Eyes of Dominance

A what if scenario based on real events. An exploration of what might have been, if I was then who I am now.

The end of the summer break loomed large in Chris’s mind. The end of the season was always a dour time for him, but this year’s transition was shaping up to be particularly melancholic. After all, he had just met Ashley a few months ago, and wasn’t yet prepared for her to return to her college. The two students had spent most of the summer joined at the hip, and while Ashley’s campus was not too far away, the start of the semester would undoubtedly signal a sharp reduction in the long days they spent together. It was an inevitability, he knew, and he would soon be busy with his own coursework over the coming semester at the nearby community college. Nor would it prevent him from visiting from time to time. Still, such acknowledgements didn’t dull the sullenness of their whirlwind summer drawing to a close.

However, at the moment they were quite well insulated from the future by the large blanket fort dominating the expanse of Chris’s room. They had built it a week prior, and though it was inevitably beginning to slump in places, it was still holding up remarkably well for a structure made of fabric. Chris somewhat attributed this to Ashley’s use of clothespins and clips, a faux pas in fort-making to his sensibilities, but he couldn’t deny the results. The fort had taken up the majority of his bedroom, with blankets hanging from the ceiling fan to the nearby dresser and desk chair, and behind the entertainment unit. Within the structure, more blankets and pillows lined the floor and created a soft, lumpy surface to relax on. The only light source came from the small TV within, which had been playing paranormal horror movies for the last few hours. 

Chris laid back against a pile of pillows, arm wrapped around Ashley, who was currently snuggled up next to him with her leg draped over his waist. They had been talking for the last hour after the conclusion of the final movie. It was a comfortable position, almost too comfortable, given the position of Ashley’s leg over his groin. He had become quite infatuated with her over the summer, and though he hoped his attraction was mutual, he couldn’t quite convince himself enough of its veracity. In hindsight, their current position might have been seen as a glaring sign, but given his relative inexperience with the opposite sex, his instincts were blunted by a sense of propriety. So he listened intently to her lament her imminent return to college while secretly fighting to suppress his body’s natural response to the pressure up against him.

He smiled and closed his eyes as Ashley explained the prospective details of her campus job. Despite her apologies for rambling at times, Chris never tired of hearing her talk. It was quite soothing actually. He appreciated how passionate she could get over even mundane topics. It was one of the reasons he liked spending time with her so much. Suddenly she fell silent, and though his eyes were closed he could feel her judgmental stare.

“Oh, ok. Falling asleep on me? I see how it is” she mockingly chided. It was a rather common accusation. 

“Nope, just comfortable” he replied, not bothering to open his eyes. In actuality, he was a little tired; they had just spent close to five hours watching movies. It was getting quite late into the night, though he felt no desire to drive her home just yet. His family had left for the weekend, leaving the house quiet save for their presence, and he wanted to enjoy the privacy. 

Ashley groaned in response and extricated herself from his tight grip. He felt her sit up next to him and heard the light crinkle of plastic as she sipped from a nearby water bottle. They had stocked the blanket fort rather heavily with snacks and water at the start of their movie marathon, but supplies were starting to dwindle. It was probably time to run downstairs and restock, but Chris was entirely too comfortable at the moment to consider moving. With all the pillows and blankets lining the floor, it felt almost like lying in bed. He could probably fall asleep right now if he wanted…

His blissful relaxation was suddenly washed away as cool liquid started running down his face like a faucet. Knowing exactly what had occurred, he sighed in vexation and begrudgingly open one eye. Ashley’s now empty water bottle was held open and upside down above his head, and within the dim light of the television he could see her signature grin as she started to giggle. 

“You wanna tell me why you did that?” he asked incredulously, though his sour tone was mainly for show. He found it difficult to be truly mad at her.

She smiled back smugly. “Hey, you were the one falling asleep while I was talking. Pretty rude if you ask me.”

He shook his head in mock disbelief, but didn’t bother hiding his own grin. He went to wipe the water from his eyes with a nearby blanket, but the second his arm left his side, Ashley leaned forward and jabbed her hand into his side wriggling her fingers. Immediately Chris jumped; he was surprisingly ticklish, a trait Ashley unfortunately didn’t share and regularly abused. He swatted her arm away with his free hand.

“I’m warning you, keep pushing me…” he chuckled threateningly.

Almost immediately he realized the mistake he had made in indirectly challenging her. Her eyes went wide and she tilted her head towards him questioningly.

“I’m sorry, what was that?” she asked sharply, a dangerous smile creeping across her face. “You said what now?”

“You heard me” he replied, going to wipe his face again. As he turned away, she pounced, digging her fingers into his sides while throwing her weight on top of him. 

“Or what exactly?” she laughed as she tried to worm her hands into his most ticklish zones. “What are you gonna do about it?”

Chris was at a disadvantage, still tangled within the blankets and Ashley having the leverage advantage being above him. Still, he would not tolerate being tickled, and her challenging words drove him to act quickly. He leaned forward and sat up suddenly, pushing Ashley’s body across him and off of his chest. As she fell flat across his legs, he quickly worked to restrict her tickling arms. A small struggle ensued as they both writhed within the blanket fort, coming close to knocking into the chair supporting the main structure. However, after a few moments of wrestling, he succeeded in pinning her arms behind her back, while her body laid draped across his thighs.

As the adrenaline of the mad scramble subsided, realization began to dawn on Chris about the position they had ended up in. Ashley was face down over his lap, held firmly in place while her bottom was tantalizing propped up over his folded legs. It was a position he had often fantasized about putting her in, one befitting a mischievous brat like her. But he didn’t exactly think it would manifest in such an accidental way. Perhaps his underlying desire unconsciously prodded him to restrain her this way. But now that the power struggle had ended, he realized how this might be construed. 

Still, he had a reputation to uphold. He caught his breath and arched an eyebrow at the back of her head. 

“You done?” he asked dryly. 

She wriggled a few times against his tight grip, then relaxed. “Maybe” she grumbled cheekily, clearly not done.

“That’s not a yes or no” he replied. 

She tilted her head to look at him through her left eye. “Why don’t you let go and find out?” she shot back.

He clicked his tongue disapprovingly. “Y’know, you don’t really seem to be in a position to be making those kind of threats.” 

“And what kind of position am I in, exactly?” he could hear her smile.

“A dangerous one” he answered.

“And how is that?”

“Do you really want to find out?” he warned her, letting the insinuation hang.

Ashley fell silent for a few moments, and Chris allowed his grip to loosen. Despite her playing along and biting back, he didn’t want to make things too weird between them. There was an awkward enough situation brewing within his pants, one he would rather her not discover for herself. However, the second his hands relaxed, she twisted on his lap and tried to tickle him again.

Without thinking, he pushed her back down across his legs, raised a hand, and slapped her hard across the seat of her thin mesh shorts.

Instant the atmosphere within the fort shifted. Ashley jumped in surprise from the sudden smack, but made no effort to move. Chris held Ashley’s arm tight behind her back, waiting for her reaction. 

“…Did you really just do that?” she asked. Despite her question, she seemed neither shocked or upset. In fact, her voice had almost a breathy sound to it.

“I did, and it was no less than you deserve” he replied. “Now are you gonna behave yourself or do I need to do it again?”

There was a tense, questioning silence.

“You wouldn’t…” she finally responded, voice low… and almost teasing.

“You think so?” he asked. “That sounds like a dare.”

“Maybe…”

Chris sat there for a ponderous moment, weighing her words. Then he brought his hand down again across her ass. Almost instantly, the wall of propriety within him came crashing down, and he began to spank her in earnest.

A heady rush of endorphins flooded him as he quickly swatted away at her rear. He felt his body move almost on its own, peppering her butt with surprisingly hard smacks. Every wayward thought and fantasy of doing this to her bubbled up to the surface all at once. He knew that as friends, this might be crossing a line, regardless of whether she had egged him on. But none of that seemed to matter at the moment.

Ashley stayed surprisingly silent through the initial barrage. Surely she must’ve been taken off guard by his lack of holding back. But she remained stoic for well over a minute, her heavy breaths just barely audible over the muffled swats. However, eventually the sting must’ve built up, because Chris heard her let out a pained gasp after a particularly hard smack.

“Did that one hurt?” he asked, stopping for a moment. “Starting to regret your dare?”

“Don’t flatter yourself” she exhaled deeply with an almost bored inflection.

Chris sighed in disappointment. “Still talking shit? Alright then. I can do this all night, y’know.” 

“Doubt it.”

He started to spank again, this time spreading out his swats all across her butt. Her short mesh gym shorts offered little protection from his hand, and despite her nonchalant attitude he could tell that the spanks were starting to hurt, as evidenced by her increased squirming and the building sting on his own palm. He hadn’t set out with the intention to really punish her. He just wanted to called her bluff. But if she wasn’t going to give in, then neither was he. So for another full minute, he peppered his friend’s ass with increasingly hard smacks.

Finally he paused again and took a deep breath. “You ready to apologize?” he asked pointedly.

“For what?” Ashley scoffed. It appeared that the pseudo punishment had not yet dulled her spirit.

“For dumping water on me, as a start” he answered. “Being a brat and acting like I won’t back up my threats also probably warrants one as well.”

She chuckled to herself. “Yeah… that’s not happening.”

Chris frowned at her. “Even in this position, you’re still acting like a smartass? I’m still being nice to you right now. You know these can still come down, right?” 

For emphasis, he lightly slid the tips of his fingers into the waistband of her shorts. It was a risky threat to make, but one he was certain she would capitulate to. So he was shocked as her shoulders shrugged in response.

“You do what you gotta do” she sighed dismissively, not even attempting to get up despite her arms being free for the past minute.

Chris looked down at her, his head swirling at her lack of protest. He wanted nothing more than to make good on his threat, but to do so would be a big escalation. He decided to give her one more chance to back out.

“Alright then. I’m gonna count to three, and if I don’t hear an apology, then what follows is on you.”

“You do that.” He could almost hear the eye roll.

Fine then. He counted down loudly, so that there could be no confusion that he was serious. 

“One…. Two….. Three.”

Ashley didn’t budge an inch. Steeling himself, Chris pushed his fingers further into the waistband of her shorts, and in one swift motion yanked downwards.

Ashley gasped as her pants quickly slid down her thighs. Chris felt a brief moment of triumph, before a flush crept across his face as he looked down at her completely bare, slightly reddened ass. He had only intended to take down her shorts and leave her underwear intact, but in his haste must’ve accidentally hooked her panties with his fingers as well. With her bottoms scrunched together halfway down her legs, her rear end was completely bared to him.

Chris paused for a brief moment, waiting to see her reaction. He hasn’t meant to take it that far, but although the quick exposure seemed to shock Ashley, she made no effort to cover up or get off his lap. Taking that as consent, he lightly rubbed her bare cheeks, then brought his hand down as the spanking began anew. 

The sound of skin contacting skin rang throughout the blanket fort, unable to escape the natural soundproofing. Chris smacked away at Ashley’s naked bottom with renewed vigor. This whole situation had spiraled wildly from two friends flirtatiously trading barbs and threats, but he was not going to let that stop him now. His burgeoning instincts as a dominant were firmly in control, and he knew he needed to make good on following through with his words. He wasn’t all that upset about the charges he laid at her, but if he said he was going to spank her bare butt until she apologized, then that’s what he was going to do.

Again and again his hand fell, quickly painting her skin a dull red. Ashley finally started to squirm in earnest, no longer having even a thin layer to blunt the sting. Her hands dug into a nearby pillow as low, throaty groans started slipping through her lips. Still she made no real effort to escape her discipline, and dutifully took each smack without complaint. 

Chris could not tell how long he had been spanking her. Time as a concept seemed not to matter at the moment. He was fully locked into this one moment, shielded from the outside world by the fabric walls of the fort. The flesh of his palm pulsed with a dull throb, and the muscles in his arm were starting to ache from the exertion, but he would have sooner let the appendage fall off then stop this impromptu punishment.

Finally, Ashley’s sudden voice shook him from his almost trance like state. 

“Okay, okay! I’m sorry!” she whined, her hands balled into fists as they pounded away at the pillow beneath them. 

Chris stopped the spanking and took a moment to catch his breath. He had worked up a bit of a sweat in the heat of everything, as had she from the look of the damp circles clinging to her shirt. The interior of the blanket fort had begun to warm up with the heat of their bodies, and the air hung heavy around them.

“Are you now? For what, exactly?” He patted her butt twice lightly, as if to prod a response.

Ashley fell silent again, and Chris wondered if he would have to continue. Part of him still wanted to despite the fatigue slowly creeping through him. But after a few moments she answered.

“I’m sorry for spilling water down your dumb face and calling you out” she grumbled into the blankets bunched under her head.

“Hmm, that sounds close to an apology, in a way” he chided. He inspected her bottom while weighing her response. 

Ashley’s butt had taken on a nice red sheen, concentrated at the center of each cheek. He could see faint outlines of his fingers along the edge of her right side, and a lighter, splotchy pink along the top of her thighs where he had landed wayward swats. In his not yet professional opinion, he did an okay job, though a quick touch up was probably warranted to even out the color. But she had done what he had asked, even if she was being a brat about it, and he didn’t want to overstep.

“It will have to do, I suppose” he finally sighed. 

He reached down and delicately pulled her shorts and panties back over her butt, smiling at the wince of discomfort she made as it brushed across her skin. He leaned back and allowed Ashley to slide back off of his lap and plop down in a heap next to him. Her face was adorably flushed, with embarrassment or arousal, he dared not speculate. With the spanking officially over, the veil of his propriety had descended upon him like a wet blanket, though he still felt himself smirking at her look of indignation.

Finally Ashley broke the awkward silence. “I can’t believe you really did that” she pouted at him.

He felt his smirk widened to a smile. “I did exactly what I said I would” he stated matter of factly. “It’s on you for believing I wouldn’t.”

She shifted discreetly. “Yeah, but like, did you really have to, y’know…” she made a show of dragging her hands downwards, and Chris caught her meaning.

“Would you believe me if I said that I meant to leave your underwear in place?”

“Nope…” she immediately replied, and he could see the ghost of a smile on her face.

“Well, I suppose it doesn’t matter. You could’ve ended it with an apology at any time. Besides, that’s the way naughty brats should be punished. You should keep that in mind the next time you wanna talk shit.”

With that, he leaned backwards and flopped back into his previous reclined position and closed his eyes. He knew that Ashley was staring daggers at him, and he half anticipated catching a punch to the chest, as she was prone to doing. Part of him hoped that she would; he already missed the feeling of having her over his knee, and hitting him after a spanking was just asking for an encore performance. But after a few moments, he heard her sigh and lay back down next to him, surprisingly cuddling back up into him as she had done before the scuffle began. It was Chris’s turn to be embarrassed as she draped her leg back across his hips; after what had just occurred, he could not control his bodies natural response, but she made no mention of it, so he counted his blessings and relaxed.

They laid like that for a few more hours, until sleep was almost an inevitability, and reluctantly he drove her home in the pitch black of the early morning. The fort would come down a few days later. The incident would not be directly brought up for another few weeks, well after Ashley’s return to college, but it wouldn’t be the last time the pair found themselves in such a situation. Still, the memory of that blanket fort and summer would stay with Chris for years to come, and he would smile thinking back to the unconventional but special bond formed that year.