. Standing around and waiting wasn’t working out as well as she hoped, and without her phone she had nothing to distract her or to even pretend to do while she listened in. The way she expected this to all play out was clearly not happening, so she might as well cut her losses. She swallowed her nerves, gave herself a few moments to calm down and act natural, and with her room key opened the door.

As this is too long for one post, the story is continued in part two here.