This is my first fic so apologies in advance for any newbie mistakes. Reviews would be very much appreciated.

Disclaimer: I don't own these characters. This fic is about characters from the TV show The Lying Game, not the books, and features spanking, including parental spanking of a teenager. If that's not your thing, please move right along.

Chapter 6

Ethan was stunned. "You – you wanted him to do it?"

"Don't look so surprised, Ethan. You said it yourself: nobody bothers to reinforce any boundaries where I'm concerned. I guess I kept pushing to see if someone would actually bother to do something about it. And when he did, I was kind of relieved."

Ethan was amazed. He knew the girl was crying out for someone to discipline her. But he hadn't expected her to have realised it herself – let alone to actually want someone to take her in hand.

"A couple of weeks went by after that, and I figured nothing more was going to come of it. Then, one night, we were having dinner and I said something pretty rude to my dad, although it wasn't any worse than usual."

"What did you say?" Ethan demanded, then watched in amazement as Sutton turned bright red. Sutton Mercer, feeling ashamed? He never thought he'd live to see the day.

"I'm not proud, okay, Ethan? I told him to go fuck himself. I can't remember why. It's not like I hadn't said it before, but this time it was different. Instead of sighing and saying: 'Why can't you just be nice, Sutton?' or 'Let's just have a pleasant meal,' he banged his fist down on the table so all the glassware shook. And then he started yelling."

"'I have had enough of this! I work hard to give you girls everything you want, and what thanks do I get? I'm sick of it, Sutton. It stops here.' Then my mom put her hand on his arm and started telling him to calm down. 'Why should I calm down, Kristen? We're raising a brat. It's nothing to be proud of.' So then I tried to interject."

Sutton didn't want to tell Ethan what she had actually said next. She felt ashamed, recalling it now. How she had got to her feet and said: Wow, thanks dad. I guess you picked the wrong baby when you adopted me, because this one turned out to be kind of faulty, according to you. Unless you're the ones who are at fault, of course. I mean, way to go dad, great parenting as ever.

Ethan was silent, waiting for her to continue.

"He shouted at me to get to my room – and not to even think about sneaking out. He said he would deal with me later. Something about the way he said it made me think he really wasn't kidding around, and I was kind of curious to see how he handled it, so I did what he said."

"Curious?" Ethan shook his head, surveying Sutton in amazement. "Your dad's yelling at you to go to your room because he's angry and disappointed, and your reaction is to feel curious?"

Sutton shrugged. "What can I say. It was the most energy he'd put into parenting me in quite some time."

"So, are you saying your mom changed her mind about letting him spank you?" Ethan couldn't resist asking. He was trying to be patient, but Sutton was taking ages to get to the point.

"Not exactly, no. I didn't hear the rest of the conversation, but Laurel filled me in later on. Apparently my dad started muttering about how he was thinking of taking Alec's advice. Mom told him to stop talking about it, saying they shouldn't discuss it right now. That my dad should just try talking to me, like I'm a fluffy little bunny."

"Mom had to go out after dinner, to some charity fundraising meeting. Something to do with children or cancer, I think – you know how she likes to change the world from the comfort of her designer-clad life."

"Your mom's a good person, Sutton, even if she hasn't managed to tame you," Ethan said.

"Tame me! Ha! What, like I'm some wild animal you have to trap? What are you planning to do, Ethan, turn me into a fur coat? Or are you just trying to bring out my wild side?"

Ethan started getting to his feet. "I knew you couldn't stay civil for long," he muttered.

"Ethan, stop, please." Sutton swallowed. She wasn't used to letting people so far in, and she didn't want to stop now she'd started telling the story. "Please, Ethan, I'd like to tell you the rest."