Sonja's Story Ch. 02

Sonja had been looking forward to her next hypnotherapy appointment with Dr. Dotz all week, and she had realized the night before that the anticipation was what had seen her through the week on an emotional level. It had been a hard week at work, sure, but it always was. And at no point this week had she found herself hyperventilating in the bathroom from a stress-induced panic attack. Or crying alone in a vacant conference room. Or in her car in the parking garage. She was certainly still awkward in groups or in front of her superiors, but in those situations she had been able to take a deep breath, center her thoughts on Dr. Dotz, and make it through. Sonja wasn't sure exactly what it was that calmed her, either. She had very little memory of most of the prior session. She could remember walking in, chatting with the doctor for awhile, but once they got started on the hypnosis proper, she could only vaguely recall a few words. Specifically "Drop" and "Rise," and something about a pit or a den, but that was it. No pink cloud, no wispy tendril guiding her naked form across the empty cosmos of her subconscious, no rushing elation nor the constant bliss.

Which was ironic, because she had dreamed about that cloud every morning before dawn since the appointment. The experience was lodged too firmly in her subconscious mind though, and with her waking thoughts it was impossible to recall the contents of her dreams. But the dreams were the reason she woke up smiling every morning, and the dreams were the reason her panties were soaked every morning, and the dreams were the reason that the day before her second appointment, she had elected to go out and buy some proper bras again. Nothing too fancy for her, just basic white and black cotton garments, but still altogether different pieces than the collection of form-hiding sports bras she had amassed over the years. She had started wearing them for college sports, and then never changed her habits after that.

Sonja's justification was that she was trying to incite a change within herself, and with her employer's health insurance paying for the hypnotherapy sessions it wasn't like she couldn't afford to splurge a little. When she got home, she tried them on again with different shirts and blouses, ensuring everything would fit properly. She breezed through the process in about twenty minutes, but it had still been more time spent focused on her wardrobe since before she got her job at Van Black and Sons in the last year. After she was done, she thought about all the people who would have taken selfies in every outfit and blasted it over social media. The thought made her roll her eyes.

But that had been last night, and now she was standing at the main entrance of Dr. Dotz's practice, watching her own reflection in the glass. She had one hand on the door, and in the instant between recognizing her own face and swinging the door open, she became suddenly all too aware of the phone in her pocket. It hadn't made a noise or vibrated, but the sight of her reflection had reminded her of her dismissal the night before.

All of that happened in a second, though, and before she could even give it conscious thought, she was inside, being greeted by Dr. Dotz's receptionist, Thomas. Seeing Thomas made it hard for Sonja to remember what she had been thinking about, and she smiled at him shyly, returning his greeting.

"Dr. Dotz will be ready for you in just a few minutes, go ahead and pick a seat out." He gestured to the row of colored chairs, and Sonja's eyes lingered on his hand for a second longer than they should before she turned, instinctively moving to the far right to pick the brown chair - the same spot she picked last week. She stopped short, however, when she realized it was gone. She puzzled at it for a second, tallying the other six: there was green, blue, red, pink, black, and yellow, but the brown chair was indeed missing. She turned her head to ask Thomas about it, but he was now hunched over some paperwork, his brows furrowed. Oh well, she thought to herself, it's not like it matters. Her eyes lingered over them for another moment, and then she chose the blue chair. It felt more rigid than the brown chair had been, but Sonja didn't find it uncomfortable. She found herself straightening her back to match the vertical angle of the chair.

Thomas, of course, was not really working on paperwork, but scribbling notes on Sonja that he would pass to Dr. Dotz before their session and then be added to the doctor's profile on Sonja. He loved moments like these, it made him feel like a secret agent. Maybe he was, he thought as he scribbled down another note. He glanced at Sonja again out of the corner of his eye. Thomas thought she was cute, in that girl next door kind of way. Probably nobody's first pick at the club on Friday night, but then, it didn't sound like this chick had ever even been to one. Thomas jot down a few more scribbles, little more than doodles to make himself look busy, as his thoughts on Sonja continued down a darker, more lascivious hallway of his mind, and then he stood up. He gave Sonja a smile and nod that said "soon, but not yet," and moved down the hallway to Dr. Dotz's office. He tapped twice on the door and entered, clicking the door shut softly behind him.

Dr. Victoria Dotz was sitting behind her large, well-crafted office desk, with her bare feet up and resting on the wood surface, crossing over her ankles. Thomas could see her low-heeled strappy sandals on the floor some distance away from the desk. She watched him as he came in, and indeed looked as if she had been waiting for him. She noticed his eyes struggling to peel away from her feet up on display.

"Is she here?" asked Dr. Dotz. "Are those your observations?"

He hesitated. She arched her foot to point her toes - done up in an exquisite french pedicure from Molly's downtown - at the paper he held in his hand. It got his attention.

"Oh," he mumbled, shaking his head to clear it. "Yes, here." He walked toward where she sat. Victoria noticed how he didn't come to the center and front of the desk, or around the corner to her side, but hovered at the corner of the desk, next to where her feet were resting and now slowly sliding against each other. She held out her hand for the notes, doing it in such a way that it forced him to bend over the desk, directly over her toes. She did not take the notes until she felt his weight lean firmly against the desk, and then she snatched them from his grasp. The move pulled him even more off balance, and the large man might have fallen across the desk had Victoria not - deliberately - raised her finely pampered foot at the last instant, planting her pedicured toes squarely in his chest. She held his eye contact, saying nothing, a playful gleam in her eye as she slowly pushed him back up. But before he could regain his own balance, the doctor's eyes had already dropped down to the sheet of paper in her hand. She read through the notes quickly, her foot still gently pushing Thomas away from her and back onto his own feet.

Thomas felt completely transfixed. On some level, he had no idea what to do with his own body, and on another, he was quite certain he was more than happy exactly where he was. He watched the doctor read his notes, licking his lips nervously. And then he felt her foot begin to move against his chest. First it rocked him gently backward until he regained most of his own balance, and then- he looked down and watched as it slowly, lazily, absently trailed its way down his chest, down his stomach, and down, past his belly button, down, until with a dull thud Victoria's heel hit the desk, and her toes would go no lower. He swallowed, and tried not to gulp.

"Hmmm," said the doctor, her eyes still on his notes, as if she was deeply pondering. He felt her toes tapping idly against his abdomen, and his eyes gazed at their form. His fingers twitched at his sides.

"So she chose the blue chair," she finally said, more rhetorically than anything else. "And you put the brown chair in the back office like I asked, right Thomas?" He snapped his eyes up and saw she was looking directly at him. "Yes ma'am." He said it casually, and Victoria admired him for the effort it must have taken. Though it's not like she hadn't put him through this before. He should be used to it by now.

"You say here that she hesitated at the front door. Tell me more."

"Well, I'm not really sure about that, it was weird. Last week she came in staring at the ground and acting like a mouse. This week I watched her come up through the window and when she got to the front door she just... hesitated, but then came straight through the door. Still mousey though."

Victoria hooked her toe under her receptionist's belt and tugged gently. "Hesitated for what, Thomas? Did she see something? Was she rethinking coming in?"

Thomas swallowed again as he felt her feet pressing against his pelvis. Victoria so loved watching him squirm. "I don't think so. If I had to guess, it looked like she saw her reflection and it startled her. Not scared her, but startled her."

Dr. Dotz pondered at that for a moment, her toes seemingly moving on their own, absently and gently massaging their captive quarry. Just as Thomas felt like he couldn't take any more, the rubbing suddenly stopped and her toes unhooked from under his belt. "Okay, thank you Thomas. Tell her I'm ready for her to come in." He turned to go, his face flushing.

"Oh, Thomas." He paused, two steps away from the desk. He looked back. Victoria looked up at him sweetly and smiled, pointing with her finely-pedicured feet at her sandals on the floor next to him.

"Shoesies, please," it was a command, and the way she wiggled her toes at him, not one he would ever refuse.

Sonja had been waiting for five or ten minutes when Thomas returned. She wondered what could have taken so long, but then she realized that was always the way with doctors and dentists, making you wait at the last minute. "She's ready for you, Sonja." She stood from her seat and gave him a shy smile then quickly looked away. He reminded her of the athletes in school, strong and handsome, and completely uninterested in her. She looked at the floor as she walked past him and down the hallway, her arms hugged to her chest. She had come in without a sweatshirt today, remembering a distinct impression of the office being quite warm when she left the building last week. Now she felt... not quite cold, but underlayered. She walked quickly down the hallway, her loafers' thudding muffled by the cheap carpet covering the floor, until she came to the office door of Dr. Victoria Dotz and opened it, stepping inside.

The office was just as she remembered it, fairly large, with various chairs and couches situated in different parts of the room. The doctor's desk was situated on the far side of the room, and in the center were two cozy couches facing each other. Dr. Dotz was already sitting in one, with her notepad and some other devices sitting on a small side table next to her. She looked up at Sonja and smiled widely.

"Hi Sonja! It's so good to see you again, come have a seat." The doctor gestured towards the opposite couch, the same one Sonja had sat in last week, and she watched her client approach. The first thing she noticed, and she noticed it instantly, was that Sonja was not wearing a sweatshirt. She was pleased to see that. A person closing themselves off will put as many layers as they can between themselves and other people. Leaving behind something as big and bulky as a hooded sweatshirt was a sign either of progress or of trust, and after only one session, it was absolutely a *good* sign. The second thing she noticed was that Sonja still looked shy and uncomfortable, and the way her arms were crossed over her stomach made her look self-conscious. The third thing Victoria noticed, and really she noticed it at the same time as the second, was the distinct outline of Sonja's breasts against her blouse. Of course the doctor had the discipline not to let her gaze linger, but she clearly remembered a flatter chest than what she was looking at now as Sonja sat down across from her.

"How has your week been?" the doctor asked Sonja, who folder her hands in her lap and crossed her legs at the ankles after sitting and making herself comfortable on the sofa. Dr. Dotz took her notepad from the side table next to her, then pulled an elegant black pen from one of her pockets and clicked it.

*CLICK*

It was a loud click, and satisfying. Sonja's eyes darted to the pen in the doctor's hand, drawn by the noise. "It was good," she replied, after a moment of hesitation.

Dr. Dotz looked up from her notepad, her eyebrow raised. "Surely you have more to say that 'it was good,' Sonja. Don't be afraid to share anything with me, no matter how small or silly you think it is. You never know what it will help us uncover." She clicked her pen again, twice this time.

*CLICK CLICK*

These clicks were just as loud as the first one, and Sonja would have been startled by them if she hadn't found them so unexpectedly pleasant to listen to. "Well..." She hesitated again, but this time seemed to be seriously pondering the question. "I didn't have any anxiety attacks all week, and I think that's the first time that's happened since I started working at Van Black and Sons." Sonja's eyes were on the pen, watching it scribble away in the doctor's hand. It even sounded nice on the notepad, she thought to herself. "Also, I went clothes shopping for the first time in at least six months."

Victoria looked up from her notepad before she had finished writing, her hand still scribbling the last of her notes as she looked at Sonja, who suddenly began to blush. "Clothes shopping, that sounds so fun!" the doctor said sweetly, "Tell me what you bought!" She clicked the pen again twice excitedly.

*CLICK CLICK*

She watched as Sonja's face brightened further red. "Well, um..." her client muttered, "Mostly just bras and panties. Just a couple sets, they're so expensive, but they were all getting old and some of them didn't fit very well and I swear they're just for comfort and-" She stopped short, realizing she was trying to justify something that didn't need to be justified. Victoria continued her notes, looking up every few words to glance at Sonja. Her face was still red and she was biting her lip.

What an awkward girl, thought Victoria. Oh well, give it time.

"I love shopping for underwear," she said out loud to put the younger woman at ease. She wanted to expand on her feelings, but she wasn't sure Sonja could take that quite yet, and she felt no need to rush into things.

Sonja nodded back, unsure what to say. "Um, thank you, by the way, for getting everything set up with the insurance. That stuff gives me nightmares and I'm sure I would have messed it up somehow. I'm afraid to even go try and ask HR."

Victoria smiled back, betraying no hint of the wickedness she felt in that moment. "Of course, dear. Yes, that's all been handled. Everything went through so I'm certain you won't ever need to go talk to HR about it unless they come and ask you, but I doubt they will." Sonja seemed comforted by the certainty in Victoria's tone, and was blushing much less than she had been. It was all a lie of course, there were no insurance companies that covered hypnotherapy. Not here in St. Britney anyway. Most of her clients had to pay out of pocket for a session with Dr. Dotz, and her steep fees allowed for the freedom to indulge in occasional frivolities. But she did not want Sonja to think she had a special interest in her, and quite frankly the lie turned her on. She was so bored most of the time, but these little lies gave her a thrill. She clicked the pen twice.

*CLICK CLICK*

"Did you do anything social this week?" Dr. Dotz asked, fixing her gaze on Sonja. "Anything fun? A date? Drinks with a friend?" Sonja's blush was all the answer she really needed, but she had the grace to allow her client to speak before scribbling "Non-soc" into her notepad.

"Um, no, not really," replied Sonja. "I don't really get asked out on dates and mostly I just like to stay home. The shopping trip was more than enough for me." She smiled shyly, waving her hand as if to brush away the notion that she needed socialization. Of course, Victoria could see right through her, and had recognized such defense mechanisms in far more clever clients than Sonja. As always, the doctor chose not to attack the issue head on, but she would address it in her own way, once Sonja was under the trance.

For now she merely offered her client a sweet smile of reassurance and asked, "What do you like to do for fun? How do you relax?"

Sonja shrugged. "I like to read, I guess. Watch tv, listen to music. Sometimes I'll play The Zims, it's a video game where you control someone going about their daily life."

Victoria sensed a small irony in that statement, but she stayed quiet, and finished her notes. She set down her notepad and clicked her pen.

*CLICK*

"Very good. Well, are you ready to begin?"

Sonja nodded her head, perhaps more vigorously than she had intended.

Dr. Dotz reached over to her side table and picked up a small remote, pointing it at a sensor in the corner of the room, and Sonja heard music begin to play, softly in the background. She thought it sounded like elevator music, but it was quiet and didn't bother her. The doctor set the remote down on the table, saying, "I want to try something a little different this week, if you don't mind. I'd like you to lay down on the couch and close your eyes and we'll start off with a proper relaxation exercise. Yes, go ahead and kick your shoes off." Sonja did, exposing her white cotton socks and then twisted, bringing her legs up onto the couch and settling into a laying position. "Mmhmm, now close your eyes," Victoria purred, "and focus on the sound of my voice as I guide your breathing."

"Take a deep breath in through your nose and hold- two, three, four. And now out through your mouth- two, three, four. Yes, nice and measured." She watched Sonja as she obeyed the commands, pleased at the unquestioning way she did as she was asked.

"And another one, deep, in through your nose, and hold- two, three, four. Good, and out through your mouth- two, three, four... Very good. And again."

She walked Sonja through the exercise for a full minute, modulating her tone and intonation to be relaxing but not monotone.

"Very good, Sonja, and this will be our last one. Take a deep breath in-" she counted silently now, as she had for most of the repetitions, giving herself space to breathe. "Aaand out-" She exhaled her own breath loudly and slowly to guide her client.

"Excellent, now focus on the sound of my voice as I guide you through the next phase. I am going to say a command word, Sonja, as you listen to the sound of my voice, and whenever I say this command word, your eyes will feel heavier. Your body will become like lead, and as you listen to the sound of my voice, Sonja, your consciousness will become lead, like sinking into a pit. When I say the command word, let it sink, and as you listen to the sound of my voice, when I say the command word you will sink deeper and deeper and heavier and heavier into the pit." It was nearly the same phrasing she had used the week before, and it seemed to be working just as well. Sonja's breathing had softened, and only the occasional twitch of her finger or the movement of her eyes under eyelids betrayed the fact that she was still awake and conscious.

The doctor used the same command she had last week, but she added a twist.

This time, when she said the word Drop, she clicked her pen at the same time.

"Drop!" *CLICK*

Victoria watched Sonja carefully as she laid there, noticing how her client's lips parted ever so slightly at the first command.