“You wouldn’t actually hit me with that paddle.” Camila narrowed her eyes at Ginger. “My butt is already bruised.”
Ginger laughed. “I told Chun you’d be a fraidy cat.”
“That’s not even…” Camila gritted her teeth, infuriated by Ginger’s mocking smirk. “FINE! If that’s what you want, let’s do it.” Pushing her way past Ginger, Camila pulled her rainbow skirt down. As she wiggled her diaper off her hips she heard Ginger gasp.
“Hey, woah, what are you doing?! You can’t just – show off your bits like that.”
“This is what you wanted, isn’t it? Get to it.” Camila snarled over her shoulder.
“Pull your stupid diaper up, you’re indecent!”
“What, you were going to spank me through my diaper?”
“YES!” With a strangled noise, Ginger grabbed Camila’s diaper, yanking it up from her thighs until it mostly covered her rear. “That’s why I brought a paddle.”
“Oh, so you’re the chicken.” Camila stood and hitched her diaper up as one motion, leaving her skirt in a rumpled pile on the floor. “I won’t feel it through a diaper this thick, even with a paddle. Why even spank if you don’t have the guts to do it properly?”
“Are you stupid? Now you’re asking me to hit your bruised butt?”
“I think you’re being ridiculous.” Camila glared at Ginger, feeling righteous heat in her belly. Her rival was always moralizing and winging about what other people were doing, but she’d proved herself just as horny as anyone else the moment she got a girlfriend. “I’m sure you’ve seen Chun’s bits up close and personal. I don’t have anything your girlfriend doesn’t have. Let’s just do this and get it over with.”
“I’m not a slut like you!” There were tears in Ginger’s eyes but her face was a muddle of shock and rage. “Chun and I are in love!”
“Yeah, yeah, everybody loves their first girlfriend. Fact is, the first time a girl showed you some attention, you couldn’t throw your V-card at her fast enough. At least I waited six months with my first girlfriend!” Camila heard the ringing sound of the slap before she felt the burn on her cheek. Her jaw dropped to match the horrified, shocked expression on Ginger’s face. Her own palm cracked across Ginger’s cheek before she could think.
“How DARE you?” Ginger touched her face with a trembling hand.
“You hit me first!”
“You deserved it for calling me a whore!”
“I didn’t call you a whore! Unlike some people, I don’t think there’s anything wrong with sex!” Camila balled her fists up, willing herself to lower her voice from a shout. Though her heart was thundering in her chest, she managed to get her tone down to merely aggressive. “It was bad enough for you to be judgmental when you were a virgin, but now you’re just a damn hypocrite.”
“Fuck you!” Ginger’s whole body was trembling. “I told you, Chun and I are in love. She’s the one!”
Oh my god, she really believes that. Camila blinked at her rival – her once-friend – and felt her heart go out to the other girl in spite of herself. Of course, it was possible that Chun and Ginger really were destined for forever, but the poor girl sounded unbearably naïve. Concern for Ginger and rage at the girl couldn’t live in the same heart. The angry fire sputtered out as Camila shook her head.
“Ginger – what happened to us? How did we get from seeing each other every day to screaming and slapping?”
“Oh no, we are NOT doing that right now.” Ginger poked Camila in the gut with her paddle. “Bend over. I’m going to spank you with this thing and get out of here.”
“Seriously, we should talk this out.”
Ginger put her hand on the doorknob. “Bend your butt over or I’ll tell the Heathers you refused your spanking.”
Irritation sparked up the back of Camila’s head and threatened to reignite her rage. Grinding her teeth, she bent over her bed. “Fine. Do it.”
The first strike was laughable. The next three weren’t much better. Rationally, Camila knew she should take the reprieve for her sore rear and be happy with it. Too bad rational never happens around Ginger. Yawning exaggeratedly, Camila stretched her arms out. “Have you started yet? I have homework tonight.”
“I’m not taking your diaper off to see your gross crotch.”
“Yeah, okay, that’s fine.” Camila looked back and smirked at Ginger, stalling the other girl in the middle of her windup. “Hey, maybe you’re not good at this. Don’t you have a five year old cousin? Let’s get her in here and see if she can give you some pointers.”
“WHY. ARE. YOU. LIKE. THIS?” With every word, Ginger swung the paddle two-handed like a bat. Camila’s hips rocked forward with each strike. On an already bruised rear, Ginger’s paddling was finally managing to sting. Not that Camila was going to give her rival the slightest bit of credit.
“Me? Why are YOU such a bitch all the time?” Camila waggled her rear mockingly at Ginger. “Was it really the swim team? I beat you in a race and you were so jealous that you couldn’t be my friend anymore?”
Ginger’s answer was an inchoate sound of rage. Winding the paddle back behind her head, she rained down strikes on Camila’s padded rear with fury that had her putting her back into the hits. As much as she hated to give Ginger any victories, Camila was forced into silence, holding onto the bed. Not only was the paddle delivering a serious sting through a thick diaper, but if Ginger missed, she was sure the paddle would break the skin on her thighs. Flares of stinging soreness blossomed on Camila’s rear, forcing her to grind her teeth to hold back her cries. Camila was convinced she’d have a W as long as she stayed silent.
Neither of them noticed how much Camila’s diaper had split and frayed under the assault until the distinctive crack of wood on flesh sounded out, its echo swallowed by Camila’s scream of agony. The line of flesh that’d been exposed felt like a brand had been pressed against it – no, like there was still a brand pressing into her rear. Helpless sobs flowed out of Camila, her stomach sank with a terrible dread of the next paddle hit.
That hit never came. The sound of the paddle clattering to the floor was followed by Ginger’s hushed and fearful voice. “Oh God, Camila, I’m sorry I – I didn’t realize. I didn’t mean to hit you that hard!”
“Well you did.” Camila reached back to her rear, flinching when the mere flex of her butt sent another spasm of pain through her.
“I’m sorry, you have to believe me!” Ginger touched Camila’s wrist with a trembling hand. “You – you’re bleeding a little. Where’s your first aid kit?”
“Why the fuck would I have one of those?”
“Because you’re always insanely prepared!”
“Well I don’t have one!” A fresh ache made Camila cry out and bite into her comforter.
“I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I really didn’t mean to – I’ll get something, just wait there.” Ginger fled the door, slamming it behind her. As a memory of the paddle cracking across her rear, the sound made Camila flinch. She lay on her bed – as if she had any other choice – trying to breathe as shallowly as possible.
As a measure of Ginger’s concern, the speed with which she returned was impressive. She’d managed to collect everything she needed in that time too, from scissors to carefully cut the diaper away, to a wet cloth that she’d remembered to warm. I shouldn’t be so surprised, Camila thought, as Ginger applied numbing antiseptic cream to her rear. We’re rivals because we’re too similar.
“Try moving your – uh, legs a little.” Ginger.
Tentatively, Camila flexed her rear. The searing agony was gone, though she was plenty sore. Like it or not, Camila decided, that’s the end of your spanking, Ginger. She managed to roll onto her side, since sitting seemed foolish. Her rival’s tear-streaked face was full of concern. Apologetic was something Camila had expected. Fear would have made sense too, since Camila was sure that the Heathers wouldn’t be happy with how far Ginger had gone. But the other girl looked devastated. Along with Ginger’s growing anger, she’d become just as emotionally unstable. Red-eyed and sore-assed, Camila was exhausted by the drama.
“Why do you hate me?” Camila rubbed her sweater across her snotty nose.
“I don’t hate you. I – you did a lot of things to hurt me.” Ginger sat heavily on the end of the bed.
“Like what?!” Camila narrowed her eyes as Ginger frowned. “No, do NOT tell me that I know. I’m asking because I really, genuinely don’t.”
“That’s not what I was going to say! I um, can you cover up a little?”
Camila looked down at her bare lower half. Her legs were pressed demurely together, there was barely anything to see, despite her being shaved. With a roll of her eyes she leaned a pillow against her thighs. “Fine, better?”
“Yes.” Ginger sighed and looked down. “I – I can’t help some of the way that I am. You didn’t used to yell at me for growing up in a conservative family. I remember saying that you understood, that it was okay for me to be who I am.”
Now she’s the wounded one? Camila sighed, “Ginger, you didn’t used to spit venom at me either. I stopped being okay with your conservative mindset around the time you started throwing around words like slut and whore.”
Ginger winced. “I’m – I’m sorry for that too. I guess I was jealous. You were having so much fun, getting so much attention from girls – and boys. I couldn’t do anything like that. My mom would have thrown me out of the house.”
“That doesn’t make my relationships wrong, though.”
“I…” Ginger was clearly struggling to agree with that statement. It was progress that she bit her lip and simply refused to answer. Especially with the next revelation that left her lips. “I miss hanging out with you – so much. It hurts.”
“Ginny…” Camila tossed her rival’s old nickname out tentatively, and was surprised to see it not only tolerated, but to have Ginger’s expression perk up. “You’re the one that stopped hanging out with me.”
“There wasn’t room for me anymore. You were dating Kelly, and then Tom, and then…” Ginger’s lip curled in a snarl – she shook her head and cleared her expression. “I didn’t fit anymore.”
“I didn’t ditch my other friends! Sure, things were different when some of us started dating, but I still had a great time with friends.” Camila sighed. “I don’t understand why my dating was such a problem. Was it your mom saying bad stuff about me?”
“No! I never told my mom about – about how far you went with people or that you dated more than one person at once or – or – I just didn’t.” Ginger balled up her fists and pressed them against her thighs. “I didn’t want her to not like you.”
“So it was you.” Camila’s lip trembled, tears threatened at the corners of her eyes again. This time the ache that spawned tears came from her heart, not her rear. “It was you who came up with all the ugly things you said.”
“I wasn’t trying to be awful – at first.” Ginger sighed. “You’re right that I went too far. But at first I thought – I thought if I said something that you’d stop. You’d see it was wrong. That you shouldn’t be with those people.”
“Why? What’s wrong with love? You found something amazing with Chun – damnit Ginny, I haven’t even congratulated you.” Camila sighed. “I’ve been irritated the whole time I’ve seen you two together because…”
“You have!?” Ginger looked weirdly excited – desperately eager in fact. “You’re mad that I’m with Chun?”
“I’m – I’m annoyed seeing you two sucking face all the time.” Camila leaned away from Ginger suspiciously. “Why would you be happy about that? You wanted me to have the same weird jealousy that you did?”
“I don’t know – it just came out.” Ginger’s excited expression was gone, replaced with worried confusion. “Maybe you’re right. I wanted to drag you down to my level.”
“We’ve never talked about our relationships – it made you mad when I even mentioned Kelly, so I stopped bringing it up.” Camila put a hand softly on Ginger’s. “Do you want to talk about Chun? I’m curious how you two got together.”
“She kind of cornered me and flirted with me really hard.” Ginger blushed and looked away. “We watched a movie together and uh – anyway, the details don’t matter.”
“The details are the juicy part! Come on, at least tell me what it was like when you two finally uh – sealed the deal.” Camila grinned at her rival. You can do this Ginger! Tell me about Chun, I’ll tell you about Belén, and we can get over this weirdness that started at the end of middle school. We can be friends again!
“You really want to know?” Ginger searched Camila’s eyes with a surprisingly hurt expression on her face. Camila felt her own face fall as Ginger’s expression shaded into bitterness. “I cried, okay? I sobbed my guts out because I’d lost something precious – I’m not virgin anymore – and I wasn’t sure it was with the right person.”
“How could there be one right person?” Camila sighed. “Ginny, please, hear me. Your mom’s way is not the only way. It’s okay to love someone and be loved back. Sex is beautiful, it doesn’t tarnish love, it makes it even more special.”
“That’s not what I want.” Ginger’s voice was soft and ragged. “I don’t want lots of people. I want the right person, the perfect one.”
“That doesn’t give you the right to be angry at me for not living that way.” Camila scooted closer to Ginger, locking eyes with her friend. “I don’t believe in soulmates, but I won’t run you down for believing in them. Why do you think it’s okay to hurt me for thinking differently than you?”
“I told you – at first I wasn’t trying to hurt you.”
“Then what? Why did you come up to me after that camping trip when I hooked up with Tom and call me a whore?”
“Because – because…” Ginger was trembling all over, her eyes were wide and her pupils dilated until all the green in them was gone. “Because I’ve always loved you. I still…”
Camila gaped at Ginger. Leaping off the bed like a cat off a hot stove, Ginger staggered away from Camila with her hand over her mouth. The tension grew until Ginger’s shoulders hit Camila’s shelf, sending a water glass tumbling. When the glass shattered on the floor, Ginger screamed to beat Camila’s earlier howl of anguish.
“Ginny! Ginny, listen, it’s okay if you have feelings for me. We can talk about this…”
“NO!” Ginger fumbled desperately at the doorknob. “I love Chun. I don’t love you. I can’t love you. I – I – you got your spanking, so don’t talk to me again. Don’t – just don’t. I can’t.”
The door slammed behind Ginger like a gunshot. Camila had no time to process anything before it opened again. Thankfully, it was Betty. She was wearing a worried expression and a polka-dot sheath dress that was gorgeous on her curves.
“I can’t stay out any longer. That’s the second time Ginger banged the door, you’ve both been screaming. Baby girl, if your spanking isn’t over, I’m putting an end to it.” Betty frowned at the broken glass and picked her way around it to the bed.
“Most of the screaming wasn’t the spanking.” Camila sighed. “You know how Ginger and I are.”
“I do, and I think it was irresponsible for the Heathers to let her be one of your spankers.” Betty put her hands on her ample hips. “But you already know that I don’t approve of this whole spanking punishment. Are you okay, baby girl?”
“Physically – yeah.” Camila looked up at betty plaintively. “Mommy, can I have a hug?”
“Always.” Betty gathered Camila gently against her and pressed her cheek against Camila’s head, squeezing the Little girl against her comforting softness. “Looks like you need a new diaper too.”
“You don’t mind that part of the punishment, huh?” Camila managed a small smile. The power of Betty-snuggles turned the turbulent waters of her heart into something resembling calm.
“I love taking care of you, but I’m just one of what, three caregivers you have now?”
“Don’t you get jealous too! Also, that was just one time with Amanda.”
“With Amanda? I was counting Heather.” Betty laughed and patted Camila’s back. “I’m not jealous, I promise. It does mean I like having extra opportunities to take care of my baby girl, though.”
“I could use it tonight.”
“Did Ginger say something awful to you?”
“No – I mean, yes, but that’s not what…” Camila shook her head. “I can’t talk about it yet. I have to think on my own first. I’ll need your advice later.”
“Any time, sweetie.” Betty produced a handkerchief from her bosom and wiped Camila’s tear streaked face, finishing by planting a gentle kiss on Camila’s lips. “Let’s get you comfy.”