"Shit," Drew mumbled under his breath as he left work. Last night he had slept with Tori, his coworker and friend. It wasn't awkward today. In fact, the two got along beautifully. Though liquor may have speed things along slightly, the affair wasn't a drunken mistake either. Drew just couldn't figure out how he could explain this to Katie. After all, he was still dating Katie, at least for a while. He was just supremely confident that the outgoing, bubbly Tori would be better for him than the all-business Katie. He needed someone to teach him how to live. He was beginning to doubt that Katie even loved him anymore either, but he just didn't know how to end this. He debated the whole way home, and then finally called her.
"Katie, I think we need to talk. I think that maybe we would be better off if we moved on and started seeing other people. I just don't think that the two of us complement each other, and allow each other to grow as much as we should. Honestly, there's someone else in my life and I think that I have to pursue her."
"I'm very disappointed in you. How dare you? We've been dating for years, how can you just decide now that we aren't right for each other?"
"Katie, surely you've felt it too. All we've done lately is argue, and we don't challenge each other..." Drew's new ex just hung up on him.
Katie was angry that he would break up with her close to their anniversary, and even angrier about there being "someone else". She wanted to make him pay. She didn't want to do something that might involve the police, or affect her degree. She realized that she had to trick him somehow. She remembered now seeing people "hypnotized" and forced into doing embarrassing things. She was somewhat skeptical, but believed it was possible and always wanted to try anyway. "Besides," she mused "if it fails he can't exactly call the police for something like that now can he?"
Katie was a psychology major and hence was familiar with techniques for seeming credible and convincing to the human mind. It was a leap, but if nodding can make someone more likely to agree with a simple opinion, then maybe, just maybe there was a way to gain complete control. She searched the internet for experienced hypnotists. Of course, they were all merely performers, and most hung up when she called them, saying that their phone numbers were only for serious business. When at last she found a website that looked promising, and called the number she found there, it had been disconnected. Although she assumed it would be in vain she sent a short email telling of her plight. That night she received a detailed tutorial in response. She studied it thoroughly. She would obtain some chemicals from a professor she knew. The professor was studying the effects on the human mind of certain odors and biological chemicals, and Katie knew he had a crush on her. The next day, Saturday, she took the train and paid Drew a visit.
As she walked to his door wearing Drew's favorite skirt, a thin white blouse and no underwear, she quickly used a bottle of eye droplets so that she was crying when he answered the door. When Drew saw her tears, instead of brushing her off, he rushed to comfort her. He immediately inhaled the sweet smell of baked goods, and other less innocuous substances that made him feel comfortable and safe. She half-smiled and half-grimaced, as if she was struggling to put on a brave face. He immediately invited her in and the two sat at the small kitchen table. Even a few feet apart, he could still smell the strong fragrance that she was wearing. It was almost dizzying. He thought that she was wearing a bit much, but kept that to himself. Drew sipped some of his orange juice and asked, "c'mon, what's wrong?" He continued slowly, "you know we weren't getting along anymore. You'll be better off this way too."
Her only answer was a loud sob, and Drew decided that he should pour his guest a drink also. As he turned around, the curvy redhead slipped some blood vessel constricting chemicals into his drink. The theory was that those should restrict circulation to the brain, an unnecessary step according to the tutorial, but she wanted to take every precaution. "I'm sorry, I really love you," he said with his back to her, "but I'm just afraid someone else is a better fit." During the long silence that followed, he finished his entire drink, hoping that looking busy would reduce the awkwardness.
