Party of Three

"Hypnosis is bullshit," Dave proclaimed.

His raised voice didn't attract much attention at the crowded party. The woman who had been speaking (Sarah? Sandra? Dave couldn't remember her name) raised an eyebrow. Mark's palm smacked his forehead, but Dave didn't pay attention. Fueled by beer and righteous indignation, he continued.

"It's bullshit," he repeated. "It doesn't work in real life. It's just something you see on the movies, or on TV."

"Sierra, you've got to excuse my friend," Mark stepped in. "He's had too much to drink. He's normally not like this."

Sierra (that was her name, Dave remembered) smiled at Mark. Mark smiled back. He was trying to impress her so he could get laid. It wasn't hard to see why -- she was kind of cute, with long, curly dark hair, olive skin, and dark eyes. Her tits were too small for Dave's taste, though.

"I do mean it!" Dave protested, turning to Mark.

"No, you don't," Mark hissed. "You're offending our hostess."

"No, he's not." Sierra waved dismissively. "I'm used to it by now. When you tell people you're a hypnotherapist, you encounter a certain amount of skepticism."

"Yeah, 'cause it's bullshit," Dave muttered sullenly.

Sierra turned to him. "How would you like a demonstration?" she asked sweetly.

"Ummm." Dave had not expected her to say that. If he thought about it, which he hadn't, he wasn't sure how this conversation was going to go.

"You've got nothing to lose," Sierra pressed on. "If it really is bullshit, then you'll have proved me wrong. And if it works, I get proven right."

"Yeah, what do you have to lose, Dave?" Mark echoed, a smile playing on his lips.

"Alright, fine." Dave relented. "But you're comin' with me, man." He grabbed Mark's arm.

Sierra smiled again. Dave could have sworn there was a glint in her eye, but maybe Mark was right -- he had too much to drink. "Let's find a quiet place," she said. "It's too noisy in here."

They moved from the crowded kitchen to the second floor. Once upstairs, the noise from the party faded. Sierra guided them to a door. "Here's my office," she said, opening the door.

The trio entered. Sierra flipped a switch, and a dim light came on. Inside were a desk, a chair, and some beanbags. "Dave, why don't you sit down in the beanbag chair?" Sierra suggested. "It looks really comfortable."

Dave plopped into the beanbag chair. The room slid sideways. Okay, Mark was right about having too many beers.

"Comfy?" Sierra asked. She sat on the office chair and scooted nearer to Dave. "Mark is here with you, just like you asked. Mark, why don't you have a seat on the other beanbag? Get comfy."

Outside of Dave's field of vision, Mark sat down. "Okay, let's get started," Sierra said. Dave noticed her voice had changed. It was low, soft, soothing.

"There are a lot of misconceptions about hypnosis," Sierra said. "It's not something evil, or scary. It's a form of heightened awareness in which you're concentrating really hard on something. Like, when you read a book."

"Dave doesn't read," Mark teased.

"Shut up," Dave glared at him. "I do too."

Sierra cleared her throat. "Gentlemen, if I could have your attention."

Mark and Dave looked back at her with guilty expressions. She continued talking. "When we go into a hypnotic state, or a trance, it helps to have an object to focus on." Sierra lifted her necklace over her head. It was a large, multi-colored glass pendant on a black string. She held it high over Dave's head, so he would have to crane his neck to look at it.

"Watch as the necklace goes back and forth," she said softly. "Watch the colorful pendant as it sways gently."

Dave watched the pendant above his head. It was kind of hard to watch it -- this wasn't a comfortable angle for his neck. He leaned back further into the beanbag, which made it a bit easier.

Sierra kept talking, about how beautiful the pendant was, how colorful it was, how he just had to watch the pendant, and it was okay if he was getting more and more relaxed. "I'm getting more and more relaxed," he agreed.

"It's okay if you close your very heavy eyelids," Sierra said encouragingly. "That will help you relax even further."

"Relax even further," Dave said absently. If he closed his eyes now, he could rest. Watching the pendant sway back and forth was more tiring than he expected. His head lolled back, and his eyelids slowly closed.

"Dave?" Sierra called his name softly. "Can you hear me?"

"Yeah," Dave drawled. He could hear her, but she sounded so far away. It was weird, because when he closed his eyes, she was sitting close to him. Dave decided it wasn't worth thinking about, because he was relaxed. And being relaxed felt good.

"How do you feel, Dave?" Sierra asked.

"Gooood," Dave drawled again. "Relaxed."

"Good, Dave, that's great!" Sierra said encouragingly. "You're doing really well at relaxing. While you're so relaxed, I'd love it if you could answer some questions for me."

"Okay," Dave said. As long as he could stay this relaxed, he could answer some questions.

"Why do you think hypnosis is bullshit?" Sierra asked sweetly.

"It's only something on TV," he answered. "Or in movies. Or books. Doesn't work in real life."

"But you're hypnotized now, Dave," Sierra reminded him.

"I'm hypnotized now," Dave said, his tone filled with wonder.

"Yeah, you're hypnotized now, and it looks like you're really enjoying it," Sierra smiled triumphantly.

"I'm really enjoying it," Dave sighed.

"When you wake up from this trance, you're going to want to learn more about hypnosis, and you're going to want to go into trance again and again," Sierra instructed.

Dave repeated her words tonelessly. Sierra's smile was wide. Without turning to Mark, she said, "Well, looks like your friend was wrong, Mark."

When Mark didn't respond, she looked over at the other man. He was sprawled out in the beanbag chair, his eyes closed, a small smile on his face. One hand dangled over the edge of the beanbag, while the other hand cupped what Sierra was guessing was a bulge in his jeans. Her pulse quickened. She was curious about the size of that bulge.

She scooted closer to Mark. "Mark, can you hear me?" she asked softly.

"Yeah." Mark, like his friend, drawled his answer.

"When I hypnotized Dave, did you also go into a trance?" she asked.

"Yeah," Mark answered. His words were drawn out as though he were drugged or drunk.

"Does hypnosis turn you on?" Sierra fought to keep her tone level.

Mark's smile grew wider. "Yeah," he said in the same slow voice. "I've always fantasized about being hypnotized by a beautiful woman. And I...can't resist her. I have to...do everything she wants." As he spoke, his hand moved slowly over the bulge in his jeans. It looked to be a pretty decent size, Sierra judged.

Sierra took a deep breath. One of the benefits of having smaller breasts was that she could go braless. However, it became obvious if she was cold. Or aroused. She crossed her arms over her chest.

She knew what she had to do, even if she didn't want to do it. As much as she wanted to continue playing with Mark, it would be unethical to do so while he was still hypnotized. Sierra sighed before beginning to speak.

"Okay, Mark, when I count down from five to one, you're going to come out of the trance," Sierra said. "Five, becoming more focused. Four, your senses are beginning to return to you. Three, the fog is clearing. Two, you're becoming more alert. One, eyes wide open, back awake."

The dazed, half-awake expression on Mark's face was so adorable, Sierra almost jumped in his lap. She held back, though.

"Wha...what happened?" His voice still had that half-asleep quality that was turning Sierra on more and more.

"When Dave went into trance, it looks like you did, too," Sierra explained.

Mark rubbed his face, then looked down at his lap. He covered his eyes with his hand.

"Oh, this is so embarrassing," he moaned.

"It's okay," Sierra reassured him quickly. "Believe me, Mark, it's very okay."

Mark lowered his hand from his eyes. He still looked like he just woke up. "It's 11:00 now," Sierra continued, reaching out to take his free hand. Her fingers lightly traced a pattern on his wrist. "Tomorrow is Sunday. I want to talk more about those fantasies of yours. But, it's also really important we discuss consent and boundaries."

Mark's eyes opened wide. It was as though someone had given him a shot of espresso. Sierra wasn't sure what she liked more -- seeing him half-awake or with the lust-filled expression currently on his face.

"Yes, ma'am," he said, grinning widely. He glanced over at Dave. "You gonna leave him like that?"

"It's very tempting," Sierra grinned ruefully. "But, I'll wake him up and we can put him in a cab. And then you and I can go down the hall to my bedroom. We can make this party of three a party of two."

"That's the best thing I've heard all evening," Mark declared.