His shirt was cold and wet and clung to him uncomfortably. His jeans were well-soaked as well. The ivy he had hastily climbed down had gotten the job started, and an increasing rain was finishing it.
Zach let his attention reach out to Vicky just long enough to discern that she had defused Ron's wrath with unexpected sexual availability, but she herself was beyond confused. Zach saw her struggling to untangle herself from memories she couldn't quite grasp, even as she faked her enjoyment with her rutting husband.
Zach tucked his attention back into his own troubled mind and made for the dorm.
Once again, he found himself in the shower, washing his mistakes off with hot water.
He traded his sodden clothes for dry pajamas and settled in for the night. He was behind in all his reading, and this looked like the perfect rainy weekend to stay out of trouble and get caught up.
Until Maddy texted.
* * *
"Well?" he said.
She saw his mood. "Don't take it so personally," she said. "I was angry. I'm allowed to be a little angry when
my boyfriend
cuts me out for a whole week."
"Boyfriend?"
"C'mon Zach... Don't hold a grudge. I'm not!"
"Why do I feel like you want something?"
"'Cause I do!" Maddy said, as if pleased that he had figured out a puzzle. "I still want you to hypnotize Lisa. If you thought she was a pain in the neck before, she's insufferable now, telling me about the evils of homosexuality. I literally can't stand her. You have to fix her."
"I don't know, Maddy. Everything I do right now seems to come out wrong. I could somehow end up making things worse. Trust me."
"It can't possibly be any worse. Even if you just nudge her a little bit to lay off my case, that would seriously be good enough. And then we could use my room..."
"We?"
"You, Me; Me, Mia.
All of us...
"
Zach sighed. "Don't hold it against me if it all goes horribly wrong."
"Oh, I almost certainly
will
hold it against you, so maybe get it right this time?"
* * *
Lisa gave him a disapproving scowl when Maddy ushered him in.
She was certainly a very pretty girl, in a timeless way. Bright blue eyes, thick blond-gold hair, fresh face. ("What does she even bother with makeup for? But my God, she does!" Maddy had commented on one occasion.) She dressed in a way that emphasized her feminine side without revealing it. Long, pleated skirt. Blouse with enough frills going on to obscure her shape.
"Oh, wait," Maddy said in a stilted voice. "I totally forgot the books, I'll be back in a few."
Zach sat on the edge of Maddy's bed.
"How's it going, Lisa?"
"Great for me, praise God."
"Maddy told me you were God-fearing."
"Through the love of Jesus."
Zach softened his attention, tuning into her. He was surprised to find a bright thread of arousal coiled within her. He began to breathe alignment to it.
"I have family who are saved, too," he said.
"You should listen to them," she offered, seemingly pleased at the direction the conversation was going. "There is no fear in the love of Jesus. I see the trouble in you, and you know it can all go away."
As Zach's attention tuned in he became aware they were not alone. There was a third presence; a shadow over Lisa. He felt through the layers of life force to try to figure out what was going on.
"Maybe," Zach said. "But I just don't buy the whole story. It doesn't make sense."
"That's because you don't understand yet," she said. "The Bible is the only book in the history of the world that is completely and perfectly consistent. It was written by God as our guidebook to living. But people hear the various stories through the lens of human mis-understanding. You need to go to the book itself."
Zach had to suppress his natural retort. He had read enough of the Bible to be appalled at the constant inconsistencies. Maddy's comment about brainwashing looked more accurate than he had initially thought.
"Tell me more," he invited, to keep her talking while he explored the energy. She didn't seem to notice as his eyes glazed over and he followed the lines of energy.
As she warmed up to her topic, the arousal brightened. And as the energy began to come alive, he finally found the third party. There was an energy being clinging to her upper back, and it was feeding on her. On her arousal.
It was a repulsive thing, now that he had identified it, like a massive tick, engorged on her life essence, and burrowed into her spine.
"Hang on a sec, Lisa," he said, placing an intension of calm and quiet within her. As her religious blather came to a stop, he held up a hand. "Wait, please." He set the intention of everything being perfectly ordinary, perfectly in order.
He texted Lisa. "Come back now. When you come in get to your knees and start sucking me off. I know this sounds crazy, but it's the right call. Are you willing?"
She texted back, indicating her enthusiasm.
"Lisa," he said, putting all of his will into his words and the press of his arousal. "Everything is absolutely normal. You won't think anything is amiss. Your mind won't process what you are seeing, but your body will feel it more strongly than you have ever felt anything like it before."
He found it easy to begin turning up the level of her arousal, noting that she crossed her legs and began kicking her heel.
"Can I tell you more about Jesus?"
"Please," he said. "Continue."
She resumed, in a somewhat breathy voice, and took no notice when Maddy slipped in and locked the door.
