All characters are eighteen years of age or older. This story is written for fantasy, and its events should not occur in reality.
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My daughter is beautiful. Like any responsible dad I understand this, appreciate it, and keep my hands and eyes off.
Even when I'm tying her wrists and ankles to her bedposts as I am right now, I am careful to minimize skin-to-skin contact. Combining her beauty, her short little excited breaths, and actual intentional contact would be going too far, lead to too much.
I'm helping her with her project.
Finishing up the final tie I smile at her. "Comfy?" I ask. She's covered up to the neck and down to the shins with a blanket. "Feet too cold?"
She smiles back, a quiet twitch in her cheek. "No Dad I'm fine, thank you."
"So... eight hours? You're sure? All night?"
She laughs. "Yes, I'm sure."
As though it has only just occurred to me--I'd actually wondered about this the whole time I was tying her down--I say "Wait don't you have school tomorrow? Maybe we should wait until tomorrow night, I don't know how much sleep you're going to get."
She exhales, and at the end of the exhalation there's a little nervous quiver. Then she breathes in and says "Part of the... project... part of the project is dealing with the consequences tomorrow. Hopefully I'll get to sleep soon and be rested up tomorrow." She smiles evenly at me and I take the hint.
Leaning down I kiss her forehead. "Alright sweety, well, good night and... good luck?"
"Thanks Dad," she says, amused. I walk over to her desk, and switch on the baby monitor she had set up.
Next to it is the stack of manilla envelopes she left on a little table by the door in the corner, labeled: "First infraction," "Second infraction," and so on through to "Fifth and further infractions."
Seeing the direction of my gaze she says "Don't forget you have to be... you know... you can't be nice. You're going to do what they say if I break the rule?"
I'm a little surprised she would ask this. I've never let her down before. "Yep, don't worry sweetheart. You know I keep my word."
She seems to hold her breath for a moment, then says with relief, "Okay good. Love you Dad."
"Love you too sweetie, night night" I say as I switch off her light and shut her door.
Standing outside her door for a moment I shake my head and grin. So strange. What is she getting out of this?
I know what I'm getting out of it. I am helping her accomplish something even if I don't know quite what it is, and that's a reward in itself. And also, well yes, I do have a bit of an erection, I mean, how could I not. I can't pretend that's not a little rewarding. But it's not what I'm fundamentally here for--hands and eyes off, like I said. That includes the eye of the imagination. Taking care of myself right now would just be wrong.
I adjust my pants for comfort but am mostly standing here taking a moment to calm down and center myself. Letting myself get hard is a little cheat I allow myself, because if I didn't, I couldn't be a helpful dad. But once I'm done helping, the erection has to end.
I'm still not sure even exactly what she's doing. She has told me nothing and all I know is what I've seen. She keeps going longer and longer so it's some kind of endurance thing. But enduring what? As far as I can tell she just likes to see how long she can stay tied up, but I don't quite get that. Seems like anyone can stay tied up forever, where's the challenge? I know it can be hard to sleep if you're not allowed to get comfortable in your bed but, how is that fun or interesting?
It's been strange from the beginning.
***
We live in a tiny apartment, from the little kitchenette you can see the living room and doors to both bedrooms. I was working on dinner and she came out of her room wearing her big puffy jacket and I assumed some shorts or underwear. All I could see was the jacket. This was strange because we were inside, and it wasn't really even cold outside.
"Going out?" I asked, steeling myself to refrain from protectively urging her to put some longer pants on.
"No, just... feeling a little chilly I guess?"
"Huh. Okay," I said, thinking it strange but it's okay when things are strange. I kept flipping the grilled sandwiches I was working on.
Then she approached me holding out her hand. "Hey Dad, um, can you..."
Between flips I looked over at her hand. She was holding two small metal objects, I don't know what they were. I'd describe them as fairly thick wire, bent into a kind of triangle shape. She hadn't bent them, they were clearly manufactured that way, perfectly smooth and symmetric bends. At the tip of the triangle instead of joining, the ends of the wire instead went outwards, forming a line sort of perpendicular to the triangle if you can imagine. It's hard to describe I guess! Especially when you don't know what it is!
"Can you... hang on to these for me? For like, just thirty minutes?"
I took them from her hand. "Of course sweetie, I mean, I guess. Why exactly?"
I remember she blushed at this point and I started to get the feeling this was something private, "girl stuff" maybe. "It's for a... project?"
"Oh like for school? Sure but again, why am I holding them? What are they?"
"Oh they're nothing, just something I like found you know. Doesn't matter. Never mind I'll take them back."
"No it's fine!" I said, afraid I'd hurt her feelings somehow. "I'll totally hold on to these if that's what you need from me."
She paused and looked down for a second, then back up at me. "Okay," she smiled a little, "Thanks Dad."
"Should I... do anything with them?"
"No," she said, turning to go back to her room, "Seriously you can just put them in your pocket or something. I'll come get them in thirty minutes okay?"
"Well, okay then" I said, sticking them in my pocket just as she suggested and getting back to my sandwiches. "Hey, your sandwich is ready!" I plated it for her while she stood at the entrance to her room.
I thought she seemed troubled but I was afraid to pry. I handed her the sandwich, she said quickly with a whispered smile, "Thanks," and went into her room closing the door.
It was about twenty minutes later, I was in the middle of watching some show or other when she came back out of her room. Still wearing just the coat and at most, (I was sure of it now), her underwear.
"Uhh... I know it's just been twenty minutes but can I have them back now please?"
I didn't move from where I was sitting. "You said thirty minutes."
"I know I... I messed up, I did part of my project too quickly and I... I just need them back now okay?"
I paused the show and sighed. "Mandy, I'll give them back in ten more minutes. That's what you asked me and that's what I promised."
I would describe the look on her face as one of quiet panic. "Uh, but I... the project is finished. I don't need you to hold them anymore."
"You know me," I said, getting ready to hit play. "When I have a job to do, I have a job to do. Anyway I don't know about your project being over or whatever but you, too, should really stick to your commitments."
"They're just... little metal... thingies... Dad."
"Come finish the show with me," I said, "It's really funny. When it's over I'll give them back."
I hit play. There was a long pause from her, and then she silently sat on a chair in the living room. We watched the show together, she didn't laugh once even though I knew it should fit her sense of humor really well. Then the show ended, and I handed the little metal things back to her. "There!" I said. "Easy peasy, job done, commitments met!"
She smirked, mirthlessly, a little mad. "Yeah thanks" dad. And she didn't run to her room but she walked very quickly.