Hesitation and Recrimination

Jack wrenches his gaze away from my tits and looks into my blank eyes. "Jesus, you're really hypnotized, aren't you?"

"Yes," I say. My voice is completely monotone, perfectly matching my brain's current state. Empty. Obedient.

His eyes flick down to my chest again, and his hand twitches towards me as if to touch me, but he quickly stops himself and looks away, indecision on his face. "I guess I'd better wake you up, huh?"

I do not reply. My only purpose is to obey.

His eyes linger on my boobs before he tears his eyes away and looks me in the eye. "Okay, time for another trigger. When I snap my fingers and say 'wake', you will awake from trance and go back to being your normal self. Ready?"

"Yes."

He hesitates, giving one last longing look at my breasts. "Okay. Wake."

SNAP

I blink. My consciousness comes crashing back all at once, and I quickly cover my chest with my hands as I blush furiously. "Holy ... What the hell, Jack?"

"Told you hypnosis worked," Jack smirks, leaning back in his chair triumphantly.

"Yeah, alright, no shit perv!" I stand up and grab my bikini top off the floor, still covering my boobs with my other arm. "Turn around and let me put my fucking bra back on."

Jack crosses his arms. "Why? I've already seen them, you don't need to get all shy about it. They're hot, by the way."

I glare at him. "Like you'd know what a nice pair of tits looked like. I bet you've only ever seen them in porn. Now turn around."

His face darkens, but he turns around, and I take the opportunity to tie the bikini top back on. "I have lost my virginity, you know," he mutters.

"Humping your pillow doesn't count," I snap.

He barks out an angry laugh and turns back around, fire in his eyes. "I could have done so much more than just take your top off. You know that, right?"

I freeze. He's right. I was completely unable to resist, unaware of anything except his commands. I was a ****. His ****. Fear of what he could do mutes the anger in my throat, and I bite back the retort that was on my tongue. Instead, I **** myself to lower my voice and submit. "And I'm glad you didn't, Jack. Sorry."

"Whatever." His eyes stay hard, and flick down to my chest, as if to remind me that he knows what is underneath. My stomach flips nervously. "I'm gonna go to the gym."

I let him go, too nervous of saying the wrong thing to even speak. Instead, I curl up on the couch and pretend to be glued to TikTok until the door slams shut behind him, and I breathe a sigh of relief.

I run a hand through my hair, teasing out the knots the seawater left in it. Shit. Hypnosis is real. And now Jack has the keys to my brain. Definitely not how I expected spring break to go. Pouring myself another glass of water, I take a sip, feeling my stomach fluttering with nerves. An image of his hand reaching towards my bare breast flickers into my head, and my chest tightens, my throat dry. Jesus christ.

The front door opens, snapping me out of my reverie, and three excited voices chattering away float through the hall. "Hey," I call out, forcing my ruminations away.

"Hey, Alicia," Amy says as she bounds into the main room of the cabin, blonde bob cut swaying. She beams at the sight of the vodka bottles on the side. "The delivery got here okay, then?"

"Sweet," Dani says, sauntering in and iring the array of spirits. Her elegant one-piece bathing suit clings to her curvy body, still wet.

"Yeah, sure, just leave me with the bags, that's fine," grumbles Elijah from the hall.

"Shut up," Amy and Dani say in unison, before bursting into laughing fits and high-fiving.

Elijah drags the bags, full of wet towels and beach mats, into the room and shakes his head in disbelief at the two of them. "You too are the worst."

I laugh. "You chose to ask Dani out, dumbass. Nothing you can do about Amy, though, I think you're stuck with her idiocy for life."

"Hey!" Amy punches my shoulder and sticks out her tongue. "Screw you."

I grin and give her a playful shove. The family resemblance between her and Elijah isn't hard to miss - two perfect all-American blonds, with blue eyes and a shorter-than-average stature. The only difference is Amy has a voluptuous pair of breasts that would make me jealous if she didn't complain about them all the time, where Elijah has a surprisingly toned chest. And, obviously, some differences under their clothes.

"Hey, where's Jack?" Dani asks as she peels herself away from a quick kiss from Elijah.

"He, uh, went to the gym," I say.

Amy catches my eye, noticing my hesitation, but doesn't say anything. Instead, she grabs some cups and begins pouring liberal amounts of vodka into them. "Well, I guess we'll just have to start without him." She finishes the drinks off with some coke and es them out, grinning. "Let's get this spring break started!"

Music throbs through the cabin's main room. I laugh, watching Dani's drunken attempt to mime what looks like a dead fish. Despite myself, my eyes flit to Jack, back from the gym and freshly showered but still staunchly refusing to show any skin, instead opting for the same t-shirt and jeans. He sits in the corner, slightly apart from everyone else, as he works his way through the three cups Amy made him to catch up. He catches my gaze and quickly looks away.

"Finding Nemo!" Amy yells.

Dani bends over, exhausted. "Finally! Man, you guys are awful at this."

I give her the middle finger at the same second as Elijah, and we grin drunkenly at each other. "Alright, Amy, your turn."

Amy rolls her eyes. "I've gone too many times already. Jack, you take a turn."

Jack finishes the rest of his drink and burps. "Nah, I'm good."

"Nuh uh, not so easy," Amy smirks, before she starts chanting. "Jack, Jack, Jack!"

Dani s in, clapping along, and Elijah goes over and drags him to his feet. I in the chant, the embarrassment from earlier numbed by **** and good vibes.

"Damn, fine," Jack rolls his eyes before fishing a slip of paper from the bowl and starting to mime like a robot, before pretending to shoot something.

"Robocop!" Amy shouts. Jack shakes his head.

"Terminator," says Elijah. Jack shakes his hand and screws up his face, egging him on.

"Terminator 2," I say. Jack turns to me and nods, a small smile quirking the corner of his mouth.

"Ahh, come on, that should be mine," Elijah pretends to grumble, but flashes me a grin. "Fair play. Alright, you're up."

I heave myself off the couch and sway to the bowl, taking a slip of paper. Magic Mike. "Oh, god," I giggle. "Okay, here we go."

Going to the open space between the couches, I start to sway, biting my lip and running my hands over my body. Then I collapse into a fit of giggles. "Okay, no, can I just pick a new one?"

"Absolutely not," Amy grins. "I want to see where this is going."

"Ugh, this is so embarrassing," I mutter, giving her the middle finger, before resuming my best approximation of a stripper dance. The others watch - Jack and Elijah particularly intently.

"Hot tub time machine?" Dani asks.

I shake my head and point at the boys. She raises an eyebrow, bemused. Trying to make it more obvious, I put my hand by my crotch and extend a finger like a penis.

"Alicia, are you sure this isn't a porno?" Elijah asks, smirking. Dani swats his arm.

"Oh, shit, I know what it is," says Jack. "I'm not gonna say, though - I want to keep watching."

"Asshole," I mutter. He just smirks smugly.

I'm just about to start dancing again when realization flashes across Amy's face. "Ooh, is it Magic Mike?"

Jack takes a disappointed gulp of his drink as I sit back down.

By the time we've finished the bowl of film names, none of us are sober enough to stand for more than ten seconds at a time. Elijah is the first to call it quits. "Okay, I'm going to bed. Gotta pace myself if I'm gonna last the week." He gives Dani a look, and she stands up to follow.

"Yeah, definitely need to pace yourself," I grin, thrusting my hips. Amy cackles, and Dani's olive cheeks turn red.

"Okay, goodnight!" Elijah says more firmly, putting his arm around Dani's waist and escorting her to their room before we can make any more jabs. The door slams shut behind them, leaving just me, Amy, and Jack.

Amy turns to me, giggling. "You are disgusting, Alicia."

"I know," I say, flicking my hair smugly.

"Well, I'm gonna go hit the shower. I can literally see the salt on my arm," she says, before stumbling down the hall to the bathroom.

"Don't slip and break your neck!" Jack calls after her.

"Thanks, Jack!" comes the slurred reply.

"What? I said don't," he mutters, leaning back against the chair's headrest. Just us now, he inevitably turns to me. "Hey, about earlier ... I didn't even think it would work. I thought you were just playing along until you actually ... You know."

I drunkenly wave away the quasi apology. "It's okay. I was a bit of an asshole, too. I mean, I basically called you a virgin."

"Which I'm not," Jack says quickly.

"Dude, chill out. It doesn't matter if you are or not." I don't get why it bothers him so much, but from the way he looks at me, I can tell he's checking to make sure I believe him.

"You don't believe me?" His eyes flash darkly.

I frown. "No offense, but I don't really care."

He stares at me for a moment, then his eyes narrow and he gets ready to snap his fingers. My eyes widen in panic, but before I can react ...

"Blank!"

SNAP