by Thianna D
“She was closer!”
It was interesting to Erin that there were two camps here. There was the camp of ‘you need to get you act together’ and the ‘shit happens’ camp. The first camp were all the spankers and the second camp were the spankees. Funny enough, everyone was comfortable being in their own group.
“Anyone for seconds?” Zach asked. “Have you had enough, girls?”
“Can we have dessert?” Jordan asked.
“Yes, you can. Go choose what you want and then the two of you can go and watch television in our bed,” Zach said.
“Yay!” Jordan was off her chair in a flash. Avvy was going but lingered a few minutes more, taking the chance to grasp the last few words of the adult conversation.
“Oh girls? You need to feed the bunnies and get them water first.”
“Okay, Mom,” Jordan yelled out. “I’ll do it.”
Carol’s story petered out and drifted into another one, but Erin couldn’t help wonder what the rest of the story was. They actually talk about punishments with each other? She felt like she’d just die if Zach came right out and talked about her spankings. It was like showing your ass in public. She knew that they had public punishments, very rarely, but one had never come up that she’d been able to go to. She didn’t even know if she wanted to. It might be too easy to imagine yourself in the same place.
“Erin?” Zach asked.
“Sorry?”
“Rick was just saying how nice your lasagne was.”
“Sorry, Rick, I don’t know where I was,” Erin said. “Thank you. It’s an old family recipe.”
“It’s very good.”
When Erin came back out after settling the girls in the bedroom, the conversation had changed. She didn’t catch everything that Jen said, but she did catch the raucous round of laughter that followed. “What did I miss?” she asked.
“We’re just talking about what we got spanked for last and why,” Jen said. “Jonathon said his was four months ago, because he picked Ben up from the airport in an unregistered car.”
“Uh-oh,” Erin said. “How’d he find out?”
“He was putting his bag in the trunk. The tag that was up a month ago was a hint.”
“How did you miss it?”
Jonathon shrugged and sighed. “I don’t use the trunk.”
“I’m really surprised,” Rick said, shaking his head. “You are so on top of everything for Brent.”
“I know, I know. I guess it’s one of those things. Plumbers have dripping taps, electricians have light bulbs that are out and organized assistants sometimes lack organization.”
“What did he say?” Carol asked wide-eyed.
“A lot as it happens, with his hand and his belt. Mostly about him reminding me it was due before he left, and me telling him to give me some credit.”
“Oh no,” Brittany said. “That conversation is never going to end well.”
“It didn’t. What about you, Miss Carol?” Jonathon had the choice to pick as he was the first to answer.
Erin blinked. They were all having a turn? Her included?
“That’s easy to remember. That would be this afternoon, for once again neglecting the housework as previously discussed.”
“And not cooking the dessert she was supposed to, and for goofing off with Jen when she had more important things to attend to,” Carol said.
“Hey I wasn’t goofing.” Jen turned to Brock. “Seriously I wasn’t.”
“It’s not your turn yet,” he said.
“With?” Jonathon asked.
“Aptly, the feather duster.”
“It may as well get a work out some way,” Crystal said.
“I think we need a housekeeper.”
“No, we don’t. You need to learn to plan your days better. Next person. Choose someone, baby,” Crystal said.
“I pick Erin. I know, you all thought I’d pick Jen. I already know all her secrets.” She giggled.
Erin opened her mouth and closed it again. “I, um, don’t know what to say.”
“The truth, hon,” Carol said. “You don’t get to pick, tell us the last spanking you got.”
“Okay,” Erin said, taking a big breath and looking at her husband for support.
He blew her a minuscule kiss and winked.
“The last spanking I got was two days ago but it was more stress relief than punishment. Does that count?”
“It counts,” they all agreed.
“Okay, I got it because I was stressing about the party. I was very nervous.”
“And you had a really bad attitude.”
“What did you get spanked with?” Carol asked.
“The paddle that Zach made.”
“Aww, he made you a paddle? How thoughtful and caring of him,” Carol said with a smile.
“Carol.” Crystal shook her head but laughed along with everyone else.
“He’s a giver, what can I say?” Erin said, relaxing now her turn was over. She looked over at Zach, who was all smiles. He was obviously as relieved for her as she was for herself.
“Okay, my turn to pick and I pick, Diana,” she said with a grin. It would be interesting to know if mentors still got spanked.
“Ahh,” Diana said with a glance at her husband. “My last spanking would be after church last Sunday. We had refreshments after the service and I may have accidentally… on purpose… poured my juice down the front of Sharon Tyler’s dress.”
“You did what?” Erin was speechless.
“I know, not my finest moment, but she’s such an insufferable gossip.”
“What with?”
“His hand, because I think he was secretly proud of me.”
A faint smiled turn the corners of Rick’s lips. “It was a punishment, and we’ll leave it there,” he said.
“Did it hurt?” Bethany asked.
“Rick said that was it, Bethany, leave it be,” said Kirk.
“Your turn, Bethany,” Diana said. “Why, what, and when?”
“I may or may have gotten a speeding ticket a couple of months ago and I may have forgotten to pay it.”
“Or mention it,” Kirk said.
“Always a stickler for details, honey.”
“When?” Diana asked.
“Last week with the belt.”
“It was my hand first. The belt was for lying.”
All those on the ‘get your act together’ team nodded in approval.
“Lying is always on everyone’s list of rules,” Diana said.
“It wasn’t so much of a lie, as a...”
“A lie of omission?” Zach helped.
“Oh God I hate the lie of omission thing,” Erin heard herself saying.
“So do I,” Brittany added. “There’s only Jen and I left so who do you want?”
“Scissors, paper rock,” Zach said.
Jen won. “I guess it’s me then and that would be the dreaded lie of omission for me, too,” she said. “This afternoon.”
“Oh no, sorry,” Carol said. “You tried to cover for me didn’t you?”
“Brock called and asked if I knew where Carol was…”
“And she was sitting right next to you?”
“She’d left, just.”
“When I asked you if you knew where she was, the answer should have been, she was here, she’s on her way home, but you know this now, for next time.”
“Yes, I do. And it was with the belt, guys.”
“Your turn now,” Erin said. Brittany had been fairly quiet through this and she was very interested to hear what she was going to say.
Brittany looked at Trevor and he shrugged. “Go ahead.”
“Ok, like Erin, this is probably more stress relief than punishment,” she said.
“I think Erin’s was punishment as well as stress release,” Carol said.
“Go ahead. Tell us and we’ll decide,” Jen said, her eyes shining.
“It was four nights ago. Work had been unbelievably busy. I’d worn my p
erfect assistant smile all day and I guess I just couldn’t do it anymore. I opened the door and Trevor was standing there holding what used to be my best cashmere sweater.”
“Oh no.” Erin sighed. He did something to her sweater. She had dreamt of having a real cashmere sweater.
“He apologized right away,” she said, looking at Trevor with regret. “But it was all teeny tiny and misshapen.”
The other girls at the table looked daggers at Trevor.
“You spanked her because you ruined her sweater?” Crystal asked, almost changing camps for a second.
“No, I spanked her because she picked up a potted plant and threw it at me.”
“That’d do it,” Rick said.
“What with?” Carol asked.
“Huh?”
“What did he spank you with?” Bethany asked.
Brittany blew out a breath. “A bread board. He hoisted me over his shoulder and took me to the kitchen and that was just the first thing he saw, I guess.”
“Hate to tell you, hon, but that was punishment.”
Trevor shrugged. “It was what it was. Now did those little girls eat all the dessert or what?”
Erin was full as she and Zach filled the dishwasher with the dirty dishes. Full of food, full of love, just full of everything. It was the most fun she’d had in a long time and she was happy.
Chapter 6
The next Monday morning, Erin waved goodbye to her family and then started on her day, the usual laundry and general housework. Then, the phone rang.
“Hi Erin,” a familiar voice said. “It’s Jen. Carol and I were just having a coffee with another friend and we were wondering if you’d like to join us.”
“I’d love that.” Erin was glad that Jen and Carol couldn’t see her smiling like a Cheshire cat. She spoke in a tone that she hoped was enthusiastic without being over-the-top excited.
“Great. It’s just down the street.”
Erin wrote down the number and hung up the phone. What was she going to wear? She was wearing her usual housework ensemble of tights and one of Zach’s old sweatshirts. She raced into the bedroom. After wasting as much time as she dared, she settled on a clean pair of jeans and shirt. It was just coffee. She didn’t want to get dressed up or anything.
By the time she got to Jen’s house she was puffing. Having friends to visit for coffee was what she'd always wanted. Full of nervous excitement, she'd walked so fast she was puffing.
“There you are.” Jen opened the door and waited for Erin to come in.
“Hi Erin,” Carol said with a smile. “This is our friend Sienna, she lives next door to me, about ten houses up. She’s married, to a man, and guess what? He spanks her, too. It's a bit of a trend,” she joked.
Sienna laughed but waved to Erin. “Hi,” she said. “We were just pouring the coffee. How do you have yours?”
“Hi. Cream, two sugars, please,” Erin answered.
“So those were some interesting discussions last night,” Jen said.
“Yeah, it takes some getting used to.”
“All the spanking talk, you mean?”
“Yeah. Everyone is so open and honest here.”
“Mostly,” Carol said. “But.” Erin felt like that was a pretty big but.
“If the occasion comes up where you might have to tell a little white lie, then I guess you might think a spanking’s worth it. Wouldn’t you say?”
“That would depend on the reason for the white lie.”
“Hmm,” Jen said.
“This is the best place ever to live,” Sienna said carefully, “but don’t you sometimes just want to escape, just for a few hours while the kids are at school?”
“You have kids?”
“Two. They’re in the second grade. Twin boys. Loud twin boys. Sometimes I just need the company of grown-ups, you know?”
“Oh I know,” Erin said. “I barely remember what it was like to be with just women for a while.”
“Hey I live with a woman and I absolutely adore her, but sometimes everyone needs a break from their lives.”
“Of course,” Erin agreed.
Carol, Jen and Sienna exchanged glances and smiled but it was Jen that spoke. “That’s why we play in a bowling league of sorts.”
“Of sorts?”
“Well, there’re only three of us. Don’t suppose you want to make it a four do you?”
“Me?” Erin asked. “You want me to play in your league?”
“Yeah. The only thing is that it’s in Boulder.”
“You travel all the way to Boulder and get back in time for the kids?”
“Uh-huh,” Sienna said. “It’s fun. We have some laughs.”
“I could sure do with some laughs.”
“Well think about it. We play on Wednesday,” Jen said. “I’ll be driving this week. Let us know ok?”
“I will.” Erin felt like a little kid who’d been asked to a party at that friends house, the one that’s always in trouble. She didn’t want to not tell Zach, but she was scared he wouldn’t want her to go. She really wanted to go.
Erin raced back to the house and tidied as fast as she could. She didn’t want the house to look messy when Zach got home. Especially not now. Luckily he wasn’t the white glove type of husband that checked for every speck of dust.
“Mmm,” Zach said, when he walked in that afternoon. “Is that Chicken Cacciatore I smell?”
“It is,” Erin said with a grin.
“You didn’t crash your car, did you?”
“Nope.”
“Get a fine?”
“Nope. Can’t I just make my husband’s favorite meal?”
“You certainly can,” Zach said, pulling her into a warm hug. “Now what gives?”
“I didn’t do anything. Well I did, but not anything wrong. Jen rang me and asked me over for coffee today.”
“Great. Did you go?”
“Yes I did and guess what else?”
“I couldn’t guess. Just tell me.”
“They asked me to play on their bowling league team. They go every Wednesday. It would be so much fun to get out of the house and play a sport. You want me to be healthy don’t you, Zach?”
“Whoa, slow down,” Zach said. “We don’t have a bowling alley in Corbin’s Bend.”
“That’s why they have to drive to Boulder.”
“I see.”
“Please, Zach, it sounds like so much fun.”
Zach did his best to push his reservations aside. “Okay. You go and have some fun.”
“Thank you, thank you, thank you!” Erin threw her arms around his neck and smothered him with kisses.
Jordan held up a hand as she walked passed. “Eww. This is a kitchen,” she said.
“You better can that attitude, Missy, or you’ll be eighteen years old before you see that park again,” Zach said.
“Sorry, Daddy,” Jordan said as she crept slowly towards the back door.
“And your Mom.”
“Sorry, Mom.”
“You're forgiven,” Erin said.
“You two are still grounded remember for your antics at the dinner party.”
“Oh yeah. I thought you might have forgotten.”
“I didn't,” Zach said.
The next two days seemed to take forever. Erin threw herself into the house and the girls as much as she could, cooking everyone’s favorites and making sure the house was fine. By the night before she was so excited she could barely settle at all.
“You need to get some sleep,” Zach said. “We both do.”
“I’m trying, I just can’t. I could get up and check out what I’m going to wear tomorrow,” she answered. “That would probably put my mind at rest.”
“No.”
“Why not?”
“I can’t sleep with you rummaging through the closet talking to yourself.”
“I don’t talk to myself? Do I?”
“Uh huh. Sleep.”
“Don’t worry about me, I’ll j
ust lay here with my thoughts.”
“Ok, but I have to get up tomorrow and stand in front of a bunch of pre teens that will definitely not be lacking energy. So you and your thoughts keep it down to a dull roar. I need to sleep.”
“Okay. Lying still.”
“Good.”
About ten minutes went by and Erin really tried to go to sleep. It just wouldn’t happen. She needed to figure out what she was going to wear. There was no way she could relax until she’d decided on something. Besides, Zach was gently snoring, she wouldn’t disturb him. Gently lifting her husband’s arm that was casually slung around her waist, Erin wriggled as slowly as she could towards the edge of the bed. Just as she was about to slip off, a hand caught the back of her pyjama pants. “Hey,” she said. “I could have been on my way to the bathroom.”
“Were you?”
“No, but I could have been.” She was about to say that she probably would have needed to go as soon as her feet hit the floor anyway but she was unceremoniously flipped on to her belly and a rush of cool air drifted across her rump.
“What you need, is something else to think about,” Zach said, punctuating each word with a solid thwack.
His large hand was warm from being under the bed-clothes and the sensation was not altogether unpleasant. He kept up with some feeble lecturing that soothed more than chastised. She closed her eyes and let the warmth wash over. The smacks gradually became lighter and she sighed. Finally her body and mind relaxed and she floated into oblivion.
The next morning was a happy rush as she tore around the house helping the girls and packing lunches. She would be picked up as soon as the kids had gone to school. It was quite a drive and they needed to get there on time for the game.
Erin was hanging around the front door when they arrived. She was about to shut the door behind her when Jen got out of the car.
“Erin, I just wanted to have a quick word.”
Erin didn’t know what to think. Were they not going? Did they have someone else to make up their four? “Sure, come in,” she said.
“It won’t take but a minute,” Jen said. “I thought you might like to bring a spare pair of shoes,” she said. “And maybe another blouse?”
“Am I too casual for bowling?” Erin asked.