A Sweet and Stinging Night
After the test, Shine and I collapsed onto the bed, clutching our stinging behinds. They burned so badly that I felt like we needed ice packs. "Sob..." A tiny tear welled up in one of Shine's eyes. How much must it have hurt? Even I was in this much pain.
"So you were trying to make candy?"
"Yeees..."
I explained the whole situation to Amy. Staring at the ruined electric kettle, she let out a sigh, followed by a small smile. "Shall we make it together?"
Buried under the blankets, I cautiously looked up at Amy. "R-Really?"
"Of course."
I nodded eagerly. Rain, Shine, and I might have failed, but with Amy—who could do absolutely anything—by our side, we would definitely be able to make the perfect candy.
"Wait here a moment."
With that, Amy left the room. I curled my soft tail up and sat on it like a cushion. I could still hear the loud thwack-thwack of the spanking echoing in my ears. To be honest, the emotional damage hurt far more than the physical pain. Clutching my chest, my expression turned complicated. Something... something about this was incredibly embarrassing.
"Does it hurt, Jeff...?"
Shine crawled over and asked. Seeing her face filled with worry, I gave a small smile and stroked her hair. "I'm okay now."
I used to think I was used to physical pain, but apparently, that wasn't entirely true. After all, I had never been spanked on the butt in my past life. What about other places, then? Wearing a blank expression, I moved my arms and began patting myself down here and there.
"Hmm..."
"Jeff?"
As I patted myself down, Shine also curled her soft tail into a cushion and sat on it, just like I had. She seemed to find my self-groping a bit strange. "What's wrong?"
"...I just feel like I used to get hurt a lot more often in the past."
"In the past...?"
"Yeah."
At my words, Shine suddenly reached out with an urgent movement. Startled by her grabbing my wrist, I looked at her in confusion. Shine said to me, "Jeff. We agreed not to think about the past anymore."
"D-Did we?"
I nodded with an awkward laugh. If Shine said so, then we did. It felt a bit strange, but as I searched my memories, it seemed she was right. The faint, fading voices still echoing in my ears proved that Shine had indeed said those words before.
Click.
As Shine and I sat there in a daze, Amy returned. She wasn't alone, either. Standing awkwardly beside her was Rain, gingerly rubbing her own backside.
"Rain! Amy!"
I jumped out of bed and ran toward them. Amy was holding an assortment of miscellaneous items in her arms. Inside a partially visible glass jar was a generous amount of white powder.
"Ugh... Jeff. Shine."
Rain looked as if she had been dragged out of bed mid-nap. When did she get spanked? Nodding in silent solidarity with her pain, I reached out my hand. Seeing this, Rain silently reached out and took it. Our clasped hands wiggled slightly. I led Rain over to the table and sat down right next to Shine, who was already seated.
"Jeff. Shine. If anything like this happens next time, you tell me first."
Amy said this as she placed a brand-new electric kettle on the shelf. A shiny, sparkling new kettle had arrived. I smacked my lips and looked away.
"Now, shall we make some candy?"
"Do you know how to make candy, Amy?"
"I know the basic way to do it," Amy replied, placing a pot onto a small portable burner.
"Rain."
"Hmm...?"
Amy kept her eyes locked on Rain as she poured water into the pot. "If you do dangerous things with the kids again, I'm going to treat you just like them."
"I-I'll be careful."
Rain hung her head low, completely cowed. Seeing her look so pitiful for some reason, I offered her my fluffy dinosaur tail.
"Th-Thanks."
Rain sat on my dinosaur tail. Her uncomfortable expression instantly softened into one of relief.
Amy began boiling the sugar water with practiced ease. Her recipe wasn't much different from the homemade candy recipes I had seen on the internet. The water bubbled vigorously, releasing a fragrant, sweet aroma of sugar. Soon after, a gentle scent of peach drifted through the air, blending in.
"Do you like peaches, Amy?"
"Yes."
While the recipe I saw used lemon, Amy seemed to prefer peach. Once the water finished boiling, Amy poured the sticky liquid onto a silicone mat in small, separate portions.
"It's hot, so don't touch it yet."
"Okay."
One for me, one for Shine, and one for Rain. The blobs of candy lay before us. Watching them slowly spread and solidify, I smacked my lips. Shine also seemed to find the melted candy appetizing, as she poked her tongue out to lick her lips.
"Put these gloves on so it doesn't get on your hands."
Amy handed us small gloves. The contrast in size between our tiny gloves and the ones she wore was incredibly cute. Slipping them on, I waited for Amy's next instruction.
"Everyone got them on?"
"Yes!"
"Mhm."
Once she confirmed we were all wearing our gloves, Amy began kneading the candy mass. She pulled it long, folded it back, and pulled it again, repeating the process over and over. The more she kneaded and stretched it, the glossier her candy became. Watching it transform into a beautiful, vibrant color made my mouth water. "You guys try it too."
Following Amy's lead, I picked up my blob of candy and began kneading it. The sticky texture and the intense, sweet aroma were an irresistible temptation. Keeping an eye on Amy, I secretly pinched off a small piece and set it aside in the corner.
"Now we need to shape them."
Amy stretched her kneaded candy into a long rope and began cutting it with scissors. The candy snapped cleanly with a satisfying snip-snip, turning out much prettier than the ones I had seen in videos.
I stared at the candy in my hands, lost in thought. I didn't want to make something ordinary. Since it was a gift, I wanted to show that I had put some effort into it. Shine seemed to have chosen to make a lollipop. She rolled her candy into a neat sphere, poked a long stick right into it, and finished just like that.
"Is that it for you, Shine?"
"Yeah."
Rain made several small, marble-like candies. Both of them had gone with safe, simple choices. I decided to try something different. Working my hands busily, I began shaping the candy before it could harden completely. My goal was the dinosaur figurine decorating the table. Once the main body took shape, I attached long horns and a tail. The sturdy legs were more than enough to support its bulky frame.
"Finished...!"
I muttered, pulling my hands away from the candy. Now, all that was left was to wait for it to harden. The candy I had created was a dinosaur candy. I marveled at how cool it looked—it almost felt like a waste to eat it.
"What is that...?"
Rain, who was busy wrapping her candies, asked me cautiously. I looked at her and explained with absolute confidence, "It's a dinosaur!"
"A dinosaur...?"
"Yep!"
At my answer, Rain let out an awkward chuckle and looked away. Her reaction made my face fall. It looked perfectly fine to me, so was it really that bad? I picked up the candy and held it up to Amy.
"Amy, what does this look like to you?"
"Oh, you made it well. Is it a monster?"
I was devastated by Amy's "compliment." All the strength drained from my limbs, and I slumped onto the table. Dejected, I wrapped the candies anyway. Once they were all packaged, they went straight into the refrigerator.
"I'm going to give it to Victor when I see him tomorrow," I mumbled, popping a leftover piece of candy into my mouth and chewing.
"Aren't you going to eat any, Shine?"
"If I eat now, I'll have to brush my teeth again."
I had completely forgotten about that. It was late at night, almost dawn. If you ate something before going to sleep, brushing your teeth was an absolute must. Cautiously glancing at Amy, I discreetly spat the candy out of my mouth. "Yeah, I know."
Rain, apparently not caring about the hassle of brushing her teeth, stuffed her mouth full of candy and smiled happily. I quietly slid the candy I had just spat out right in front of her.
"Rain, you dropped some candy."
Startled by my words, Rain picked up the candy on the table and popped it into her mouth. With that, the evidence was completely destroyed. Smiling with satisfaction, I crawled under the blankets. Or at least, I tried to. If only Shine hadn't interfered. She reached out and grabbed my ankle. Dragged back helplessly by her strength, I was pulled right out from under the covers.
"Shine...?"
"Why did you only give it to Rain?"
"Give her what...?"
"The candy."
I stared at Shine in disbelief. Was she seriously jealous right now? Just because I gave my half-eaten candy to Rain? The atmosphere felt strangely heavy and suffocating. I smacked my lips slightly before asking her, "Do you... want some candy too?"
"Yes."
Keeping an eye on Amy, I rummaged through my pockets. A small candy wrapped in plastic rustled as I pulled it out.
"Here..."
"Not that one."
I offered the candy, but Shine shook her head in refusal. I swallowed hard. I had a feeling I knew exactly what Shine wanted.
"But..."
"Hurry up and give it to me."
I wiggled my toes and looked away, my entire body squirming with embarrassment. "Ugh..." After hesitating for what felt like an eternity, I finally unwrapped the candy and popped it into my mouth. As the candy rolled around inside my mouth, Shine leaned in close.
"Jeff. Say 'ah'."
I kept my mouth shut and watched her eyes. Shine really wanted the candy that was currently in my mouth. "Hurry."
After hesitating a bit longer, I finally opened my mouth as Shine demanded. As my lips parted cautiously, the sweet aroma of the candy wafted out. Shine reached in and took the candy right out of my mouth. The sensation of her finger gently brushing against my tongue tickled.
Shine popped the candy into her mouth and let out a satisfied smile. She even poked her tongue out slightly to lick her finger. I stared at her blankly before quickly hanging my head. Something... something was definitely wrong with me. I clutched my chest, feeling my heart pounding wildly. My face and ears burned. It felt even hotter than when Amy had spanked me. In the end, I pulled the blanket over my head to escape Shine's gaze.