“I’m not,” he said slowly. “I can’t, Leah. I can’t give you what you want. I’m just your chauffeur. I can’t drive you to that place, the one you desire. It is forbidden.”
“By whom?” she said, almost tearfully.
“You’re too young.”
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“You’re not that much older than me.”
“I mean you’ve still got to grow up a bit.”
“I can, I will. Soon. I’m nineteen next month.”
His finger reached out and pressed against her lips. “I know, Leah. But I’m just a driver. You should get dressed. You’ve missed the first lecture, but the next is due in half an hour. You can make that.”
He changed the topic and she understood: he would not be convinced by her voice, her attractive body, or by spanking her. It was impossible for him to be what she wanted him to be.
* * *
“You’ve got me a ticket to The Beatles concert!” she shrieked, jumping up and down on the spot. “Wow, I mean, how and I thought they’d all gone…”
“I got them, let’s just leave it at that,” said Rick.
“You too? You got one for yourself?”
“Naturally.”
“Why?” she asked, settling back on her feet, having bounced about her sitting room.
“Because you’ve done what you said you would do. You’ve not missed a lecture, got good grades, impressed your tutors, and you’re on track for passing your end-of-term exams,” said Rick. It was true. Her transformation had been nothing short of miraculous, given the timescale. Not once had he had to knock on her door to get her out of bed, nor had he listened to her bemoaning her poor grades. Since he had spanked her with the spoon, she had risen to the challenge and proved herself adept at studying. She even had found a studious bunch of fellow students to keep her on the straight and narrow.
“You didn’t have to, I mean,” she blushed. “I’m really grateful, Rick.”
Rick took a deep breath; now came the hard part. “It’s not just a reward, it is also an opportunity to celebrate, an early birthday present… and then say good-bye.”
A silence fell, and then her face followed suit as she assimilated his words. “Good-bye?”
“Yes. I’ve been offered a job abroad, starting on the tenth of December. I’d be a fool to turn it down.”
“You’re leaving me,” she said.
“It had to happen. This job, driving you, looking after you, it was never going to be long term. I’ve been waiting for this kind of post. I’m going to be a personal bodyguard to a Swiss banker.”
“In Switzerland?”
Her inability to absorb what he was saying made it all so much harder to explain. “Yes. Geneva.”
“When?”
“I fly out at the end of the week. I’m going down to London for a few days to see my father, so I leave tomorrow.” He was taking the train. He would have to sacrifice the car; it wasn’t his to take.
“What about me?” said Leah with her trembling hands still clutching the concert tickets.
“We both know it wasn’t going to be. You’re just starting your degree. This is not the time to be distracted by me, and I would be a distraction, you know that. You’ve proved to your father that you can be independent. I’ve even managed to convince him you can have your own little car and drive yourself.”
“He doesn’t know you spanked me? You didn’t tell him how you… You know?”
“I should hope not,” said Rick, alarmed at the idea. “You don’t need me to spank you. You will cope on your own. You’re growing up…”