The Suspension of Prudence

      “I’m not sure about these.” Riko tugged delicately at one of the knots adorning Kevin’s naked body.       Kevin rolled his eyes. “You’ve done this before a few times,” he reminded Riko. “They will hold up, I’m sure.” He shifted on his knees impatiently.       Riko pursed his lips and got back to adding finishing touches to Kevin’s bondage. His brother had asked him earlier if they could play with suspension. Riko, like an idiot, agreed but it didn’t seem like such a great idea anymore.       Renee was away on a trip and would be back the next day. Both Riko and Kevin missed her, so they wanted to take their minds off their absent miss. That’s how the idea for playing together was born.       At first, Riko was enthusiastic. Having Kevin at his mercy was appealing to him every time, so he quickly agreed to Kevin’s suggestion. But hurting someone because they wanted it was different than injuring them because of a stupid mistake.       Riko sighed and finished the last knot. He looked down at Kevin and asked, “Ready?”       Kevin nodded. “Yes, just do it already!”       The attitude was something Riko wouldn’t tolerate. He slapped Kevin and grabbed his chin.       “Mind your place,” said Riko, gaze locked at Kevin’s face. His brother didn’t say anything, so he tightened his grip, causing Kevin to whimper.       “I’m sorry,” Kevin said in a strained voice and looked down. He hoped that the apology would be enough to appease his brother. Kevin’s cheek was still burning but because his hands were already tied, he had no way of soothing it.       “Better.” Riko patted Kevin’s red cheek and smiled at his brother’s wince. He stood up and got back to his task. All that was left to do was grab the ropes and hoist Kevin up, and that’s exactly what Riko did.       Kevin gasped at the feeling of being lifted off the ground. Excitement filled his chest but also nervousness. As he was getting higher he started shivering from anticipation. The ropes burned him a little when they moved but the feeling grounded him. Soon, his body was parallel to the ground, shoulder-level with Riko.       Riko secured the ropes and looked at Kevin. “Good?” he asked.       Kevin was already in his own world but he managed a weak “Yeah”.       Kevin’s bliss didn’t last long. A sudden feeling of ropes shifting snapped him back to the present.       “Riko,” Kevin said urgently.       That got Riko’s attention. “What?” he asked.       “I think something wrong with-” Kevin didn’t manage to warn his brother because one of the knots holding him up loosened, and Kevin hit the ground hard.       

***

      “Seriously?” Renee seethed. “I leave for two days and this is what happens!” Her voice was loud, close to a shout. She gestured wildly at the white cast covering Kevin’s right arm.       Riko and Kevin glanced at each other briefly. They really fucked up, and there wasn’t any solution to this. The break in Kevin’s hand was so bad that he was benched immediately, with no promise of being able to play in the future. All because they’d decided to be reckless.       Renee was pacing the room back and forth while the men stayed kneeling on the ground. They didn’t dare move in fear of aggravating their miss further.       Renee finally paused her movement. She pinched the bridge of her nose, closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Some of the tension left her body and her arms fell loosely at her sides. She looked at her boys kneeling before her with their heads down. Renne still felt angry and she still was holding herself back from punching someone, but beneath all of that was a deep worry. When she heard the news, she felt like her heart stopped beating for a few seconds. At first she thought Kevin had been attacked or had an unfortunate accident, but later she learned the truth. And the story made her so furious that she had to really restrain herself from beating the men to a pulp at first sight.       “We can’t turn back time,” Renee said. “But I’ll make sure you won’t do something like this again.” Her voice carried a promise of a lesson Riko and Kevin wouldn’t forget.       Both men gulped and shivered. They still didn’t look at Renee.       “We understand, miss,” Riko said finally, his voice shaky despite his efforts to steady it.       Renee smiled. “Good.” She walked up to the cabinet in the room. ”We can start on your punishment.”       Riko and Kevin looked at Renee and paled when they saw the heavy wooden paddle in Renee’s hand. Seeing their faces, Renee grinned.       “Scared?” she asked. Her finger traced the edge of the paddle. “It’s only the beginning.” She took pleasure in her boys’ even more terrified faces. Renee took a seat on the sofa. “Come here,” she commanded.       Riko and Kevin looked at each other then started crawling to their miss.