Ruby knew she should think it ridiculous for a grown woman to be receiving a spanking behind a tree for dirtying her skirt, but instead, the spanking ended too quickly for her. Jacob turned her towards him and embraced her in a kiss. Her kiss in return was hungry, and she locked her arms tightly around his neck, dropping her skirt as she did.
Leaning down, his voice husky, he whispered in her ear, “Did I tell you that you could drop your skirt? I think you need another lesson in obedience.” The word ‘obedience,’ brought heat to her face, as well as more intimate places.
“Give me those panties.”
Shocked, she looked at him to see if he was serious. He was.
Smiling in what she hoped was a seductive manner, she steadied herself by putting a hand on his shoulder. Ruby stepped out of the little heart covered undies and then reached down to gather them. Suddenly feeling very shy, she reluctantly handed them over.
Jacob put them in his pocket. “Good. While we are walking around that will be a reminder to you; I can spank you anytime, anyplace that I wish.” He kissed her on the top of her head, and grabbed her hand to lead her back towards the fair.
He might be the one in charge, but there was no way she was letting him get away with riling her up like that and not following through. The sexy outdoor spanking had her wanting her husband, right now. Tugging on his hand, Ruby pulled him back toward the tree.
“Can you do other things to me anytime, anyplace that you want?”
“Of course.” The look of confidence on his face made her knees weak.
“Prove it.” She ran towards the woods laughing. He followed her into the dense wood, through the thick branches. He stopped when she did, in the midst of a tiny clearing of soft grass, the sun shining down through the break in the trees.
“Here.” she said.
“Here?”
“Yes.”
He surrounded her with his body, his warmth embracing her. The look on his face told her that he thought he was the luckiest guy in the world.
Kissing her neck and nibbling on her ear he whispered, “You’ll get your skirt dirty again.”
“Good,” she said, then bit his lip.
Heading home, they stopped by the Village of Yesteryears. Jacob guided Ruby over to a section of hand whittled cooking spoons that were made from a stunning blonde wood. The warm tones gleamed under the lights; they were a work of art.
Ruby stood, admiring all twenty-seven of the beautiful pieces, and wondering how exactly one created such a masterpiece from a single stick of wood.
“Pick one.” Jacob’s voice snapped her back to reality.
“For me?” The sight of the implements made her feel hot all over, but unsure at the same time. Ruby didn’t think Jacob was buying her a new cooking tool for quiet dinners.
“Yes, for you. Well, it’s for me, I guess.” He winked at her while the man behind the booth tried to make heads or tails of the newlywed's exchange.
Her gaze passed over the spoons, stopping on a rose colored one with a small heart carved into the handle. Not brave enough to pick it up herself, she pointed to it. “That one.”
Jacob reached for the spoon. His hand hovering over it, he glanced at her to be sure he had the right one before he picked it up. She gave a small nod to affirm.
With a cocky grin, he picked up the object, feeling it’s weight. His eyes locked with hers when he held the spoon by its handle and gave his palm a sharp smack with the rounded end. “Owie, as you like to say.” Jacob winked at his wife, then handed a generous bill to the confused woodworker behind the table. “We’ll take this one.”
Chapter 7
A glass of white wine, perfectly chilled, sat at the gleaming bar in front of Ruby. It was sweet on her lips, and she loved the rush of warmth that she felt in her chest when she took a sip.
Sitting next to her, Jacob took a sip of the beer in front of him. He was not one to imbibe, but Ruby had insisted they had to have at least one drink at the quaint pub in town.
It was like a place right out of a storybook. Built of gray stone on the outside, and heavy dark wood inside, it was both magnificent and somehow cozy.
Popping up on a stool, Ruby had also insisted they sit right at the bar, as she had never been to one before. The bartender put out a fresh bowl of salty trail mix for the couple.
“Here for trivia night?” he asked as he wiped down the already spotless counter.
She hopped up and down in her seat, “Oh, trivia. I love trivia. Jacob?”
Jacob smiled at her enthusiasm. “Sure, why not? But I should warn you, I’m terrible.”
Ruby made a mental note to dumb down a few answers. She had learned the hard way, long ago that no man liked to be shown up by their woman. Or for a woman to be smarter than them.
“It’s right over there.” The bartender pointed to the corner of the dark bar where a young man was setting up a large screen and projector.
“I don’t know. Ruby, are you going to be able to leave your bar stool?” He teased her good-naturedly as she had been so giddy to be sitting at the ‘grown-up bar.’
In response, Ruby hopped down from her high stool.
“Need another wine for the game?”
Ruby turned to Jacob, waiting for him to answer for her.
“Sure.” Jacob gave her a little wink. “Another white wine, please. It is our honeymoon after all.”
“Newlyweds, congratulations.” The bartender gave a huge smile as he filled a clean glass almost to the brim with the wine. “On the house.”
Watching as Jacob’s eyes went wide at the sight of the full glass, Ruby grabbed it, thanking the bartender and giggling as she took it before her handsome husband could change his mind. Seeing that Jacob was still in his seat, Ruby grabbed his hand and pulled him over to trivia. After signing them up at the front table as a team of two, she grabbed a buzzer and pulled Jacob along to find a seat.
They settled down at a little table for two, just as the lights dimmed. The screen illuminated with the trivia topics; Sports, American History, Things No One Knows, Numbers, Cooking, and Pets.
Laughing out loud as he read the topics, Jacob said, “Well, at least we will get the sports and pets, between the two of us.
The young man who had set up the screen grabbed a mic. “Welcome everyone. Great to see some new faces.” He nodded to Ruby and Jacob’s table. “And welcome to our reigning champion, Mike’s Bikes.” A group of four motorcycle riders, judging by their leather jackets and team name, gave a loud cheer from their table. “For those of you that don’t know me, my name is Peter. I have two great loves in this world; good trivia and even better IPA. Now let’s go over the rules. As always, no need to wait till I finish the question because first to buzz gets to answer. As soon as you know it, buzz and answer. The topics are pretty straight forward, as you see,” the host gestured at the screen behind him, “except for Things No One Knows and Numbers. I always like to throw in two tough categories. Things No One Knows is obscure facts, and in the past when we have run that one only one or two get answered, so don’t feel bad if you don’t get those right. The Numbers category is timed math problems, and we have scrap paper up here to work out the figures so go ahead and grab some for your team. Trust me, you are going to need it.”
A chuckle came up from the crowd as team leaders went up to grab the supplies.
“Would you like to go, or should I?” Jacob asked.
With a wave of her hand, Ruby announced, “We won’t be needing that.”
“Oh, just want to skip those? Whatever you say.” Jacob took, what looked like, a pretend sip of his beer.
Feeling warm and loose, Ruby lovingly took another slug of her beverage, wondering to herself where white wine had been her whole life. Knowing she was borderline tipsy, she reminded herself to hold back from answering the harder questions.
Once everyone had settled back down at their respective tables, Peter announced, “And don’t forget this week’s prize, a pygmy g
oat courtesy of our very own local farm, Happy Times.” A picture of a little gray and white, miniature goat, flashed on the screen. It was clearly the cutest animal that had ever lived.
A squeal was out of Ruby’s lips before she could even try to hold it in. “Oh my, look at that baby. Oh, Jacob, isn’t that the cutest thing you have ever seen? I have to have that goat.”
Jacob put his head in his hands, laughing. “Thank goodness we don’t have a chance at winning, Ruby. How on Earth would we get a goat home?”
“I’m going to name him Max, and he will live in that little fenced off part in your grandmother’s garden, where she used to keep chickens.” Ruby couldn’t take her eyes off of the picture of the precious animal. Her husband just chuckled and shook his head.
Knowing what was at stake and feeling the effects of two full glasses of wine, Ruby announced, “It is on. It is so on.” A feeling of determination came over her, and she threw a glare at Mike’s Bikes, for good measure.
“Right then, let's begin.” Peter shot an amused look in Ruby's direction; her squeal had drawn her a bit of attention.
The Sports category bored her, though she knew all of the answers. Jacob buzzed in and got the first two correct, but then Mikes Bikes started to take the lead with three questions. The category was over, and they were onto American History.
The first question flashed on the screen. Ruby hopped up off her chair as she slammed the buzzer. “Who is Theodore Roosevelt?” before the host could read a word.
The next question flashed on the screen. Before Peter could get through the first few words of the question, she slammed her buzzer again. “Who is Harriet Tubman?” She remained standing.
Peter stopped attempting to read the screen altogether, a huge grin covering his face. He looked at Ruby instead. Answers flew out of her mouth as quickly as the questions appeared. “Who is Neil Armstrong? Who is Louis Lamour? Who is Abraham Lincoln?”
Ruby dropped into her seat, taking a huge pull from a straw in a glass of ice water that Jacob must have replaced her wine with, in between questions. She looked up, her face feeling flushed, as she heard clapping, cheers and whistling coming from the bikers in the corner. Ruby stood up and did a deep curtsy, eliciting more whistles from the group.
Having forgotten her husband in the goat procuring excitement, she finally looked over to gauge Jacob’s reaction. He sat staring at her, a look of pride mixed with curiosity on his face.
She suddenly felt shy. “Was that too much, Jacob? I’m sorry.”
“No way, baby. Let’s see how far you can go.” Jacob leaned back in his chair, now taking a deep sip from a fresh beer that the bikers had sent over to him.
It was time for the category Things No One Knows. She smiled to herself. Max was as good as hers.
The category ran much like the last, but this time, not only was Peter’s full attention was on Ruby, but also everyone else’s in the bar. He asked the questions directly to her, the questions he could get out before she answered. Soon the buzzer was forgotten. The teams had broken up and formed a circle around Ruby. Jacob looked on with a face of amusement.
“What is avuncular, or pertaining to an uncle? What is phytoplasma? What is a Tuesday?” Jacob’s jaw dropped after she answered the question, “What day of the week did Elvis Presley die? “What is abacinated? What is gangrenous?”
The category ended, and she took her seat, relieved there was going to be a short break before the game resumed. Again, the applause, the circle tightening around her. The bartender sat a fresh glass of wine in front of her. “This one’s from Peter.” She looked up in surprise as Peter winked at her. Ruby gave him a little wave of thanks, then double checked with Jacob before taking a sip.
Jacob jokingly raised his drink to Peter, “She’s taken.”
Good natured laughs came from Mike’s Bikes as the host smiled and shrugged his shoulders. “The good ones always are,” Peter said with a twinkle in his eyes.
“Are you okay with this?” she asked, gesturing at the wine.
Laughing, Jacob threw his arms in the air. “This is your night, baby. I’m just trying to figure out how I am going to get this goat home.
“Well, he will be riding in my lap, of course.”
“Of course, he will. Why didn’t I think of that?” Jacob jokingly smacked his forehead with his palm. His face quickly turned serious as she took another drink from her glass. “That is your last glass, though, little one. And I’ll be taking it away after a few sips. I don’t want my petite bride getting sick.”
Grateful for his care and protection, she leaned over and kissed him on the cheek, eliciting a cheer from the crowd. All eyes had been on her since the start of trivia night. Shyly she realized she was the only female in the small pub.
A familiar song came on the jukebox, Ruby, by Kaiser Chiefs. Once in a while, when the song had first come out, someone would ask her if she knew it. Ruby did in fact know it and had heard it many times when it was brand new. It had been years since she had heard or thought about the catchy tune.
Ruby looked over her shoulder to see Mike’s Bikes huddled around the juke box. When the song reached the first chorus, the group turned towards her. They were laughing and trying to sing along with the lyrics.
Ruby Ruby Ruby Ruby
Do ya do ya do ya do ya
Know what you’re doing, doing to me
Ruby Ruby Ruby Ruby
They sang the chorus boisterously, each time it came on, holding their glasses up towards her.
Jacob laughed, “You certainly are the star of the show tonight, little lady.”
Ruby took another sip of her drink. This was turning out to be quite the evening. She was enjoying the attention from the kind men. Most of all she was relieved that the man she had chosen to spend the rest of her life with was secure enough in himself to have a woman wipe the floor with him in trivia.
Finally, the song ended and Mike’s Bikes took their seats, patting Ruby and Jacob on the backs as they did. Jacob had bought them a round of drinks that were waiting on their table when they got back from their jukebox escapade.
Peter took his place back up front. “Ruby, do you know what you are doing to us?” Theatrically he threw his hands up in the air. “You are turning our regular trivia night upside down!” Everyone laughed. “Okay folks, it’s time to see how well this little lady knows her numbers. I think we can all agree to give her this category all to herself.”
She felt herself blush. Ruby knew she was making a scene and dangerously close to revealing one of her lifelong secrets, but the wine was making her feel brave and she wanted the goat so badly.
Peter got to read the questions in this category, Ruby sat politely calculating in her mind, then gave the correct answer as soon as he had completed his sentence. The men around her scribbled furiously on their papers, trying to keep up with her, but to no avail.
Ruby, of course, answered all five questions, first and correctly. Peter announced, “Well folks, I think we have the proud owner of a new goat. Between the first two questions answered by the husband,” he pointed to Jacob, “and the full two categories answered by the bride, I’d say this bride is the proud owner of a new pet.” The bar erupted in cheers, and Ruby stood and took a bow.
Peter smiled. “We’d be glad to have you two back any time you are in town. I will catch up with you after the game to give you the full details on your lively wedding gift. For now, let’s continue trivia night.” He waved his hand in Jacob and Ruby’s direction, “You guys are out, but the last two categories are up for grabs for second place. The winners get a round of drinks, on me.” After stopping to shake Ruby and Jacob’s hands, the players made their way back to their tables and continued the game.
Ruby held her tongue, even through the Pet category. She sat, basking in the knowledge that her very own goat was waiting for her. The weight of her husband's protective arm around her shoulders made her forget to worry, forget the need to count, and the knowledge tha
t she had her very own first pet gave her an incredible sense of peace.
The next morning, Ruby stretched out in the sunlight as the soft glow of the sun woke her. She couldn’t remember getting into the bed last night, Jacob must have carried her there. She looked down at the completely sheer pink nightgown she was wearing and felt a flush creep into her face. There was nothing underneath. Her husband must have been responsible for that, too.
On cue with her thoughts, her husband softly padded barefooted into the room. Dressed in a white button-down and jeans, he stretched out next to her, kissing her softly. “Last day of our honeymoon, baby.”
“I know. I’m trying not to think about it. I never want it to end.” She leaned over, kissing him deeply and exploring his body with her hands.
Roughly, he grabbed her wrists in his hands, stopping her and pulling her away from him.
“Ruby, you need to tell me exactly what is going on.”
His severe tone fully woke her up from sleep. “What do you mean?”
“I always knew you were smart but last night, that was something else. And the numbers?”
She looked down, looked left, looked right and added up all of the ninety-degree angles in her eyesight— twenty, including the frames on the walls. “It was just a lucky night, that’s all.”
“Ruby.” His tone was authoritarian, demanding her obedience. He sat up, pulling her up with him, then released her wrists.
She sighed a huge sigh. How did she think she could hide such a big secret from him, the secret of who she was? She might as well come clean, he was going to find out sooner or later. At least she had the memories of the honeymoon and the goat, if Jacob let her keep him.
“I’m brilliant. I don’t mean that in a braggy way. I just… that’s what my high school guidance counselor called it.”
“Brilliant. Yes, that’s what I would call it too, after last night. How brilliant are we talking, here?”
“What do you mean?”
“Well, what did you get on your SAT’s for example?”
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