Bad Bet

Jack leans back, smirking. "I will happily take you up on that. Take a seat," he says, gesturing to the couch.

I put my hands on my hips. "Aw, you can't hypnotize me if I'm standing up? Poor Jack, maybe you're not as good as you think you are."

He glares at me. "Hey, screw you, I'm new at this."

"Relax, I'm fucking with you, dude," I smirk, sitting on the couch. "You want me to lie down again?"

"Uh, sure."

Still smirking and brimming with confidence, I lie back down on the couch again. There's a big difference between relaxation and mind control. All that stuff about hypnosis and movies is just for show. Right?

Jack pulls out the watch again, and doubt taps lightly at the back of my head. What if hypnosis actually does work? Then I'll be showing this dork - he may be cute, but he is definitely a dork - my boobs. And, if he gets any other ideas, potentially more. Jeez, dad has told me way too many scare stories about teenage boys.

The watch starts swinging, and I find my eyes following it automatically. Before Jack can speak, though, the doorbell rings.

"Shit, that will be the groceries," I say, jerking upright and running to the door as Jack tucks the pocket watch away. I open the door, and sure enough, the delivery driver is already hefting another crate of groceries up the path to the cabin. "Oh my god, thank you so much," I say, putting on my kindest smile.

"No problemo," he smiles, putting the crate down next to the first. He seems completely unfazed by the fact that I'm only wearing a bikini. Probably done a thousand deliveries to spring breakers like us in these cabins. "Hey, before I get the last crate, I'm gonna need to see some ID for the ****."

"Oh, sure." I quickly go to my bedroom and grab the fake ID I bought last year to go clubbing. As usual, a hint of anxiety ripples through me as I hand it over, even after the many bouncers it has fooled.

He inspects it briefly, then nods and hands it back. "Cool. Feel free to unload 'em."

I smile with relief. "Thanks."

Jack appears beside me, and together we unload the bags from the crates as the driver brings the last one - filled with several bottles of wine and hard liquor. Jackpot. The driver takes away the empty crates, and I shut the front door, iring the haul.

"Damn ... Think this will last?" I gesture to the spirits.

"One night? Sure," Jack laughs. "I still think we should have ordered smaller deliveries, and spaced them out, so that we had to pace ourselves."

"You're no fun," I smirk, punching his shoulder. Jack looks at the floor, then begins silently transferring most of the groceries into the empty refrigerator. Noticing his reaction, I double down. "Seriously, dude, you need to loosen up. I mean, how are you even wearing jeans in this heat?"

Jack squirms uncomfortably and mumbles an answer.

"Okay, how about this," I say, putting the last of the pizzas in the refrigerator and closing the door. "When you fail to get my top off, you take your shirt off. That seems a fair trade, right?"

Jack's jaw juts forward a little. "Fine," he says after a moment. "Just gives me more incentive to actually hypnotize you. Not that I needed any more." His eyes widen as he realizes he said the last part out loud. "I mean -"

I cut him off with a raised eyebrow. "Dude, relax. I know what guys are like about tits."

"No, it's not ... Whatever." He trails off, before gesturing awkwardly at the couch. "You gonna lie down?"

I smirk and resume my place on the couch, as Jack unfurls the pocket watch again. "I'm gonna enjoy seeing you with your shirt off," I smirk.

He laughs and finally meets my eyes again. "Likewise. Alright, eyes on the watch."

He starts to swing it, and I follow it. The easy rhythm of back and forth, back and forth. Already, I feel my breathing begin to slow.

"Keep your eyes on the watch," he says in that different, soothing voice of his. "Focus only on the watch, and feel everything else begin to fade. All your worries. All your stress. Feel relaxation spread from your toes up your body. I'm going to take you back into trance now. You how it felt, don't you? How blissful. How empty. How relaxed. You want that again, don't you?"

Kinda, yeah. It did feel nice last time. The watch swings back and forth as I what it felt like, and the same feeling of relaxation begins to work its way around my body.

"It's okay. Relax. Let go of your thoughts. You don't need to think. Let your mind become empty. Let yourself become mindless. And as your thoughts start to disappear, only my words remain. My words are your thoughts. No need to question them, just like you don't question your thoughts. Just listen. Listen and obey."

A commanding edge creeps into his voice. My brain notices it in some far off land, but in this room I have no thoughts left with which to it.

"You want to obey. There is no reason not to. My words are your thoughts. More than that, they are your desires. You obey your desires, don't you?"

Yes. Obviously. Who doesn't?

"Picture the diving board again, Alicia. Feel yourself walking along it, getting closer to the edge. Closer to the water, that cool, soothing water that will completely empty the last of your mind. You want to jump, don't you?"

Yes. I want to jump.

"When I snap my fingers, you will jump. You will enter a deeper trance than before, even more relaxed, more mindless. And more obedient. Obedience is a small price to pay for that feeling, isn't it?"

My toes curl over the edge of the board again. I shiver with anticipation, waiting for him to snap his fingers. I'll obey. Just make me feel relaxed again.

"Ready?"

SNAP

I jump, and my mind empties completely. I drift, completely weightless.

"Okay, now, I'm going to give you a trigger. From now on, whenever I snap my fingers and say 'Blank', you will return to this state of trance. Completely obedient. Completely mindless. And if you are already in trance, it will only take you deeper. Shall we try it out?"

Yes. Whatever you want.

"Blank!" SNAP

My mind shudders like a drowning man trying to breathe in air. I'm already empty, no thoughts at all. Any last remnants of thought are pushed out. I am an empty tube of toothpaste, everything that makes me me squeezed out.

"Sit up." His firm voice pushes me upright on the couch, and I open my eyes, staring blankly out at him. He shifts in his seat awkwardly, narrowing his eyes and examining me from the side. "Alright, moment of truth," he mutters to himself. "Now ... Take off your top."

SNAP

No thoughts. Just obedience. My hands reach behind my back and deftly untie my bikini top. Jack watches suspiciously, waiting for me to burst out laughing or flip him the bird. I don't.

Instead, I brush the top off my shoulders, leaving my chest bare and my small, perky tits on full display.

"Holy shit," Jack murmurs, staring wide-eyed at my nipples. "What the fuck?"