(Usual Disclaimers Apply)
There I was again, positioned on the bed so my brother-in-law could leather my bare tail with his belt. Danny was a decent man who had taken me in after my parents had been killed in a tragic accident, and, with my sister's help, raised me as his own.
The year was 1950, a time when boys expected to be kept in order with corporal punishment. Most lads had outgrown the need for physical discipline by the age of 16. Although I had passed that milestone, Danny showed no sign of slowing down. He still gave me a hiding at least once a month.
The belting got harder and harder. I yelled and wriggled as each fresh broad river of pain snaked around my upturned buttocks. Although small for my age, I was able to take the stinging hurt without bawling. So, I forced myself to think of that awful time when a well-meaning but terribly misguided parson had encouraged me view the remains of my dead parents in the undertaker's Chapel of Rest. The images which lingered in my mind's eye, caused the tears to flow as I knew they would. Danny, who had been watching my face in the dressing table mirror for the first sign of tears, relooped his belt.
"You're a tough character", he said affectionately, ruffling my hair. Then he left the bedroom.
I lay on the bed with my backside in flames. Danny was not yet 30, a farmer and fit as a bull. A handsome man who I loved with a passion. The act of having to bare my bottom for him and submit to a belting, always made me hard. I reached under the bed and groaned with the fresh pain caused by having to stretch my fiery buttocks. I retrieved a tub of petroleum jelly and had a good wank. When I ejaculated, Danny's handsome, smiling face flashed, unbidden, before my eyes. The sensation was the best, ever.
Danny was a _s_e_x_ual animal. He made love to my sister at least once a day and every night. Their bedroom was down the hall but I could still hear the sounds of their lovemaking. Those noises made me feel excluded and alone. I'd already worked out that I was attracted to males. It was a confusing, unhappy time. Thank God I had the love and support of Sis and Danny. If they ever found out I was queer I might lose them forever.
The outside door slammed. My sister who had been arranging flowers at the church, was home. I stood up and admired in the mirror, the bright scarlet mounds which Danny had given me. I got dressed and washed my face.
That night I wondered if something was up. There was no noisy lovemaking down the hall. 'Sis might have her period', I thought but it took me a long time to get to sleep in the unaccustomed silence.
It was the summer holidays. I helped Danny with the farm work. Having a dairy herd meant that the farm was a seven-day-a-week operation with no chance of a holiday. I didn't mind that at all. I was with two people who loved me and that was all that mattered.
This particular morning we went back to the house for smoko, as usual. Sis seemed a bit flushed as she poured out the tea. I helped myself to a fresh-baked scone.
"Danny and I have something to tell you", Sis said. Her face was glowing with good health. My brother-in-law looked a bit embarrassed.
"We're having a baby!" she announced, breathlessly.
Well, I congratulated them and somehow found the right words to say.
"That'll make you an uncle', Danny said with a shy grin. "The thing is, Maisie has to take things a bit easy. The doctor is concerned about her blood pressure".
"Lot of fuss about nothing", Maisie said with a frown.
"Anyway", Danny said to me, "I need you to keep an eye on her. Don't let her do any heavy lifting. Stuff like that".
So, I spent more time inside with Sis. When she had a snooze after the midday meal I went outside with Danny. I still helped with the early morning milking, as well. Apart from that, life was pretty much normal except for a lack of noisy lovemaking. Also, my brother-in-law tanned my ever-growing backside just as often than before.
One day Danny drove Sis to the doctor's surgery for a check-up. She was only in the fifth month of the pregnancy but the doctor was worried about her blood pressure. It was decided to keep her in the rural town's cottage hospital until the birth. When Danny came home without Sis I burst into tears. He gently explained the situation but I only stopped crying when I realised I hadn't lost her for good.
A kind woman from a neighbouring farm called in every day and prepared our main meal. Other good country women did the washing and cleaning. That's just how it was in 1950. People helped each other out.
One afternoon I forgot to turn off a tap and the water supply to the cattle dried up. My inattention caused Danny a great deal of extra work carting water for the stock and then re-routing the water pipe from the creek. He was angry and I knew he'd take it out on my bum, first chance he got.
Sure enough, the minute I'd finished drying the dinner dishes I felt his big hand on my shoulder.
"Ready for your hiding?" he asked in his deep voice.
"Yes, Danny" I replied.
So, we went through to my bedroom and the familar ritual began. I dropped my shorts and underpants and lay down on the bed. My shirt-tail was pushed clear. I heard the rustle his belt made when he pulled it through the loops of his trousers. Then he laid into my upturned buttocks with the belt. It hurt, as was the intention, but he was not brutal.
When my bottom was very sore I tried to summon the tear-inducing images of my parents but instead all I could see was Danny's handsome face looking at me in the mirror, to see if I was crying yet.
The belting stopped and I felt his hand touch my scorched mounds.
"Fry eggs on those", he commented. "Asbestos cheeks, that's what you've got". I turned on one side and he caught a glimpse of my erection.
"You little tosser! Do you LIKE getting hidings?"
I gulped. "Only from YOU, Danny" I squeaked.
He sat on the edge of the bed.
"Well, I've got to admit I like the male arse. Saw plenty of them in the army but not one of them was a patch on yours. The way it juts out..".
His voice trailed off. My big, masculine brother-in-law's confession shook me to my foundations.
"Sorry, son. I shouldn't have told you that. Guess I'm just so darn horny without Maisie".
He looked at my flaming bum-cheeks.
"You queer, boy?"
"Think so", I replied, miserably.
"Heck, that's nothing to be ashamed of. I did it with boys when I was your age. I seem to be attracted to both _s_e_x_es. Best of both worlds".
"Will you do it with me?"
Danny scratched his muscular buttocks before answering.
"Well I'm flattered, son, but there's Maisie". His face softened at the thought of her. "I'm sure you'll find someone closer to your own age to play with".
He must have seen the look of rejection on my face and hastened to soften the blow.
"Your bottom is like two golden peaches", he said, softly.
"Two red cherries, more like", I retorted, feelingly. My bum was still throbbing painfully after that belting he'd given me.
"And whose fault was that?"
"Mine".
"I think you've outgrown hidings", my brother-in-law said, relooping his belt.
"I guess so", I replied, feeling both relieved and disappointed.
Danny tickled me until I laughed so hard I rolled off the bed and onto the floor. He helped me up and I got dressed.
That night we went to visit Maisie in the hospital. She was sitting up in bed.
During the conversation, Danny said: "I've been thinking about the boy. What do you say we adopt him?"
Maisie smiled her secret smile.
"If that's what he wants", she said, softly.
Danny looked at me.
"We'd never forget your parents, son. They'll always have a special place in our hearts, you know that. It's just that I'd count it as a real privilege if you'd consent to becoming our son, in the eyes of the law, that is."
That was probably the longest speech I'd ever heard Danny make. I looked into his kind eyes and grabbed Sis' hand in mine.
I breathed one word: "yes!" - and my life changed forever.