Monthly Maintenance: Selected Stories from Blushing Books Authors

by Blushing Books

  Monthly Maintenance

  Selected Stories from Blushing Books Authors

  © 2009 by Blushing Books

  © 2009 by Blushing Books

  All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.

  Published by Blushing Books, a subsidiary of

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  Blushing Books

  Monthly Maintenance: Selected Stories from Blushing Books Authors

  ISBN 978-1-935152-34-7

  Cover Design: ABCD Webmasters

  This book is intended for adults only. Spanking and other sexual activities represented in this book are fantasies only, intended for adults. Nothing in this book should be interpreted as advocating any non-consensual spanking activity or the spanking of minors.

  Thank you for purchasing this copy of Monthly Maintenance: Selected Stories from Blushing Books Authors.

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  Table of Contents:

  January: Firm Resolutions by Danielle Smith..................7

  February: Groundhog Spanking by Monica Vale.........27

  March: The Scent of Tennessee by Chula Stone...........41

  April: Easter Hat by Fiona Wilde....................................59

  May: Mother’s Day on the Spanking Satellite by Jean Gorski....................................................................................71

  June: A Bouquet for Briony by Polly Carter ……………...85

  July: Miss Independence by Vicki Blue..........................105

  August: Old Fashioned Day at the State Fair by Amity Maree...................................................................................121

  September: Teaching Abby by Joannie Kay.................136

  October: Something Familiar by Robin Smith.............158

  November: Thankful by Sullivan Clarke..................... 174

  December: A Spanking for Christmas by Rebecca Jacobs..................................................................................186

  Firm Resolutions

  By Danielle Smith

  Firm Resolutions by Danielle Smith

  At first Andrea couldn’t figure out what Rob had going on in the garage. She pulled into the driveway beside his Taurus and peered through the windshield, trying to see under the raised door. He sat on the floor in a sea of newspapers, his broad back concealing whatever he was working on. Only the metal can by his knee suggested he might be painting.

  She clutched the bag with the champagne as she got out of the car. Veuve de Cliquot, a little pricey, but they deserved something nice for their first New Year’s Eve as a married couple. Yes, now she could smell the varnish and identify his project. Her night stand - the one she’d been planning to stain since she picked it up three years before at an estate sale - had been transformed to a warm shade of brown. .

  He put down his brush and rose to greet her. "What do you think?" he grinned, smearing walnut on his forehead as he pushed back his dark blond hair.

  "Looks great from here," she teased, keeping her eyes on him instead of the furniture. "But maybe I better check it out a little more closely." As she stepped inside, she gave him the old up and down, paying particular attention to the jeans clinging to his slim hips and ass. "No wait, I think you missed a spot." Making sure she didn’t touch his streaked work clothes, she stood on her tiptoes and kissed him on the mouth.

  Their tongues played together for a moment, then she stepped back. "Guess we better not give the neighbors any more of an eyeful. Show me what you’ve done."

  "It’s pretty much finished - I want to give it one more coat, but then it just needs to dry." He made some calculations. "I’d say you can start using it again a week from now."

  She inspected his work, admiring how evenly he’d covered the bare wood. "Wow, you even got it to match the bed! But whatever possessed you to do it this afternoon? Tomorrow we have to go over to my mother’s and watch the parades and football, then next day we go back to work. You didn’t have to spend your last vacation day doing something for me."

  "Oh, but I did. Don’t say you’ve forgotten?"

  "Forgot about what?" she started, then stopped as something pricked at her memory. A year ago they’d been curled together on the bed in her old apartment, watching the clock radio click away the seconds to midnight. Earlier that evening they’d announced their engagement to both families, so of course they’d been talking about the future. "New Year’s resolutions?" she guessed.

  "Exactly," he smiled, his green eyes lighting up. "Remember how we made up the lists? When you went to put them in the drawer, I took mine back and tacked on one more item about staining the night stand."

  "That’s right," she nodded. "You said you didn’t believe in general resolutions like ‘lose weight’ or ‘exercise more’, but specific things we could account for at the end of the year."

  Now she recalled a lot more than she wanted to about the process, including what she’d added to the bottom of her own list. Despite the cool winter air, her cheeks flushed.

  From the way his grin widened, she knew he’d noticed. "Well, I did all mine. Got my taxes done three weeks before the deadline. Worked out at the gym at least twice a week. The other things as well, but you’ll see all that tonight when we go over them and come up with new ones for the next twelve months."

  Go over her list? Andrea bit her lips. Somehow between the ring sparking on her finger and the holiday celebration, it hadn’t seemed quite real. Certainly she never imagined she’d have to seriously account for what she jotted down. Maybe if she couldn’t find the paper — "I don’t know what I did with mine," she said hastily.

  He dipped the brush back into the can. "Why darling, you don’t have to worry about that. I found your list today when I unloaded the drawer. It’s lying on the bed."

  Her stomach took a slow turn as she held up the champagne. "Maybe I should get this chilling. Plus I’ve got a few things to do before we get ready for the party."

  "I thought you might," he murmured without looking up. "It’ll take me a little while to finish up here. When do you want to leave? It starts at seven, right?"

  "You know office parties. They don’t really get going for a while." The words continued to tumble out. "I don’t know why Edward insists on having this reception each year. Most people just drop in for a few minutes."

  The bristles glided across the dark surface. "Well, you know we’ll have to get out of there by ten so we can take care of the resolutions by midnight, so I thought you might wan
t to go early rather than late. But take your time."

  Time. Unfortunately she didn’t have anywhere near enough of it to catch up with the things she’d promised she’d do. Yet maybe if she made enough progress...trying not to run, Andrea hurried into the house and stuffed the champagne in the refrigerator door. Now out of sight, she ran the rest of the way upstairs. No, he hadn’t been fooling. On her pillow lay the sheet of legal paper she recognized as the dreaded list.

  She unfolded it, forcing herself to read her handwriting. "No. 1 - walk around the park at least five times a month. No. 2 - get a doctor’s appointment. No.3 - write thank you notes for wedding gifts." Even more awful, "No. 4 -- Eat healthy lunches such as salads at least four times per week." But the worst came after the numbered lines, where Rob’s printing took over. "I vow to make a good faith effort to accomplish these resolutions. If I fail, I agree my husband may take all necessary steps to make sure I succeed the next year." Although he’d suggested and composed her promise, she’d signed it, adding "Mrs. Robert Johnson to be" after her maiden name.

  Of course she’d wondered what Rob meant by "all necessary steps", but thought he might intend to give her special help. Maybe he’d start reminding her to exercise or grill low-fat hotdogs for them on the weekend . But as their wedding day grew closer, she suspected he might have different ideas regarding her conduct. Ideas she found both exciting and scary, like standing on the platform at an amusement park waiting for her first roller coaster ride.

  She remembered the first time he’d given her that funny feeling in her stomach. For their August honeymoon, they’d chosen the Caymans, hoping to alternate long dives on the reefs with lazy afternoons in their hotel room. Their travel agent put together a package requiring both an initial deposit and a partial payment within thirty days of departure. The week the second installment came due, Rob got called out-of-town on an assignment.

  "It’s not a problem," he told her from the airport. "I already wrote out the check. Just get it from the file cabinet in my study. Look in the travel folder. Then drop it in an envelope and mail it to them. You can get it there in time."

  Of course she’d promised, but that week brought many unexpected developments at her own work, plus she still had lots to get done for the wedding. Between emailing her bridesmaids and renegotiating the hors d’oevres selection with the caterer, she kept forgetting to run by Rob’s place. As the week slipped by, she vowed she’d pick up the check and take it personally to the agency so as to avoid any delay through the post office. On the final day, she planned to run the errand on her lunch hour. But before she got out the door, a senior partner corralled her on an emergency motion, and she didn’t reach his apartment until long after business hours.

  Her phone rang immediately after she got home. "Andrea, I don’t understand this," Rob said anxiously. "Are you sick? Injured? I just got an email from Ken at Universal Travel. He said they were canceling the trip because they never got the second deposit."

  "I’m so sorry," she told him, spilling out the story of her time conflicts. He listened silently, then sighed.

  "Honey, I understand all that, but you needed to make this a higher priority. Didn’t you know we could lose not only our reservations, but the money I already put down?"

  She felt like crying. "I’m sorry, sweetie. It will never happen again."

  "I hope that’s true," he said slowly. "When we get married, we need to trust each other completely. I don’t want to be halfway across the country worrying if you’re really doing the things you said." They both became silent. "You know what you need, don’t you?"

  "A chance to do it right next time?"

  "Yes, of course, but no, I had something else in mind. Something that helps careless young ladies remember their promises." Again silence loomed between them as she fought to calm her rapid breathing. "Do you know what I’m talking about?"

  "I —". She stopped. Even though this was Rob, her beloved soon-to-be-husband, she couldn’t find the right words

  He paused, then said sternly. "You need an old-fashioned spanking, Andrea. Over my knee on your bare bottom. And if I were there tonight, that’s exactly what you’d be getting. But because I’m here instead, and fortunately squared things with Ken by putting it on my credit card, we’ll let it go this time. However you know what to expect if you break your word again."

  She couldn’t remember how they’d ended the conversation. Mostly she’d felt dazed. Could he have really threatened her, a grown woman practically a law firm partner, with being punished like a little girl? Why hadn’t she objected? Told him she’d never let him do it? Because she knew she deserved it? Or because the thought thrilled her, even as it made her insides do flip-flops?

  Through the rest of the summer and fall, she’d wondered if he intended to follow through on his declaration. A few times when she snapped at him, he asked if she needed her backside warmed, but she always shook her head as she apologized. Even after the wedding came and went, he understood her work still stressed her, and didn’t complain about her occasional lapse.

  But this New Year’s resolution problem was different. Considering he’d completed his own list, he’d find her performance poor at best. After all she’d given up walking about mid-year and never gone near her doctor. The remaining thank you notes still occupied a corner of her computer desk. Worst of all, she couldn’t remember the last time she’d substituted salad for pizza or burgers.

  Unless she did something quickly, tonight she’d be getting the first spanking of her life Again she struggled with her mixed feelings. Part of her wondered what she’d feel lying helpless across her husband’s lap as he touched her intimate parts in a completely new way. The other worried she’d find the experience embarrassing. Not to mention painful. She knew Rob had strong arms from toting the news camera to remote locations. Was she really ready to find out his seasoned hand could do to her defenseless backside?

  Maybe next year she’d be better prepared, but right now she wanted to delay. Yet how could she wiggle out of the situation? By thinking like a lawyer, instead of a schoolgirl summoned before the principal. With a quick glance at her watch, Andrea came up with a plan.

  First she reached for the telephone book and called her gynecologist’s office. "I’m sorry," a female voice answered, "but Dr. Nelson and her staff left at noon. If it’s an emergency -"

  Yes, but not that kind. "I just need to make an appointment."

  "I don’t know," the girl replied doubtfully. "I’m just temping this afternoon. Why don’t you call back after the holiday when you can talk with Jeannine -"

  "That’s okay," Andrea interrupted. "I’m sure you’ve got the book there. It would mean a lot to me if you could just please find me an open slot."

  To her relief she heard papers rustling. Finally the voice came back on the line. "The doctor seems pretty booked up next week -"

  "It doesn’t need to be then. February would be fine. I just need a definite time so I can arrange the rest of my schedule to be sure and make it."

  Andrea held her breath as the other woman searched. Finally they agreed on a day at the end of January. She scribbled down the information, then sighed. At least she could cross one thing off the list. Now to tackle the thank you notes.

  When he came up to shower and dress for the party, he found her massaging her cramped fingers. As he towel dried his hair, he picked up and scanned the top ones from the pile. "These all of them?"

  "Every last one," she smiled. "Except for that crystal bowl we could never figure out. Tonight I’ll ask a few discreet questions and see if someone from the firm sent it. Meanwhile, I hope we can stop by the post office on our way there and get these in the mail?"

  "Oh, I’m sure we can manage that. So how does the rest of your list look? You might as well give me the rest of the preview."

  She held out the paper book where she’d recorded the appointment information. "I’ll be seeing Dr. Nelson on January 28th at 2 p.m."

  "You m
ean next year?" He looked at her quizzically. "I thought you were supposed to get your examination before the end of this one."

  "Look, what the list says. ‘Make an appointment’. Doesn’t say when it had to be."

  Rob shook his head. "Okay, I’ll grant you the technicality. As long as you promise to reword your resolution this year to actually see the doctor. If work keeps you away from her office on the 28th, you need to get in as soon as possible."

  "No problem." She thought he’d argue more strenuously. Maybe this would work after all. "And the walking around the park thing. They closed the track to redo the golf course." Hopefully he wouldn’t ask when. " I drove by there last Tuesday, and they still had the ‘Under Construction’ sign up."

  "Now darling." As he gazed steadily at her, she could smell his favorite aftershave. "You know the spirit of the resolution was for you to get steady exercise. Couldn’t you have found another place to go?"

  "I will this coming year, but -"

  "......I know, the list only required you to walk around the park." He sighed. "Which I guess you couldn’t do if they’d blocked it off. I’m starting to see why clients hire you to get them out of their contracts. But let’s talk about your diet. Anything preventing you from eating healthy?"

  Andrea swallowed hard. "Um, no." If you didn’t count the new pizzeria on the ground floor of her office building.