“Wow, okay.” He nodded. “That’s a little harsh.”
“Plus, the Memory Box is supposed to be for good memories. If I ever have kids one day, I want to be able to share it with them when they’re old enough, and they don’t need to see stuff like this…” I reached down and picked up a picture of me with Amanda, my best friend from high school.
“What in the world…” He chuckled. “I thought you were a good girl—are you smoking in this picture?”
“Yeah.” I rolled my eyes. “Amanda stole a couple of cigarettes from her dad and thought it would be cool to snap a few pictures—cause you know, that kind of stuff is cool when you’re in high school.”
“I suppose.” He nodded. “It’s also the kind of stuff that would get you a trip over my knee—for more than a few playful smacks.”
“Mom would have grounded me for a year—which is why it went in the Box of Shame.” I tossed the picture back in the box.
“What’s this?” He leaned forward and picked up a discipline form. “You got sent to the Principal’s Office for cheating on a test?”
“That was—a misunderstanding.” I rolled my eyes. “I wasn’t actually cheating. I just had my notes under my book…”
“Ah.” He nodded.
“Okay, maybe I peeked.” I suppressed a grin. “I really needed to pass the test and didn’t study the way I should have.”
“So you were cheating?” He put the paper on the other side of the box.
“Yeah, but it wasn’t intentional. I left my notes there by accident and just—couldn’t resist when I realized it. The teacher caught me, and I saw the inside of the Principal’s Office for the first time.” I shrugged and sighed.
“Sounds like another thing that would have gotten you a trip across my knee…” He gave me a playful nudge.
“Mom grounded me. That was enough…” I looked back down at the box. “Here’s the other time I got sent to the Principal’s Office.”
“You only went twice? Ever?” He blinked in surprise.
“I was a good kid…” I pretended to be offended. “I got in trouble with my teachers a couple of times, but only ended up sitting across from Principal Davis twice—and I made it to high school before my first trip, so that was kind of an accomplishment in and of itself.”
“You pulled the fire alarm.” Greyson’s eyes opened wide. “Chrissy!”
“It was a bet…” I sighed. “I lost—and it was so freaking stupid,
I know. The fire department showed up and I got a serious talking-to by one of the firefighters and Principal Davis.”
“Then you got suspended for three days…” Greyson pointed at the bottom of the form. “Or wait, what is in-school suspension?”
“My school didn’t really suspend people because it was like a vacation for some students and they were abusing the system. They had a classroom—well, it was more of a closet—where you spent the entire day doing extra work instead of going to class.” I shook my head with another sigh. “Trust me, it was a lot worse than being suspended.”
“Let me guess—you got grounded again.” He chuckled slightly.
“Oh yeah and not for a week. I didn’t get to go anywhere for three months.” I nodded quickly. “Mom was pissed. She even had to pay a fine because of it and made me work that off doing odd jobs in the neighborhood every Saturday and Sunday until I made enough to pay her back.”
“An appropriate punishment…” He nodded. “Not all that you deserved, but respectable.”
“I would have gotten all of that plus a trip over your knee?” I bit down on my bottom lip and smiled.
“Definitely.” He chuckled and put the form back in the box.
Wow, I would have gotten spanked a few times if he was responsible for me back then—I wonder if I would have done a little better in school if I had that threat hanging over my head…
The rest of the stuff in the box wasn’t quite as interesting. We finished going through it and then I carried it up to my room. I still hadn’t filled much of the enormous closet, despite having more boxes than I originally expected. I picked up my cell phone and sat down on my bed, checking my social media accounts, and responding to a few texts. That was just an aimless distraction—because what I was really thinking about was what he said. I felt a little torn. I was attracted to Greyson—there was no doubt about that, but there was another part of me that wondered what it was like to have him be truly responsible for me. Would he actually spank me if I deserved it? Was that—what I had needed my whole life?
I’ve never had a father, but—maybe I’ve always needed something else. Maybe I’ve needed a Daddy…
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