Lights Camera Action The Date

Act One: The Hypnotist

Simon Sez tossed his golden coin, watching it skip through the air before bouncing off his table with a soft clink and roll before tumbling between Jenny's black heels. Even from a distance, Simon could hear the waitress' annoyed sigh as she set her tray on a table and bent down to pick up the coin. Thanks to her earlier encounter with Simon, any time Jenny had to pick something up, she would be exposing herself. Facing the man with the shades, Jenny crouched down to pick up the coin, giving Simon a front-row view as her skirt parted to reveal her pink panty.

"You ought to put this thing on a leash," Jenny said as she stood back up, slamming the coin squarely on the table. "This is the fifth time I have had to pick up your stupid coin. Also, if you don't order soon, I will ask you to leave the restaurant."

Simon didn't like that attitude one bit. Clearing his throat, he spoke, "Simon says to make your skirt look smaller."

Jenny had on her white buttoned shirt and plain black skirt. They did a fine job of making her feel comfortable and not exposing her slender legs during her restaurant shift. She was more of a pants girl than a skirts girl. If she could have worn pants like the guys, she would have done so, but the long skirt made her feel covered. The other staff would make small jokes about how her skirt was too long for her short, petite frame. Usually, she'd ignore their comments and be happy with them, but tonight, Jenny suddenly felt overdressed.

With glazed eyes, she grabbed the skirt's edge and slid it up her slender legs as far as the material would allow. By the time she stopped, her hem had reached her mid-thigh. Her cheeks turned red as a rose as she crossed her legs.

"I... need to take this plate to a table," Jenny stuttered, shaking her head. She quickly waltzed away from the suited gentleman before he could speak. Simon shrugged.

No matter. That waitress will be back soon.

He tapped his fingers on the clothed table. The light music from the cute pianist and quiet conversations did an excellent job of keeping his frustration in check. He didn't like to be kept waiting. His fingers danced to the piano's tune as his restless leg shook. Where was she?

"Sorry I was late," said a soft voice. Simon smiled as he turned his head at the sight of his date. The brunette woman wore a flowery dress, a denim jacket, and a bookbag at her side, a sharp contrast to his professional look. "I know, I know, I picked this place, but traffic was a nightmare and my professor... Why are you wearing sunglasses indoors at night?"

"It's a surprise, my dear Tori." Tori sighed as she went to the faux-leather seat. Simon's head followed her direction as his lovely date sat gracefully in the booth. She picked up a menu to check her options. The college student couldn't shake the feeling that she was being stared at. Jenny lowered her menu and looked up to see her tired reflection in Simon's shades. "I didn't think I would see you again."

"We had a good time," said Tori. She allowed herself to smile as she remembered the good time they had on their first date.

Simon slowly nodded but never broke his line of sight with Tori, looking like a guard making sure you weren't up to no good. "I was just nervous. It's been a month since we've seen or talked to each other."

Now it was Tori's turn to knowingly nod. Her thin lips squirmed as she tried to think up a response but ended up shrugging. "In my defense, classes have been keeping me on my heels. But I've waited for you to text me back, but you never did. If I didn't make reservations for this place, who knows if we would ever meet again."

The nervous couple stared back at each other as the restaurant ambiance filled the empty space. The soft clicks of their waitress broke their silent spell. Standing between the two of them, Jenny tried to lighten the mood.

"Hi," she said in her over-cheery restaurant voice. She held her arms low before her legs as she swayed, wishing Simon would stop ogling at her exposed legs. He must have thought he was so slick pretending to be blind. "Are we ready to order, or do you need more time?"

"I'll start with a salad and water," said Tori, not bothering to look at her menu.

Having already seen the menu (twelve times!), Simon knew what he wanted as he pushed his menu to the center. "I'll have rice with beef."

Jenny's hands were reluctant to leave their post to write their order. But after a few awkward moments that felt like an eternity, the waitress relented and quickly jotted down the order. She instinctively put one leg in front of the legs, which Simon appreciated as the pair watched the waitress collect their menu and left with their order.

"I've been busy with my own stuff," Simon said, getting back on topic. Tori rolled her eyes and scoffed. "I'm serious." He paused and dug into his pocket before pulling out the golden coin. Tori's eyes widened, and she readied herself in anticipation of what Simon had in store for her. "Oh, don't worry, I won't hypnotize you."

"You're... not?" asked Tori, a hint of disappointment in her voice as her body eased.

Simon cocked his head. "Wait, you wanted me to hypnotize you?"

His date burst into a laugh, and Simon found himself laughing with her despite himself. Wiping a tear, Tori continued. "Gosh, we must have been gone for a while. Remember how I told you I had this fantasy of falling under hypnosis."

Even though Tori couldn't see it, she could tell he was squinting and tensing behind his shades. Simon tried to remember their first date at the park but kept drawing blanks. Finally, Simon shook his head as he relaxed.

"No," he said. "After hypnotizing you, I thought you were embarrassed by what I did to you and wanted nothing to do with me."

"You're talking about hypnotizing me out of my clothes and leaving me naked after our date?" Simon sunk into his chair as embarrassment filled his body, looking more like a boy caught with the cookie jar in his hand. He held his hand over his eyes, shielding himself from the inevitable shouts. Why did he agree to go on this date? "That was the best thing to happen to me!"

"What?" Straightening himself, Simon saw that Tori wasn't trying to pull a fast one on him. Unless he had hypnotized her earlier and forgotten about it. He asked, "Are you sure it's not the hypnosis talking?"

"I'm positive." She smiled and reached for Simon's hands. He initially pulled them back but kept them on the table when she grabbed them. Looking at her face, Tori's warm smile made him feel special. That she wanted to be here with him. "It's nice to find someone who shares the same kink. It's hard to find someone who likes to take people's clothes off."

Simon covered his mouth, feeling a chuckle, trying to worm out of his mouth. "Unless they're pranksters."

The grinning couple leaned back and burst into laughter, not caring about the ruckus they were making as several customers shot them annoyed looks in their direction.

After their laughter died down, Tori eyed the golden currency as Simon danced the coin around his fingers. "So if you're not going to hypnotize me with that coin, what are you planning to do with it?"

"This coin has a lot of value to me," Simon said. His shades glimmered as the coin passed through his fingers. A sick feeling in his stomach boiled as Simon felt his words stall. He had practiced this speech night after night, but even now, he felt unprepared. "This was my great-grandfather's coin. I cannot even begin to tell you how many people have been mesmerized by this coin. I want you to have it."

"Really?"

He tossed the coin in the air. The way the currency dazzled in the dim light dazed Tori before Simon caught it mid-air and tucked it back in his pocket. "Not quite. I want to give it to you, I really do, but you have to earn it."

Tori's lips curled into a sly grin. "Is that a challenge?"

"It can be," Simon said. Hovering over his seat, he peered around the dining area, where well-dressed people made small talk by the candlelight. A few ladies looked fun to play with, but nobody piqued his interest. Sitting back down, Simon tapped his fingers on the clothed table. "The first person who gets a lady naked before our food gets here gets to keep my coin."

Tori's eyebrow arched as an idea began to cook. "Would it count if I strip naked in the bathroom?"

Simon's hand pressed against his bearded chin, trying to force himself not to smile at the thought of his date strutting around the place buck-naked. However, the rational side of his brain won as he forced the idea down for a later fantasy to think of again. "Tempting, but no."

"I see," Tori said, partially relieved she didn't have to relive her first date experience, but she couldn't deny the subtle disappointment.

He took off his sunglasses, but his baggy eyes remained closed. He slid his shades to Tori's table side and cracked his knuckles. "If I were you, I would put them on unless you want me to hand me an easy win."

Tori scoffed, but the serious look on his tired but stern face was enough to give her pause that Simon meant business. Grabbing the black shades, Tori slid the glasses on her face, though they sat loosely on her face. The dimly lit restaurant was plunged into near darkness when Tori tried to look around. "How the heck do you see?"

"You'll get used to it," said Simon, rubbing his weary eyes. He opened his eyes, and Tori stared slack-jawed at what she saw. The shades made it hard to see, but Tori could swear she saw Simon's eyes moving. Where irises once were, his eyes were merely spirals for her to stare at. To forget her worries and cares about the world. To fall deeper into slumber.

*CLAP*

"Woah, what? I'm awake." Tori's head turned rapidly as she got her bearings. Did she just fall asleep?

"Yeah, I got my eyes and voice done between our dates," said Simon, holding his hand above his eyes. "The shades act like a buffer. You'll be protected if you keep those on, but you will fall into a trance if you stare at them for too long. Sorry to make you jealous."

"Jealous?"

Simon nodded. "Yes, I got more powers between the last time we met, and you're still an ordinary girl, no offense."

Tori pursed her lips to the side, almost tempted to tell the truth but ultimately deciding to leave it unsaid. She gave a cute smile and squeezed her modest breasts between her arms. "None taken."

"Thank goodness." Simon leaned back in his seat and was about to explain what he wanted Tori to say when the familiar clicking sound grew louder. Tori looked up to see the waitress coming with two glasses and water. "You want to see something cool?" Simon asked. Tori nodded in return. What did he have in store?

Standing over the two, Jenny was about to present the complimentary water to the dating couple when she realized how silly that was. Setting the two glasses down, she jutted her chest out as best as possible and poured the icy water down her tight white blouse. As the water rolled down her body, leaving goosebumps in its wake, her shirt became translucent, revealing her black bra. Tori's jaw dropped for the second time tonight, trying to make sense of the scene while Simon snickered as if he heard the funniest joke in the world. Nearby patrons stared in shock and confusion at the waitress wetting herself and emptying the jug all over the floor.

"Will that be all?" Jenny asked with her incredulous smile, oblivious to her now transparent shirt.

Catching his breath, Simon spoke, "Yeah, Simon says to lose the bra and fill our glass.

"Okie-dokie!"

The shivering server skipped back to the kitchen, almost tripping on her heels. Simon was a giggling fit and nearly fell from his seat as Tori was too stunned to process what had happened.

"Do you want to go first, or do you want me?" Simon said, finally catching his breath.

Slowly nodding herself back to reality, Tori gave a knowing smile. "Ladies' treat. You go first."

Simon shrugged. Her loss. "However, to make things interesting, you choose who will be our lucky lady for tonight."

"I can live with that."

Standing up, Tori grabbed her bag and led Simon around the restaurant, looking for their would-be target. But as Tori looked around, she noticed several more women acting strange. At a table, a woman accidentally (though Tori could have sworn it looked like it was on purpose) spilled wine all over her white dress. She passed it off as being a klutz and asked her friend to help her out of her dress. Her friend had an embarrassed look on his face but obliged, revealing to anyone who glanced in their direction his friend's lacy black underwear. He tried to look away, but his friend was making it hard as her breasts jiggled when she sat down and continued their conversation.

Tori and Simon stopped at a bar, where they saw a bartender pull out a marker and notepad. He scribbled in his notepad, the loud marker penetrating through the soft music. Finally, he placed his marker and note on the counter, revealing: Topless drink free. Tori looked to Simon, who looked at a group of women at a nearby table. One of the women spotted the sign and suggested taking advantage of the complimentary beverage the cute bartender was serving. The five peeled their tops off, showing off their large, firm, natural breasts. Despite the nervousness and shyness written all over their faces, they crossed over to the bar and ordered their drinks.

Tori's eyes widened as she looked at the women who had just taken their tops off as if it was the most normal thing to do. Simon must have noticed her stare because he whispered, "Are you having fun, or do you need more examples?"

"How did you hypnotize them so fast?"

"It's the eyes," Simon said as they continued to walk. "People just do what I want them to do as long as I stare at them. It helps put the strain off of my voice."

Tori nodded. "Oh right, your voice."

This will be more challenging than she thought, but it doesn't matter. She had never known to back down from a challenge, and she wasn't about to start now. But as they passed table by table, it became glaringly obvious that Simon had this challenge in the bag. Tori thought about pulling up the script to convince Simon to change his mind when she spotted a figure at the restaurant's corner.

Even without the glasses, it was hard to tell what exactly she was looking at. The figure was most likely a woman dressed in a blue burqa that covered her head to toe. That would have been noticeable alone, but the thing that struck Tori the most was the woman's plate. It was empty, with no food or scraps to be seen. Weird.

"I want to see what you can do with her," Tori said, pointing to the quiet woman in the blue burqa.

He didn't need to be told twice. Simon's mouth turned into a toothy grin as he headed for the still woman.

Simon hovered over the covered woman, but she continued to stare at her empty plate, not bothering to acknowledge his existence. He looked to Tori, who looked like she was wondering why nothing was happening. What worried him more was that he was asking the same question to himself.

Taking a huge breath, Simon spoke, "Simon says take off your stupid hijab."

Her covered head turned from her clean plate to Simon's startled face. Startled, the suited man almost tripped over himself but maintained his composure. "Simon," she said with her sultry voice. She stretched the name to her fullest content as the date traded confused looks. "What a delicious name."

The not so gentleman gritted his teeth as he clenched his fists. He wasn't about to have this mysterious woman ruin his fun. "What's your problem? I told you to take off your clothes!"

"You didn't say Simon says," the woman said in a mocking voice that annoyed Tori's date to no end.

"You know what, fine," he said. "S... Suh, suh."

He couldn't see it, but the confused man was sure the woman was smirking underneath that cloth. The woman asked the stammering fool, "What's the matter?" She let out a snicker. "Forgot your own name."

"Hey, I know my name!" the man with the spiral eyes said. He tried to reach around his head, praying to find a memory of his forgotten name but kept running into dead ends. "Just give me a second," he said. The man ran over to Tori and asked, "Quick, what's my name?"

"Huh?" Why would her date ask that? No matter. It seemed like an easy enough answer. Tori spoke, "Your name is...." POOF. Just like that, Tori's confidence in knowing this man's name was gone. How can that be? Maybe she could find it in her contacts. Fishing for her phone in her bag, Tori pulled up her contacts and found the nameless man's phone number when she called to tell him she was running late. However, his name was nowhere to be seen.

Before the duo had a chance to panic about the hypnotist's nameless name, the burqa woman turned to them and raised her voice. "Her name is Sexy Bunny."