"Who do you think you're fooling?" The attractive blackhaired woman waved the bottle of red wine.

Her companion, a blond boy seemingly about fourteen, blanched. "Karen, I don't know how–"

Karen's snort cut him off. "Cut the BS, Philip."

"Why would I have you buy it?" He licked his lips.

"So you could sneak it out while helping me unload the groceries," she replied calmly.

Xavier Hamilton, standing behind the duo in line, nodded pensively; twenty years earlier he might've tried that same trick.

Philip spoke rapidly. "Okay, let's put it back and you won't have to pay me today."

"Not with money," the woman interrupted, "But I'm taking you to the restroom and your bare butt's getting plenty of payment, young man!" She jerked the overloaded shopping cart out of line, dropped the wine into it and turned to Xavier. "Go ahead, we're making a slight detour." Her right hand encircled the teenager's left wrist and, shouldering her purse, she pulled him away.

Xavier couldn't resist following at a distance while three other onlookers did likewise. Reaching the services area, he heard Philip desperately protest, "No, that's the women's," as the ladies' room door closed behind him.

"Our lives must be damned boring," noted one of the followers, a pert late-teenaged brunette cashier; the other two were mid-thirtyish women.

Just then Karen pushed the door partway open and addressed Xavier, who was standing closest to her. "Oh good, thanks for coming in case I needed help. Would you warn away any women who show up while I'm taking care of business inside?"

"Sure," he agreed, noticing that her right hand was gripping a sturdy oaken hairbrush.

"Thanks, you're a doll." She disappeared back inside.

Moments later the sound of steady sharp smacks was heard reverberating within the room, almost immediately accompanied by boyish yelps which quickly became wails and intermittently by a briskly scolding feminine voice.

The four outside listeners smiled knowingly. "Boy, he's really getting it," the cashier noted with satisfaction.

The boy was indeed "getting it," being paddled energetically by Karen, who was seated on the lowered lid of the toilet in the oversized handicapped stall with him bent over her lap, bluejeans pulled down to his knees and briefs to his upper thighs in back. Wielded expertly by its owner, the flat-backed hairbrush steadily cracked across Philip's bouncing bare buns as he squirmed and kicked frantically but futilely.

The blond's posterior was glowing brilliantly crimson at the spanking's eight-minute mark when the cute cashier nudged open the stall's door.

"Don't mind me," she announced airily as Karen momentarily stopped swinging the brush, "I'm required to wash up after eating lunch, but I'll be discreet." She giggled. "Having fun, Philip?"

Then the paddling resumed with a vengeance, the wooden implement furiously plastering Philip's exposed asscheeks as he wriggled and howled over his spanker's firm thighs; their observer eventually withdrew.

When the pair exited the restroom five minutes later, Karen was beaming with self-satisfaction while her thoroughly chastised charge was sobbing raggedly and brushing his hand at his tearstreaked facial cheeks.

"Cah-Can't I eve-even clean muh-myself up?" he pleaded.

Karen's head shook. "No! Now get moving!" Her palm forcefully slapped his denim-covered right buttock and he immediately bolted forward.

Marshalling his courage, Xavier fell in step next to the woman; the other three eavesdropping voyeurs had already departed.

"Thanks for your help," she told him. "I'm not really a monster, just a strong, assertive woman "

He shrugged, eyes shining. "And I'm not a busybody, my curiosity just overcame me."

They found themselves checking out in the youthful brunette's line after reclaiming their carts.

"I'm not finished with your bare behind yet, young man," Karen informed Philip, "You've got a long session with my rubber strap coming after we're finished unpacking in the kitchen."

He gulped. "That's not fair…"

"I could tell your sister," she threatened, "Then she'd blister your butt too."

The shopper ahead of them, a tweedy middle-aged man, rounded on Karen. "Leave the boy alone, madam, or I''ll report you to the authorities for child abuse–it's obvious that you've battered him."

"Only his backside," she responded, "Which got royally paddled."

The man flushed angrily. "You're a vicious harpy!"

Xavier pushed past Philip to confront the accuser. "That's enough, mister, it's none of your business how she disciplines someone she's in charge of."

"It is if she mistreats him," the shopper countered.

The cashier intervened. "It was just a sound spanking, nothing worth arguing about…Right, Philip?"

The boy nodded. "Sure, Louella."

Karen handed Xavier her business card.

"It's got my cell number, please call me later today; I want to cook you a nice dinner for defending me."

"That's not necessary," he said weakly.

"I'm insisting," she stated, "Don't make me drag you into the restroom to convince you, ahhhh…??"

"Xavier." His eyes flashed excitement. "Okay, I will."

With her groceries unpacked, Karen handed Philip a twenty-dollar bill. "Interesting psychology experiment, hmmmm?"

He guffawed. "Who do you think you're fooling? I know a pickup situation when I see one. Will you wait until after supper before he's pants-down over your lap?"

Her finger touched his nose. "Maybe I should take the school strap to your naked fanny like I promised, smartass."

Philip returned her payment. "Then take this too, so you won't have lied in front of your new boyfriend–that's honest."

"Who do you think you're fooling?" She snickered. "You got into it when I was walloping your cute caboose, you'd love another bare-assed shellacking."

He smiled slyly. "So where's your woodshed?"