This is the 4th chapter in The Power of Suggestion series. All characters in this story are over 18 years of age. This story follows Thomas, who is exploring his newfound "power of suggestion" and its limitations. As always, I welcome comments and criticism. I'm still fairly new to writing, but am enjoying it so far. Let me know what you think and if you have any suggestions where you'd like to see the story go. I've included a brief summary of events, but I'd still suggest reading the story from the beginning so that everything makes sense. Enjoy!
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Thomas was currently in a situation he could have never expected. To be fair, most of the last day and a half could be grouped into that category, but this most recent turn of events was beyond what he could have imagined. Currently he was sitting in a car with two women, Steph and Mary, both of whom he had just seen completely naked. To top that off, Mary was planning on staying that way all day, no matter where she was or who saw her, as long as Thomas was there. He looked towards the nude woman in the back seat and she responded with a simple smile, completely comfortable with the situation that was unfolding. Thomas couldn't help but feel guilty for doing this to her, as it had essentially been an accident when he was still trying to figure out how his powers worked.
Mary's best friend and roommate Steph, on the other hand, had gotten naked willingly, as Thomas' powers did not work on her. Neither of them knew for sure, but the running theory was that since Thomas had told her about his abilities willingly, before actually using them on her, she became immune. As an added bonus, almost a built in safeguard, Mary, who had been influenced by his power of suggestion before being told about it, was oblivious to any conversation on the subject. Steph had seen an opportunity to use Thomas' ability for her own gain, and maybe a little bit of fun, so she conveniently looked the other way when it came to what had happened between Thomas and her roommate.
"Ok, so let me get this straight," Thomas said. "You want me to use my powers on your manager to excuse you two being late for work?"
"...and maybe some other stuff." Steph replied.
"What kind of stuff are we talking about?" Thomas asked.
"Nothing crazy. It's not like you won't have the final say either way." Steph answered. "But I'd probably suggest something so that Mary doesn't...you know...get arrested."
She brought up a good point. Currently, Mary was as naked as the day she was born, and had already declined putting on her uniform with the intention of working her entire shift completely nude.
"Agreed. I'll make sure nothing bad happens to Mary. As for the other stuff...we'll see where things go." Thomas replied hesitantly. After all, he did need to do a bit more testing with these powers to figure out their limits, if there were any. He was willing to use them to a certain extent, but there was definitely a line he wouldn't cross. He began to imagine what could have happened if someone with less restraint had gotten this ability and the damage they could do. He shuddered to think about it and simply decided that it was for the best that it wasn't someone else.
"Cool. If nothing else, it'll be fun watching her bare butt running around at work all day." Steph said, gesturing towards the back seat.
About 5 minutes of driving later, Steph pulled into small parking lot in front of a convenience store.
"Is this where you two work?" Thomas asked.
"No, but I haven't eaten and since I don't have to worry about being late any more, I'm not going to work on an empty stomach." Steph said. "Also, this is a good opportunity for me to see your powers in action."
"What do you mean by that? I'm not going to rob the place if that's what you're getting at." Thomas said angrily.
"Nothing like that. I just want to see what you can do...or rather...what you can make Mary do. Maybe have her go in and get me some food. Don't worry I'll give her money for it."
Thomas wasn't sure if this was actually a test of his abilities, or if Steph just wanted to see her friend exposed in public, but her hardening nipples gave him a pretty good idea it was turning her on either way. Thomas figured that neither of them wanted anything bad to happen to Mary, so a little fun couldn't hurt. "Ok, but I'll go in with her in case anything happens." Then directing his attention to Mary, "Mary, your friend says she hasn't eaten today and since she's driving I think it'd be fair if the two of us went in and got her some food."
"Sure thing, what do you want to eat Steph?" Mary asked.
"Well they probably don't have a huge selection, so maybe one of those pre-packaged Italian subs?" Steph replied.
"Sounds good! We'll be right back!" Mary said as she opened the door and got out of the car.
"Guess I better go too. Can't have her getting into trouble." Thomas said as he opened the latch and swung his legs out of the car.
"I'll be here...waiting." Steph said as he stood up. Thomas noticed that her face was beginning to get a bit flush.
Luckily, there were no other customers in the store. It was still early in the season and the tourists had not yet arrived. There were, however, two very surprised employees. Mary walked in and smiled at them as she proceeded to the refrigerated section where the sandwiches were. The employees, a male and female both college age, had their mouths wide open in shock. Thomas knew he should probably do something, but wanted to see how they'd react naturally.
After about 30 seconds, the guy spoke up. "Um...excuse me miss. Are you ok?"
"Perfect! How are you two today?" Mary replied cheerfully.
"Um...good...but like...you're naked." He said back, then turning to his co-worker he whispered loud enough for Thomas to hear but not Mary who was on the opposite side of the store, "Say something Liz. I'm not crazy right? You see this too?"
"Yea I see it Steve. I just don't really know what we're supposed to do about it." She whispered back.
"Um..." Thomas said. "Is it a problem that she's naked?"
The two looked at Thomas, confused.
"What do you mean? This is a store and she's naked. That's not normal." The girl, Liz, said back.
"But is there a rule against it or something?" Thomas asked. He was starting to enjoy how they were reacting and thought he'd mess with them a little.