Matt fidgeted in his seat. Not that it was uncomfortable - if anything, it was
too
comfortable. Any softer and he'd sink into it.
No, Matt was craving his vape.
It had only been, what? Ten minutes? Before that, he'd vaped in the car on the drive over, non-stop.
Pathetic.
Matt squirmed again, casting a glance at the guy sitting across from him.
The hypnotist.
Hypnotherapist,
Matt corrected himself. Hypnotist sounded so... hokey.
But this guy was a pro.
His five star ratings across the apps attested to that.
Matt wasn't sure he
believed
in hypnosis, exactly, but he was willing to give this guy a try. At this point, he'd try anything. He'd tried weaning himself off his vape; hadn't worked. He'd tried quitting cold turkey; hadn't worked. He'd tried going for walks; hadn't worked. He'd tried the damn nicotine patches.
It. Hadn't. Worked.
Matt was fucking desperate.
And the hypnotherapist seemed more interested in his iPad than he did in Matt. He hadn't looked up once since they entered the room, eyes glued to the screen and fingers swiping.
What kind of service was that?
This guy
really
had to be brilliant, to treat his clients like this and still have a perfect customer score.
Matt cleared his throat.
The hypnotherapist ignored him, frowning at something on the screen, flicking a long finger.
Okay. Actually, this was infuriating. Matt fidgeted again, reaching for his vape - realising belatedly he'd left it in his car. And he probably couldn't vape in here, anyway.
"Will you stop doing that?" The hypnotherapist's voice was soft, almost delicate. He spoke with a light lisp.
"What?" Matt asked, dumbfounded.
"The fidgeting. Being all squirrelly." The hypnotherapist flapped a hand at Matt, before returning it to his iPad. "Just sit still and be quiet."
Matt couldn't believe his ears.
This guy - this
twink
- was just going to speak to him like that? Was going to
ignore
him like that?
And thought Matt was going to sit there and take it?
Hell. No.
He clenched his teeth. And his fists.
Take it easy,
Matt told himself. He couldn't just start wailing on the twink, not for something insignificant like this.
He was on edge, that was all.
He wanted his vape.
He
hated
how much he wanted it.
"Listen, man," he said, putting only the hint of a threat in his voice. "I drove a long way to get here."
The infuriating twink gave no sign he'd heard Matt.
Matt leaned forward in his seat, elbows resting on his knees. "Listen," he said again. "I showed up on time." He thought about the extra time he could've spent vaping. Pushed the thought away. "I respected your schedule. So I would
appreciate
it if you could also respect my time."
"I have to say," the twink said. "We're not off to a great start here."
Matt leaned back, accepting the acknowledgement.
"You seem
very
high maintenance," the hypnotherapist went on. "I don't like it. It's not attractive."
Matt saw red for a split second. He'd been expecting... an apology, maybe? Or at least for them to dive into the session without any further delay.
"I'm not
high maintenance,
" he growled. And why, for fuck's sake, was he zoning in on
that
, instead of on the hypnotherapist's rudeness?
The twink arched an eyebrow.
Matt fell silent.
He didn't mean to.
It was just
such
a withering look.
"Good. Now -" The twink consulted his iPad. "
Matt.
Twenty-two. College football... dull, dull, boring." He swiped. "Ah. Wait! No, this is also boring." He furrowed his brow. "Hm. Vaping?"
Matt's body gave an involuntary jolt at the word.
Fuck,
he needed to vape so bad.
"What's that?" he said, mouth dry all of a sudden.
"
Vaping.
" The twink overpronounced the word, finally giving Matt his full attention.
Matt swallowed. "What about it?"
"
Not
smoking?" A hint of incredulousness had crept into his voice. "
Vaping?
"
"Yeah." A defensive note in his own voice.
Silence stretched between them.
Matt finally broke it. "I don't smoke. I mean, I'm not stupid."
"Clearly."
"Man," Matt hissed. "What is your
problem?
"
The twink leaned back. Seemed to actually think about it, a tiny crease appearing on his forehead.
Matt counted the seconds in the silence.
How many seconds would he need to go downstairs, outside, and get his vape from the car? His jaw clenched at the thought.
"It isn't so much a problem, per se," the twink said at length. "It's more like... There are people out there, right, and they have
real
problems. You know what I mean?" He didn't wait for an answer. "And then there's
you
, young athlete, obviously got a couple of things going for you. I get it though, lots of guys come see me to help them kick their addictions."
He heaved a sigh. "It's just that you're the first who's addicted to strawberry clouds."
Matt exploded out of his seat. "Who the hell do you think you are?"
"I'm Luca Montresor," the twink said calmly. "Greatest hypnotherapist in the world."
Matt could only stare.
Is this guy for real?
Maybe all the five star ratings had gone to the twink's head.
Still... no matter how insufferable the hypnotherapist had turned out to be, Matt was commited to seeing this through.
He'd driven all this way, after all.
And he really did want to quit. He hated the way all the vaping had started to affect his performance in the field. Hated the way it had become a constant craving.
This was his last chance.
"Okay," he said. "Right. But can you
help me
or not?"
"Of course I can. Weren't you listening?" A flicker of annoyance passed over Luca's face. "I'm the greatest hypnotherapist in the world. Now sit back down."
"Right." Matt settled into the couch again, forcing himself to relax. He took a steadying breath. "So... how does this work?"
"I'm going to hypnotise you. Obviously." Luca sneered. Matt suppressed the urge to punch him in the face. "Once you're under, we're going to address your oral fixation and your high maintenance attitude. We're going to put these traits to better use."
"I am
not
high maintenance," Matt snapped.
"No? Did you not
demand
I pay attention to you, just then? And very rudely, I might add."
He hadn't been
that
rude. "Well, yeah. Because you were ignoring me."
"Do you often break down when people ignore you?"
"I didn't
break down
-"
"Is that why you play football? Having all those eyes on you, being the center of attention?"
"Of course not." Even as he spoke the words, Matt started to doubt himself.
He played football because he enjoyed it.
He was
good at it
.
So what if he also enjoyed the attention that came with being an athlete, both on the field and off?
Didn't everyone enjoy getting some attention?
"Anyway, that's different. I'm a paying customer, for fuck - for chrissake! It's your
job
to pay attention to me."
"It's my job to make you
better
. Whether I want to pay attention to you or not is up to me." As if to prove the point, Luca turned his attention back to the iPad. "But fine. Moving on. Let's talk about your oral fixation."
"I definitely don't have
that
, either!"
"No?" Luca grinned. It made him look feral. "You're not craving to suck on something right now?"
Matt struggled to come up with a response. Yes, the twink was
technically
correct.
But the way he'd said it, the positively
lewd
curl on his lips...
"Don't be ashamed. It's perfectly normal."
"It's the nicotine," Matt said, struggling to keep his tone even. "I'm addicted to the nicotine. Wanting to...
suck on something
... doesn't enter into it."
Man, this twink was really getting under his skin.
Luca was leaning forward now, his green eyes sparkling. "Have you sucked cock before?"
Matt blinked once.
Twice.
Then he was up on his feet.
"
What?
" Fuming rage. "What did you say?"
He needed to calm down - he was going to bash this fucking twink's face in.
He was going to go to jail.
His football career was going to be over.
Breathe.
Fuck,
he needed his
fucking vape!
"You're joking," he said through clenched teeth. "Tell me you're joking."
Luca looked up, utterly unworried. "I've never made a joke in my life."
"I'm not a fa- I'm not
gay!
"
"Close one." Luca leaned back in his seat. "I personally don't see the connection, but I'll take that as a no on the cocksucking." A sharp glance. "
Sit down.
"
Matt was halfway down in his seat already when he stopped himself.
Blinked.
"No. Fuck you."
"Relax," the twink said. "Take a deep breath. That's good. Now sit down. I'm going to help you."
Matt found himself back in his seat. And blinked; he didn't remember sitting down. Wasn't he leaving? But there was something in the hypnotherapist's tone of voice, making him pay attention.
Calming him.
