At the Summit Ch. 07

They talked for a few minutes, and Dean learned that Maria was returning to a town near Connellsville, Pennsylvania after a visit with her aunt and uncle who owned a coffee shop in Lemon Grove, California. Then she would start her career job search in earnest. She told him things about life in Lemon Grove, things which were amusing but showed how keenly observant she was. He couldn't help but think that she would do well in intelligence work herself.

"The funniest thing there is that in downtown Lemon Grove, right by the depot, there are six nails places. I'd never seen so many in one area."

"Hardware stores?" Dean didn't get it.

"No!" she laughed, loudly enough that the elderly woman across the aisle who was pretending to sleep blinked. They had an inquisitive audience.

"Places where you can have your nails done! Or, rather, where I could have my nails done. And at discount prices..."

He took her hand-- her nails looked fine in their neatly trimmed and clean natural shape.

"It looks like you missed an opportunity." As the biddy across the aisle eyed them directly now, he was glad that he had taken the opportunity in the dining car to prepare Maria for another hypnotic suggestion. The young woman's laugh at his comment devolved into an uncharacteristic nervous giggle as she felt herself slipping into the enjoyable trance again. Dean had stroked the top of her hand three times.

The woman across the aisle squinted hard but all she saw was the unusual couple quietly talking as they stared into each other's eyes. And then she watched the young woman pick up her things. The older man helped her carry them off. The scene was opaque.

As they worked their way back to the sleeper, Maria was happy enough to be heading to the sleeping car berth that Dean wondered if her return to a trance really had been necessary. It was clear that she wanted to do that of her own volition, and so all that Dean had done was to relieve her of some of the logical anxieties which might have made her take longer to make the decision to come with him. He had left her, though, with a desire for more hypnosis.

It was not a surprise then, as she settled into the sleeping car seat next to him, that she seemed calm and yet expectant. Dean had run across this before, even though he was not a clinician-- the more intelligent and imaginative the person, the more they enjoyed the guided exploration of their own interesting mind. Unless suggested otherwise, they would be eager in his presence for more.

They chatted for a while, almost fencing around, away from intimate subjects. Finally, they both fell silent. Dean reached up and switched off the room lights and opened the shade. For a long time, they watched the stars over Indiana -- occasionally, the light of a farmhouse streaked past. He felt her breathing pacing his, sensed her warmth next to him in the small room, and shifted to avoid revealing his body's preparation for her. He supposed that hers was doing the same thing, no matter what her conscious plans were. She shifted slightly, perhaps to catch a look at the shooting star which Dean pointed out, and as she did so, rested her hand on her knee.

"Go with the flow," Dean told himself, his intuition in high gear now. Gently, he took her hand and caressed it in their signal strokes. Maria smiled briefly, and then sighed ever so slightly as she slipped into another shallow trance. Dean felt wetness spread as his penis flexed involuntarily, but now he felt in renewed control of himself, and he turned his attention to his young partner. He invited her to awake, which she did.

"The train is soooo... relaxing," Maria purred. Dean nodded.

"There's a game we can play," he told her. She nodded in interest.

"Put your hand on mine. When I count to seven, press down as hard as you can," he directed her.

"One.... now look at me..." Dean said, and they smiled silly smiles at each other as she tried to puzzle out the game.

"Two... pressing down harder..." he intoned, "yes... press it down harder!"

"Three... eyelids heavy, droopy, drowsy, sleepy...." She could not keep her eyes open.

"Four... close them and sleep...." He pulled his hand away, as Maria folded up like the proverbial rag doll.

The setting allowed him now to take her deeper, deeper into her inner self. Suggestions now could be replaced by commands if he wished, but that was not Dean's intent. He remembered how years ago, Regina in the Master of Sexual Expression course they had attended had yearned for his abilities because she wanted that power over men... and women.

Later in 1997

"THAT sounds like another interesting story!" Sophia interrupted me.

"You'll have to ask Dean himself, he never told me that one in any detail." I was beginning to think that we should plan on inviting Dean to get together with us next time he was in the area, as I kept thinking of questions that I wanted to ask him.

Sophia was moving subconsciously against me, her hips rotating slightly.

To be continued...