How Sara made it through dinner she had no idea. Her ass throbbed and burned the entire time, and she constantly struggled to keep from squirming in her chair. A few times Keith caught her in the act and stopped her with a gentle squeeze of her thigh under the table.

Everyone else chatted and ate, enjoying the meal, but all Sara could think about was how hard the seat was, and why oh why couldn’t Angie and Kevin have cushions on their chairs! When the men started taking second helpings, she almost screamed in frustration.

Despite trying hard to be still, she was sure Angie and her sister Gina knew something was up. And they probably suspected exactly what her problem was if the knowing glances they were shooting her way were any indication. At least Keith’s father seemed oblivious to her uncomfortable situation, but he was so focused on his food she doubted an elephant stampede would have garnered his attention.

As soon as Kevin announced it was time for football, Sara shot out of her chair and grabbed whatever dishes were close to take to the kitchen. All she could think about was getting out of that tortuous chair and relieving the pressure on her bottom. If anyone thought her quick escape was strange, oh well.

Sara concentrated on scraping the remains of the meal off plates and into the trash. When the other women followed her into the room, she hoped they’d just ignore her weird behavior. Of course, Angie wasn’t about to leave her alone.

“So,” Angie drawled, sounding very amused. “I guess you found out what Keith’s opinion on spanking is.”

Sara took a deep breath, preparing herself for the questions to come. Turning, she found Angie smiling at her, a knowing twinkle in her eye. Gina looked sympathetic, but not at all surprised by Angie’s statement. Sara suspected Gina lived in a similar situation with her boyfriend, Derek, but didn’t know any of the details.

At least they weren’t mocking or judging her. Sara had very little experience having female friends other than Molly and her crew from high school, and even on their best days she’d never consider them nice or caring. Which was exactly what she saw reflected on Angie and Gina’s faces right now.

“You don’t have to tell us, Sara,” Angie said when Sara didn’t reply after a moment. “I was just teasing because you were so squirmy during dinner, but if you’re uncomfortable talking about it, we don’t have to. Though personally, I found having other women to share that part of my life with really helped.”

“I know you were teasing, Angie, don’t worry about it. I’m just not used to having girlfriends to talk to,” Sara admitted with a sigh. How embarrassing to admit you don’t have any friends.

“I didn’t use to have many friends I’d trust enough to share something like that with either. Before Kevin, I was quite a bitch.”

Gina laughed under her breath at Angie’s confession, which earned her a scowl in return. “Don’t look at me like that. You know that’s a huge understatement, my dear sister. You were terrible.” Angie made another face, but didn’t contradict Gina’s words and Sara wondered just how bad she used to be. “In all seriousness, Sara,” Gina continued, “it is good to talk to other people who live this lifestyle. You only have to share what you want, but know that we understand the kind of relationship you have. And all the good and bad that comes with it.”

How could Sara turn down such a sincere offer of an outlet for her to vent her frustration at Keith’s punishment. “Thanks. I really appreciate your support. Keith does share his brother’s sentiments when it comes to spanking. Today was only the second time, and I deserved it, but I wish he would have waited until after we got home tonight instead of doing it right before we came over.” She rubbed her butt at the memory without thinking about her audience. “Your chairs are too hard, Angie! My ass was killing me the whole way through dinner.”

Both Angie and Gina burst out laughing, and when Sara realized what she must look like, she joined them. The stress and embarrassment of sitting down to dinner with Keith’s whole family with a freshly spanked behind melted away.

* * *

Keith sat in his brother’s living room pretending to watch the football game while he listened intently for any sound from the kitchen. Sara had taken off as soon as everyone was done without a backward glance, and Angie and Gina had followed, though at a much slower pace. He was worried Sara was either going to have a meltdown or call a cab so she could leave as soon as she could. In hindsight, spanking her right before they came may not have been such a good idea. She’d been so uncomfortable at dinner she barely ate anything and hardly talked to anyone. Instead, she spent the whole time fidgeting in her chair and pushing the turkey and mashed potatoes around her plate.

By the time she’d gotten back to his house, he hadn’t wanted to wait any longer to talk about what happened the night before, but now he felt like he’d ruined her holiday. To top it off, he knew Gina and Angie were in there, questioning her about what was wrong. They’d been giving her, and him, strange looks throughout dinner, and he knew they’d ask Sara why she practically ran away from the table.

Keith was about to get up to check on her when the sound of laughter made him stop short. He let out a breath and relaxed back into the couch when he heard Sara join in. She was still in the house and wasn’t in tears, so that was a good sign. A few minutes later, Sara came through the door behind Angie and started gathering up the rest of the dishes off the table. As soon as she came fully into the room she saw him watching her and gave him a smile.

“Everything okay in there?” he asked. “What was so funny?”

“Yes, everything’s fine,” Sara answered quickly and ducked her head, but not before he saw the blush on her cheeks.

She hadn’t answered his second question, but he didn’t press. She was still here and seemed to finally be enjoying herself, and he wasn’t about to ruin that.

“We’ll bring dessert out in a few minutes, after we load up the dishwasher, and then you guys can help wash the pots and pans,” Angie called over her shoulder as the girls filed back into the kitchen, their arms loaded with dishes.

“I better go make some room then,” his father announced before he headed down the hall towards the bathroom.

“I’m glad Angie wasn’t in here to hear Dad say that,” Kevin snorted. “She’d have flipped.”

“He does have a certain way about him, doesn’t he?” Keith replied, chuckling. His dad was never going to win any awards for his manners or conversational skills, but he was a good guy deep down.

“So what happened with Sara?” Kevin asked, taking a swig of beer. He kept his eyes on the television, but Keith knew he had his brother’s full attention. Kevin just didn’t want to make it seem like he was concerned, even though he was.

“We’re okay. There was just an issue that needed to be addressed, and I did right before we came over, though now I think I should have waited until tonight.”

“That’s your call to make, brother. I think it depends on the seriousness of the situation. If it is really important, then I think you deal with it right away.” Kevin paused. “But with today being a holiday, I may have waited. Tough call. Though she seems better now.”

“Yeah, she does.” Keith mulled it over for a second, but decided he’d made the right decision. Even though she’d been miserable for a while, that was part of the point of punishing her, wasn’t it? Correcting her behavior and providing an incentive for her to do the right thing going forward. He’d made the rule and it was his job to enforce it. Unfortunately, she just happened to break it the night before a holiday.

“How are things going with you two?” Kevin asked.

“Good. We’re taking things slowly and getting to know each other. With Carter involved, neither of us wants to rush in and then have it not work out.”

“That’s good.” Kevin looked like he wanted to say something else, but was hesitating to ask for some reason.

“Just spit out it. I know you want to say something else.”

Kevin actually looked sheepish, but finally spoke, “I know I wasn’t sure about Sara at first, but I’ve changed my mind. She makes you happy and is good with Carter, so I hope it works out for you guys.”

“Me too, brother. Me too.”