I smiled at his protectiveness. “I know, but I doubt she’s as bad as before, and Coley and I are no longer teenagers, so don’t worry.” I walked over and shoved Caine’s shoulder. “Don’t worry so much. I’m a big girl and can take care of myself. Besides, Kendall is a really good person and shares a lot of history with Coley and me.” I took a sip of my coffee. “Plus, you’ll be happy to know that Rebecca will be there to play mother hen.”
Caine smiled at that, and Sara raised her eyebrows and asked, “Who’s Rebecca? I’ve never heard her name mentioned before.”
Caine smirked. “She’s the sane one of the bunch.”
I laughed and looked at Sara. “Rebecca is an old friend from high school who hung out with Kendall, Coley and me. She was always the practical one who tried to keep everyone in line. She was always the designated driver, or the person keeping us out of trouble.”
“She was the one who kept me from having to bail their asses out of jail,” Caine added while Sara handed him a cup of coffee.
I nodded with a large smile. “Now that is a fact!”
Sara took a sip of her coffee then put down her mug. “Well, I would love to meet them sometime. I’m going to go hop in the shower.” She turned and left the room.
Caine sat down at the kitchen table and I walked over to join him. We sat there in silence for a few moments before Caine finally spoke.
“I want to apologize if Sara seemed rude to you yesterday. I think she was just feeling insecure and wasn’t sure how to act.”
“Yeah, she wasn’t exactly friendly yesterday, but she seems to be relaxing a bit this morning.” I was having a hard time not smiling or blushing. I wanted to add, “The spanking did her good,” but I managed to keep quiet.
I hadn’t really discussed Sara much with Caine and was curious. “So what’s going on between you and Sara? Do you love her? Do I hear wedding bells in the future?”
Caine looked down at his coffee for a couple of minutes and opened his mouth as if he was going to say something, paused, then looked up and shrugged. “I don’t know.”
I continued to press. “That doesn’t sound like love.”
Caine took a sip of his coffee. “She’s a good girl, but no, I’m not in love. I like her for now, I guess.” He studied me for a second. “Do you think I’m a jerk for living with her when I don’t love her?”
I shook my head. “Not at all, Caine. What you do in your personal life is up to you. I would never judge you on your choices. When we spoke on the phone, you used the words ‘for now.’ Are things not good between you guys?”
Caine let out a sigh. “It’s complicated really. Sara is someone who is willing to give my view on relationships a try. She is open to my way of thinking. So for that, I keep thinking I should try to fall in love. But I’m not happy, and I don’t think she is happy either. We just are trying to make it work because finding someone with the same relationship beliefs is hard.”
“What do you mean?” I asked.
Caine stared at me for a few moments, as if he were considering if he should tell me what he truly meant by that statement. He sighed again. “Neely girl, I don’t think you’d like what I would say. So let’s just say that I have some traditional and not so traditional thoughts on love.”
I wasn’t sure what to say. I had a feeling that what he was talking about was the fact that he spanks Sara. I wanted to let on that I knew, but wasn’t sure if he would be embarrassed by it. I didn’t like not being one hundred percent open with Caine, so I decided I would broach the subject.
“Um, Caine, I heard you and Sara last night. I heard you put her over your knee and spank her.” I blushed with embarrassment and regretted how blunt my statement seemed.
Caine’s eyes popped out and his face turned red. “Oh. I’m sorry you heard that. I should have been more considerate.” He regained his composure and asked, “Do you think badly of me now?”
I gasped in shock. “Absolutely not! There is nothing you could do that would change the way I feel about you. I was surprised, and I am slightly confused. But I don’t think badly of you, I swear.”
Caine smiled. “I’m glad to hear it.”
“So are you going to give me some more details, or just make me die of curiosity?” I asked. I really was interested in learning more.
Caine snickered. “Well, I believe in an old-fashioned marriage. I believe the man is the head of the household and I believe in Domestic Discipline.” He paused and studied me. When he saw I was listening and not getting ready to run, he continued, “Domestic Discipline is when the husband or boyfriend uses discipline such as spanking to correct behavior of the wife or girlfriend.”