Crystal lay in bed with her eyes open, but still under the covers. She played with a curl of hair and stared idly out of the window.

“Hey. Sleep well?”

She gave Liam a smile and outstretched her arms towards him, clearly wanting to cuddle. He slipped back into bed and she snuggled in against his body.

“Have you been jogging?”

“Um... yes, I have.”

Crystal sighed, still looking out of the window. “I thought I heard...”

“What?”

She turned around to face him, a bit surprised. “Well, I don’t know. There were... screams. In the distance. Kinda like a TV turned on.”

He gulped. “It... it must have been a television, yes...”

As he was saying it, though, it sounded all wrong. He’d never lied to Crystal about anything, and he was not going to start now. Especially since John and Lizzie appeared to not worry about keeping that secret...

“Heck, no, it wasn’t,” he said after a few minutes. “Crys, I...”

She sat up straighter on the bed and looked at him. “Something bad happened?”

“I’m not sure,” Liam shrugged, “but I looked in on John giving Lizzie... well, yes, a spanking.”

His fiancée blinked and tilted her head to the side. “A spanking?”

And so Liam told everything, from the ritual undressing of the girl by the hand of her husband to the hand-spanking, from the further undressing to the awful strapping she’d had to endure. By the time he was finished, Crys was looking at him with eyes wide like saucers, and breathing hard.

“I...” she stammered. “That is so wrong on so many levels.”

“Well, it looked as though they were into it quite much, though.”

Crystal raised an eyebrow. “What’s that mean?”

“They seemed to agree on it,” he shrugged. “I mean, it looked like a recurring instance.”

“And how is *that* supposed to make it better?” Crystal snorted.

“Hey, I don’t know. I’m just telling you my feeling.”

She gave him a small smile. “I’m not upset with you, silly. I’m upset with him. That’s just... so wrong. Lizzie is so little and he’s so big.”

“But she didn’t seem to mind. What I mean is, okay, she cried and yelled... but she didn’t look resentful afterwards. She hugged him so tight.”

Crystal looked down, idly playing with the covers. She sighed and leaned back down, head on the pillow. Liam did too, and they stayed close like that for a few minutes without speaking.

“Was her bottom very red?” she asked after a while.

“It... err, yes. Very.”

“So you looked??”

“Oh come on.”

She giggled. “Just teasing. I bet the strap is painful. They used the strap in my school.”

“You never said...”

“I never got it. Nor did my friends. We’ve heard stories though.” She snuggled in closer. “Fearful stories, but also kinda thrilling. When you’re a kid, that is, these things are thrilling.”

Liam nodded. The mental image of teenage Crystal – which would be just a few years ago, by the way – talking about the strap behind some teacher’s back was amusing.

“Well it can still be thrilling.”

She gave him a puzzled look.  “You mean you got off on it?”

“Not... exactly... I’m not kinky like that.”

“Oh I know,” she rolled her eyes.

“Huh?”

“Nothing! But I still think it made you feel funny.”

“Did not.”

“Did too. I can feel it.”

She wriggled her bottom against Liam. No matter what she said, *that* was making him ‘feel funny’, as she’d put it. Liam teased back and tickled her belly, then his hands slid downwards and it was her turn to feel funny. Soon they were wrapped in a tight embrace, and the image of John taking Lizzie over his lap... and then strap her small bottom... it made Liam feel heavenly the second it sprang up into his mind.

~*~

Breakfast came and went. Coffee, croissants, and other delicacies were served on a sunlit terrace. Both John and Lizzie did back and forth from the kitchen, so Liam and Crystal was really starting to think by then that there was no service personnel whatsoever.

Husband and wife seemed to go perfectly along with each other. Crystal and Liam exchanged more than one look when they’d hug and kiss. He couldn’t help but wonder if Lizzie’s smarting bottom was the reason she never sat with them and instead kept walking around the table.

“Oh, I nearly forgot,” John said when they were taking plates back to the kitchen. “I would be able to have tickets for tonight’s show. Lizzie said you guys enjoy opera, don’t you.”

“Absolutely!” Crystal exclaimed.

“Sure do. What and where?” Liam inquired.

“It is ‘Tosca’ at the Orlando Opera.”

“Sounds good.”

Lizzie smiled, and kissed her husband. “I want to show Crys the marketplace by the sea. Why don’t you guys go get the tickets or something?”

“Oh I am getting the feeling they want to get rid of us,” John said, and Liam laughed. “Sounds good. See you here around 5:00?”

“Yeah, yeah!” said Lizzie, dragging Crystal away.

On the way to Orlando and the theatre, John and Liam sat without talking for several minutes before the older man shifted positions on his seat and addressed the youngster.

“So. Enjoyed the show?”

Liam’s ears perked up. “Um... tonight’s show, I...”

“No. The matinee, so to speak.” He gave a gentle laugh.

Liam blushed to the root of his hair and looked away. “I... I apologise for...”

“Oh it’s quite alright. Sure, I do not exactly like to be spied upon, but Lizzie and I don’t yearn to keep this hidden.”

“So it’s... I mean, is it a common occurrence?”

John smiled. “It happens when needed. Lizzie and I find it rewarding and... interesting.”

~/~

“Do you mean he can spank you whenever he wants?” Crystal asked. Lizzie laughed, making her friend blush. “What’d I say?”

Lizzie took an old music box from the stand in front of her and gave a small smile as it played a sad tune. She loved flea markets.

“You’re so silly. He does it when I do something stupid or mess up or... stuff.” She blushed too. “And he can be gentle too, you know,” she whispered in her friend’s ear.

~/~

“You mean it’s not...” Liam cleared his throat, “... not all bad?”

“Not at all, my young friend!” John laughed gently. “I take it you and your fiancée don’t engage in such activities?”

Liam shook his head. “Should we?”

“Not up to me to say, but if you’ll accept an older fella’s suggestion, it would make your life incredibly satisfying. On all levels.”

~/~

“Wait a sec. Are you implying you guys...” Crystal gulped, “... you take that to the bedroom?”

Lizzie grinned mischievously. “Why, of course. I don’t like to be spanked, but, when he does it gently and then... you know... gosh, it’s great.”

Crystal blinked. Lizzie was never quite the straightforward person.

~/~

“Well, I...” Liam coughed. “I admit that watching you and Liz this morning... well, yes, it was satisfying... to some extent...”

John grinned. “Glad to know. But it isn’t nice to feast on a young woman’s distress – my wife’s. So, next time kindly ask.”  He winked, at though he was blushing, Liam nodded.

~/~

“I... Liz, I kinda have to tell you something.”

“What is it?”

Crystal cleared her throat. “This morning... after Liam was back, he...”

Lizzie smiled indulgently. “He heard me get it? Yes I know. John said.”

“Yes... but... the thing is, then we made love, and I... I didn’t see you get it, but I thought about that anyway and it was... whoa...” She checked carpets and bed-sheets on another stand, trying to distract herself with price tags as her friend processed the information.

Lizzie smiled. “Oh. Well. That’s... that’s okay...”

“Is it?”

“Yeah. I’m probably going to do the same tonight after the show. John gets so romantic after watching an opera.”

She blushed and looked away, one hand going back to rub her bottom through the light skirt.

– End of Part Three –

This story does not necessarily represent the author’s point of view about anything. It is simply a work of fiction . The characters herein portrayed are invented and do not resemble reality to the best of the author’s knowledge. This account is entirely fictitious . Any similarities to other persons, living or deceased, is purely coincidental.

This story is written for the sane amusement of adult readers. It does not intend harm and does not promote violence of any kind, including spanking. No offence is meant to any group, ethnicity or individuals.

The author does in no way endorse the non-consensual disciplinary spanking of actual children and / or teenagers.

Copyright © 2005 Haley Brimley . Contact for information and / or feedback.