"Thank you." Again, the look of relief on her face almost forced him to laugh.
"I'll order it in a minute, but you need to be aware of what will happen after a spanking, young lady."
His stern voice had her complete attention. "Sitting on a chair after a spanking hurts, but that's part of the spanking process. Meaning, life goes on afterward. We won't be changing our plans because you've earned a spanking. That means if we're meeting friends for dinner we'll still be going to that dinner, and you will be sitting on the chairs. It may very well hurt, or be uncomfortable, but you will do it. Do you understand what I'm saying?"
"What if I can't sit? I'm so sore now, if we went somewhere that had hard chairs, I don't think I could sit down."
"You can, Emily. It would hurt, but you could do it. Since this is your first hard spanking I'm not going to make you, but I'm warning you, if we had plans to go somewhere, we would be going."
She worried her bottom lip, but nodded. "What about—"
When she stopped, he encouraged her. "What about what, honey? Go ahead and ask. You need to trust me. Ask me whatever is on your mind."
"What about tomorrow night at the dinner? Will I be able to sit by then?"
"It may be uncomfortable after a time, but you will be able to sit by then, yes. I thought about the dinner tomorrow night, and if you're a little uncomfortable sitting during the dinner it should act as a reminder of the lesson you need to learn." He gave her time to digest that information. "Is there anything else you want to ask?"
"No. I was worried about tomorrow night."
"You should be okay. Are you getting hungry; should we order the Chinese yet?"
They spent the rest of the evening at home, and he allowed her to use a pillow on her chair. He made sure she realized she wouldn't always be afforded that option. After dinner they went back to the couch to watch a movie, and he allowed her to lay on her side, leaning against him.
While watching the movie she had a thought. "I wonder if Anita's okay. Maybe I'll call her and make sure. I'd like to apologize to her, anyway."
She tried to stand up, but Nick stopped her, pulling her back down. "No, you won't. Jeff said she wasn't to talk to you tonight, and I don't want you getting her in trouble again."
She settled back in beside Nick, but was obviously deep in thought. After a few minutes she asked, "Is Jeff so upset with me he doesn't want her to talk to me anymore?"
He saw the tears in her eyes and quickly tried to reassure her. "No, no, nothing like that, honey. I told her I didn't want her to call you and warn you before I got here. Jeff told me not to worry, and told her she was not to talk to you tonight. I'm sure he meant so she couldn't warn you, but he didn't specify that he meant only before I had a chance to discuss this with you, so just to be sure, I don't want you calling her. He may have meant no talking to you tonight as part of her punishment."
"Okay. But you don't think he's so upset with me that he won't let us be friends anymore, do you?"
"Absolutely not. He likes you, Emily, and he's glad you two are friends, just as I am. But tonight, right after you've both been punished, it's better if you don't call. You can talk to her tomorrow."
"Okay. As long as I know he's not too upset with me."
"No, he's fine with you two being friends."
"Good." She snuggled back in against him to watch more of the movie.
When it was time to leave, he took her in his arms. "Are we okay now, honey?"
"Yes. I'm really sorry."
"I know. You've paid for that now, though, so we don't need to speak of it again, unless you want to. I want to be sure you and I are okay, that you're not upset with me?"
"We're good. I want to thank you for forgiving me, though. I did something terrible, and not everyone would be able to forgive me. Thank you."
"You're welcome. That's why I believe in spanking. It's over and done with. Once you've paid for your bad choices and we've talked it through, I can forgive you."
"I like that part."
"Me, too." He gently took her face in his hands and looked into her eyes. "I love you, Emily. I look forward to taking you to the dinner tomorrow night in your gorgeous blue gown and showing you off to all my friends and co-workers."
"Thank you," she whispered, just before he kissed her. His kiss deepened, leaving no doubt in her mind that he did indeed love her.
He ended the kiss and she whispered, "I love you, too, Nick."
He smiled and gave her one more passion-filled kiss before leaving.
Chapter Eight
Emily woke the next morning after sleeping on her tummy all night. She was still tender, but it wasn't as bad as she thought it would be. She took a shower and got dressed, then went to her guest closet and took out the beautiful orange gown. She looked at it and sighed. It really was a beautiful gown, but she felt terrible about what she'd done.
She was surprised to realize that after last night, seeing how disappointed Nick was and hearing that he felt she put the dress before their relationship, she no longer wanted to wear it tonight. It was still a beautiful gown and under different circumstances she would love to wear it, but she agreed with Nick—she needed to return it. She needed to show him the dress would never be more important to her than their relationship.
She put the gown and receipt in her car and was ready to leave when her phone rang. A quick glance at it had her smiling. "Good morning, handsome."
"And a good morning to you, my beautiful lady. How are you doing this morning?"
"Still a little sore, but it's honestly not as bad as I thought it would be."
"Have you tried sitting down yet?"
"Briefly, but just on the bed while I was getting dressed. It wasn't comfy, but it was possible, just like you said."
"Good. What are your plans for today?"
"I'm ready to take the dress back. I want to do that first."
"Do it and get it over with?"
"Not really. It's really important to me that I get it returned right away today."
"You don't like it anymore?"
"Oh, I love it. It's still a beautiful gown and I love it. Under different circumstances it would be an honor to wear such a beautiful gown, but right now, no. After hearing you say you thought I put it above our relationship, I'm anxious to get it returned. I didn't do that, or at least I certainly didn't mean to, and if you think I did, I want to get rid of it."
Nick seemed to suddenly have a lump in his throat. It took him several moments to recover enough to ask, "Are you sure you don't want me to go along with you?"
"I've already caused you enough grief with this gown without meaning to, Nick. Let me try and return it so you won't have to ever look at it."
"Okay, honey. Let me know if you have problems. I'll see you tonight at 6:00."
"I'll be ready."
"Have a good day. I love you."
"Thank you. I love you, too."
To her surprise, and relief, they did take the dress back. She apologized, but was honest. She said she'd promised her boyfriend she wouldn't spend money on a new gown, and that he meant more to her than a gown, no matter how beautiful it was. She felt good on the way home, and hoped Nick believed her that their relationship was way more important to her than a gown, no matter how beautiful it was.
Anita was at Emily's house Saturday afternoon. The two had hugged and tried to apologize to the other at the same time. They giggled, and Emily raised her hand. "I get to go first. Now that we have our apologies out of the way, we've got to talk. I had no idea Jeff spanks you. How come you never said anything?"
"I guess for the same reason you never told me Nick does the same to you. I'm glad we both know now, though. It'll be great having someone I can really talk to."
"Or commiserate with," Emily added, reaching back to rub her bottom.
"Tell me about it," Anita said, rubbing her own bottom. They compared stories, talked a little, then got down to the business of getting Emily ready for th
e dinner. She never felt the need for much makeup, so she used a minimal amount to strategically highlight her cheekbones and eyes. Anita did her hair in a way both girls felt Nick would like. The adorable little tendrils escaping and curling their way down to and below her shoulders would be to his liking, no doubt.
They put the gown on her, paired it with a lovely necklace and matching earrings, and both girls had to admit it looked nice. "Emily, I know it's not new, but it really is pretty."
"It is," her friend agreed. "And after all that's happened, I feel a lot better in this one." She thought a moment. "I hope someone else gets that dress and falls in love with it as much as we did, and it becomes special to them."
"Me, too," Anita agreed. "I'm glad you were able to let go of it."
Emily shrugged. "It wasn't really hard after hearing what Nick thought."
"You love him, don't you?"
Emily was beaming as she turned to Anita. "I do. Could you tell?"
"Oh, yeah," Anita laughed. "I can tell he loves you, too." The doorbell rang just then, and both girls chuckled. "My brother always was right on time."
Emily opened the door and gasped. Nick was a handsome man, no question about it, but standing there in his suit, white shirt and blue tie, she felt proud to be the one on his arm tonight.
Anita stood off to the side, watching their reactions, and smiling. She'd known they'd become close over the last several months, but the looks they were giving each other tonight spoke volumes. They were obviously in love. Not just in lust; they were in love. And she couldn't be happier. She grabbed her purse and started out the door, but Nick's hand on her arm stopped her. She looked up at him and grinned. "I was just going to slide out. You two obviously don't need me here anymore."
He returned her smile. "I wanted to make sure we're okay, before you go. I know you weren't real happy with me last night. Do we need to talk?"
"No, we're good. I meant it when I said I'm sorry. Em and I have talked, and we're actually glad you found out and it's all over."
"Guilt is a strong feeling to live with," he said softly.
"It is," both girls said at once.
He pulled both of them in for a hug. "You two have fun tonight," Anita said, as she left.
They did just as she instructed. Nick proudly introduced Emily to all his co-workers, and she stood next to him, beaming up at him and graciously accepting the many compliments she received. They enjoyed the dinner and dancing early into the morning. They were both exhausted when he took her back home.
"Thank you for the wonderful evening, Emily," Nick said sincerely. "I've never enjoyed those dinners all that much, until tonight. Now I'm looking forward to next year's, with you by my side."
She laid her face against his chest and nestled into him, loving the sounds of that herself. "I had such a good time."
He kissed her soundly. "Get some sleep tonight. I'll be over tomorrow and we'll have lunch together. There's something I need to talk to you about."
"There is?"
"There is. I was going to tonight, but we're both too tired. I'll be over and we'll have lunch. Sleep well tonight, honey. I love you."
"I love you, too, Nick. Good-night." With one more quick kiss he was gone.
She went to bed that night smiling. It really had been a wonderful night.
She was still bubbly, with a bounce in her step when he got there the next day for lunch. He could tell. "Happy?"
"I had so much fun last night."
He chuckled. "I could tell. I'm glad, because I did, too." He steered them to the couch, where he sat down, pulling her down beside him. "That just makes it even harder for me to say what I need to say, though."
Her smile vanished. "Why? What's wrong?"
"We need to talk about your program, to repair your credit."
"But it's okay now. I returned the dress. They gave me a full refund and I gave it to Anita already, so my program's still on track. I have everything paid that's supposed to be paid now."
"Your program is still on track, and I'm glad. But it wouldn't have been without my intervention." He had a grim, determined look on his face as he continued. "I told you what I would do anytime you did something to hurt your credit."
She paled as she realized what he was saying. "But you already spanked me for it. I still felt it last night at the dinner."
"I'm glad you did still feel it last night, but think back. What did I tell you that spanking was for?"
She thought, and he watched as her shoulders slumped. "For lying to you and getting Anita in trouble."
He nodded. "It didn't cover your not following your program. We still need to talk about that."
"But why didn't you do it all at once? Then it would be over with."
"That's in part why I didn't."
"What do you mean?"
"If I would have given you a second spanking the other night, on top of the one you already got, you would have had a hard time sitting last night. I considered doing that."
Her eyes were big as she looked at him. "You mean you wouldn't have just given me a few more smacks?"
"Absolutely not. If you earn a full spanking, that's what you'll get. I thought about doing that."
"I wouldn't have been able to sit. It would have ruined the dinner."
"It may have, and I considered that. Struggling through the party would have made a lasting impression on you, I'm sure, and although I want you to remember every lesson I try to teach you, I don't want to do it by ruining what may be a special time for us. I could tell you were uncomfortable sitting by the time the dinner was over, and that should be sufficient to remind you of the spanking you received."
"Oh, it will," she assured him.
"I hope so." He held both of her arms so she was looking into his eyes. "Emily, my goal is to guide you, not cause you to suffer as much as I can. However, I also feel you need consistency. You need to know you will not get away with any bad choices on your program. I will always do what I feel is the most effective for you. I weighed my choices the other evening, and I decided to give you the first spanking that night. That covered lying to me and bringing my sister into it, getting her in trouble. That was the biggest issue, the one I felt needed to be covered first. I hoped you would still feel it as a reminder last night."
"I did."
"Then I planned on giving you a second spanking last night. As a rule, I don't believe in putting a spanking off once you've earned it. However, while I know some men feel if you earn two today you should have two today, I'm not quite as convinced that's the best way to handle it. It makes for one very sore young lady for at least a day, often two."
Her eyes were glued to his as he spoke. "Sometimes I think by doing a second one while she's still over your lap, you lose some of the impact. I think knowing you're about to be spanked, being taken over my knee, having your panties lowered, having to consider your actions again and experiencing the pain of another spanking again a day or two later is more effective. That's what I decided for this case, anyway."
She slumped against him, resting her forehead on his shoulder. "As I said, I planned on doing it last night, but I didn't plan on us getting home so late or being so tired. I want you awake and thinking clearly as we talk about this."
She took a deep breath before pulling herself up and looking into his eyes. "Okay." He smiled, albeit it a rather grim smile. "I mean, okay, sir."
His smile widened. "Thank you. Disciplining you, spanking you is not easy for me, believe it or not. I don't like causing you pain. I know it helps you, I've seen how you've grown, and how happy you've been in general, but it's still difficult at the time. When you show me that much respect, I'm not sure you realize how much that means to me, how helpful it is. Thank you." He kissed her forehead and pulled her in against him for a quick hug.
Then his stern voice reappeared. "Now, let's get this done." He pulled her over his lap, lowered her jeans and panties, and began. As anticipated, it didn't take much to reignite
the fire from two days ago, so he started his lecture when he started the spanking. He reminded her how important good credit is, and that following her program was vital in getting her credit restored.
He was pretty confident she'd actually already learned this lesson, so a harsh spanking wouldn't be needed. He knew she needed him to be consistent, though, so he continued, talking the whole time about why she was being spanked. When she was crying and squirming and he was sure she would be feeling this latest spanking yet this afternoon, he ended it and pulled her up to sit on his lap. As had become second nature to her now, she cuddled in against him, crying on his shoulder while he wrapped her in his arms and talked softly to her.
When they had reconnected, what they both felt was their reward, they went for lunch and enjoyed the rest of the day.
Over the next few months Nick and Emily continued dating, becoming even closer. Nick was proud of her, as he watched her flourish under his watchful eye. She won another ad campaign at work, and was doing really well. She and Anita had become great friends, and she'd introduced Kelli and Anita. The three of them had become quite close.
Nick and Jeff were both elated, watching their women doing well, and being so happy. The two found themselves in trouble one time, when the men found out they'd been skipping lunch to save money for something they wanted. Both men considered that harmful to their health, and the ladies ended up with sore bottoms.
A week later the men found out what they'd been saving for, when the ladies surprised them with tickets for the four of them to take a romantic dinner and wine cruise on a new cruise line that opened up in the bay about an hour from their home. Nick kissed Emily as he thanked her, but had to ask the question. "Why didn't you just tell me you'd like to go? I would have bought the tickets."
"I know," Emily admitted. "We talked about it. But you two do so much for us, we wanted just one time to do something to show you how much we notice and appreciate all of it."
Jeff was holding Anita in his arms and heard Emily's answer. He looked down at Anita, who was nodding her head. After more kissing, a lot of cuddling, and a little more conversation, the men both said they understood the women's motives and felt honored and humbled that they would make such a sacrifice for them.
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