Learning in Quarantine

"The rule is that you wear it every time you leave the house, no exceptions," she said as she pulled him inside the house.

"But, Kim, I was just going down to the mailbox."

"Every time. No exceptions. It is not only about the mask protecting you and me, it is a rule I gave you. It seems you need some reminders. Go, wash your hands."

David hung his head, placed the mail on the end of the counter and walked to the kitchen sink. He told himself he knew better. Kim's rules were not for him to pick to choose. They were for him to obey.

He still occasionally struggled with thinking that some were more important than others. Kim demanded that no glass be served to her with more than one third full of ice, if any at all. He assumed she preferred it that way, so it was important for him to do it. When he failed, it meant punishment related to the offense.

She had inserted ice cubes in his ass, had David stand on ice while she finished her corrected beverage. The last time he made that mistake it was 3 days of baths for him, instead of showers, with cold water and a bowl full of ice cubes added. It had been over a year since he had made that error. There were other rules that seemed to David as less important. Kim had instructed David to throw all receipts, that were not needed, into the kitchen trash. David had mistakenly left a receipt in the pocket of his jeans and washed them. David decided, since the receipt was unreadable, it would be fine to toss it into the laundry room trash bin. He was wrong. Kim had him leaning over the kitchen trash can while she spanked him, jeans and underwear pulled down, with a kitchen spoon and questioned him about his offense. David repeated numerous times the rule of where receipts were to be disposed. In order to show his understanding David explained he understood the reasoning of private information being more secure in a tied kitchen bag. At that point, the punishment changed. David was taken to the basement, stripped completely and secured to the spanking bench. Kim proceeded to cane him and questioned how she had failed to make it clear that her commands needed no understanding, they just existed for him to do. David relented and explained he understood to stop one of the most severe punishments Kim had ever doled out to him, but he still struggled logically with some rules.

After washing his hands to the tune of Happy Birthday, twice, he dried them completely and folded the kitchen towel the he returned precisely to the oven handle,

"I'm sorry, Miss, it won't happen again."

"Hmmm, we'll see. Now, since this was about not wearing something, I believe wearing something would be a fitting reminder. Bring me your cock cage."

"Yes, Miss," David replied as he padded off to get his chastity device. He was never required to wear it too often. He reflected that usually it was during times that they were out of the house and Kim would take pleasure in teasing him for an evening or weekend away.

David opened the nightstand drawer and pulled out the red plush bag. The contents hung heavily in the bottom as be opened the top. Upending the pouch, the metal cage slid the length of the bag and dropped into his waiting hand along with 3 clinking rings of different sizes. Placing the bag down, he fingered the rings.

David first lifter the largest ring, wishing it was the only one that would fit, but knowing that while it was easiest to wear it wasn't the most aesthetically pleasing for Kim. Deciding on the medium ring he put the others back in the bag, cinched it, and carefully put it back in the drawer. He moved to the nightstand on the other side of the king sized 4 posted bed to collect the small open lock with the key on a chain still in it. While closing the drawer he hesitated. "Should I bring the key? Does she want the key? She won't want to unlock me for who knows how long, so if I bring it, will that displease her."

David was frozen for a moment, trying to divine the desires of his mistress, "Kim said bring the cage, and without the lock it won't stay on. But she won't need the key. I want her to have the key, but that's me," resigned, "If she wants the key, I will bring her the key."

David returned to the kitchen where Kim had waited. She had not sat down, she had not moved, and David was glad he hurried. He showed her the cage pieces and lock, "No put it on," she said.

David undid his jeans and pushed them down to his knees along with his shorts. He placed the cage and lock on the table and began to fit his balls through the ring, "Excuse me? Kim asked.

David looked at her realizing what she wanted, "Sorry Kim. When I am home and caged I should be naked. I thought this was different, I didn't forget, I...I'm...sorry." David felt like a failure. He knew that he knew these rules and but felt as though he wasn't focused, wasn't trying hard enough. The shame waved over him as he removed his clothes. folding each piece and laying it on the table neatly. When he was naked he froze again, Kim watched him. She wasn't smiling, but he didn't see anger in her face, she looked interested to David. David's thoughts went back and forth, "when I remove my clothes, I immediately put them away. Put on the cage. Take the clothes away, finish putting on the cage? His thought process began to follow that of the computer code he had written throughout his career. In his head he thought, "I am in the routine of remove clothes, which includes put them away. After that is completed I can finish putting on the cage." He knew that was right, his frustration waned, he relaxed.

David picked up his clothes and confidently left the room to put them away. When he returned, he did not hesitate, he did not look for validation. He picked up the ring, feeding his balls through the cold loop, and pushing his cock in after before it grew too hard from his manipulations. Then he quickly took the cage and tried to slide it on his awakening member. He was a little too late and it took some help slipping it in far enough to set it on the ring. David slipped the hasp of the lock through the hole, holding the cage in place and stood up straight in front of Kim.

"Good. Lock it," she said plainly. David clicked the lock closed and awaited instructions.

"Now, are you going to follow your commands?"

"Yes, Mistress."

"All of them? Without reminders?"

"I will try my best, Mistress."

"It took you nine minutes to put on the cage from when I told you to. Do you think that is a reasonable time?"

"No, Mistress," David said without hesitation." Well neither do I. But instantly isn't realistic. I'm trying to think of how much extra time you wasted. What do you think?"

David was silent. Trying to calculate in his head how long it should take. How long does it take to walk upstairs to the bedroom? 30 seconds? 12 seconds? He wasn't sure.

"I am going to sit here while you make my tea. While you do that, you will think of an answer."

Kim sat at the kitchen table and took out her phone. She began scrolling and tapping and chuckling while David, naked and caged, prepared his Mistress' tea. He filled the tiny pitcher with milk and brought it to the table with a spoon, placing it on a folded napkin. Next, he brought her the box of teas and let her point to the one she wanted, before finishing. David brought her the mug and teabag and waited.

"What have you come up with?" she asked.

"Honestly, I can't think of how long some of the things take, but I'll guess I should be able to do it in 3 or 4 minutes?"

"I have no idea either," she laughed, "that's why I asked you. But, I guess that sounds good."

"I have an idea?", he offered and Kim prompted him to continue, "I could put everything back the way it was, do it again, and we'd know the difference?"

Kim laughed and sipped her tea, "Love it. You go get everything and I'll set a stopwatch on my phone."

The two of the them were very entertained as David went through the exercise. Kim enjoyed watching David dress and undress in front of her, struggling to get the cage on, and seeing him get aroused as he waited for her to unlock him now that she had the key. It was so amusing that she had him run through it 3 times so they could get a good average. By the end, David was a little winded, they were both laughing; and they figured out that he could have reasonably saved 3 and half minutes if he had done it cleanly the first time.

"3 and half," Kim announced, "210 seconds. What should we do with that?" David was cleaning up after Kim had finished her tea. "I know. 3 and half days in the cage, and 210 spanks, or swats, or strokes of the cane. We'll mix those up."

The next few days reinforced David's focus on the little things. And there were more than few releases for him, always at Kim's pleasure. A quarantined lesson learned, and he always wore a mask outside.