by Ryan Rowland
"Ashley! David! I'm ashamed of both of you! You're cousins, for crying out loud! What's with all the yelling and bickering at each other? You used to be best friends when you were kids and now you can't spend one day in the same house without fighting like cats and dogs. What's gotten into you?"
The two stood side-by-side in the living room of Ashley's house to receive a well-deserved reprimand. Her Dad was tired and irritable from overwork. And this was the third time in just over an hour he had found it necessary act as referee.
A shake of the head. "Sorry Dad, but it was his fault."
An embarrassed shrug. "I don't know, Uncle Robert. But she's the one who..."
"Enough! The arguing and blame game stops now! You were both at fault.
A long pause ensued while Ashley's dad considered the situation. Last time, he had told them to knock it off 'or else'. Now it was time for the 'or else'.
"Ashley, go out to the yard and bring me a willow switch. And be quick about it!"
Two pairs of eyes opened wide and Ashley's jaw dropped.
"Dad!" Ashley cried in anguish. "You can't mean it..."
But the look on his face told her he was deadly serious. Ashley's face flushed red as she walked toward the back door. She had hoped the whippings were over. It had been nearly four months since the last time. Ashley had been trying for a long time to convince her Dad that she was too old to be switched like a naughty child. So far, all it had gotten her was a change in method. Her Dad no longer held her over his lap to spank her. Now, she was required to stand, bend over, and stay in position... with extra strokes if she failed to do so. Sometimes she even had to count them.
Ashley knew what kind of switch her Dad wanted: a relatively small thin one that would allow him to vigorously apply a large number of strokes to produce fiery, itching welts without doing serious damage. She quickly searched the willow tree to find a switch that would meet her Dad's size requirements, but just barely. She stripped the leaves from it as she hurried back inside. The previous time, she had dragged her feet in protest and she clearly remembered the sting of the extra strokes she received for being too slow.
David stood awkwardly, regretting the quarrel with his cousin, and not looking at his uncle as they waited for Ashley to return with the switch. She entered the room with her head down, fighting tears. It was bad enough that she was going to be switched, but now her cousin knew that, at her age, she still received whippings from her Dad. David would tell everyone and she would be a laughing stock. How could she show her face to her friends ever again? She desperately hoped her Dad wouldn't do it right there in front of David. She thought she'd rather die than suffer that humiliation.
Her Dad held out his hand to receive the switch and directed Ashley to return to her place next to her cousin while the scolding continued. Finally, the words were exhausted and it was time for action. Ashley's Dad turned to David.
"Ashley is going to receive a switching for her misbehavior. I think you are just as guilty as she is. But you have a choice. You may choose to take the same punishment, or I will call your mother and let her decide how to handle it. But I don't think my sister will be any more tolerant of this nonsense than I am. What's it going to be?"
David swallowed hard. His parents hadn't spanked him in years. He was sure his Mom would do no more than ground him for a while. But choosing that option would mark him as a coward in front of Ashley. He didn't think either of them deserved a whipping, but though he had refused to admit it, he knew he was more at fault than his cousin. So if she was to be punished, he deserved the same thing.
"Please don't call Mom. I'll take the whipping, sir. I'm just as guilty as Ashley."
Ashley glanced over at David with a look of surprise and gratitude. At least she wouldn't have to suffer the humiliation alone. And if he got the same punishment, he couldn't very well go around telling about it without embarrassing himself also.
Her Dad nodded at David. "Well, I'm glad you're man enough to accept responsibility for your actions." He took a step back and looked first at Ashley and then at David. Rather than simply punishing them, he was going to give them a good object lesson.
"All right, both of you strip and put your clothes on the sofa."
Both their jaws dropped and they stared in shock. Ashley had been previously spanked and switched on her bare bottom, but never forced to completely strip for punishment, and certainly not in front of someone else.
"You heard me right. I'm sure you will both be embarrassed. That's part of your punishment. And I think a good dose of shared humility will do you a world of good."
"But Dad!" Ashley pleaded. "You can't make me get naked in front of a guy! You just can't!"
"David is not just 'a guy' and you shouldn't treat him that way. And the same goes for how he treats you. He's family. That's the point I'm trying to make you understand. In this family, even the extended family, we have a tradition of supporting and caring for each other. David should be like a brother to you."
"But Dad..."
"And I don't think either of you will be learning any new secrets as to what the opposite sex looks like. Especially after I found those pictures on your computer, young lady. But if either of you think you can make a case that seeing the other undressed will destroy your childish innocence, go ahead. I'm listening."
Ashley and David both looked down in embarrassed silence.
"That's what I thought. Now this is your last chance to do as I tell you before I double your punishment."
Red faces and pale white bodies were soon on display as the two deposited their clothing on the sofa and returned to their places. As they undressed, they tried to hide the little glances at each other's anatomy. David noticed with appreciation that his cousin had grown up into an attractive young woman.
"Ashley, you first."
Her Dad pointed to the chair where she was to be punished. Ashley stood in front of the chair, bent over and, keeping her feet together to avoid displaying any more than necessary, she placed her hands down on the seat.
"You know the rules. Stay in position until I'm finished and count them off or you will get more. Understand?"
"Yes sir." Her voice was strained as she tried to keep from sobbing with the humiliation.
David's Uncle Robert turned to him and held out the switch. "You two are going to switch each other. Here. Give her fifteen good hard strokes."
David was utterly shocked. "Me?! But Uncle Robert, I don't want to hurt Ashley."
"You mean you don't want to hurt her physically, just verbally? A few minutes ago, you said she was a 'pain-in-the-ass'. Now here's your chance to give her a REAL pain-in-the-ass."
David gulped. "I'm sorry I said those things. I like Ashley. I don't want to whip her."
"But I insist. Either you give her fifteen; or I will give her thirty."
Ashley groaned and whimpered. "David, please do it. I don't want to get thirty."
David reluctantly took the switch.
"Take a couple of practice swings. I want to hear it."
David swung the willow switch half-heartedly.
"Harder. I want to hear it. If I don't hear it, you'll need to do it over."
He swung again and this time there was a 'hiss' as the switch sliced through the air. Ashley's Dad nodded.
"Fifteen like that." He pointed at Ashley's bare bottom. "Go ahead."
David bit his lip as he raised the switch and aimed it at the middle of his cousin's bottom. Swish - Whack!
"Ow!" Ashley flinched but stayed in position. "One."
David waited a moment until he saw Ashley take a deep breath and brace herself for the next one. Swish - Whack! "Two." Swish - Whack! "Three"...
"Don't aim for the same spot every time. Spread them around."
David nodded and continued. He was careful to swing hard enough so the switch audibly cut through the air. He didn't want to have to repeat any strokes; once was bad enough. He hated to hurt Ashley but it was fascinating and gave him a funny feeling of power to watch the thin red welts rise on his cousin's shapely backside.
Ashley whimpered and moaned as she fought to stay down and count the strokes. But she made it through, and David gave a sigh of relief as he delivered the last stroke.
Ashley's Dad held out his hand to take the switch from David. "Do you think I should give her another ten to be sure she's learned a lesson?"
"No sir!" David replied emphatically.
"Then please help her up. You might want to give her a hug if you're not still angry at her."
David took Ashley's arm and helped her to a standing position. He ignored the awkwardness and embarrassment as their bodies touched long enough to put his arms around her and give her a hug. "I'm sorry!" he whispered in her ear before he released her and stepped back.
"All right David, your turn." Ashley's Dad pointed David to the chair as he held the switch out to his daughter.
"Please Dad, I don't want to. David said he was sorry," Ashley protested as she stood there rubbing her sore backside.
"Well, I'm not going to whip him, but it wouldn't be fair to call his mother after he volunteered to take the whipping. So, if you choose not to do it, then he will get off with no punishment.
Ashley started to nod. She was okay with that. She wasn't angry at him anymore.
"...but if he's the kind of young man I think he is, after he switched you, getting off free might make him feel even worse than taking his punishment."
David spoke up. "Please do it Ashley. Then we'll be even."
"But I don't want to get even."
"I don't mean that kind of 'even'. I mean equal. Your Dad is right. I'd feel terrible for doing it to you if I don't get the same thing."
Ashley regretfully took the switch from her Dad.
"You're not used to being on that end of a switch. Take a practice swing," he told her.
Ashley tested the switch until she found the right amount of force it took to get a good solid 'swish'.
"All right, Ashley," her Dad said. "Whenever you're ready - fifteen strokes for David."
She rubbed the hot itch in her own bottom again; then Ashley raised the switch and delivered a good stroke. David gave a little yell and bucked at the impact. He wasn't used to this kind of punishment and hadn't known just how much it would hurt.
"One," he said shakily as Ashley raised the switch again.
Swish - Whack! "Two." Swish - Whack! "Three." David was hurting but he was determined not to suffer the shame of not being able to take the same punishment Ashley had already taken. He gritted his teeth and spread his feet a little more to brace himself better.
Swish - Whack! "Four."
Ashley was sorry for David's pain but felt the same fascination that David had felt as she watched the welts rise on his buttocks.
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