The Coffee Shop Pt. 03

From out of the gloom a form slowly approached the table, and quietly stood beside the table next to the vacant chair. I could not believe what I was seeing. It was a man. A man in a uniform, but it was too dim to see clearly. Suddenly my eyes were assaulted with pain as the room was flooded with light. I glanced to my right and saw that unnoticed by me; Steven had gotten up and was now standing next to the light switch on the wall. He grinned unmercifully at my confusion and pain. He merely gestured at me to approach this stranger and chuckled softly. I blinked my eyes several times as I tried to make sense of what was before me.

It was a man. A man in a Royal Canadian Mounted Police uniform! At least that is what it looked like from where I was sitting. Without quite being aware of it, I stood up and then walked around the table to get a better view, stopping about a foot or so away from him, and not quite in front of him. It was an RCMP constable, standing at the table! I looked closely to be sure that I wasn't seeing things. Atop the head of this tall constable was perched the brown Stetson hat of the RCMP uniform. This man looked like a mountain! He was at least six feet tall, and he looked brawny and somewhat menacing. My eyes travelled down his face passing it for the moment, to examine the rest of the uniform he wore. The bright light of the room allowed me to see every detail. I continued my visual inspection and noticed that his neck appeared banded in black with a glint of gold on either side. It took a second or two for me to realize that this was merely the top part of the famous Scarlet Tunic worn by the RCMP. The glints of gold were from the crown crests on either side of the collar band on the uniform. My eyes traveled downward across the broad chest encased in that bright red tunic, with its gold (or was it brass?) buttons. At the waist was the expected brown leather gun belt, with its accompanying leather cross strap that cut diagonally across that chest from the left uniform shoulder flap down and across to right side of the gun belt. Nestled at the waist was the holster for the sidearm carried by this member of Canada's finest. The snow white lanyard, encircled the neck of his uniform and continued down the front of the scarlet tunic ending at the butt end of the revolver holster. The light from the candles glinted off of the polished leather, providing an interesting sparkle to the constable's appearance. I looked downward past the tails of the scarlet tunic to see the expected dark uniform pants, with their characteristic gold stripe. These where, of course, the famous riding pants of the RCMP but they were smooth without the slightest hint of a wrinkle. Continuing downward I came to the high brown boots that sturdily encased the feet, ankles and lower legs of this constable. The boots had a mirror shine on them. The entire uniform was immaculate and not a hint of lint marred the sight before me. I was impressed to say the least. Awestruck would have been a better word, though. This constable looked like he was dressed for parade formation, not for a quiet dinner with friends. It took me a few moments to drag my eyes back up and examine his face, which I had passed by earlier. I was hoping to save the best for last.

There was now enough light in the room for me to clearly make out the rugged, hard features of the constable's face. He was square jawed, with a hard Roman nose, and firm full even lips that were pressed firmly together. He was clean shaven, which only added to his rugged good looks. Eyes that were dark and mysterious, an earthy and warm brown, perfectly placed in his face, a face that was powerful and intimidating. Perhaps he wore contacts, but there was no way to be sure, although it was clear that he was not wearing eyeglasses. His black hair he wore in a crew cut which was to be expected. It only added to his appearance. He was handsome, good looking, comely to the nth degree. He was a work of art, brought to life. I could not stop looking at him. (Can you blame me? Thank God I didn't start drooling!) This was one hell of a surprise all right! I suppose I was blatantly staring at him, but the man didn't move a muscle. There was not the slightest hint of a smile on his face. Slowly the realization came to my fog enshrouded brain that he was standing at attention, for some as of yet unknown reason. I just could not stop looking at him. He was even more attractive than Steven, and Steven was the best looking guy that I'd seen in a long time.

Quickly, and gracefully, the constable turned slightly to the right so that he was facing me head on. Silently the constable executed a snappy salute at me, and waited for a response. Numbly I raised my right arm and attempted to return the salute. There were a couple of very loud snickers in the room, but I ignored them. Apparently satisfied with my feeble effort, the constable came to attention and then stood at ease. He proceeded to remove his brown Stetson uniform hat, from his head and turned around briefly to place it on the credenza behind him. His brown uniform gloves joined his hat on the credenza momentarily, after he removed them as well. He turned to face me once again, and then sat down in the vacant chair. I blinked a few times as it finally registered on my confused and bewildered brain that this RCMP constable was joining us for dinner! A movement to the right caught my eye and I jerked my head in that direction. Steven chuckled and pointed to my vacant chair in a silent command for me to return to it so that we could continue with the dinner. Humbled and embarrassed at both my rudeness and thoughtlessness, I meekly scurried off to my chair, blushing a bright red the whole time. Once I was seated Steven turned off the room lights and we were left only with the candlelight to dine by.

The candles gave off enough light for me to clearly see and enjoy the rugged, hard features of the constable's face. (Somewhere a part of my mind registered the fact that the placement of the candles on the table had been carefully planned to permit me to see the face of this stranger, in a different and more romantic light. Steven and Jack were playing matchmaker.) With only the candle light the constable's face took on a warm and soft expression, as he looked up and caught me watching him intently. It difficult to be certain with only the light from the candles, but I thought I saw a light blush cross his face, as I continued to ogle him. The constable returned my gaze with a warm polite expression on his face, and did not say anything.

A loud whistle interrupted my taking inventory of this gorgeous hunk. "Earth to Paul. Earth to Paul. Come in please," Steven called out to me laughingly. I blushed yet again and wrenched my eyes away from the constable to look at Steven. "If I could have your attention for just a minute," he continued, all the while enjoying my discomfort. "Jack and I would like to present to you, Constable Andrew Anderson of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, who is our special guest for dinner tonight."

"You're a real RCMP constable?" I asked stupidly. (Hey, I was lucky I even remembered how to breathe, much less talk.)

"Yes, I am, sir," Andrew replied quietly in a warm honey smooth tenor voice that seemed to reach out and caress my ears with liquid sound. I swallowed a few times, trying desperately to maintain my composure and not act like some flustered school girl on her first date. This was too much, though. Good looks and a voice to match. Silently I prayed that this man was not caught up on his own good looks, and wasn't conceited or vain. It would just be my luck to become acquainted with someone like that.

"Oh, I see," I replied dumbly. "I'm pleased to meet you." I couldn't think of anything else to say so I turned to Steven. "Would you mind explaining, please? I am not sure I understand exactly what is going on here."

"Well, to put it simply," Steven said with a wicked grin, "Andrew is your date for this evening. He was kind enough to agree to meet you here tonight after Jack and I told him all about you, and how wonderful you are. Start eating and we will explain."

I dug into the lobster before me and carefully listened to Steven, and Jack as the story unfolded. It seemed that about a year ago Steven met Andrew at a national police convention. They discovered many common interests, and eventually the fact emerged that they were both gay cops. Andrew had wanted to fool around a bit, and when Steven told him why that wasn't possible, Andrew wanted to know more about Steven's partner, and their relationship. After several months of correspondence, Steven introduced Andrew to Jack, and Andrew saw first hand the deep commitment and bond that Steven and Jack had. Andrew wanted such a relationship but was having trouble finding someone like Jack. (Aren't we all? Sigh.) When asked how they met, Steven told the story of how both he and Jack had been my hypnosis subjects for a while and had accidentally met in my apartment one time. This lead to a discussion about hypnosis and Andrew learned of how much it had helped Steven and Jack and became interested himself. However, he didn't think he could trust anyone enough to let them hypnotize him, and so had never pursued the matter actively.

More conversations ensued. After talking with Steven, Jack and even Ken Potter, Andrew became convinced that I might be able to hypnotize him, and that certainly I was trustworthy. A few more conversations and Andrew agreed to be my 'date' for this evening, both as a favor to Steven and Jack and because Andrew felt ready to try hypnosis with me. (Who says there isn't a cop around when you want one? Fortunately I had the good sense NOT to express that thought out loud.)

I thoroughly enjoyed the meal before me and listened carefully to what Steven and Jack said. They described many of their sessions with me, and provided Andrew with many details when he questioned them. I saw Andrew's eyes light up with excitement when Steven or Jack described the sexual pleasure that they had experienced when ejaculating while in a deep hypnotic trance. You didn't have to be a rocket scientist to figure out where some of Andrew's interest in hypnosis lay. Andrew questioned me about hypnosis and what I got out of it, since I did not, as a general rule, have sex with any of my subjects. I answered him as honestly as I could. There were certain facts, such as my super-hypnosis powers, which I had to keep secret. I told him how much of a thrill it was for me to see a good looking man, especially a man in a suit and tie or in a uniform, slip into a deep hypnotic trance. I also told him all that I expected to achieve out of the first session. As for future sessions, that was his choice. If he didn't want to try hypnosis tonight, we could just spend the evening talking and enjoying each other's company.

It was a very relaxed and comfortable conversation during dinner. Just four gay men talking about hypnosis, love, relationships, and other assorted topics. When the meal was finally over, we retired to the living room to enjoy coffee and a light dessert. While Jack brought the coffee and the desserts, Steven started a fire in the fireplace. About an hour or so later the conversation was still going strong when Jack suddenly stood up.

"It's time we were going, love," he said to Steven.

"Yeah, I guess your right, dear," Steven replied. "These two need to be alone for a while. Just let me put the dishes to soak and we can go."

"You have to be going so soon?" Andrew asked. "Yes, we do," Jack answered. "This is your date, after all. You don't need chaperons."

Steven and Jack headed out the kitchen to attend to the stack of dirty dishes leaving me and Andrew in an embarrassed silence. He was sitting in the middle of the sofa and I was sitting in the easy chair. Steven and Jack had been sitting on either side of Andrew and now they were gone. Andrew seemed to be an imposing and overpowering figure as he sat there alone on the sofa. I swear he was sitting at attention, which didn't help the situation any. With Jack and Steven beside him he seemed to blend in, but now he stuck out like a sore thumb. I wasn't sure what to do. I wanted to snuggle up next to him, if only because he was so gorgeous, but I didn't want to seem easy or too eager, either.

"Would you mind if I sat next to you on the sofa, Andrew?" I asked him, as I broke the silence.

"I suppose not, " he answered quietly.

"Good," I said. "I enjoy watching a fire and the sofa is closer to the fireplace than this chair." I got up and walked over to where Andrew was sitting and carefully sat down next to him on his right side. It was the closest position to the fire, and I had not been lying when I said I enjoyed watching a fire. I do. I made myself comfortable, and smiled at him.

"Thank you," I said.

"For what?" He asked.

"For agreeing to come over here tonight," I answered. "It was very generous and sweet of you. I am sorry for the way I reacted when I first met you, though. It was a bit of a shock and you kind of overwhelmed me."

"Yeah, well it's okay," he said offhandedly. "I get that a lot. I'm used to that type of a reaction by now. Don't worry about it."

"We'll be seeing you guys, 'night," Steven called out as he and Jack headed out the door.

"Good bye," Jack said as he closed the door behind him.

"Good bye, and thanks for everything!" I called back. to them.

"Take care, you two!" Andrew called out as they left.

The door closed firmly, and I wondered what the evening was going to have in store for the two of us. We were alone now, and on our first date. A subtle thrill ran through my body at that thought.

Chapter 10. In Front of the Fireplace.

I was at a loss for words. I couldn't think of anything to say to Andrew, when I turned back to look at him.

"Well, here we are," I said lamely.

"Yup. Here we are," Andrew agreed.

"I hope you understand that I care more about what is inside you, and who you are as a person, than how you look," I said to him in an attempt to keep the conversation going. "I'd be lying though, if I told you that I would not want to you to hold me in your arms for a while."

"If that's a pickup line, it's not a very good one," Andrew replied, looking at me doubtfully.

"It's not a pick up line, Andrew," I said to him as I looked him directly in the eyes My heart started to beat quickly as I thought to myself that in only a few seconds this hunk of an RCMP constable would be only to glad to have me hypnotize him, and do even more. "I think it is important that you know from the start that I am physically attracted to you, and that the idea of holding you in my arms is very enticing to me. However, I realize that I barely know you and that all I can hope for or even consider asking of you is that you might let me hold your hand in mine for a while." My gaze didn't wavier a millimeter as I looked into Andrew's eyes.

He blinked a few times and then spoke. "You really mean this, don't you?" He asked me.

"Yes, I really do," I answered. I continued to look into his eyes and then sent the mental command "Andrew you really want me to hypnotize you tonight and you will find it so very easy to follow along with the suggestions. They will take effect immediately."

Andrew blinked a few times and then sighed. "I see," he said.

"So what would you like to do now?" I asked him, trying not to smile.

"Just sit here, look at the fire, talk a bit and finish my coffee," he answered.

I was surprised. That was NOT the answer I was expecting. Maybe he was a more difficult subject than I had thought. I managed to conceal my surprise behind a smile, as I asked him teasingly, "You don't want to try hypnosis now?"

"No, not really," he said. "Maybe later."

"Sure, okay," I replied. I looked away and stared into the fire and thought for a minute. My mental commands had not had any affect on Andrew at all. It was as if I had never sent them to him. That didn't seem right. My powers had never ever failed me. Perhaps I hadn't used enough force, or I wasn't focused enough or the suggestions were too vague. During the years I had encountered a few subjects that required more concentration and effort on my part in order to implant my mental commands into their minds. I took a few deep breaths and gathered together my powers and concentrated on the specific commands that I wanted to implant into Andrew's mind. I waited for a few more seconds and then turned back to face Andrew.

"Would you like a fresh cup of coffee?" I asked him as I looked directly into his eyes. Quickly and forcefully I sent a simple and straightforward command, "Andrew, remove your boots, now."

"No thanks," he answered, and sat back in the sofa to make himself more comfortable.

It was remarkable! He didn't show the slightest inclination to carry out my instructions. I could feel the energy pouring out of my mind as I projected a more and more powerful mental commands at him, but nothing happened. It was very strange, but I could sense the commands weakening and fading as they got closer to Andrew. By the time they reached within a centimeter of his forehead they had faded away to nothing. Stranger and stranger. I did not understand what was happening at all. The more I thought about it, the less I liked the conclusion that I was arriving at. I could not, for some as of yet undetermined reason, influence Andrew. Suddenly I felt vulnerable and exposed. I was not in control here. I did not have my powers to rely on. If something went wrong, I was on my own.

I looked at Andrew sitting there and realized with a sudden chill, that he could overpower me physically if he wanted to. I didn't have a safety net, not any more. My powers had failed me or were gone. I was, as far as Andrew was concerned, a 'normal' guy. What I mean is a 'normal' gay guy. I swallowed a few times as I realized that if we did any hypnosis tonight it would be the ordinary kind, and I was out of practice doing that. I would have to rely on my hypnosis skills and on Jack and Steven's judgment that Andrew was a trustworthy person. It was scary. Very scary. Who was I kidding? I was terrified to the core of my being. The more I thought about it the more terrified I became, and the more terrified I became the more I thought about it. Around and around and around these thoughts went in my head, with no end in sight. I turned anyway from Andrew and towards the flames dancing on the logs in the fireplace. I focused on them and let my mind empty. I let my thoughts and worries and concerns just drift away with the flames, as I concentrated on breathing. Nothing but breathing. In. Out. In. Out. Slow and steady. Getting into the rhythm. I was rewarded with a wonderful sense of peace and calm passing over my body and through my mind, as I relaxed deeply. It was an old self hypnotic relaxation method that I'd taught myself many years ago and it never failed to help calm me.

"You're very quite all of a sudden," Andrew said to me after a few minutes of silence. I turned back to look at him, and realized that I wasn't scared of him any more. This was going to be just like one of my dates before I discovered my powers and was trained to use them. The idea of hypnotizing Andrew using just ordinary hypnosis seemed new and exciting to me. A challenge that I had not encountered for several years. "I was just relaxing and calming myself down," I said to him. "To be honest though, I was also thinking about you, and wondering if I could use the flames in the fireplace to hypnotize you."

"You have a one track mind," Andrew said, and smirked at me. "But what if I don't want you to?" He asked.

"Then all I can do is to keep thinking about how much I'd like to try and hope that you might change your mind later," I answered him without batting an eye. He didn't say anything, but only continued to gaze at me with an unreadable expression on his face. "Well you asked," I added lamely.