MissManaged

He slowed down slightly but didn’t stop. “I want to make sure you remember this the next time you have the urge to shop with your savings.” He brought his hand down harder than before, making me wail. “This is the second time this has happened.” Another hard smack that made me cry out. “The first time was mostly my mother’s fault, but this time it was all you. Wasn’t it?”

“Yes!” I yelled when he spanked me again.

“Are you going to obey the rules, Charlotte?” His hand lay on my behind, a warning of what would happen if I didn’t.

“Yes, I’ll follow the rules.” I was breathing heavily, trying not to reach back to relieve the throbbing. “I promise.”

“I know you will.” He lifted his hands and helped me up and then pulled me next to him, wrapping his arms around me and tucking my head under his chin. “It’s all done now. Do you feel better?”

I nodded and sunk into him. The scent of his laundry detergent and soap soothed me, the spanking having eased my stress and worry.

“Do you want to go lie down and rest, little fairy?” he asked as he stroked my hair. “Maybe you can tell me about the rest of your weekend?”

“That sounds good.” I sat up and met his eyes. “Thank you.”

He looked at me with nothing but love, and I knew I could trust this man with anything.

“I’ll always give you what you need, Charlie. You just have to ask.”

We spentthe week reconnecting without the barrier of my mistrust between us. While we’d spent tons of time together over the past six weeks, time we both needed, there was always some hesitance on both sides. Now that Tobin was no longer on probation, so to speak, our intimate moments became even more intimate. Something about submitting to Tobin made every interaction feel more special, even though I only had three rules and we were far from the hardcore domination and submission I read about in our book club books. That was definitely not for me. Even reading about it was sometimes difficult.

In fact, I’d given up on the selection for our next meeting because it was too intense, but I suspected I wasn’t the only one.

Mellie picked me up at six o’clock, the third Monday after my trip away. Raquel was hosting tonight, and she lived in town, close enough for me to walk but Mellie had to drive right by my house, anyway.

“Hey, how are you?” I asked as I climbed into her vehicle and buckled up.

“I’m a little tired,” she replied as she pulled away from the curb. “That stupid book gave me nightmares last night.”

“I gave up after chapter six. It was too much for me.”

“I wish I’d done that.” She shook her head. “Dixon was not happy with my tossing and turning. He’s probably going to tell me I have to stop reading if a book is upsetting me. He tried to get me to when I was almost in tears, but I said I had to finish.”

“I don’t blame him,” I replied, then chuckled at myself. “I can’t believe I just said that.”

Mellie smiled. “Me, either. But I’m glad you’re seeing the benefits of having rules.”

“I just couldn’t wrap my head around it before. But having Tobin there to support me and hold me accountable is helpful and doesn’t feel like control.” I paused and looked over at Mellie as she parked the car. “I’m sorry I was so judgmental about your relationship.”

She shook her head and waved her hand in the air. “Don’t spend another second thinking about it, Charlie. I know you’re sorry and I know your feelings came from a place of concern based on your life experiences. Let’s leave it in the past.”

Mellie accepted my apology graciously and told me it wasn’t necessary, but I felt better for having said the words aloud.

I got out of the truck, being careful not to drop my bag that held an assortment of dips and things to dip in them while Mellie grabbed her fruit tray. Tonight was appetizer night, and we’d all selected our favorites to bring.

Raquel owned the building where she lived and worked. Her law office shared the first floor with a local realtor and the second floor held two apartments, one she lived in, and the other was recently vacated by an elderly woman who’d lived there for years but could no longer walk up and down the stairs.

Mellie and I went in the door at street level and up the stairs to the small hallway that had a door to the right and one to the left. Raquel lived on the left side and her door was propped open so we could enter.

“We’re here,” Mellie called out as she kicked off her shoes. I had to set down my bag to unzip my boots.

A chorus of “hellos” came from the eat-in kitchen on the other side of the apartment.

“It sounds like everyone is here,” I said. “Should I shut the door?”

“Even if they’re not, you should shut the door. Leaving it open isn’t safe.” Mellie shook her head and watched as I shut and locked it. “I know Walker’s Grove is safe, but anyone could come in from the street and walk right into the apartment and none of them would have realized.”

We shared a look and laughed, knowing what would happen if either of us left our doors wide open.

Raquel popped her head through the swinging door that led to the kitchen.

“What are you two doing?”

“Making sure any old psycho murderer doesn’t walk in your apartment and kill us all,” Mellie said as she strutted across the room and gently pushed Raquel out of the way, leaving her looking at me seeming very confused.

“The downstairs door is unlocked, and someone propped this one open,” I explained. “It doesn’t seem very safe.”

Raquel growled with frustration and turned around to yell into the kitchen.

“Kenny, get your ass out here and go down and lock my door. You left everything wide open.”

After a good thirty seconds, Kenny appeared wearing her usual faded jeans and a t-shirt from some brand of farm equipment. She shoved her beer bottle into Raquel’s hand as she stalked past both of us and down the stairs, grumbling under her breath the whole way.

I looked at Raquel, but she was glaring at the open door, so I headed to the kitchen to get myself a drink.

“What’s going on out there?” Layla asked as I set down my bag. We could all hear the two of them arguing but not exactly what they were saying.

“Kenny left the door to the street unlocked and she propped the apartment door open. Mellie and I didn’t think that was a good idea, so I mentioned it to Raquel, and she started yelling.”

Layla’s forehead wrinkled as she took in my words. “Something’s off with Raquel.”

When she said nothing else, I focused on setting out the appetizers I brought and opening a bottle of wine. Grace looked like she was about to explode with questions, but Raquel and Kenny came back at that moment, so she somehow managed to bite her tongue.

“All right, ladies. Looks like we have dips and fruit and sausage balls, again, and cream puffs and mini-sliders and pasta salad,” Raquel announced.

“Who made the pasta salad?” I asked. “That’s not an appetizer.” Not that I cared. I liked pasta salad.

Silence fell and I looked around the room, wondering what happened. But everyone looked as confused as me. Everyone but Raquel.

Raquel looked like she was about to cry.