Page 83 of Dirty Discipline, Vol. 1

She has to pull it together and come up with a plan. Sure, she could walk out there and confront him, demanding answers, but that would just make it too easy on him. She suddenly remembers the crock of shit he had fed her about the importance of always telling the truth… about never keeping secrets. What a fucking asshole. She knew this whole domestic discipline was a joke. The rules are just meant to keep the women submissive and come up with reasons for spankos like Troy to have a reason to light up their woman’s ass on a regular basis, but clearly the rules don’t apply to the men. No, not to the HoHs. They get to lie and keep secrets all they want.

His knock on the bathroom door startles her. She quickly swipes her tears away and steels herself to be strong. He may think she is just a young, dumb blonde he can treat like this, but she’s gonna show him how wrong he is.

Chapter Fifteen

Troy has a headache. He’s spent the last two hours trying valiantly to figure out what has upset Hallie, but nothing he has said or done is helping. He may not be the most sensitive guy in the world, but even he can tell something is bothering her. Considering she was in a fine mood when she arrived, he is absolutely at a loss as to what could be the problem. Her short, quip answers to all of his comments and questions both in the car and here at the restaurant have gone from concerning to just plain rude.

What is most upsetting is Troy hates to admit he just hasn’t known Hallie long enough to know if this is a common occurrence for her behavior or not. He’s wracked his brain for anything he might have said or done that could have upset her but comes up empty. Perhaps she’s one of those women who has major mood swings with PMS. He spends a few minutes thinking through how he can try to get her into a specialist to see if there is something she can take to reduce her symptoms.

“I’ll have one more wine, thanks, Nick.”

“No, she won’t, Nick. Hallie has had enough to drink for now. Thanks.”

Their poor waiter has also felt the brunt of Hallie’s bad mood tonight. He doesn’t look ready to piss her off. Glancing between the two of them, he finally nods at Troy and walks away.

“That’s crap, Troy. I’m not driving tonight. There’s no reason for you to not let me order another drink. Stop treating me like a baby.”

Reaching across the table to take her hand in his, he looks her in the eye. “If you don’t want to be treated like a baby, then maybe you should stop acting like one. I don’t know what the hell has gotten into you tonight, but I’ve about had enough.”

“You’ve had enough? That’s rich.”

“Hallie, honey. Please. I can tell something is bothering you. Please. Talk to me. What’s wrong?”

For a brief moment, she looks like she’s going to cry, but it’s gone in a flash, replaced with a devious smile he doesn’t care for. “Wrong? Nothing’s wrong. I’m just trying to have some fun. If you’re not going to let me have any more to drink here, then let’s just get out of here and go to the concert. Or are you going to spoil my fun there, too?”

Troy is beside himself. “If this is how you’re going to act all night, then maybe we should skip the concert and go home where we can start the fireworks.”

“Oh goodie. Sex.”

He hates her sarcastic tone.

“No. I was thinking more like a spanking. And not the funishment kind.”

That got her attention, but Troy feels like an ass. He knows that in spite of her enjoying the playful spankings they’ve experimented with so far, Hallie is not ready for a true punishment, no matter how badly she might need it. And considering he doesn’t even understand what’s wrong, he knows he can’t punish just for being in a bad mood.

“Thanks, but I think I’ll pass.”

Nick has returned with the check. Troy throws his credit card down without even looking at the bill. The sooner they can get out of here, the better. Hallie has made herself busy digging through her purse, looking for something, but to Troy it looks like she’s just trying to keep busy to avoid talking with him.

He hates that she’s painted him into this corner where he feels more like her father instead of her boyfriend. He knows the right thing to do is to drive them back to his apartment and hold her hostage in his bedroom until he gets to the bottom of what’s bothering her. He just feels like a heel skipping the concert that she had spent her own money on and had been such a thoughtful gift for him at the time.

Nick is obviously ready to get rid of them too because he is back in record time, and Troy stands to leave, helping Hallie with her coat. He takes her hand and leads her quickly from the restaurant. They are only a few blocks from the concert location, and they’d planned on leaving the car in the garage. When he heads in the direction of the car, Hallie pulls him to a stop.

“The concert is the other direction. You’re going the wrong way.”

Turning back to her, he pulls her close. “We aren’t going to the concert, Hallie. We are going to the car and then we are going back to my apartment where we are going to sit down and you are going to start at the very beginning and tell me what the hell has you so upset tonight, because honestly, if I didn’t know better, I would swear you are a whole different person than the Hallie I know.”

“Me? I’m different? What about you, Troy?”

“What about me? Nothing has changed with me.”

“Really? You sure about that?” She is shouting at him.

“Lower your voice. You’re making a scene.”

“Oh, I’m so sorry. I would hate to embarrass you.”

“That’s it. What the fuck is going on with you?”

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