The morning sun stung my eyes, even through the protective shield of my sunglasses. Every low, rumbling engine of a passing car became a thundering roar that pounded against my eardrums. “Ugh, remind me never to drink again,” I mumbled to no one in particular. Still, I soldiered on, plodding slowly from the campus shuttle stop to the address Caleb had sent me. 

Meeting up early had seemed like such a great idea last night. Meet in the morning to talk. No reason to wait. We didn’t have class. I stumbled on an uneven patch of sidewalk, but managed to avoid diving head first into the concrete. Why did Caleb want to meet in the Olde Quarter anyway? If I’d known I would wake up with a construction crew hammering in my head, I would never have agreed to come out here, or meet today, or get out of bed. As I contemplated texting Caleb to cancel, a vast swath of obnoxiously bright green came into view, Lafayette Park. Sure enough, at the park’s edge hovered Caleb’s familiar silhouette. Even from here he looked cute, dark curls glistening in the sun, standing tall, t-shirt hanging from his shoulder, revealing just a hint of chest hair. He waved, already demonstrating much more energy than I had. No turning back now. 

I felt horrendously awkward walking the last block or so, but finally, I reached him. Caleb pulled me into a tight hug, and the pounding in my head grew a little quieter.

“Annie, you Okay? You look a little pale.”

Luckily, my sunglasses hid my bloodshot eyes. “I feel like the Kentucky Derby is going on in the back of my skull, but otherwise I’m all right. I don’t know how you drink those IPAs all the time.”

“You drank an IPA last night?”

“Multiple. And shots,” I added glumly.

“Wow, I didn’t realize Olivia went so hard,” he said, taking my hand and beginning to walk through the park. Few people had arrived this early and we could talk in relative privacy. 

“It was actually my idea.” 

The corner of his mouth tucked into a frown for a second. “Was that because of me?”

“No!“ I answered immediately, then added, “Well, yes, kind of. But it’s not your fault, at least I don’t think it is.” Unless you are actually brainwashing me. 

“So it is because of me, but it’s not my fault?”

The pounding in my head had returned. I squeezed his hand. “Would you mind if we sit down to talk about this? Walking is kind of rough right now.” 

We found a bench easily enough, tucked under the shade of an ancient oak tree. The shadows gave a much-needed relief from the relentless assault of the morning sun, and I slid my sunglasses into my bag. I did my best to clear my throat and my mind. Last night the words had poured from my fingers with a feverish fluidity. But now, my liquid courage had deserted me and I found myself at a loss. “I’m just scared is all. I’ve never felt this way before. It frightens me.“

“This way… As in hung over?”

“Honestly, that too. But, no. This way, as in so turned on.”

“I mean, that sounds like a good thing.”

“I can’t turn it off. I think about it all the time.” I chewed my lip. "When you first offered to hypnotize me, the prospect terrified me. I pictured scenes from old movies of women in nightgowns walking mindlessly with their arms in front of them and wondered if that would be me. I had no clue what I was getting into, but even in my wildest imaginings, I never thought I would like it so much.”

“I'm still not seeing the problem.”

“I thought giving up control would be terrifying, and on some level it is. But more than that it’s exhilarating! It’s like I don’t have to think at all, your words just pop into my head. But, what if I don’t really feel that way?”

“Your feelings seem genuine to me. If you’re faking it, you’re the best actor I’ve ever met.”

I swallowed hard, unable to choke down the feeling in my stomach. Okay, here we go. “Don’t you see? You could have made me feel that way. I don’t remember much while I’m under. You could have planted a seed, a simple little suggestion to love hypnosis. Then let it grow, like a vine, slowly spreading its tendrils into every corner of my mind, wrapping around my thoughts, snaring and bending them, molding me into your perfect plaything, until I was just a puppet dancing on your strings.” God, just saying it made my head spin, and I couldn’t tell if it was the alcohol or the fantasy. Visions flooded my mind again. Caleb could tell me I had been right, but figured it out too late to do anything about it. Just a snap of his fingers and I would fall to my knees, obediently waiting for another command.

“Annie?”

Another snap and I’d be pawing at his fly, ready to take him into my mouth, unable to think of anything else. 

“Annie?”

Not even caring that we were exposed in the middle of the park. Normally judging eyes would wound my soul, but somehow, in trance, they just made everything hotter. 

“Annie.” Caleb snapped his fingers in front of my face.

“Yes, sir,” I answered automatically. Then reality set back in, no kneeling, no sucking, just sitting and talking. 

“Sorry, I started talking, but it looked like you spaced out again. I said, I’m sorry you feel that way. I promise I would never do something like that. I don’t even think I could.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. If I could give girls hypnosis fetishes, my dating life before you would have been a lot simpler.”

Immediately I flushed with embarrassment. “I guess you would have had a whole collection.”

He laughed that warm, disarming laugh of his. “If hypnosis worked like that, I probably would have turned into some evil super villain.”

A new fantasy tugged at the corner of my imagination, but I shrugged it off. “Yeah I guess that would have been something else.”

“No, hypnosis is more like opening doors in your mind to places you can imagine. I can’t make you step through them. I’m just giving you a path you didn’t have before. Even if I told you to have a kink for hypnosis, it shouldn’t work unless you already had one or liked the idea of having one.”

“But I didn’t even know what a hypnosis kink was before you.”

“You said it yourself, you like getting lost in the fantasy. You like the relaxing feeling. You like pleasing me. Maybe you’re just a natural submissive.” 

I couldn’t deny the truth of his words, though that still didn’t feel wholly sufficient to explain the ferocity of my feelings. “Maybe. It still feels like I’m too into it for that.”

“I did know you were innocent when we met, maybe a little naive even, but I didn’t realize how much.”

I slapped him with all the indignation my exhausted muscles could muster. “Hey, rude.”

“Sorry, I didn’t mean it like that. I just meant that maybe I pushed you a little fast. Being with me is kind of like going from zero to one hundred for you.”

“More like zero to warp speed.” Shooting off into space, leaving the world I knew far behind in pursuit of some unknown place of power and submission, a place where my imagination was the only limit, and even that limit seemed theoretical at best. 

“I just couldn’t help myself. When you asked what my fantasy was, I couldn’t help but imagine it. You, deeply hypnotized, naked, kneeling before me, eager to serve. Fuck, sorry, now I’m the one getting carried away.”

Oh, don’t stop, my subconscious urged. 

“You said, I cast a spell on you? I promise it's the same over here. I’m crazy for you. No one has ever compromised for me like you have, Annie. It means the world that you’re trying so hard. I’m sorry if I’m pushing you too fast, and if we need to slow down with the hypnosis, then that’s what we’ll do.”

Slow down? Who wanted to slow down? After hearing that, I was ready for him to take me on this park bench. Still I managed to restrain myself and act like an adult. “Just for a bit.” Not long, just long enough to prove that I didn’t need hypnosis to myself as much as to Caleb. Still his emotions had touched me, but not fully extinguished the flame of doubt in my mind. So many holes in my memory. Even on our second-and-a-half date, it seemed like he wanted to say something and didn’t. “But how can I know for sure? How can I know you haven’t done something to me?”

He cracked a rueful smile. “I don’t think you can. I can’t bring those memories back. I can only give you my word. I could try and hypnotize you to restore the memories, but that’d probably hurt my cause more than help it.”

Oh, no. That would be terrible, my subconscious chimed in with a mischievous smirk. Still I kept my composure. “Yeah, probably best not to try that right now.”

“You just have to trust me,” he said, offering his hand. 

I looked down at the hand, thoughts spiraling all around it. Did I trust him? I couldn’t shake the feeling that I didn’t know everything. Still what he said made sense. He had pushed me too far once, but otherwise he’d been the perfect gentleman. As soon as I pushed back, he respected my boundaries and slowed down like I asked. Honestly if he tried to hypnotize me right on the bench, it probably would have worked, but he didn’t, even if part of me wanted him to. I took the outstretched hand, running my fingers over the ridges of his callouses. “I do.” 

“So you don’t think I’m brainwashing you?” 

“No, sir. I’ve never been brainwashed,” I answered flatly, working to suppress my own laughter.

This time he gave my arm a playful slap. “Hey, no fair. We’re in public and you know what that kind of talk makes me want to do to you.”

We both laughed, and I settled into the bench, leaning up against Caleb. Finally the tension I’d carried since last night started to melt away. “Just a little payback.”

“Okay, fair.”

I nestled further into his arm. I felt a thousand times lighter without all that doubt weighing me down. Now we could enjoy a day in the park. “Why did you wanna meet in public anyway, and why so early?”

“Two reasons.” He held up two fingers with an air of mock seriousness. “One, I figured we’d both behave and have an easier time talking about this if sex wasn’t an option.”

I flushed. “A good precaution,” I said quietly. 

“And two, it was the only time slot I could get on such short notice.” A wry, self-satisfied little smile started to play across his tantalizing lips.

“Time slot?”

He took out his phone with his free hand. “Yep, it starts in about two minutes. Should be here any time now.” 

I returned his arm slap. “Okay, Mr. Mysterious, not gonna tell me what time slot you booked? Do we have breakfast at a fancy restaurant? Is a Voodoo shaman about to jump out from a bush? Did you hire a singing telegram?” 

“Maybe I’m horsing around.” The smile spread into an outright grin. “But it looks like I stalled long enough,” he said, eyes drifting to the street. 

I followed his line of sight, to a lumbering silhouette, making its way around the corner. The horse’s shaggy head came into sight first, long white mane falling over its speckled, white-brown neck. The lines of the reins drooped over its muscular shoulders. It walked with no particular hurry, pulling the bright red carriage behind it with seemingly no effort at all. A man in a vest and top hat directed the horse as a couple talked happily, pointing out landmarks from the coach behind. I gasped, “You booked a carriage ride!” 

“I know it’s touristy, but I figured I owed you something out of a fantasy novel, and there’s a conspicuous lack of castles in this state. So I settled for the next best thing.”

I threw my arms around him. “That’s so sweet!”

“I know it doesn’t make up for the weekend, but it felt like the least I could do. No hypnosis, no games. Just something sweet like you wanted.” 

My lips swallowed the last words as I kissed him. He melted into my touch. Every taste, every movement tearing down the walls that had formed between us. My joy and relief completely drowned out the pounding of my hangover. 

He spoke when we finally broke for air. “Now, my lady, please restrain yourself. We don’t want to miss our reservation.”  

“Ah, I forget myself, good sir. Let us be on our way.”

“Please allow me.” He hopped up and bent down, offering his hand in an exaggerated bow. 

I took it with an even more over-the-top curtsy. “Let us be on our way.”

By the time that we reached the park entrance, the other couple had already disembarked and the conductor stood, holding the door for us. We stepped up and into the varnished wood interior of the coach. After a polite introduction, the conductor closed us in and clambered back to his perch atop the vehicle.

I breathed a silent thanks that this wasn’t one of those tours where the driver talked the whole time. After four years of school, I didn’t exactly need a refresher on the ghost stories of the Olde Quarter. What I did need was time alone with Caleb. We settled into the plush seat and the carriage started to roll. 

The horse, apparently named Buttercup, resumed his leisurely pace, pulling us down the cobblestone street. I leaned into Caleb, stretching a blanket over our laps. The early Summer morning didn’t exactly call for warmth, but it certainly added to the vibe. 

“I’m glad we have some privacy,” he said, kissing me. 

“Me too,” I answered, returning the kiss.  

“I’ve been thinking more about what you said, going over all the suggestions I’ve used. I’m pretty sure I never tipped you towards hypnosis by accident.” 

I gave his hand a squeeze. “It’s ok, I trust you. You don’t have to worry about it.” 

“Of course, I can’t say for sure how your subconscious would interpret things, but I’ve always been careful to remove any suggestions at the end of a session. It’s a standard precaution.”

“Oh I hadn’t thought about that.” Wait. I hadn’t thought of that.  “Shoot, I didn’t do that!”

He pulled me closer. “It’s ok, It’s mostly something the hypnotist does. It should just feel like waking up for you.” 

Caleb’s voice drifted back through my memories, and coming back into the room, leaving all those suggestions behind, awakening peaceful and rested. Although most of my memories of trance felt hazy at best, those last words remained clear, exactly the kinds of words I should have used for Olivia. I dug out my phone, looking through my messages with her. “Um, what would happen if you didn’t do that? Just hypothetically?”

“It shouldn’t be that bad,” Caleb said with a shrug. “You might just see some residually lingering suggestions. They should go away on their own in time. You’d have to keep reinforcing them if you wanted permanent change.”

“Oh, thank goodness.”

“Annie, you look kind of worried.” 

I flushed. I hadn’t exactly planned on telling Caleb about Olivia, though now it seemed hard to avoid. Still, I had said I trusted him. That meant sharing these things. “Promise you won’t be mad.” 

His body tensed against me. “Did someone else hypnotize you?”

“No, no. Nothing like that,” I said, feeling him relax. “I may have just . . . hypnotized Olivia,” I finished, flying through the last few words, like they’d disappear if I said them fast enough. 

“You, what?” he looked down at me in shock. 

“Just a little. I didn’t do anything bad.” Then I remembered her taking her shirt off. “Well mostly.” 

“I’m not even sure where to begin with questions.” 

“You should have seen her. You would have done the same thing!” I gushed defensively. “She was just feeling so sorry for herself, and I kept thinking about how much more confident I feel when you hypnotize me, and I just let something slip about it, and then she got so hopeful, and one thing led to another.”

He tensed again. “So you told her about what we’ve been doing?”

“No, no. I just called it a guided meditation. I didn’t mention us.”

“Phew. You scared me for a second there. It’s okay to tell her if you really trust her. I just don’t want too many people knowing about my kink. I’m sure you get it.”

After the gardens, I was a little surprised he cared, but I nodded. 

“Still, that’s incredible! I didn’t know you knew how.” 

“I didn’t know I knew how either, but it kind of came naturally. I think I channeled some of the things you had said to me.”

“Annie, that’s very impressive. My first attempts to hypnotize someone went less than ideally.” 

“I had a good teacher.”

“Well apparently your teacher slacked off on the after care lessons. Want to fill me in?” 

“Well,” I dug through my memories of last night, wading through the fog of alcohol. “The end of the night was kind of a blur. But I made her put her insecurities in a bracelet, which I then took, and now that I’m talking, I’m pretty sure I still have it.” I turned to my purse and saw the beads of moon rock looking back up at me. “Whoops.” 

Caleb took it all in stride. “Could be much worse. That’s a pretty benign suggestion. If anything she should just have a lingering confidence boost. It’ll fade in a day or two if it hasn’t already.” 

I blanched as I read the text messages. “But that’s not all, I told her to take an interest in the guys that came to talk to her and whatever they wanted to talk about. . . and . . . well. . .” I held out the phone. 

Caleb took it and started scrolling through various pictures she had sent of the figures and posters from Roger’s room. “Looks like she went home with him. Apparently, he skipped Commander Night.”

“I didn’t even remember that part or anything after I texted you,” I squeaked. “And I wasn’t even hypnotized. I’m never drinking again.” 

“Do you think she would have gone for him without the suggestion?”

I thought back. “She did say he was cute. I’m almost positive that was from before the hypnosis.” 

He returned my phone. “Her messages look happy from the morning. She thanked you, like a lot of times. You’re definitely treading on some morally thin ice, but I think it was probably fine. You just nudged her to do something she wanted to do anyway. Opening doors, remember? Any enhanced attraction should fade too and then it’s up to them.”

A hazy mirage of their smiling faces filled my mind. “I think they’ll make it,” I whispered. 

“I take it this guy didn’t know she was hypnotized?” 

I shook my head silently. 

“Well despite the total lack of aftercare, I think it’ll be alright. Just try to touch base with her today, and see if any of it’s lingering. I’d call it a success.”

“But that’s not all! You didn’t scroll to the bottom!” I showed him the end of the conversation. “I told her to take an interest in his interests. Look at all this about planeswalkers. I don’t even know what this means!” 

Caleb nodded solemnly. “I see. Well, in that case she’s doomed. There’s nothing we can do.”

“Stop it!” I gasped, slapping him again. “You’re joking, right? Right?” 

“Sadly a TCG addiction can be pretty hard to break. You may have created one of the rare, female Magic players,” he said before collapsing back laughing. 

I couldn’t help but laugh too. 

“No, that should fade too. Just try to be there for her if she needs anything. Now this is supposed to be your non-hypnosis treat and you’ve spent the whole time talking about hypnosis. Enjoy the view a little.”

I settled into the seat, leaning back against my boyfriend, my wonderful boyfriend, who wasn’t even brainwashing me. From inside the safety of the carriage, the sun didn’t seem so bright, nor the cars so loud. Sure the architecture of the Olde Quarter was a little new for a princess story. Still it could be the backdrop for a pride and prejudice style romance, about people torn between their families, trying to find their way in the world. I squirreled that away for a future hypnosis session. Part of me wanted to ask Caleb to do it right now, spirit me away to a dream world far away from the doldrums of hangovers and planeswalkers. 

But I would stick to my principles, dammit. I had asked for a break, and I wasn’t gonna cave after a day. Still, he had been so stable and soothing, talking me through everything. “Thank you.”

“For what?”  He looked down at me with that sweet smile. God, I loved him. 

“For being you.” 

“I should be saying that to you.” 

I slipped my hand across his thigh, rubbing the fabric of his jeans. 

“Annie, what are you doing?” 

I looked up with the sweetest, most innocent pout I could. “I’m just doing what you said, sir, enjoying the view.” My fingers walked slowly over the lean muscle of his thigh, drifting towards his inner seam. Already a few telltale twitches of movement ran through the fabric. 

“I thought you wanted to slow down.” 

Honestly at this point, I didn’t want that at all, but I wouldn’t ask him to hypnotize me today, no matter how much I wanted to. Still that didn’t mean we couldn’t have some fun. “Just on the hypnosis front. Still you’ve done so much for me today. You heard me out, you helped with Olivia, you arranged this whole surprise. There must be something I can do for you.”

“Annie, are you sure?” 

I loved seeing him all nervous and flustered like this. Watching that usual, tight control slip thrilled me. I stretched further across his lap, leaning my weight against his frame and reaching all the way between his legs. “I am. Is this still hot for you if I’m not hypnotized?” 

He swallowed and tried to maintain some semblance of composure. “Yeah, yeah I would say so,” he stammered. 

“Regardless, I’m still under your control,” I whispered into his ear. 

“I don’t exactly feel in control.” Still he didn’t move to stop me. He just let my hand continue stroking in a steady rhythm across him. 

“Oh, well you should. I meant what I said,” I spoke into his ear with a light nibble. “Even if you didn’t mean to, you still did this to me. I’m not so innocent anymore.” 

He laced his fingers through my hair and clutched my head against his chest. “Now, you’re mine.” 

“Yes, sir.” I purred. “I’m all yours.” His length hardened under my words and my touch. “I’ve been thinking about what you said too.” 

The carriage lurched as Buttercup carried us across a pot hole, but I just took the opportunity to press more tightly against Caleb. “I know why I was scared now.” 

“Tell me,” he said, that familiar firm command filling his voice. 

“It all seems so simple now.” My hand sped up, stroking with more passion. “I needed you to have enchanted me, because otherwise. . . “

“Otherwise?” he said, sucking in a strained breath. 

“Otherwise, this is just who I am.”

“Annie, I’m getting close. You should stop.”

I slowed my movement, but didn’t pull away. “Do you really want me to stop, sir?” 

“Well, I don’t want you to, but . . .”

“I don’t want to stop either,” I cut him off with another deep kiss. “I was scared to accept that this raging passion could really be a part of me. It felt so alien, yet so, so good. But I don’t regret a thing. I love being hypnotized. I love being under your control. I love being a kinky little freak.” His hips started straining. I doubled down, moaning my words into his ear. “I love that it makes me perfect for you. I love being yours. I love you, Caleb.”

Caleb bucked and thrashed under the blanket, a wet warmth began spreading across his jeans. “I’m glad I could please you, sir.” 

“Fuck, Annie.” 

“Maybe later, sir. First let’s clean you up.” I pulled a pack of tissues from my bag, and Caleb did his best to discretely clean himself. Still, anyone who closely studied the denim would notice a small dark patch. Seeing it made me strangely proud. 

My gaze traveled up to meet his eyes, which stared in open astonishment at me. Despite the boldness of what I’d done, I couldn’t help but blush. “What? What’s the look for?”  

“Annie, don’t you see? You’ve never been like that outside of trance.” 

The blush only deepened, spreading heat down my neck. “I just did what came naturally. I decided I was tired of being afraid of my feelings. Was that okay?” 

He kissed my forehead. “Okay? Annie, that was fantastic. Thank you.” 

“For the hand job?” I said, suddenly feeling self conscious again. 

“For being you.” 

He pulled me close after that, and a gentle happy warmth settled over me. For the first time since our first date, I felt completely at peace. 

We spent the rest of the carriage ride actually taking in the sights. Before too long, Buttercup brought us back around to the park’s entrance and lurched to a stop. I got out first, making idle conversation with the conductor. I asked him if I could feed Buttercup. He obliged me and showed me how to give her a sugar cube. I did want to feed the horse, but really I was just distracting the driver so Caleb could slip out without drawing too much attention to the wet spot on his pants. I gave him a cardigan from my bag, so he could wrap it around his waist on the walk back to the shuttle. My mom always taught me to bring an extra layer, though she probably didn’t intend for me to use it this way. 

I called Olivia on the ride back to campus. Even over the phone her voice radiated happiness. I honestly couldn’t tell if she was still acting on suggestions or just head over heels for Roger of all people. Caleb only told me to keep an eye on her, and offered to help if she needed anything. 

We parted ways back on campus, each heading to our separate afternoon classes, although the feeling of warm contentment stayed with me through the rest of the day. The day passed without incident. The last few classes before finals were usually pretty chill. 

As I walked back to my Dorm, I remembered that I’d forgotten to talk to Caleb about our plans for the future. He had band practice again tonight, so it would have to wait until tomorrow. Besides, I wasn’t worried anymore. I did trust him and I trusted us to figure it out, no matter what came. 

Stepping inside my modest room, I dropped my bag and then myself onto the bed. I took a slow, deep breath, savoring the peace in my mind. Still no intrusive thoughts. No arguments between my subconscious and my libido. Indeed it seemed peace had finally settled over the republic of Annie-opolis. I heaved a contented sigh, and opened my eyes to see Wally sitting beside me on the bed. 

I pulled the little stuffed Koala into a hug. “Oh, Wally. It’s been a strange trip this last semester, huh?” 

Wally of course did not speak, as he never did. 

“Yeah, you said it,” I answered back with a laugh. “Did you have any idea you were owned by such a kinky freak?” 

Silence. 

“Well if you’d said that earlier, you could have saved everyone a lot of time and trouble.”

I flopped across the bed, as the weariness of the day and the residual hangover finally caught up with me. I knew I would sleep well tonight. Sleep. 

On the one hand I felt proud of myself for not asking Caleb to hypnotize me today, on the other hand I longed for the sweet release of trance. I gave Caleb a nice release today, but didn’t get anything for myself. As I lay there staring at the ceiling I found myself wanting some kind of something just for me. 

I sat back up, put Wally down and turned him to face the wall. “You’re not gonna wanna watch this.”

I shimmied out of my pants and panties and stretched back out across the bed. I hadn’t masturbated much, and my first tentative movements exposed my inexperience. I gently rubbed across my clit, trying different speeds and rhythms until I found something that felt right. I closed my eyes and tried to picture Caleb, his warm smile, and reassuring voice, and addictive praise. My body gave a little shudder as I pictured that last part. Oh, I knew I had pleased him today, and that alone was enough to get me wet.

Slowly, delicately, I slid a finger inside and started to play. It felt nice, and why shouldn’t it? I deserved satisfaction as much as anyone. Caleb hadn’t meant to leave me hanging, the timing had just worked out that way. Still I wished my fingers belonged to him instead. He always knew just how to touch me, how to play my body like an instrument, his strings and keys to pluck and press however he desired. Oh, fuck. That thought turned me on. 

For the first time in a while that notion didn’t give me any reservations. I could belong to Caleb and still be myself. So what if I liked being dominated and commanded? That didn’t make me less than. If anything, I felt more than I had ever been before, more peaceful, more confident, more aroused. I had accepted myself. I sped up, even sliding a second finger inside. 

I kept pumping, imagining Caleb whispering honeyed praise straight into my brain, but I couldn’t get there. The phantom voice of my imagination couldn’t compare to the sweet vibrato of Caleb’s baritone. I kicked myself for not letting Caitlyn buy me any toys. Finally, I collapsed, heaving for breath on the bed. “I guess that’s the only trouble with being so submissive. It’s hard to get off without Caleb to  hypnotize me or at least tell me what to do.”

Then an idea occurred to me. Caleb was busy tonight, but maybe I could still treat myself to a little trance. I sat up and opened my laptop, and searched for “hypnosis”. I groaned as thumbnails of live stage hypnosis shows filled the monitor. I refined my search to “hypnosis, sexy”

That brought up a VERY different range of videos, mostly X-rated stage shows, or street hypnosis at the beach. I quickly bookmarked a couple of those, purely to research future suggestions for Caleb and I, of course. My search continued, although I didn’t exactly know what to look for next. 

What did Caleb call the part where he actually put me under? It had a special name. Infection? Introduction? No, Induction. My fingers flew back to the keys. “Hypnosis induction, sexy.” 

Now we were in business. Every video offered to whisk me away to a world of blissful oblivion. I didn’t know where to start, so I picked one at random. 

Instantly the screen dissolved into a pulsing black and white spiral, and a low gravelly voice came through my speakers. The voice told me to focus on the spiral and let everything else melt away. But the spiral hurt my eyes, way too much contrast. I looked through the other videos, and found a woman’s face. She didn’t seem to have a spiral, so I clicked. 

Her voice filled my room with a melodic, lulling quality. I felt the tension starting to melt from my shoulders as the beginnings of trance came over me. Still I couldn’t quite get there. She never looked away from the camera and it creeped me out a little. I felt like she was watching me. Next.

This one had a weird voice simulator. 

Next.

That one spent two minutes plugging a subscription service before anything started. 

This was proving harder than I’d expected. Just as I was about to give up, one last thumbnail caught my eye. It came from someone called “Echo Mind.” No creepy stares, or blinding spirals, just a peaceful image of a starry sky. What the heck? One last try, and then I would go to bed. 

Immediately I knew I made the right choice. The deep baritone drifting through my room felt so comfortable and warm. I lay my computer to the side, full-screened it and lay back on my mountain of pillows. 

“That’s it, let the light of the stars block out everything else. Watch how they gently pulse in a warm, steady rhythm. They’re not forcing you into hypnosis, just offering you a choice, a choice to let go, to relax, to sleep.” 

Already my eyelids began to flicker. Oh yeah, this was the good shit, just the way Caleb did it. 

“The soft light just washes over you now, carrying a soothing pleasure across your skin, drawing you deeper, inviting you to float in the lights. Every second you watch the pull gets stronger, every word you hear makes it easier to drift down for me.”

My neck melted into the comforting embrace of the pillows, letting my head loll to the side and the screen to fill even more of my vision. 

“Still it’s your choice. The lights can’t pull you into trance. They can only open the door. You have to choose to step through it. If you want to stop, feel free to pause the video, but if you want to go to sleep for me then just say ‘I want to be hypnotized’ for me now.

“I want to be hypnotized,” my lips mouthed. I was close. 

“That’s a good girl. I knew you’d make the right choice. Then sleep.”

My eyes fluttered for a moment as I relished the edge of oblivion and then everything went dark. The gentle pulsing lights and the smooth sound of his voice consumed my entire awareness. I didn’t know how long I stayed like that, but it felt divine. 

When my eyes drifted back open, I looked without seeing.

“That’s very good. Completely blank. No thoughts, just following my voice.”

“Yes, sir,” I breathed in a happy sigh. 

“Now I assume you’re alone. If you’re not, get somewhere private, where you can enjoy this video.”

I was alone. I waited. 

“Now imagine my words floating in the air around you, wrapping around your body, imprinting themselves onto your skin.”

I could see them, the words encircling me, marking me, controlling me.

“For as long as you’re watching this video, my words have you completely spell bound. If there’s an emergency you’ll be able to move normally, but otherwise you can only move when I command. 

My limbs grew heavy. They weren’t mine anymore. 

“Now your hands move on their own, taking off your clothes.”

The words “take off your clothes” flashed on my hands and obeyed. I love to obey. I already didn’t have pants on, but I cast off my shirt and my bra. 

The silk voice paused, waiting for me to comply. Then it spoke again. “You look much more comfortable. So open, and exposed and vulnerable for me.”

Open, exposed, vulnerable. 

“Now, I’m taking control of your body again. Feel your hands begin to explore and play. Except they’re not your hands anymore. They belong to me. Everything they touch belongs to me.”

The words ‘explore’ and ‘play’ shone up at me from my freckled skin, and naturally I obeyed. My left hand pinched a nipple, and my right down back between my legs. The searching for a video had cooled me down some, but the delicious euphoria of trance brought all that arousal roaring back. Instantly, I knew that my breasts and my pussy belonged to the voice now. 

“Looks like you’ve given me some lovely gifts. Since I control those parts of you now, I can make them feel things. Make them do things. Feel pleasure for me now.” 

I whimpered. I couldn’t help it. My pussy clenched and convulsed around my fingers, as if something had gone deep, deep inside.

“And again, feel pleasure.”

“Yes, sir,” I groaned through gritted teeth. 

“Every time stronger than the last, pleasure.” 

Pillows tumbled to the ground as I writhed and thrashed on the bed. The phantom pleasure had overwhelmed all my senses. I could even see the word twisting itself around my entrance and inside me. I was so close. I needed it. 

“Oh you’re getting so close, now my pet. But you can’t cum without permission, can you?”

Somehow I already knew the answer. “No, sir.”

“That’s very good. Then I want you to beg me for it.”

My lips complied instantly as the word ‘beg’ flashed across my vision. “Please, sir. Please, I need it so bad.”

“Then you’re going to like and subscribe to the channel.”

My left hand flew down to the computer beside me, clumsily fumbling at the keys while my right continued its more important work. A wave of relief washed over me, once I’d found the right buttons. 

“I think that deserves a reward. Feel pleasure, and more pleasure, and more pleasure.”

I screamed, my back arching higher and higher with every repetition, like his voice was pulling me up into the stars. 

“And cum for me,” he said, so casually, so effortlessly. 

If only he could have seen the wild intensity of my reaction, my hand mindlessly pumping away, my hips rolling and bucking, my breath caught in short, stammering gasps. Finally the orgasm passed and I slumped into my sheets.

“Now if that worked for you, I just want you to do me a little favor. Leave a comment, saying ‘thank you’.”  

This time, I complied much more languidly, both hands floating to my laptop. I typed out “Thank you, sir.” and posted the comment. I didn’t even care that I’d left a public comment, didn’t even think about how my touch smeared my juices across the keys. I just obeyed.

“That’s very good. Those of you who commented have made me very happy.”

A lazy smile crossed my face. I made him happy. 

“But now it’s time for this file to come to an end, although my files are always here for you. Now, just sleep.”

I slept. The voice kept washing over me. I couldn’t recall the words, but I knew he was bringing me back down to earth, away from the dazzling lights, and back to the soft sheets of my room. 

My eyes blinked open to the last words of the file. “And coming back into the room, leaving all those suggestions behind, awakening peaceful and rested.” 

I stretched, sated and refreshed, as I came back to reality. “Thank you, Caleb,” I purred without thinking. Then I gave a small laugh. I was just so conditioned to be hypnotized by Caleb, I even reacted like this random internet video was Caleb. Still those last words sounded so familiar. Just for laughs, I clicked back a little in the video. I closed my eyes and listened to the last few words again. 

And coming back into the room, leaving all those suggestions behind, awakening peaceful and rested.

It sounded so familiar, but it couldn’t be. I clicked further back and listened again. 

And coming back into the room, leaving all those suggestions behind, awakening peaceful and rested.

I could almost picture him sitting beside me. I played it a few more times to be sure, but there could be no mistaking it. 

That was Caleb’s voice. 

For a while I just stared, stupefied. I clicked back through the profile. It was pretty popular, even linked to a healthy subscription page. I couldn’t believe how much he was making a month from this. Well I could based on how much I’d enjoyed the video, but I couldn’t based on common sense. How could he not tell me? 

Hot, salty tears bubbled up behind my eyes, blurring my room out of focus. Still, I reached for my phone. I wasn’t the same timid, shy girl from a few months ago. He wanted me to trust him, but he was hiding this. I was going to tell him exactly what I thought about that. 

I thumbed to the big “C” in my contacts and started firing words through the biting tears.

Annie: Good evening, Caleb or should I say Echo Mind. I liked your video. When were you going to tell me about your little side hustle? Or were you going to ever at all? I’m beginning to suspect that you weren’t. You ask me to trust you? How dare you say that to me. I’ve never put myself out there more than I have for you and you’re sneaking around, hypnotizing strangers on the internet. You know all my darkest secrets, but apparently I don’t even know you. I can’t believe you would keep something like this from me. What other secrets are you keeping? You, sir, owe me one hell of an explanation and it had better be good. 

I linked the video for good measure, and hit send. Then I threw the phone across the room, grabbed Wally and tried to sleep. Of course, I lay there sniffling up at the ceiling in the darkness. 

All the while, my phone continued to glow into the fibers of the cheap, dorm carpet, displaying the conversation with a capital “C” at the top of the page, and the name “Caitlyn” emblazoned underneath it.