Alice was humming a cheerful little tune while cleaning the house, pleased to be adrift in the usual routine of household chores. While vacuuming the bedroom the machine bumped something under the bed and to her surprise it was a sex manual. It was obvious who had left it there and the thought of him, as though she could forget for one moment, brought a sly grin to her face. "My young lover." She murmured happily.
Across the bedroom was a gilt framed mirror reflecting a full-length image of a pretty young housewife in a short flared dress. Such a luxurious home should have a maid she thought, "and I'm it. Perhaps I should get a naughty uniform." She giggled out loud. Bending slightly revealed stocking tops with a glimpse of suspenders just as he liked them. It sent a thrill through her knowing she was dressing just for him.
Opening the book she flicked through the opening pages glancing at tasteful illustrations then paused in thought. Starting from the beginning they seemed to be in the same sequence as his demands upon her over the last three weeks.
It was a little disconcerting to find he was using this book as a guide to her body, as though it were an owner's manual. Though in one sense her young lover had become just that, the owner of her body. It was true she conceded, with a lascivious grin creasing her cheeks into glowing red dimples, he did own her body. He was leading her into more adventurous play in the bedroom and taking over more of her life.
Sitting on the edge of the bed carefully turning the pages over one at a time, nodding occasionally at what was evidently a template of their performances together was bringing uncomfortable ideas onto her head.
He was using her body as a learning device. She was his doll to be manipulated to his amusement. Alice giggled at the idea. This was a guide to her satisfaction too. The delicious activity of last night was displayed eliciting a shiver of delight at the memory. It was eerie knowing she had been performing to the dictates of this sex manual. "So what is it tonight I must perform?" She whispered. The next page would reveal the latest episode of the mischievous game but should she leave it as a surprise?
She couldn't resist it. Turning the page, taking a peek at what he would be submitting her to that evening was a shock. "No! I won't do that. I've let him do what ever he wanted but not that." She gasped, slamming it shut without reading a word. The sordid illustration said it all, that she would be submitted to something so awful could not be accepted even with the excuse of being hypnotised. Looking across the king size bed she caught sight of the clock radio. Panic set in as the time registered, five, zero, zero. It left only six minutes to escape the house before he arrived.
With a coat, keys and handbag she was ready to flee her own home. The phone rang and without a thought reached for it sweeping it under her long dark hair to automatically quote her own number as so many times before. The innocent routine yielded a tragic significance as she heard him utter the well-used indomitable phrase.
He added the instruction. "I'll be late. Not long. Wait on our favourite sofa for me. Just sit there and think about our sessions together."
She wandered into the lounge to plonk her body wearily onto the sofa. Sitting there thinking fast she thought to get up and run to the back door. "Lock the damn door before he arrives." She thought, but it seemed such a difficult task to rise out of the seat as though attached to it with limbs heavy from fatigue. Anger became fright at the loss of control finding it really wasn't possible to move. He told her to sit on the sofa until he arrived and despite the need for escape that is what she must do. It was so humiliating to be this helpless yet she couldn't become angry with anyone but herself. This predicament was of her making.
Alice perched on the edge of a sofa waiting in trepidation. The luxurious lounge had suddenly become a trap, a cage, waiting for her nemesis. Under the influence of a deep hypnotic command all she could do was sit and wait for the young man with his horrid plans for this evening. Giving up the physical struggle to break free she took a deep breath to calm a tortured mind. This dreadful situation was her own fault and no one would set her free so it was up to her to find some way out before he arrived. She sat trying to be calm, trying to think it through, back to how it had all started, seeking a clue as to how she might break free.
***
Her husband had taken care of organising the home and business until he had passed away over a year ago with a premature heart attack leaving her well off but lonely for company. It didn't take long to realise how helpless she was without him, since he had made all the decisions, organising her as well as everything else in their lives.
As a dark haired beauty of thirty-four, looking young enough to pass for late twenties, there had been too much interest from suitors. Or should she say lechers. She just hadn't felt ready and besides she hadn't much experience of the dating game having married young.
It put her off more than anything that they were more interested in the inheritance from husband and parents than getting to know her. When she kept quiet about the inheritance others seemed to assume she was desperate for a sexual relationship without a man to take care of her. What she wanted was a relationship, not just sex. They talked to her breasts or asked her to wear shorter skirts to show off a pair of long legs. In reaction she dressed more modestly to hide the voluptuous body until it became a habit, leaving her looking dowdy. It was easy to hide away concentrating on the home in a friendless city they had moved to just before he died.
That was the foundations of her fall but it all started when Alice befriended the neighbour's shy young son. He was helping with gardening chores when a mutual loneliness brought them closer together. He was only seventeen with little experience of girls and she had felt safe with him. The two of them sought an uncomplicated relationship becoming good friends, able to talk and laugh together. It wasn't his fault but the seeds of her destruction had started then.
***
While waiting for his pay Robert practised a magic trick on the kitchen table. "Well that's marvellous." She applauded. "You should put on a show." She laughed. His embarrassed murmurs had touched the past, an awkward youth still within her, enough to want to help him overcome his youthful awkwardness. He reluctantly agreed and they settled into a routine of shows until one evening he asked her to join him as his assistant. With a newfound confidence he asked if he could hypnotise her. She readily agreed knowing it would add to his growing self-assurance. Helping him along she pretended to be hypnotised while performing a series of silly harmless stunts.
Not feeling any different when supposedly hypnotised she had to remember not to let the façade slip until it became a well-rehearsed performance. Not only is it doing the lad a favour she genuinely enjoyed the shows and his company as a pleasant diversion in a boring life.
"Why don't you invite a couple of your friends along to watch the show? Your pretty good at these tricks now, especially the disappearing egg trick. I still don't see how you do it!" She cheerfully encouraged him. They had practised before an empty sofa since she became a part of the show and thought it might help him make friends.
Robert invited four friends from the office to watch a performance, which wasn't going too well until the finale when he hypnotised her. They thought it hilarious, especially when taking turns commanding her to be a puppy, a penguin and the usual harmless performances seen in any stage act. Finding it funny too she waddled around the room flapping imaginary wings making them laugh. Seeing his confidence soar among friends reminded her of a not too distant shy adolescence, spurring her on to throw herself into the performance for him. She too enjoyed their attention.
