"I hope so, too. They have to work it out. They belong together, Jeff."
He kissed her forehead. "I think so, too, honey, but we can't do anything to help them. They have to work this out for themselves." She nodded, and cried a little harder, soaking his shirt.
He let her cry a few more moments, then cleared his throat. "Right now, young lady, we have some work to do of our own. You get to your corner. I want your shirt and jeans off and your panties at your knees. I'll be in shortly.
She nodded and trudged down the hall, looking at the floor, tears still flowing.
Chapter Seven
Jeff watched his wife go to their bedroom. He loved her wholeheartedly, unconditionally, but at times she could be exasperating. She had a good heart, and it was that good heart that occasionally landed her in trouble. Today was a prime example of that. There was no doubt in his mind that when she came up with this plan and carried through with it, she thought she was helping her friend. That's why it was sometimes difficult for him to discipline her like he knew she needed. She meant well. But once again, he had to get through to her, make her see the whole picture. She helped her friend, all right. She helped her land herself in a heap of trouble with Nick.
As spankings go, this one would be one of the easier ones, on his part. She deserved, and needed, and would get a sound spanking, but for him the hardest part of any spanking was getting her to fully see what it was that she'd done. Once she saw the whole picture and knew in her heart what she'd done and what did or could have happened as a result, guilt set in. Then she was ready for her spanking. He kept her focused on the end result of her action, or what could have been the end result, and in essence, spanked her long enough and hard enough to wash the guilt away.
In this case, she was already there. She saw now, thanks in part to Nick's participation this evening, that she could have been such a positive influence on Emily, but instead she encouraged her to go against Nick and the help he was giving her. He gave her plenty of time to think her actions through, then headed to the bedroom.
He walked in and found his wife exactly as he expected; nose to the wall, bare bottom facing the room. Her shoulders were heaving occasionally, indicating she was still crying. Yep, she was ready.
He sat on the edge of the bed and summoned her. "Okay, Anita, come over here." She slowly turned and made her way toward him, never looking up. She was ashamed and never wanted to look at him before a spanking, but he knew it was important that she did so. It was the same with corner time. She hated it, which is the biggest reason he always demanded it on the times she'd messed up badly. It was part of the whole process, part of what made spankings so effective for her. It was important that she be made to do the parts that were difficult for her, as they helped her release her guilt. He'd learned this early on, and he loved his wife enough to make sure she had what she needed, even if it was difficult for him.
When she finally made it to where he was sitting on the bed waiting patiently for her, he pulled her panties to the floor and she stepped out of them. Early on she'd asked if she could simply take them off while she waited, saying she hated having them there. Since then he'd made her leave them on until this point in the spanking.
He tipped her chin up to look at him before asking, "All right, Anita, what brings us here this evening?"
Tears started again, but she managed to get out, "I was a horrible example for Emily. I helped her cheat on her program Nick set up to help her, and now she lied to him. I might have ruined everything for them!" She broke down sobbing again.
Jeff pulled her down onto his lap and hugged her to him. "Honey, what's done is done. They are very fond of each other. At this point, we have to let them work it out. I think they'll be okay. It'll be difficult for them tonight, that's for sure, but I think they'll be okay. But right now, I don't want you thinking about them. I want you thinking about what we're about to do and why."
She nodded, knowing Jeff was right. He hugged her one more time, and helped her to her feet. He pulled her gently over his left knee, letting her upper body be supported on the bed. He placed his right leg over her legs, which brought more tears from her. She knew he only did that when it was going to be a long or hard spanking.
Jeff wasted no time, but started the spanking. He started with firm swats, no easing into it with a warmup. She knew she deserved a good spanking, and he knew it would take a good spanking to ease her guilt. She'd just made it quite clear how much guilt she was feeling.
For the next five minutes Jeff spanked his wife. He wasn't holding back, which in this case, would have been withholding what she needed. He talked while he spanked, reminding her what she'd done and what the result of that had been. He then told her what a good influence she could have been, and still could be, he pointed out. She was sobbing, but he kept spanking until she lay over his knees, exhausted. She didn't fight the spanking any longer. That was when he knew she'd finally reached the place she was able to release her guilt and accept her punishment.
He stopped spanking, keeping his hand on her back. He rubbed her back gently while talking softly, encouraging her to relax and breathe. "It's over, honey. You rest now. Take a deeper breath. You're okay." When she was breathing a little better, he gently helped her up onto his lap, where she instantaneously buried her face in his shirt. He wrapped her tightly in his arms and kept her there, rocking gently back and forth while continuing to talk softly.
She took her time recovering, as she always did. Jeff had to fight back a chuckle as he recalled the time he asked her about taking her time during the recovery process. She'd told him she felt it was her reward for what she'd just been through, and she wasn't about to hurry through it. She'd earned it and had every intention of enjoying it. That was fine with him, as he needed this time almost as much as she did. He needed to reconnect with his wife and assure himself all was right in their world.
* * * * *
Nick drove to Monique's Boutique, and went inside, receipt in hand. He asked the cashier about returning the dress, and was told exactly what Anita had been afraid of. "Oh, I remember this one. That was that beautiful orange gown. I'm sorry, sir, but that was on the rack in the back. Those sales are all final."
What he hadn't expected, though, was the lady's comment about returning the dress. "For the life of me I don't know why she would ever even consider returning that dress. I've worked here long enough to know that there are very few times someone puts a dress on and it's as if that dress was designed for them, but this was one of them. When she came out of the dressing room to look in the big mirror, heads turned. There were two men in here at the time, and they stared, but all the women turned to look at her, as well. She was absolutely a thing of beauty in that dress. You could tell she felt good in it, too."
Nick thought about her words a few moments, then asked if the owner or manager was around. She was summoned, and Nick talked with her a few minutes before leaving. He had to go have a serious discussion with Emily, and he was not looking forward to it a bit.
He drove around town a little while, going over in his mind what he knew he had to do, getting himself ready. Eventually a very determined, grim-looking Nick rang Emily's doorbell.
She opened the door and was immediately alarmed. "Nick, what is it; what's wrong?"
"We need to talk, Emily. Let's go to the living room." She nodded and followed him in. He sat down on the couch, pulling her down beside him. Without saying a thing, he handed her the receipt.
She looked at it quickly. "What's this?"
"Correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe it's the receipt for Anita's old orange gown you were going to borrow tomorrow night."
Emily's eyes were huge as she looked at the receipt. She slowly looked back up into Nick's angry eyes. "I'm sorry," she whispered.
"For what?"
"What?"
"What are you sorry for?" She still looked confused. "Are you sorry you cheated on your program? Are you sorry you lied to me? Are you sorr
y you didn't trust me when I told you how nice you look in the blue gown? Are you sorry you got Anita in trouble? Are you sorry you put a material item, a gown, in front of our relationship? Or are you mostly just sorry you got caught?"
Emily broke down partway through his questions, crying. When he asked the last question, she buried her face in her hands and seemed to sink into the couch. He watched her, amazed at how tiny and fragile she looked, and how vulnerable. He wanted nothing more than to pull her into his arms and tell her it would be okay, but he knew he couldn't do that. He had to be strong for her. He wanted to provide whatever she needed, and right now he knew what that was.
Knowing his point had been made, he picked her up off the couch beside him and laid her over his knees. She didn't object. He reached underneath her and unfastened her jeans and pulled them down. Again, she didn't object. He put his fingers in the waistband of her panties and pulled them down. She whimpered, but once again, she didn't object. That was good. That meant she understood the severity of what she'd done.
He laid his hand on her bare bottom and sighed. "Emily, I told you we will always talk about anything you want to tell me before a spanking, and I meant that. What would you like to talk about, or tell me?"
She was crying as she said, "I'm sorry. I didn't put it in front of our relationship, Nick. I love you."
"But you did, honey. In your mind it was more important than us, because you lied to me."
"No," she insisted. "Nick, you have to let me explain that. I was wrong, I see that now, but it's not as you're saying. I admit I didn't think clearly, but for me to have put it before our relationship I would have had to think of them both, weighing them. I didn't. I did what I have always done. I wanted what I wanted. But I never thought of it as being more important than you, or our relationship." She started crying much harder. "I would never, never have done that. I love you."
She was crying uncontrollably now, and it worried Nick a bit. He picked her up and pulled her to his chest. "Shh, honey, it's okay. I understand what you're saying, and thank you."
He held her while she calmed enough to talk again. "I was wrong, I was selfish, but I never saw it as I could have that dress or I could have you. I would never have made that choice."
She was so sincere in her words, his heart swelled with love for the little lady. He understood what she was saying, and he felt much better about their chances of coming through this. In fact, he now felt their relationship had a very good chance at being the permanent, once in a lifetime event he'd been hoping it could be. But first he had to get them through this.
"I understand, honey, and thank you for explaining it. I love you, and I needed to hear that."
She looked up at him, tears in her eyes, and smiled a tiny smile. It was met with his grim look. "We'll talk more after we're done. Right now, though, you've earned yourself a good spanking."
"Wait," she said quietly but urgently. "I have a question first."
"You aren't planning on trying to talk your way out of this spanking you've earned, are you?"
"No," she insisted. "You said I got Anita in trouble. I didn't mean to do that. Is Jeff really upset? It was my fault."
"Why do you say it was your fault?"
"Because I was moping around, feeling sorry for myself. She was just trying to help me feel better. If I wouldn't have been complaining, she wouldn't have tried to help. But how much trouble is she in? Is Jeff really upset?"
"I'd say she's got a sore bottom about now, but they'll be fine."
"A sore bottom?"
"Much like you'll have here shortly."
Emily's eyes were huge as she looked at Nick. "Jeff spanks Anita?"
"He does. You ladies hadn't talked about that?"
"No. I had no idea."
"Tomorrow you two will have something to talk about then. Right now, though, Anita shouldn't be the only one with a tender tush." He gave her six good smacks to begin the spanking, then paused. "Let me give you a little refresher course before you get yourself in more trouble. Remember, watch your mouth. You can yell, you can cry, you can squirm, but you may not curse, bite, scratch or pinch. You've earned yourself a dandy spanking, and trust me, you don't want to earn any extras. Do you understand?"
"Yes, sir."
"Thank you. I appreciate your respect right now." While he still had the resolve he needed, he started the spanking. He meant business from the start, and she was soon squirming, yelling, and obviously in some pain. He talked while he spanked, concentrating on the fact that she'd lied to him. He told her she could try to justify it however she wanted in her mind, but as he saw it, she lied to him the day they went shopping for the dress, as they'd told them they were going to the import store. He also considered it lying when they got home that day and reported they had indeed spent the morning browsing in that store, and again when she told them she was borrowing a gown from Anita.
He explained further that these were what he labeled continuing lies. She continued to let him believe these falsehoods. He talked to her about how that made him feel. He talked about how he had hoped she would trust him enough to talk to him if something was bothering her. If it bothered her that much, not having a new gown, she should have gone to him and they could have talked about it. Instead, she chose to go behind his back and lie about it.
The spanking continued, and he was sure she was quite sore. He knew he needed to do one more thing, and he hated what it involved. He took a moment to strengthen his resolve once more, and moved her forward a bit on his knee so he could concentrate on the tender skin where her bottom and thighs met. He knew this area was extremely tender and she would feel this next part of her spanking not only tonight, but tomorrow night at the dinner, as well.
But he also knew it was appropriate. The dinner was what she felt she needed a new dress for, so if she felt the effects of the spanking tomorrow at the dinner, while wearing her blue dress, it would reinforce the lesson. With that in mind, he resumed the spanking, this time on her tender sit spots.
She immediately voiced her concern, as he'd expected. Her cries quickly turned to sobs, but he ignored her complaints, talking about bringing her friend into her scheme. He reminded her that Anita was at home getting her own spanking. By the time he stopped, she was lying over his knee, completely still.
He knew she was sore, but she was also exhausted. He kept her over his knee, rubbing her back, and leaning down so he could talk softly into her ear. "Okay, honey, it's over now. Breathe in. Take some little, short breaths. He guided her through breathing for a couple minutes, getting her to gradually take deeper breaths until she was able to calm down.
He gently helped her up and onto his lap, holding her in place when she tried to jump back up when her sore bottom made contact with his jeans. She hissed and tried again to stand. "Settle down, honey. You're staying right here. The spanking is over. I know it hurts more than your other spankings have, but do you understand why it did? I imagine Anita's feeling pretty much the same way right now."
She looked up at him and saw nothing but concern and love. She squirmed just a bit more, finding the most comfortable position possible, and settled in against his shoulder, knowing the comfort from his arms around her would help with the pain. She felt his arms wrap around her and she laid back against his strong chest, allowing the comfort he was freely giving to do exactly what she needed at that moment. She felt herself relaxing and the excruciating pain in her bottom gradually lessening, however slowly.
He started talking, and she listened to him intently, his voice soothing her as much as his words. "I love you, Emily. You are a very special lady, and I hope you know I mean that. This spanking is over, you're forgiven. Are you okay?"
She nodded. When he frowned down at her, she quickly said, "Yes, sir. I'm very, very sore, but I'm okay."
Adding the sir to her answer brought a smile to his face. He knew it was her way of showing him she still respected him. He leaned down and kissed the top of her head, knowin
g how much that meant to her. They talked quietly while she calmed until she was breathing normally again. He held her on his lap, comforting her, for quite some time.
Before he let her up, he had one more thing he had to talk to her about. "Emily, we need to talk about this orange gown."
"I'm sorry, Nick. I want to tell you something, too."
"What do you want me to know?"
"I feel terrible that you think I could ever put a dress ahead of us. In my mind I certainly wasn't doing that. I do understand why you're saying that, though, and I feel awful about it."
She was adamant about that, and Nick could see how important that was to her. "I understand that you didn't consciously make that decision, but you need to understand how seriously I take lying. As I said before, lying can be very hurtful, not only to the person you're lying to, but to the relationship, as well."
Tears were escaping from her eyes again, but she nodded. "I see that now."
"Good. Now that you understand why it's so important to me, it should be easier for you to follow. But we need to talk about the dress. You need to return it, honey."
He was ready for an argument, had his main points in mind, but she surprised him. "I know. I'm not sure they'll take it back, Nick. I'll try, though."
"Would you like me to go with you? Maybe together we can convince them to take it back."
"Let me try it first. I'll go tomorrow."
"Okay. If you have any problem, maybe we can try again, and I'll go with you." She nodded and laid her head back against his shoulder. "You really do look nice in your blue gown."
"Thank you."
After fifteen more minutes of cuddling, he asked, "I don't have to buy an orange tie now, but would you still like to go out for dinner?"
He almost choked, trying to fight back a chuckle at the appalled look on her face. "Please, no. I'll never be able to sit on a chair tonight. I'd be so embarrassed."
"How about if we have Chinese delivered tonight?"
That Beautiful Orange Gown Page 9