"Hello kiddo."

"Hi Dad, how's things?"

"Things are okay, how's school going?"

"Just great."

"This concludes the pleasantries, I suppose."

"Sounds like things are exactly the same there."

"Like we'd ever change. Even with it being nice and quiet around here these days for some reason."

"Hah hah. Maybe you and Mom need a more exciting life."

"We're doing just fine, thanks. So to what do I owe the honour of the first phone call home?"

"It's not the first."

"It sure is, I counted. We've texted, emailed, sent messages on social media, but this is the first time I've got a call from your phone to mine since you left for school."

"Okay, whatever."

"Don't argue with your dad, kiddo. He knows a few things."

"Sure thing. Anyway, it's about Thanksgiving, and—"

"You're still coming home, right? If you don't it might just break your mom's heart."

"Oh! Yeah, that's not changing. It's just that, uh, my roommate, she doesn't have a place to go, she doesn't want to stay here and her family doesn't really do Thanksgiving and they're all away, and—"

"Say no more, kiddo. Of course she can come."

"Great! Thanks, Dad."

"Does she need help with airfare?"

"It's all good, just wanted permission. And to let you know."

"Sure thing, I'll tell your mother. Anything else?"

"Not really, I gotta go. Stuff to do, y'know?"

"Course I do, kiddo. Let us know if you need anything."

"Will do, Dad."

"Love you."

"Love ya, bye!"

A Friday night, about six weeks earlier...

Jace put the remnants of a drumstick down on the plate of scraps in front of him, full of dinner. He was a man of average build, with dark hair and blue eyes, sitting at a table with two lovely women. "I think that will just about do," he said, a satisfied smile on his face. "Excellent as always, Mara."

Mara, his petite, blonde wife, grinned from the seat beside him. She pushed her own plate away from her a bit, put her fancy paper napkin on top of it, and turned to their guest. "Apple pie, Helen?" Her tone, dress, and general demeanour felt a little like that of a housewife from an old movie.

Sitting across from the happy couple, Helen, mother to their daughter's best friend and a frequent guest at their home, looked at the remnant of a roast chicken, mashed potatoes, Caesar salad, and dinner rolls, not to mention an empty wine bottle, that occupied the table between them, with an air of incredulity. "Oh goodness, Mara, after all that?" She brushed a strand of auburn hair that had escaped her short ponytail out of her face. "I'm not sure that I'll be hungry for the rest of the weekend."

Jace laughed and patted his wife's shoulder. "Let our guest digest a bit before we get on to dessert, sweetie. Why don't we take our drinks and go sit on softer chairs?"

"That," Helen said, pushing her chair out from the table, "sounds like a great idea."

"Does this conclude the first annual meeting of the Young Empty Nesters Society?" Mara asked, getting to her feet.

"Is that what we're calling ourselves?" Jace asked, still seated.

Helen shook her head. "'Yens.' Hm. Not sure I like the acronym."

Mara lifted her glass, half full of red wine. "To the Yens, to our daughters' departure to colleges at opposite ends of the country, and to newly-gained free time!"

The three of them laughed, toasted, and drained their glasses. Jace put his down first. "That tasted like more to me. You two want to go sit while I crack another bottle?"

"Yes, please," Helen said, finally getting up. She walked to her friends' living room and sat lightly in a comfortable armchair, with Mara following closely and sitting nearby on the couch.

"So everything to your liking, fellow Yen?" Mara asked with a grin.

Helen let out a happy sigh, leaning back in the chair and pushing her dark hair out of her face. "Oh, it's been wonderful. Good food, good wine. I feel like I haven't contributed anything!"

"You contribute company!" Jace replied, walking back into the combined living and dining room with a freshly-opened bottle. "You're our guest. When you host us, you can contribute."

"Or maybe bring dessert next time?" Mara suggested. "I just picked up a thing from the store."

Helen shook her head. "I never really learned how to bake, or cook beyond the basics. The problems of raising a kid, going to school, having a career..."

Mara nodded. "I had the advantage of a great provider. Thank you, honey," she added as Jace refilled her glass. "I've never had to work more than part-time since Audrey was born. I have no idea how you managed!"

"I got lucky," Helen replied as her glass was topped up. "Dena has been an absolute angel for the last eighteen years, and my parents were ready to back me up all the way, and Dena's dad, while he wasn't always present for me, was always good to her. I just hope she doesn't make my mistakes."

"What mistakes were those?" Jace asked, sitting down next to his wife, who whacked him in the shoulder with the back of a hand and gave him a warning look.

Helen giggled. "No, it's fine, Mara. I got charmed by a university football captain, we got in trouble, classic tale. I was twenty when I had Dena and I was not ready to be a mom, but I pulled it off somehow."

"Well, from what we've seen of Dena, it looks like you've done a great job," Mara said.

"Thank you! And your Audrey's just brilliant, it seems. All the awards and things."

"Takes after her dad," Jace said with a grin, earning him another playful shot in the arm.

Helen sipped at the wine. It was just as good in the armchair as it was at the table. "So without the kids around, we can talk history? What's yours? How'd you two get together?"

Mara put her glass down. "Oh, now that's a fun story. High school sweethearts, right hon?"

"Do you really have to?" Jace asked, looking a bit pained.

"Wait, but... isn't Jace like five years older than us?" Helen asked, confused. "Did you get held back or something?"

"Oh, no, it's much, much better than that." Mara grinned. "Picture it. It's my last semester of high school. I've just turned eighteen. All my academic credits are done, and I'm a performing arts geek. I have choir, dance, wind band, and drama as my entire course collection. And then, we're back from exams, and settling into theatre class, I'm chatting with my friends, and into the class walks the most gorgeous, dark-haired, blue-eyed, buff, hunky..." She paused, clearly for effect. "Student teacher."

Helen gasped. "No."

"Yep," Jace said with a pained sigh. "Though I didn't actually do anything while she was a student."

"You didn't know I had a crush while you were still working there," Mara cut in. "Or at least, I didn't have the guts to tell you outright. Fortunately, my best friend at the time was Jace's cousin's neighbour, and the two of them got to talking, and after grad they fixed us up on a kind of a blind date."

"That was a wild summer," Jace said. "With me trying very hard to resist the wiles of three very committed teenaged girls trying to fix my twenty-three-year-old ass up with an eighteen-year-old who was in the class I had been student-teaching."

"One of those three being me."

"One of those three being you," Jace confirmed. "By the fall, though—"

"By the fall, I was in school for musical theatre, you and I were absolutely dating, and it was all that you and my parents could do to keep me from moving into your apartment. Especially after you showed me your... special ability."

"Oh Christ," Jace said, getting up. "Maybe you've had a bit too much to drink, Mara—"

"Nope! This is only my second glass. You've had more than me." Mara giggled. "Jace, in addition to being an excellent teacher, is a—"

"Mara, are you—"

"—very skilled Hypnotist."

"Sure?" Jace sighed and sat back down. "And now you know."

Helen coughed a bit. "Wait, so..." She tried to do the math and didn't come up with a comprehensible conclusion.

"This goes better if you don't try to guess, and we just tell you," Jace said. "Yes, I'm a hypnotist. Yes, it's a kink. Yes, Mara is my hypnotized slave from time to time."

"And yes," Mara added, "Jace hypnotized me several times in that little crappy apartment, and yes, we weren't careful enough, and that's how we also had a kid at twenty and found ourselves in the market for a house, and wound up with this one."

"Your parents were a little less understanding than Helen's."

"Uh huh, and yours were back east, so while we weren't on our own, exactly..."

Helen nodded. "But you had each other."

"Yep, and I had, and have, a job that had great benefits. Even if it's high-stress, low-pay. And my parents were ready to front us a down payment and help out with a bunch of furniture and stuff." Jace got up again. "Is it time for the pie yet?"

"Sit down," Mara said, pulling him back into the couch. "Because I think I saw someone light up a bit when I mentioned that you're a hypnotist."

Helen swallowed. "What, me?"

"Maybe I'm wrong, but every so often I get to watch Jace work and it's not directed at me, and it's a lot of fun. So I'm not passing up the opportunity if there's the slightest chance."

"Time for pie?" Jace repeated.

"Uh..." Helen began, drawing Jace's look. She smiled. "Maybe after you show me some hypnotism?"

The same Friday evening, half a country away...

The door opened, and a small, dark-skinned, bespectacled girl stood there. "Audrey?"

Audrey looked up from her book. "Oh hey, you must be Natasha."

"Yup!" The newcomer beamed brightly, walking in and closing the door behind her. "Nice to meet you, roomie! Call me Tash."

Audrey put her book down and sat on the side of her bed. "Nice to meet you too. Hope you don't mind the sleeping arrangements."

Tash put her backpack on her bed. "Looks like one's pretty much the same as the other."

"Best I could tell, yeah," Audrey said. "I didn't exactly do an exhaustive comparison."

"So what are you in for?" Tash asked, hopping onto her own bed.

"Oh, like, studying? Following my mom's footsteps into musical theatre."

"Cool! I'm here for physics."

Audrey assessed her assigned roommate. If she were going to cast a physics major, Tash would fit the bill; small, chubby build, big glasses, messy dark hair, nerdy aesthetic beyond a doubt.

"Gotta say," Tash said, "you look like I'd expect a musical theatre major to look."

"Oh yeah?" Audrey grinned at the parallel thinking. "Why is that?"

"You know, tall, blonde, pretty, blue-eyed..." Tash shrugged. "Got a great voice, too."

Audrey blushed a bit in pride. "Thank you, that's very nice of you. You've got a nice voice, too, do you sing? And it's not like you're not pretty yourself."

"Heh, not like you, though. And I don't sing, I mean I used to when I was a kid."

"You like it?"

"Yeah, some."

"Maybe you should go back to it."

Tash laughed. "Maybe if I have time! I have a full class schedule coming up."

"Yeah, me too." Audrey sighed. "That's why I'm taking the time to catch up on my reading now. When classes start..."

"I hear that." Tash flopped back on her bed. "Man, I could use some relaxation after all this mess."

"What do you do to relax?"

Tash lifted her head. "Video games, mostly. Sometimes I read and write online, I'm part of a writing circle, but I don't think I'll have time for it while classes are on." She sat up. "But, you might have noticed that I didn't exactly arrive with a suitcase."

Audrey nodded. "Yeah, what's up with—"

"Airline sent it somewhere that isn't here, that's what's up with that." Tash sighed. "All my electronics 'cept my phone are who knows where, and my phone's dead, and my charger is—"

"In the suitcase."

"Yep." Tash's tossed herself back again, lying on the bed. "Second year is not starting well."

Audrey stood up. "Want to borrow my laptop? I haven't even unpacked it yet. Or we could watch some videos together."

"Hey, roomie bonding experience." Tash giggled and sat back up. "Yeah, I won't bother your computer with my stupid games, but we can watch some videos if you got some in mind."

"Sure, just pull the chair over from your desk and I'll set up my computer." Audrey hopped to her feet and went to get her suitcase from under her bed. "I could loan you my charger, too."

"If we got the same kind of phone, that'd be great!"

It turned out that they didn't, so Tash's phone had to remain uncharged for that moment. After a bit of cord wrangling and positioning, they found the best viewing setup was to put Audrey's computer on the bed and to sit beside each other in their respective desk chairs in the middle of the room. A light comedy sketch started the evening, getting the two women giggling together.

A similar sense of humour is good, Audrey thought to herself, if we're going to have to live together for the next few months.

"Oh geez, I needed something to get my mind off... just all of today," Tash said, running her hands through her hair. "Just happy to be here, I guess. What's next?"

Audrey quickly clicked off the autoplay and went looking through recommendations. Tash watched with interest. From the corner of her eye, Audrey could see a curious expression on Tash's face, but neither woman said anything as Audrey clicked on another video from the same sketch team.

"More of them?" Tash said. "I've never heard of these guys, if the second one lives up to the first..."

"Oh yeah, they're great," Audrey replied.

And they were, true to form, for a second video. Audrey wasn't completely into the show, though; she kept glancing over at Tash. Probably my imagination, she thought, but Tash seems to have something else on her mind.

A third video was chosen, and Audrey was convinced that Tash was looking more at the other videos in Audrey's recommendations than she was at the comedy troupe's offerings. No, I'm being silly, Audrey thought, as they settled in to another sketch, and she put those thoughts from her mind as they went through a fourth and a fifth.

"Man, I wish I had some popcorn or something," Tash said, stretching. "Or anything. I want a snack."

"I feel that," Audrey said. "Don't have anything on me, and I think the canteen's closed by now."

"Yep, didn't plan ahead." Tash laughed. "Next time. And anyway, after a long day and a good laugh, I think I'm about ready to just turn in, y'know?" She hopped to her feet and offered Audrey her hand. "You make a heck of a good first impression, roomie," she said, beaming.

"You too, roomie," Audrey replied, shaking Tash's hand.

Tash started to turn, but paused. "Uh, hey," she said tentatively, "You don't have... trouble sleeping, do you?"

"Hm? No, why?"

Tash sat down on the bed beside the laptop. "It's just that my roommate last year did, and it drove me crazy."

"Yeah?"

"Mhmm, she'd talk in her sleep, like even have full-on conversations with people that weren't there." Tash sighed. "And sleepwalk. A few times she got up and turned on the room light, which would wake me up, and then crash back into her bed and start snoring like nothing happened—and then in the morning, ask me why I put the light on!"

"No!" Audrey laughed. "Oh that sounds awful! I'm sorry you had to put up with that."

"Oh, y'know, wasn't too bad, I got some good noise-cancelling ear buds and a sleep mask—"

"Which are currently in your luggage."

"Yep! And when I saw your recommended videos had a bunch of ASMR and meditation and sleep help, I had a bit of..." Tash shrugged. "So yeah. I'm gonna brush my teeth and... oh shit."

"In the luggage?"

"In the luggage. Next time I'm packing my entire life into a carry-on." Tash got to her feet. "I think I'll just go to bed."

"You don't mind the reading light?" Audrey asked.

Tash laughed. "Nah, given what I had to deal with before." She moved to her own bed. "Hey, um, normally I'll be in pyjamas, but..."

Audrey nodded. "No worries. I had to figure that part out, I usually just have a shirt and panties on at home."

"That's gonna be me tonight." Tash slipped her comfortable sweat pants off and left them on the floor at the foot of her bed.

"Yeah, I get it. I don't want to wander around in my underwear so I bought some boy shorts to at least maintain propriety." Audrey closed the laptop and put it on her desk. "At home, I have the basement to myself so it's not like I needed to worry about it."

"Ugh, sounds great." Tash dropped her shirt beside her and started unhooking her plain blue bra. "I have three younger brothers, two parents, a grandmother, and an uncle, all under the same roof. It was big enough, but privacy just wasn't a thing, y'know? I was lucky to get my own room."

"I can't imagine." Audrey tried not to stare as she smoothed out her bedsheets. Tash was pulling her top back on, but her heavy breasts, now uncontained, deformed her shirt in interesting ways. Audrey tried to put those thoughts from her mind as she stretched out again and picked up her book. "It was nice having my own space when I wanted to have friends over."

"Uh huh, I bet." Tash practically fell back on the bed. "So, uh, if it wasn't 'cause you have trouble sleeping... if you don't mind me asking..."

Audrey flushed a bit. "Asking why my recommended video list—"

"Yeah. Why it's got all that stuff."

No avoiding it. "I, uh. Am kind of studying it. All of it, meditation, ASMR, hypnotism..."

"Yeah? Didn't know we had a class in all that."

"We don't. Well, maybe we might, but this is all my own study."

"Huh." Tash pushed herself back to her pillows, still lying on top of the blankets. "What got you into that?"

Helen felt like she was floating. She knew that she was lying back on the Billings' couch. She knew that Jace was sitting next to her on a dining room chair. He had been holding her hand, but her hands were folded together on her stomach. He had been saying something about relaxing, and lifting her arm slowly up and down, before gently putting her hand with its partner. Oh, and Mara was nearby, somewhere. She had been watching closely.

But neither of them were very much on her mind. Mara was a presence, and Helen was aware of her, and Jace was talking, and Helen was aware of him and his voice, but her mind was turned to the feeling of floating and drifting and soaring through the clouds.

It was amazing.

And if the two people in the room could be so far from her attention, everything outside the room might as well have not existed at all. That just made sense. Nothing, nothing at all mattered.

"Should have... done this... long ago..."

That was her own voice. She recognized that she'd spoken, only after hearing herself.

She made a small moan of protest, she wasn't sure why. A complaint. And as she took a couple low breaths, she began to understand.

She was waking up.

She flexed her fingers and wiggled bare toes. She smoothed out her top, pulling it back down where it had come up a bit over her stomach. She took a breath, and opened her eyes to see her friends smiling down at her.

"That was..." Helen started to sit up, but the sudden heaviness of gravity made it difficult. She smiled blissfully back up. "It was something."

"Isn't it?" Mara said. She looked flushed. "I love the sound of Jace's hypnotist voice, but I usually don't get to enjoy it before—"

"—listening too closely and slipping under my spell?" Jace said with a smirk.

Mara's eyes fluttered and she braced on Jace's shoulder for support. Helen giggled, finally pushing herself up into a sitting position. "Yeah, I could see how that would be a problem."

"Not fair," Mara said, opening her eyes and giving Jace a little slap on the shoulder. She looked at Helen. "So, what did you think?"

"I think I want more," Helen admitted, stretching. "Uh, maybe after I go to the bathroom and have a drink of water? I'm dry."

"Your mouth was hanging open," Mara explained. "Didn't drool, though."

"Heh, I could see that happening." Helen stood up and stretched again. "So, uh, Jace... you mentioned that this is a kink?"

Tash's tiredness had melted away in curiosity, and both girls were sitting on the edges of their beds, talking. "Seriously? Your dad is—"

"Yep." Audrey nodded. "I'm pretty sure he doesn't know that I know."

"How did you find out?"

"The floors are maybe not as thick as they think they are?" Audrey shrugged. "Or the air vents carry sound better than they knew. Anyway, I could hear little bits of conversations that my parents had in the bedroom."

Tash grinned. "So did you ever hear them having sex?"

Audrey laughed. "No! Haha, I think either they did it while I wasn't home, or they're just really quiet, I guess? Anyway, I don't really like thinking about that."

"Fair, I don't like thinking about my parents like that either. Though I guess they must have sometime, or we wouldn't be here, right?" Tash put her hands behind her head. "So I guess the thin floors made your love life tricky."

"How did we get on this topic?" Audrey covered her cheeks with her hands. "I... mostly... hung out away from home, or did things like that when my parents were out."

"I'm not surprised!" Tash grinned. "And I bet your magic mind control was real useful—"

"It's not magic, and it's not mind control."

"But it was useful?"

"I... not really, no, you're the second person I've actually told about it."

"Shit, really? Well it's a real honour!" Tash's grin widened. "And am I gonna be the second person you hypnotize, then?"

Audrey choked and coughed, eyes wide.

Tash laughed at the reaction. "Well I mean, we're gonna be living together for the next eight months with a break for Christmas, right?" she continued. "And I'm gonna bet that you didn't just tell your someone else and not actually do anything with it."

"You... I..." Audrey took a breath and composed herself. "Okay, look, before... before right this minute the biggest thought I'd had about it was maybe turning it into a stage show."

Tash shook her head. "Making random volunteers from the audience cluck like chickens? Playing to crowds like you find here full of kids like us? Uh uh. Nope. Maybe that's the biggest serious thought you had about it, but I bet you have all kinds of other ideas."

Audrey put her hands to her face again. It was kind of cute. "Maybe we should drop the subject," she said hesitantly.

Tash suspected that she didn't actually want to stop talking about it, but she decided to quit teasing her roommate. "Yeah, alright." She grinned. "Until tomorrow."

"Huh?"

"We've got like three days until classes start, right? I'll show you where all the best places are on campus, we hang out, and then we talk a little more about this. I gotta admit, I'm super curious." Not giving Audrey a chance to object, Tash yawned and flipped back her covers, ducking into bed. "G'night, roomie!"

There was silence, Tash assumed stunned silence, in the room. She deliberately turned on her left side, putting her back to Audrey, trying to keep her from continuing the discussion.

"Good night," came Audrey's soft voice.

Tash smiled and closed her eyes. She heard her new roommate click off the light beside her bed. Might be a good year after all, she thought as she let herself succumb to the tiredness of the long day.

Helen's eyes went left, right, left, right,

following the slow swing of the medallion

back and forth and back and forth

sitting next to Mara, who was also so very still

Helen's hands covered her bare breasts

and her eyes went left, right, left, right, back and forth and back and forth

Jace's fingers snapped

"Hypnotized women obey"

her voice said

and Mara's voice said

and her hands squeezed

and she gasped, and Mara gasped,

left, right, left, right,

back and forth and back and forth

snap

"Hypnotized women obey"

squeeze

a shudder of pleasure

"Down."

It was Jace's voice

and her head lolled to the side

and her hands fell

and her body slumped over

and her eyes closed

and she felt herself falling on Mara's similarly limp form

and through the couch

and further, further, further...

She can't possibly know.

Audrey lay awake, staring into the dark, listening to her roommate's soft breathing.

There was no way. She can't possibly...

Before that moment, only Dena, her best friend, had any idea that she had even the slightest interest. And she'd never told Dena about...

Well, Dena knew about that. There are some things that you don't not tell your best friend. But then if they hadn't done that stupid kissing practice thing, Audrey might have believed herself comfortably straight. It wasn't for some weeks after that that they'd discussed it, and of course, her best friend since grade two was comfortably straight, but also completely accepting, and anyway, Dena was so much like a cousin or a sister that the crush passed very quickly and the two of them were all kinds of chummy together again after a very short period of awkward.

And there, in her room, just a few feet away, comfortably asleep, was an adorably nerdy-cute girl who was going to be there, like she'd said, for the next eight months, who wanted to be hypnotized.

She was... too innocent. Too easily inquiring. She couldn't possibly have known.

She must be straight. And she must think I'm straight. It's the only possible explanation.

She'd never told Dena about imagining putting hypnosis and sex together. About fantasizing about it. About those nights alone when her parents were out where she would fraudulently click that "I am over 18" button on the websites she shouldn't have been on, about putting herself in the position of the person with the pocketwatch or the crystal just the soft voice. Or about watching non-X-rated videos on public sites of hypnotists on stage, or demonstrations at conventions. About all the stories she'd read when she was supposed to be working. And she was definitely never telling Dena about that after Dena had agreed to be her first, and to date only, hypnotic subject.

But...

Here, there was a chance.

However small, there was a chance.

Maybe, just maybe, Tash was bi, or pan like her, or gay. And maybe, just maybe, Tash would take to being a hypnotic subject the way she had taken to being a hypnotist.

And even if it was just her first few days away from home, it was probably worth jumping at that small chance.

And while Audrey was calculating those odds, sleep crept up on her, and she drifted off.

It wasn't Jace's voice in her ear, but it was Jace's words. Mara repeating them, over and over, as she had been instructed.

You are hypnotized.

Hypnotized women obey.

Obedience is pleasure.

Giving pleasure is receiving pleasure.

It wasn't Jace's voice in her ear, or Jace's hands reaching around from behind to fondle her tits. Those were Mara's, too.

You are hypnotized.

Hypnotized women obey.

Obedience is pleasure.

Giving pleasure is receiving pleasure.

It wasn't Jace's voice in her ear. It was Jace's cock in her mouth, spurting delightfully warm, salty liquid for her to swallow. Jace's voice was busy moaning and gasping.

You are hypnotized.

Hypnotized women obey.

Obedience is pleasure.

Giving pleasure is receiving pleasure.

And then after a moment, it was Jace's voice in her ear, and she slumped back against Mara, and the world spun away again.

"Morning, sunshine," Tash said, rolling over as she heard Audrey sit up. "Ready for your standard-issue university breakfast?"

"Guess so," Audrey replied. "I've been eating it for two days. Seems okay to me."

"Maybe it's got better over the summer." Tash hopped to her feet, trying to be comfortable in her undressed state through sheer bravado. If she pretended well enough that she didn't care, maybe she actually wouldn't. "Was never terrible, I guess, but it sure wasn't great."

"I have low expectations," Audrey said with a laugh.

"For food, sure, what about for roommates?"

Audrey paused. "Well whatever they were, you've exceeded them so far."

Tash giggled. "After only half a day, mostly spent sleeping?"

"Well like you said, some roommates aren't so great at that." Audrey paused a moment. "Uh, I know your luggage hasn't arrived yet, do you need anything?"

"That's a nice offer, but it's not like you and I are the same size or anything. I'm a bit..." Tash took a moment, trying to be tactful both to herself and her roommate, "...bigger." Audrey was taller but she was also slimmer, and not quite so well-endowed as Tash was.

"Oh yeah, I was thinking more like soap or pads or something."

"Nope, anything I need I can get on campus, and most of that stuff's in my carry-on anyway. But thanks for asking, I appreciate it." Tash grinned. "You're exceeding my expectations, too."  She sighed. "Guess I'm gonna have to spend a bit of time in the shops, I really can't wear the same underwear day after day. Got an emergency change in the day bag, but otherwise..."

"Good planning."

Tash hauled her bag up onto the bed and unzipped it, shuffling through it to find her change of clothes. "Yeah, I've travelled before. Too bad I didn't think to put a spare phone charger in here."

"Only got so much space, I guess." Audrey seemed to hesitate about something, then went to her dresser.

"Just shows what's important to me." Tash quickly slipped off her dirty clothes and tossed them on her bed, pulling the clean (but somewhat wrinkled) spare set from her bag. She'd learned long ago that having an extra shirt and pair of panties could be important. A spilled drink, a slip on the ice, or an unexpected arrival of a monthly visitor could all prompt a need for a change, and she might have, for example, been halfway to her destination on a cross-country flight and spilled a can of soda on herself, with no access to her luggage. Fortunately, she hadn't needed the change of clothing until that moment; unfortunately, if the airline didn't find and deliver her luggage, she would be entirely out of emergency clothing. She mentally added a shopping trip, just for essentials, to the day's activities. That meant going off-campus—not far off-campus, but any distance was greater than no distance, and it put a slight challenge to her plans to relax and do as little as possible for the last couple days before classes start.

"Ready to go?" her roommate asked her as she pulled her sweater over her head.

Tash nodded. "Yep, just sort of finishing the last mental calculations for what I have to get done today. I had been hoping that I could just kick back for a while and do nothing, but..." She shrugged. "Allwing had other plans." She moved towards the door. "I'm sure we'll still have time for you to show me your mind-control skills."

Audrey sputtered a bit. "I-it's not mind control!"

Tash just grinned as she opened the door, heading out into the hallway, Audrey on her heels.

Mara lay on top of the covers, naked and unashamed, slowly waking to the sunlight streaming into her room. The room was warm enough that she hadn't needed a blanket. She could smell coffee brewing. She looked at the clock. It was late, but no one had to work, so she wasn't worried.

The door opened. Jace stood there wearing a pair of sweat pants and holding her favourite coffee cup. "Awake yet, love?"

"Mmm, oh yes," Mara replied. "Is that for me?"

"It is." He walked into the bedroom and handed his wife the mug as she sat up. The smell was delightful. "I'm just preparing breakfast with the help of our guest."

Helen had stayed over. The memory of last night—what Mara could remember (and what she couldn't made what she could that much more exciting)—combined with the realization that Helen was still in the house made Mara smile and blush.

"Come on down and join us, if you like," Jace said, turning to leave. "No rush."

"I'll take my time," Mara assured him.

Jace just chuckled and softly closed the door behind him.

Mara took a long, slow drink of the coffee. Warm, not hot, with a splash of milk, no sugar, just as she liked it. Jace knew her very, very well. Idly, she picked up her phone, flipped open the selfie camera app, and took a handful of pictures, making sure to feature her breasts and coffee mug prominently. She took another deep gulp from the mug, feeling warm, putting the phone down, not entirely sure why she'd picked it up. In a moment, she wouldn't even be aware that she had picked it up, and that thought thrilled her in the moment it existed before it, too, went away, leaving her warm with coffee and aroused with the memories she still had.

She took some time with the drink, practically basking in the sunlight, finishing the whole cup before getting out of bed. She headed to the bathroom to take care of her morning business, then headed downstairs, empty mug in hand, following the smell of microwaved bacon. She smiled at the scene she walked in on: Helen, wearing nothing but a pair of pink panties, embracing Jace from behind, stroking his clearly hard cock, as he stood by the stove pretending to watch the eggs cook.

"Good morning," Mara said, making Helen and Jace look towards her. Helen, looking a bit embarrassed, pulled her hand out of Jace's pants. Jace didn't look at all perturbed.

"Good morning," Helen replied. "Not sure what happened there, I just felt—"

"An irresistible urge?" Mara asked with a smirk. "My husband is absolutely incorrigible."

Helen grinned. "Is that why you didn't bother to get dressed?"

Mara looked down. You're in your own home, the voice in her head said. You have no need for clothes in your own home. "Didn't bother? I'm in my own home, and..." She blinked. "I just heard myself." She gave Jace an accusing look.

Jace shrugged. "Neither of you seemed too worried about it last night."

"Which is when you would have given us the suggestions," Mara concluded. "Smartass."

"Wait, us?" Helen looked down and gave a cute little noise of shock, her arms almost snapping up to cross over her chest.

Jace and Mara laughed. The contents of the frying pan made a popping noise, causing Jace to return to the business of the eggs. Mara offered her hands to Helen, who took them a bit reluctantly, exposing her chest again.

"Having fun?" Mara asked.

Helen nodded, blushing. "I never imagined..."

The two of them smiled at one another.

Jace turned away from the eggs for a moment and started talking, but Mara's eyes were locked on Helen's, and Helen was busy watching hers...

Tash walked back to her room after her impromptu shopping trip. She'd grabbed a couple simple outfits, picked up necessary toiletries, a new charger for her phone, and had a bite of lunch at a local burger joint she'd missed while she was back at home. Reinvigorated, she threw open the door and strolled in.

"Hey Tash," her roommate said, turning from her desk. "Everything go good?"

"Went great, I guess." Tash put her bags on her bed and sat down beside them. "Should at least carry me through to the start of classes. If my luggage hasn't got here by then..."

Audrey nodded, stood up and stretched. "Glad you came in, I was a bit absorbed in what I was doing, didn't even realize I was getting so lost in the reading."

"Anything important?"

Audrey hesitated. "Uh. Hm. Well, if you're... serious about... wanting me to hypnotize you, I just... I thought I should read up, make sure I knew what I was doing..."

Tash grinned. "Sure, why not? I got nothing else to do for the day, now that I've got my shopping done."

"Well, it won't take all day..." Audrey said. She brushed a strand of hair out of her face, and looked adorably nervous.

Tash decided to tease. "I dunno, I bet we could make it take all day." She gave her roommate a wink, and was rewarded by Audrey sputtering and flushing.

It only took a moment for Audrey to collect herself, toss her hair out of her face again, and sit on her own bed opposite Tash. "Alright, if that's how it's gonna be..."

"Sorry, sorry," Tash said with a giggle. "I'm tired and it's been long, and I'm not all that filtered right now. Lemme know if I'm being too much."

Audrey smirked back. "All good, Tash. I think we're gonna get along just fine. And if not, I'll just twist your brain around my little finger until we do."

Tash couldn't help but laugh. "That's what I like to hear!"

"It's what I like to say," Audrey said, getting to her feet. "I just don't often have a chance to say it."

Tash raised her eyebrows, curious.

The blonde hesitated again, but it seemed that her courage won out. "You understand that this could be a part of our interactions for the entire year."

Tash nodded, leaning back a bit. "So what if it is? I mean, you don't have to keep hypnotizing me if I don't like it, right?"

"That's true." Audrey looked Tash in the eye. "But you're gonna like it."

Helen blinked awake in the chair by the kitchen table. She felt warm and wonderful. She was curious to see what had changed, what was new.

It seemed like every time she opened her eyes, something was new.

It was an amazing experience.

This time did not disappoint. Jace was cleaning the breakfast dishes, just in his boxer shorts. Mara was sitting on the countertop nearby, stark naked, legs crossed at the knee, a dreamy smile on her face. Helen wondered if the faux-granite was cold on her friend's bare ass. Mara wasn't moving. Helen could see her breathing, very faintly, and blinking, and shifting her position ever so slightly now and again, but otherwise she seemed determined to be as still as possible.

"Back with us?" Jace asked, turning towards Helen and drying his hands.

Helen stretched a bit, then noticed that she was also naked. The fact reached her mind as information, with no emotion attached to it. "I think I'm here, yeah." She stood. "What's up with Maya?"

"She's frozen," Jace replied as if it was the most natural thing in the world. "She enjoys it. She can't move."

"Can she hear us?"

"Yes, and see us, if we're in her line of sight."

Helen took two steps across the floor and put her hands on Jace's shoulders. "Nothing she could do about it if I wanted to kiss you, then?"

Jace put his hands on her bottom. "Nothing at all, right honey?"

Both Helen and Jace turned to look at Mara. She held the same pose, had the same dreamy smile on her face. They turned back to one another and shared a soft kiss. And then another, and another. They pressed closer together, Helen's hands wandering downward and Jace's wandering up.

Jace chuckled. "If I didn't know better," he said, looking over at his wife, "I'd swear you like seeing this."

Mara didn't answer.

Jace looked back at Helen, and ran a hand down her cheek. She felt a shiver run through her, delicious and warm. She tried to return the gesture.

She tried to. But she found that now she couldn't move.

Jace gently disentangled himself from her arms, kissing her forehead once lightly. Without a word, he walked over to Mara and took her hand, and to Helen it seemed that the other woman sprang to life, hopping lightly down to the floor and pulling her husband into a deep kiss.

It was thrilling to watch. And even more thrilling because Helen couldn't do anything.

The couple moved out of her line of sight, but she could hear the two of them walking down the hall. Once the bedroom door closed, Helen took a deep breath, and her muscles loosened. Her body was shaking. She moved on uncertain feet towards the hallway, pausing for a moment with her hand on the bedroom doorknob. She could hear the rapidly accelerating sounds of lovemaking coming from the room.

She wanted to be a part of it.

She turned the knob.

"Now let your eyes close, Tash, that's right. Still breathing slow and easy."

Any moment now, she's going to spring up and laugh at me.

"Very good, Tash. In and out. In... and out... Just let yourself sink into the bed, a little more with every breath."

I'm going to have to put up with months of her making fun of me.

"A little slower breath. A little deeper. A little slower, a little deeper. Just relaxing, more, and more, and more..."

She'll tell everyone in the dorm. I'll be that weird mind control nerd for the rest of the year. Maybe the rest of my time at school.

"And if you try to open your eyes, you'll find that they're so heavy that they just stay closed."

Maybe the rest of my life.

"Breathe in... hold... and sink deeper... and..."

Maybe I should just book my plane ticket home right now.

"Sleep."

...

Nothing happened.

Tash's eyes didn't open.

Her breathing didn't quicken.

Her hands didn't grasp the blanket.

Tash didn't sit up and laugh.

Audrey barely dared to breathe, herself.

She'd done it.

"Very good, Tash. Feel how nice it is to just drift and float there, lying on your bed. Focus on those good feelings. Focus on my words. How nice the words feel."

She had actually done it.

Tash was hypnotized.

Audrey's hands twitched at the thought of it. She could give her roommate any suggestion, anything at all. She looked at Tash's relaxed expression.

"And the more you focus, the better you feel. The better you feel, the clearer my words."

She felt herself getting wet. Wetter.

Her roommate, her subject, looked so relaxed, so blissful, so...

So open.

A hundred suggestions bubbled up to her mind, from the mundane ("Your nose itches"), to the ridiculous ("Your shirt is on backwards, no matter which way you're wearing it, you'll always feel the urge to turn it around"), to the erotic ("In our dorm room, nudity is a good and acceptable thing"). Alongside those ideas, though, came a very frank discussion that her father had with her about consent when it became clear that his daughter was very interested in her male classmates. That discussion had been given with the assumption that Audrey would be more likely the victim of a consent violation than the perpetrator, but the talk had still made an impression, and unexpectedly finding herself potentially on the other side of that equation gave her pause.

"And now that you've had a powerful demonstration of hypnotism and the way it works, Tash, you can take a deep breath, and start to count back up from one to ten, just as slow and easy as we counted down..."

As she worked her way through awakening her roommate, Audrey couldn't help but feel a bit of disappointment at all the things she could have done. If Tash would have let her, which, she had to admit, was by no means certain. Still, despite that understanding, Audrey had to fight to keep the lost fantasies from overtaking her thoughts.

Tash's eyes opened at the count of eight. She smiled. "Nine, ten," she said. "Audrey, that was amazing. I feel great."

Audrey smiled brightly. "Glad you had a good time."

"Mhmm... I feel... I dunno how I feel. Glowing? I guess?" She looked up at Audrey. "You're cute when you're blushing."

"I'm..." Audrey put her hands to her face and felt the warmth.

"Why are you blushing, Auddie?" Tash giggled. She slowly, painstakingly pushed herself up into a sitting position, grinning the whole way. "So what happens now? Is this like one of those stupid comedy shows where I dance around or something?"

"N-no," Audrey stammered. "Unless that's what you wanna do. I just... I just wanted to show you..."

"How would you do something like that?"

Tash just sounded so innocent and curious. "I would have... while you were in trance, I would have just given you a suggestion to..." Audrey shrugged.

"Your voice sounded nice. And different. You had a different way of talking. A different tone in your voice. It was..." Tash sighed happily. "I could listen to that for hours."

Audrey felt herself getting warmer. "I could talk to you for hours," she said softly.

Tash didn't seem to hear. She rolled her shoulders and shook her head. "So was I right, Auddie? Are you blushing because..." She waggled her eyebrows suggestively.

Audrey couldn't answer, turning aside a little, not wanting to take her eyes of Tash but trying to hide her embarrassment at the same time.

Tash blinked. "Wait, really?" The sleepiness was gone from her voice. "You mean, hypnotizing me was..."

If I tell her, I'll never get to do it again. If I don't tell her, I'm lying to her for my own benefit.

Her father's consent talk came back to her again.

"Hot as fuck," Audrey whispered.

Tash swallowed. She seemed to be processing that information. "Okay. Okay. I think I get it. Sorry for teasing, I didn't..." She hesitated. "Did you... give me any sort of... um..."

"Suggestions?"

"Yeah."

"No, no, I couldn't. I couldn't do it." Audrey felt tears welling up and she wasn't sure why. She turned away. "We hadn't discussed it. It would have been wrong. I dunno. I wanted—I want to. I never had this sort of opportunity, not really, and I could feel myself wanting to get carried away with it and I didn't know how you'd react and anyway it would have been..." She took a breath. "I just couldn't."

She felt a hand on her shoulder, and turned.

Tash was sitting on the edge of the bed, smiling.

Audrey brushed the tears from her eyes. "What?"

"I want you to show me what you can do."

Audrey blinked. "What?"

Tash nodded. "All of it. Everything." She smirked. "Maybe don't make us miss dinner, but everything up to that point..."

"Really? You want me to..."

Tash nodded again.

"Uh..." Audrey took a deep breath. Nerves set in, hard. Her mouth went dry. Her heart was racing. "Well... a-after you've just been in trance you... I could just..."

"Yeah?"

Audrey put her finger on Tash's forehead, and said, "Sleep."

Tash's eyes fluttered shut and she slumped back on to the bed in a way that made Audrey painfully impatient and hopelessly aroused.

Helen was awake. Maybe for the first time.

She had known this outcome, riding Jace with Mara watching, was possible when she'd accepted the invitation to dinner. Maybe even likely. She hadn't expected it to be at four in the afternoon the day after their little soirée, and she had never imagined the potential of Jace's hypnotic talent. It was something she'd never considered. She knew her friends were kinky and poly, but she hadn't known anything about erotic hypnosis.

It was something she would have to look more into. Maybe have more of a discussion with Jace and Mara about it, when Jace wasn't buried deep inside her.

It had been very good, being in that sort of headspace. But it was also very good just being awake and having some amazing sex.

This whole day, the dinner the night before, everything, everything felt like it had been building to this. And as her climax approached, she couldn't help but imagine how life with her friends could be very different going forward. She moved more and more quickly, dimly aware of Jace's hand on her breast, pressing herself against his cock until she had to gasp for air and cry out in pleasure as she spasmed from within, her cheer being given voice and filling the bedroom. Mara's hand came up and rubbed her back gently as she came, a lovely reminder of the comfort she'd been granted over the past twenty-four hours.

She faded down onto Jace, letting him stay hard inside her as the two of them met for a tender kiss. Mara's soft hand continued to stroke from her ass to her mid-spine, a cherry on top of the perfect sex sundae.

"I know my man," Mara said quietly, "and I'm pretty sure he's not done yet."

"Very right, love," Jace replied.

"So," Mara continued, "what say you get off of him, slip off that condom, and I let him turn my mind inside out?"

Helen let out a long, slow breath. She wanted to continue, to be the one to get Jace off, but the long and complicated day had left her a little exhausted. What Mara suggested sounded delightful. And anyway, she was a guest. "Alright, Mara, Jace," she said, getting a bit unsteadily to her feet. "Where should I watch from?"

The moment Audrey's finger landed on her forehead and she spoke that fatal word, Tash's body and mind knew exactly what to do.

Her scientific mind went in to observation mode, following the sensations and the phenomena, one by one. Her eyes had shut. That much had been instantaneous, almost before processing the word. Sleep doesn't happen with eyes open. She had had time to think, Wait, what's going on? as her body went limp and crashed to the bed. It hadn't happened so quickly that it had hurt, but it still felt like a crash. Perhaps more 'hard drive crash' than 'car crash.' And as she was contemplating that sensation, she realized that that contemplation was the only thing her mind was allowing her to do. She could only focus on that touch, that word, and its effect. As she tried to think of anything else, even the words that Audrey was speaking, it all cycled back to those three things: touch, word, and crash.

The power Audrey had over her was astounding. Exhilarating.

Arousing.

There was a hand in her hand. Touch. She paid very, very close attention to it, because it was a touch. The touch squeezed her hand. That squeeze ran up the nerves in her arm, through her shoulder, right up to her head, she could feel the warmth of it happening. And once it was there, in her head, it became a warm haze, mingling with the words.

The words. The tone of them. Audrey's voice changed so much, became so much more soothing. Seductive.

Another squeeze, and the haze deepened. Tash realized that she couldn't even feel the bed beneath her, couldn't feel the clothing she was wearing against her skin, all she felt was warm and squeeze.

She might have said something. Might have said something more than once. She wasn't entirely sure.

Her mind analyzed the crash, having nothing else to do, nothing else that it could do. The way her body just went limp at a word. The way her mind focused on that word, that...

Command.

Warm. Squeeze. Haze. She spoke. Audrey's words were circling around her now, pulling her down, wrapping her up like dancers around a maypole.

She knew she was safe. If there was anything she didn't want to do, she didn't have to do it. But that meant that the things that she did want to do would have to be so much more powerful, so much more... compelling. And she could tell Audrey if she felt unsafe. Audrey gave her a secret signal. A word that only the two of them knew. If she said it, at any time, Audrey would end play, end the trance, help her up, no questions asked. No matter what, no matter when. And if Audrey said it, Tash would do the same in return, waking up and letting go of any suggestions.

Her eyes opened. She could see the ceiling, but it wasn't important. Audrey's hand was still in hers, and those hands together helped her sit up, and Audrey was there, and the whole focus of Tash's attention.

Audrey's hand rose up and her fingers closed together. She snapped her fingers, and the shock of sound made Tash flinch internally, marking her attention.

"Wake."

Tash gasped, looked at Audrey, and blinked. Her head was still spinning. "Uh. Hi?"

Audrey smiled and the world went warm again. "Hi. You doing okay?"

Tash nodded. "Yeah. Great."

"Good."

There was a little awkward pause.

"You?" Tash asked.

It was Audrey's turn to nod. "Incredible."

Tash felt herself beaming. Grinning from ear to ear. Audrey had made her feel good. And Audrey felt good doing it. That was a promising start to the roommate experience.

"You, ah..."

Audrey was blushing again. It was absolutely adorable.

"You sure you want to explore some of the more... um..."

Tash knew what she was asking. "Yeah. Yeah, I do."

Audrey swallowed. "You can do what we talked about, then, if you want."

What we talked about? Tash thought, curious, as she pulled her shirt up over her head. Must be something she'd said while I was so focused on her hand in mine...

Jace looked at the two lovely women sitting at the dining table, chatting calmly and naturally, in their underwear, as though the three of them just hadn't had an incredible day of hedonism.

He loved his daughter very much, and raising Audrey was the greatest joy of his life. But, when trying to live a kinky lifestyle, she was often in the way. These sorts of dinners had been next to impossible to arrange for the last eighteen years. With Helen raising a kid of her own, the three of them had only joked and teased carefully so as not to alert their daughters about their slow, long flirtation, and finally seeing that come to fruition was a moving experience. And while Helen wasn't the only woman that he'd been able to express his hypnotic art with, there had been something special about her interest and her willingness. Group parties and gatherings were one thing, having a friend in the comfort and safety of his own home was another entirely.

They would do this again. He could read it on Mara's face. They had months before Audrey would be home for the winter break to plan something, and some time after that before she was done her year. Helen, as far as he knew, only really had to worry about work, and had few other commitments. And there were maybe other friends they could discuss with.

"Jace?" Mara said.

Shaken from his reverie, Jace looked back to the table. "Yes love?"

"What sort of evil schemes are happening behind those beautiful baby blues?"

Jace grinned. "Oh, just half planning our next little party..."

"I'll bring a cake," Helen said with a matching grin. "I'm only sorry I can't stay another night."

"There will definitely be other nights," Mara pointed out.

"It'll be on my mind, I'm sure."

"Unless the hypnotist on the couch decides to erase it from your memory."

"That's a thing?"

"That's a thing," Mara replied. "It can be a wonderful thing. But it's generally not for beginners. We can give it a try next time."

Helen laughed and shook her head. "Next time. Wow. Yeah. For sure, next time."

Jace got to his feet. "Anything I can get you two when I come back?"

"Thanks, Jace, but I should get home." Helen also stood up. "Lots to do before tomorrow. But this was beautiful, and really, I look forward to next time. I should, uh, probably get dressed, though, huh."

"Probably, yes. But Mara?"

"Yes, love?" Mara asked expectantly.

"You wear nothing more than you have on now."

"Yes love."

Mara's submissive voice was too perfect.

"I'll walk you to the bedroom," Mara offered Helen. "Guess I'm not getting dressed while The Overlord there goes to the bathroom."

Jace chuckled. "Looking for a little more fun with the backtalk, eh?"

"Maybe." Mara winked, and the three of them left the room for their respective destinations in high spirits.

Audrey was having a normal, casual conversation with Tash. They were discussing school, their year's classes, boys, girls, their high school experiences... Tash was lounging on her bed, knees up, facing Audrey who was sitting nearby in the office chair pulled over from her desk.

The only thing unusual was that Tash was completely naked.

Just a getting-to-know-you conversation with a new friend, Audrey thought with a little internal giggle.

"Almost suppertime," Tash pointed out, standing up. "We should probably go get some food."

"You should probably get dressed," Audrey said.

Tash looked down at herself. "Eep!" she squeaked. She gave Audrey an accusing look.

Audrey lifted her hand and snapped her fingers. "Stuck!"

"Huh?" Tash twisted her hips, wiggled her arms, made a few grunting noises. "What did you do?"

Audrey grinned and got to her feet. "Just glued you to the bed, that's all." She walked over to her roommate confidently. "And I think you enjoy it."

Tash grunted again, trying to lift her legs, then dropped her head on her pillow in defeat before looking up at Audrey, a sly smile on her face. "You're right, Auddie, I do."

"Good. Up, then." Audrey snapped her fingers again. Tash suddenly sat with a surprised look, and pulled herself to her feet, standing at attention. Audrey was there to catch her with an arm around the waist. "We're going to have a great year together."

They stood there a moment before, completely without warning, Tash leaned in and kissed Audrey on the mouth, just a quick peck. "We sure are."

Audrey, stunned into silence, just stared.

Tash laughed. "Now, I'm hungry! Let me get dressed and we'll go get some food. And after supper maybe you can show me a few more tricks..."

Audrey nodded enthusiastically and stepped aside so that her roommate could get her clothes back on.

Seven weeks later, after Thanksgiving Dinner...

Jace sat outside in the cool evening air. The porch swing that sat in the middle of the back yard was as comfortable as ever. He looked up at the autumn stars, waiting for the footsteps that he knew he'd hear approaching soon. He wasn't disappointed.

Audrey walked around the front of the two-seater swing. "Can't believe you guys haven't got rid of this."

"Your mom and I still use it."

"Don't need to know." Audrey sat down next to her father. "What'd you wanna talk about?"

Jace took a breath. "Just wanted to talk with you about your roommate."

Audrey tensed up, noticeably. "Tash?"

"Yeah. Tash. She's not really your roommate, is she."

"She is actually my roommate."

"Okay, but that's not all she is," Jace said. "To call her your roommate would be accurate but incomplete."

Audrey looked down at her feet.

"I just want to make sure that you're being safe and—"

"Dad, can we not? Please?"

Jace chuckled. "Look, it's not The Talk, alright? We did that five years ago and I'm pretty sure it stuck."

"Yeah, it did."

"But I have to tell you. There are things that I've noticed. I mean, you two are terrible at keeping secrets, for one thing. Plus the floor might not be as soundproof as you think."

"Oh my God, can we not?"

Jace held up a hand. "It's not so much what we were hearing, but... well, I guess it is what I was hearing. No, this is important, kiddo. Audrey."

She looked down at her feet again.

"I get that this is the last thing you want to talk about. But it's important."

"You just said that."

"Here." He picked up the small gift bag that sat beside him on the chair. "You're wandering into some really powerful and dangerous—and fun—territory. I just want to make sure that what you're exploring, you're exploring safely. There's a little present in there from me, and also an information card with some advice websites on it."

Audrey looked up, seemingly curious. "Advice? On what?"

Jace took a deep breath. "Hypnotism and kink."

"Oh. Huh." She smirked. "Guess the floor's pretty thin, huh."

"Yeah. Makes me wonder what you were hearing while you were in the basement. Don't answer that."

"I won't."

"But yeah, anyway, me and your mom noticed real quick that you and Tash were closer than normal roommates. Hormonal teenagers are really bad at hiding secret glances and light touches when you think no one else is looking. And we trust you know what you're doing there. But the other stuff. It's not like we ever talked with you about that, and I'm one-hundred-twenty-percent certain they don't teach you about kink in school."

"Yeah. No, this is..."

A moment passed between them in silence.

"Thinking of noticing things," Audrey continued, "Tash thinks that there's something going on between you and Helen."

"Oh?"

"Does... does Mom..."

Jace held up a hand. "How much do you want to know, how much do you really want to know, about what goes on when you're not home?"

"Oh. Ohhhh. So wait, you have kink resources because—no, no, nevermind, don't answer that."

"You sure?" Jace teased. "I could tell you all kinds of stories about—"

Audrey put her hands over her ears. "Nope, nope, noooope, not listening."

Jace laughed, and waited for Audrey to calm down a bit. "It's all good, kiddo. I don't really want to tell you, of all people, about all the things your mom and I have and do get up to. But if you want, I can be completely honest with you."

"I don't want, thanks." Audrey smiled.

"Alright. But I also have other resources. The websites are excellent, but they're always incomplete. I have friends who I trust to talk with you if you need, and I know of anonymous forums and chatrooms and the like where you can find your own friends and get advice and such."

Audrey took a breath. "Okay. Yeah. Thanks, Dad."

He patted his daughter on her knee. "I'm here for you, kiddo. Your mom is, too, if that's easier."

"Yeah. Thanks. I... I appreciate it." She shivered and stood up. "I'm gonna go back inside and hang out."

"You do that. The flight home is what time again?"

"Ten-forty-five. Got to be at the airport around nine."

"Alright, I'll make sure you two get there."

"Thanks Dad." Audrey took a couple steps, then stopped, turned back, and said, "Thanks."

"Any time, kiddo."

Jace sat in silence for a while, looking up at the sky. A whole new phase of his life seemed to be well underway, and it looked like it was off to a good start.

Monday night...

"So your dad knows?" Tash asked, flopping on her bed.

Audrey nodded. "Uh huh."

"Everything?"

"More or less." She opened her backpack to put her clothes away, then spotted the gift bag. "Oh, right!" Audrey pulled out the little present.

"What's that?"

"My dad got me a gift, he said." She pulled out an index card with notes written in Jace's precise printing. "Yeah, just like he said, a bunch of websites on it. Internet resources."

Tash turned and sat on the edge of the bed. "Resources?"

Audrey flushed. "Kink and hypnotism resources."

Tash giggled. "Ahh, okay. So Jace really does know everything."

Audrey nodded and tipped the other item out of the bag. A small, rectangular box, the sort of thing that a nice necklace might come in.

"Ooh, what's that?" Tash said, hopping to her feet.

There was a yellow sticky note attached to the box that Audrey pulled off to read. "'Looks like the apple doesn't fall too far from the tree.' Huh." Audrey opened the jewelry box and looked inside, then sighed, sitting on her own bed. "I don't know whether to kill him or hug him harder."

She held up the object inside. A silver chain, connected to a small, round, flat, silver object that would fit in the palm of her hand.

A pocket watch.

Tash laughed. "Well, I guess I know what we're doing tonight."

Audrey held the item up to eye level and let it swing back and forth slowly. It did draw the eyes well, Tash noted.

"I'm sure we'll have lots of fun with it," Audrey said. "Just look how it catches the light..."