I was never one to believe in the hypnosis mumbo-jumbo a friend of mine claimed he studied. Bob was a comedian with a fairly decent show every Saturday night at a local club. I always assumed the hypnosis "tricks" he performed as part of his act were staged in advance. I thought he found people to come to the club and knowingly participate in his routine for some cash. After all, he was never the studious type and I didn't see how he could have mastered such a skill. However I was wrong, and I found out the hard way!
One night after his show, he invited my wife and I back to his place for some cocktails. His girlfriend Nicole was sitting with us during the show as warned us in advance he might want to go out for a night on the town after his act. I guess he must have changed his mind during the show because it went a bit longer than usual. I certainly didn't mind the idea of staying in for a change. A relaxing evening with friends sounded good to me.
When we got to his place, Nicole and Tracy headed straight for the living room to gossip. Bob had only been dating Nicole for about 5 months, so the "girl" relationship was just starting to flourish. They couldn't talk much at the club because of the noise and the fact that they didn't want to be rude during Bob's show. This meant Bob and I had a good half hour before they would even notice we were missing. We got them each a glass of wine and went downstairs to his den where the big screen T.V. was. If we hurried, we could catch David Letterman.
During the beginning of the show, Letterman made a joke about Hypnosis and that he thought the idea of it seemed kinda silly. I agreed out loud and started laughing and Bobby started to get defensive. I forgot about my environment, and that he was even there. I probably shouldn't have laughed, but I thought I would pursue the conversation further.
"So you're telling me those people you bring on stage aren't paid?" I asked.
"Hell no!" he replied. "They're just ordinary people out of the audience."
"You're saying you can hypnotize anyone you meet and they will do anything you ask?"
"Not everyone can be put under, and some take longer than others, but generally speaking most of the people I meet can be manipulated by the power of suggestion." Bob said.
He could see me thinking about what he was saying. He could tell by the look on my face that I was still very skeptic. Then he proposed a test that would convince me.
"Seeing you don't believe in hypnosis, how about letting me hypnotize you or your wife?" he asked. "If you don't think it will work you have nothing to lose anyway."
"Why don't you hypnotize your girlfriend?" I replied. "Have you ever put Nicole under?"
"I have." He stated. "But I don't think it would convince you. How would you know if she was faking or not?"
He made a good point. I wouldn't know if Nicole was really hypnotized or faking it to help Bob convince me. So with that, I agreed and we went upstairs to ask my wife if she would participate in our little test. In all the time we have been going to Bob's show, I never really asked Tracy if she thought hypnosis was real or not. So I wasn't sure what she would say.
We walking into the living room and the ladies went silent. They were probably talking about us from the minute we went downstairs. Nonetheless, they were curious why we came back before Letterman was over. Bob took the opportunity to explain.
"John thinks that I fake my shows with paid actors, and I would like nothing more than to prove him wrong." Bob explained. "I would like a volunteer other than John to participate in my little test!"
"I'll do it!" my wife shouted to my surprise. "I've always wondered what it was like to be hypnotized, and whether or not it really works."
"I assure you it works. If you let me, I will prove it to you and your husband." he replied.
"Me too!" Bob's girlfriend blurted out. "I know you tried it on me once, but I don't really remember anything."
"Fine." Bob agreed. "Let's get started.
Bob told me that it was necessary to hypnotize one person at a time, and that my wife should go first as it might take a bit longer. He explained that the less you know about a person, the harder the induction (the first part of the process) might be. He tries to identify with the subject on a personal level when possible, as it makes the hypnosis effect that much stronger. He thought it would be easier on his girlfriend, as they had been dating almost 5 months. He knew he could induce her quickly, and thought he would first see how long it took to put my wife under.
He told my wife to go sit in another chair in the room and that he would be there in a few minutes. He had Nicole stay on the couch and told her he would be over once Tracy was under. Then he went over to the far side of the room and sat directly in front of my wife and started talking to her, and telling her to relax and listen to his voice. She did as he said, while Nicole and I made idle conversation.
Nicole was very attractive, as was my wife. But you know what they say – the grass is always greener on the other side of the fence! Nicole was only 25, while Bob and I were 30. My wife was 28. This made Nicole the young one of the group and thus part of the reason I thought she was so cute. She had long jet-black hair, almost down to her ass, and it was always silky and straight. Her skin was dark and her face had moderate freckles. Her body was similar to my wife's, although my wife's breasts were smaller. They both had killer asses, and they both knew it.
Nicole and I talked for about a half an hour, then Bob had returned and said Tracy was "ready". He returned to the couch and told me to go and talk to my wife while he induced Nicole. I went over to my wife and I could hear Bob talking to Nicole, much the same way he did previously to my wife.
I sat down in front of Tracy and to my surprise, she introduced herself to me! She asked how long I had been friends with Bob and why she hasn't met me until now? I started to laugh thinking it was a joke, and that my wife was just putting me on, but I was wrong. She REALLY thought we had never met. It was a bit disturbing at first, but I realized it was harmless.
Bob came over to me and asked me what I though now that my own wife did not recognize me. I told him it was weird, and that I guess I owed him an apology.
"That's ok John, most people don't understand it until they see it first hand. My show doesn't really let people interact enough to decide whether it's real or not" he explained. "But now we're ready!"
"Ready for what?" I asked.
"For the real fun" he said with a funny look on his face.
I was a little worried by the statement. My mind raced as he approached my wife.