The Convertible – Breakdown

From time to time I'd go be the busboy if we needed tables cleared; if I was busy washing, Cherry would bring the tubs of dishes back to me. Somehow, she couldn't seem to do that without brushing against me. The kitchen area was tight around the grill, I'll admit, but there was more room in my area back by the dishwasher. Finally, it dawned on me she was doing it deliberately.

The next time she did it, it made me drop the pot I was washing. I hissed at her, "Cherry! Please don't do that, it's distracting!"

She just giggled, stuck her tongue out at me and walked away. I was starting to get a little annoyed now. The post-breakfast/pre-lunch calm ended, and since it was summer and tourists were in town, things got busy quickly. Cherry and Gina were zooming between tables, so I went out a couple of times and bussed dishes.

Around 1:30 things got calm again. Sure enough, Cherry brought a tub of dirty dishes back and gave me a hip bump as she started to leave. I was pissed. As a former C-level executive, I took workplace safety quite seriously.

Leading gently her by the forearm, I pulled her in to the walk-in-cooler so we could talk without customers hearing. It was 38 degrees in there, so I wanted to make this fast. "Come ON, Cherry, this is a place of business," I scolded her, "I need to concentrate! If you keep doing this kind of thing, you're going to cause an accident!"

The smirk on her face told me this was going nowhere fast, "Aww, I'm sorry Shaun, was I being naughty? Do I distract you?" She pressed her body up against me, forcing me to back up against the rack holding the bins of sliced vegetables and raw meats. She put her lips close to mine and whispered, "Poor guy. Are you thinking about kisses instead of dishes?"

It was apparent this damned 22-year-old sprite wasn't taking me seriously. On the one hand, I wasn't her father or her boss, but on the other hand, damn it, I was a responsible adult and knew the proper way for things to be done!

I don't know where the idea popped into my head, but since she was acting like a kid, hell, I'd treat her like one. I held up my hand, index finger extended. "You do that one more time, Cherry, and I swear I will spank you when we get back to the Sugar Pine!"

Cherry looked at my stern face and laughed. "Ooooh, you're scary, Mr. Dishwasher! I guess I'd better watch my step!" Then she turned and walked out.

I got back to my station and was just about to run the last load when Cherry came in with a half-full dish tub. "Sorry, Shaun, this was the last table. They came in at 1:30 and took their sweet time finishing up!" Setting the tray on the dishwasher loading shelf, Cherry leaned over and rubbed her body against me, then smiled and walked away. I guess I should have known better.

After work we were walking back to the Sugar Pine when I spotted a storefront I hadn't noticed before. The sign on the door read, "Do Buy". Taped beneath it was an sun-faded newspaper article from the local weekly The McCloud Review, dated over 12 years ago.

According to the article, the shop was owned by Adnan Taqir, a 56-year-old immigrant to the US from the United Arab Emirates who'd moved to McCloud with his 54-year-old wife Hessa and their 14-year-old daughter Noor; he told the Review writer he'd named his store as a tribute to his hometown of Dubai. If you ask me, it was a story that sounded good, but in truth Mr. Taqir was a savvy marketer. If I were ever to start a company again, I'd sure hire him!

"Let's stop in here a second," I told Cherry, "this looks like one of those old-fashioned general stores that has a little bit of everything. Maybe they'll have clothes for you." We stepped inside, and in a moment a small elderly man came up to greet us.

"Welcome, friends, welcome to my store! So good to see you today! I am Adnan, your newest friend and humble servant. How can I help you?"

It couldn't hurt to be friendly, so I introduced us, "Hello, Adnan, I'm Shaun and this young woman is Cherry."

"Ah, such a beautiful wife, sir! Or did God smile upon you and bless you with her as a daughter?"

"Neither, Adnan, Cherry is my coworker. Today she needs three new pairs of jeans, three blouses, t-shirts, ladies' underthings, a pair of sneakers, and whatever else she wants. Can you help us?"

"Ah, Mr. Shaun, you used the magic phrase! I, Adnan, love to give help to those that ask!" He clapped his hands, and a remarkably tall brown-skinned woman wearing a hijab, short-sleeved blouse and fashionable palazzo pants came out of the back room.

"Allow me to introduce my daughter Noor. She looks so much like her beautiful late mother Hessa it makes my heart ache; I am blessed she is here with me but fear the day some man will make her his wife. Yet, this is what children are meant to do, isn't it?" He shook his head, as if resigned to his fate.

He gestured towards Cherry. "Noor, this is Miss Cherry. She needs a variety of things, please be so kind as to assist her."

The tall woman nodded her head, "Of course, father, I'll be happy to do so. Miss Cherry, please come!" With Noor leading the way, the two women went into the back part of the store designated for women's clothing.

As they left, Adnan turned to me. "My new friend, is there anything I can help you find?"

I shook my head, "No, thanks Adnan. I'm fine. My coworker lost her luggage, so she needs replenishment is all."

"Ah. She is neither daughter nor spouse, yet you are the one paying. Where I come from, this generosity indicates a kind spirit, one that few men share."

"Cherry's had some tough times recently. I've had a few of my own as well, so I'm just trying to help a young girl out."

Adnan put his gnarled hand gently on my shoulder. I suddenly flashed on the memory of my grandfather Ezra Parrish doing the same thing when I was a boy visiting his farm. I felt myself choke up.

Adnan continued, "My friend, I say this to you as a 68-year-old man who travelled 7,000 miles to be in this place. I don't know how your journey brought you to me, but I believe we were destined to be here together so I could share these words." My eyes were tearing up, and I couldn't speak; it was as if I were hearing my grandfather's voice again.

It was amazing, Adnan even used a similar speech cadence as my Grandpa Parrish. "In my life I've met many people. Some good, some bad. Some rich, some poor. Some whose hearts were happy, some whose hearts were filled with sadness. I tell you true my friend, more often than not, people who are lost need a guiding star to follow even more than they need the generosity of others.

You do not notice, but as a man with old eyes, I can see how Miss Cherry looks to you as her guiding star. Your generosity is wonderful, but without your guidance, it will lose its meaning. It will become as mere grains of sand, eventually blown away by wind and time. Do you understand, my friend?"

Still choked up, I could only nod. I used the back of my hand to wipe my tears away. The store had just become filled with sound of the two women's voices, chatting and laughing like best friends, and this lifted my spirits. Cherry and Noor each had their arms filled with clothes. As they lay them on the counter, Cherry looked at me with sorrowful eyes, as if fearing reprisal.

She began apologizing, "I'm really sorry Shaun, there were a lot of things I needed, and Noor has such good fashion sense, she showed me so many cute clothes, I may have gotten carried away. I'll pay you back as soon as I get my first paycheck." I shook my head, scowling.

I wasn't angry at her, I was angry at myself. I wasn't supposed to feel this way, not at all. Bitterness, anger, grief, THOSE were feelings I wanted to have. I wasn't supposed to feel like a 16-year-old boy with a crush on the prettiest girl in class, I wasn't supposed to feel fucking joy when I saw her so happy, I wasn't supposed to be enjoying life at ALL. FUCK!

Cherry's eyes went wide when I pulled out my Executive Club Sapphire credit card, the one with all the TV commercials with CEOs using it. She may not have known that it had a $100,000 credit limit, but I think she got the picture that her dishwasher friend wasn't living check to check. "Forget it, Cherry. It's on me. You'd better go back and pick out a big suitcase to carry all this stuff, one with wheels, or we'll never get it home in one trip."

We managed to make it back to the hotel with just the one suitcase, plus a small rollaboard luggage bag. On the way back we passed a hamburger joint, so we stopped and had an early dinner. Once we were back in the room, we followed the same routine as the previous night; shower as soon as we get back from work, before the other visitors get back.

While Cherry was in the shower, I found the hairbrush she purchased in Do Buy. I wasn't sure if I had the nerve to actually do this, but my mouth had written a check, so I needed to pay it. In business, if you don't do something you say you will, you'll lose credibility.

Cherry walked in, fresh from her shower. She was wearing an orange sweatshirt and fleece jogging pants, with her wet hair wrapped in a towel and flip-flops. She had proper shampoo now, not my cheap stuff any longer, and she smelled wonderful.

I went into the bedroom and sat on a chair, pointing at the bed. "Have a seat," I ordered, "we have a discussion to finish."

She did as instructed, not sure what was going to happen. I continued, gesturing with the brush, "Did I not ask you today to stop teasing while we were working?"

"Yes," she replied in a small voice.

"And did you stop?"

"No, I was just playing around."

"Let me explain something. You're a college grad, so you should be able to understand. Allen and Gina run a business. One cost they have is workers' compensation insurance. Their annual premium is based on their loss history, the number of accidents that occur. This means that having a workers' compensation claim causes their premiums to increase.

"I'm a 44-year-old man, and you're what, 22, 23 maybe?"

"22, I'll be 23 next month."

"Great. Let me tell you, a guy my age doesn't mind a little teasing by a woman your age, especially one as pretty as you."

"You really think I'm.." I raised an index finger to stop her.

"Ah-ah-ah, not done yet. As I was saying, a little teasing from a woman like you is always welcome for a guy like me. I'm not going to lie, it really boosts my ego. However, doing it during work hours in a busy workplace where there's a chance for an accident like a slip-and-fall, is not OK. If someone gets a serious injury like a broken leg or hip, the medical costs can really skyrocket. Are you with me so far?"

"Yes," she said in that little girl voice.

"Good! Now let's review. If there's an on the job work injury, it dings Allen and Gina's loss history. If it dings their loss history, they pay more in premiums. If they pay more in premiums, it hurts their business. The business that generously gave a job to both of us. This is not how we repay Allen and Gina for their kindness, is it?"

I think I saw tears forming in Cherry's eyes. "No."

"What did I say I'd do if you didn't stop teasing me today?"

"That...that you'd spank me."

"Do you think I'm a person who makes empty promises?" Holding the hairbrush in my right hand, I slapped it into my left for emphasis.

"No...." I think I saw her shake a little bit.

"So what's going to happen now?"

"You're going to spank me?" She looked up with her lower lip quivering and her big brown eyes filling with tears. I couldn't believe my ears. At any time, this grown-ass 22-year-old woman could have easily refused the spanking and told me to eat shit and die and I couldn't have done a damned thing about it. Instead, she was reacting like a naughty little girl.

"Exactly. Do you want your spanking standing up, or over my knees?"

"Over your knees, please." Wow. I thought I must be dreaming.

I seated myself on the edge of the bed and gestured for Cherry to lay face down across them. She complied, laying there quietly. I slipped my left hand under the waist of her fleece jogging pants and pulled them down until her butt cheeks were exposed. My erection was definitely interested in the proceedings; I'm sure it was poking her stomach as she lay across my thighs.

Savoring the feel of her ass cheeks, I rubbed them with my left hand for a minute before announcing, "Since this is your first time being naughty, I'll be giving you just six strokes. You'll count them as you receive them understood?"

"Y-yes sir," she whispered softly.

Pressing my left arm across her upper back to hold her in place, I began.

I swung the brush down on her right cheek, firmly but not too hard. CRACK! "One."

I swung it again, on the left cheek and a little more firmly this time. CRACK! "Two."

I swung a third time on the right again, putting some strength on the stroke. CRACK! "Threeeeeee!"

Cherry began crying now; I could hear some of the tourists returning to their rooms, so I pulled a pillow down where she could reach it so she could muffle her cries.

Stopping for a second, I could see red marks forming on both cheeks. I rubbed them with my left hand, the warmth of the spanked skin feeling good on my palm.

Returning to the left cheek, I gave it a solid swat using same force as the last. CRACK! "Frrrrr", she said, her cries now muffled into the pillow.

Aiming now at the red spot on the right, I used less force. Her crying had started, so my point had been made. CRACK! "Fvvv", she called out.

My final stroke was on her left cheek once more, again using less force. CRACK! "Sxxx".

I pulled her pillow away. "We're done, but for now lay on top of the bed. Don't get under the covers, and don't pull your pants up, understand?" She said nothing, just sniffled and nodded her head yes. Looking through her new luggage, I saw she'd purchased some hand lotion. I grabbed it and climbed onto the bed with her.

"Roll on your stomach," I told her, and she did. I kind of knew what I wanted to do, but was unsure how to proceed, so I just improvised. I started off by planting kisses on the red parts of her bottom. She moaned a little but stayed still. So far, so good. Then, I shot some lotion into my hands, rubbed them together to warm it up, and proceeded to massage the lotion into the reddened area.

As I slowly caressed her, I began to tell her my story. "Cherry, you've told me a lot about yourself, but you don't know anything about me." Her full cheeks felt wonderful against my hands. I squirted more lotion on them and kept rubbing. "I used to be an executive at a start-up company in Palo Alto. I had a wife and a career and was making good money. You saw me use the Executive Club Sapphire credit card at Do Buy, so you know I'm telling the truth."

"You'd never lie to me, would you Shaun? Ever?" After a 15 minutes of silence, hearing her voice took me by surprise.

"No Cherry. I promise I'll never lie, even if it hurts." I finished massaging cream on the red area, so I squirted some more lotion on my hands and moved on to the upper and side cheeks. This was a real woman's ass, a warm fleshy playground that a man could happily get lost in.

"Two months ago, I lost my wife to cancer after 14 years of marriage. I threw my cell phone in the ocean just like I told you; I also liquidated everything I had including the condo we lived in. I have a lot of cash in the bank, but no major possessions to tie me down, just my clothes and my old car. I stopped here in McCloud because my car broke down. It's over at Chuck's Old 66, waiting for parts, which may take a few weeks."

Cherry was so still and quiet, I suspected she might be asleep. I pushed her sweatshirt up a little bit and placed a strategic kiss on her L1 lumbar vertebrae. (I know this because my cousin is a chiropractor, OK?) She sighed, so I knew she was awake.

I'd covered her entire ass by now, but I decided that a little extra lotion couldn't hurt so I continued with the massage. "I wasn't going to leave my car here, and I didn't want to sell it to Ernie. Since I didn't have anything to do while waiting for it to be fixed, I took the dishwasher job at the GearJammer. I like dishwashing, it's peaceful and I don't have to deal with the public." My erection was starting to hurt and my hands were getting tired; I pulled her jogging pants back up and rolled her on her back so I could see her pretty face.

Her eyes were half-closed, apparently my massage had relaxed her. "Shaun, can we do the same thing tonight that we did last night? Me sleeping under the covers, you sleeping on top so you can hold me? I really liked that."

On the one hand, talking about Amanda had put me into a funk; on the other hand, to be honest I enjoyed cuddling with this beauty. If there's one thing Amanda's passing taught me, it was that I sucked at being alone. I'm a man that needed a woman, and for more than just a day. For life.

As of right now, Cherry may have needed to be held, but I needed to hold her as much, if not more.

We went to bed following the same procedure; she undressed and got under the covers, while I changed into a t-shirt and board shorts, then lay next to her with a coverlet pulled over me.

She rolled onto her side, facing me. "It was worth it," she whispered, "the spanking I mean. I was being a brat and I deserved it, but afterwards when you rubbed my bottom, I really liked that." I didn't know what to say or how to react, so I lay still and just listened.

She went on, "I'm so sorry about you losing your wife, I can't imagine how terrible it was to go through that."

I exhaled; it made the memory a little less painful. "I still keep thinking about her, about how much time I wasted. It tears me up inside. Career-wise I'd made it, I didn't need to work anymore, but I couldn't stop. It was intoxicating, I couldn't tear myself away from it; working had become an addiction."

Thinking about it made it all come back; I squeezed my eyes shut in pain. "If only I'd cashed out sooner and walked away, I could have been the husband that Amanda deserved." I sighed, feeling bitterness and despair rolling over me. "It was too late for Amanda, but when I'm ready to be with someone again, I'll do it right, I swear." Unable to contain it, I started to cry a little.

Cherry's arms wrapped around my head and pulled me into her chest. Her soft, warm flesh was soothing, and more. "Shaun," she whispered, "when you're ready to be with someone, do you think I could be that person?"

I had promised never to lie to her, "Cherry, as sweet as you are, I don't think it would be right."

She murmured, "Is it because I'm ugly and fat? Is that it?"

That statement shook me out of my melancholy. Raising myself up so I was face-to-face with her, I kissed her, a long warm kiss. "That's not what I meant, Cherry, and you know it! Your face is gorgeous, and that body is extraordinary! Massaging your bottom was beyond wonderful." My cock, which had softened, was now stirring again.

I kissed her again, as much for my benefit as hers, and continued, "Look at me, Cherry. I'm twice your age, old enough to be your father. I have gray hairs showing, and the soft body of a middle-aged man. Imagine - when you reach 30, I'll be a wrinkled ghoul at 52. People will laugh, thinking you're my daughter taking me out of the retirement home for a nice day at the park! It just won't -!"

Now it was Cherry's turn to shut me up with a kiss. She sat up, the covers falling off and exposing her amazing breasts. I caught her soft feminine scent; stretching my self-discipline to the breaking point, however, I somehow kept my hands to myself. It had been a long time since I'd had a kiss like that. Then she pulled away slightly and began speaking in a low voice.