American Blue (2 page)

‘Look, Jemima, please,’ I broke in as soon as there was a lull in the conversation, ‘this could make you unemployable …’

‘Oh, shut up, Penny,’ she snapped back. ‘You’re living in the Dark Ages. Lots of girls pay their way through college by stripping or doing vids or whatever, and what do you expect? You got a grant when you were at uni, didn’t you?’

‘Yes …’

‘Right, and I won’t. So if I don’t want to come out with thousands and thousands of pounds of debt I need to work, and there’s no point in doing some crappy McJob on minimum wage. This way, with my contacts, I earn enough now and in my year off to see me right through uni and I can get extra any time I want. Isn’t that right, Hudson?’

‘Sure,’ Hudson Staebler confirmed.

Jemima was still talking, her voice increasingly heated.

‘It’s utterly hypocritical of the establishment to force young women into early debt and then object when we seek to avoid it in the simplest and most effective way. And besides, how do you think they’re going to find out I’m in the vids and stuff? By watching it, that’s how, so if they want to go on about my morals they’d better put their own in order first, don’t you think?’

‘People don’t see things that way,’ I said weakly, ‘but never mind that anyway. What about your mum?’

‘What about her?’ she answered, putting on her stubborn face.

‘She’ll be furious!’ I pointed out, stating the obvious. ‘I don’t mean any disrespect, Mr Staebler, but you’re more than three times Jemima’s age, and—’

‘Jemima is able to make her own choices in life,’ he broke in, ‘and I’m surprised to find you so prejudiced, Penny.’

‘I’m not,’ I said hastily. ‘I completely support your right to choose, regardless of age, but Jemima’s parents aren’t going to see it that way.’

‘Then it’s about time they learnt that I’m not a baby any more,’ Jemima answered, ‘and they don’t have to find out about the porny stuff – unless you’re going to tell them?’

She was looking at me accusingly, but we both knew perfectly well that I wouldn’t dare mention it to Kate, not when Jemima knew so much about what I got up to myself.

‘Of course not,’ I assured her. ‘It’s just that I think you … you should take things a little more slowly, perhaps. Believe me, there’s a very big difference between enjoying your sexuality and allowing it to be exploited commercially.’

‘I can take care of myself,’ she said.

‘No you can’t!’ I insisted. ‘Jemima, please try and understand. It’s not like one of Morris’s parties. You have to do as you’re told, and if that means something you don’t like—’

‘Are you trying to say I won’t take care of her?’ Hudson broke in.

‘No, of course not, but …’

‘I’ll be with her, twenty-four-seven. You have my word on that.’

I wanted to say that was what I was worried about, but I found myself drying up and it was Morris who spoke next.

‘You need to get over this hang-up about commercial sex, Penny, you really do.’

‘He’s right,’ Melody agreed. ‘What, am I some kind of fucked-up crack-head or something?’

‘No, of course not,’ I said quickly, ‘but—’

‘But nothing,’ she interrupted. ‘Jemima will be fine. Hudson will look after her and it’s not even as if she’s being asked to do anything she hasn’t done before.’

I knew them too well to trust her word on that, but there was no point in arguing.

‘Maybe if you’d at least wait until after your exams?’ I tried desperately.

‘I’d miss the competition,’ Jemima pointed out.

‘You could do it next year. Maybe Hudson could offer you work in New York for your year off? Yes, that’s a great idea, and Kate wouldn’t even need to know that the two of you are together. How about it?’

‘No. I’m going now.’

‘It’s only six months, Jemima!’

‘I’m going now.’

I took a deep breath, fighting down the urge to spank the little brat then and there. It would have been pointless, because she’d have enjoyed it and the rest of them would just have sat back to watch the show, probably before giving me a dose of my own medicine. I was fairly sure she was stronger than me as well. Nevertheless it was tempting to try, extremely tempting.

Another awful possibility struck me.

‘What about school?’ I asked. ‘You are coming back before the start of next term, aren’t you?’

‘Yes, of course,’ Jemima answered. ‘I’m not irresponsible, Penny.’

That was just too much.

‘Not irresponsible!’ I snapped back. ‘You’re going to the States with Hudson, at your age, to appear in sex and spanking videos that could ruin your chances of a decent career and you say you’re not irresponsible! And what about the consequences if your mother and
father
find out? You have a lot to learn about responsibility, young lady, but I’ll admit one thing, if anybody ever needed spanking, it’s you. In fact, that’s exactly what I intend to do, you selfish, stuck-up little brat!’

She gave a squeal as I advanced on her, as much in delight as in fear, but Hudson raised one enormous hand.

‘Uh, uh, no you don’t, not now. She needs her ass to be pristine for the vids, or they won’t take her. Spank her when we get back.’

I stopped, struggling to bring my temper under control. Hudson Staebler looked like John Wayne’s big brother and I knew from experience that he could turn me over his knee one-handed while smoking a cigar in the other. If I tried to punish Jemima I would just end up making a fool of myself and getting spanked in front of her, which would be unbearably humiliating, so I accepted a glass of brandy from Annabelle and sat down, trying desperately to think of a way out of the situation. Jemima obviously wasn’t going to back down, which left only one possible solution, at least that I could think of.

‘Then why don’t I come over with you?’ I suggested. ‘That way your mum won’t worry and I can put you back on a plane home before I go on to Arizona. How about that?’

Jemima looked doubtful, and it was Hudson who answered me.

‘Great idea! You see, I knew it could be worked out.’

‘How about the team, and the vids?’ Jemima asked suspiciously. ‘I don’t want you spoiling it for me, Penny.’

I shrugged, far from happy about the situation but unable to think of any way to stop her going ahead. That would have to wait, unless I could find some way of nipping the whole thing in the bud before they left.

Two

I’M NOT VERY
good at scheming. I considered a whole range of possibilities: simply pinching Jemima’s passport, trying to cause an argument between her and Hudson, even kidnapping her on the eve of the flight. All of those and many more foundered on my moral qualms. However inconvenient it might be for me, I simply didn’t have the right to interfere, and I certainly didn’t want her to end up resenting me.

I could at least work out my priorities. As I was going with Jemima I had at least postponed the family scandal, although I hated to lie to Kate. That left me with the problem of Jemima’s determination to become what amounted to a kinky porn actress. Not that I minded her being fucked with strap-on so very much, and after the way she’d behaved at Morris’s I couldn’t help but feel that a spanking or two would do her less harm than good, but I didn’t want either event being recorded for posterity.

There was at least one piece of good news. The Tribeca Tails’ costumes included masks, so she was unlikely to be recognised in that film, although the two spanking videos she was signed up to do were another matter. If there’s one thing spankers like more than to watch a girl’s bum go pink under the slaps it’s to watch the faces she pulls in her pain and humiliation, and I
couldn
’t see American video makers being any different from the British disciplinarians I was used to.

I would even have been prepared to take her place in the videos and give her the money, but I knew it was pointless. No doubt they’d take me on readily enough, but not as a substitute for Jemima. I like to think I’m in good condition, but Jemima was a lot younger than me, and with her delicate features, slender body and perfectly rounded little bottom there was no video maker on earth who’d make the exchange, even had she been willing. They were unlikely to accept the idea of putting her in a mask or wig either, because the one would mean losing her face and the other her wonderful glossy hair, which she’d cut into a smart bob that gave her a perfect
gamine
look.

It was the possibility of changing her appearance that made me realise there was a way out. One thing I’ve noticed over the years is that spankers, and particularly male spankers, generally hate to think anyone has been there before them. It’s ridiculous, as most girls who like to be spanked get it as often as they want, and doubly so in a video where the girl is almost certainly a professional and getting it on a regular basis, but the fact remains that men like a girl to start with a fresh, unmarked bottom. As Hudson Staebler himself had pointed out, if Jemima turned up covered in welts and bruises the video makers were going to reject her, no matter how beautiful, while she might well be too tender to want another spanking anyway.

The more I thought about it the more it made sense. All I had to do was get her spanked, hard enough for the marks to last at least two weeks. It was a wicked plan, but considering how assertive she was about enjoying punishment I didn’t see any moral objections. A few drinks and some excitement and the little brat would soon forget about keeping herself pristine, so
the
only problem was how to get it done without giving my intentions away or raising Hudson Staebler’s suspicions.

He was staying at Morris’s and it would obviously be impossible with him around, because Jemima was supposed to ask his permission before she was punished by anybody else, especially other men. That meant doing it at home, or even Kate’s house, and I might even have to do it myself, although it would be better if I could pass the blame on to another woman, somebody who wasn’t frightened of what Hudson would do when he found out. There was only one choice, Pippa’s scary diesel-dyke girlfriend, AJ, who would not only take great delight in punishing Jemima but didn’t give a damn about Hudson Staebler. All I had to do was set it up.

Everything went as smoothly as I could have hoped. I offered Jemima an olive branch by asking her if she’d like to come over for Sunday lunch and swim in my pool, and she accepted immediately. It was only natural to invite Pippa too. I had explained my plan to her and to AJ, who leapt at the chance of dishing out some severe CP to her girlfriend’s little sister.

I made a production of it, with smoked salmon, roast beef and apple pie, washed down with three different wines and liqueur coffees afterwards. Jemima drank with typically teenage enthusiasm and soaked up AJ’s stories of lesbian sex with wide-eyed awe. By the time we’d finished our coffees and cleared away I could tell she was turned on and wasn’t exactly unaffected myself. Even the weather seemed to be on my side, the morning sunshine having given way to blustery showers, so that the surface of the swimming pool was marked with rain spots and tiny ripples from the wind.

‘I’m too full to swim anyway,’ I said. ‘Let’s just relax for a bit.’

‘But I’ve already got my bikini on underneath,’ Jemima protested.

‘So have I, but maybe it’ll brighten up later,’ Pippa remarked, feigning disappointment.

‘We’ll play cards,’ AJ stated, extracting a pack from the inside pocket of her leather jacket.

‘Good idea,’ Pippa said immediately, moving to where I’d set out four chairs around a glass-topped table.

‘I don’t have much money,’ Jemima said doubtfully, ‘unless you could lend me some, Auntie Penny?’

‘We don’t play for money,’ AJ answered her. ‘We play for forfeits. Get a cane, Miss Muffet.’

A little shiver ran through me at the use of her play name for me and also at the prospect of the cane, but it must have been mild to the visible shock of fear and excitement that crossed Jemima’s face.

‘A cane?’ she asked.

‘Sure,’ AJ explained. ‘We have chips, and whoever goes bust first has to take six from the winner, or whatever. You’re not going to chicken out, are you?’

‘No, no,’ Jemima said hastily. ‘I just haven’t been caned before, that’s all.’

‘There’s always a first time,’ AJ answered, ‘and anyway, you might not lose.’

‘Let’s play the first round for a spanking,’ I suggested.

AJ shrugged.

‘OK, if baby can’t take it.’

‘I can,’ Jemima insisted.

‘At least let’s have a warm-up,’ I insisted, determined not to scare Jemima away. ‘Hang on.’

There was a knot in my stomach as I went for the cane and the chips. I knew full well that Jemima would lose, because AJ could handle a pack of cards as if she was a professional sharp, but for the look of the thing,
and
for fun, she was bound to make sure somebody else went down first. That was likely to be me, which meant knickers down and either a spanking or six of the best in front of the girls, a deeply humiliating prospect.

I kept my implements in a box under a pile of back issues of the
Journal of Genetics
, so it took me a while to fetch the cane, along with some red and blue glass gems I’d been given at Christmas to use as chips. By the time I got back AJ was dealing out the cards with a swift, fluttering motion as she explained the rules.

‘… so it’s basically poker, only without all the fucking around that slows it down. You get four cards and you make a bet. I turn over the top card on the pack, which we can all include in our hand, and if you want you can add to your bet. If not, you’re out, and you have to match stakes if you can. Then we show our cards and the best hand takes the pot. Winner deals and minimum bet is one chip, no maximum. No borrowing either, and first one bust gets it, and we need a bit of spice, so let’s say the first round’s a spanking, the second is six of the best and for the third each of the winner’s chips counts as a cane stroke.’

I put the chips down, a double handful of glass gems.

‘Reds are one, blues are five,’ AJ said, and began to dish them out between the four of us.

She’d raised the stakes, a lot, and I could see how her mind was working. Pippa and I would lose the first two rounds so that AJ could enjoy humiliating us in front of Jemima, who’d then be thoroughly turned on for the third round, which she’d lose. She’d be drunk too, because while I was upstairs one of them had poured a round of brandy. As I picked up my cards, I felt another flush of guilt, stronger than before.