Beginning Anew CH 5

CHAPTER FIVE

    There was a package waiting outside the door when Allie got home. She bounded up the stairs excitedly to retrieve it, knowing exactly what it was. She carried it into the apartment with her and tore the box open immediately, pulling out the leather paddle and strap she’d ordered for Jacob. It was their 3 year anniversary tomorrow, and she thought that giving him spanking implements would be a good way to acknowledge the new direction their relationship was taking. She hurried to their bedroom and dug out a gift box from their collection in the closet, and packed them into the box with some blue tissue paper she’d picked up on her way home. She had a card that she was going to give him too, but after a quick glance at her watch, she decided she was cutting it close on time and would write it out tomorrow. Just as she was stuffing the box under the bed so Jacob wouldn’t see it, she heard him come into the apartment.
    He stepped out of his shoes and hung his coat up next to the door. “Allie?” he called.
    She jumped to her feet and came down the hall. “Hi honey, how was your day?” she asked.
    He didn’t respond, his head in the refrigerator. When he came into sight again, he asked, “What do you want to do for dinner?”
    Shrugging, she replied, “I don’t know. What do you feel like?”
    Jacob found this incredibly irritating. Every time he asked her what she wanted to do, or what she wanted to eat, or where she wanted to go, she always responded, “I don’t know.” he didn’t understand why she couldn’t just make a suggestion. He knew, as soon as he made one, she’d wrinkle her nose and huff about going there because they always go there, or do that, etc. He sighed.
    “Allie, I’ve had a really long day. I’m not in the mood to go back and forth about dinner. Just choose something!”
    Taken aback, Allie’s fingers found the charm on her necklace and started rubbing it, a nervous habit. “Um, I don’t know? We could order out,” She mumbled. “Chinese?”
    Rubbing his temples, he said, “Sounds good. Will you call while I take a shower?”
    She nodded, and watched as he walked down the hall toward the bathroom and their bedroom. She sighed, wondering what had gotten into him today.
    It must have been a horrible day for him to snap at her like that.
    She dialed the Chinese place a few blocks over and ordered their usual. While she waited, her mind started to wander. It had been almost 3 weeks since the last time she was spanked, and while on one hand, she dreaded ever being spanked again, there was some part of her that desired it. She’d felt close to Jacob after he’d spanked her, and the way she felt now .. well, the closeness after a spanking beat this feeling any day. She became so engrossed in thinking about how she could suggest he spank her, maybe to lighten his mood a little, that she didn’t hear the delivery guy til he was banging on their door. She got up and took the food from him, setting it on the kitchen counter and rushing back to pay him.
    Jacob came back from the shower just as Allie was getting plates and silverware out. “Smells good,” he said tightly.
    She looked at him, and could see the stress on his face. “Are you okay?” she asked.
    “I’m fine.” he said, monotonous. He spooned some fried rice onto his plate and loaded up with chicken fingers and teriyaki beef, then plopped down on the couch, turning the tv on to the hockey game.
    “Do you want to talk?” Allie asked, pouring herself a glass of milk before coming to sit next to him.
    “No.”
    She felt stung, like she’d done something wrong, although she knew she hadn’t, she couldn’t have. She ate her food in silence, unable to peel her eyes off her plate for fear that she’d burst into tears. When she finished, she stole a glance at Jacob.
    His eyes were glued to the tv screen.
    “Jake?” she squeaked.
    “Yeah?” he didn’t even look over at her.
    “Are you sure everything’s okay?”
    “Allie, I’m fine.” he sounded very annoyed now. His eyebrows knotted slightly above his eyes, and his mouth pulled into a tight line.
    She took a deep breath. “It just seems like you’re angry, or stressed or something…I’m here if you need to talk about it.”
    He didn’t say anything, just stared at the tv, unblinking.
    Frustrated, Allie stood up and dropped her plate in the kitchen sink. “I’m going to go read in bed or something.” she said, her tone clearly portraying that she was none to happy about how things were going.
    “Yep.” he answered. Once she had stormed down the hallway and their bedroom door slammed shut, he sighed. He’d visited the jewelry store almost a month ago to have his grandmother’s engagement ring restored, and they’d promised him that it would be ready for their anniversary. When he swung by on his way home from work, they told him that things had gotten really busy, and they wouldn’t have it ready for another week. A WEEK! He went off on them, and they promised to reduce the price, but it didn’t matter. Everything was screwed up. He’d planned on taking her out to a nice restaurant for their anniversary, and then walking with her through the city. There was a fountain in the park down the street from their apartment and he wanted to take her there. Once they’d arrived, he was going to get down on one knee and pop the question. Now, the whole night was ruined. No ring, no proposal. He was furious. The more he thought about it, the more he realized that he shouldn’t have been taking it out on Allie, this wasn’t her fault.
    He got up and went to their bedroom, but she’d fallen asleep curled up with her book. He brushed the hair back from her face and he realized it was wet, and sticking to her cheek.
    She must have been crying.
    He felt like a total jackass. He contemplated waking her up to apologize, but decided to let her sleep. He shed his clothes down to his boxers, his normal sleep wear, and climbed into bed with her.
    She stirred, and moved closer to him, still half asleep.
    He drew her to him, and smiled when she rested her head on his chest. He fell asleep, his arm wrapped tightly around her.

   
    When he woke in the morning, he could smell eggs and bacon. He groggily got to his feet and got dressed, then made his way to the kitchen.
    “Hey you,” he smiled, leaning down to kiss her.
    “Good morning, in a better mood today?” she asked, a hopeful look on her face.
    He nodded. “I’m sorry about last night. I was an asshole.”
    She tip toed up and kissed him again. “Happy anniversary, sweetheart.” Upon finishing cooking, she made him a plate, and set it in front of him at the breakfast bar. “I’m going to go get dressed, I’ll be right back.” She went to the bedroom and dressed for work, then came back to eat with Jacob.
    “I made a reservation at that restaurant you like for dinner,” Jacob told her between bites.
    “Bella Luna?” Allie replied excitedly.
    He suppressed a grin, satisfied that her reaction was what he’d hoped it would be. “Yeah, that one…” he said, trying to sound emotionless.
    Allie couldn’t wipe the grin off her face. She loved Bella Luna.
    They’d only been a few times together, since they couldn’t really afford to go more often. The food was delicious, and it was the kind of place you were supposed to dress up to go to.
    Like any woman, she enjoyed getting all gussied up to go out once in a while. She loved having any chance to put on a dress and heels.
    Plus, Jacob loved when Allie got all dressed up. She always looked so beautiful, and he never failed to tell her so. What girl didn’t like hearing that from their man?
    She looked at the time, then jumped up and went to him, kissing his cheek. “See you later honey,” she rushed off to work.
    Jacob finished eating and put both of their plates in the sink before heading to work himself. On the ride there, he tried to figure out a way to salvage the night.

    Allie arrived home before Jake as usual. She pulled the gift box from beneath the bed and wrapped it, then sat down with the card she’d picked out and wrote a heartfelt note inside it. She described the heightened respect she felt for him, the stronger attraction to him, the femininity he brought out in her, all due to their new Domestic Discipline agreement. She thanked him for being the leader she needed, and acknowledged that although it was bound to be a hard road, she was sure it would be well worth the trouble. She ended it by saying that she loved him more than he could imagine, and signed her name. Tucking it inside the envelope, she sealed it and taped it to the front of the gift box. Setting it on the bed, she got up and started to get ready for their fancy dinner. She hopped in the shower and quickly washed down, shaved her legs and armpits, and washed her hair. When she got out, she blow dried and started curling her hair. She was pinning it back when she heard Jacob come in.
    He was a little later getting home than he usually was, because he’d stopped for flowers on the way home and couldn’t decide what he’d wanted to get her. He came down the hallway and saw her standing in front of the mirror, brushing blush onto the apples of her cheeks.
    She heard him coming, and turned to smile at him. She saw the bouquet of flowers in his hand and rushed out in her bra and panties. “Oh, baby, they’re beautiful!” Her eyes were sparkling. She kissed him.
    “Look at you,” he murmured, wrapping his arms around her naked body. “Too bad we have a reservation in an hour or I’d ravage you right here in the hallway,” he murmured.
    She grinned, blushing, and pushed him away. “Let me finish getting ready! Fifteen minutes, and then I want you to open your gift.” she returned to the bathroom and finished doing her makeup. When she finished, she found him in the bedroom, tying his tie. She went to the closet and pulled out her little black dress, stepped into it, and had Jake zip up the back for her. Slipping into her heels, she completed her outfit. She slowly turned and looked up at him, smiling.
    “You look beautiful, baby.” he murmured softly.
    “Come open your present!” Allie squealed excitedly. She jumped up and sat on the bed, handing him the box.
     He took the card off the front first and read it, a smile spreading across his face. “You always write the sweetest things, baby.” he murmured. He started opening the box. When he got into it, he picked up one of the two items inside, both wrapped with tissue paper.
    Allie had wrapped more on the handle so the shape wouldn’t be easily recognized.
    He tore the paper off and held the leather paddle out to admire. He had a devilish grin on his face as he reached for the other half of his gift. When he unwrapped the strap, he looked up at her, his eyes gleaming. “We’re gonna have to try these out!” he declared, his voice full of humor. “Hop off this bed and bend over it.”
    Allie’s jaw dropped, her cheeks flushing pink. “What! Now?”
    He nodded. “Yup, now .. Come on!” he insisted. “We don’t have much time, but I want you to have a nice warm butt to sit on at dinner,” Jacob grinned.

    “That’s really not necessary,” she protested playfully, but she bent over the bed.
    Jacob came to stand behind her, lifting her pretty black dress up to expose her cheeks, totally unprotected by her little black thong. He picked up the paddle first, and started lightly slapping her with it. He moved all over her bottom, sure to cover every last inch of it. The swats intensified slightly, but he was going pretty easy overall.
    Allie moaned. This felt much different than a punishment spanking did. This was amazing! She felt so sexy and feminine bent over the bed like this, presenting her ass to her man for him to do as he pleased.
    Jacob paused, pressing himself against her leg and rubbing her warm butt. He caressed and squeezed, growing harder as she pushed her tush out for him. He stepped away, picking up the strap. These strokes were a little harder, but not too hard. He was not trying to make it hurt.
    The strap stung a little, but the sting quickly faded into a delicious heat that covered her whole backside, slowly moving to other more sensitive areas. She was growing more and more aroused with each stroke that landed, her reddening cheeks burning wonderfully. She found herself pushing her bottom out to meet the strap, and moaning in unbridled pleasure each time it came in contact with her tender skin.
    He put the strap down. “Hand me the paddle,” he ordered. “We’ll finish off with ten more and then we’ve got to leave or we’ll miss our reservation.”
    She handed it to him eagerly.
    He gave her ten crisp swats, harder than the rest, all placed strategically on her sensitive sit spot.
    These had her jumping a little, the contrast in sharpness a surprise. When he finished, she stood slowly and rearranged her dress. She felt hot and flustered, and she turned and kissed him hard on the lips.
    “We are far from done, much more to come later,” he promised. He stole one last kiss before escorting her down to his car to leave for dinner.
    The whole way there, all Allie could think about was the night ahead. Despite how much she loved this restaurant, she would have skipped eating there in a heart beat to just go home and continue what had been started.
    Jacob got out of the car and came to the passenger side, opening the door for her. He handed his keys to the valet and they went inside. He was such a gentleman. He pulled out her chair, and when the waitress came over to ask what they’d like to drink, he ordered a bottle of Allie’s favorite wine.
    She was squirming in her seat, her bottom tender and still warm. She smiled across the table at him. Thinking about why she was squirming, and what was still to come, she was more aroused than she ever remembered being. Under the table, she rubbed her leg against his.
    He grinned watching her squirm. “Something wrong, honey?” he asked.
    “Not at all, why?”
    “You look a little wiggly in that chair over there,” he teased.
    Allie blushed furiously, even though it was impossible for anyone else around to either have heard or understood what he meant even if they’d happened to overhear him.
    Try as he might, he couldn’t stop staring at her. He’d thought and thought all day about what he would say when he popped the question, and suddenly, he couldn’t remember any of it. His hands were sweating and he felt like his heart might explode it was beating so fast. He couldn’t believe he was lucky enough to be sitting here across from her. In the muted light of the restaurant, her eyes sparkled brighter than the chandelier hanging from the center of the room.
    The waitress returned to take their dinner orders and to deliver their soups and the warm bread. Allie ordered steak, something she really only ate when they were out, and he decided on the swordfish. After the waitress had gone, Allie poured herself a glass of wine.
    “So,” she said softly. “Do you like your gifts?” she looked at him over the rim of her glass, blinking innocently.
   “They were very appropriate. I love them,” he smiled. “Do you like them?”
    Allie nodded shyly. “Very much,”
    They chattered on about nothing and everything, lost in a world where they were the only two occupants. Nobody else in the room existed, it was just the two of them, staring into each others eyes lovingly from across the table. They ate slowly and enjoyed themselves, sipping wine and laughing at each other’s jokes. When they finally finished and were ready to leave, it was hours later. Jacob left a nice tip and they headed out to get the car.
    Again, he opened her door for her, and helped her in. When they arrived at their apartment, he rushed around to her side of the car and let her out, then held out his elbow in invitation.
    She took it, giggling.
    “Let’s go for a walk?” he suggested. “It’s a really nice night,”
    Allie agreed.
    They walked slowly, and he led her to the park. He sat down on the edge of the water fountain, the water lit green by the fluorescent lights inside it. He waited for her to sit beside him, then looked up at the night sky.
    “The stars are out tonight,” he commented. They often stared up at the stars together, in awe of their beauty.
    When Allie looked up, he slipped to the ground, getting on one knee. She glanced back down at him, and her breath caught in her throat.
    He took her hand, and a deep breath. “Allison, you are the most wonderful, beautiful woman that I have ever met in my whole life. I remember thinking the first time I saw you that there wasn’t a chance in hell you’d even give me the time of day, never mind a date. I couldn’t believe it when I asked you to dinner and you actually said yes.” he kissed her fingertips. “I want to spend the rest of my life with you. I want to have a family with you, and make mud pies with our kids. I want to see who’s hair goes grey first, and who will spoil the grandkids more. I want to die holding your hand, Allie, when we're both old and withered. I don’t want to spend a minute of the rest of my life without you. Will you do me the honor of being my wife?”
    She just stared at him, unable to even move. When she finally opened her mouth to speak, she burst into tears, burying her face in her hands.
   

more to come soon, promise!
:D