He didn't make any immediate response to this. His chest was heaving twice as fast now, like I'd tightened the rope around his stomach. I tweaked his right nipple, and he made a gurgling noise but didn't speak. "Shall I test the clothespins?" I asked softly, twisting harder.

He opened his mouth, then quickly closed it. I could see him trying to sort through the options I'd left him with. Then he said faintly, "If . . . if you want to, sir."

The right answer. I released his tit and gave him a light pat on the cheek in reward. Then I stepped back. I was beginning to feel tight in my jeans. I don't use blindfolds without good reason.

I tried to be discreet, but the washer chose that moment to reach the end of its cycle, so the scratch of my zipper rang through the room. Gerth bit his lip; I could just imagine what horrors he was envisioning now. But he didn't say anything. He was learning fast.

As for myself, I just wanted to relieve the pressure. I stood still a moment, stroking myself thank God I don't need lube for such matters, because there wasn't anything of that sort in this room. Then I went over to the washer and pulled out my wet handkerchief. I turned the washer back to the beginning of its cycle; I liked the vibration against the pole, and I could guess that Gerth did too.

"Tell me," I said, "did you ever get snapped with a wet towel when you were young?"

He swallowed, loud. I sort of figured that he had and that he was the type who had cherished the memory. He thought of himself, like I had, as just a ropes-and-blindfold sort of guy; I wanted to expand his vision. So I played with him for a while, snapping the handkerchief against his chest and his arms and even his face I have good aim. He never knew where the next sting would fall; I could see the excitement building up in him. I waited till it reached its peak, then I sent the handkerchief flicking onto his left tit. He screeched to high heaven, and I blessed the fact that Lawnville citizens don't investigate suspicious sounds. I was sure that a fair bit of gossip would be making the rounds tomorrow about the noises that had emerged from Gerth's basement. I made a note to myself to exit by way of the back entrance; then I stung Gerth's right nipple. He howled this time.

I smiled, stroked myself a bit till he had caught his breath, then said in an amused voice, "I wonder what I should aim for next."

Even with the blindfold on, the mixture of fear and hope was clear. "No," he whispered.

"What was that?" I asked sharply.

"I . . . " The fear overtook the hope. "I'm sorry, sir! I didn't mean to—"

"You'll have to be punished for that," I said, and let the handkerchief fly.

Now, here's the proof that ninety percent of sex takes place in the mind. I was sending a piddling handkerchief tip his way, and he was wearing slacks and underwear. He couldn't have felt more than a touch of my blow. Yet he screamed like a bride being ripped of her maidenhood. Even before the wet spot appeared on Gerth's slacks, I knew what had happened.

In the porn stories, the players always come together. Uh-huh. All I can say is that the washer completed its full cycle before I made use of Gerth's floor drain. In the meantime, Gerth got a dose of tit-twisting and a few gentle punches to the chest. He didn't say a word. Like I said before, Gerth always pays his debts.

Afterwards, when we'd put the toys away and carried the clean laundry upstairs to the living room, Gerth said hesitantly, "Your handkerchief is still wet."

"Don't worry about it." I stuffed the hanky in my left pocket. Sometimes I park it in my right pocket, but that wasn't something Gerth needed to know. I stepped over to the patio door.

"Um . . . I really should pay you back. For the wet handkerchief, I mean." Gerth's voice was uncertain. I could see him calculating in his mind how many years of mowed lawns would equal what he'd been given.

"Sure," I said. "I could use some new clothes. And the 5&10 is having a sale in the men's section next week."

"Yes!" Gerth seized on this idea eagerly. "Whatever you want, just tell me. I'll deliver it to your door."

"Oh, I think it would be better if we shopped together. So that we can pick out the right one." I slipped through the patio door and then slid it shut till there was only a foot left open. I smiled at Gerth.

"Fact is," I said, "I'm in need of a new belt."