Alexander Ch. 01

"Silence now. Put your clothes on."

She didn't make any further sounds.

Alexander said: "I don't think I can make you forget this, but we'll try. As soon as you leave here, you are going to block all memories of ever meeting me from your mind. You definitely won't be able to tell anyone about any of this. The only thing you will ever say to anyone, or communicate in any way, is that you paid for a stranger's drinks at the bar, and then took your time going home."

She continued putting on her clothes in silence.

He considered all the ways he needed to protect himself from her.

"You will do everything you can to put Tom at ease, to calm his mind, to soothe any confusion he has. At no point will you ever be able to communicate anything about this. Anything you don't forget instantly, you will put as far from your mind as you can, forever."

She shrugged herself into her jacket and stood looking at him. Her expression was painful. She looked shattered.

"You will make sure that your expression is cheerful and pleasant while you return home. You will never let yourself show the slightest bit of whatever negative things you are feeling right now."

He still wasn't sure he had everything covered, so he gave it one more layer.

"Once you leave here, you can speak again, but everything you do or say will be completely consistent with the story of going home from the bar."

And finally, he wanted to give her a parting gift.

"From now on, you are going to have much stronger orgasms. You are going to do everything you can to make Tom happy, and when you make him happy, when you give him pleasure, you will get to feel the very best parts of these feelings you experienced today, You will have a completely rich and happy marriage."

He wasn't sure how much of that was within his power to command, or to promise, but it made him feel better to try.

"Now, go."

She glared furiously at him. But as soon as she touched the doorknob, her demeanor shifted to a perfectly ordinary posture and expression. Never mind that Alexander was still standing with his now-limp cock hanging down over his jeans.

She closed the door behind herself, and was gone.

* * *

Alexander sank down onto his unmade bed.

He felt a horror open up within himself.

What had he just done?

He started to take the ring off, to throw it across the room. He would never touch it again. But... what if that released Monica from his commands? Would he have to wear it forever to make sure she kept her mouth shut.

That was an experiment he should have done.

He looked around his little room. The dirty dishes, the stack of microwave-meal boxes he hadn't recycled yet, the books piled in stacks on his desk. The laptop there, dead and useless. Clothes spilling out of his laundry basket, and strewn around that corner of the room. Crumbs in the rug. Candy wrappers. Beer cans.

Regardless of whether it got him in trouble or not, he had to take the ring off. He was not fit to have this kind of power. He should get in trouble. He should go to jail -- she had been right about that. He was a truly horrible human being.

But he didn't want to be.

And he didn't have to be.

He took a deep breath, and slipped the ring off his finger.

He waited for a moment. How long would it take for the sirens to show up?

He pulled his pants up, walked over to his desk, and put the ring back in the paperclip-and-rubberband dish. Flipped the lights off.

He made a solemn promise to himself. "I will never touch that thing again."

The promise felt right. It felt true. Alexander felt exhausted. Emptied. And still a bit tipsy. With his clothes still on, he crawled under his quilt, put a pillow over his head, and dropped into a deep sleep.