by Dinah McLeod
Only the knocking didn’t stop. She could still hear it when she was in the bedroom putting the laundry away and it was becoming louder and more persistent.
“Alright already!” she called out in frustration, dropping the basket on the floor and beginning to march to the door. They had some nerve, disturbing her in the middle of the day like this. She threw open the door, glaring. “Where’s the fire?”
“It’s about to be tearin’ over your ass,” a familiar voice growled.
She stepped back, her mouth dropping open as she saw Jarrod towering over her. “Hi! What are you doing here?” she asked, forgetting his sharp tone. “It’s been awhile.”
“And it’s apparently been too long since my hand has warmed that butt of yours,” he pronounced, not even waiting to be invited in. Instead, he stomped inside and closed the door behind him none too quietly.
Only when he was inside, staring down at her with a look that could only be called searing did she realize that this probably wasn’t a social call. She’d just been so surprised and delighted to see him that she had neglected to note that he didn’t look nearly as happy to see her.
“Would you mind telling me why you’d go around spreading lies about me?”
“W-what?” she stammered, still caught off guard by his unannounced visit.
“I had a lunch date today. Or, rather, I was supposed to. I was pretty sure she was standing me up, to tell you the truth, but then she showed. Only, she wouldn’t stay.”
“I see,” Kaitlyn answered, a lump beginning to form in her throat.
“She said she only came to tell me what a scumbag I was. Her words. So, would you mind telling me why I was standing in a restaurant being called names by someone I don’t even know?”
His voice was becoming more heated by the moment and as it did, the lump in her throat grew. “How should I know?” she offered weakly.
Jarrod’s eyes narrowed. Of course, she shouldn’t be surprised. She’d momentarily forgotten that he could see right through her. “For some reason, she thought you might be able to. Was it you, or my girlfriend, Kate? I get confused sometimes.”
She swallowed hard and painfully. “Jarrod, I…”
“But then again, maybe that’s because you’re the same person.”
She quaked under his glare. Oh, she was in for it now. Her backside was already quivering in anticipation and that was just from a look.
“I just don’t understand.” He ran a hand through his black hair. “What did I do? The last time I checked, I didn’t think I’d done anything to make you hate me.”
“Hate you?” she echoed, feeling like she’d been punched. “Jarrod, I could never hate you.”
“Then why?” he implored, his brown eyes full of confusion that tore at her heart. “I don’t understand why you’d do something like this.”
“Yes, that makes two of us.”
She and Jarrod turned as one at the sound of the voice. They’d been so deep in an admittedly loud conversation—well, he had been loud, but she hadn’t had the gall to raise her voice—that neither of them had heard the door open. Seeing Sean standing in the doorway, giving her a frown just as stern as Jarrod’s, made her go from nervous to panicked faster than you could say spanking.
“Hello, Jarrod. Long time no see,” Sean said as he closed the door behind him.
“Hey, battle. You didn’t have to come home. I’ve got it handled.”
“I have complete faith in that, but if my wife is going around spreading lies, I’d like to hear why for myself.”
Jarrod nodded, and they turned to her as one, both wearing impenetrable masks of disapproval.
Kaitlyn couldn’t think of a word to say in her defense, so she burst into tears. She was soon sobbing, tears coming so quickly that she didn’t even see when Sean walked toward her. She felt it when he took her by the arm and led her to the couch. He gently pushed her down so that she sat, and then she listened, crying, as Jarrod told Sean exactly what happened.
She didn’t think she’d ever felt so awful. It certainly tied for first place with anything else she’d ever done, anyway.
“I just don’t get it,” Jarrod was saying, his voice mystified. “I don’t know why she’d tell someone I don’t even know that I’m dating. And dating her, no less!”
“That is an interesting question.” Although she could tell when Sean said it that he wasn’t so much interested as angry. “Kaitlyn?”
“I… I just…”
“Out with it. The sooner you tell us what you were thinking, the sooner we can get this over with.”
“But… but you have to go back to work.”
“No, I don’t, actually. After Jarrod called me and shared his suspicions, I took a personal day. I had a strong suspicion that I had some things to deal with at home.”
She ducked her head to avoid the heat of his hard stare.
“Now, if you know what’s good for you, you’ll start talking.”
So she did. Haltingly, crying through it all, she explained everything. She told him how she’d felt abandoned by Jarrod, how she hadn’t been able to bear the idea of him seeing someone else, so she’d lied to scare Jamie off. She confessed every single awful thing she’d said about him. She cried harder through those, but finally she managed to get everything out.
She didn’t know what was worse—feeling their shocked stares or the silence that followed her confession. Other than her sniffling, no one else was making a sound.
“You did this because you wanted to see me?” Jarrod asked at last, his tone disbelieving.
Miserable, she nodded.
“Have you ever heard of a phone?”
“But, I don’t know, I didn’t think…”
“You certainly didn’t,” Sean chimed in. “I suspect very shortly you’ll understand why they say to be careful what you wish for. Jarrod, how would you like to proceed?”
She’d truly never felt so wretched. She hadn’t wanted any of this to happen. Now that it had, she felt even more awful than she had when she’d been telling the lies. Jarrod was a wonderful guy—he didn’t deserve to have anyone thinking such terrible things about him.
She squirmed as she waited for him to carry out his sentence. She held her breath, not wanting to miss a word. For a minute she thought he would just turn and walk away, ready to wash his hands of her. She wouldn’t blame him, and yet, she didn’t know which was scarier: the punishment he could order and mete out, or having him refuse to talk to her again.
“I want you to undress and kneel in the corner,” he ordered with steel in his voice.
“You heard him, Kaitlyn,” Sean chimed in when her feet didn’t move.
She leapt up and set into motion, stripping faster than she probably ever had in her life. It didn’t matter that she’d never been made to kneel in the corner, much less nude. She did it, because Jarrod had ordered her to, and because she deserved whatever punishment he had in mind.
“Do you want a drink?” she heard Sean ask.
“I would love one.”
“I’ll be right back.”
She heard the sound of Sean’s footsteps as he retreated. She could feel the weight of Jarrod’s stare, and as much as she would have loved for him to say something, he didn’t oblige. She just wanted to know that he didn’t hate her. He had every right to, and she certainly deserved it, but she would have been grateful to hear to the contrary.
While she hadn’t thought twice about his order for her to kneel in the corner, Kaitlyn was quickly finding it to be worse than she’d thought it would be. She’d always hated to stand in the corner—it was boring and embarrassing, being treated like a toddler. But this was something else altogether. The longer she was forced to perch on her knees, the more she noticed the carpet beneath them. Before now, she would have assumed that it was soft. It had always felt that way underfoot, but she was quickly learning to the contrary. The longer that she was forced to stay like this, the more it felt like the threads were b
iting into her tender skin. She tried to shift her weight, but that only helped for a moment, and then it was worse than before.
Initially it was just annoying, but the longer she waited the more it became painful. And coupled with that pain was the fact that she was stripped from head to toe, available for anyone to see. She’d never been embarrassed by her nakedness before, but that had been when she was in the midst of sensual pleasures. Being bared and put on display for punishment felt very different. Between the silence and the cool whisper of air across her skin she became truly aware of her nakedness, and it felt far from sexual. In fact, for a reason she couldn’t quite explain, she felt ashamed. The only thing that took her mind off her humiliation was the pain in her knees, and vice versa. She didn’t know how much more of this she could take.
She froze when she heard the sound of ice clinking against glass. She knew they were behind her, allowing their eyes free all-access passes to the sight of her kneeling in chastisement. It irritated her to no end, but she knew if she were to turn around and let them have it—which was what her quick temper called for her to do—that she would only makes things worse. She could barely handle the punishment being dished out, so the idea of making it worse was cringe-inducing.
The more seconds that ticked by without anyone saying something—the room was completely silent, save for the sound of her frantic breathing and the occasional clink of ice against glass—the more tense she became. She knew she was in for it, but she just wished one of them would tell her how bad. She knew she’d earned it, whatever it was, but she’d much prefer being scolded to this isolating silence.
Just when she’d about worked up the nerve to ask how much longer it would be, her ears perked up when she heard Sean speak.
“Are you ready for her, Jarrod?”
“To be honest, I’m too mad to spank her right now.”
She couldn’t help but flinch. She knew he was mad at her, but it was much worse than she’d thought. If he was too angry to spank her, it could only be because he was afraid he’d take it too far. The thought of Jarrod, her Jarrod, being too angry to stay in control was a shocking one. So much so, that his words shook her to the core.
“I’ll do it.”
“Just a warm-up, please. I want to make this one especially memorable.”
Ooh, that didn’t sound good. Not one bit.
“Kaitlyn, you heard him. Come here.”
She slowly rose to her feet and turned around to face them. She’d had a witty comment about them forgetting her on the tip of her tongue, but once she saw their stone-like faces, she swallowed it back and ducked her head. She made her way to Sean, allowing him to pull her over his lap once she’d reached him.
“I don’t think I have to tell you how disappointed I am in you,” he began with a long sigh.
This was new. Jarrod was usually the talker.
“No, sir.”
“Well, I’m glad to hear that you grasp the seriousness of the situation, but I’m going to give you a quick recap anyway.”
She took a deep breath, bracing for it, but nothing could have prepared her for what Sean said next, or how much it hurt.
“Jarrod has been our closest friend ever since I’ve known you. He was my best friend long before that. He was my best man, and he took damn good care of you while I was overseas. You should respect him, you should value his friendship and be thankful for all that he’s done for us, but instead, like a willful little brat, you chose to disregard everything he’s done and to spit in the face of that friendship.”
She inhaled sharply, his words hitting her square in the heart. When Sean’s hand began smacking down on her bare ass—he’d called it a warm-up, but it was far from a light one, as he was hitting heavy right from the get-go—his words rang throughout her head over and over again. He couldn’t mean it. He had to know that she loved Jarrod, that she treasured his friendship… but how would he? Her actions certainly hadn’t proven it. And if Sean thought it then Jarrod certainly did. The thought was crushing. It was that realization, more than the ever-growing pain in her cheeks that made the tears come.
What was it about a spanking that made you look back on the decisions you’d made and regret them? Perhaps it was the pain that came with being found out. Upon reflection, it felt like it had been someone else who’d badmouthed Jarrod to a stranger. It had to be, because she knew better. She knew that he was a wonderful man who deserved to be happy, whether it came from Jamie or some other girl.
If Jarrod wanted to be with someone, it was none of her business. If he decided having a girlfriend would make him happy, shouldn’t she want that for him after everything he’d done for her? She’d been selfish and cruel and she hadn’t benefited one iota from it. No one had, in fact.
“What was that?”
“W-what?” she cried back when Sean paused the spanking.
“You said something.”
Had she been thinking out loud? “I… I just said that I was selfish and… c-cruel. I had no right to do what I did. If Jarrod wants a girlfriend… then he should have one.”
“Well, that’s very big of you.”
She knew that Sean wasn’t trying to make fun of her, though he couldn’t seem to hide the amusement in his voice, so she tried not to take it personally.
“I really am sorry. So very sorry. If I could take it back, I swear I would.”
“Jar?”
She froze, waiting to hear what Jarrod would say in response to her apology. She didn’t really expect to be forgiven—she didn’t know if she could forgive herself—but it would still be nice to know that he could look at her without wanting to punch a wall.
“I think a few more and her warm-up will be done. Two dozen should do it.”
A few more? Two dozen was a few? But she didn’t get time to voice her question—not that she would have, given how deep she’d already dug herself in—before Sean was already carrying it out. His hand beat a rapid tattoo up and down her ass cheeks faster than she could count. It happened so fast that it literally took her breath away. When she got it back, it was only long enough to sob.
By the time he was helping her up, her cheeks were prickly and hot and her face was streaked with tears. She looked at him timidly, expecting the same stern glare, but was surprised to see him gazing tenderly at her. She was surprised even more when he leaned over and kissed her wet, salty cheek. Kaitlyn leaned into him, enjoying his comforting embrace for a moment.
“I want you to go sit in your punishment chair,” Jarrod ordered, his voice matter-of-fact. “There, you will write a letter to Jamie explaining everything that you told me.”
“E-everything?” she gulped.
“Well, you could maybe leave out the parts about wanting him all for yourself,” Sean murmured with a wink.
She smiled timidly, but when Jarrod stared back, unmoved, her smile fell away.
“Tell you what, you write what you think is appropriate and I’ll read it when you’re done. If I don’t like it, you’ll start over.”
She gave him a solemn nod and walked over to where the chair was placed. She struggled to turn it around to face the table, but she made it. Then she sat, not without wincing, waiting for pen and paper to be brought to her. Sean brought her what she needed, giving her hand a quick squeeze. She’d never thought she’d see the day where Jarrod would play the part of the hard-ass and Sean would try to make her feel better, but here they were.
Kaitlyn stared down at the blank piece of paper in front of her, wondering where to begin. The thing was, she didn’t even quite understand herself what had happened. It was like another person had invaded her body and said awful, terrible things and she didn’t know why. But she didn’t know how likely Jamie would be to buy the body-snatcher explanation and she knew Jarrod wouldn’t go for it, so she dropped it.
Dear Jamie, she began, just to get started. She took her time and wrote neatly, because she was stumped after that and she wanted to give the impression of being har
d at work for as long as possible. Now what? Was she supposed to say “how are you?” She doubted Jarrod would appreciate it.
I owe you an apology.
Well, that was simple enough. Now, what was she apologizing for?
I feel I might have misled you when we spoke the other day.
She paused and reread what she had so far. Hmm. The truth was, she had misled her, and on purpose. So she carefully crossed out the “might have.”
Jarrod is actually a very kind, caring person, nothing like the one I described to you. He certainly would never cheat on his girlfriend, if he had one. Which he doesn’t—he is very single, just as you’d heard. I’m sorry for misleading you. It was wrong, to both you and Jarrod and I humbly ask you to forgive me.
Once she’d signed her name she stared down at it once more, wondering if it would be good enough. Deciding that she’d never know until she asked, she stood up, grateful to be away from that awful scratchy wood if only for a few moments. She walked toward the men who were relaxing on the couch where they had full view of everything she was doing. When she reached them, she bowed her head and stretched her hand out toward Jarrod. She kept her eyes on the floor, even when she felt him take it from her hand. She was antsy, nervous butterflies flitting around her tummy as she waited to see what the verdict would be.
“Hmm,” Jarrod said, and she heard the flutter of paper being set down. “This is a start.”
A start? What else was there to say?
“You don’t ever say why you chose to lie.”
Kaitlyn lifted her head to look him in the eye. She was relieved to see that while he still looked at her with hard eyes, he didn’t flinch when she met his eyes. “I don’t know.”
