True Beginnings (8 page)

Chapter 8 HER

“I nailed the interview!” Julia is yelling into my phone. I pull it away from my ear a little. I’m waiting for Max on the street. A few people walk by looking at me…she was really loud!

“That’s great! Congrats, Julia!”

“Let’s celebrate! I want to thank you over some bubbly!”

“Oh…that sounds great…I’ll need to talk to Max first…” I absently rub my hand over the side of my hip…it’s as close as I can get to soothing my sore butt in public. My ass is no longer on fire, but it’s still a little swollen and sore on the very bottom. The color is a deep red too. Sitting for interviews was torture today.

“I think Jake is already calling him. I’m on my way to meet him now. Hopefully, we’ll see you tonight! Or we’ll make plans for later this weekend! Thanks, Lucy, you really helped! Can’t wait to tell you all about it!”

She was so excited, that I didn’t even get a word in, other than to say that I’d call her about plans, before we hung up.

I see the car pulling around the corner. I’m excited myself. After last night, I could really use a night just relaxing with Max…being in his arms, just us. I need to be around him. I need to feel his arms around me. This morning I was like a puppy, following him around the apartment as he got ready. I’ve been obsessed with looking at my phone today, a little disappointed that he didn’t call more, but happy that I got a text every hour.

I’ve been so distracted today with what he did to my butt and how much I want to show him my love by being such a good girl for him. I can’t even believe this is how I’m phrasing it in my own head. …My, what a spanking will do to a girl!

But my hopes for a night with Max all to myself crumble when Jeff opens the door for me and I see Dan. He gets out so I can sit in the middle next to Max. Scooching over the seat makes me wince and take a quick breath in. Max only smiles at me, “Jeff has a pillow for you if you’d like.”

“What’s wrong, Lucy, did you hurt yourself?” Dan is back seated, next to me now.

I turn my eyes to Max as I answer though, “I’m fine.” I’m beat red and my ass is throbbing, but I don’t want to see the knowing look in Jeff’s eyes again. He smirked at me getting into the car this morning. He was extra gentle helping me out with his arm though. And I definitely don’t want to explain anything to Dan!

Lucky for me, Dan drops it. Max kisses me and I relax a little more. Each bump in the damn city streets isn’t a picnic though. It's really only one spot that's still a little sore, but it's right were I sit, and I've had to sit all day!

“So I hear you were a big help to Julia!”

I’d actually forgotten about her call in my attempts to keep my ass from feeling the worse of the potholes. “Oh…yeah…she was going to do great on her own. I just provided a few tips to give her more courage.” I turn to Max, “Did Jake call you?”

“Yeah,” his look darkens only for a second. “We’re heading there now to meet them.”

This is definitely not going to be the quiet night I wanted. I say a little prayer to any powers that be…please, don’t let me do anything to make Max mad tonight…I don’t think my ass could take it!

.....

Dan holds the door for us and Max gently rubs my butt as we enter the club. He’s gentle but it still stings. And he pats a little harder once before stopping. I have to swallow back my wince this time. He’d already told me that one of the special things about a spanking is that he can continue to administer little reminders to behave so easily like this. His slightest touch is enough to warn me against doing anything wrong tonight.

“Yay! You could make it!” Julia jumps up and grabs me in a hug. I’m pulled off balance and she lets go too quickly, so I fall back onto one of the low lounge seats. It’s cushy, but my ass would feel like it was nails no matter what I sat on right now. Let alone land on hard. I actually squeak and press my eyes and lips together tightly for a second. Julia doesn’t notice, she’s too busy hugging Dan and Max hello.

But Jake notices. From his seat opposite me, he notices everything. I try to sit more comfortably, keeping his gaze though, afraid to let it go. His eyes narrow, lips tighten, jaw clenches. A mirror to Max in his dark looks. I pray that he won’t say anything right now. I plead this with my eyes.

Max sits down next to me, putting his arm around me. “Hello, little brother.” He of course notices the way Jake keeps staring at me. He didn’t see my quick sit-down though, since Julia was bear hugging everyone. He didn’t see that Jake saw my pain. 

“How are you doing, Lucy?” Jake asks this pointedly, not looking at Max.

“I’m
fine
, Jake.” I say this in a strong voice.

He doesn’t drop his stare. Julia sits back down next to him. He still keeps staring. I finally look away from everyone. I don’t want to see the look on Max’s face either.

Extra glasses are brought to the table and Julia jumps up to pour champagne in each one.

I look to Max to make sure that it’s ok; he kisses my nose and hands me a glass from the table himself.  When we all have glasses in hand, Julia stands up again. Jake only glances at her; he keeps his eyes on me still.

“I just wanted to thank you, Lucy, for all your help yesterday! And I want to celebrate with you guys this hopefully next big step for me!” We all clink glasses and I’m grateful for the cold bubbles on my throat.

“So…Regional Manager...
that
is a big step, Julia.” Max is smiling, but I know that he’s mocking Jake more than congratulating Julia. Jake knows it too. “What region will you be managing if you get this promotion?”

“Southeast, coastal. It’s a huge market for us, very competitive!” She has her hand draped over Jake’s knee.

Dan interjects, “That’s a sweet area to cover…no winters!”

“And will you have to travel to the Southeast, coastal area often, Julia?” Julia is oblivious to the tone in Max’s voice. He’s provoking Jake.

“Yeah…it’s a pretty travel intensive job. Like I told Lucy…the first eight weeks will be on the road. At
least
eight weeks!” She takes a big drink and doesn’t see the look Jake shoots her. He obviously didn’t know this. She didn’t even talk to him about it?! “Then who knows? …Probably two to three weeks out of the month.”

“Julia…” Jake starts and she turns to look at him. She stops a little shocked at the look on his face...it's a pained look, an embarrassed look.

She only taps her hand on his knee, “I told you all this, Jake. About how important this job would be for me…and that it involved travelling.” She’s already turning away from him.

“No, Julia.” His voice is so like Max’s that it makes me shiver for a second. The anger is clear. Julia is still ignoring it though. Not looking at him at all, only topping off her own glass. “You never mentioned that you would be travelling non-stop for eight weeks, then gone for most of every month. I would’ve remembered that.”

“Well…” She looks embarrassed, looks around at all of us for a moment, then back to Jake, “Well, sweetie…let’s talk about this later. Tonight we’re celebrating. I still have to
get
the job anyway.”

She stands up. “I gotta pee. Lucy you wanna come with me? The bathroom in this place is great. They have free perfume samples.”  She walks around the table, and stands behind Jake, waiting for me.

It pains me to see the look on Jake’s face. A perfect chemistry of anger, hurt, and disappointment. I’m glad that I’ve never seen that look on Max’s face. I turn to Max and he nods slightly. I stand up and am relieved for a moment then my ass starts throbbing again from sitting for too long. 

Chapter 8 HIM

“I really wasn’t expecting her to say all that… Jake, I’m sorry.” I lean in towards him, my palms up on my knees.

Jake just shakes his head, holding it with his hands, looking down at his lap.

“Maybe she won’t get the job…” Dan adds lamely.

“No…No. Julia will get the job. Julia gets everything she goes after.” Jake sits back heavily in the chair, his hands still holding the sides of his head, tilted back. He runs his fingers through his wavy brown hair and pushes a breath out loudly.

“So what are you going to do about it?” I’m still sitting forward. Watching my brother hurt like this is hard. But I’m hopeful that this is the last straw with Julia. That he’ll realize that she’s not the girl for him.

“
Do
about it?” Jake drops his hands and stares at me, the look of anger back in his eyes. Good. He needs to get angry about this. “What
can
I do about it, Max?” He continues to stare at me. I say nothing just keep his stare.

“Well…maybe you could talk to her…ya know…see if maybe there’s another promotion that she can go after instead…” Dan is trying to help, but he doesn’t understand what’s really being said here.

“What would
you
suggest I do, Max?”

“That’s up to you, Jake. You know your
options
.”

“Like what…
spanking
her like you do Lucy?!” Jake says this quietly.

Dan just laughs, until he sees the looks we’re exchanging. He catches on that Jake is being serious; or that I’m at least taking him serious.

“Yes. If you think that would help.” I answer slowly. I ignore the wide-eyed look from Dan. “You know my opinion…she’s never been the right girl for you, Jake.”

Jake leans forward now too. “And that is
none
of your business, Max. Why don’t you take care of your own business…like Lucy not being able to sit still tonight?!”

Dan starts to say something, but I answer Jake first, “Lucy can’t sit because she
lied
to me. She broke my rule and she paid the price. If you listened to your own heart, you’d know that that is the way it should be between you and Julia too. But it never will be with her, will it?”

Jake just shakes his head, staring at me. Dan stares in disbelief at us both.

Lucy returns to the table alone, “Julia is on the phone with someone from work I think…she’ll be right back.” She freezes her smile when she sees the three of us though. She knows something happened while she was gone, just not what. She slowly lowers herself onto her seat. Dan and Jake both watch her, with Dan staring at her ass.

I put my hand on her knee. She reaches for her glass, but I stop her. “No. We’re leaving soon.” She sits back. Dan just blinks at us, like he’s watching his favorite TV show. Jake glares at me.

When Julia does return, he jumps up. “We’re leaving.”

“What? Where are we going? I just told some work folks to meet us here!” Julia sits down. Jake grabs her arm and pulls her to her feet. Julia yanks her arm out of his grip. “You’re hurting me! Jake what has gotten into you?!” Jake just looks at her for a long moment with his jaw clenching. No one else moves or says anything. He finally takes a deep breath, but remains standing.

“Julia.” He picks up his messenger bag and continues a little softer, “Julia…I wish you all the best. But we both know that this isn’t working out.” Julia opens her mouth to say something, still looking around embarrassed at us. “No! ...I don’t want a part-time girlfriend. And you only want a full-time job. ...I’ll sleep at a friend’s tonight. We’ll sort out the apartment tomorrow.” He leans over kisses her shocked cheek, “You’ll do great on the new job.” He turns and walks away.

I get up to follow him, but he turns on me with his arms in the air. “Leave me alone, Max. Not now.” I watch him walk out the door, finally seeing the brother I knew was in there. He's finally taking control of his own life.

When I return to the table, Lucy is looking beautifully concerned and shocked. I sit down next to her and take her hand, “He’ll be all right.”

Dan just continues to stare, mostly at Lucy.

Julia is downing a glass of champagne. “I
can’t
believe this. I just can’t believe
him
.” She glares at me, her voice going up in volume. “
You
put him up to this, didn’t you?! You’ve never liked me, have you, Max?!”

“I like you Julia. Just not for my brother.” I say this evenly, quietly. People are starting to stare at our table.

“Let’s go.” Lucy stands with me; Dan jumps up when he realizes we’re leaving.

“Fine…just leave…but you tell Jake that if he wants back in that apartment with me, he’ll have to
beg
my forgiveness for tonight!” Julia yells this as we walk away.

On the street, “How bout a cup of coffee?” Dan only nods his head. Lucy looks pleadingly at me. “Yes…we’re going for coffee. I think Dan would like to ask you something…” Lucy looks wide-eyed at Dan. He only sheepishly starts walking down the street next to us.

Chapter 9 HER

"We'll have one decaf, one regular, please." Max is doing the ordering as usual. I know the decaf is for me; he's told me not to drink so much coffee, since I have a hard time sleeping if I have any in the afternoon. It was hard at first, but I’m getting used to it. Dan orders coffee too.

I think we're all a little shaken by what happened with Jake. No one's talking. But I'm not surprised. I know Max has been working on him for the past year, ever since he moved in with Julia. Max has a strict rule against living together.

I smile at this, though...since we are practically living together. Every night we're at his place now. But I do still have my own apartment, nothing’s official yet.

Max puts his hand on my knee and looks at Dan directly. We're in a quiet diner, only a few people around; but Max still sat us in a corner booth by ourselves.

Dan is just putting his phone down on the table, "Becca'll be here in an half hour. She's finishing up some details with the show." He avoids making eye contact with me. Only staring at Max. And Max has the oddest smile on his face. It's like he's laughing, encouraging, and challenging Dan with quirks of his lips.

I don't think I want to know what went on tonight while Julia and I were in the bathroom. I have a sinking feeling.

"So...where do you kids wanna eat tonight?" Dan is trying to lighten the mood, but Max isn't having any of it.

"Why don't you say what's on your mind
really
, Dan. We're all friends here..."

Dan shoots a look at me, but quickly looks down at the table, darting back up to Max. This feels like a tennis match and I'm afraid I'm the ball. I don't want this to go on. I reach my hand across the table, not to touch Dan but just reaching towards him. Both men follow my hand and stare as it rests close to Dan's fingertips, still on his phone. "You can say anything you want, Dan...Ask whatever you want..." I say this quietly, unsure of myself. It has the desired effect, though. He finally looks me in the eye with a combination of questioning and concern.

Max hasn't moved. He just continues to look at Dan, his face completely calm and unreadable...except I can see the small movements of emotion. And the one that surprises me is...hope.

"Is Max hurting you?" Dan chokes this out, so quiet that the words are almost lost in their endings.

"No." I see Max's face move slightly. I know what he expects and I still don't know if I'm ready for it.

"Did he..." Dan shoots a quick look to Max, changes directions and stares now with a little anger towards him, "
Did
you hurt her?"

"Yes." Max remains calm, waiting for his friend to adjust to this answer before continuing. "I spanked Lucy because she misbehaved."

My body is heating up. I look down at my hand, still on the table. The waitress puts the coffees in front of us and we don't reach for them. I just move my hand back onto my lap. When she's out of hearing, Dan finally speaks.

"Are you crazy?! Why are you telling me this?!"

"Because I'm not going to hide who I am...certainly not from my
best
friend!" Max leans forward a little, intensely staring at Dan.

Dan only shakes his head, looking down at his hands on the table, palms facing each other, like he just heard something absurd. Max waits for him to say something. Finally, he meets Max's eyes again, "Max...we
are
best friends. I think of you as family." Max nods to this. "But...but I can't
condone
you hurting your girlfriend."

Before Max can answer him, though, I speak up. I won't have Dan thinking less of Max...not because of me. "He's not." Both men turn their heads to me, Max smiling slightly.

"He
just
said..." Dan can't say the rest.

"I know what he said. But he's not
hurting
me...," my voice is stronger this time. I look at my hand though, still unsure of what to say next. I reach for my coffee and take a small sip. "I have agreed to follow Max's rules. I broke a rule. And I knew the consequence." I say it quickly, trying to keep my voice from squeaking at the end. With my eyes down, I can still see that Dan is staring in disbelief at me. Max squeezes my knee slightly. I'm sure my face is turning purple from the humiliation now. "Believe me...it
does
hurt," I glance quickly at Max, who grins, "But...but I'm fine." I finish this and look directly into Dan's eyes again.

Dan sits back, hands in his lap, watching me. Max also sits back, watching Dan. Their tennis match is back on.

"Well...fine...then, fine..." He shakes his head again, "If this is how you want it...then fine. But why tell
me
?"

Max answers, "Because I needed Jake to see that I'm not ashamed of who I am. Who he is really if he'd admit it to himself."

"Jake does this too?!"

Max only smiles, "No...Not with Julia obviously, anyway...but it is how we were raised." Dan's look of shock goes supernova. He doesn't even blink for a long moment. Max keeps talking, "Look, Dan...I get that this isn't everyone's idea of how it should be between a couple, but I needed my brother to see that it's ok that it is to us." He takes a drink, a pause to give Dan time to think that through, before continuing, "And I needed to know that Lucy could stand up for this too. She
should
be ashamed for earning a punishment...but I don't want her ashamed for how she is with me...that I do punish her." He squeezes my knee again.

I hadn't heard him say all this so succinctly before. Somehow hearing it said outloud to someone else, I feel more at ease, more confident and safe with Max. I squeeze his arm and he smiles at me, kisses my nose. Dan is watching us.

"So you did this for Jake and Lucy...but what about me? How am I supposed to just go back to how things were, Max? Pretend I don't know all of this?" Dan is searching Max's face for answers.

"You knew something was different with Natalie. You just never wanted to know the truth. I haven't been myself with a girl in a long time, not since before we met, Dan. I tried with Nat, but she rejected her own feelings." I'm swallowing hard hearing this. Max hasn't talked about any past relationships. He refuses to hear about any of mine. "You know how upset I was for so long after Nat." Dan nods to this, even softens his look of skepticism. "I want you, as my family, my best friend, to be apart of our lives. Mine and Lucy's. And I knew that meant that sooner or later, you'd have to know the truth. I said before, I don't want to hide who I am from you."

Dan takes his time thinking about all this. His look softens even more. But before he can say anything, Becca shows up. She sits down and takes a sip of his coffee. "Are we eating here or elsewhere, kiddos? I'm starving!"

"I'm starving too!" I try to break the thin layer of ice hanging over our heads. Dan smiles at me, it's a small smile, but it's there at least.

"And I'm dying to know what happened tonight with Jake!" Becca is leaning in towards Max.

Dan cuts in though, "I'll tell you later." He says this to Max, but again with a smile. "Let's go to the place with the good noddles...down the street..." He and Becca discuss which place he means, arguing over who has the best noodles.

I only snuggle into Max's arm more. He kisses my cheek and says into my ear, "I'm proud of you." It sends that same electric current from my stomach to my pussy. Dan is watching us again.