A Birthday Tradition

Realizing he may have said something he wasn't supposed to say, he quickly added, "And she's always telling me how much she's learning so much from you. I really think she wants to be just like you someday."

Jennifer tried hard not to blush, but quietly acknowledged the implied compliment. "Well, I'm the one who's fortunate to have Abby working with me. And definitely don't believe everything Abby tells you about me. After all," she added wistfully, "we all have our flaws."

Just then Dan entered the room, and Alexis dashed over to give her husband a quick kiss. The two of them exchanged a few whispered remarks, and they then made their way to where Jenn, Abby, and Nate were standing.

Jennifer and Dan exchanged a quick hug; over the last couple of years she had gotten to know him well, and she really liked him and admired the relationship that he and Alexis enjoyed. Maybe it was the champagne and now the wine, but Jenn found she was truly pleased that everyone was gathering for her birthday, and to her surprise, she found herself verbalizing her feelings.

"Dan, it really is good to see you. It means so much to me that you and everyone else are here. Honestly, it does. Maybe I'm just getting sentimental now that I'm 30, but I'm really touched."

"Everyone is thrilled to be here," Alexis assured her.

"Well, you're just all so nice to me, and I promise to be more open with all of you. Do you think," she said with a quiet laugh, "that means I'm finally growing up?"

Dan waited until Abby and Nate drifted away and then moved closer to Jennifer. "Hey Jenn, I didn't want to say anything with Abby around, but I know Alexis had mentioned your friend Madison was going to be in town this weekend, and I could swear I saw her sitting at the bar by herself when I came in just now. I mean I can't be sure, but it sure looked like her."

Jennifer felt the warm sensations generated by the alcohol and the party suddenly replaced by a kind of panicky feeling in the pit of her stomach. "Madison, here, now?" And even as she said that, she realized she hadn't recalled mentioning to anyone in the office that Madison was coming for a visit. In fact, she had even lied to Lexie about it.

Alexis, seeing the look in her friend's eyes, quickly jumped in before she could come to any conclusions. "Well, that's an unexpected surprise. Why don't I go see if it really is her and invite her to join us."

"No, no," Jennifer quickly interjected. "I'll go check to see if it's her. I have to use the ladies' room anyway." And with that she quickly left their room, while Alexis glared at Dan.

But instead of seeing if Madison was there, Jennifer deliberately tried to stay as far away from the bar as possible to avoid being seen. Once inside the bathroom, she quickly splashed some cold water on her face and stared at herself in the mirror. What should she do? She had already lied to both of her friends, and introducing Maddie now to everyone from work might require some explanations and would definitely lead to more teasing and embarrassment. And it would be just like Madison to use her little lie as an excuse for telling some of their secrets. What would her assistant think of her once she learned that her smart, talented boss used to get spanked by her best friend every year on her birthday?

But then she thought of her new resolution to be more honest and open with her friends. Maybe her judgment was a little clouded by the alcohol she had consumed, but she decided it really could be seen as a funny story from her distant past - just as long as Madison didn't reveal that she was threatening to keep that tradition alive tonight. And if she did, well, Jennifer was a big girl and she could live with it. In fact, she could feel her face blush as she realized she might actually enjoy it.

She quickly checked herself in the mirror, deciding to reapply just a bit more lipstick as she straightened her jacket and then, with a new determination, headed out of the rest room. She walked a little more slowly through the dining area now, not out of hesitation but because she could see she was catching the eye of many of the male diners. Although not very practiced at it, she tried swaying her hips just a bit until she almost bumped into a busboy carrying a tray full of dishes. But she continued toward the entrance where the bar was located, checking carefully to see if she could recognize Madison.

Because she was staring intently, she noticed that four or five of the men seated there motioned to her as if inviting her to join them for a drink. Funny that she had never noticed that kind of behavior before, but then she realized normally she would have studiously avoided making any eye contact with strangers. But tonight was different, and she looked directly at them, smiled politely, but just kept walking. With a bit of a start, she realized she was teasing them - and she was enjoying it.

She checked out the entire bar area, but Madison was nowhere to be seen. And she knew she couldn't be in the ladies room, since Jennifer had just come from there. Dan must have been mistaken about seeing her there, and she let out a sigh of relief, realizing she wouldn't have to risk being embarrassed in front of her work colleagues. But, as she headed back to the group, she also acknowledged a sense of disappointment; she had actually felt excited wondering about how Madison would handle her birthday surprise if she joined the office celebration. "Oh well," Jenn thought to herself, "now we'll never know."

But as she turned into the semi-private area where her work friends were gathered, she gasped. There, looking stunning in a short black dress, stood Madison alongside Dan and Alexis. The two women seemed deep in conversation until Dan nudged Madison, who quickly looked up.

"Well there's the birthday girl!" she shouted, drawing everyone's attention as she moved to the center of the room to give Jennifer a big hug. "You've been very naughty, not inviting me to join your friends here tonight."

How like Madison to jump right in and do everything possible to embarrass her! "Well, I didn't think you were getting here until later so it never occurred to me..."

Her friend cut her off. "Of course it occurred to you, Jennie," she said. "You were just afraid of what I might say to them, weren't you?"

Fortunately, Madison had said this in a quieter voice so she figured no one else heard it. But suddenly, Jennifer heard a voice right behind her saying, "Hi, I'm Abby, Jennifer's assistant. You must be Madison."

"Nice to meet you, Abby," she said, taking her extended hand and shaking it. "You poor baby, having to put up with this bitch every day."

A look of shock came over Abby's face and she seemed uncertain how to respond. But Madison quickly picked up on her confusion and said, "I'm just teasing. Jennie is the best, and you're very lucky to be working with her."

The assistant relaxed and looked relieved. "Oh I am. I've learned so much from her already, and you know I'd do anything for her."

Madison arched an eyebrow as she listened to the young woman. "Well, I hope so. I've known this girl for years and I can assure you, sometimes we have to help her figure things out."

"Well, I can't believe that's ever been true," Abby said with a blush, betraying just the slightest little crush on her boss." She paused, and then realizing that her boyfriend was standing impatiently beside her, added, "Oh, and this is my friend Nate."

Madison shook his hand too, quickly checking him out and concluding that he was a good looking, confident young man. "Too bad he's with her," she thought to herself. "That could have made tonight more interesting."

Alexis now took control of the situation, tapping the side of her wine glass with a spoon. "Hey everyone, I want to interrupt for just a minute. This is Madison, Jennifer's best friend from college." Going around the room, she quickly ran through the names of everyone. "Well, you've already met Abby and Nate. You probably haven't met the other people who work with Jennifer. She pointed toward Luis and Vanessa, who were chatting amiably with each other. And there's Ryan and Kyle from IT, over by the hors d'ouevres table, and Haley and her friend, Cody is it?" She paused as Cody nodded his head that yes, she had indeed remembered his name correctly. "Haley works in HR."

"So, that's the whole gang. Now as a surprise for our favorite finance person, we have a cake coming out in just a few minutes. I know it's only 7, so I hope you can hang around a little bit longer. And we have this space reserved until 8, so enjoy."

Madison stepped forward, putting her right shoulder in front of Alexis in order to assume a commanding position. "If I can just have your attention a moment longer," she began, I wanted to share a little story from our college days."

Jennifer felt a tightening in her throat, a feeling of being trapped and unable to escape. Madison was about to do exactly what she feared - tell them all about their birthday tradition at the sorority.

"You may not know this about Jennie, but once upon a time this very serious young woman belonged to a sorority with me." She could tell that almost everyone except Alexis seemed startled by this news. "Yep, that's right, we were sorority sisters," she said throwing her arm around Jennifer.

Together, the two presented an interesting picture. Madison was almost 5' 11" and slender, standing a good seven inches taller than her friend but weighing only 10 pounds more. Their figures were a study in contrasts, with Jennifer's nearly perfect hourglass figure alongside Madison's tomboyish 33-24-34 physique. Even their hair colors, the natural blonde versus the dark-haired athlete, were different. Neither was drop-dead gorgeous, but both were very attractive woman who could probably have the pick of almost man (or woman) in a gathering.

Madison could sense the tenseness in her friend's shoulders, which only heightened her intention to go ahead with her speech. "Now, we had a special way of celebrating birthdays, and I thought you'd all be interested in learning about. Basically we acted like we were 10 years old. We had party hats and favors and bags of candy and a big cake for each member's birthday. And then we would make sure that you got a birthday spanking!"

There, the secret was out! Jennifer looked around, expecting to see a lock of shock or at least disapproval on the faces of her colleagues, but in fact, most people were just smiling or nodding, as if recalling similar childhood experiences. The only ones showing any special interest were Ryan and Kyle, who immediately starting whispering to one another and breaking out in laughter.

At this point, Alexis stepped forward on the other side of Jenn. "You know Madison, since you're our special guest from out of town, it only seems appropriate that we revive that college tradition tonight. And we've still got a few minutes before the cake arrives so this seems like the perfect time."

Jenn couldn't believe her ears; her two best friends seemed determined to humiliate her in front of everyone. Well, there was no way they could make her do this against her will, so she knew she had speak up. But before she could say anything, she heard Kyle and Ryan call out, "do it, do it, do it." And within a matter of seconds, it seemed like almost everyone else - even Vanessa and Luis, the members of her team who worked directly for her - joined in the chant. Only Abby seemed to take a step back and remain quiet, although that didn't stop Nate from adding his voice to the calls.

She looked, first at Madison and then at Alexis, as if to say, "And you, too, my so-called friend," before raising her hand to silence the group.

"Well, Maddie has always had a great sense of humor, and while it is true that our sorority did that, I definitely don't want to bore you with old college stories and pranks. So I think I'll pass on the tradition tonight."

There was an audible groan from the crowd, some shaking of heads, and a clear chorus of "ah come on" from the IT guys. Madison, figuring she had correctly read the mood of the party, pulled a chair to the center of the room, and standing over it, said, "I don't think we should take no for an answer."

A cheer went up from the crowd, with even Abby joining in, and Ryan and Kyle once again resumed the call to "do it, do it, do it."

Jennifer stood transfixed - this wasn't what was supposed to happen. She knew her face was turning beet red, and at the same time, she realized that is was exciting to see people cheering her on. She wanted to please her friends, and at the same time, it was strangely stimulating to be discussing in such a straightforward manner her public humiliation. It was as if it had been put up for a vote and she had lost. Or, she thought to herself, had she won?

Sensing that her friend's resistance was cracking, Madison sat down in the chair and signaled to Alexis to lead the guest of honor to her. Jennifer looked out around the group, shrugged her shoulders as if to signal "well, why not?" and turned away to present her backside to Madison.

The group signaled their approval but a round of cheers, but as the clapping died down, Madison simply sat impassively in the chair. "Now Jennie, you know that's not the way we did at alpha-delta-pi."

"Oh, that's not fair," Jenn pleaded in a voice that none of her colleagues had ever heard her use in the office. Just like a little kid trying to avoid some punishment from their parents, she was meekly asking to get out of this ordeal while at the same time, acknowledging there was no way it could be avoided.

"Of course it's fair," Madison replied. "Now get on my lap and take your spankings like a good girl."

The room got very quiet, with only the distant rumbling of conversations coming from the main dining area. Jennifer felt almost light-headed, dizzy, with the sounds of the restaurant ringing in her ears. But that all seemed far away - all she could really focus on were the stares of her friends as she slowly removed her suit jacket, handed it to Alexis, and then knelt down, her knees to the right of Madison as she stretched out across her lap.

"That's not quite right now, is it Jenn?" her friend said in the tone of voice that an adult would use when patiently trying to explain something to a child. "You remember how this goes?"

Jenn, who was now staring down at the floor as she positioned herself for her spanking, turned to look up at Madison. In a voice that was barely audible, she whispered, "Please, not that." She had thought she might start to cry, but then she realized that her throat was dry because of a feeling of excited anticipation. Involuntarily, her mouth moved slightly, with just the hint of a smile flashing across her upturned face.

"Oh yes, that. Now be a good girl and pull down your pants. And besides, you don't want to disappoint your friends now, do you?"

This, of course, led immediately to a rousing affirmation from the crowd. Then, as if in trance, Jennifer raised her body up slightly and the group grew silent again. She moved her hands around to unsnap the waistband and tug down on the zipper of her black suit pants, the one's she had so carefully chosen that morning to wear for her special day. As if on cue the noises from the other room momentarily lessened, and her co-workers could clearly hear the metallic zipper making its way downward.

"I think we can use a little help here," Madison said in a moment of inspiration. Deliberately inventing new ways to prolong Jennifer's embarrassment, she motioned to Abby to come over. "I think your boss needs some help with her pants. Do you mind pulling them down to her knees?"

Abby stood transfixed, completely unsure how to respond. So Alexis stepped forward with her, and as Jennifer resumed her position stretched across Madison's lap, the two women grabbed the black fabric on each hip and gently tugged.

The material was designed to cling to its wearer, so the two of them carefully worked the pants off of Jennifer's hips, gently guided them down to her knees. At first, her panties seemed to stick to the pants, making it appear that she had forgotten to wear any underwear. But Alexis skillfully inserted a finger and pressed down on the silky undergarment, holding it against Jennifer's butt cheek as the pants continued to move downward.

Her pale white skin stood in marked contrast to the black material of her suit, and even the beige panties contrasted nicely with the round contours of her ass and thighs. Her panties had slid down a bit, and just the hint of her ass crack could be seen before Madison carefully slid them up. But the sight was spectacular, this grown woman bent over the lap of her friend, in the midst of a dozen people with her pants pulled down to her knees as she awaited a spanking. Jennifer closed her eyes, mentally running through the faces of the people who were watching her humiliation. Her staff - Vanessa and Luis; her assistant Abby, who up until now had almost idolized her; Nate and Cody, two strangers who she had never met before; Haley; those annoying geeks from IT; and her best friend at work and her husband - would they ever look at her again in the same way in the future?

As she was running through the names and faces, she felt the first slap on her right cheek - not hard, but enough to sting a bit. Caught unaware, she involuntarily flinched, and then bit her lip, determined not to react the same way again. Then the second swat followed almost immediately on her left side. She realized Madison was counting out loud.

"Two...three," as she felt her friend's hand returning to her right cheek. "Four," came the next swat, and Jennifer realized that Madison was slowly altering both the force and positioning of each blow as she seemingly tried to achieve the loudest sound without inflicting too much discomfort.

"Five...six." By now, the rest of her colleagues were joining in the count. Opening her eyes but still staring down at the floor, she couldn't tell if Madison or Alexis was encouraging this group participation or whether it was happening spontaneously, but the counting was growing louder with each spank.

By the time they reached 10, Madison had clearly settled on a rhythm and a manner of delivering the swats, although it appeared that she was gradually aiming somewhat lower on her cheeks, almost near the top of her thighs. It was hurting less than the initial blows, and at first, Jennifer thought that was why her friend had changed her target. But by the time they got to 20, the real reason dawned on her. Madison was aiming for the part of her cheeks that were largely visible below her panties. By now she could feel the heat of the accumulated paddles, and she was certain her friend wanted to make sure her reddened skin could be seen by all.

And indeed there was now a glow apparent to everyone watching. It didn't look painful, and it wasn't. But Jennifer's pale skin easily reflected any mark or impact, and the repeated spanks by were having an effect.

"28...29...30" the counting rose to a crescendo on the final number, followed by a spontaneous round of applause. She heard her friend's voice whisper in her ear, "Hope you had fun. You can stand up now," as Jennifer slowly arose from her position, taking great care to quickly pull her pants up before standing upright.

As she arose, she glanced toward the area that led to the main dining room and was mortified to see that the server was standing there with the birthday cake. She thought she detected two or three other people standing behind him, but they quickly moved away and returned to other room.

"Happy birthday," her friends called out as the cake was brought in. Vanessa and Luis approached her to say what a good sport she had been, and Haley said something about what happens after hours stays after hours. As they talked, Jennifer involuntarily ran her hands across her backside, realizing that the lingering sensation was in fact a pleasurable reminder of past birthdays and not at all painful.