Correcting Misbehavior On Its Own Level

It had been a hot, humid day, so thick that you could cut out a piece of it and put it in your pocket and take it home with you. That kind of hot. Sweltering hot. "I-think-I'm-gonna-die" kind of hot. The kind of hot that amplifies the flies buzzing around your head kind of hot. Well, you get the idea. It was miserable. But then, this was Miami for you. What did you expect in late July?

"Mommm! Throw a pizza in the oven for us. We're hungry" yelled Melanie Matthews. Melanie and her friends were sitting around the pool sipping their sodas and trying to keep cool under the warm, muggy shade of the back patio by the screened in pool. It was a typical Saturday at home, a few friends hanging out at Melanie's house because she was the one with the nice pool and a fridge full of sodas. Summer was well under way, High School was finished and there was still time to make the most of a good summer before beginning her studies at the local university in September.

"Get it yourself if you're hungry, Miss Mel,"her mother shot back, "I'm busy, besides, you all just had lunch a little over an hour ago!"

"Hmph!" Melanie snorted, loud enough for her mother to hear, not to mention her friends. Melanie was spoiled and her friends weren't much better, though they never would have spoken to their own mother with the same contempt that their young host had just shown. Her friends exchanged uncomfortable looks amongst themselves.

The several of them had been hanging out at her house all day, helping her father get their boat ready for next weekend, when an outing with her friends was planned for her late graduation party. Her Dad had told her that if she could round up a few of her friends to help with the preparations, then they could have her party on the water instead of at home. The idea sounded like a winner to her, since all of them loved the water, but the boat hadn't been used much for a few awhile and needed some basic maintenance before it was seaworthy. Her Dad had been too busy with work, and had told her that the maintenance on the boat would take about 3 days to complete and he didn't have time to do that before her party, unless, of course,

she

would be willing to do it instead. To her, that sounded like too much work, and spoiled brat that she was, she put her mind to work to find a way to get it done without lifting much more than a finger. She would have her friends over on the Saturday before the party and ask them to "volunteer" their help to do the work. But knowing Melanie, it would be more like "drafting" their help.

Her friends had arrived in their swimsuits, with street clothes over, expecting to spend several hours splashing in the pool and enjoying polishing their tans, but they no sooner arrived than Melanie said, "Hey guys, my Dad said we could use the boat for my graduation party next weekend, but it needs a couple of things done before we can use it. Help me get it done and then we can jump in the pool afterwards." Her Dad gave her a questioning look, but got the supplies out of the tool shed and instructed them how the work should be done, then busied himself with other chores in the back yard as they got to work. That way, he could be available if they ran into any problems. So

they

had spent the morning cleaning and waxing

his

boat for the following weekend, while Melanie stood around and gabbed with her friends while they did all the work. They were just about finished working and had just jumped into the pool to cool off when her Mom had announced that lunch was ready, so there really hadn't been any time to enjoy the pool. Her friends grumbled under their breath.

Once lunch was eaten, Melanie piped up and announced that they only had one more thing to do and the boat would be ready. "My Dad said that the boat needed the wheel bearings greased before it could be put in the water, and I don't know anything about wheel bearings, could you help me out?"

Two of her friends did their own work on their old cars, so, rolling their eyes, they said, "Yes, we can help you, Melanie," wondering what she would come up with for them to do next. Once again, her dad got what was needed to do the maintenance and gave Melanie a dirty look as she stood back and watched as her friends did the work. When that chore was finally complete, it was already 3 PM and they all had to leave by 3:30 because Melanie's family had planned to have dinner at her Grandma's house that evening. So they didn't get to spend much time in the pool as they had hoped to. All that work and no payoff, and it had been soooo hot! Needless to say, her friends felt like they were being taken advantage of and were ready to say as much to her about it.

Gina, her best girlfriend, spoke up and said, "Melanie, I wish you would have told us that what you really wanted to do today, and we would have gladly helped you, but you gave us the impression that this was going to be a day to just hang out by the pool, swim and just chill out."

Her dad happened to be standing nearby and when he overheard Gina's comment, and his ears started to burn. Gina's boyfriend, who helped with the wheel bearings chimed in his agreement and added, "That's right, Melanie. We're your friends, but you really shouldn't treat your friends this way. You should have asked us if we could help with getting your Dad's boat ready for your party instead of making us think that we were going to have fun and then dumping lots of work on us. That would have been a far more honest approach. You've been taking us all for granted the last few weeks, and I, for one, am not happy about it. As your friend, I care enough about you to be tolerant of an occasional screw up, but you have taken it way past that. You really need to be more careful about that in the future." Her friend stepped back as he finished this last sentence because her dad had stepped into the circle and gave Melanie a long, questioning look down his fatherly nose.

"Melanie?" said her Dad, "is this true? Have you been mistreating your friends lately? Hmmmm……?"

Melanie got real quiet, suddenly finding the grass beneath her feet very interesting.

Her Dad pressed her again, "Well…….?"

"Well, Dad, I……um…..I…..er….."

"Come on, Sweetie, talk to me…."

"Daddy…..I…….oh, well……I guess I……"

"You guess what, Melanie?"

"I guess I have been just a little impolite to my friends……"

"Has she been impolite to you?" her Dad asked her friends.

Her friends looked at her Dad, then looked at each other, then looked back at her Dad, again. Finally, Gina's boyfriend volunteered, "Yes, I'm afraid she has. She's been rather selfish lately, from what I've seen."

"Oh? How so?" her Dad inquired.

"Well," he began, "ever since school let out, its like she's become another person. I think she's decided that everyone else has to carry the load, but not her. When we go places as a group, we have always pitched in as a group for whatever it costs to do something, but since school let out she hasn't done her share. In fact, since school let out, we have had to pay her way every time we've gone somewhere. I don't know why she does this, I mean, she has a part-time job and all. Its just that she's not doing her part anymore."

Her Dad was looking at Melanie intently as Gina's boyfriend was telling his side of things. "Melanie," he said, "is this true?"

Melanie hesitated for a long time before she spoke up. "Well……I……I'm……I'm saving my money for when I go to the university in September. I will need some things and I want to be sure I have enough money to buy them when the time comes."

"Sweetheart, we talked about this before you graduated, remember? I told you that if you weren't making enough money to save up for September

and

go places with your friends, that you would have to refrain from going places with your friends as often, didn't I?"

"Well……yes….." Melanie hesitated.

"I also told you that buying those things that you wanted to decorate your dorm room with were entirely your responsibility, not your parents' responsibility, to buy, and that if you really wanted them, then you needed to plan for them, so you may have to cut some of your activities out that you have become accustomed to doing, such as going to the movies with your friends. Now, I'm not against your hanging out with your friends, but I am against you taking advantage of them."

Suddenly Melanie felt very immature for what she had done. "I'm sorry Daddy, I just wanted to be with them, because I won't be able to see them after school starts again, except during holidays."

"Honey, that's the way life is. You take care of your responsibilities first, and you have recreation later. You will have to make some sacrifices in life to get what you want. That's what I've taught you, isn't it?"

"Well, yes, but……but I just wanted to be with them, that's all. I mean, its summer time, and I've always kicked back and had fun when school was out, you know that," she said, trying to justify her actions.

"Melanie, you're not a little girl anymore. You've become a young woman, and young women are supposed to be responsible for themselves and that includes both their needs and their wants. They should also treat others with respect, and you haven't done that for the last few weeks, have you?" her Dad pressed, more to drive his point home about her irresponsibility and disrespect than to ask if she was guilty or not. Her Dad knew her friends, had known most of them since she was in grade school. He knew that they were telling him the truth.

"I'm sorry, Daddy," she said, "I'll do better, I promise" sounding more immature by the minute. Her friends were obviously embarrassed by this conversation that they were participating in, but they were her friends, and they cared about her and wanted her to learn these important lessons in life, so they stuck around.

"Melanie, I'm very disappointed in you. You have not been behaving like a mature young woman. In fact, you've been behaving more like a little girl, and I see that I'm going to have to do something that will speak to the level of your behavior to ensure that you don't do this again. Your behavior is embarrassing to your family, not just to you. It is also embarrassing to your friends, judging by the look on their faces, but apparently they love you enough to stick with you anyway, hoping that you will do better. Isn't that right?" he asked as he looked Gina, her boyfriend, and the rest of her friends in the eye. They all nodded their agreement. Her Dad continued, "Your behavior has been that of an immature girl, not an adult young woman who is beginning her higher education. Now you know that I have always believed in correcting misbehavior on its own level, and your behavior has been that of someone much younger. Therefore, I am going to deal with your misbehavior as though you were much younger, so that you will learn two things, one, how to be responsible, and two, that your being responsible will affect how you treat your friends and will cause you to show them respect. I want them to know that you will treat them with respect in the future. It is for this reason, that I am asking them to stick around while you are punished."

Melanie's eyes became as big as saucers and she suddenly felt sick as the magnitude of her father's comments sank in. Surely he couldn't be serious…….could he?! She remembered back to when she was younger, how that he had spanked her for mistreating her friends. Surely he wouldn't give her the same punishment again as he had then…..would he?! No, it wasn't possible, he wouldn't. He couldn't. She just could not accept that. Not no way. Not no how.

Then Melanie's jaw dropped as she saw her father reaching for his belt buckle, unfastening his wide, smooth leather belt. For a moment, that's all she could see…..in slow motion as it were, his belt being removed from his belt loops. She shuddered as she heard the "fftp, ffpt, ffpt, ffpt, ffpt, ffpt" sound as the belt cleared the belt loops where they had been only seconds ago. He

was

serious!!!

She panicked. "Daddy, I'm sorryyyyy! I'll do better, I promise I will! Pleeeassseee, don't do this." Her Dad moved toward her, reaching for her forearm, but she drew back, dodging his outstretched hand.

"Melanie Ann Matthews, don't you run away from me, unless you want double. Do you want double?"

Melanie froze, and turned toward her Dad, slowly, timidly taking a step toward him, even as her friends looked on. "Daddy, please….can't we do this inside? Its time for my friends to leave, can't you wait till they are gone??? Pleeeeease……..?" she pled, then whispering, with her biggest puppy dog eyes, "Please?"

"No, Melanie Ann. No. And you can get rid of the charm act, because it won't do you any good. I have asked them to stay and they are staying because they care about you. You are going to be spanked right here, by the pool, with them watching, because you have disrespected them and they need to be reassured that you will never do this to them again. Now, come with me," he said as he led her by the arm with one hand, his belt dangling from the other, toward the round patio table that they had been sitting at when they ate lunch.

Melanie walked with very short steps, trying with all her might to look cooperative while trying to buy her behind a few more moments' grace from what was about to happen.

"Stop dragging your feet!" her Dad instructed as he marched her toward the table.

"Darn!" she thought to herself, "he's rushing me off to the gallows."

"OK, Melanie, you need to bend over the table and grab the far side and don't let go. If you let go, I will add to your punishment. Do you understand me?"

She looked at her Dad with her mouth open and eyes wide. She couldn't believe what he just told her. The last time she had been spanked was several years ago and it was over his knee, like it had always been, but this was something new…..and scary.

Her incredulous thoughts were interrupted with "If you hesitate any longer Young Lady, I will tell your Mom to bring the paddle so that I can spank you with that after I'm done using my belt. Would you like that to be added to your punishment?"

Melanie snapped out of her astonished pose with a shocked look and said, "But Daddy, you never spanked me like this when I was a little girl! You always spanked me over your knee….." her words trailing off as it dawned on her that in her rush to defend herself, she was suddenly telling her friends intimate details of her past that she would rather them not know. She blushed beet red, feeling her face suddenly get very hot. She looked down at her feet.

"Sweetheart," her dad explained, "you were a little girl back then. Now you are a young woman and things are going to be different."

"Daddy, pleeeeeesssssse….not in front of my friends!"

"You're stalling me." He turned and opened the patio door a few inches, and called "Honey, please bring me the paddle from the desk drawer in my office. I need it to adjust our daughter's attitude with."

"Its about time," her Mom said. "She's been giving me a hard time the last several weeks while you've been out of town….I'll be right there."

Her Dad raised his eyebrows at her Mom's editorial comment. Melanie felt like she could just die now that her Mom had just put the final nail in her coffin. Everyone was against her, she thought to herself.

"OK young lady, turn around and bend over like I told you!"

Reluctantly, Melanie turned around, stepped up to the round table and bent over it, reaching her hands out to grab hold of the far side. She flinched at the coolness of the table surface, considering how cool it was in comparison to how hot she knew her bottom was going to feel in a few moments. She was regretting stalling her Dad when he told her to bend over the table, because not only was she going to feel the lash of his belt, she was also going to feel the kiss of his nasty paddle after he put his belt down. And her friends were watching the whole thing…..talk about embarrassing! There's never a deep, dark hole to crawl into when you need one!

Then a horrible thought crossed her mind….. She remembered her spankings when she was little, how that her Dad always took her panties down before he spanked her. Surely he wouldn't do that today…..surely. She was older now and there was an audience......surely she wouldn't have to suffer that indignity……she hoped…..

She felt his two fingers slide under the waistband of her bikini. Oh no. No. Not this….. "No Daddy. Please. Don't pull them down, not in front of my friends!"

She felt her bikini being pulled down slowly and deliberately. "NOOOOOOO! Pull them back up! I don't want them to see me bare!" She hoped that he would stop

NOW

. Her bikini was now down at the base of her round, white cheeks. Any further and her sex would be visible to everyone, but they continued their southern migration. "NOOOOOOOOOO! PLEEEEEEASSSSSSE! Don't spank me bare, Daddy! DOOOOON"T!" She did a little stomping dance with her feet pounding the ground where she had them planted as she felt her bikini bottoms sliding lower and lower. Finally, they stopped at her knees, where he left them to stay. She couldn't have been any more embarrassed than she was right now. Here she was, all bent over the patio table, holding on to the opposite side of the table, with her bikini bottoms parked around her knees for a spanking. And she was outside! What if those nosy little boys on the other side of the fence heard her pleading with her Dad to do things differently, and got curious? They might not be able to resist the temptation to climb up and have a little peek. Make that a long stare. Boy, they would get an eyeful, that's for sure!

Her Mom arrived at the patio door with the dreaded paddle in hand. "Here you go, Honey. Use it well," she encouraged her husband.

"Don't worry, I will," he returned.

Yes, everyone was against her today; that was obvious to anyone.

Her Dad turned took the paddle from her Mom and placed it down on the table beside Melanie where she could see it. Dang that paddle!!! It was torture just to know that it was within inches of her, never mind how it felt also knowing that very soon it would be stinging the daylights out of her tender, young bottom. Just the thought made her behind tingle in anticipation.

Her Dad doubled his belt, smooth side out, holding the buckle end in his strong right hand…..and then holding it in both hands, snapped it together, making a loud sound mimicking the sound of leather on bare flesh. Melanie jerked with surprise as though he had delivered the first lick to her upturned bottom. "Now Melanie," he said, "I am going to give you twenty licks with the belt. They are going to be good, solid licks. They are going to hurt. In fact, they are going to hurt a lot. You need to hold still while I am giving them to you. Do you understand?"

"20??? But Dad! You never gave me that many before! Why so many?"

"Because, Sweetheart, you are not a little girl, even though you have been acting like one. If I give you a little girl's punishment for what you have done, you will not learn your lesson. You will quickly forget, and you will do the same thing again, and I don't intend for you to have to repeat this lesson again, ever. Your behavior has been that of a little girl, but your punishment will be suitable for a girl who is much older." He continued, "Now, I said that you will need to hold still. It won't be easy, but since you are older now you have enough control, should you choose to exercise it, to make yourself hold still, so I expect you to keep your hands in place and stay down on the table through all twenty of your licks. If you raise up off the table, I will add another lick for every time that you raise up. If you move your hands from their place, I will also add another lick for every time you remove your hands. If you feel you just cannot control yourself and feel that you simply have to rub your bottom during your licks, then I will add two more licks to the total for every time you try to rub your bottom. Do you understand me, Young Lady?"