Not much you can do to prepare for this

The tea does little to calm you, but then you cannot think of anything that would have done. Soon, far too soon, your ex (who has every right to be annoyed with you) will be here to whip you in front of your new girlfriend. Not a prospect you ever thought you would face. You are suddenly feeling your nudity very acutely, even though you are (for now) on your own. It would be silly to be putting a robe on now after all you have been through yesterday, at most you should slip on the revealing underwear Michael permitted you, but you feel an irreversible urge to feel properly covered nonetheless. Even for a little bit. Another sip of tea later you lose the internal struggle, set the cup down and head towards your bedroom to get dressed.

The doorbell rings and freezes you on the spot. It cannot be Michael, it is far too early! It has to be Diana, it has to be. Your unbending legs carry you to the door as you are wishing you decided to dress a minute earlier. Now you would be risking another spanking for making whoever it is wait, you are quite certain. "Jen, it's me!" Diana's voice calls. With a wave of relief, you throw the door open and your new girlfriend flutters in. She has shed the scraped-together clothes she borrowed from you in the morning. Instead her dress would be suitable for a semi-formal social occasion and you struggle to take your eyes off it for long enough to lock the door behind her. In addition to her small handbag she carries a shopping bag with at least one unmistakable shape of a wine bottle. This really is a normal social event for her. Speaking of social... Suddenly with a minor panic nudge you recall you told Diana you will invite other friends over too and you obviously forgot all about it. You just hope she will not hold you to that too strictly.

"Saving time by not bothering to dress?" she asks after setting her bags down and hugging you tightly. "Um, I guess." you reply. "I'll just put underwear on before he comes." Diana's eyebrows are raised in question and you explain Michael said you will be allowed the little protection a thong or something similar can offer. To your modesty, if not to your skin. Diana shakes her head. "That's so Mike, being nice even for this. No, dear, he is welcome to put a thong on you when he comes if he wants to but you are not getting dressed yourself. It's not like we have not seen all of you before." Your face is getting visibly redder and as your girlfriend denies you the bare minimum cover for your forthcoming whipping but you know there is nothing you can do. She clearly wants this to be painful for you in all possible ways and if you resist she can make it much worse even if she is not in charge of your punishment.

Out of the shopping bag comes a bottle of wine followed by a few kinds of cheese. Diana borrows glasses from your cupboard and having nothing better to do you help her set up three spaces in the living room. You are not exactly overjoyed at setting the scene for your own mistreatment but it is better than to stand awkwardly doing nothing and watch Diana do it. In fact, a glass of wine might be a good idea, you decide, but when you reach for the bottle Diana smacks your hand away. "You are drinking water, dear, at least until you are done." she says and for the first time in the evening loses her cool demeanor and laughs as she sees your pouting face. This relaxes you somewhat but you still have to suppress a shudder at every sound you hear, fearing the doorbell is about to ring. You mind catches very little of what Diana is saying as she is telling you rather proudly of her today's project completion efforts. You really do not feel like her manager at the moment. Or like anything other than a very scared little girl, for that matter.

It is still quarter of an hour to go before the appointed time when Diana looks at the clock and abruptly stops talking. Your heart skips a beat and as she sets her glass down you know you are on the finishing line to the nightmare you have created for yourself. "Knowing him, he'll be right on time, but let's get you ready and waiting a bit in advance." Diana says. "If you want to use the toilet, now would be the time." You reflexively want to say you do not need to, but reconsider. Begging your ex for a pee break in the middle of a whipping can only be topped as humiliation by actually peeing yourself during the punishment. You hurry to the bathroom and make sure to squeeze every last drop out before quickly finishing up and returning to the living room. "Good girl." Diana ignores the furious blush on your face and walks towards the wall with the built-in shelving. The Rulebook kicks in a moment before you ask the question that would have made you look like an idiot and tells you what exactly your new girlfriend wants there. Even knowing what is about to happen, though, you still watch in awe and amazement as she pulls a lever and slides out a post with cuffs attached to its top that can have only one purpose. You actually have a built-in whipping post in your (rather nice, admittedly, but still ultimately very normal not to say boring) home.

As Diana motions you to come closer and you do, you are not surprised to find out the cuffs are perfectly adjusted to your height making you lift your heels just that tiny bit off the ground - that bit that will doubtlessly become quite torturous before very long. Diana positions you with your back to the post and facing the room to start with so that you can greet Michael. She assures you needlessly you will get help turning around if needed when he will want to lash your back. The humiliation and feeling of exposure and helplessness as your arms are secured above your head are mind-numbing and you feel you are on the edge of bursting into tears way before the first lash lands. Before Michael enters, probably. Fighting to remain in control of yourself (mentally, at least, as your physical options are severely limited) you glance at the clock. The next few minutes will probably be the longest in your life.