I was lying up in the loft, reading a book by the soft glow of the table lamp, and generally enjoying the solitude and the story. It had always felt like a hideaway up there, a place to be alone with my thoughts, and I was relaxing comfortably until I heard the phone ring. I put down my book for a minute, ears pricked, wondering if it was for me - I heard Rick's voice answering and after a moment I returned to my reading. I had almost forgotten about the call until I heard the shout from downstairs:
"Curtis! Get down here right now!"
My stomach twisted itself into a knot as I tossed the book aside and climbed down the ladder to the upstairs bedroom. I knew better than to argue with Rick or to even hesitate when he had that tone in his voice - but I was scared and anxious, and wondering what I'd done to make him angry.
As I went downstairs to the kitchen, I saw Rick standing in the middle of the room, his arms folded, a furious expression on his face. The sink was halffull of dirty dishes, and whatever had interrupted him, he wasn't happy about it.
"Rick, what's up?" I asked, trying to sound curious and cheerful. "Did you. . .?"
"Go stand in the corner," he said immediately, over my inane attempts at conversation. "Right now. Don't say a _d_a_m_n_ word."
I felt my palms begin to sweat. "What. . .?"
"Now!" he shouted, taking a step toward me. "Get into the corner!"
I obeyed at once, walking over to the corner by the bathroom door and standing there stiffly, facing the wall. My body was trembling. Whenever Rick sent me to the corner, it usually meant I'd done something that he felt deserved punishment - and the punishment was usually a thrashing. Hard. And although he had always been great to me, and fair, since he became my adoptive dad, from the look on his face, I knew that this wouldn't be any ordinary punishment.
While I was racking my brain, trying desperately to figure out what it was that I'd done - so that maybe I could talk my way out of it - I heard the front door opening and someone coming into the kitchen. Whoever it was conversed with Rick in a low voice for a few moments, and then there was the scraping sound of chairs being pulled away from the kitchen table. I didn't like this one bit - this was something new. And I sure didn't want anyone else around if Rick was going to punish me.
"Turn around and face me, Curtis," I heard Rick say.
I did as I was told. Rick was sitting at the table, watching me with his hands folded, and sitting next to him. . . ! I could feel my face begin to turn red. Our neighbor from down the street, Doug, was sitting in our kitchen, his face furious as he looked at me. All of a sudden I realized what was going on, and my stomach dropped.
"Now," Rick said calmly, "It seems that someone or other in this neighborhood managed to get hold of a cherry bomb."
"Rick. . ." I began.
"And," he went on, as if I hadn't spoken, "Someone also decided that it might be a good joke to toss this cherry bomb into someone's driveway."
I started to tremble.
"Where," Rick said, "It just happened to land on the hood of Doug's new car, where it then exploded. Which, in turn, has cost Doug two weeks' pay to repair." He fixed his eyes on me, glaring. "So tell me, Curtis - you wouldn't happen to know anything about that, would you?"
"I. . . I. . ." I stammered. "Rick. . ."
"Just like I thought." He stood up. "Doug was lucky enough to see you and your friend Ty running up the street after it went off. He called Ty's folks, and then he called me. As he should have."
"Am I. . . am I going to get a whipping?"
"Oh, don't worry. You're going to be severely punished for this little stunt, Curtis. You're going to learn that vandalism is stupid and immature and wrong. And if you insist on acting like a child, then you're going to be disciplined like one." He turned to look at Doug, who also stood up. "And since it was Doug's car that was damaged by your prank, I've told Doug that he has my full permission to spank you."
I started. "Rick. . . no way. . . you. . . you can't. . ."
"_d_a_m_n_ straight I can," Rick said. "Doug thinks it's a good idea, and is more than willing to cooperate. That was over four hundred dollars' worth of damage you did to his car with one thoughtless stunt, and I think he has every right to put you over his knee and paddle you. Don't worry, Curtis. You're going to get it from me too, later - you're going to be spending a lot of time over the foot of the bed tonight. But first things first." Rick nodded at Doug. "You can take him upstairs."
Doug came over to me and laid a hand on my shoulder. "Let's go, Curtis."
"You can't spank me," I said desperately. "Rick. . ."
Rick just watched as Doug grabbed me by the collar of my shirt and dragged me toward the stairs. "Move it, kid. Let's go."
He pulled me upstairs to the bedroom and across to the bed. I struggled against him, but it was no use - he worked out regularly, and had huge arms and hands. He was also almost a foot taller than me. Before I knew it, Doug had positioned himself on the bed and turned me over his knee, my ass raised in the air. He held me around the waist with one meaty hand and with the other unsnapped my jeans and yanked them down to my knees, and then pulled my underwear down. I was completely humiliated, over this man's knee with my ass bare.
WHACK! His heavy hand cracked down across my butt, and I jumped - it was harder than Rick had ever spanked me, and it started to burn almost immediately. I writhed and struggled, but the blows kept on coming.
"I'll teach you-" WHACK! - "to mess around-" WHACK! WHACK! - "with other people's property!" WHACK! WHACK! WHACK!
I squirmed on Doug's lap, trying to avoid the slaps that kept coming down harder and harder on my butt, already beginning to cry.
WHACK! WHACK! WHACK! "Please, Doug," I whined, "no more, please."
WHACK! WHACK!
"I'm sorry!"
WHACK! WHACK!
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry!"
"Not as sorry-" WHACK! WHACK! - "as you're gonna be" WHACK! WHACK! "-when I get through with you" WHACK! WHACK! WHACK! "I'm going to paddle you so hard" WHACK! "-you won't sit down for a week."
I was crying hard now, kicking and begging, having completely forgotten about my vulnerable position. All I cared about was the spanking that seemed to go on and on.
WHACK! WHACK! WHACK! Doug's hard hand punished my bare ass, stinging and burning.
WHACK!
"I'm sorry Doug!"
WHACK! WHACK!
"I'M SORRY PLEASE!"
WHACK! WHACK! WHACK!
Doug held me over his knee and kept on paddling me.
WHACK! WHACK! "Please! I'm sorry!" WHACK! "Please!" WHACK!
WHACK! WHACK! WHACK! WHACK!
When Doug finally stopped, I just lay there for several minutes, sobbing. When I raised my head I was shocked to see Rick standing by the bed, watching me.
"Are you finished, Doug?" he asked.
"Yes, I think so." Doug sighed. "I think he won't forget this in a hurry."
"Oh, don't worry," Rick said, "I'll make sure he doesn't. He'll be sleeping on his stomach for a week." He looked at me. "Stand up, Curtis."
I did so, wincing and sniffling, my pants and underwear falling to my ankles.
"Turn around and bend over the foot of the bed."
"No, oh no. . ." I started to cry again. "Please, I'll never do it again, I promise."
"Bend over."
I turned and faced the bed, bending over the wooden footboard, my sore backside raised in the air.
"Now, you're going to stay like that for a few minutes, Curtis, and think about the paddling you just got, and how you're going to improve your behavior. I'm going to go downstairs and talk to Doug, and then I'm coming back up here, and I'm going to take my belt off. Do you know what that means?"
"Yes, sir," I whispered.
"Good. So you think about the choices you've made, and what you've got coming to you."
He turned away, and I heard them going down the stairs, leaving me bent over the bed, my pants down, full of thoughts of the punishment I still had coming.