The Winter Storm, Part 3

Michelle weaved through the mass of students in the administration hallway on the path to her locker. Her rubber soled Mary Janes squeaked on the wet tile, but the sound was nearly lost in the roar of the student herd surrounding her. Muddy tracks led in every direction, coating the floor in an icky smear of brown that made kneeling next to her locker a delicate balancing act. Sandwiched between a pair of classmates she barely knew, her fingers spun the dial's combination opening her square locker on the first try.

“Hey, Michelle!”

Her ears pricked at the sound of her name. Leaning against the lockers, she twisted to peer over her shoulder and locate the source. Her eyes sparkled at her good fortune when she recognized Nicholas Dunn threading his way toward her. She flashed him a smile and waved before twisting back to her locker. Keeping only the book and spiral notebook she needed for her first class, she slammed the locker closed. She gracefully spun around and rose to stand as Nick arrived next to her.

She slipped her arm inside of his and snuggled close. “Nick,” she said, “you’re just the guy I was looking for.”

He smiled and his shoulders straightened making him look even taller. His wanting eyes twinkled with a mixture of pleasure and sadness. “I was beginning to think you were avoiding me.”

Michelle looked away, made uncomfortable by his gaze. She tugged him in the direction of her first class and mumbled an excuse. “I’ve been busy.”

Following her lead, Nick walked alongside her. “With Cody?” he asked.

“We’re just friends,” Michelle said.

He paused, forcing her to stand still in the middle of the crowded hallway. She sighed and turned her head back to meet his gaze. His eyes felt penetrating as he cleared his throat and spoke with a frankness he had never before mustered with her. “Do you let all your friends grab your boobs and stick their tongues down your throat? Cause if you do, I’ve been missing out.”

Michelle snuggled her cheek against his arm, deciding she would rather not meet his gaze. “Don’t be like that. He kissed me and I didn’t want to be rude. He’s a nice guy, but I’m not into him like that.”

Nick shook his head and started walking again. “He’s a jerk and you could do a lot better.”

“Don’t tell me you’re jealous?” Michelle said, keeping step with him. “He’s like first string varsity in every sport. Being friends with Cody is good for my reputation.”

Nick exhaled and spoke toward the ceiling in a quiet voice she almost didn't hear. “You don’t need the kind of reputation he’s giving you.”

Michelle stopped walking, forcing him to do the same and stand facing her. She looked up into his face with her best expression of faux surprise. “You really are jealous.”

“What I am is confused,” Nick said. “He treats you like garbage and still you fall all over yourself to be around him. Meanwhile, you have a real friend who treats you with the dignity and respect you deserve and you won’t even give him a chance to take you out to dinner.”

The lights flickered and thunder rattled the lockers on the walls around them. Michelle took advantage of the distraction to look out the nearby circular window and away from Nick's piercing eyes. The rain was falling sideways, clattering against the glass and obscuring the gray world outside. A shiver of cold ran through her body.

She turned back to Nick and said, “Don't be mad. I told you we'd go out and I meant it. It's just been bad timing lately.”

His head tilted to the side and his eyes expressed his incredulity. “It's been six weeks. If you don’t want to go out with me just say so, but please don’t lie to me anymore.”

"I haven't lied to you. Things are just complicated," she said.

He scoffed at her, shaking his head. “They're not that complicated. Either you want to go out with me or you don't.”

Looking up into his eyes, she fluttered her eyelashes and said, “We could go out tomorrow night.”

Nick’s eyes lit up. “Seriously?”

Pleased as much by his response as with herself, she smiled. “I just need one favor and it’s a done deal.”

Suspicion clouded his downward gaze into her angelic face. “What?”

Michelle glanced lower, avoiding his eyes. “Let me copy your Civics homework during morning break.”

He sighed and looked out the window. “I’m not that hard up for a date.”

“It’s not like that,” she said, reaching out to fondle his black tie. “I wasn’t even going to ask, but I ran out of time last night and I really do want to go out with you, but I’ll get grounded when my dad finds out I didn’t do my homework.”

Nick looked down at her hand on his tie and then a little farther up into her face. “And don’t forget about the spanking Mr. Wolfe promised if you showed up without your homework again.”

She kept fondling his tie and said, “There’s that too.”

“So, what was it you were doing last night that you ran out of time?” he asked.

She looked out the window at the hard rain falling and bit on her lip under the scrutiny of her ghostly reflection seemingly staring in from the outside. “Nothing. I’m just not as smart as you and it takes me a lot longer to finish my homework.”

Nick took a deep breath and adopted a stern expression. “I might have believed that if I hadn't heard Cody telling everyone about how the two of you had phone sex last night.”

A hot blush exploded onto her cheeks. “That bastard!” she said and then looked up at Nick. “He’s a liar. How could you possibly believe him?”

He looked into her unblinking, wide eyes. “I didn’t until you started trying to bribe me for my homework.”

Michelle gawked at him. "That's not what I was doing," she said.

He shook his head and stepped back from her. “If you weren’t then I guess we’ll go out once you’re not grounded anymore and if you were, I guess we’ll know when you don’t talk to me anymore.”

A sinking pit opened in her stomach as she stood gaping at him. Desperation crept into her voice. “It’s not like that, I swear.”

With pursed lips he looked her over from head to toe. “I’m sorry you’ll get in trouble, but I don’t think I’d really be helping if I let you copy my work anyway.”

Her lips trembled and a single tear dripped from her eye and rolled down her cheek. “Please Nick, I’ll do anything.”

Nick’s stance softened and he reached out with a single finger, wiping the tear from her face. “Alright,” he said.

Michelle fluttered her lashes and a smile brightened her face. “You’re the best.”

His stern expression returned and he said, “You said you'd do anything so here's the deal; Before I let you copy my work, I’m going to give you the spanking you obviously deserve.”

Her thoughts became flustered. “I, uh, well, Nick, I mean, Nick, there isn’t any time and it wouldn’t do me much good to turn it in late now would it?”

Tilting his head at her, he said, “It won’t take you more than five minutes to copy the work down and we have the entire snack period before Civics.”

Michelle bit her lower lip and shifted nervously on her feet while staring pitifully up into his eyes. “That doesn’t solve the problem of privacy and if I’m going to get whacked in public I might as well let Mr. Wolfe do it.”

A smile spread across Nick’s lip as he shook his head. “I’m a trusted office aide, I can easily find us an empty classroom.”

She took a step closer to him and lowered her voice, ensuring no one else in the hall could hear her. “Alright,” she said laying her hand against his starched white shirt beneath his tie, “ let’s say I agree, what exactly would you do to me?”

Nick chuckled. “Don’t tell me you’ve never had a spanking before because we both know that’s not true.”

Michelle’s cheeks flushed. She leaned up against him and rose up on her toes. Her lips brushed against his earlobe as she spoke. “But I’ve never been spanked by you before.”

She felt the muscles in his chest tighten and his ear pulse with the heat of fast pumping blood. He looked down into her impish eyes and said, “Well, I think a temptress like you would definitely require a bare bottom spanking.”

“Temptress?” Michelle fluttered her eyelashes. “I am nothing of the sort and I’m appalled that you would think anything else.”

Nick’s eyes narrowed. “You’ve been flirting with me for two years without so much as a kiss on the cheek. At the very least you’re a tease.”

Michelle pressed her fingernails gently into the fabric of his shirt and drew her hand slowly downward. “Is that all you want, a kiss on the cheek?”

His breath grew short. “No,” he said shaking his head, “I think you know that’s not all I want.”

The fullness of her lips brushed against his cheek, tickling the corner of his lips. “What else do you want?” she asked with her lips hovering next to his.

Nick gulped and took a half step back from her. “We can talk about what I want later. Right now, we are talking about the spanking you deserve for not doing your homework.”

She closed the distance between them, pressing her hand against his chest again. “So, you like the idea of spanking a bad girl like me?” she asked, fluttering her eyelashes.

Gently, he grabbed her wrist and pushed her hand away. “I’ll admit I like the thought of your bare bottom all aglow, but only because you deserve it.”

She looked up into his eyes and blinked her best impression of innocence. “But don’t you think that would be mean?”

Nick held her gaze and said, “I think it would be meaner not to. Sooner or later you need to learn to be responsible and having your panties pulled down and your bare bottom spanked red as a ripe tomato is going to help you learn that lesson.”

Michelle blushed as the image he described fixed itself into her imagination. She could picture him sitting in their empty Civics classroom, his hand tapping his lap, inviting her to lay over it. Hot electricity pulsed through her core as she stood transfixed by the imaginary moment. The thought of exposing herself to him and laying over his lap, naked and vulnerable to his every whim, attracted her like a lightning rod to her most secret desires.

Shaking away the fantasy, she asked, “What have I done to make you think I'm irresponsible?”

He chuckled. “It’s more like what haven’t you done.”

She gasped and pressed her hands against her bosom. “I’m not that bad!”

“I was talking about your homework,” Nick said.

Michelle blinked. “Oh.”

He smiled and laid his arm around her shoulders. “I know it won’t be the most pleasant experience for you, but if you don’t make too much of a fuss I’ll let you keep your panties up until your over my lap.”

She twisted in his arm to look up at him. “You’re serious?” she asked.

Nick nodded. “Of course. The point is to teach you a lesson about not doing your homework and I’m pretty sure my hand smacking your naked backside will do the trick.”

“I’m not getting naked with you,” Michelle said.

He laughed. “Who said anything about getting naked?”

She rolled her eyes. “You know what I mean.”

He continued to chuckle and nodded. “Yeah, but you’re cute when you’re flustered.”

A frown enveloped her lips. “So you’re teasing me?”

“A little.” he said with a grin.

Michelle sighed. “So are you going to help me or not?”

“Absolutely,” he said. “I’m going to put you over my knee and help you understand just how naughty you’ve been.”

“Nick!” Her face glowed in the red hue of embarrassment.

He chuckled and said, “And then I’ll give you the answers to the homework.”

She straightened her shoulders and stared up into his eyes. “I’m not baring anything.”

Nick shrugged. “If you show up without you’re homework, I’m fairly certain Mr. Wolfe is going to flip your skirt up at the very least, not to mention he'll be using the paddle and I promise to only use my hand.”

Her gaze flicked to Nick’s groin for an instant. “At least he won’t be poking me in the bellybutton.”

He nodded in agreement. “It’s not my fault you’re both a haughty and naughty."

Michelle raised up on her tiptoes to whisper in his ear. “If you really want to put your hands on me, you’ll let me copy your homework and take me out on a proper date first.”

Nick pushed her back down with a hand on her shoulder. “This isn’t a negotiation. One way or another, you’re getting a spanking today and either way I’m going to see your white little panties. The only question is whether I’ll be alone or with a class full of our peers.”

Her face darkened. “I thought you were different,” she said and shook her head. “I thought you were a nice guy.”

“I am a nice guy,” Nick said.

She shook her head. “No, you’re not. If you were, you wouldn’t be trying to blackmail me into a spanking.”

Nick stepped back from her. “I’m not blackmailing you. All I’ve done is offered you a way out of the very public spanking you’ve earned all on your own. If that’s not being a nice guy, then I guess I don’t know what is.”

“FYI,” Michelle said glaring at him, “a nice guy would have helped me out without trying to take advantage of the situation. You’re a bigger pig than Cody.”

He glared back at her. “If I were Cody, I wouldn’t have given you a choice. I’d just rip your skirt off, yank your panties down and smack your ass until I was satisfied.”

Michelle gawked at her usually calm friend.

Nick said, “Oh, and I wouldn’t have any homework worth copying either because I’d be too stupid to figure out what the questions were asking, let alone how to answer them.”

Michelle glanced around the hall suddenly aware of an odd silence. Several other students had paused in their morning routines to listen to the argument unfolding. A rosy blush colored Michelle’s cheeks as her own words and those of Nick echoed in her ears. She locked her gaze on a shy girl she recognized as being from her own year and planted her hands on hips.

“What the fuck are you staring at, bitch?” Michelle said.

The poor girl turned white and red all in the same breath. “Nothing,” she said in a hushed, barely audible voice. The girl didn’t wait for a further response, but instead scurried off down the hall without a backward glance. The remainder of the crowd dispersed a moment later, leaving Nick and Michelle alone.

Nick shook his head at Michelle. “All this time I thought we were friends. I thought somewhere underneath all your brusqueness was a really nice and sweet girl, but it looks like I was just deluding myself. You really are nothing more than a shallow brat and your idea of a friend is just someone you can use and step on like a doormat.”

She huffed in Nick’s direction. “I guess we were both fooled cause you are definitely more of an asshole than I ever thought.”

He nodded. “You were right about one thing, I am a guy and that means I don’t let anybody walk all over me, especially not pretty little girls with bad attitudes.” He turned away from her and walked in the direction of his first class.

“Nick, wait,” Michelle said to his retreating back.

He disappeared around a corner leaving her alone. A touch of panic swarmed in her stomach as she contemplated facing Mr. Wolfe without her homework. The hall lights dimmed for an instant and another boom of thunder rattled the school walls. Michelle turned toward her first period class and walked with the crowd. She tried to push aside a nagging sense of guilt, but it lingered along with the image of Nick's empty, waiting lap.