And Here We Are

I woke up at 8 sharp and drifted down the stairs to make a pot of coffee. Last night was the best I've slept in a long time. If it was Saturday instead of Sunday, I would have slept in, but I needed to get back into my routine and hold myself accountable to my obligations. This was especially true if I was going to hold my new dependents to their responsibilities.

Once the coffee was made, I went back up stairs to take a quick shower. I got dressed and checked my clock. It was 8:40. It was time to see who had developed some self-discipline so far this weekend. As I turned the corner into the kitchen, I was not surprised at what I found. Heidi was seated at the table reading the newspaper when she kindly greeted me.

"Good morning Mr. Braxton." Heidi was wearing a classic, simple dress blue dress with some nice sandals. Her Sunday best met my expectations, and I'll say that Heidi was consistently making me smile. When you want to believe that people are good at their core, Heidi was a good confirmation of that belief. I decided not to ask about the other girls. They're adults now, and they have to uphold their commitments if they were going to sleep under my roof.

"Did you have a good time with your friends last night sir?" I poured Heidi a cup of coffee, even though she didn't seem very interested in drinking it.

"You know Heidi, I did." She was listening intently while I got up and poured a glass of water and orange juice, both of which were for her. Once I placed both down on the table in front of her, she got the message and thanked me before she started sipping the orange juice.

"I'm lucky to have a great support system at work, and they allow me to be a good manager and develop new ideas and contacts for the firm. And I was pleasantly surprised that Shayna didn't embarrass me."

Heidi coyly giggled before I continued. "I was bummed that you weren't there. How did Leah do?"

Heidi gathered her thoughts before she divulged the details of her night. "I think she's ok. We did some calculus homework for a few hours and then we played 20 questions. She wanted me to let you know she's sorry and she's getting more comfortable around you. I think it's hard for her being so far from home."

I studied Heidi's blue eyes and body language as she detailed her night. Just as I began to lose my train of thought, I looked up at the clock. It was 9:03 and I was ready to head over to the church. It was a very nice, secluded parish in east suburban Philadelphia. I told Heidi to grab her coat. She apprehensively put it on before she asked if we were going to wait for the others.

"I told the girls last night when I expected them up. Leah is grounded so she's excused, but I was clear to Jasmine what I expected from them. And yet you're the only one who obeyed me. I know how much it hurts you, but they're going to have to suffer the consequences of their actions."

Heidi glumly accepted, and we got on the road. I got to know Heidi a little more on the way to mass. She was a straight A student who was accepted into Penn, and she was in the choir in high school. I had no idea why such a put together girl was not enrolled in college yet, even if she was at a prestigious all girls prep school. When I asked, she answered honestly.

"Ever since my dad died when I was 10, me and my mom have kind of struggled to get by. We've been in five different apartments the past seven years. We moved in with Professor Schmidt about a year ago. When I got into St. Theresa's I met him with my mom on a visit. They hit it off and we moved in with him around New Year's." I wanted to probe more into this predator of a teacher, but as we approached the church I decided against it. She wrapped her story as we made our way inside.

"Anyway, my admissions counselor at Penn told me I could earn a full academic scholarship if I performed well at St. Theresa's. I want to give my mom a better life."

I honestly wished this girl was my actual daughter. I decided to make sure she could accomplish her goals and dreams if I could. We sat down in one of the farther back pews as mass began. The service was decently filled, and a couple of the regulars did the readings and gospel songs before our pastor got up to give his sermon. As we were sitting down I heard the doors open and shut and some hurried feet scuffled in. I looked over my shoulder, and lo and behold, it was Jasmine and Robin with Shayna conspicuously absent. They were a bit disheveled, with Robin wearing what she wore to the party last night while Jasmine wore a more modest purple gown that went to the floor. Jasmine was showing far too much cleavage, which I'm sure she knew.

As they scooted into our row, they both mouthed 'sorry' as they sat down. I shot them both a disappointed glance. They both knew that this wouldn't end well for them. And while I was not surprised that Shayna wasn't here, I was angry that I let her go to the party last night. It's like I had forgotten every moment I had known her before I punished her Friday night. Privileges are earned, and I was kicking myself for being stupid enough to even give her an inch. Her next punishment was going to be in front of the other girls, and I was going to make it as humiliating as possible. I was going to tame this shrew.

The rest of the mass went relatively quickly, and at the conclusion of the service several of the parish members I knew initiated some small talk. I introduced them to the girls, and they were personable and well behaved. As we finally walked back to the car, Robin and Jasmine begged for my forgiveness as they climbed into the back seat. Jasmine tried to explain why they were not on time while Heidi fidgeted in the front seat. I wasn't interested in hearing it so I cut her off.

"We'll talk about it when we get home. But before we go home we are going to pick up Robin's, Heidi's, Leah's and Shayna's clothes and other belongings from their houses. We'll go to the mall for whatever else they may need. And how did you two get to church?" Jasmine said they got an Uber because she knew she wasn't allowed to drive my cars unless I gave her permission. I guess there was some growth there, at least. Robin thanked me enthusiastically for my generosity. while Jasmine suggested we go to Shayna's house first. I took their recommendation, but as I was turning my head back to the road I noticed Heidi was staring down and looked sick to her stomach. I decided that maybe it would be a good time to talk about living with her abusive professor once the other two went into Shayna's house.

As we pulled into the long driveway, I was quite surprised. Shayna's house was more of a mansion. It also looked completely abandoned. Jasmine must have noticed the expression on my face, because she immediately revealed what Shayna's parents did for a living.

"They're art dealers. At least that's what Shayna told us. She hasn't seen them in three years and she thinks they're in France or Belgium or something. There were a lot of butlers and maids here when we used to come here but once for the last year it's been basically empty."

Huh. Never would've guessed. Robin told us she knew exactly what to get and said she'd be no more than five minutes, which seemed impossible given the sheer magnitude of the house. Robin said she'd even grab some clothes for Leah.

"I think Shayna's mom is about Leah's size, so I'll just take some of her clothes." Jasmine began to laugh at her friend's bold statement, but she quickly replied that if she cared about the clothes so much she would've taken them with her. A pretty good point, and a clever and shrewd maneuver from a girl who no doubt had to develop some toughness, spunk and resourcefulness over her 19 years of life. As she hurried into the house, I decided to initiate the conversation.

"Why didn't you ever tell me Heidi was going to Penn, Jasmine?" Jasmine chuckled and reached around Heidi's seat from behind and hugged her.

"Heidi doesn't want anyone to think she's a snob. It's so silly but it's so Heidi." I silently agreed with Jasmine. Heidi seemed to be as genuine and kind a young woman as you could ever meet. But I noticed she still seemed very quiet and uneasy. Jasmine asked Heidi if she could help her with some of her homework, and Heidi meekly but pleasantly agreed. They talked about school for the next few minutes before Robin came back lugging about five giant duffle bags packed to the brim. She was smiling the whole way out to the car and relayed to us she had four more bags to get. I gave her a hard time that we didn't have all day, but she just laughed and said she wouldn't have grabbed so much if I hadn't brought the Suburban. The girl knew how to dish it as well as take it.

As she finished loading the car, I asked Heidi where she lived. She seemed stressed by the question. Jasmine seemed to perceive what was going on and gave me the directions. She even volunteered both herself and Robin to go in and get her stuff, to which Robin enthusiastically agreed. Robin and Jasmine chatted the entire 15 minutes to Heidi's about last night. I'm glad they seemed to enjoy themselves. But Heidi continued to look like she was in another world. We pulled into her driveway and she shrank a little in her seat.

"Ok dad we'll be right back!" Before Jasmine and Robin could hop out Heidi told them she was sure no one was home and that there was a key under the creepy garden gnome. They laughed and bounded toward the front door. After they disappeared into the house, I asked Heidi about why she was so stressed about being home. Her eyes began to well up and it broke my heart.

"This isn't my home, sir. Just because my stuff is here doesn't mean I feel safe here." She continued to fight the tears and I instinctively wrapped my arm around her shoulder and pulled her close.

"It wasn't that bad at first, but my mom became completely dependent on Professor Schmidt. She bought his act hook line and sinker." The tears began to fall and her voice started to crack. "Mr. Schmidt... I ask him to s-s-stop but he just won't." She tried to compose herself, and I may have had a harder time composing myself. How could this piece of shit be allowed to teach young women?

"I beg him to stop, but he touches me where I don't want to be t-touched. He sticks his fingers inside me and s-spanks me. He told me that if I tell my mom he'll kick us out. He told me no one would believe me if I told anyone else, and if he found out if I did tell anyone else he would take my virginity. I don't want to be the reason we're homeless! But I have to look him in the eyes every day at school while he acts like he is protecting me. There's nothing I c-can do."

Heidi collapsed into my chest and her sobbing was heavy and loud. I honestly had no idea what to do about this. Maybe my actions over the past couple days disqualified me from passing judgment, but I at least knew that these girls respected me and felt safe and happy in my home. This predator was intimidating and manipulating a defenseless and helpless girl into taking physical and sexual abuse.

I asked Heidi what I could do for her. She didn't respond, she just continued to spring leaks from her eyes. I felt horrible that I ever punished this victimized young lady. I was going to fix this.

"You're not going to school tomorrow Heidi."

She was confused. "W-w-what?"

"I'm going to the school. I'm going to the police. This is ending now. And if this guy is lucky he'll never cross my path. I might not be able to stop myself from killing him."

Even when we both knew she wanted nothing more than this to end, she still did not want me to take any risks to protect her. "Sir you really don't have to..." I cut her off because I knew I did.

"Tomorrow, you're going to stay home. I will keep you safe. I'm going to put your mom up in a nice hotel for as long as she needs. I can even give her a job at my firm. But this evil man cannot prey on you or any other girls any more. My stepdaughter goes to school there too."

Her crying had subsided a bit, and she whispered a weak "thank you" as I held her close. She slid back into her seat with a little sense of security. And as if on cue, Jasmine and Robin came out of the house lugging two bags each. I had to give Jasmine credit, because I didn't think she could be so helpful or so perceptive of what was going on. As they loaded the car and they piled in, Jasmine sent me a text.

It read, "Is Heidi ok?" As I turned around to back the car out and head home, I locked eyes with Jasmine. She seemed to understand that I would disclose to her later. She changed the subject and asked if I could grill burgers tonight. I hadn't grilled in ages, so I agreed.

The dialogue continued until we made it home. Heidi thanked me for taking her to church and being a good man. I was humbled, and Jasmine and Robin echoed her sentiments. We brought the bags inside, but before we got to the kitchen, halted Robin and Jasmine. I asked Heidi to go upstairs, and even though she was sad for her friends she understood. As she filed upstairs, the other two began to tighten up.

"You both knew this was coming." They groaned and Jasmine tried to plead the case she was originally making about why they were late. Before she got to far into it, Robin read my face, nudged her and told me they were sorry and would accept the consequences.

"Very good. You were both 15 minutes late to church. That would've been 15 smacks on your bottoms. Jasmine would get an additional ten because I told her that it was her responsibility to tell everyone else and make sure everyone was ready to go, and because the dress she wore to mass was more appropriate for Saturday nights than Sunday mornings." Jasmine began to nervously groan until I continued.

"However, You were both helpful to me with retrieving the clothes. And we're going to talk about one of your professors tonight. So what we'll do is give Robin five smacks and Jasmine ten." Life is all about expectation. This felt like getting off easy for them, but they also knew they were still being punished.

Robin instinctively began to walk over to me as if she knew she going over my knee. I decided to do it a little differently.

"Hold your horses Robin. Here's what we're going to do. You're going to stand next to each other, bend over at the waist and touch your toes."

They both immediately obeyed, with Robin effortlessly showing off her flexibility while Jasmine struggled to contort her smaller, more compact body. The unquestioned obedience and submission was appreciated.

"For every smack, I want you to count out loud and thank me." I did feel like I was giving these girls a break, but I still needed to shape them up, and that would take more that one weekend. Jasmine looked up to see me pacing behind them. She gulped and accepted what she was going to get.

I decided to start with Robin. I stood over her to her left and gave her a preemptive pat on the ass. She flinched, and I chuckled and asked if she was ready. She actually laughed too, and said she was as ready as she would ever be. I told them both to keep their eyes forward. As they straightened out, I struck Robin's left cheek.

"Owwwwwww!! One, thank you sir." I extended my arm and delivered a quick smack to her left cheek. "Ah! Two thank you sir." I paused for about ten seconds, and the mear shift of my weight made Robin flinch again. I reared back and unleashed another blow. "Ow ow ow ow owowowowowo." She started to break a little and she needed to take a few breaths, but she continued. "Three thank you sir!"

I quickly struck again. "Ouchhhh four thank you sir!"

I let her take a few breaths to compose herself before I wrapped my arm around her waist to hold her in place. She breathed a deep breath and said "ready sir." I admired her toughness and accountability, even if this punishment session was much less strenuous or unexpected or humiliating as her first. I cocked back and delivered a ferocious open palm spank that covered most of her healthy bottom.

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH OWWWOWOWOWOWOWOWOWOWOW!!" Robin's knees buckled and she would have collapsed to the floor had I not used all of my strength wrapped around her waist to keep her upright. She corrected herself pretty quickly, took some deep breaths and finished her requirements. "Five, thank you for punishing me Mr. Braxton. I'll try to learn my mistakes and do better next time." I rubbed her backside, which was lightly throbbing, and she thanked me for not punishing her bare bottom.

I laughed a bit and gave her ass a light pat and told her she could stand up. She leaned into my chest as if she wanted me to hug her, but she didn't hug back. She whispered 'thank you', and I asked her if she could bring a few of her bags up stairs. She cheerfully complied and maximized her load by somehow dragging five of the bags up the stairs. I smirked and turned my attention back to Jasmine. I wasn't keeping complete track if she kept her eyes forward through Robin's entire spanking, but I didn't notice any movement.

"Good girl. You're learning. And I'm proud of you." She did a double take up at me. She wanted to ask what I meant but knew better than to move an inch. I laughed and told her we'd talk once this was over. She stayed silent and took a few deep breaths before holding. I stepped over to her and delivered the first strike.

"One thank you sir." I quickly struck again. "Two thank you sir." Her oversized ass jiggled for about three seconds. Her thickly cushioned bottom, combined with the fact that I let it stay covered by her dress, was probably why she was taking her spankings quietly so far. I went back to work. Two quick smacks to each cheek didn't even leave Jasmine enough time to go through her paces. "Three thank you s... ahh four thank you sir!" She was doing well, but she still needed to feel a little discomfort.

I delivered the fifth blow, and I added a squeeze to the left cheek to get my point across. "Ooooooh ow. Five thank you sir." There was the balance that was struck. I repeated the technique with the sixth, seventh and eighth strokes, and Jasmine obediently said her lines. I will say this for my stepdaughter: she had character, a good heart, an underrated sense of self-awareness, and her mother's unbelievably juicy butt. I know how bad that sounds, but I knew I had the discipline to resist taking advantage of her in a deviant way. This was strictly my way as a parent, and I think she knew that too.

I wrapped my arm around her waist to get a better hold of her, and she adjusted herself slightly to accommodate me. I gave her a light pat on the ass and asked if she was ready. She knew how to deliver some snark too. "I was born ready dad." Alright then. I delivered the first two-cheek slap. I could see the ripple of her meaty behind. I had big hands but Jasmine had such a big butt that I couldn't even cover about a third of it. She winced and said, "Nineeee thank you sir." I readjusted her because my arm was cramping. I delivered one last smack to her ass, and it was enough to finally elicit a scream. "EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE AHHHHHHHHHHH!" She collapsed similar to Robin, but I lost grip and she almost face planted. I barely held on while she continued to pant. I pulled her back up and into a hug. Jasmine embraced me for what felt like a few minutes. It may have been a few minutes. I wasn't keeping track.

"You ready to talk?" I asked.

"Yup. What happened with Heidi? Is she ok?" She knew something was very wrong, but I got the inkling that Heidi was keeping this secret to herself. I was again very humbled by her confiding in me, and I knew if she held this inside it would be bad for her physical and mental health. I needed to ask Jasmine about what goes on at school in their class with Mr. Schmidt.

"What can you tell me about your lit professor? Schmidt."