Early Morning

There was no denying it, Belinda had screwed up. Big time. Worse than that, she had been caught. That was really the issue. Her roommate Alicia had been waiting for her as she had opened the door to their shared flat, arms crossed over her chest, eyes blazing with anger.

“Well, well,” Alicia had said, “Look what the cat brought in…”

“We are not allowed pets in here, you know that…” Belinda said, trying to deflect with humour as she usually did. It didn’t go well, and Alicia’s glare only intensified.

“Care to explain where you’ve been?” her girlfriend said, icily.

“Just a little walk…” Belinda replied, eyes looking everywhere but at Alicia.

“At two in the morning?” Alicia asked.

“Well… Hum…”

“You thought I wouldn’t notice?” Alicia continued, not bothering to wait for the lie that was sure to come.

“I thought…”

“Yes?”

“I thought you would still be asleep…”

“Oh, so that makes it all right, then, yeah?”

“I just do not want to fight…”

“So maybe, just maybe you should stop lying to me?!” Alicia hissed, trying not to outright yell. As sweet as their elderly neighbours where, she doubted they would take kindly to being woken up in the middle of the night by a shouting match.

“I am sorry…” Belinda said, her cheeks blushing. Shit. She really was sorry, but she knew that it didn’t look that way at all. She hated disappointing Alicia, but she always had had a defiant streak in her.

Alicia extended a hand, palm up. “Give it to me,” she said, and her tone brooked no argument. A pause.

“G-give you what?” Belinda said, innocently.

Alicia flicked her fingers. “Don’t make me ask again, Belinda Krüger…”

Oh god, the full name. Now she felt like she was twelve, being scolded by her parents for yet another bad school report. She sighed.

“Please…” she said, “Just this once…”

“You made a promise, Belinda,” Alicia said, “Hand. It. Over.”

Another sigh, more blushing. Belinda finally reached into her bag and slowly took out a pack of smokes. She held it up for a second, then reluctantly placed it in her very cute, but very irate friend's hand. Alicia curled her lip.

“Well that explains the 10 quid I’m missing from my wallet, doesn’t it…” she said, dismissively.

“But Alicia…”

“No 'but', missy.”

“I just…” Belinda started.

Alicia cut her off; “You just broke your promise, and stole some money from me too…”

“I did not smoke any!” Belinda protested. “I promised I would not smoke anymore, and I did not!”

“So you bought them just to look at the packet?”

There was little to defend, here, really. Belinda knew she was being stubborn, but in for a penny, in for a pound, she might be able to salvage this. Surely…

“Well, no, but… I could have smoked one on the way back and…” she tried to explain, stumbling over her words a little.

“And why didn’t you?” Alicia asked, an eyebrow raised.

“I…”

All right, she hadn’t thought this one ahead, had she…

“Yes?”

“I did not have a lighter,” Belinda confessed, defeated.

Alicia rolled her eyes. “Perfect. Just perfect…”

“Alicia, please…”

“Please what?”

“Do not be angry…”

“Oh, all right then. What should I be?” Alicia asked, not as quiet as before.

“Well… Hum…”

“Tell me how I should feel, Belinda?” Alicia asked again.

Without waiting for an answer, she went to the kitchen bin and slammed the packet of cigarettes down into it. She had her back to Belinda now, and had Belinda looked at her, her anger would still have been plain to see in the tension of her posture, the slight trembling of her arms, the shallowness of her breathing. Belinda would have also thought that she was beautiful in her anger and would have wanted nothing but to hold her tight and tell her how sorry she was, how stupid she felt. She would have begged for another chance and promised to do better.

But Belinda saw nothing, and said nothing, her eyes fixed on the floor. Pride, defiance. She couldn’t help herself.

“Disappointed? Hurt?” Alicia pressed, loud and angry now, “How should I feel?”

“I do not know…” was all that Belinda could say.

“Right, well, I am all of these things” Alicia said, turning around. “Come here.”

“Wh-what for?” Belinda hesitated.

“You made a promise, yes?”

“Yes… I am not deny…”

“And you broke it, yes?”

“Well…”

“Yes or no?”

“… Yes… I broke it…”

“Right. So, I think it’s fair that you should be punished.”

“P-punished?” Belinda said, wide-eyed. She already had suspicious, what is waiting for her.

Sandra pulled a chair from under the kitchen table and sat down. With a finger, she pointed to her lap. “Come here,” she said.

“Is this really that necessary?” Belinda asked. Alicia rolled her eyes.

“Yes, Krüger, I’m telling to come over my lap. Because I’m going to spank you, and you’re going to be sorry. And this is that necessary!” She said the last words with what sounded like absolute certainty.

Fear. Panic. Belinda didn’t know what to say, what to do.

A split second later, Alicia clapped her hands. “I’m waiting, young lady,” she said, “And my patience is running dry.”

Had she just called her young lady? She took one step. Was she really going to spank her? Another step. No… She… She deserved it, didn’t she? But a spanking? Surely, that was ridiculous, she wouldn’t…

And then, she realised that she already was over Alicia’s lap, and her skirt was already being lifted and… oh no.

“Wait!” she said, but the first slap was already falling, and when it connected, her mind went blank. It hurt! Well of course it hurt, but it hurt hurt! And more slaps were already raining down on her barely covered cheeks. Curse these lace panties, and these stupid cigarettes and her stupid promise and…

Sandra’s hand fell harder.

And harder.

And faster.

And it hurt.

And she cried.

And she begged.

And she promised.

And she was forgiven.