“Pick a color now, Jennifer Lynn,” he’d
said sternly. “If you don’t choose, I’ll
do it for you and be warned... I’m
partial to red lately, the same shade your butt is going to be if you don’t
make up your mind today. I only have
four more days on break and I want this done.”
That had been yesterday and had motivated
her to select a soft, Pomona green which matched the new comforter her mother
had given her for Christmas.
The microwave dinged pulling her from her
reverie. Breathing in the scent of
cinnamon and apples, she sighed in delight, grabbing an oatmeal raisin cookie, before
heading for the den to relax. When she
walked in the room, she was surprised to find Joe standing at the bay window
looking out.
“Hey honey, how’s the painting going?”
“Slow, but I’ve got the first coat on and
it’s looking good. I’m just taking a
break while it dries.” At forty four,
Joe was still a fine looking man. His
wavy brown hair was a bit long and fell in a wave over his forehead. His chocolate brown eyes were framed with
silky long lashes that she envied every time she applied a coat of mascara to
her own. He had a strong jaw and she
noted a scruff of beard as he lowered his coffee mug to the desktop. Broad shoulders, narrow waist without the
middle aged paunch so many men his age sported, she also knew he had muscular thighs and a killer ass from the many miles
he spent jogging every week.
“What have you been up to, honey?”
“I just lugged the last of the Christmas
decorations down to the storage room.”
“Is that what all that banging was? You didn’t do the Christmas tree box by
yourself, did you?”
“It wasn’t bad,” she said with a shrug. It had actually been an ordeal. Too heavy for her to lift alone, she had slid
it down the carpeted steps one at a time.
The tiled foyer had been the tricky part, as well as the wooden stairs
leading down to the basement. He’d told
her to leave it for him, but she wanted it done and everything out of sight.
“Jen,” was his long suffering growl of
exasperation. “I wish you hadn’t done
that. That box weighs more than you do.”
“I’m stronger than I look and handled it
just fine.” Setting her steaming cup on
the end table, she changed the subject quickly.
“Mind if I start a fire? It’s
rather chilly in here.”
“Yeah, I cracked the windows in the bedroom
because the paint fumes were beginning to get to me.” He turned his attention back to the
window. “It’s just for a little while,
because the temperature is dropping and the snows beginning to pile up.”
The gas logs ignited with a single touch of
the remote and immediately started to heat the room. Joining Joe at the window, Jen slipped her
arms around him from behind. Twisting at
the waist, he wrapped a long arm around her shoulders and brought her into his
side. Together they watched the snow fall
in big, wet flakes.
“Let’s go build a snowman.” Jen suggested out of nowhere.
“You’re kidding, right? We haven’t done that since the kids were
little.”
“And most of the time they grumbled and
moaned about getting all their winter garb on.
It was you and I that really wanted to do it.”
Laughing, he nodded. “I remember trying to get boots on Jason. To this day, whenever I see him, he’s
barefoot.” Smiling at the memory, she
could tell he was tempted by the opportunity to play. He just needed convincing. “I don’t know. I’ve still got a lot to do in the bedroom.”
“It can wait a bit, can’t it? Besides, you said the paint needed to dry.”
“Are you trying to corrupt me with your 'tomorrow is the best day of the week' philosophy?”
“Come on, honey. Let’s have some fun. Before we’re so old and decrepit we’re afraid
to risk a fractured hip.”
“You’re on.”
Soon, bundled in coats and boots, hats,
scarves and mittens, they were out in the snow.
“I brought the wardrobe,” Jennifer said
excitedly showing him the carrot nose, buttons and scarf she carried in an old
straw hat. “All we need is twigs for the
arms.”
“Uh, honey.
I think we need to build old Frosty before we can trick him out in his
fancy duds.”
“I know.
I’m just excited. How about you
start on the base and I do the head?”
Together
they worked, rolling the large snowballs and assembling their man of snow. Joe cut two twigs for arms as Jen decorated
his face and dressed him. When they were
done, they stepped back, standing arm in arm as they admired the excellent job
they had done. “He’s the best one we’ve
ever built, honey.”
“The snow was perfect for it.” He noticed her shivering and rubbing her
arms. Brushing snowflakes from her nose,
he bent a kissed her cold lips. “I’d
better get you back inside before you freeze.”
“Too late,” she quipped, dramatically
putting on a show of chattering teeth and shivering, before heading back to
the warmth of the house.
Just then, the mailman came slipping and
fishtailing down the snow covered street in his small vehicle. “Go on inside,” Joe said as he headed for the
mailbox. “I’ll get the mail and be right
in.”
By the time he got inside, she was in front
of the fire, a chenille throw around her legs and feet propped on a footstool
thawing them by the heat of the blaze. She
watched Joe sit down at his desk and begin opening the mail. Seeing he was occupied, she grabbed her
kindle off the end table. With a heavy
sigh of contentment, she opened the newest spanking romance in her queue. A fan of romance, she had discovered spanking
stories recently, about loving couples in domestic discipline relationships like
her own. Most were sweet and sexy with
strong alpha male leads, just like her Joe.
She had just gotten to a good part when
Joe’s deep voice called to her from across the room.
“Jen?
Did you remember to pay the credit card bill when you got your bonus?”
Oh, crap!
She’d gotten her year-end bonus right before Christmas. It was more than enough to cover the $1200
Visa bill she had racked up on Black Friday.
She’d promised Joe that she would pay the bill in full with her bonus,
long before the finance charges hit. Unfortunately,
she’d put it off in the Christmas hustle and bustle, and then forgot all together.
“I’m sorry, honey. I got the bonus and deposited the money, but
I think I forgot to transfer the funds.”
“You think?”
“I know I didn’t.”
“I know you didn’t also, because here is
the bill with interest applied. Why did
you use this card? The interest rate is
still sky high where you were late paying the last time.”
She sat there silently, unwilling to admit
that the other card was maxed out and she’d had no choice. Her bonus would make a hefty dent in that
balance as well.
“Jennifer?”
“Well…
I, um—“
“Never mind, I can look up the account
online. While I do that, go get your
purse. I’ll take your credit cards and
check card. You, young lady, are going
on a cash only budget.”
“But, Joe that’s not fair.”
“No, what’s not fair is being delinquent on
payments and risking our good credit rating—not to mention the late fee and the
added interest. I’d like to retire one
day, you know.”
“You’re exaggerating. Your retirement is at least 20 years
away. I make good money and so do
you. I also have the money to pay it off. What was the interest, all of $20? I’ll cover that, too.” Her voice had risen with annoyance as she
laid out her defense. She wasn’t sure
why she was arguing when she was clearly in the wrong. He had a right to be upset with her.
“I don’t like your tone, Jennifer
Lynn. If you can’t manage the
responsibility of credit, you won’t be allowed to use it. Now, go get your purse and don’t make me repeat
myself again.”
Stomping her foot in frustration, she
stalked into the kitchen where she’d left her purse. Digging inside for her wallet, she pulled it
out and stomped back toward the den, shoving a dining room chair out of the way as she went. Lost
in her own misery, she narrowly avoided walking into Joe who stood watching
from the doorway, an eyewitness to her childish behavior.
“You’re already in trouble. Acting like a brat now isn’t doing you any
favors, so I suggest you tone it down.”
Frowning at him, she stomped past him and in
a pique of frustration, slapped her debit and two credit cards on the
desk. She then folded her arms and gave him
a look that clearly said where he could stick the damn cards. Instead, she asked, “How will I survive? I
can’t believe you are doing this.”
“On cash.
This country still uses currency you know, my dear.”
“Now who’s being flippant?” She accused, her tone rife with impertinence. Regretting her words as soon as they left her
mouth, she immediately started to back pedal.
“Joe, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to
be so hateful.”
His body language spoke volumes, an apology
was much too little and far too late. As
she eyed his rigid, determined stance, she noticed for the first time what he
held in his hand.
“What are you going to do with that?” Jen’s voice shook slightly as she watched Joe
cross the room and pull out the desk chair.
“I am going to blister your butt with it,
of course. Come here and assume the
position.”
He promptly sat and patted his thigh, the
innocent looking paint stirrer gripped firmly in his spanking hand. After two and a half decades on the receiving
end, she knew well that the most innocuous looking implement often packed the
biggest punch—so to speak.
“But… “
“Don’t argue or it’ll be worse for you,” he
said in frustration. “In twenty-five
years of marriage, I still haven’t been able to curb your tendency for procrastination. It’s always I’ll do it later or I’ll get to
it tomorrow. Except with you, tomorrow
and later never come. Important things
like brake lights, mortgage and credit card payments, and refilling your
prescriptions cannot be put off.”
Jennifer looked at the disappointment on
her husband’s face and felt terrible. He
was right, as usual. Hesitantly, she
walked up to him. As required, she
pulled down her pants and panties before lowering herself over his lap. “I’m sorry, Joe. I’ll try to do better. I promise.”
“I’ve heard that assurance before.” Joe pulled her close, anchoring her with a
strong arm. “Hopefully, you will remember
this paddling long into the future. Effective
immediately, I’m taking over all the bill paying and you are going on a
strict cash system. It’s the only way I
can think to keep our good credit intact.
However, if you don’t correct this behavior of delaying, stalling and
putting off until tomorrow, you can expect to be in this position a lot more
often. Now get comfortable, babe,
because you’re going to be here a while.”
The thin wooden paint stick landed with a
thwack and she gasped at the stinging fire that blazed across her bottom. She also felt his strong arm wrapped around
her waist, his hand splayed wide keeping her in place. She smelled his masculine scent, a mixture of
his soap, the outdoors, and his own special essence. The intimate act surprisingly made her feel close
to him, knowing he spanked because he cared about her and for the good of their
marriage. It had been too long since she
had been here and she couldn’t think of another place she’d rather be.
Another stroke landed, and she hissed as the
hot fiery lick flared across her behind.
Well… maybe she could think of one or two others. A third stroke followed and the beach and the
spa came to mind. With each stroke, she
thought of another more pleasant place to be.
By the twentieth she was wishing herself at the dentist for a root
canal, which with Novocain, would have been preferable to the scorching fire in
her seat.
Finally, he was done and his hand began to
rub her sore bottom. His hand was gentle
and soothing, causing the heat to coalesce and spread to the neglected area,
between her thighs. Soon his fingers
were teasing her there and she arched into his hand.
The next moment her view was the ceiling
instead of the floor. Yelping, as she
was flipped upright and carried in Joe’s strong arms as he headed for the
bedroom. At the last minute, he
surprised her by veering into the guest room, but he explained in two words, “wet
paint.”
“Are you still angry with me, honey?”
“No, you screwed up but were punished. Now, we’ve got a plan and are moving on.”
“Yes, but the memory lingers on, doesn’t
it?” She smiled, snuggling into his
arms.
“You mean with a sore butt?”
“No, I mean without plastic. How long am I to be punished?”
“As long as it takes.”
Setting her pouting aside, she reached up
to cup his jaw. ““I’m really sorry, baby. I don’t know why I act the way I do sometimes,
it seems to be worse of late.”
“I think you need my special attention more
often to keep you on track.”
“I do to, but mostly I need you. I thank God every day that I have you. I love you, big guy.”
“I love you too, baby.” He tossed her on the bed and following her
down, pulled her into his arms. He proceeded
to show her how wonderful prompt timely attention to detail could be.
Reaching up with one hand, he
wiped away her tears with his thumb. “Besides, I forgive you--isn’t that what
counts?” 
