Girls of Summer

by Vicki Blue

  “That’s because you’re a total rebel,” Casey replied with a laugh, and Gigi found herself laughing, too. But later as she went to bed she did so with dread for how she’d handle things the next day. But by morning she’d figured it out and set out for her second day at camp in a good mood. Gigi had finally found a way to teach both her awful student and her boss a good lesson.

  III

  The first thing she did that morning was lie to Malcolm Darby.

  “You’re here early,” he said.

  “I wanted to get an early start,” she replied.

  “Have you exercised Bart yet?” he asked.

  “Yep. He did great. Strong as an ox, but you’re right. Once he gets in work mode he’s a whole lot better.”

  “Remember that Megan’s riding him today,” he said. “And let her be the first one on him. I don’t need my day interrupted by a bunch of phone calls from her mom again. Understand?”

  Gigi nodded. Oh, she understood all right, which was why she’d lied to her boss. She’d not exercised Big Bart. She wanted him fresh and strong and quick when she put Little Miss Smartass on his back. After a few minutes of realizing she couldn’t handle him, Megan would beg to be put on another horse. Hopefully the experience of being humbled in front of her friends would do her good.

  The girls filed in. Megan looked as smug as ever, shooting Gigi a self-satisfied grin as she went to get Bart out of his stall.

  “I’m riding him first!” she said loudly. “Mom told Mr. Darby that since the counselor screwed up yesterday that I’d get to ride him first!” She edged Marissa out of the way and began to brush the horse’s side.

  “Yes, you get to ride him first today,” Gigi said. “But just remember that he’s a lot of horse for you.”

  “I don’t need anyone to tell me how to ride.”

  “OK. Fine. I won’t.”

  The other girls sniggered. Marissa give Gigi a curious look and Gigi knew she was probably wondering why Gigi was giving in.

  “Just wait,” Gigi thought.

  The riders entered the ring.

  “We’re going to do things differently today,” Gigi announced. “We’re going to work one at a time and then work as a group.”

  “I’m going first! Help me up!” Megan led Bart over, her face determined and arrogant.

  Gigi scowled. Megan wasn’t giving her any misgivings by bossing her around. In fact, she was going to enjoy seeing her beg to get off of Bart. She gave the girl a leg up and immediately she could see that Megan wasn’t as certain as she thought she’d be. Bart moved off quickly, dancing into a forward, strong trot.

  “Whoa!”

  “Come on. You know how to ride a horse,” Gigi called to her. “Just give him some half-halts. You do know how to do half halts, right?”

  “Of course I know!” Megan squeezed the reins lightly and released them and Bart slowed his trot, but was now side-passing and snorting, his massive neck bowed.

  “I didn’t tell you to sidepass!” Gigi called.

  “I’m not making him do it!” Megan cried out. “He’s not listening!”

  “I thought you said you could handle him,” Gigi said.

  “I can!” Megan tried to sound confident, but she didn’t look it. The other girls were staring now, and shouting advice, which only seemed to upset her more.

  “Put him on the rail, Megan,” Gigi said. “We don’t have all day.”

  Megan tried to move Bart onto the rail, but Gigi could see that her fear had made her stiff and heavy handed, which was exactly what a horse like Bart did not respond to. He began tossing his head and bowing his body outward. His prance had become exaggerated now. Megan kicked him and he moved into a fast, powerful trot. She sat back and hauled on the reins. The big gelding gave another toss of his head and feeling his rider take a deep seat leapt into a canter. Megan was not ready. She pitched sideways and was now hanging from the side of the horse.

  “Shit…” Gigi ran towards her. This was not supposed to happen. Megan was screaming and barely hanging on. Gigi leapt in front of the horse.

  “Whoa!” Bart skidded to a stop right in front of her and she grabbed the reins. Megan tumbled to the ground. Being half off it wasn’t much of a fall, but the experience of it had reduced her tears. She stood up, crying. Malcolm Darby and the barn owner, Kelly Claremont, were running across the ring.

  “What happened?” Kelly Claremont knelt down. She was an older woman with short hair who had ridden hunter jumpers in Canada before being sidelined by injuries she sustained in a car wreck. She was well-respected, and Gigi wasn’t thrilled that this would be their first meeting.

  “Bart was too much horse for her,” Gigi said.

  “Then why did you put her up on him?” The woman stood, helping the girl to her feet. She was clearly furious. But Gigi kept her calm.

  “Because I was ordered to, and over my objections.”

  “Is this true?” She was looking at Malcolm Darby, who stared back at his boss. He hesitated a moment before answering.

  “Yes,” he said. “And obviously I made a huge mistake. But it will be corrected.”

  “You can’t correct having a student fall, Malcolm.”

  “No. But I can correct my mistake of giving in to push parents. And another one that I won’t mention.”

  “Well do what you have to,” the barn owner said. “This girl’s taking the rest of the day off.”

  “But I want to ride!” Megan said.

  “Nope. Your parents signed a contract. If anyone falls, they are to be checked by a physician and cleared before coming back. Barn rules.”

  “But I want to ride!”

  “No. And if you persist then you won’t ride here any more. My barn, my rules.” The older woman was firm, and Megan dropped her head and followed, her face fixed in a sullen pout.

  Gigi took Bart’s reins and pulled him forward. “OK, guys. This one is going up for the day since he’s so full of himself. The rest of you will share Jackson and Mastermind.’

  The other girls were find with this. In fact, they were fine and Gigi enjoyed her lesson. The incident with Megan still bothered her, since it could have been much worse. But she’d not been hurt and had learned a lesson. The Megan-free day concluded with Gigi getting the kind of enjoyment from her job she’d hoped to. Although there were still little divas in her class, she determined that Megan had been the ringleader, and her absence made the other girls less willing to follow her bitchy lead.

  “See you tomorrow!” She waved as the last girl left. The barn was quiet. On Wednesday afternoon, the arena was drug and no one came to ride. Gigi had planned to go to the community barn, but the weather had gotten worse so she decided to make other plans. She was just dialing Casey when she heard her name being called. She turned to see Malcolm Darby.

  “Could I have a word with you?”

  “I’m about to leave,” she said.

  “This is important,” he said. “I’m afraid it’s mandatory.”

  Gigi shrugged and followed him to his office. He shut the door behind them and ushered her to a chair across his desk. But he did not take the seat behind the desk. Instead, he sat on the edge, trailing one long, booted leg in front of him.

  “Was it worth it?” he asked.

  “What are you talking about?”

  “Your little stunt today was brilliant. But it was also dangerous.” He paused. “I’ve worked with Bart for seven years. He’s my horse, you know. I brought him here and have a contract allowing Kelly Claremont to use him for lessons. But there’s a reason why I insist that he be schooled hard before lessons. If you don’t, he’s an idiot. And in the hands of anything other than an experienced rider he can be a dangerous idiot.”

  “I’m not sure what you’re driving at,” she said.

  “You didn’t school him this morning.”

  Gigi felt her heart began to pound.

  “You can’t prove that.”

  “Would you like to contradict Miguel
to his face? He has an apartment on the grounds and was wrapping one of the horse’s legs this morning when you came in. He said he saw you exercise Jackson and Mastermind, but not Bart. You want to call him a liar?”

  Gigi looked down at her boots. “No,” she said.

  “How could you do something like that?” he asked. “Don’t you realize how risky it was?”

  “I didn’t think she’d fall,” Gigi said defensively. “I thought she’d just get scared and ask to be let off. She’s incredibly rude and arrogant, and it’s apparent that no one has ever bothered to make her realize she can’t get away with being a brat.”

  “Did I not tell you to send her to me?” he asked.

  “Yeah, like that would have helped after you gave in and told me to let her ride Bart. She’s not even experienced enough to ride him after he’s schooled. She’s too heavy-handed.”

  “I give you that,” Darby conceded. “But you deliberately put her at risk, Gigi. And that’s not acceptable.”

  “So I’m fired, I suppose.” She stood. “It was good while it lasted.”

  “Fired? No. I’m afraid this is worse. Once Kelly finds out what you’ve done, you’ll be blackballed from working anywhere with horses. Even your reputation won’t help you. In fact, if I know her as well as I think I do, you should prepare yourself for a complaint with the ARIA.”

  Gig rounded on him, furious now. The American Riding Instructor Association could determine whether an instructor kept her credentials.

  “Yeah, that’s just great. You tell me to put her up on a dangerous horse and I’m going to take the fall… Nice to know you keep it as classy here as they do at any other barn run by arrogant, spoiled assholes…”

  He put a finger up. “Bart is not dangerous if he’s been schooled…”

  “Bullshit,” she said. “Any horse can be dangerous. And you shouldn’t put kids on a horse that has to be schooled hard to keep it sane.”

  They stared at each other.

  “You told me to put her on him. If you file a complaint against me, I’ll file a complaint against you.”

  “I told you to do it after he was schooled,” he said. “And I’m willing to take my chances. We aren’t that far apart. I don’t like these people here, either, if truth be told. I’ll be fine going back to Canada to ride and show since that’s where I came from anyway. But you’re stuck here, and subject to the ARIA rules.”

  “Fine. You win.” Gigi shook her head. “Go ahead. Ruin things for me. See if I give a shit.”

  “That’s your problem,” he said, standing and walking over to her. “You don’t give a shit. You’re as arrogant as the kids you criticize, but in a different way. Don’t you understand the positive impact you could have on them?”

  “No I don’t!” she said. “Didn’t you tell me this wasn’t a charm school?”

  “Yes, I did. But that’s because I consider it my place to deal with these kids. I’m the disciplinarian here. And if you’d not taken matters into your own hands, I would have kicked Megan out of camp. I’ve been watching her for some time now and I don’t like her any more than you do. But you know how political these things can be…”

  “That’s why I got out of it.”

  “I know,” he said. “But what you did was dangerous, and you need to answer for it.”

  Gigi looked away, blinking back tears. “Well then, I guess I’m fucked.”

  “Not so fast,” he said. “I think we can reach a compromise here.”

  “How?”

  Darby walked over to the door where a metal container held a collection of riding crops and dressage whips. He picked one of the crops up. It was a jump bat, short, thick and with a wide flap of leather on the end. He whipped it through the air and turned to Gigi, slapping it against his palm.

  “One of the reasons I like Big Bart is that he’s spirited. He starts every day rarin’ to go, as they say in the states. But he needs a daily reminder that he’s subject to authority. Once he gets it, he’s happy. Without it, he’s impossible and would probably end up in a bad situation.”

  “It’s that way with people, too, especially someone like you. I don’t think you want to be as difficult as you are, Gigi. I don’t think you’re happy like this. You’re defiant, but only because you’re looking for a situation where you can have some limits. It doesn’t make you weak any more than Bart is weak. Having limits just helps you focus.”

  “Why are you saying this?” She was shaking her head and backing away, her eyes going between his hand and the slap, slap, slap of the leather against his palm and his steel grey eyes fixed on hers.

  “Because I’m going to punish you. It’s going to hurt, and you’re going to cry. But when it’s over you’ll be the better for it and I’ll forget what happened today so long as you promise not to repeat it.”

  “You’re crazy,” she said, but her voice did not carry as much conviction as she thought it should.

  “Am I?” he asked. “I don’t think so. In fact, I think I’m being very charitable considering the situation. We both know that Bart would have been fine if you’d schooled him first. And we know that you and Megan were lucky. She could have gotten badly hurt. You know down deep, Gigi, that you deserve this. In fact, I think you want it. I think you’ve always wanted it.”

  Gigi shook her head. Her heart was pounding and tears were in the corners of her eyes, but nothing came out when she tried to verbally protest. Something in his words rang true. She was terrified, but at the same time she couldn’t make herself turn towards the door. The words that came out of her mouth next did not sound like anything she would say. She wanted to curse him, to tell him he was full of shit and that she didn’t have to take this.

  “Will it hurt badly?” she asked, her voice barely above a whisper.

  “Yes,” he said, taking her arm. “But the pain won’t last forever, and I’ll take care of you until you’re better.”

  I’ll take care of you…It seemed such an odd statement coming from a man who was about to spank her.

  He moved to a sofa across the room. It was long and leather and sat under a framed print of a fox hunt in full cry. Gigi felt like her legs were going to collapse beneath her.

  “Say no!” her mind screamed, but she couldn’t say anything, not even when Malcolm Darby sat down and pulled her across his thick, muscular thighs. She felt herself tense as he put his arm around her waist and drew her close. He was strong. So strong. His weight shifted as he raised his arm.

  “No!” she said, finding her voice, but it was too late. His hand slammed down, impacting the fullest part of her bottom with a POP! He wasn’t starting with the crop, but he didn’t have to. The first swat made Gigi cry out in pain and instinctively attempt to rise.

  “Hold still!” he said.

  “NO!” Gigi tried to push herself off his lap, with no greater success. Darby smacked her again; this time the blow fell on the lower portion of her left cheek. She squealed in pain.

  “OK! I learned my lesson!” Tears that had welled up in her eyes spilled over as she looked back at him. She was scared. “Please don’t spank me any more!”

  This was very good, he though. She was begging for mercy and not threatening. He smacked her again on the opposite cheek and she bucked against his leg. Through the fabric of her breeches, her firm, shapely bum was already warm to the touch. She’d obviously not been spanked much, judging by her sensitivity and reaction. It was hard for Malcolm Darby not to smile. He was going to enjoy taming this little minx.

  He landed several rapid spanks on her bottom now, eliciting a litany of shrieks that ended in sobs.

  “Ow! Ow! Ow!!! Stop!” Gigi wanted to demand he let her up, but something was stopping her - was it fear? She wasn’t sure, but she felt that even if he removed his restraining arm she’d remain somehow locked in place by his will.

  He picked up the riding crop. She began to whimper.

  “Please… I won’t ever do anything like that again. Mr. Darby, no…�
� He raised it up. “NO!”

  It came down and landed in a blaze of pain that was almost disorienting. A sob almost disproportionate to her slight size burst from her throat. Darby landed the riding crop again, this time right across the crease between her buttocks and thighs. She wailed, rocking her hips back and forth. This was terrible. How would she sit the next day, let alone ride?

  “Are you going to be more cautious in the future?” he asked.

  “Yes!”

  THWACK! The crop fell again. “Yes what?”

  “Yes sir, Mr. Darby!”

  “Good girl.” He rubbed her bottom now, loosening his grip. Gigi tensed as if to move away from him.