Chapter 3
Things steadily got better as the days went on.
Evan got Zoey a nice floral planner to keep track of all her assignments and tests.
She’d never kept a planner, being one of those people who would start using one and then forget about it.
Evan checked it every night to make sure she was diligently logging everything in it.
One night, they discovered she forgot to log one of her worksheets and she got a swift, but mild spanking over her desk.
Other than that, she managed to stay out of trouble.
She turned in her homework assignments on time and did well on her first two quizzes.
Evan made sure she took a few short breaks during her work sessions.
They were frequent enough that she looked forward to them, but short enough to where they didn’t affect her studies too much.
Evan would surprise her with a snack or they would slow dance in the living room together.
The breaks were enough to make her feel loved and recharge her so she could get back to work.
Everything was going pretty well, up until the second weekend after she started classes.
The changes that they made regarding chores were not okay with Zoey.
There was hardly any time for cooking and housework during the week for her.
She had about an hour in the morning of ‘free time’ before she had to leave for school.
She usually spent that time doing any necessary housework.
She did a load of laundry or tidied up the kitchen.
Evan allowed her to do some housework in the mornings before school, but he insisted that he do the bulk of it during the weekend.
Zoey still had homework to do during the weekends, but she had quite a bit of free time, which surprised her.
She still spent about four hours each day working, but that left her with quite a bit of time to do what she wanted.
Evan insisted that she rest or watch some TV while he vacuumed or cleaned the bathroom .
“You have school tomorrow, Zoey,” Evan reminded her on a sunny Sunday afternoon. He pulled the vacuum out from the closet. “It won’t take me too long, maybe an hour or so and then why don’t we go out for dinner?”
Zoey had just finished her homework and was pleased that it was only 2:30 p.m. She wanted to help Evan with the chores, but he was adamant about her resting. She crossed her arms over her chest.
“Let me vacuum,” she insisted. “I’ve been sitting down for hours doing homework. It’ll be nice to move around.” She jutted her bottom lip out for good measure.
Evan shook his head. “I’ve decided you aren’t doing any chores today,” he told her in a firm tone.
Zoey gritted her teeth, but hesitated. It was part of their new agreement.
If Evan made a decision regarding her schedule, she was not to argue.
This was silly, though, in her opinion. Evan worked five days a week and meanwhile, she wasn’t contributing at all financially to their home.
The least she could do was handle the chores.
She held her hand out for the vacuum, her face serious. “Give it to me, Evan.”
Evan shook his head again. “You aren’t doing any chores today,” he said, his voice taking on a harder edge.
His eyes narrowed. “Do not make me repeat myself. Why don’t you go sit on the couch and read a book?
” He set the vacuum down and approached Zoey, gently taking her hand and leading her to the couch.
Zoey knew better than to fight him, but that’s exactly what she did. She pulled her arm away roughly. “I don’t want to sit and read a book. I want to help you with the chores. ”
She was surprised when Evan didn’t immediately grab her and spank her bottom. Instead, he gently took her hand again and led her to the couch. He sat and pulled Zoey to stand in front of him.
“You have been working on your homework for hours,” he said. His fingers traced the slightly darker skin beneath Zoey’s eyes. “I can tell you’re tired. If you feel up to it, you can help me tidy up the kitchen later tonight, but right now, I want you to rest.”
Zoey bit her lip, wanting to yell at Evan for his controlling ways, but he lifted her up by her underarms and plopped her down on the soft cushion of the sofa. She didn’t realize how tired she was until her body hit the throw pillows. She sank into the couch, her eyelids drooping slightly.
Evan chuckled and pressed a kiss to her forehead. “You look like you’re going to fall asleep, pretty girl,” he said. He stroked her cheek with the back of his hand. “If you want, you could take a nap in our room. It might be hard to fall asleep out here with the vacuum running.”
Zoey’s eyes flew back open and she shook her head wildly, her long hair whipping around her shoulders. “I’m not that tired,” she lied. She sat up. “I’ll just read out here while you vacuum.” She paused. “You sure I can’t help with anything now?”
She had asked it so innocently, but it was clearly the wrong thing to say. Evan grabbed her wrist and pulled her up before bringing his hand down on the back of her knee-length skirt half a dozen times. Zoey yelped after each one.
“Okay, okay!” she snapped when he released her. She stomped over to the bookshelf, searching for one to read. Her back was ramrod straight as she narrowed her eyes at the books, not really reading the titles. She jumped when she felt a large hand on her freshly spanked rear.
“I’d drop the attitude if I were you,” Evan said in a low voice. He patted her bottom firmly before turning and picking the vacuum back up.
Zoey didn’t say anything, just snatched a random book off the shelf before plopping back onto the couch.
Evan was being completely ridiculous in her opinion, but he wouldn’t take kindly to her saying so.
She knew he was just trying to do what was best for her, but helping him clean made the most sense to her.
Cleaning wasn’t that difficult, and they could get everything done more quickly if they worked together.
She could even clean up the kitchen now so they wouldn’t need to later that evening.
She tried to focus on her book as she heard the vacuum power on, but she couldn’t concentrate.
She held the book in her lap and listened as she heard the vacuum go down the hall, moving away from her.
She peered over the back of the couch, watching as Evan’s back disappeared down the hall and around a corner.
Keeping her eyes toward the hallway, Zoey put her book down on the side table before standing and making her way into the kitchen.
She felt almost crazy as she stepped into the kitchen and her eyes began to scan the room for any signs of a mess.
She grabbed a dish towel and began to wipe down the counters.
She did that for a couple of minutes before turning to the stove.
Grabbing a sponge off the side of the sink, she scrubbed dried sauce and oil off the top of the stove.
Her heart leapt into her throat when she heard the vacuum turn off.
She dropped the sponge and turned around a second too late.
Evan was standing in the doorway of the kitchen, an unreadable expression on his face.
He crossed his arms over his chest, making the hard muscles of his biceps peek out from under the short sleeves of his t-shirt.
Zoey giggled nervously and backed up into the counter, her hands coming up to grasp the edges tightly in her tiny hands. She averted her eyes to the side, searching for an excuse.
“I was thirsty,” she said lamely as her eyes darted around. “So I came in here to get a drink and accidentally knocked the sponge off the counter. So I picked it up and then started to…” She trailed off when she looked at him and found that he hadn’t moved except for his eyes, which had hardened.
Evan slowly lifted a hand and crooked a finger at her, signaling her to approach him.
Zoey swallowed the whimper that wanted to claw its way out of her throat and dragged her feet across the kitchen, tucking her chin against her chest. She looked contrite as she approached him, but there was a defiant tic in her jaw.
She felt like a naughty little girl, but she couldn’t fight down the feeling that she really hadn’t done anything wrong.
She was helping out around the house, earning her keep. What was wrong with that?
What really kept her posture contrite was the hard look on Evan’s face.
It was as if she had set his favorite golf clubs on fire or something with the way he was looking at her.
She felt like a bug as she stood in front of him.
She refused to look him in the face when she did finally close the gap between them.
“I honestly don’t know what you were thinking,” he said finally. One strong finger came under her chin to tilt her face up. “Did you think I wouldn’t notice that you had left the couch?”
The defiant tic in Zoey’s jaw did not disappear, but it did lessen slightly. “You never said I had to stay on the couch.”
“True,” Evan allowed. He dropped his hand to grab her wrist firmly. “However, I did order you to rest until I was finished vacuuming. Does cleaning the kitchen count as resting?”
Zoey didn’t answer, pressing her lips together into a thin line. Evan nodded as if she had answered his question with her silence. He tightened his grip on her wrist before pulling her deeper into the kitchen, toward the large dining table.
Zoey tried to feebly tug her arm out of Evan’s grasp, beginning to whine. “Evan, c’mon! Don’t do this. I didn’t do anything!” She tried to dig her heels into the smooth kitchen floor, but Evan dragged her easily to the dark wooden table and threw her over it.
“Grab the far edge, Zoey,” Evan ordered. When she didn’t comply immediately, he swatted the back of her skirt firmly.