Shortlisted Human Drama
Deceit
"DECEIT" by the Crimson Kid
(All rights reserved. This story's setting is early July of 1995 at a lake house in the U.S.A.)
"Pull them down in the back," Barbara Royalton commanded.
Her husband Paul protested. "Miriam told you the truth, she blistered me good and proper, you don't have to see for yourself."
Her palm connected sharply to his face-CRACK!-leaving an imprint on its left cheek. "You're my husband, I'll look at your deceitful derriere if I want to!"
"Okay, honey." He turned around, then lowered his shorts and briefs to his upper thighs.
"Perhaps you should say 'Yes, ma'am' instead, that's how you respond to Miriam when she's treating you like a disobedient child, isn't it?" The short black-haired woman inspected her tall blond spouse's exposed posterior; it was dark pink in hue with its surface roughened. "Hmmmm...So does it still hurt?"
He gulped. "It's prickly warm and tingly....ma'am."
Her hands squeezed his buttcheeks. "How did it feel while Miriam was whacking you on the bare with her strap and paddle?"
"Like the fires of Hell, ma'am." Paul shivered in recollection.
His wife frowned angrily. "I've half a mind to smack your seat myself, I'm so upset with your continuous deceit. Miriam insists that's what I need to do regularly anyway, to strengthen our marriage."
Straightening up, he re-covered his smarting buttocks then turned to face the woman he loved. "It wasn't deceitful, I merely withheld information that I believed was irrelevant to our relationship."
Barbara sputtered in frustration. "You let your cousin treat you like a misbehaving five-year-old for the past twenty years, that's considered irrelevant? She did blister your backside whenever she decided to, didn't she?"
Her mate sighed as he gingerly seated himself on the guest room's bed. "Miriam punished me whenever I deserved it, in her opinion...Although when Brittany was my girlfriend, that was primarily her responsibility."
The plump mid-thirtyish woman remained standing, gazing down intensely at her husband. "Which supposedly should be MY responsibility now, according to Miriam, spanking my husband's bare behind like he's a naughty toddler."
"No, like an adult male who was given caring corporal correction from his womenfolk and benefitted greatly from it," Paul explained. "When I moved away I decided that in my new life such discipline would be unnecessary, so I didn't mention it during our courtship-it was part of my past that I'd matured beyond."
Her voice became gentle. "Except that you hadn't, correct?"
"Apparently not...ma'am." His shoulders slumped.
She sat down beside him. "Our marriage definitely needs something, I know from my doctoral research that corporal punishment has helped some couples."
He smiled tightly. "The Spenser Spanking Plan?"
"But one-way only, honey," Barbara stated resolutely, "My beautiful bottom is off-limits for chastising." Her lips pursed. "Miriam has offered me expert instruction-and there's no time like the present." Rising, she took his hand in hers. "Come along, darling..."
Twenty-five minutes later, Barbara and her cousin-in-law smugly regarded Paul's fiery-red, glowing gluteal globes while, tearfully sobbing, he humbly faced into a living room corner.
Miriam took back her Spencer paddle. "Excellent effort for a beginner, Barb..."
{The End}
Zille Defeu email
Well written, engaging, well edited, and nice reference to the infamous "Spencer Spanking Plan." I would have liked to get more from the Paul's point of view -- at least more description of the sensations he was feeling, and his self-righteous indignation at being brought back down to what made him feel like a child again, not a fully grown man. That would have really brought the story together perfectly.
sarah nada email
"Deceit" has interesting characters and a strong storyline for such a short piece. Main character Paul is engaging, and I like the way he explains his family's variation on domestic discipline. His wife Barbara is clearly willing to try new things to strengthen their relationship, which leads to lots of spanking. The finished story is a fun twist on a classic spanking scenario.
Dyke Grrl/Jigsaw Analogy email
The story gets us right into the drama, and allows the exposition to come through the characters' discussion as the story unfolds. It seems pretty clear that the resolution will be beneficial for Paul, and will let his wife and his cousin become closer with each other.
Pablo email
Not bad, but there's a need to focus even more on who the characters are as people - to reveal character through dialogue and careful detail. This is especially true when a story is part of a much longer narrative - as is the case here. It's easy to forget that the reader needs to be introduced to the characters - their essence, not just their names and a brief physical description - and that the piece needs to stand on its own. There's potentially a very dramatic situation here, but a sense of real human emotion and real human drama doesn't come across. Overly cutesy phrases like "glowing gluteal globes" (does anyone really talk like that?) don't help. Some good bones in the story, but it's just too thinly fleshed out.