Sally started to answer, then hesitated. Sarah could see she wanted to say something, but was afraid to for some reason. "Oh, come on, Sally, just say it. Maybe I can help you with it, whatever it is."
"No, you don't understand. It's not about me."
"Then who?"
"You. It's about you, and I want to help, but I'm not sure I should say anything or get involved."
Sarah shook her head and stared at her friend for a minute, totally lost. "If it's about me, then go ahead, spit it out, whatever it is you want to say. I'm not sure what you're afraid of getting involved with, but I won't be upset, I promise."
"Are you sure?" Sally was still unsure, but seeing the threatening look on Sarah's face, she dove in. "Well, if you think this is none of my business, tell me, I won't get upset or be hurt."
"Okay, fine, but what is it? You've got me so curious now I can't stand it. Just say it already!"
"Okay, okay. Ed's probably going to be so upset about this I'll wish I'd never mentioned it, but I feel I have to. I think an awful lot of you."
"Sally!"
"Okay, sorry. I see you're sitting on a pillow, so I'm just going to come straight out and ask. Did Heath spank you tonight?"
Sarah had just taken a sip of tea to try to calm down a bit, and she now spit the tea all over her friend and the table, shocked. "What?"
Sally laughed, both at the tea splattering all over the place, and the look on her friend's face. She grabbed a towel and started cleaning the table as she began to talk. "Maybe I shouldn't have been so direct. Sorry about that. But I wanted you to know you're not alone, I've been there and done that." She pointed to the pillow Sarah was sitting on. "If you're like me the first time Ed spanked me, right about now you're pretty confused. You've got about a thousand questions and feelings and thoughts running through your mind, and I thought maybe I might be able to help a little with that."
Sarah, whose eyes were now wide open, looked intently at her friend. "Ed spanks you?" When Sally nodded her head in affirmation, Sarah's grin on her face grew to a huge smile and she said, "Girl, have we got to talk!" They both laughed, as Sarah got Sally some tea. They started discussing everything from how they both felt about being spanked, to when and why Sally got spanked, and what Heath and Sarah had discussed in that regard. Sally answered a lot of Sarah's questions, which made her feel much better and more at ease. After thinking a few minutes, though, Sarah asked, "You said earlier Ed would probably be upset and you'd regret saying anything. Why would he be upset?"
Sally sobered a bit and said, "I probably shouldn't tell you that." After much encouragement, and a bit of a threat, she explained, "because Ed told me Heath was considering spanking you tonight, but he told me not to say anything to you about it because it was none of my business unless you wanted to share it with me. But I remembered how confused I was afterwards, and how I wished I had someone I could talk to about it."
"That's exactly how I felt."
"I still feel that way sometimes. I am so glad I can talk to you about it now. Anyway, that's why I was awake, thinking about you and hoping you were okay. Then when I saw you sitting over here deep in thought in the middle of the night, I had to come talk to you." She waited anxiously for Sarah's reply, but when she didn't say anything she asked, "Will you say something already? Should I have not said anything, like Ed said? I'm so sorry."
Sarah was digesting all this information, and finally asked, "Ed told you?"
Sally quickly explained, "Yeah, but he kind of had to, so please don't be upset with him. When I heard some creep attacked you, I wanted to come see you, make sure you're okay. He stopped me and said to give you guys some privacy tonight, but you know me; I can't let anything go that easy. He caught me as I was sneaking out to come over and see for myself that you were okay. He finally told me what Heath said, just to be sure I'd stay home. He sure didn't want me going over and interrupting anything."
Sarah was thinking about all her friend had just said, when another knock on her door startled her again. Going to look out onto the porch she looked at Sally and said, "Speaking of Ed, he must be looking for you." She saw her friend's face turn white, as she opened the door and invited Ed in.
"Hi, Sarah," he greeted. "Sorry to come visiting so late, but I woke up and found I was missing a wife. While I was wandering through the house looking for her I noticed your porch light on, so I thought I'd come see if you've seen her by any chance." Then, turning to look directly at Sally for the first time, he arched an eyebrow and said, "Well, what do you know; here she is."
Sarah looked at the stern look on Ed's face, and had to laugh a little. When Sally and Ed both looked at her she explained, "Sorry, but I saw that same look on Heath's face for the first time earlier this evening. I guess I didn't know how similar you guys are. Looking at you two now, though, I guess I shouldn't have been so surprised when Sally told me she can relate to my pain." They both laughed. "I've only seen that look once, and I already recognize it. It's not something I'm looking forward to seeing again, but something tells me I will."
Ed chuckled and said, "Sally isn't too excited to see it, either. It usually means we'll be having a discussion about something, doesn't it, honey; like talking about something you were told not to bring up?" Sarah saw that look again, and tried to change the subject. She didn't want her friend to get in trouble because of her.
She quickly said, "What I can't believe is that Heath talked to you about it, Ed. I mean, you knew what was going to happen tonight before I did."
Ed could tell Sarah was upset about that, and quickly came to Heath's defense. "Sarah, I think you need to know the circumstances when he mentioned it to me. You have to realize he's been really concerned about you and your safety for some time now. I could tell he was starting to care a great deal for you, so it didn't surprise me when he started worrying about some of the things you were doing. I brought it up to him that I was concerned about you as a friend and neighbor. That's when I first realized just how much you meant to him. He was looking for any ideas I might have."
"So you're the one that suggested this?"
Shaking his head, Ed told her, "No, I'm not, but I thought about it. That's how I would have handled it, but just because that works well for Sally and I, I didn't think it was my place to suggest it for you and him. I didn't really have any suggestions for him. He said he's talked to you until he's blue in the face and that didn't help a bit."
Sarah's face turned red as she said, "Yeah, I see now how he could have worried about some things. I really didn't see the problem, until tonight."
"Heath did," Ed told her. "He knew he had to do something, and I knew he did, too, once I could see that he loved you. Tonight was the straw that broke the camel's back. You scared him half out of his mind tonight."
"Really, it was that bad?"
Sarah grimaced when she saw "the look" again. He confirmed, "Yes, it was that bad. He was beside himself, so I asked if he had any ideas, or if there was anything I could do to help. It was clear to both of us someone had to get through to you somehow. When he told me what he was thinking about, I think he wanted my opinion. I'll be honest with you; I couldn't have agreed with it more." He laughed when he saw her astonished look. "Come on, Sarah, don't look so surprised. Think about what you did, and what could have happened."
"I know, I know," she admitted. "I just didn't realize I was that out of control, and both of you guys did. So I shouldn't be too upset with him for talking to you first?"
"You should take it for what it was. He thought it was what you needed, but it's not something he was looking forward to doing. If you weren't so special to him, he wouldn't have done it. We men have to think an awful lot of a woman before we'll make that commitment to protect her, which is what that is." He looked at both women, and could tell he'd gotten their attention. Sally stepped over and cuddled up to him, as he reached down and kissed the top of her head. Sarah smiled.
In that moment, yet another knock on th
e door startled all three of them. Heath opened the door and walked in, asking, "Is everything okay over here?" He pulled Sarah in close to him as he asked her, "Are you okay, sweetheart?"
They all smiled as Sarah told him, "I'm fine, Heath."
"Then what are you doing up and hosting a party at 2:30 in the morning? I thought I told you to go to bed a couple hours ago."
Sarah laughed when she saw "the look" again, and said, "I couldn't sleep. What are you doing up at 2:30 in the morning?"
"There's a certain little minx that lives across the street from me that keeps popping into my head all night, keeping me from sleeping."
Sarah had a mischievous grin on her face as she turned to her friend. "Sally, what are you doing to keep Heath from sleeping?" Both women laughed when Sarah got "the look" from both men at the same time.
Heath shook his head and smiled at her, but continued. "When I couldn't sleep, I got up and glanced across the street. The kitchen and porch light were on at the little minx's house, and I was wondering if she forgot to turn them off before she went to bed, like I told her to do a couple hours ago," he said, looking at Sarah with his eyebrows raised, "or if something was wrong. Then I saw Ed walk over and that worried me. I was afraid something was wrong, so I had to come check up on you." He pulled her in against him.
Ed nodded and explained his presence. "I came over here looking for my wayward wife, who was AWOL, and I found her over here doing exactly what I told her not to do." He gave Sally a very meaningful glance, before turning back to his friend and making an admission. "I'm sorry, Heath. She told Sarah she knew you were going to spank her tonight."
Sally objected indignantly. "I didn't say I knew he was going to; just that there was a possibility."
Meanwhile, Heath was looking at Ed, confused. "What? She told Sarah? So, you told Sally?" Just that quick, all three were talking at once, each blaming the others for what happened.
Sarah watched them all for a minute or so, then put her fingers between her teeth and, in a very unladylike manner, whistled loud enough to scare everyone into silence. They all turned to stare at her.
"Now that I have everyone's attention, let me make a comment. You all seem to be concerned about me and the fact that everyone now knows I got spanked tonight. I was embarrassed about it at first, but then when I found out Ed spanks Sally, I was more upset with Ed for telling her."
Sally gave Ed a triumphant glare, but Sarah continued. "Then I found out why he did, and I was upset instead with Heath for telling Ed."
She saw Heath's rather sheepish look, and quickly continued further. "Now that I know why he talked to Ed, I understand completely, and I'm even touched that he cared enough to talk to his friend about it, and that the friend cared enough to listen and try to help, as well." She pulled all three in for a group hug, before adding, "So, now that everyone knows and I know you two do the same thing, I'm okay with it. In fact, I'm really glad Sally told me. I was totally confused. I had a bunch of contradicting feelings and I was having a heck of a time trying to make sense of it all. Talking with her helped. It helped a lot. It answered a bunch of my questions. It's good to know I can talk to her about it in the future, too."
Smiling at all three, she challenged, "So, if everyone was worried about me and I'm not upset with anyone, why should you guys be upset with anyone?"
Heath gave her a hug. "Did you get all your questions answered, sweetie?"
She cuddled into his arm that was around her shoulders before answering. "All but one, and I need to talk to you about that."
"Okay, I'll see if I can answer that for you," Heath told her, giving her another little squeeze.
Ed took Sally's hand in his and headed for the door. "Well, come on, Sally. I'm glad everything turned out okay, but you and I still have a little matter of disobedience to discuss." Sarah couldn't hold back a little giggle when she saw his raised eyebrow.
Sally saw the same raised eyebrow and protested. "But we're having a party; we can't leave yet."
"Party's over. Come on," he said, leading her toward the door. "See you two tomorrow."
After they left, Heath pulled Sarah into his arms for a long, passionate kiss. "Honey, I'm sorry I told Ed what I was planning on doing."
Sarah stopped him before he could say anything else. "No, it's all right. Really. Ed told me how worried you were, and I'm actually glad you cared that much about me. I love you, Heath."
"You are something special, Sarah. I love you, too. Now, you had a question for me?"
"Yeah, I do. The one thing I can't understand yet is how I felt afterward."
"What do you mean; how did you feel?"
"Well, it hurt so bad, I was getting kind of mad. I was having a hard time dealing with all the pain. Then afterward when you held me in your arms, I was so mad I tried to fight it at first, but I couldn't. The only way I can describe how I felt is totally content. I felt a sense of peace I haven't felt in a long, long time. I felt like as long as your arms were around me and you kept talking to me in such a soothing voice and comforting me, I felt safe, untouchable. Nothing bad could happen to me as long as your arms were around me and my head was on your chest. And I've felt that way ever since. I've never felt this safe, content, happy, and I just want to be with you. I hated it when you left tonight."
Heath had a big smile on his face, and gave her a little hug. "I hated leaving tonight, too. So, what's your question?"
Sarah sighed and asked, "How could I go from being in so much pain, caused by you, and feeling so angry with you, to feeling so totally content and feeling like I can't get close enough to you?"
He sat down, pulled her down on his lap, and took her hands in his. Then he locked his eyes with hers, and said, "You felt peaceful and content because you were finally able to forgive yourself, sweetheart." He gave her time to think about that, before continuing. "You hadn't admitted to anyone that you've been careless in any way, or done anything wrong. I believe subconsciously you knew, though, but you hadn't been able to forgive yourself. Now you've paid the consequences for the bad decisions you made, and not only was I able to forgive you completely, but you could forgive yourself for the first time. We now have a clean slate, there's nothing between us, and see how good it feels?"
Heath could tell she was deep in thought. Then she seemed to reach a conclusion, and smiled. "I think you're right. I heard everything you kept telling me, warning me about, and I could tell you were getting frustrated with me, but I never really saw the problem. I thought you were worrying too much. Still, it bothered me when I'd do something else stupid, and I could tell you were disappointed, or hurt. I get it now; I see how careless I've been and why you worried. I think you're right; what was bothering me was guilt. I feel free now, and I finally see, it's free of guilt."
"It feels good, doesn't it?"
"Oh, it really does," she confirmed. "And I like the clean slate, nothing-between-us feeling. That's why I can't get close enough to you," she said as she snuggled into his chest.
"I like that feeling, too, sweetheart." They cuddled together quietly for a few moments before he caught her eye, with a grin on his face. "I guess that settles it. Now I have to keep spanking you when you need it," he said, chuckling, holding her close. They both enjoyed the closeness for a few more minutes, before Heath pulled back a bit and said, "Now, it's late. I believe you're supposed to be in bed, young lady?"
"I feel much better now," she told him. "I could probably sleep now, but do you have to leave? Why don't you stay here with me all night? I can think of a way we can get even closer." She started kissing his neck and running her hands over his chest, teasingly.
"If you keep that up I'll stay, but we won't be going to sleep right away," he growled.
"Okay with me," she said, batting her eyes.
He laughed as he stood, with her still in his arms, and headed for the bedroom.
As the sun was beginning to rise, Heath pulled Sarah in tight against his chest and wrapped his arms aroun
d her. She snuggled up against him and they both fell fast asleep, both feeling happy, content, and completely sated.
When Heath woke in the morning, Sarah was still cocooned in his arms and sleeping soundly. He thought back on the night before and how lucky he was to have her. He still had a big smile on his face when she woke up and looked up at him.
"Good morning, big guy," she said sleepily. "What's the smile for?"
"The smile's for waking up with you nestled in my arms. What a way to start a day." He kissed her neck and whispered in her ear, "I love you, sweetheart."
She rolled over, still in his arms, and saw the same love she felt for him when she looked in his eyes. They shared a passionate kiss, which turned into more passion, which then required another rest before they could get up and shower together.
Sarah had never had a shower like this one, but she wasn't complaining a bit. Heath took care of her—he just plain took care of her. He adjusted the water, then carried her into the shower. After soaping her whole body, gently exploring the whole time, he washed her hair. She was amazed at how sensual his gentle touch was, even while washing her hair. When she tried to repay the favor, he stopped her, saying, "If your hands touch me any more right now I can't be held responsible for what happens."
She giggled and looked up at him. "You can blame it on me. Apparently I've been just a tad bit irresponsible lately, anyway."
"This is one irresponsible act I'll even let you get away with without another spanking. Come here, you little minx." He pulled her into his arms, and they made love in the shower. After he washed them both again, he got out, then got her bath towel and wrapped her in it as he helped her out. He dried quickly, then meticulously dried her, and towel dried her hair.
"You sure know how to spoil a lady," she told him. "I could get used to all this attention really easily."
"I told you last night I plan on taking care of the lady I love," he told her, planting a quick kiss on her forehead. "Get used to it." He liked seeing the big smile on her face at his words. "Let's go fix some breakfast, because we have some things we've got to talk about today."
The Real Prize Page 5