Today is Tax Day in the US — the day your tax forms and payments are due into the government. I held off on doing my taxes as long as possible, in hopes that maybe DOGE would destroy the IRS and I wouldn’t have to file, but that didn’t happen. (For the record, I think what DOGE is doing is generally reprehensible and an illegal attempt by an immigrant who can’t legally become president to rule the country the way he sees fit, with a puppet ruler in front of him who can barely string a sentence together. But anyway.) However, it’s also “National ‘That Sucks’ Day”, which I discovered during the writing of Holiday Heat: April. I figured that, since today sucks for so many people, I would give you a free short-story featuring characters from my Spanking Connected Universe. I hope you enjoy.

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Trish didn’t usually go to spanking parties just because. As a professional spanker, if she went to one, it was to work — to meet up with people, spank them, take videos and photos, and get content created for her sites. She also used them to network, meeting other professionals in the spanking community. But sometimes, just for funsies, she would go to a one-night-only spanking event looking to play.

That had been the plan for today: she was going to make the three-hour drive from Austin to Dallas, play at the hotel party there, spend the night, and head home after breakfast. But when she’d gotten in her car on Friday to run to the store, to pick up a couple of things, it hadn’t started.

That sucks, Zoe had texted when Trish had messaged her to bemoan the situation. What are you going to do?

I don’t know. The tickets are non-refundable and it’s too late to cancel the hotel room, so if I don’t go, I’m out a couple hundred bucks. Trish rarely spent that much money on herself, but she’d been to the weekend-long party this particular group held and knew they did a good job with it. It was supposed to just be a fun weekend, and she was afraid it would all be a waste.

Philip had come to her rescue, telling her she could borrow his car for the weekend. It was an electric SUV, only a few months old, and Trish had almost managed to decline, but Philip had been adamant. “You’ve been looking forward to this, and you need to relax a little. I’ll be fine for a couple of days.”

Which was why Trish was sitting on I-35 just outside Waco, the SUV in park, watching the vehicle’s version of a gas gauge — she was terrified she’d run out of power, although there seemed to be plenty after she’d filled up half an hour ago, just to be on the safe side — and waiting for whatever was going on up the road to clear. She didn’t know if it was construction, an accident, or just random traffic, but she hadn’t moved in half an hour.

That sucks, Mack texted. Are you going to make it?

I should, Trish replied. My plan was to get to Dallas by two, but as long as I’m moving by then I’ll be there in plenty of time.

Great. I hope you have a blast.

That’s the idea.

Traffic started to move shortly after that, slowly but surely, and Trish got to the hotel a little after three. She checked in, took a shower, and then pulled up the party chat to see if anything was going on. A few people were down in the restaurant, and one guy — a top, judging from the color of his name in Discord — was trying to get enough people together to play a word game. Trish wasn’t the best at those, but it beat sitting alone in her room until dinner, so she messaged that she’d be right there and headed down.

The guy — Jason, his name was — was almost a foot taller than Trish, and big, and he was wearing a wedding band. There was a woman with him, also tall, with long blond hair and generous curves — even more so than Trish’s own. She introduced herself as Courtney, and she was Jason’s husband. “I’m not playing,” she said. “I get too competitive, and then I get punished.”

“Are you good at word games?”

Courtney nodded. “None of my friends will play against me anymore. I’m stuck doing random games on my phone.”

“That sucks,” Trish said. “Are you sure you won’t join us?”

“She’s sure.” Jason put his hand on his wife’s thigh. “She’s just here for moral support.” He grinned. “And so I can touch her butt for good luck.”

Two other guys joined the group; their names were David and Jorge, and they seemed nice enough.

Jason explained the game — it was called Quiddler, and he described it as a cross between Scrabble and Gin Rummy. The rules were relatively simple, and Trish managed to hold her own while the five of them got to know each other. She didn’t end up winning; she got a bad hand on the nine-card round and lost points, instead coming in second to Jorge. However, she did manage to set up a couple of scenes. David was going to spank her later at the party, and she was going to give Jorge a little warm-up before dinner. And then, maybe later, she’d get to spank Courtney, too — she so rarely spanked women for fun, Zoe notwithstanding; her most profitable content was girl-girl. But Courtney had a sweet face and a kind disposition, and Trish hoped she’d get to turn her bottom pink, or even red.

Jorge, though, did not get very pink. He was overall average-sized, and his butt was nice, but his skin was light-brown and Trish knew she’d have to go harder than he wanted if she was to color him; as an experienced spanker, she figured that out quickly. Still, they had a good time, and the hug afterward was enjoyable. “More later, maybe?” Jorge asked.

“Sure, I’m game.”

They hugged one more time and then Trish went back to her room. She was waiting for a content creator friend to text her; they were going to have dinner together, prior to the party. But when Trish met Andra in the lobby, Andra’s right arm was in a sling. “What happened?” Trish asked, hugging her carefully.

“I fell at work and fractured my wrist.”

“Shit. That sucks.”

“No kidding. I can spank with my left hand, but it’s not the same. I’ve been doing a lot of bottoming the past few weeks.”

Trish nodded. “I bet you are. How’s that going?”

Andra shrugged. “I don’t get very pink, and bruises take a lot to show up.” Andra was black, fairly dark-skinned, with a crown of tight curls dyed pink and blue. She was slender, though her hips had a nice curve to them, and when she smiled it was like her whole face lit up. She wasn’t smiling very much now though.

“If you brought your stuff, we could do a scene,” Trish offered.

“Eh. I’m just going to have fun. Are you working?”

“Not this weekend.”

“Any of your partners come?”

Trish shook her head. “It’s just me.” Trish wished that one of them had been available to join her, but the cards didn’t fall her way.

“That’s fine. I’ll be your wingman.”

“Thanks.” Trish gently bumped her shoulder against Andra as they walked across the street to the parking garage. Andra, who lived in the area, drove Trish to a hole-in-the-wall barbecue joint, and it was amazing. Trish had to be careful not to eat too much; she didn’t want to be too full to go over anyone’s lap.

After dinner, Trish changed into a pink babydoll t-shirt with Cheer Bear on it — it was part of her “young girl gets spanked” wardrobe, but it was also soft and comfortable while showing off just enough of her tummy to be enticing — and a matching pink plaid schoolgirl skirt, plus knee-high pink socks and pink Converse sneakers. Underneath, she had on a pair of very cheeky pink panties, and as she made her way down to the pre-party mixer, she had to be careful not to take steps that were too large lest she flash her ass unintentionally.

Fortunately, the mixer went fairly quickly, and after getting her nametag — which said “Princess Patricia”, since that was what she was known as in the spanking community, and on Kinkster — Trish made her way up to the party suite.

It wasn’t long before she got her first spanking, going over the lap of a tall older man with white hair. He lifted her skirt, made appropriately-adoring comments on her backside, and then rained down firm smacks that left her warm and stinging. She could also tell that he was more than a little turned on, but she ignored it, and he didn’t do or say anything about it; she knew men sometimes got hard during spankings, but it wasn’t their fault.

Trish watched Andra get a light hand spanking, and then watched Jason put Courtney over his knee and spank her pale bottom until it was a deep pink color. She felt her heart race a little as Courtney’s bottom bounced and shook with each swat. It wasn’t the same as when she spanked Zoe; Zoe was beautiful, but she wasn’t as curvy, and her ass was firmer. Trish had always enjoyed seeing bigger bottoms get spanked, perhaps because she herself had one.

Jason was only too happy to spank Trish too; he spanked harder than the first guy had done, and her backside throbbed with each beat of her heart when he was finished. “I hope that wasn’t too much,” he said. “I sometimes overdo it after I spank Courtney, because she can go harder to start.”

“It was great,” Trish assured him, and then she hugged him. “Thank you.”

“Thank you.”

Trish turned to Courtney. “Are you interested in another spanking? Maybe not right now, but later?”

“I… I don’t usually play with women,” Courtney admitted. “Can Jason be there with us?”

“Of course. Whatever makes you more comfortable is perfectly fine with me.”

“Okay.” Courtney still sounded unsure.

“You don’t have to, if you don’t feel right about it,” Trish said. “I don’t want you to feel pressured or anything.”

“I’m not.”

“We’ll talk about it,” Jason said, “and get back to you. But I think she’ll be okay with it.”

“Great.”

By now the party was in full swing, with lots of spanking going on, as well as several people just hanging around talking. Trish met a married couple named Lance and Johanna, both of them switches, and she agreed to be co-topped by them. She’d only ever been co-topped by same-sex tops — two men or two women — and it was very different. Lance’s hand was bigger and more thuddy; Johanna was a smaller woman, and her hand stung more. At least they switched sides, making sure Trish got full coverage, before they brought implements into the mix. They had matching leather straps, long and thick and black, and Trish made lots of happy noises with each crack! against her ass. When they were done, Trish’s brain was fuzzy, and Johanna brought her a cup of water. “You all right?”

“Oh, I’m great.” She sipped carefully, squirming on the bed where she was sitting. Her ass hurt, delightfully so, and she was thrilled that she’d had such good experiences so far.

“I can’t believe I got to spank Princess Patricia,” Lance said, sitting beside her. She leaned against him and he put his arm around her waist. For a moment Trish worried that Johanna might be upset about the situation, but she didn’t seem to mind. “I’ve been watching your videos for years.”

Trish smiled and tried not to blush. She always got a little shy when someone told her they liked her work. It meant she was most likely directly profiting from them, and that was uncomfortable to think about. “Thanks.”

“Just keep doing what you’re doing,” he said.

Trish had no plans to stop, so she just nodded and enjoyed the closeness for a few minutes more, until someone came in and asked if they were done with the bed. She met up with Andra in the main part of the suite. “How are you doing?”

“I’m good,” Andra said. “Wish I was able to top more, though. You?”

“My ass hurts.” Another smile. “In a good way.”

“Are you spacy?”

“Maybe a little.” Trish held up one hand, her fingers an inch apart. “I just got strapped.”

“Lucky girl.”

“I’m sure they’ll do you if you ask them.”

“I’m sure.”

Trish took a few more minutes to come down from her high, and drank some more water. Then she spanked Jorge again, again on his bare ass, but this time she used both her hand and a stiff leather paddle. Once the male bottoms saw that she was open to that — and then they got a look at her nametag — she found herself giving spanking after spanking, four men in a row of all shapes, sizes, and ages. None of them propositioned her, which was nice — that usually happened at least once at any spanking party — and when the last one was finished, sent on his way with spoon bruises on his backside, Trish was well and truly spent, at least as far as toppy energy went.

That was when Courtney approached her. “I… I think I’m ready. But can we do it in private?”

“We can, but may I ask why?”

Her pale cheeks flushed as red as her bottom had been after Jason had finished with her. “I prefer not to have an audience when I take off my panties.”

“That’s fair.”

“Can you come to our room?”

“I can.”

Jason was already there when Trish and Courtney arrived. He was sitting in the room’s one comfortable chair. “Is it okay if we take pictures? We’ll keep your face out of it if you want.”

“I guess that’s okay, as long as you show me all of them before I leave.”

“Agreed.”

Honestly, Trish didn’t mind her face being in photos, but if she was going to show it, she was going to make money off it, and she didn’t think Courtney was the type to agree to be in professional spanking content.

After inspecting the implements Jason had laid out on the bed, Trish sat down on it and looked up at Courtney. “Are you ready?”

She bit her lip and nodded, then reached under her dress and lowered her panties.

“Over my lap.”

Courtney, as tall and curvy as she was, still managed to get into a comfortable position over Trish’s left thigh. Trish raised her dress, revealing that her bottom was only a little pink now. She cupped it, rubbed it, enjoyed the happy little sound Courtney made. She wondered if spanking turned Courtney on.

“Here we go.”

Trish’s hand made pleasant whap! sounds as it landed on Courtney’s backside, which bounced and jiggled in the most beautiful way. She concentrated on Courtney’s sit-spots, though she did make sure to spank her entire bottom, not going too hard, but firmly enough that in the paler areas she saw imprints of her hand.

A couple of minutes later, Trish paused and listened to Courtney’s breathing. It was quick, a little gaspy, and during the spanking she’d made little mewling noises. “Everything all right?”

“Mmhmm.”

“Good. Good girl.” She patted Courtney’s backside, and then started spanking again, a little harder now, whack! instead of whap!, the goal being to leave Courtney hot and stinging. Her hand was a little sore from all the spanking she’d already done, but she pushed through the pain in her palm and the ache in her shoulder; she wasn’t going to skimp on things, not when she had a woman like this over her knee.

Once Courtney was fully pink, Trish switched to a small, light wooden paddle. She could tell it stung by the way Courtney squirmed, but Trish had a lot of experience giving spankings and she managed to get the right leverage to keep Courtney over her knee while she peppered her backside with sharp swats. Then she went for a heavier paddle, thicker but still only the size of Jason’s hand, and that started to leave marks.

Trish looked up when she stopped, and Jason had a lascivious expression on his face. She wondered if he was going to break the streak, or if he was going to suggest Trish be a unicorn for the night, but he just took some photos of Courtney’s bottom and then waved Trish on. So she continued spanking, until Courtney was whimpering and whining, until her bottom was fully red.

“How far do you want to go?” Trish asked, smoothing her palm over Courtney’s hot skin.

“As far as you want to,” Jason said.

Trish gave him a capital-L Look. “I was asking her.” She put all of her top voice into the four words.

It didn’t seem to have much of an effect. Jason shrugged. “I’m in charge. I make the decisions for her.”

“Be that as it may, I was asking Courtney.” Trish was not pleased with how Jason was acting. “Courtney,” she said, staring at him, “how far do you want to go?”

“Until you’re done,” Courtney said, her voice small.

Trish went back to her hand and spanked Courtney for a little while longer, but her heart wasn’t in it and eventually she stopped again. Courtney got a huge hug, and Trish looked into her hazel eyes to make sure everything was all right. That got a nod in response, so Trish took her leave — not hugging Jason — and went back to the party suite.

Andra made a face when Trish related the story. “That sucks. It sounded like things were going so well.”

“Maybe it really is how their relationship goes, but I just didn’t like it.”

“I don’t blame you.” She brightened a bit though. “On the other hand, I do have something that might take your mind off things.”

“Oh?”

Andra led Trish into one of the side rooms, where four tops were strapping a woman who was lying in the center of the bed, naked except for a thong. “I know how much you like being strapped,” Andra said. “You should try it.”

Trish did, stripping down to her panties, and the tops did an absolutely amazing job, sending Trish so far into subspace that Andra had to wrap her in a blanket and hold her on the couch until she came back to herself. Then she helped Trish get dressed and brought her back to her room. “You going to be okay?” Andra asked.

“I’m great.” Trish was still floating a bit. Well, more than a bit.

“I’m around if you need anything.”

“I know.”

Andra kissed Trish goodbye, a brush of lips on lips, and then left the room. Trish texted Philip, Mack, and Zoe, letting them all know she was all right and she was heading to bed. Once under the covers, the lights out, she wiggled her back and bottom against the cool sheets, enjoying the aching and throbbing filling her entire body.

It had been a great party, overall. The only thing that would’ve made it better would be one of her partners in bed with her. But still Trish was happy, and that didn’t suck.

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Interestingly, this is one of a very few longer stories (over 2000 words) where I don’t have a scene break.

Let me know what you thought of it — or, even better, pick up a copy of Holiday Heat: April and read the other 29 stories I wrote for that month.