Josh's Daydreams 1

By Josh M.
castlebrookmere@protonmail.com

Copyright 2024 by Josh M., all rights reserved

[16,039 words]

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This story is intended for adults only. It contains depictions of forced nudity, spanking, and sexual activity of preteen and young teen children for the purpose of punishment. None of the behaviors in this story should be attempted in real life, as that would be harmful and/or illegal. If you are not of legal age in your community to read or view such material, please leave now. 

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I would like to thank my friends, Susan (better known as "Sue DeNym" here) and her roommate Drew, for all of their help and support. The girls often help me with writing for classes or work, and while it isn't usually what I do, Susan and Drew encouraged me to give this a try. Although we're all just good friends, I will say that it has been very inspirational to have two very sweet, extremely attractive girls sitting next to me and giving me advice on what to put into these stories. :)

This has been a lot of fun, but I'm not sure if I'll continue it. If people here like my stories, I will see what I can do.

- Josh


Contents

1. Miss Lovelace Takes Charge
2. A Stacked Deck
3. Vignette - Why Was It A Great Day?


1. Miss Lovelace Takes Charge

There was a buzz going up and down the hallways. By now, all of the students had heard.

Gideon Wells, the school's resident would-be Casanova, had gotten caught in the girls' locker room, peeping at Jasmine Scott, who was widely regarded as the most gorgeous girl in this part of town.

The boys weren't sure whether to feel jealous of him, or grateful they weren't in his shoes, as they watched Gideon, followed by a fuming Jasmine, being marched down the hallway toward the administration offices. Many of the onlookers winced at the sight of Gideon's face, deeply reddened where Jasmine had slapped him so hard, students on the other side of the school had sworn they could hear it.

A small crowd of students, mostly boys, was now gathered outside of the principal's office. Through the closed door, they could hear the distinctive sound of a wooden paddle repeatedly and sharply smacking bare flesh.

Strangely enough, most of the boys had felt a twinge of envy at first. Miss Lovelace was the youngest principal that Lamar Shrum High School had ever had ... and, by the reckoning of virtually every boy in the school, also the hottest.

Just a few months earlier, following the retirement of the previous principal, Mr. Stanton, Miss Lovelace had become the head of the school, and almost from the minute she arrived, she had drawn the eyes - among other things - of the entire male student population. Truth be told, as painful and as embarrassing as it undoubtedly would be, many of the boys felt that they wouldn't mind getting a spanking from their beautiful new principal.

Still, as they listened to how long and how loud the harsh, rapid smacks were being dealt, the boys began to seriously rethink the idea.

"Jeez, it sounds like Gideon's really getting it."

"No kidding. How long has this been going on?"

"His ass must really be burning by now."

Or so they thought.

.....

SMACK! - "OW!" - SMACK! - "OW!" - SMACK! - "OW!" - SMACK! SMACK! SMACK! ...

"I am, and always have been, a very strong believer in firm discipline," said Miss Lovelace as she brought her paddle down again and again ... and again ... and again ... on the now deeply crimson rump lying squarely in her lap.

"But, Miss Lovelace, this isn't fair!" came the whining voice of the owner of that rump.

"Gideon," said the principal coolly, holding up the paddle.

She shook her long blond hair for a second before continuing, "Hold her still."

"Yes, ma'am." Gideon nodded as he pinned Jasmine's slim wrists tightly behind her back.

The girl's struggles had grown ever weaker over the past several minutes, and she was now offering little more than a token resistance as Miss Lovelace smacked her bottom hard with the paddle again.

"But he was peeping at me!" cried Jasmine, choking out a sob as Miss Lovelace sent yet another wave of pain through her rear with the paddle. "So why am I the one getting spanked?"

"There is no excuse for striking a fellow student, Jasmine," said the principal sternly.

Gideon grimaced, his face still bearing the red palmprint of Jasmine's slap. Although he had been well aware of Jasmine's reputation for having a wicked temper, it still didn't prepare him for the experience of being on the receiving end of it.

"But, ma'am, he was spying on me!" Jasmine glared at Gideon with bitter anger and resentment. "He was watching me while I was showering! While I was getting dressed! He saw ... "

The girl's voice began to break down. After her long spanking, Jasmine hadn't thought she had any tears left in her, but now her eyes were welling up again.

"Miss Lovelace, he saw ... While I was ... He saw ... everything ... I mean, he saw my ... My, um, my body!"

From the corner of the office, two other students, Kyle Levine and Cecilia Campbell, listened to Jasmine make her plea.

Neither Kyle nor Cecilia had been told why they were being summoned to the principal's office.

Kyle strongly suspected that it had something to do with the fact that he had started a food fight in the cafeteria during lunch period.

Cecilia, on the other hand, had no idea at all why she was here. All she knew was that she and Kyle had been on the athletic field for the regular practice of their school's baseball team, when their coach informed them that they both had to report to Miss Lovelace's office.

Both students had silently watched the spectacle of Jasmine's spanking, but from vastly different perspectives.

Cecilia's heart was in her throat, feeling sure that she was going to be next over the principal's knee, though she hadn't the faintest idea why.

Kyle was not at all sure whether he'd be spanked or not. Their new principal didn't seem to believe in spanking boys, but you never know, and he had to figure that what he did was a serious offense.

But even if he was going to be spanked, Kyle couldn't help feeling it was worth it, for the chance to see Jasmine over Miss Lovelace's lap, her skirt bunched up around her waist, her panties around her ankles, and ... He couldn't quite wrap his mind around how incredibly sexy the sight of Jasmine's tight, perfectly formed rear was, totally exposed and smacked over and over with the principal's paddle.

He wondered if he would get to see Cecilia in this position, too. Kyle turned his head slightly, to slide his eyes down his pretty classmate's slender, shapely body, hoping she wouldn't -

"Keep your eyeballs to yourself, Levine," said Cecilia icily. "I'm sure you'll be seeing plenty soon enough."

Caught. Kyle lowered his head, wondering if he should even bother trying to apologize.

"I have never understood why so many girls insist on being so silly about this sort of thing," Miss Lovelace was saying.

"When I was growing up, my brothers would try to peek at my sisters and me all the time, when we were taking a shower or a bath, when we were changing clothes, getting dressed in the morning or undressing for bed. Not just our brothers, but our brothers' friends, and even our own friends who were boys would try to do this. Sometimes, it seemed like every boy we knew would try to peep at us at one time or another. Every girl I ever knew had the same experiences."

"Miss Lovelace," murmured Jasmine, cringing as the principal absently tapped her paddle against the girl's red, sore bottom.

"We always thought it was just natural for boys to act like that," continued Miss Lovelace, as if Jasmine hadn't spoken. "Sure, it was annoying, and it was always embarrassing when a boy saw one of us girls undressed or naked. But we figured that was just how boys are. None of us girls ever thought the boys should be punished for it."

"Miss Lovelace," said Jasmine, her voice rising. "You can't seriousl - mmpphhh!"

"Quiet, Jasmine," said Gideon, clamping his hand firmly over the girl's mouth.

"Jasmine, dear," said Miss Lovelace, "I sincerely hope that eventually you find it within yourself to be less uptight about this kind of thing. But in the meantime, I'm sure that you are anxious to get your punishment over with."

Jasmine could only grumble through Gideon's hand. With some hesitation, Cecilia cleared her throat.

"Miss Lovelace," said Cecilia nervously, still drawing up the courage to speak. "Mr. Stanton only ever spanked the boys - mmpphhh."

Kyle had followed Gideon's lead, and clapped his hand tightly over Cecilia's mouth.

"Yes, I know, Mr. Stanton was a coward," said Miss Lovelace flatly, taking all of the students by surprise. "He never spanked the female students, no matter how badly they misbehaved, because he was afraid of being labelled an abuser or a pervert or some such nonsense."

She gazed at Jasmine, and then Cecilia. Each girl was glaring at the boy silencing her with his hand.

"Personally, I believe that all girls, even more so than boys, would benefit from a good spanking every now and again, to remind them of their place."

"Mmmmpppphhhh!!!" Muffled protests emerged from both Jasmine and Cecilia's covered mouths.

"Thank you, boys," Miss Lovelace smiled at Gideon and Kyle. "If only more boys would take such initiative with girls, it would be so much - "

The principal was interrupted by a knock on her office door.

"Come in," called out Miss Lovelace.

Jasmine let out another moan and weakly struggled, once again to no avail, against Gideon's grip. Miss Lovelace seemed to pay no mind to Jasmine's obvious discomfort at yet more people seeing her bare butt exposed to the room.

The door opened to reveal the vice-principal, Mr. Thompson, who ushered in two more students. One was a weedy boy named Chad who had been in and out of trouble ever since he transferred to the school that year. The other was Cecilia's friend, Priscilla - who, Cecilia was dismayed to see, had her hands tied together behind her back, and was softly crying.

Chad immediately let out a loud whistle as his eyes locked on Jasmine's rear, and even Mr. Thompson seemed to appreciate the sight, although he tried to be more discreet about it.

"Settle down, Jasmine." Miss Lovelace gave Jasmine a hard swat on her butt cheeks, to Chad's obvious delight.

Jasmine let out a perplexed-sounding squeal, shaking her head slightly.

"Uh, Miss Lovelace, Jasmine didn't do anything yet," objected Kyle, and even Gideon looked taken aback.

"Mmm-hmmm," murmured Jasmine through Gideon's palm.

"Ma'am," said Mr. Thompson lightly, "I realize that it was obvious Miss Scott was going to object, but we generally wait for students to actually do so before we chastise them for it."

"Why bother?" asked Miss Lovelace with a dismissive wave of her hand. "There are only so many hours in the day, and I've never liked to waste time."

"Well, that is your decision, of course," said the vice-principal. "Anyway, Mr. Chadwick here has finished disciplining Miss Applegate, per your instructions."

"Excellent." Miss Lovelace's eyes fixed on the sniffling Priscilla's skirt. "Chad, it was very kind of you to allow Priscilla to get dressed again after her spanking. Now, it's not that I think you wouldn't have followed my directions, Chad, but I just want to make certain. You did spank Priscilla on the bare, didn't you?"

"Uh, yes," said Chad, now sounding a bit nervous. "I just - "

"Miss Lovelace!" Priscilla burst out, tears streaming down her face. "He didn't just spank me on the bare, he spanked me NAKED!"

"Did he now?" Miss Lovelace raised an eyebrow.

"Miss Lovelace, ma'am," squeaked Chad, "I just sort of - "

"Quiet, Chad," said the principal sharply. "Priscilla, tell me, what exactly did Chad do to you?"

"He told me to take off ALL my clothes - my skirt, my blouse, even my underwear!" cried Priscilla, in a rapid, high-pitched tone. "He said he wanted me totally bare - bare everywhere - for my spanking! ... I - I took off my skirt and my blouse, but I refused to take off my bra and panties."

"And what did Chad do?" asked Miss Lovelace.

"H-He grabbed me and he took off my underwear himself!" Priscilla seemed to be on the verge of a breakdown. "I tried to fight him off, but he held me, he put his hands on my body, he pulled off my bra and my panties ... Miss Lovelace, I have never felt so violated in my life!"

Cecilia let out a whimper.

"Did Chad do anything else?" asked Miss Lovelace, gazing intently at the anguished girl.

"Well, after I was ... naked ... Chad started pulling me over his lap for my spanking. I tried to struggle, so he tied my hands - "

Priscilla suddenly stopped.

"Um, could I be untied, please?" she asked, shifting awkwardly. It was now dawning on Priscilla that having her hands bound behind her back was forcing her to thrust out her chest, and with the tight blouse she was wearing, the resulting visual effect was quickly attracting the attention of all of the male eyes in the room.

"Not just yet, Priscilla," said Miss Lovelace.

"But - "

"Priscilla, please continue, this is important. What else did Chad do to you?"

"Um, he ... I was making a lot of noise, I guess, and Chad was getting tired of it, so he - he gagged me ... "

"With what?" asked Miss Lovelace curiously.

"Well," said Chad, "there wasn't much - "

"Never mind with what!" broke in Priscilla hastily. "He gagged me, that's all."

"I see," said Miss Lovelace thoughtfully. She looked at Chad. "Chad, I instructed you to spank Priscilla on the bare. At no point did I tell you to undress her completely, nor did I instruct you to bind and gag her."

"I know, ma'am," gulped Chad, knowing he was now in big trouble.

For the first time, Priscilla smiled, feeling sure that Chad was about to get his comeuppance.

"Chad, you went far beyond the boundaries of my instructions." Miss Lovelace paused, and then smiled. "Well done, young man!"

"What?!" shrieked Priscilla.

"I always appreciate boys who take strong initiative with girls!" said Miss Lovelace, giving Chad a quick clap of her hands.

"Miss Lovelace!" cried Priscilla in disbelief. "Miss Lovelace, you can't possibly - "

"Chad," said Miss Lovelace, talking over Priscilla, "I know it's a terrible bother, but would you be willing to take on the task of being Priscilla's personal disciplinarian?"

"My what?" exclaimed Priscilla.

"Wait, you mean I can keep spanking her?" Chad's eyes were wide as he looked at Priscilla's very beautiful, completely horrified face, before sliding his gaze down her body. "I can spank her any time I want?"

"Well, no, not whenever you want," said Miss Lovelace. "Chad, you can only spank Priscilla to discipline her, when she has done something wrong."

She paused thoughtfully before adding, "But, of course, Chad, at any given time, it will be entirely up to you, as Priscilla's disciplinarian, to judge whether or not she HAS done something wrong."

"This is crazy!" Priscilla exploded. "You can't do this!"

"Priscilla, be quiet," commanded Miss Lovelace.

"No, I will not be quiet!" raged the girl. "Listen, I don't care who you are, you have no right to do this!"

"Priscilla, I am warning you," said Miss Lovelace.

"Miss Applegate, I strongly advise you to cooperate," said Mr. Thompson quietly.

"I will not!" shouted Priscilla.

As most everyone's attention was focused on Priscilla's growing frenzy, only Cecilia noticed Chad reaching into his pocket and pulling out a small pink cloth. It looked like silk ... After a few seconds, Cecilia realized to her shock that it was a pair of panties - Priscilla's panties.

"Priscilla, the decision has been made," Miss Lovelace was saying. "Chad now has authority over you. You will obey him from now on, and accept his discipline, whenever and however he sees fit to administer it."

Priscilla opened her mouth, no doubt to say something very unpleasant. Nobody knew what it was going to be, though, because Chad quickly shoved Priscilla's panties into her mouth.

"Mmmmppphhh!!!"

"Be quiet," said Chad sharply, as he pushed the pink silk completely past Priscilla's protesting lips.

"Thank you, Chad," said Miss Lovelace. "You know, I consider myself a patient woman, but she was really beginning to get on my nerves."

"That's a good girl," said Chad, caressing a few strands of Priscilla's reddish-gold hair. She could only glare at him as he patted her face, and then patted her behind.

"Mr. Thompson," said Miss Lovelace, "if you would be so kind as to take Chad and Priscilla into your office and explain all of the rules of their new disciplinary relationship."

"Certainly, ma'am." Mr. Thompson opened the office door and motioned to the two students. "This way, please, Mr. Chadwick, Miss Applegate."

Chad took Priscilla by her arm and led her through the doorway.

"Wow," murmured Mr. Thompson, gazing at Priscilla as she passed by him. "All this just for littering on the school grounds. Our new principal sure is tough ... "

As the door swung closed, Miss Lovelace looked down.

"Ah, Jasmine," she said, as if just becoming aware of the girl whose bare rump was still in her lap. "I believe we were just about finished with your spanking."

Finished?

Miss Lovelace gave Jasmine one final smack with her paddle, and then helped her to her feet. Jasmine felt torn between being relieved that her punishment was over and agitated that Miss Lovelace had been keeping her bare butt displayed to several people for no reason.

"Gideon, please help Jasmine cover herself up," said Miss Lovelace.

"With pleasure," said Gideon eagerly.

Before Jasmine could object, Gideon was reaching down to pull her panties back up, followed by smoothing out her skirt ... and taking the opportunity to cop a quick feel of Jasmine's buttocks. She scowled, but after what happened to poor Priscilla, Jasmine doubted that complaining about it would do her any good.

"Gideon," said Miss Lovelace, getting up from her chair. "I believe that having Chad as her disciplinarian will do Priscilla a world of good. Don't you think so?"

"Uh, sure, I guess," said Gideon, sounding puzzled.

"Well, wouldn't you agree that such an arrangement would be very beneficial for Jasmine as well?"

"Wait, what?" Jasmine was stunned. "Me? I don't need - "

"Quiet, Jasmine," said Gideon, putting his hand over the girl's mouth again.

"Gideon, I firmly believe that every girl deserves this safety and protection, of having a boy taking care of her, and also taking a firm hand with her when she needs it. And I think it would be a most fitting choice for Jasmine's disciplinarian to be the boy who she was trying to get spanked today. After all, turnabout is fair play."

"You want me to - Does that mean I can spank her?" asked Gideon excitedly. "I can spank her BARE?"

"No!" cried Jasmine, breaking free of Gideon's hand. "I am not going to let you do this - "

"Actually," said Miss Lovelace, "If you are going to take on the duty of disciplining Jasmine, I think you clearly have your work cut out for you, Gideon. And I think it would be a good idea for you to follow Chad's example. I want you to spank Jasmine NAKED."

"NO!" screamed Jasmine as Gideon wrestled her arms behind her back. "YOU CAN'T DO THIS!"

"But before we make this an official arrangement," continued Miss Lovelace, "Gideon, I need to be sure that you can handle this task."

The principal pointed to a door in the back wall of her office and said, "Gideon, take Jasmine into that storage room. I want you to undress her completely and then spank her soundly. I want tears, and plenty of them. I want a red face to match a red bottom. Do you understand?"

"Yes, ma'am," said Gideon at once, his lips curling into a smile that made Jasmine's stomach twist.

"If you do a good job, Gideon, then I will make you Jasmine's personal disciplinarian."

"You can count on me, Miss Lovelace. Come on, Jasmine."

As Gideon ushered Jasmine toward the back room, he was already unbuttoning her blouse, over the girl's protests.

"Kyle. Cecilia."

Cecilia gulped as she and Kyle finally got up from their seats in the corner of the office.

"I apologize for keeping you two waiting so long. As a principal, I frequently have my hands full."

"Miss Lovelace, I don't even know why I'm here," said Cecilia. "What exactly did I do?"

The principal sighed.

"In the sense that you mean, nothing," she said.

"I don't understand," said Cecilia.

Kyle was as puzzled as Cecilia was, but knowing that he was in enough trouble on his own, he kept quiet.

"Cecilia, you have not broken any rules."

"Then why am I here?" Cecilia's eyebrows knitted.

"I am concerned about a matter involving the school's baseball team."

"What about the baseball team?" said Kyle suddenly. "We're doing great this year."

"That's right," said Cecilia, a bit heatedly.

Kyle hadn't wanted to say anything that might get him into deeper water, but he and Cecilia had been on the baseball team the longest of any student in the school, and they were both very proud of the so far undefeated record they had this year. If there was one thing that was guaranteed to agitate Kyle, it was any suggestion of trouble for his team.

"Yes, I know that," said Miss Lovelace.

"Well, then, what's the problem?" asked Cecilia.

"We will get to that in a minute."

Miss Lovelace picked up her paddle and walked over to the chair where she had been spanking Jasmine a few minutes earlier.

"Cecilia, take down your skirt and panties."

Cecilia turned chalk-white.

"B-But why?" she stammered. "If I haven't broken any rules, then why - "

"I will explain," said Miss Lovelace, sitting down. "But for now, Cecilia, take down your skirt and panties, and get over my lap."

"Miss Lovelace, can't you just tell me what I did - "

"Enough. Cecilia, since you have failed to follow my instruction ... Kyle, remove Cecilia's skirt and take her panties down."

Cecilia's eyes turned round.

"N-No, you don't have to do that," she said, backing away from Kyle. "I'll take them down - "

"Cecilia," said Miss Lovelace in a sharp tone. "Put your hands down. Stand up straight. Kyle, remove Cecilia's skirt and take down her panties."

Cecilia reluctantly obeyed. Kyle took a deep breath as he gently placed his hands on Cecilia's waist.

"I'm sorry," he whispered to her.

"No, you're not," she said sourly.

As Kyle ran his eyes down Cecilia's body, he had to admit that he couldn't honestly disagree.

Cecilia whimpered as Kyle unzipped her skirt and pulled it down, revealing her tight, light blue panties over her long, bare legs. This was ten times worse than having to do it herself.

Both Cecilia and Kyle had difficulty breathing - for very different reasons - as Kyle slowly slid Cecilia's panties down her legs.

"Wow," said Kyle, looking down, before returning his eyes to Cecilia's face. "You really are beautiful, Cecilia."

"Thanks, I guess," she replied wryly.

"Cecilia, come over here," said Miss Lovelace.

Kyle was entranced by the sight, and every tiny motion, of Cecilia's tight, luscious rear as she slowly walked over to the principal's chair.

"Kyle, please hold Cecilia's hands behind her back," instructed Miss Lovelace.

Moments later, Cecilia was whimpering as Miss Lovelace brought her paddle down, hard, on Cecilia's defenseless rump.

Kyle was firmly holding Cecilia's wrists in the small of her back, the same way Gideon had done with Jasmine. Although the teenaged boy could not deny that he was enjoying the pretty girl's embarrassment, as well as the sight of her bare, rapidly reddening bottom, he also felt a little troubled. Miss Lovelace had admitted that Cecilia hadn't broken any rules, so why was this happening?

"Miss Lovelace, just what is this about?" Kyle finally asked, since Cecilia seemed to be too busy crying to do so.

"Kyle, I understand that Coach Allison appointed Cecilia to be the baseball team captain." As she spoke, Miss Lovelace did not stop paddling Cecilia's rear.

"Um, yeah," said Kyle quietly.

"I also understand that you wanted the captain position yourself, Kyle, but Coach Allison passed you over in favor of Cecilia."

SMACK! - "OW!"

"Yes, so what?" Kyle could feel his temper flaring at the reminder of losing the team captaincy to Cecilia. However, knowing that raising one's voice to the principal of one's school is seldom a good idea, Kyle fought to keep his tone mild.

SMACK! - "OW!"

"How would you like a chance to rectify that misfortune, Kyle?" Miss Lovelace rested her hand on Cecilia's sore bottom as she locked eyes with Kyle. "As of right now, Kyle, you are the new captain of the Lamar Shrum High School baseball team."

"What?" said Kyle and Cecilia simultaneously.

"But that's not fair!" protested Cecilia. "Coach Allison gave it to me - "

"Yes, and I can only guess what she was thinking when she did that." Miss Lovelace shook her head. "Perhaps you haven't noticed, Cecilia, but our baseball team, like so many sports teams, is mostly boys. Honestly, how many teenaged boys does Coach Allison think would be willing to take orders from a girl? Especially when it comes to sports? It's just silly."

Kyle looked at Cecilia. She actually seemed to be too stunned to speak, so Kyle figured it was up to him.

"Miss Lovelace," said Kyle lightly, "our team has done pretty well with Cecilia as our captain - "

"Yes, so imagine how much better you could be doing with a captain who can actually command the respect of the players," said Miss Lovelace.

Cecilia finally found her voice again.

"What are you talking about - Just because I'm a girl doesn't - OW!"

"Enough, Cecilia," said Miss Lovelace after smacking Cecilia with the paddle again. "See, there's the problem right there - 'Just because I am a girl,' you say. This isn't about you, Cecilia. You know the old saying, 'There is no I in TEAM.' What's important here is what is best for the team, and the school, not you, Cecilia."

"Miss Lovelace," Kyle began, "I really think Cecilia's done a good job of - "

"Kyle, enough. It's very gracious of you to speak so well of Cecilia, but I've made my decision. As of now, you are the baseball team captain. Unless you don't want the position."

SMACK! - "OW!"

"Well, of course I want it, but - "

"Then it's yours, Kyle."

SMACK! - "OW!"

"As you say," continued Miss Lovelace, "the baseball team has done very well this year. However, that seems to be the exception for our school, not the norm. Having reviewed our athletic records for recent years, I consider it an embarrassment how poorly our sports teams have done in general, how many championships we have lost to rival schools.

SMACK! - "OW! Miss Lovelace, please - "

"Quiet, Cecilia. As I was about to say, Kyle, I think Coach Allison's highly questionable decision to appoint a girl to be your team captain is a good example of what the problem here is. There seems to be far too much importance placed on feel-good nonsense like 'Girl Power,' and not enough focus on achieving the real goals - which, in the case of a sports team, is WINNING."

Cecilia whimpered as Miss Lovelace tapped her paddle on the girl's now crimson rear end.

"From now on, Kyle, I intend to see to it that each of our athletic teams does whatever it takes, no matter what it is, to not only win their next game, but to win their championship. And for our baseball team, the first step toward that is having a team captain who will not constantly fill the players with resentment."

Miss Lovelace nodded to herself in satisfaction. She didn't seem to be expecting a reply from Kyle, which was good, because he honestly didn't know what to say.

"Do you have any objections to any of this, Cecilia?" asked the principal.

"Miss Lovelace, I really think that - "

SMACK! - "OW!" - SMACK! - "OW!" - SMACK! - "OW!"

"Perhaps I wasn't clear," said Miss Lovelace sharply. "I said, do you have any objections to any of this, Cecilia?"

"But - "

SMACK!

"OW! - NO! - N-No, Miss Lovelace, I have no objections." Cecilia let out a small sob as the principal raised the paddle again.

"Are you sure, Cecilia?" asked Miss Lovelace, waving her paddle a little.

"Absolutely," said Cecilia through her sniffles. She began speaking very rapidly, in a very high pitched tone. "I think it's a wonderful idea for Kyle to be our new team captain. He's a boy, and I'm only a girl, so naturally he's a much better choice for the position. I honestly don't know what Coach Allison was thinking in picking me."

"Very good." Miss Lovelace's voice suddenly became very tender. "Now, Cecilia, honey, I want you to know, I took no pleasure in doing this to you. But I honestly felt that you needed to learn your proper place. From time to time, all girls need to."

"Y-Yes, Miss Lovelace," said Cecilia, not daring to disagree as long as the principal still had that paddle in her hand. "Th-Thank you for showing me my proper place."

"You're welcome, Cecilia. Now, I think we've made some wonderful progress here, but we still have some way to go. So, Kyle, before your next baseball practice, I want you to have every boy on the team give Cecilia one good, hard smack on her butt."

"Yes, Miss Lovelace," said Kyle at once.

When Cecilia looked up at Kyle, he held up his hands, shrugging his shoulders helplessly. Well, really, what did Cecilia expect Kyle to do about it?

"And when you do this, Kyle," continued Miss Lovelace, "I want you to lift up Cecilia's skirt, but leave it up to the boys to decide whether or not to take down her panties."

"Do I get a say in it?" murmured Cecilia.

"Of course not," said the principal. "Now, Cecilia, please, I am speaking to Kyle. You be a good girl and stay out of this. This doesn't concern you."

Cecilia had to bite her lip to stay quiet.

"Now, Kyle," said Miss Lovelace. "I want to make one thing clear. I am instructing you to have each boy give Cecilia one smack. I am not giving the boys permission to spank her more than that, nor to take advantage of the opportunity to 'cop a feel,' as the expression goes ... But ... I am not forbidding them from doing so, either. If any boy chooses to smack Cecilia's very cute bottom more than once, then so be it. And Cecilia ... If you get fondled, then you get fondled. That's all there is to it."

Cecilia whimpered, but still managed to refrain from saying anything.

"Now, just one more for luck."

SMACK! - "OW!" - SMACK! - "OW!" - SMACK! SMACK! SMACK! - "Sob ... "

"I thought you said one more," said Kyle, frowning.

"I said one more for luck, which is always a relative thing. All right, come on, Kyle, let's get Cecilia to her feet."

Kyle tried to be as gentle as he could while helping Cecilia up. Without waiting for an instruction, Kyle knelt down and pulled Cecilia's panties up her legs.

Just as he was about to pull them back into place, he paused, and then placed his hand on Cecilia's red, sore bottom, rubbing it tenderly. He wasn't copping a quick feel like Gideon did to Jasmine, instead massaging Cecilia's badly abused rear, trying to soothe away the pain.

When she felt Kyle's hand on her bottom, Cecilia instinctively began to protest, but fell silent almost immediately.

"Does that feel better?" Kyle asked her.

Cecilia looked at him for a moment, and then looked away, not saying anything.

"That's very sweet, Kyle," said Miss Lovelace approvingly. "It makes me all the more confident in the decision I'm about to make. Just like Priscilla and Jasmine, Cecilia here is, I believe, in need of a personal disciplinarian, and I think you could fill that role for her admirably."

"Yes, Miss Lovelace," said Kyle, after a moment's hesitation. "I'll be happy to do that."

"Does that mean I get to spank Kyle, too, if he misbehaves?" demanded Cecilia.

Cecilia half-expected Miss Lovelace to spank her again, to extinguish this last spark of defiance that was clearly still burning within her. Instead, the principal simply laughed.

"Oh, girls and their silly ideas," giggled Miss Lovelace. "Of course you don't get to spank Kyle, Cecilia. Boys should spank girls, not the other way around."

After a moment, she regarded Kyle seriously.

"Kyle, I think the fact that Cecilia would ask such a question makes it clear that you still have some work to do with her."

"I - I'll do my best, Miss Lovelace," said Kyle.

"I have no doubt that you will do a wonderful job, Kyle, of making sure that Cecilia learns what happens to cute girls with cute butts who don't know their place."

Every instinct inside of Cecilia was screaming for her to object, to rage, to scream ... but instead, Cecilia lowered her head, not saying a word. The day had been far too clear to do otherwise.

Kyle massaged Cecilia's bottom for a few minutes more, and then pulled her panties and skirt back into place.

"Cecilia, your discipline is finished," announced Miss Lovelace.

However, the principal did not put her paddle away, which sent a chill of fear down Kyle's spine, one that was intensified by the next words he heard.

"There is still one disciplinary matter left to be resolved, Kyle." Miss Lovelace locked eyes with the teenaged boy.

Kyle gulped, but managed to remain calm as he said, "Yes, Miss Lovelace, I understand."

"Cecilia, please step outside," said Miss Lovelace. "Wait out there until I've finished things with Kyle."

Cecilia scowled. This hardly seemed fair. Kyle got to see Cecilia's butt bared and spanked, so how come she had to leave the office when it was his turn?

But Miss Lovelace wasn't giving Cecilia a choice about it, so she reluctantly turned and headed for the door. Cecilia walked into the hallway just in time to see several students - mostly boys - dashing into the stairwells or out the doors, no doubt having run as soon as they heard somebody approaching the office door. She cringed as she thought of how large an audience there had been for her spanking as well as Jasmine's.

There was a bench outside of the principal's office, but Cecilia was in no condition to sit down. She folded her arms, standing near Miss Lovelace's now closed door, waiting for the sound of a spanking, but nothing came.

After ten minutes or so, the door opened, and Gideon and Jasmine emerged. Jasmine's eyes seemed fixed to the floor, and Gideon was leading her by her arm.

Gideon gave Cecilia a friendly smile, ignoring the glare he got from her in return. Never letting go of Jasmine's arm, Gideon started walking down the hallway. Cecilia noted that it looked like they were heading for the detention hall.

Once again standing outside of the principal's closed door, Cecilia waited, and within minutes, she heard the distinct sound of a paddle coming down hard on bare flesh. One smack, and then another, and another ...

Soon, Cecilia was smiling. Although she did feel bad for Kyle, especially after the kindness he had shown her during her own spanking, Cecilia couldn't help feeling some satisfaction that at least one boy was getting his today, even if she didn't get to see it.

After a short while - much too short to suit Cecilia - the sounds of spanking died down. A few minutes later, the door opened and Kyle came out.

As Cecilia expected, Kyle was blushing, but much to her surprise and disappointment, he wasn't crying, or rubbing his bottom, like Cecilia still was even now. In fact, it didn't look like Kyle had been crying at all, nor did he seem to be in all that much pain.

Kyle must have been tougher than Cecilia thought ... or maybe, to Cecilia's embarrassment, he was just much tougher than she was.

"Are you okay?" asked Kyle, looking searchingly into Cecilia's eyes.

"I was just about to ask you that," said Cecilia.

"I'm, uh, fine, I guess," mumbled Kyle.

"Oh." Cecilia didn't know what else to say.

For a minute or so, Kyle and Cecilia just stood awkwardly in the hallway.

"I don't understand how you boys coped with this," Cecilia finally said, shaking her head.

Experiencing this pain and humiliation just this once had been enough to make Cecilia want to break down completely. She could scarcely imagine having to endure it over and over for months or years, like Kyle and so many other boys in the school had had to from their previous principal, Mr. Stanton.

Kyle was silent for a moment.

"You just deal with it," he said. "You don't have any choice. There are a lot of things you just have to deal with, and keep going."

Cecilia looked at Kyle.

"Maybe I had this coming," she said sadly. "When Mr. Stanton was still here, you boys got spanked all the time, but us girls never were, even when we did things that were worse than what you did. We knew it wasn't fair, but we never said anything ... "

She thought of how she, like so many other girls, had laughed at the boys' humiliation. It made Cecilia feel even more ashamed, and more certain that she deserved this.

"It's not the same thing," said Kyle. "Miss Lovelace is doing things to you girls that Mr. Stanton never did to us boys."

"The principal may be different, but the principle is the same," said Cecilia.

After a moment, Kyle and Cecilia both giggled at the unintentional pun she had made.

"Whether you believe this or not, Cecilia, I really do feel bad for you," said Kyle softly.

"If you feel so bad, then why did you agree to be my spanker?" Cecilia could not keep just a note of bitterness out of her voice.

"I thought about that. But if I'd refused, Miss Lovelace might have paired you up with somebody worse."

"You mean like ... "

Kyle grimaced.

"I don't know if there's anything we can do to to help Priscilla or Jasmine," he said. "But I'll see what I can do."

"Thanks," said Cecilia.

"And we'll talk to the guys on the baseball team," Kyle went on. "Maybe we can work something out there, too."

"Whatever you say, Captain," said Cecilia dryly.

"Like I said, Cecilia, we've done really well with you as our captain. I'm pretty sure the boys aren't going to want to give that up, no matter what Miss Lovelace thinks. We'll talk to them, we'll figure it out."

Cecilia nodded.

"I still think I should get to spank you if you do something wrong, though," she said.

This time, though, Kyle shook his head firmly.

"No way," he told her. "Miss Lovelace said no to that, and this is one thing I'm going with her on. I spank you, Cecilia, not the other way around."

"But that's not - "

"I know it's not, but that's how it is. I'm ... Well, actually, no, I'm not sorry. Not really. I kind of like this arrangement."

"I'll just bet you do." In spite of herself, Cecilia couldn't help smiling as she said it.

"Cecilia." Kyle gently placed his hands on Cecilia's shoulders, looking deeply into her eyes. "I promise, I won't hurt you. At least, not more than I feel I have to. I know you don't have any reason to believe it, but it's the truth. I'll take good care of you. You'll see."

"I hope so."

Cecilia opened her mouth to say something else, but before she could, Kyle suddenly leaned in and kissed her.

For one astonished moment, Cecilia froze, unable to do anything but stand there, with Kyle's lips on hers.

"Hey." Cecilia managed to pull herself together, and pull away from Kyle. She was blushing again, but now for a very different reason from when she was being spanked.

"Miss Lovelace didn't say you could do that," said Cecilia, her lips curling into a pout. Her face seemed to be a mixture of surprise, confusion, hurt, anger, embarrassment, indignation ... and also, Kyle noted, excitement.

"Come on," said Kyle, taking Cecilia's arm in his, and wrapping his hand around hers. "Let's go for a walk, and we'll talk about how things are going to be from now on."

"Okay." Cecilia was smiling again.

As they walked out of the school, Cecilia looked at Kyle curiously.

"Just what did Miss Lovelace do to you, anyway?" she asked.

"Oh, nothing too bad," replied Kyle.

.....

TWENTY MINUTES EARLIER ...

"Cecilia, please step outside," said Miss Lovelace. "Wait out there until I've finished things with Kyle."

As Cecilia headed for the door, making no effort to hide her reluctance to do so, Kyle felt his heart pounding. He was glad that Cecilia wasn't going to see him being spanked, but he couldn't help wondering how much worse his punishment would be with no witnesses around.

Miss Lovelace glanced at her watch.

"I think that's long enough," she said, walking to the storage room. She opened the door just a crack, peeking inside. Kyle could hear Jasmine sobbing.

When Miss Lovelace opened the door all the way, Kyle felt a strange mixture of disappointment and relief to see that Jasmine was fully clothed. If Gideon had, indeed, spanked the girl naked - and Kyle had no doubt that he did - it must not have lasted all that long.

A few minutes later, Gideon and Jasmine were walking out of the storage room. Gideon was holding Jasmine's hand. She was no longer crying, but she was staring silently at the floor.

"Gideon, you must understand," Miss Lovelace was saying, "Nowadays, people make an awful fuss about boys peeping at girls, even though it's a perfectly natural thing at your age. So, as silly as it may be, I have to punish you for what you did."

"I understand, Miss Lovelace," said Gideon, taking a deep breath. "Do what you must."

"Gideon, I am giving you two weeks' detention, starting today."

Gideon blinked. This clearly wasn't the punishment he had been expecting, but he wasn't about to look a gift horse in the mouth.

"Yes, Miss Lovelace," he said.

"Gideon, I'm sorry," murmured Jasmine, not looking up. "This is all my fault, I shouldn't have made such a silly fuss about you peeping at me in the locker room. I'm sorry I got you into trouble."

"That's all right, Jasmine." Gideon leaned over and kissed Jasmine on the lips, ignoring the wince in her face as he did so. "I'm just glad you're saying it."

"Gideon, I would say you've done a wonderful job with Jasmine," said Miss Lovelace. "Needless to say, I am more than satisfied that you will be a fine disciplinarian for her."

"Thank you, Miss Lovelace."

"Now, as I told you earlier, Jasmine, you will be serving detention right alongside Gideon. Understood?"

"Yes." Jasmine swallowed hard. "And I will be serving my detention in just my underwear."

"That's right. Gideon, you will, of course, be fully clothed. Boys must be allowed to maintain their dignity. But I am hoping that if Jasmine's punishment works well enough, the school will be able to implement a new practice of having female students serving detention in their underwear, or, if the offense warrants it, completely in the nude."

Gideon blinked, several times, and Jasmine turned slightly pale, but neither said anything.

"Now you had better get to the detention hall, both of you. Scoot."

Gideon took Jasmine by the arm and led her to the door. Jasmine was still gazing at the floor as they walked out of the office.

"Uh, Miss Lovelace," said Kyle hesitantly, "do you think it was appropriate to let Gideon kiss Jasmine like that? She didn't seem to like it."

"Oh, don't be silly," said Miss Lovelace, waving her hand dismissively. "It was just a kiss, it wasn't like he was hurting her."

She smiled as she added, "When you take charge of Cecilia, you ought to give her a kiss. Believe me, she will appreciate it more than she lets on."

"I'll think about it," said Kyle uncertainly. He took a deep breath. "Miss Lovelace, by any chance, are you planning to give me detention, too?"

"Why would I do that?" asked Miss Lovelace absently as she walked to her chair and picked up her paddle.

Kyle swallowed hard.

"Well," he sighed, "I was just kind of hoping you'd let me off with detention, instead of spanking me, for starting that food fight in the cafeteria, but - "

"Oh, that," said Miss Lovelace, looking up. "Well, I suppose I will have to give you detention for that, Kyle, but we can talk about that later."

The principal tilted her head slightly as she gazed at Kyle.

"You thought I was going to spank you?" she asked, sounding a bit amused.

"You're not?" Kyle was puzzled. "I thought ... Well, Miss Lovelace, you said that there was one disciplinary matter that still had to be resolved, and, uh, you sent everybody but me out of here, and, well, you're holding the paddle ... "

"Oh, I see." Miss Lovelace glanced at the paddle in her hand. "Yes, I can see how I might have given you that impression, Kyle. I'm sorry. Actually, I have no intention of spanking you, and that disciplinary matter I spoke of wasn't about the incident in the cafeteria."

"Well, what's going on, then?" asked Kyle, now genuinely curious.

"Kyle, come here."

As Kyle approached her, Miss Lovelace took a deep breath. She seemed to be trembling, a stark contrast to the control and confidence she had been exuding up until now.

"Kyle, do you remember when I said that I believe all girls would benefit from a good spanking now and again?"

Kyle nodded.

"When I said all girls, Kyle, I truly meant ... ALL girls."

Miss Lovelace sighed.

"Whenever I see my students breaking rules, misbehaving, it always makes me feel that I've failed in my duties, somehow, as a principal, to guide and nurture the students of my school. This is especially the case when it's a girl who steps out of line, because, as a woman, I feel it is my duty to be a proper role model for the young girls around me."

Miss Lovelace gazed steadily at Kyle, and then took his hand in hers. Kyle's eyes widened as Miss Lovelace placed the paddle in his hand.

"Kyle, I have always found that a good spanking will help me to stay focused, to remind me of my duties, to ... shall we say, encourage me ... not to neglect my responsibilities. I was hoping that you could help me in this regard."

"Me?"

Kyle felt deeply annoyed at how the word came out of his mouth as a high-pitched squeak.

"Well, usually, Mr. Thompson does this for me, but he's a bit busy at the moment."

"Mr. Thompson? I thought he was your assistant."

"He is ... most of the time. But when we started working together, I asked him to take charge of me in this one respect. I felt it was appropriate, since he is a man, and I'm only a woman, after all."

Miss Lovelace's hand closed over Kyle's.

"Will you do this for me, Kyle? Please?"

"A-Are you sure you want me to? I'm just a student - "

"Actually, that might make it more ideal," she said thoughtfully. "Sometimes, I worry that being in a position of authority over so many males - the boys who attend this school and even the male faculty members - might cause me to forget my place, as a female. As I've said, it's important for girls to know their proper place, and I think that being spanked by a boy so much younger than me, and somebody who is normally under my authority, would really help drive it home to me what my place is, as a woman."

"Um, okay ... If you want me to, Miss Lovelace, I'll spank you."

"Oh, thank you very much, Kyle!" Miss Lovelace clapped her hands in delight. She motioned to the chair and said, "Please, have a seat."

Kyle could feel his heart in his throat as he sat down in the chair. He had been prepared to be with Miss Lovelace, in this chair, for a spanking, but this wasn't how he'd pictured it.

When the beautiful principal began to unzip her dress, Kyle nearly fainted.

"I hope you understand," said Miss Lovelace as she pulled her dress off her shoulders, revealing her flat stomach and her large, firm breasts in a pink bra. "I always feel an obligation to practice what I preach. So if I impose it on the girls to be naked for a spanking, I feel it is only fair that I do so for my own as well."

A moment later, the dress fell completely to the floor, exposing Miss Lovelace's pink panties and long, bare legs.

"I understand," squeaked Kyle.

"So you don't mind if I'm naked when you spank me?"

"Um, not at all."

"Thank you so much, Kyle." Miss Lovelace reached behind herself to unhook her bra. "I really appreciate you doing this for me."

" ... It's my pleasure, Miss Lovelace. Really."

Within minutes, the office was ringing with the smacking sounds of a wooden paddle striking bare flesh ... extremely bare flesh ... accompanied by muffled moans, and the occasional sigh of a teenaged boy trying his best not to pass out.

.....

"Kyle, I know I keep saying it, but I really appreciate that you did this for me."

"It was no problem, Miss Lovelace, really."

Kyle zipped up Miss Lovelace's dress. She grimaced slightly as she rubbed her bottom.

"You know, you're very good at this," said Miss Lovelace with a small smile. "Cecilia is quite a lucky girl, even if she doesn't know it yet."

Kyle blushed.

"Speaking of whom," said Miss Lovelace, "you'd better get going. I think you've kept Cecilia waiting long enough."

"Okay, Miss Lovelace."

"You take care now, Kyle," said Miss Lovelace as she sat down - none too comfortably - behind her desk. "And good luck with Cecilia. I'm sure you'll do a fine job with her."

"Thank you, Miss Lovelace."

As Kyle reached the door, the last thing he heard was Miss Lovelace talking to Mr. Thompson on the phone.

"I want you to bring Coach Allison to my office tomorrow morning. As I've said, she is clearly in need of some discipline ... "

Kyle walked out of the office, and as he expected, Cecilia was waiting for him in the hallway. He felt dismayed, but not surprised, to see that she was still crying and rubbing her bottom.

As he gazed deeply into Cecilia's eyes, Kyle finally had the chance to ask her what he'd been longing to ...

"Are you okay?"

As they began to talk, Kyle became increasingly convinced that, while Cecilia might not be okay now, she was going to be. Everything was going to be all right. Kyle was going to make sure of it.

* * * * *

2. A Stacked Deck

"Three Queens," said Jerry, laying down his hand.

"Flush, Jack High," replied Gina, spreading her five diamonds on the table.

"Figures," grumbled Jerry as Gina took the chips on the table and added them to her already very large stacks. "I still say it's beginner's luck."

"Yeah, you've been saying that for the past eight months," commented Gina. "Want to go another hand?"

Jerry looked down at the few remaining chips in front of him, and then shook his head.

"I've lost enough money for one night," he said. "Why don't we try playing for some different stakes?"

"What do you have in mind?" asked Gina, although she could guess easily enough.

Jerry smiled at Gina, who simply lowered her head.

"Why do you keep saying no?" he asked. "What are you afraid of?"

"That you might see me naked," said Gina, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world, which it was.

"Gina, I wouldn't want to play this game if I didn't want to see you naked," said Jerry, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world, which it was.

Gina blushed.

Jerry and Gina had been friends for longer than either of them could remember. When they were five years old, too young to know any better, they had gotten naked in front of each other many times - sometimes when they went swimming in the local lake, sometimes to beat the summer heat ... and sometimes just out of curiosity.

When the two children were standing naked in front of each other, neither of them could really understand what all the fuss was about.

But that was then, more than a decade ago. The idea of getting naked in front of Jerry now made Gina's heart jump into her throat.

"Jerry, we've been friends for a long time," she said.

"Yeah, so?"

"I don't know about this, Jerry. I mean, you've been like a brother to me."

"And you've been like a sister to me. Doesn't change the fact that you're a girl, and ... Gina, we've both grown up, and you have grown up so beautiful ... "

Gina blushed again.

"What if I win?" she challenged. "Then you'd have to get naked instead."

"Yeah, well, that's the risk you take," he replied. "That's why it's called gambling. When I play poker, I hope to win money, but I have to accept the risk that I'll lose money instead."

Jerry motioned with his hand toward the tiny stack of chips left in front of him.

"That's the nature of the game," he said.

Gina was silent.

"Please, Gina?" asked Jerry. "Just once? For a friend?"

Gina bit her lip.

"Okay, fine," she said, smiling. She shivered slightly as she added, "I can't believe I'm really going to do this, but all right, for a friend."

"Dealer's choice," said Jerry, shuffling the deck. "Five card draw, nothing wild."

"Just don't get mad at me if you lose," said Gina. "You probably will, anyway. I've been getting good cards all night long."

"Well, don't count me out just yet," said Jerry, dealing the cards. "Standard bet, one piece of clothing for each hand."

Before Jerry even picked up his cards, Gina piped up, "I raise you."

"How's that?" asked Jerry, looking up.

"One hand, winner take all," said Gina confidently. "Whoever loses this hand has to get completely naked AND do anything that the winner wants for one hour. And I mean ANYTHING."

Jerry stared at Gina for at least a minute.

"Call or fold," said Gina coolly.

Jerry swallowed hard. He wasn't sure he even wanted to know what Gina meant by "ANYTHING."

But what Gina didn't know was that Jerry had an ace up his sleeve ...

... Not literally, mind. Jerry didn't like cheating at cards, and he was never much good at palming cards anyway. No, what Jerry had was a way to turn a defeat into a victory ... He just wasn't sure that he could bring himself to do it, at least not to his sweet friend, Gina ...

"Call or fold," repeated Gina.

"Call!" said Jerry, not quite believing what he was saying.

"Great, we've got a game, then," said Gina with a smirk, tossing down two cards.

Jerry dealt Gina two more cards, and then studied his own hand.

A King of Clubs, along with the King, Jack, Seven, and Four of Hearts.

If he kept the Kings, then he'd at least have one strong pair, and he might get another King to make three of a kind. On the other hand, if he threw down the King of Clubs and got another Heart, then he'd have a flush, which would almost guarantee that he'd win ... What should he do?

... So, Dear Reader, what do you think happened next? Only Jerry knew for sure what would happen, whether he won the bet or not ... Poor Gina could only guess ...

Ending 1 - Jerry wins the bet.

Ending 2 - Gina wins the bet ... technically.

.....

Ending 1 - Jerry wins the bet.

"I don't believe it," said Gina, throwing her cards on the table.

"Neither do I, really," said Jerry, looking down at the cards in front of him - not two, not three, but four Kings. "Believe me, Gina, nobody was more surprised than me when the last two cards I drew were both Kings."

Gina swallowed hard, gazing at her hands. She didn't seem like she could look at Jerry.

"I ... I don't know if I can do this, Jerry," she said in a small voice.

"Gina, you're the one who made the bet."

"I wouldn't have done that if you hadn't talked me into playing this game in the first place."

"Well, you agreed to it."

Gina was silent.

"You would have expected me to do it if I had lost," Jerry pointed out.

He crossed his fingers under the table as he said it, even though it wasn't technically a lie. Gina would have expected him to pay off the bet if he'd lost. Jerry didn't actually say that he would have.

"I know," murmured Gina.

"Well, Gina, if you really can't do it - "

"No." Gina straightened up. "I'll do it. We made a bet, and you won, fair and square."

Jerry breathed a sigh of relief.

"Come on," she said, getting up from the table.

.....

"I just need a second," said Gina.

"Take as much time as you need," said Jerry, trying to ignore the pounding of his heart.

Gina and Jerry were standing in the middle of his bedroom, facing each other.

After taking a long, deep breath, Gina slowly pulled her green wool sweater up and over her head, tossing it onto Jerry's bed. She took a moment to shake her long, thick red hair.

Jerry's eyes were already fixed on Gina's figure-hugging white T-shirt ... and what a figure it had to hug. The teenaged boy was entranced by Gina's tight, flat stomach and her ...

"You're not wearing a bra," observed Jerry.

He could tell without looking that Gina was blushing fiercely, and he didn't want to embarass her by staring, but he just couldn't help himself.

"I wasn't expecting it to matter," said Gina somberly. She paused, and then added, "And I guess I was right. It doesn't really matter, does it?"

The red-haired teenaged girl tried to keep her hands from shaking as she fumbled with her jeans. After taking another deep breath, she slowly pushed the very snug material down her long, slender legs.

"Wow," breathed Jerry.

Gina's face was now even redder than her hair as she straightened up. She couldn't bring herself to look at Jerry, whose eyes, she knew, were sliding up and down her legs before fixating on the red triangle of her panties peeking out from the bottom of her T-shirt.

"Keep going," urged Jerry. "You can do this, Gina."

"A full house," muttered Gina. "I had a damn full house."

"Sorry," said Jerry. "Those are the breaks, Gina."

Gina sighed as she reluctantly pulled her T-shirt up and over her head ... revealing, at long last, to Jerry's eyes what he had been aching to see for so long ...

Jerry felt like he was going to pass out. Gina's round, firm, grapefruit-sized breasts were as perfect as it was possible to be. They were even more beautiful than he had ever imagined.

Gina was blinking back tears, wishing that the floor would open up and swallow her whole. She had never felt so embarrassed in her life, and the worst part was, she knew, she had done it to herself.

"Gina," said Jerry softly. He stopped when Gina simply nodded.

To Jerry's surprise, and delight, Gina turned her back to him before she slid her panties down her legs.

To Gina's own surprise, she found herself smiling as she heard Jerry whistling at the sight unveiled to him.

Before Gina even turned around to face Jerry, she already knew the awe-struck expression she would find on his face. Her friend's deepest fantasy had finally come true.

"Well?" Gina actually giggled as she gave Jerry a little shrug, holding out her arms so he could take in her fully naked body. "Is it everything you hoped for?"

Jerry's mouth opened, but no sound came out. Gina took that as a yes.

After a long moment, Jerry managed to find his voice again.

"Gina," he said slowly, "remember the rest of the bet."

Gina turned slightly pale.

"I remember." Gina's voice was shaking.

"One hour, I can do anything I want," Jerry said.

"Wh-What are you going to do to me?" asked Gina, her body now trembling along with her voice.

She tried not to, but she just couldn't help her eyes wandering to Jerry's bed. From the moment she had lost the card game, it had been her deepest fear, and it was now finally coming to the surface.

"Gina, take it easy," said Jerry, gently placing his hands on his friend's arms. "I'm not going to do that to you."

Jerry bit his lip.

"I won't lie," he said slowly. "The thought did cross my mind, and ... and the truth is, I really would like to ... "

Gina's face reddened again.

" ... but I won't. Gina, you know me, you know I wouldn't do that to you. Don't you?"

Gina froze, and then slowly nodded.

"I'm sorry, Jerry," she said. "I was just ... I wasn't sure ... "

"It's okay."

Almost by reflex, Jerry pulled his distraught friend into his arms and hugged her comfortingly. It wasn't until their bodies were pressed together that Jerry even realized that a hug, something the two friends had shared many, many times before, would be a very different experience when one of them, especially Gina, was naked.

Gina's face was crimson when Jerry let go of her, but she was smiling at him.

"So, um, what are you going to do to me, then?" she asked, her voice a mixture of relief and nervousness.

"There's something I've wanted to do for a long time," said Jerry quietly. He took a deep breath, steeling himself.

Gina's eyes widened at Jerry's face approaching hers, but she made no attempt to resist as his lips gently covered hers.

As Jerry kissed Gina - lightly at first, and then more and more deeply - Gina's heart was pounding so hard that she felt certain Jerry must be able to hear it. She could feel Jerry's tongue start to dart teasingly into her mouth, which made her heart race even faster.

Gina would not have chosen for this to happen, but now that it was, she couldn't deny the rush of excitement coursing through her.

She let out a whimper when she felt Jerry's hand slide between them and fondle her breasts, but forced herself to stay still. Gina knew that Jerry was simply claiming the prize he'd won in their bet, and she had to honor her word.

A moment later, Gina's willpower was tested even more when she felt Jerry's other hand sliding down her back and covering her bottom.

After what seemed like an eternity, Jerry's hands finally stopped exploring Gina's body, and he broke the kiss.

"Wow," breathed Jerry, not for the first time, as he gazed into Gina's eyes. "That was amazing."

"Well, thanks." Gina giggled. "I'm glad you enjoyed it. You weren't too bad yourself."

Now it was Jerry's turn to blush.

"Um, Gina," said Jerry, "there's something I was ... "

Jerry hesitated. Gina sighed.

"It's all right," she said. "A bet's a bet."

Gina knelt down, and undid Jerry's belt. Jerry's heart was threatening to pound its way out of his chest as Gina slowly took his pants down.

She had known this was coming. Gina and Jerry had been very close friends for a long time, and she knew him well enough to know about his great love for the feminine mouth ... Gina had just never imagined that she would ever be the girl on her knees in front of him ... and especially naked ...

"Ready?" asked Gina, looking up.

Jerry could only nod dumbly.

"Here we go," said Gina, fixing her eyes on his manhood.

Jerry didn't say a word, but silently reflected on the irony that the only way Gina would have seen him naked is if she had lost the bet ...

Gina started to move her lips toward him when she felt his hand on her shoulder.

"Wait," said Jerry. "I, um ... "

Jerry steeled himself again. He had won their bet, after all, and under the terms of it, he was entitled ...

"I want eye contact the whole time," Jerry told Gina. "And I want you to swallow."

Gina blinked.

"Fine," she said after a long moment.

Gina kept her eyes on Jerry's as he approached her mouth. A moment later, Jerry was exultant as Gina's lips closed around him ...

.....

"You could have at least given me some warning," grumbled Gina as she washed her mouth out - for the tenth time.

"Sorry," said Jerry, for what seemed like the hundredth time.

Gina sighed as she washed out her glass.

"Can I get dressed now?" she asked.

"We've still got half an hour left," Jerry pointed out.

Gina's face fell.

"Look, I'm not going to do anything else to you," said Jerry quickly. "I just want you to stay naked for the rest of the hour, okay?"

Gina hesitated, and then smiled.

"Well, you can still kiss me, if you want," she said. "I wouldn't mind that ... I wouldn't mind that at all."

Now Jerry was blushing again.

"And listen," said Gina, poking Jerry in the chest sharply. "Tomorrow night, I want a rematch."

"What?" said Jerry, almost involuntarily.

"You heard me," said Gina boldly. "Tomorrow night, we play this game again. Same stakes."

" ... Really?" said Jerry incredulously.

"You bet," said Gina.

"All right," said Jerry after a moment. "Agreed, then, same stakes, tomorrow night."

"And don't count on winning this time, pal." Gina smirked at Jerry before turning away.

Jerry tilted his head, admiring the view as Gina walked out of the kitchen.

Thinking it over, he realized that he shouldn't have been surprised that Gina would demand a rematch. The fiery redhead was never one to take defeat well. If she lost tomorrow night's bet, she would undoubtedly challenge him to yet another rematch.

Jerry figured that from here on out, every time Gina made this bet with him and lost, it would only fuel her desire to get even.

A few minutes later, Jerry was wrapping his arm around Gina's bare shoulders as they settled down on the sofa to watch television. He slid his eyes admiringly down Gina's naked body before leaning in to kiss her again.

Jerry silently wondered how many times he'd be able to get Gina to do this before the truth finally came out ...

.....

Ending 2 - Gina wins the bet ... technically.

Keeping his fingers crossed, Jerry threw down his King of Clubs, and reached for the top card on the deck.

Heart ... Heart ... Heart ... Heart ... Heart ....

No matter how many times he repeated the mantra in his head, however, it did not change the card that appeared in his hand.

The Six of Spades.

Jerry now had a worthless hand.

"Full house, Queens over Nines," said Gina smugly, laying down her hand.

Jerry let out a heavy sigh. In a way, seeing Gina's hand was a bit of a relief. She had a full house, so it wouldn't have mattered if Jerry had gotten the last Heart for a flush. He would have still lost.

And if he'd kept the pair of Kings and thrown down the other three cards, he would still have been beaten by Gina's full house ... Right?

Out of morbid curiosity, Jerry turned over the next two cards on the deck to see what he would have gotten ...

... For one astonished moment, Jerry refused to believe his eyes. The next two cards were the King of Diamonds and King of Spades. If he had kept the pair of Kings and dropped the other three cards, he would have had four Kings and won the hand.

"Sorry," said Gina, though she didn't look it. "Those are the breaks, Jerry."

Jerry groaned.

"So," said Gina with a smirk, resting her elbows on the table and lacing her fingers in front of her face, "Ready to pay off the bet, Jerry?"

Jerry was silent for a moment.

"Let's go upstairs," he said, getting up from the table.

"Suits me fine," said Gina cheerfully.

The two teenagers walked up the stairs to Jerry's bedroom. During the entire trip, Jerry was dead quiet while Gina made no effort to hide her gloating.

Jerry opened his bedroom door, and motioned for Gina to enter.

Not knowing any better, Gina did.

"Moment of truth now, Jerry," said Gina with a grin, folding her arms as Jerry entered the room.

"It certainly is," murmured Jerry, closing the door.

.....

Jerry walked around the ground floor of the house, making sure that every door and window was locked, every curtain and shade closed. The last thing he wanted was to draw any unexpected attention.

... Or maybe he was just putting off going back to his bedroom for as long as he could.

After turning out the lights, making sure the stove was off, checking the answering machine ... Jerry ran out of excuses, and finally went back up to his bedroom door.

Taking a deep breath, he opened the door.

Gina was sitting on the bed, right where Jerry had left her ... not that he was expecting her to have gone anywhere else.

"MMMMRRRPPPPHHH!!!"

If looks could kill, Gina's glare would have incinerated Jerry.

Jerry knelt down in front of his enraged friend, putting his finger to his lips.

"Gina," he said softly. "I'm going to take your gag off, but you have to promise not to scream. Do you promise?"

Gina continued glaring at Jerry, but then nodded her head.

"Okay." Jerry reached behind Gina's head, and undid the knot on the cloth tied tightly between her lips.

As soon as her mouth was free of the gag, Gina took a deep breath, ready to let out the most ear-splitting scream anybody had ever heard.

She only managed to get out one high-pitched peep before Jerry clamped his hand tightly over her mouth.

"You know, Gina, sometimes you are such a girl," said Jerry, shaking his head. "All right, look ... If you try to scream again, I'm going to take you over my knee and SPANK you. Now, I don't want to do that ... "

Jerry paused for a second, and then slowly ran his eyes down Gina's body before returning his gaze to her face.

"Well, you don't want me to do that," he amended.

Gina rolled her eyes.

"I'm going to take my hand away. This time, please don't scream, okay, Gina? ... All right, then."

Jerry let go of Gina's head. He was still holding her gag, and began anxiously running it through his fingers.

Gina eyed the gag warily.

"Are you going to put that back in my mouth?" she asked.

"I want to talk, so I'm going to trust you not to make me do that."

"Jerry, what is this all about?" demanded Gina. "Why are you doing this? Why did you gag me? Why did you tie me up?"

Gina grimaced.

"Jerry, could you please untie me?" asked Gina, awkwardly extending her bound wrists from behind her back. "And could you please stop staring at my breasts?"

"As soon as we're done talking, I'll untie you."

Gina tilted her head as she gazed at Jerry.

"There is only so much I can be expected to do," replied Jerry.

Gina rolled her eyes again.

"Gina," said Jerry gently. "There's been a ... change of plans."

"What are you talking about?"

"That little bet we made." Jerry hesitated. "Gina, I'm not going to be getting naked ... You are."

"Wha - That's not - Jerry, I won that bet fair and square!"

"Well, that's true, you did," said Jerry. He placed his hand on Gina's arm as he went on, "but, you see, the thing is ... I'm so much stronger than you are."

Gina's jaw dropped, her eyes turning into saucers.

"Y-You," she spluttered, "You cheating piece of - "

Gina began struggling furiously against the cords binding her wrists and ankles, all to no avail.

"Let me go, Jerry!" demanded Gina. "Untie me right now! Listen, you want to welch on our bet, fine, but I am not getting naked for you!"

"That's not your decision to make, Gina. Not anymore."

"Listen closely, Jerry," snarled Gina. "I - am - not - taking - my - clothes - off - for - you."

"I wasn't expecting you to," said Jerry.

Outwardly, Jerry was calm, but inside of him, a tempest of emotions was raging. He couldn't believe he was doing this, or what he was going to do ... to Gina, of all people, his sweetest and dearest friend in the world ...

... but as guilty as Jerry felt, he didn't quite feel guilty enough to stop.

"Gina," said Jerry, "if you had lost the bet, I would have expected you to undress yourself. But since you didn't ... I figured I would have to undress you myself."

Gina stared at her friend as if she'd never seen him before.

"You'd really do that to me?" she whispered.

Jerry swallowed hard. He knew that if he was going to do this, he had to do it soon. There was no way that he could maintain his resolve for long in the face of Gina's big, cute eyes.

"Gina, I'm going to untie you. Please don't try to run away or fight me. If you do, I'm going to spank you."

Gina hesitated, and then her shoulders slumped.

"Fine," she murmured, to Jerry's tremendous relief.

If Gina had resisted for much longer, Jerry almost certainly would have given in ... but she didn't need to know that.

.....

"I still can't believe you're doing this to me." Gina was pouting as she stood in the middle of the bedroom, facing Jerry.

"You were going to do it to me."

"I had the right to! I won the bet!"

"Gina, listen to me," said Jerry seriously. "There were some things that I was planning to do to you if I had won the bet."

Gina's eyes widened, and almost involuntarily, her head turned toward Jerry's bed.

"No, not that," said Jerry hastily. "I - I wouldn't have done that to you, never, I swear, Gina."

"All right," said Gina slowly. "So, what were you going to do to me, then?"

"That's ... not important," said Jerry. "Look, Gina, since I lost the bet, I won't do any of those things to you. I'll just undress you, that's all."

Gina looked at her feet.

"You know, Gina, I have a very strong suspicion that what I'm about to do to you is nowhere near as bad as what you were planning to do to me when we were coming up here."

Gina looked up at Jerry. Her mouth opened ... but no sound came out. For a few moments, her mouth opened and closed, and then she lowered her head again.

"That's what I figured," said Jerry. "Do I even want to know ... ?"

"Jerry, let's just get this over with," murmured Gina.

"Okay. Hold still, Gina."

Gina sucked in her breath as Jerry unzipped her jeans and slid them down her legs. It was slow going, not only because the jeans were so tight, but also because Jerry seemed to be having trouble focusing on ... anything ... while his hands were on Gina's long, slender legs.

"Gina, would you lift up your arms?" asked Jerry.

"No," said Gina calmly. "I won't fight you, Jerry, but I don't have to help you."

"Well, if I lift up your arms, will you keep them up?"

Gina nodded.

Once Gina's arms were above her head, Jerry was able to pull off her green wool sweater, tossing it onto his bed.

Jerry felt a lump in his throat as he took in the sight of Gina's white T-shirt, which seemed to hug every little curve of her, leaving nothing to the imagination ... especially since she clearly wasn't wearing a bra.

He must have been staring at Gina's chest for even longer than he realized. Finally losing her patience, Gina pulled off the T-shirt herself, throwing it on the floor at her feet.

"There!" exclaimed Gina, holding out her arms, laying her seemingly perfect breasts bare to the sight of her awe-struck friend. She shook her head as she wondered, "Why do guys always act like they've never seen boobs before in their lives?"

"Gina, lower your voice," said Jerry, "or I'm going to have to gag you again, and then put you over my knee."

"You know, you keep threatening to spank me," said Gina. "Sooner or later, I'm going to start taking it personally."

Jerry didn't answer. He was focusing his eyes on Gina's last remaining article of clothing.

Gina rolled her eyes as Jerry walked behind her before slipping his fingers into the waistband of her red panties.

"Figures," she muttered. "Go on, Jerry."

Gina looked up at the ceiling as she felt Jerry sliding her panties down her legs. She didn't need to look at her friend's face to know his expression as he gazed at her tight, luscious rear.

It had been Jerry's deepest fantasy to see his beautiful red-haired friend in the nude, and now here it was, her body laid bare to his sight ... It was just that this wasn't quite the way he had hoped it would happen.

"I can't believe you're doing this to me." Gina folded her arms in front of her chest, still pouting.

Jerry stood in front of Gina, and gently pulled her arms down to her sides, exposing her breasts once more. Gina simply sighed.

"Gina, after this is over ... "

Jerry bit his lip.

"Will you forgive me?" he finally asked.

Gina looked at Jerry, their eyes locking for a long moment.

"You know I will," said Gina softly.

"Thank you," said Jerry with obvious relief.

"How long do I have to stay like this?" asked Gina.

"Well, we agreed to an hour," said Jerry hesitantly. "But ... since most of this isn't what we agreed to ... "

Jerry was struggling with himself now, his compassion for his clearly embarrassed friend starting to win out over his desire to enjoy her state of undress.

"How about just ten more minutes?" suggested Jerry.

Gina blinked. She knew that that had to be the shortest length of time that Jerry could let her off with, without wanting to kick himself in the head afterward.

"All right," she said, smiling.

.....

"Here you go," said Jerry.

"Thanks." Gina gratefully accepted the mug of hot cocoa her friend had brought her.

Jerry sat down on the living room sofa, next to Gina. For a few minutes, they simply watched the television, and then, trying to control his nervousness, Jerry gently placed his arm around Gina's shoulders. To his relief and gratitude, Gina rested her head on Jerry's shoulder.

This was exactly how Jerry had imagined the evening would be ending if he had won the bet. The difference was that Gina was now fully clothed, and he wasn't kissing her. After a long moment, Gina broke the silence.

"I'm still glad I won the hand," said Gina. "Maybe I still had to get naked, but at least this way I can say it wasn't my fault."

"Are you mad at me?" asked Jerry hesitantly.

Jerry was fully prepared for an "Are you kidding?" response, even if Gina had promised to forgive him. After a few seconds, however, Gina gave him an answer that took him by surprise.

"No," said Gina. "If I had been in your place, I would have done the same thing."

"Really?" Jerry was even more surprised now.

Gina nodded, even though she was clearly embarrassed.

"If I was stronger than you, and I could have ... So I guess I can't really hold it against you."

She looked squarely in his eyes.

"That doesn't mean I have to be happy about it, though." Gina poked Jerry sharply in his chest. "I'll be expecting you to make this up to me, buster."

"I'll do anything, Gina," promised Jerry.

"We'll see." Gina folded her hands in her lap.

"So let me understand this," she said quietly. "If you had won the bet, you were going to make me get naked, and then spend the hour kissing me, feeling me up, and you would have made me blow you once."

"Yeah," said Jerry, his face reddening.

"So why didn't you do all that stuff? You could have."

"I wanted to," admitted Jerry. "But it didn't feel right. If I'd won the bet, I would have felt like I was just claiming the stakes we'd agreed to. But since I lost ... It would have felt like I was just forcing myself on you. I really didn't want to do that."

"I know," said Gina, smiling at him.

Gina hesitated.

"Jerry, I was just thinking ... "

"Thinking what?"

"You set me up," said Gina calmly. "Right from the start, you were never going to get naked for me at all. If you won the bet, you were going to make me get naked and then have your fun with me. If you lost the bet, then as soon as I tried to claim what I'd won, you were going to grab me and undress me, but nothing more than that. That was your plan as soon as we made the bet."

Gina held Jerry's gaze steadily.

"I was thinking," she said, biting her lip. "Maybe, tomorrow night, we could play this game again. One hand of poker. Same stakes."

"Oh." Jerry looked down. "Y-You mean play it straight this time. If I win, you get naked for me, and if I lose, I get naked for you."

"No," said Gina softly. She was blushing deeply. "I mean ... I want to play it the same way that we played it tonight. Completely the same way."

Jerry stared at his friend as if he'd never seen her before.

"Gina," he said. For a moment, his mouth simply opened and closed soundlessly, and then a smile spread across his face.

"Well," said Jerry, wrapping his arm more tightly around Gina's shoulders as she smiled back at him. "Let's talk about it ... "

* * * * *

3. Vignette - Why Was It A Great Day?

"It's great to hear from you, Mary."

Thomas cradled his phone between his ear and shoulder, wincing slightly as he shifted uncomfortably in his chair. He nevertheless smiled as he rested his hands on his bedroom desk.

"You, too, Tom."

Thomas could practically hear the smile on his cousin's face. It had been more than two months since they had last spoken, when Thomas's aunt and her two daughters had moved away.

"How have you been, Mary?" he asked.

"Good," she said. "It's been a little difficult adjusting. I mean, it's a new town, new school, always hard to make friends."

"I know," said Thomas sympathetically.

"But we're doing all right. Mom's new job is going great, and I just met this really cute, sweet guy. We're going to see a movie tonight."

"Good for you." Thomas smiled. He didn't need to see his cousin's face to know exactly how Mary was blushing.

"So how are things back in Crystal Springs?" asked Mary. "How are you doing, cousin?"

"Fine," said Thomas. "Actually, better than fine. I had a really great day today, Mary."

"Oh, yeah? What happened?"

"Well, it all started this morning in the hallway at school ... "

.....

Crystal Springs High School

"Rebecca! Rebecca, are you in here?"

Thomas burst through the stairway door into the third-floor hallway of the school. He looked up and down the corridor, desperately searching for any sign of -

There! Thomas spotted a familiar head of beautiful reddish-brown hair. He took off running toward it.

"Rebecca!"

The girl looked up at the sound of her name, and saw her best friend, Thomas, running toward her.

Rebecca knew right away that something was very wrong, because Thomas didn't take the three or four minutes he usually did just gazing at her with lovelorn eyes before summoning the strength to speak to her.

Thomas had had a severe crush on Rebecca for as long as they'd known each other. He had tried many times to convince her to be his girlfriend, but she had always insisted that they were better as friends.

"Rebecca," said Thomas urgently. He doubled over, trying to catch his breath.

"What's wrong?" she asked, placing her hand on her friend's shoulder.

"Principal Robbins," said Thomas. "She's looking for you."

"Oh, great," groaned Rebecca. "What has she finally found out about?"

"I'm not sure," said Thomas. "But it sounded like it might have had something to do with those stink bombs going off at the big faculty luncheon last month."

"Oh, impossible." Rebecca shook her head. "There's no way anybody could know where those stink bombs came from. I buried all of the incriminating evidence in that old abandoned community garden."

Thomas blinked.

"The abandoned community garden?" he repeated. "You mean the abandoned community garden that our school district contracted last week to fix up and replant?"

"Exactly, there's no way that anybody would find ... "

Rebecca's voice trailed off.

"Oh, God, Thomas," breathed Rebecca, her eyes wide. "What am I going to do?"

"I don't know," said Thomas worriedly. "Maybe if we - "

Thomas never got to finish his sentence, because at that moment, the nearby hallway door flew open. Before either of the two teenagers could react, they found themselves staring at the stern face of the school's principal, Mrs. Robbins. With her was a uniformed police officer.

"Rebecca," said Mrs. Robbins. "I've been looking for you."

Rebecca swallowed hard.

"Y-Yes, Principal Robbins? Wh-What can I do for you?"

"Rebecca, a few days ago, a work crew was doing some cleanup of the old community garden when they discovered some canisters of chemicals, buried in the earth."

The principal motioned toward the police officer.

"With some help from Officer Dowglas here, we have been able to determine that these were the chemicals used to cause that atrocious calamity in last month's faculty luncheon."

"Miss," said the officer seriously, "We have also been able to determine, from the containers of the chemicals, that they came from your father's company. I think you should come with us - "

"Wait!" said Thomas, stepping in front of Rebecca and facing the two adults. "Rebecca didn't do anything! It was me! I did it!"

"What?" broke from the principal, the policeman, and Rebecca simultaneously.

"Yeah, I did it," said Thomas. "I took the chemicals from Rebecca's father's stockroom and I made those stink bombs. Rebecca had nothing to do with it."

"T-Thomas," stammered Rebecca. Her mouth was opening and closing soundlessly.

"Rebecca, I'm sorry," said Thomas, turning to face his friend. "I shouldn't have risked getting you into trouble. I hope you can forgive me."

Before Rebecca could say anything more, Thomas turned back to the principal.

"Principal Robbins, I am responsible for everything. Rebecca didn't even know I had the chemicals. She didn't know anything about what I was doing."

"I knew it!" said Mrs. Robbins triumphantly. She turned to Officer Dowglas and said, "I told you, didn't I? Rebecca has always been a model student here. I knew it couldn't have been her. Thomas, on the other hand, has been in and out of trouble ever since he came here. I was sure it must have been him."

"I see," said the officer. "Do you wish to press charges, ma'am?"

"No, I don't think that will be necessary," said Mrs. Robbins. "There were no injuries, no permanent damage caused by Thomas's prank at the luncheon. I think we can handle disciplining him here in the school."

"Very well. Let us know if you need any further assistance."

The policeman nodded to Mrs. Robbins. He gave Thomas a pitying look before turning and heading toward the school's main doors.

"Rebecca, you should be getting to class," said the principal.

"But Mrs. Robbins," Rebecca started to protest.

"Just go," interrupted Thomas. "Rebecca, I'm really sorry for all the trouble I caused. Please forgive me."

Thomas locked eyes meaningfully with Rebecca as he said, "Just go, Rebecca."

"But ... "

Rebecca's voice trailed off at the piercing gaze Thomas was giving her. She slowly turned and headed down the hallway toward her next class.

The last thing Rebecca heard was the harsh voice of the principal ...

"Young man, you are in so much trouble ... "

.....

"My God, what did they do to you?" asked Mary, her heart in her throat.

Thomas let out a heavy sigh.

"Well, it was a pretty serious offense," he said glumly. "The stink bombs at the luncheon, stealing the chemicals from Rebecca's father's business - "

"But Rebecca was the one who did all that, not you," objected Mary.

"Yeah," said Thomas, "but she's my friend, and ... and you know how I feel about her, cousin."

"I know," said Mary knowingly.

"You also remember what Principal Robbins is like."

"Oh, yes."

"She probably would have spanked Rebecca in front of the entire student assembly. I couldn't just let that happen, so I stepped in and took the fall for her. She's my friend, after all."

Mary was silent for a moment.

"Rebecca's never been in any trouble before," she said. "Principal Robbins probably would have let her off with a light spanking, and fully clothed. You, on the other hand, Tom ... "

"Yup," said Thomas grimly. "With my record, I knew I was in for it."

"So, what did they do to you?" asked Mary, bracing herself for the answer.

"I was called to the stage in front of the student assembly," said Thomas in a low voice. "Principal Robbins stripped me naked ... TOTALLY NAKED ... and caned me in front of the whole school ... She caned me LONG and HARD ... Believe me, cousin, I'm not going to be sitting down comfortably for a good long while."

"Oh, Lord," murmured Mary.

"And Rebecca was sitting in the front row. She saw the whole thing. It was so humiliating, Mary ... "

"Well, at least it's over now," said Mary after a moment.

"Not by a long shot," said Thomas. "Mrs. Robbins isn't finished with me. She told me to come to the stage at every student assembly for the next week. She isn't going to cane me anymore, but she'll be paddling me ... and I will be totally naked again, for every one of them."

Mary was silent.

"I don't understand, cousin," she said finally. "What on God's Green Earth would make you say that today was a really great day?"

"Well - "

Before Thomas could say any more, he was interrupted by the sound of his front door opening and slamming shut, and a familiar feminine voice calling out.

"Thomas! Thomas, are you here? THOMAS!"

"I'm in my bedroom, Rebecca," Thomas called out, getting up from his chair.

A moment later, a flurry of a white dress and reddish-brown hair came flying through Thomas's door.

"Oh, Thomas!"

"Rebecca - "

For the second time in less than a minute, Thomas's thoughts were interrupted ... but the interruption was far from an unpleasant one.

Thomas could scarcely believe that Rebecca, the girl of his dreams, was kissing him ... but she was. Her arms were enveloping Thomas in a crushing hug, her soft, sweet lips were pressing deeply into his, sending his heart - among other things - fluttering ...

"Rebecca," Thomas managed to croak out when the girl finally broke the kiss.

"Oh, Thomas - Oh, My God, Oh, My God, Oh, My God, I am so sorry, I am so, so sorry, I can't believe you did that for me, You are the most wonderful boy in the world, I love you so much, I can't believe you would - "

Thomas felt a tremor of disappointment when Rebecca pulled her arms away from him, but it was quickly replaced by quite a different emotion when he saw why Rebecca had let go of him ...

For one astonished moment, he could only stare as Rebecca's hands swiftly unzipped her dress and pulled it off her shoulders, revealing her tight stomach and her breasts, covered in a white cotton bra.

"R-Rebecca, what are you - "

"Oh, Thomas, you don't need to ask, of course I'll be naked for you," said Rebecca in a rapid, high-pitched tone, sliding her dress down her legs. "It's only fair - After what you did - It's the least I can do for you - "

Thomas couldn't quite breathe as he gazed at the indescribable vision of absolute beauty before him, as Rebecca's bra and panties joined her discarded dress on the floor.

Rebecca was sobbing as she threw her arms around Thomas again, crushing her now naked body up against him.

"Rebecca," said Thomas softly, wrapping his arms gently around her.

"Thomas, you've always wanted me to be your girlfriend, haven't you? Well, I will, I'll be your girlfriend, it's the least I can do - "

"Rebecca, you don't have to - "

"Oh, I want to, Thomas, I want to be your girlfriend, I can't believe I never realized what a wonderful, generous, kind, caring boy you are - Don't worry about a thing, Thomas, I'll be your girlfriend and I'll make all of this up to you, if it takes the rest of the year, if it takes the rest of our lives, I love you so much ... "

Thomas opened his mouth, but before he could get a word out, his lips were covered by Rebecca's in another passionate, dizzying kiss ...

Mary, who had been listening on the phone the whole time, finally spoke.

"Ah. I think I understand now."

She paused for a few seconds.

"Um, I'll talk to you tomorrow, cousin," said Mary, even though nobody was listening to her.

Mary quietly hung up the phone.