The auditorium lights dimmed and the stage lights brightened as the hypnotist walked out onto the stage. The audience applauded. They were in Las Vegas to have fun. Adult fun in Sin City, and this was definitely an adult-themed show.
Helen's friends had brought her here on Memorial Day weekend to take a breather before the push to study for final exams. She'd just turned 21 the month before, and she was having a blast. Of course, they were on a budget, so the four of them shared a single room with two beds. That's how she discovered that their friend Emily, the one she was sharing a bed with, was lesbian. It wasn't that she was against experimenting, but she was shy, and didn't want an audience in the other bed. So when Emily put the moves on her, she resisted.
But there were no hard feelings, and they were having the time of their lives. The thing was, you came to Las Vegas to have fun. So an effervescent ambience permeated the city. The face of every passerby was of joy and wonder, even of greed. But it was a look of people living in the moment, not lost in their own thoughts, their own lives or their own problems.
This show was their biggest expense, so they had dressed up and intended to enjoy themselves.
"Hello Las Vegas, I'm Tony Stewart, the Horny Hypnotist. Are you ready to have some fun?" A chorus of cheers erupted, with a fair share of whistles. Helen and her friends giggled. The Horny Hypnotist. What a corny handle.
"Well, I can't hypnotize myself, so to get the show started, let's get 9 volunteers!"
A few dozen hands went up. To Helen's surprise, Emily grabbed her wrist and raised her hand in the air.
Tony scanned the audience. He was looking for 6 women and 3 men. It was important that the women were young and attractive. His practiced gaze landed on Helen, and before she could withdraw her raised hand, she was the first one he picked.
Of course, she was reluctant to go, but her friends egged her on, and the audience around her was encouraging. Meekly, she got up on her feet and went onto the stage.
When he was done, Tony surveyed his subjects. He had a good group. Helen was the most attractive girl he'd ever had onstage. The audience would go nuts over her. He made sure to sit her in the middle of the row.
"So, how many of you think that you can't be hypnotized?" he asked. All of the men's hands went up. Of the girls, who were taught to be more demur, only two. "The guys always think they can't be hypnotized," he said. The audience laughed. "Let's start with them first."
To everybody's surprise, he had the entire group of nine with their chins resting on their chests in under a minute. "Now, let's have some fun."
He ran through the routine series of acts. He had some clucking like chickens. He had others giggling to tears while being tickled by invisible fingers. He had one girl become stiff as a board, her body serving as a plank between two chairs while one of the men stood on her abdomen. As the show progressed, the acts became more and more astonishing. Tony knew how to work the audience. He was building toward the climax.