by Bree Cariad
One of the men barked a laugh. “Don’t be sorry. Your passion for the subject’s clear. Expect our first donation on Friday.”
“Ours too,” another said.
“I’d like to talk to the women in my church, but I bet we can figure out a childcare arrangement,” one of the men said. “As long as LCC can give us a room to have it in. Or a place close to campus.”
By the time the luncheon broke up, DeLynn felt on cloud nine. Maybe she had found something she was supposed to do. She floated along on the excitement of it, finding a small storage space on campus to put the items. And then Friday hit. “How much?” she squeaked, staring at the large truck parked along the road.
“The whole truck’s filled with items for…” The driver checked his invoice. “Longdale Community College: Hand Up. Is that you?”
“Yes?” she squeaked. The storage space she had gotten was tiny. It wouldn’t hold this much stuff. “Umm, while you start doing what you need to do, let me go clear out some more space. I wasn’t expecting this much.”
He barked a laugh. “Will do. And just so you know. We’ve been contracted to bring this much to you every six months.”
Whoa. Running back to the student center, she quickly made her way to the chapel. Thankfully Zachary was just saying goodbye to a student when she arrived. “What’s that look?” he asked, watching her.
“The stuff…it’s arrived. Zachary, it’s an entire semi full of items. There isn’t enough room in the storage space I’ve got. Help!”
“Come on. Let me see what we’re talking about.” After locking the door of the chapel, he took her hand and they went out to the truck. His eyes widened as he caught a glance at all the boxes. “Ah. Well, until we can find something, there’s a room next to the chapel. It will hold a large percentage of this and we’ll put everything else in the foyer. I’m sure we can find a larger storage for it by the end of the day.”
It took the driver and the two of them three hours to get all the boxes unloaded and stacked into the room beside the chapel. Only ten of the boxes ended up in the foyer. After she signed for it and the driver left, DeLynn stared at it all.
“What all is it?” Zachary asked.
She pulled out her copy of the packing list. “Diapers, baby food, baby wipes, baby powder, and formula.”
“Wow. Looks like you can open for business, honey.”
The next month was a veritable whirlwind of activity for DeLynn. The school gave her a space in the basement of the student center and after Zachary set up some shelves, she packed them with needed items and put up flyers advertising what they had and that the small store would be open for two hours a day during the week. It wasn’t busy, but as the word got around, girls started showing up, wary at first. Once they realized this was for real, the relief on their faces was obvious.
After her third week in business, just as she was about to close the door for the day, someone walked up and she looked up, recognizing one of the men from the luncheon. “Hello,” she said, smiling.
“DeLynn,” he said warmly, “let me introduce you to Pamela Rogers.” He waved toward a tall, thin, African American woman at his side. “She has volunteered to help set up the childcare rotation.”
DeLynn beamed. “Oh, thank you! Already the girls have been so relieved to have this. They’re going to be thrilled to have a safe place to keep their child while in class.”
As he left, Pamela, a woman in her mid-thirties smiled. “I’m happy to help. I was once a single mother at eighteen and I’m happy to help women like me.” After DeLynn locked up, they went upstairs and sat down at a table to talk. “So, I have twelve women who are willing to help currently. We can cover the hours from eight in the morning until three in the afternoon. Pastor Jonathon’s already had us start our FBI identification and once that’s cleared, we can start.”
“FBI?” DeLynn said startled.
Amused, Pamela nodded. “Yes, to work with children, most organizations insist you go through an FBI background check. It’s for their safety,” she explained. “To make sure the children are in the hands of people who aren’t pedophiles.”
“Oh!” That was something she had totally been unaware of. “I’m glad he knew about it. I’m still trying to get a handle on the whole thing. Everyone’s been so incredibly helpful.”
Between schoolwork and her Hand Up organization, DeLynn barely noted anything else. She and Zachary became closer every day and they went through their fourth stage before she was even aware of it.
“We’re in stage five?” she said in surprise when Barrett told them in mid-March.
“Yes, and the next month is very important. The two of you need to look at your relationship and decide if you’re going to go forward or not. I can tell you’re the best of friends, but I must ask. Have you disciplined her, Zachary?”
They were seated in Barrett’s study the first day of spring break and as the weather was decent, his window to the outside was open and DeLynn listened to the birds chirping in the nearby trees. At his question, she flushed.
“She hasn’t broken any of our rules,” Zach explained.
“Understood. DeLynn’s always been a rule follower. But you saw her when she fell apart. She needs to know you’ll be there when she needs a strong hand and to be honest? So do I. I like you, Zach, and I think the two of you make a lovely couple. When the time comes for you to ask for her hand? I won’t say yes until you two have worked that out.”
“Barrett,” Zachary said, shaking his head. “How can we see how that will work? I’m not going to punish her for doing something we hadn’t talked about. That’s wrong. I understand what you’re saying, but…” He sighed and glanced at DeLynn before looking back at the man in front of them.
“I understand and as it happens, I have a suggestion for you. It’s something Curtis and I talked about when he and Deeka started courting. It goes by many names, but the most common term is maintenance.”
“Maintenance?” DeLynn asked, cocking her head. Deeka had mentioned it once but she hadn’t really been paying attention.
“Yes. Essentially, in a loving discipline relationship, discipline brings a couple closer together. Maintenance is the action of being spanked, maybe once a week, not for any breaking of the rules, but as a blanket showing of the consensual relationship a couple has chosen. It won’t be light, but it won’t be as hard as a discipline spanking either. In fact, this would probably be a good way for you to learn how to spank.”
Slowly Zachary turned toward her. “What do you think?”
He looked nervous and she assumed he was even more uneasy about the concept of spanking than she was. While being spanked wasn’t fun, it was needed for her peace of mind and for their future relationship. “I think it’s a good idea,” she responded gently. “Deeka mentioned it, though I will admit I wasn’t really listening too much, and she says it made an amazing shift in their relationship, that it brought them truly close together. I think we should try it.” She could tell he was still nervous, so she tried to lighten the atmosphere. “Or I could break a rule, if that would help.”
A grin crossed his face even as his brown eyes twinkled. “You’d be willing to do that for me?”
“What can I say? I’d sacrifice.” She giggled.
“Maintenance would also give you the chance to learn her tells in how she reacts to pain, what you prefer to use, and Deeka is right: it will bring you both close together. The tether that’s created through loving discipline is intense. From the very first spanking. You think you want to take care of her now? After the first time you spank her behind, the feelings you have right now will feel like nothing in comparison.”
After a pause, Barrett added, “And I think this week is a good time for you two to start. After that first spanking, it will probably take a few days to get your head on steady from all the thoughts, fears, and everything else that will go through your mind. Including a sense of elation, which will fight with your thought that you should ne
ver hit a woman. Let me tell you right now, the elation is in no way some secret need to hurt someone.” He grinned. “I had that problem at first. A good friend set me straight. The elation is more from the fact that you did it and you both not only survived, but it made your relationship better.”
“Thanks, Barrett.” Zachary didn’t seem able to say more.
“And, now that you have been going out several months, I’m fine with her staying at your house all day. Just not overnight. Oh, and I got these for you. Open them up later.” Barrett handed over a small box to Zachary who took it with some confusion on his face.
After a few more words, DeLynn and Zachary left, heading out to get some lunch and take it back to his place. “What’s in the box?” she asked as she opened the boxes of food from her favorite Chinese restaurant and he pulled down two plates.
“Not sure. Let’s eat and then I’ll open it.” They talked as they ate, though neither brought up maintenance spanking. Halfway through, DeLynn’s phone rang and she glanced up, automatically seeing if it was okay to answer. He nodded. “Go ahead. It might be important.”
She pulled it out and when she spotted the caller ID, she squealed. “Chrissa?” she said, answering.
“Hey, Lynnie.” Chrissa sounded much better than the last time they chatted. “Is this a bad time?”
“Not at all. Zach and I were just eating lunch. How are you?”
“Very pregnant,” her friend laughed. “And good. It’s crazy. You would think that being dropped off in the middle of nowhere would be the worst thing to ever happen to me, but it’s turned out to be the best. I think I’m happy.” The surprise in her tone made DeLynn beam.
“That’s good to hear. So tell me what you’re up to.”
“Well, I can’t talk long as we’re about to head out to the movies, but I work part-time at a clothing store in town. Thankfully it sells regular and maternity clothes so I get my stuff at a discount. Davis lets me stay at his place for free. He’s a total sweetie. If a bit bossy. Tell Zachary thank you for sending him to me. And speaking of Zach, how are things going between you two?”
“Really good.” DeLynn looked up to find Zachary watching her. “We’re in our fifth courting stage.”
“Ooh, what does that mean?”
“It’s kind of the make it or break it stage.”
“Has he spanked you yet?” Chrissa asked with interest.
“Nope. Not yet.”
“You should ask him to,” Chrissa suggested. “Get it over with. You need to know if he can do it or not. I know you.”
Grinning at her friend’s tone, DeLynn nodded. “Yeah, Barrett suggested something called maintenance we’re going to try.”
“Deeka said she—oh, drat. Looks like I need to get going. I’ll call you tomorrow?”
“Sound good. Thanks for calling, Chrissa.”
There was a pause and her friend said, “Thanks for sticking with me.”
As she hung up, DeLynn grinned. “Sounds like Chrissa’s coming along. She said to thank you for Davis. He sounds like just the person she needs right now.”
“Good to hear. So, you’re fully on board with the whole maintenance idea, then?”
Surprised, she stared at him. “Aren’t you?”
“I am. I’m just…nervous. I’ve never spanked anyone before, DeLynn. Even having seen how good that spanking was for you. I never wish to hurt you.”
Warmth filled her and she nodded. “Maybe…maybe we should start today,” she blurted out, feeling her cheeks fill with heat. “So that we don’t freak ourselves out further?”
“That’s a good idea.”
They finished lunch quickly and after doing the dishes, went into the living room. “Shall we open this first?” Zachary asked, looking at Barrett’s box.
Having a sneaky suspicion of what might be in the box given Deeka’s stories about her own courting with Curtis, DeLynn shook her head. “Let’s get the first spanking over and then we can look.” She had the feeling that if he saw what she expected was in there, it might make a spanking too hard to try. Hopefully if they did the spanking first and he came out of it realizing it hadn’t harmed anything, the box wouldn’t have that big of an impact.
“All right.” Zachary grabbed a high-back chair and pulled it forward, sitting down. “Let’s try this over my lap. I want you near me.”
Nodding, she stepped to his side and bent over his lap. Never having had an over-the-knee spanking, she wasn’t sure what to expect. Surely not this feeling of warmth that settled in her stomach as she felt his firm body up next to hers. He grasped her hips and gently pulled her forward. “Let me know if I hurt you,” he said gently, his hand resting lightly over her rear-end.
“Okay.” She had a hard time not giggling, due to a combination of nerves and thinking how crazy this was hanging upside down.
His hand raised and came down in what was more of a pat than a spank.
“Harder,” she encouraged.
The next time his hand fell it was a little harder and deciding to see how that went, she didn’t say anything and he continued to spank her with the same speed and strength. It strangely was like Barrett and the leather, though not to that extent. Zachary’s hand worked smoothly from her buttocks, down and then back up her thighs, building up a soft warmth so that as he started back over his original path, the heat changed to a sting. By the time he started a third round, she writhed a little.
She had never had a spanking quite like this. There was discomfort and the desire to escape his warm, strong hand, but there was also a need to stay right where she was. When his hand hit a little harder on the fourth round, she yipped as a little fire spread across her buttocks. After a momentary pause, he continued and by the time he was through, her rear end was overheated and she couldn’t stay still.
“I think that’s enough,” he said calmly, his hand resting lightly on her lower back. “Come here.” He helped her to her feet and held her steady as the blood left her head and then lifted her onto his lap. She wrapped her arms around his neck and buried her face against it. For a long time, neither of them talked. DeLynn was swathed in a cocoon of happiness that was all wrapped up in warmth, her overheated backside, and her love for the man who held her so tightly.
“I love you,” she murmured.
“DeLynn,” he whispered. “My dearest love. I’ve been waiting to tell you until I thought you were ready. I love you with my whole heart. I cannot imagine a life without you. What we just did…I think Barrett’s right. It’s going to take days to understand it all. Right now, all I know is that I will do anything to protect you, love you, and make sure you’re happy.”
There was a wonderful bliss filling her up and if she could have, she would have stayed on his lap forever. But she had the feeling he might lose sensation if she did, so finally after stretching and giving him a warm kiss, she pulled back. “So, shall we look into the scary package?”
Spluttering a laugh, he nodded. “Are you thinking what I’m thinking? That there’s stuff on discipline in there?”
“He gave Curtis a package when he was courting Deeka. If what I think’s in there is in there? It’s spanking oriented.”
They moved to the sofa with DeLynn seated beside him as he opened the box. “Oh, my,” he murmured as he lifted the top off. DeLynn was afraid her eyes would pop out of her head with what was inside. Spanking implements. Several of them.
“Oh.”
“Well, you can’t say your step-father isn’t making sure we’re prepared,” he said wryly as he pulled out a long wooden paddle.
“That looks like Dad’s,” she mused. “And that leather piece is the kind of thing Barrett uses.”
“What does Curtis use?” he asked as he pulled out the different tools.
“His hand. Deeka says he doesn’t need anything more. Since he’s had to build up his arm muscles so much, she says his hand is a deadly weapon.”
Zachary burst out laughing. “We should invite the two over for
dinner this week.”
“That would be fun. And it would be a good time to ask questions, too. At least I’d feel more comfortable asking questions from them than I would Barrett or Mom.”
Wrapping his arms around her, he pulled her in for a very passionate kiss, so much more intense than anything they’d done up till that point. For several minutes, DeLynn lost track of anything except for him.
Chapter 10
As it turned out, Barrett had been completely right. Maintenance spankings solidified their relationship like nothing either could have imagined. By the time the end of spring term came, they had progressed from his bare hand to the paddle and DeLynn had to admit, the man knew what he was doing with the danged device. She had the feeling when she needed a spanking either for discipline or to release guilt, he would be able to perform admirably. Every Saturday, they went through the same ritual with her over his lap and each time he grew more self-assured.
“I just might need ice,” she mused one day out shopping with Deeka.
Giggling, Deeka poked her in the ribs with her elbow. “And tell me you’d want anything else?”
DeLynn grinned. “No, I wouldn’t. I look forward to Saturdays. And Sundays because after Zach’s services, we spend it at his parents’ house where Konani teaches me how to make such amazing food.”
“Is that where you learned to make that wonderful lau-lau?” Deeka asked, looking up from holding a dress in front of her to check it out in the mirror.
“Yep.”
“Think she’d teach me? Curtis loved it and I want to make it for him.”
“Come with us this Sunday. Zach and Curtis can go chat while she teaches the two of us.”
“Oh, fun! Check to make sure it’s okay, but if it is, I’m so in.”
Pulling out her phone to call Zachary’s mother, DeLynn startled when her phone rang.