A strapless denim romper (Wyatt POV)

I didn’t sleep well since skipping ahead in my experiment. Thoughts of Tessa flitted elusively through my troubled dreams. Far as I could tell, she was exposed practically nonstop to my subliminals. She even kept them on as ASMR while sleeping.

Did the over-exposure contribute to Tessa's breakneck progress? Or was it a unique property of her mind? Not knowing worried me. Not enough to slow down, or god forbid stop, but worry me it did. The last time I saw Tess, she'd dyed her hair blue and given herself a total makeover. Yet, I was the one responsible. The rampant progress emboldened me, and so I'd significantly hastened my testing schedule in a **** attempt to understand the situation.

I felt like I was aboard a train careening downhill, picking up speed. The faster I went, the greater the chance was that the train would jump the tracks and crash, destroying itself, me, and everything in our path. But I had options. I wasn't trapped. For now, I was the one in control. I could put on the brakes. Leap off to safety. Or, I could just trust my skill and ride it out, slow and steady.

But instead of pumping the brakes, I shoveled more coal in the burner. Tess was due CD #3, and I'd skipped 4, 5, and even 10. In their place, I dropped CD #30 on her.

Tossing and turning in bed now, it felt like an asinine choice. Dangerous, arrogant, and overeager, I'd acted in all the ways that I swore to myself I wouldn't when I set down this path. But when I put myself back in my shoes at the beginning of the week, I couldn't bring myself to choose any other option.

Tess changed something fundamental about herself. Not only had I proved to myself that the black project's subliminal learning technique effectively influenced human behavior, I proved it did so quickly, easily, and insidiously. With the right script, it could even do so outside the subject's awareness.

I made Tess dye her hair blue, and all I had to do was hand her $40 and a black CD.

That fact alone should have scared me. Made me question myself, my methods, what I was doing. Instead, it made all the hair on my body stand on end, and filled me with adrenaline. What else could I do? What were my limits? I didn't know, and not knowing was ****. I was going crazy. Eating had no appeal. Sunshine was a distraction. I couldn't sleep, nor did I want to, until I knew.

CD #30 wasn't in my origial plans for this summer's test run. In my planning, I'd assumed the subliminals would work at the rate described in the documentation, probably slower. At the orginally expected rate rate, we wouldn't work up to CDs in the 20's or 30's until next year.

But with Tessa completely internalizing each CD's conditioning not in a matter of weeks, but days, with no apparent pushback whatsoever? When you're drowning in deep water, sometimes you need to touch the bottom, if only to let yourself know it's there. I was frantic to trigger resistance.

Unsure where the line stood between what Tessa would and wouldn't accept, I had determined to find it. CD#30 was the quickest, brute-**** solution I had available.

CD#30 contained an aggressive, full-spread conditioning agenda. In addition to a keyword message and remedial conditioning to mute Tess's suspicion, CD #30 - labeled Comprehensive Body Positivity Exposure Conditioning in my notes - carried a script designed to enhance Tess's confidence and willingness to show off her body, to the point of undressing on command.

If the next time I dropped by, I found Tess wearing a tank top, shorts, or a skirt less than floor length - IE, anything out of character for my shy, nerdy friend - I'd know her opinions were totally malleable. To what extent Tess complied with the 'undress' clause would also say volumes, but since I'd skipped all the preparatory conditioning in CDs 25 to 28... it was a stretch goal, to say the least.

So there it was. One way or another, I would know - definitively - how deep the rabbit hole went.

---

Thursday came. Check-in day. I could barely drag myself out of bed from fatigue due to another restless night. In the evening, I'd go to Tesss's house and discover how much damage my impatience caused.

The wait was excruciating.

But then, at the crack of noon, before I could even call Tessa too ask about coming over later, I heard a knock at the door. Figuring I had to chase off some pest control salesman or something, I ventured out from my room and answered it.

Tessa greeted me on the doorstep with a serious expression. “We need to talk. Can I come in?”

Tess wasn't wearing a tank top or a pair of shorts. Rather, she wore a strapless denim romper.

“Talk?" I repeated dumbly. Belatedly, I remembered where I was and who I was with. "Oh. Yeah, come in, sure.” Quickly, I stepped aside, but my eyes stayed fixed on the girl ni front of me.

The little denim jumpsuit was midway between a pair of overalls and a dress. The bottom half looked the same as a pair of jean shorts, very brief ones, that bared her slender legs to the upper thigh. From the waist up, the romper resembled a button-down denim blouse, one without sleeves, straps, or... well, anything. The barest hint of cleavage peeked above the top button of the garment's semi-elastic hem.

((OOC: An Example:
https://images.bloomingdalesassets.com/is/image/BLM/products/0/optimized/10294610_fpx.tif?op_sharpen=1&wid=1200&fit=fit,1&$filtersm$&fmt=webp))

The blue of the denim complemented Tess's blue-dyed hair. And though she wore an old pair of tennis shoes, she also wore a pair of bright athletic socks topped with blue stripes that hugged her calves. I'd never seen Tess in such a fetching, outgoing ensemble.

I gawked as Tessa stepped inside, and she laughed at my blatant staring.

“Thanks,” she said, fixing her glasses. Her eyes adjusted to the dim lighting of my house and she turned briefly to me. “Can we go someplace a little more private?”

I thought of my room, but it was too suggestive an option. Instead, I led Tess downstairs to the game room. There, we squared off against one another.

Tess folded her arms, looking at me searchingly.

I began to sweat.

Tess dove straight to the heart of the matter. “Wyatt, what was on that CD you gave me?”

I was ready for many possibilities, but point blank, she asked the one question I didn't want to answer. Guiltily, I spluttered in reply. I was had. I was done. I was a passable liar, not a good one. I couldn't hide what I'd done from her.

But Tess chuckled and shook her head before I could offer my full and frank confession. “You look like you're about to die. I’m not mad, dude. I just want to know. These last few days, I’ve felt so… comfortable in my body. I know it has to do with the subliminals. I never looked at myself in the mirror and thought I looked good before. Not like this.”

She motioned gracefully down to herself and her brand new, cute little outfit, posing for me as she did so. Or was that detail just my imagination?

Thank god for the pause. It gave me just enough breathing room to invent a semi-believable story. “You noticed, then? I mean, I based CD #30 around body positivity..." the most believable lies were the ones based slightly on truth "... I wasn’t sure if you’d take to it, honestly. Or how much. But by the looks of it…”

“I took to it? Oh-ho-ho, I’d say so," Tess chuckled, tilting her head and smiling. Had she always been THIS cute? "I thought dying my hair was as far as I could ever take it, but ever since I started listening to that CD? That bad boy? Any outfit I can think of. Every style I liked, that I never thought I could pull off. It's like they're all boom. Right there. All in reach. I've got more inspiration, more confidence than I know what to do with, and it feels absolutely incredible."

Woah. Tess really wasn’t mad. She wasn’t even suspicious! Her base conditioning to not worry about subliminals not only held tight, it was pulling its weight, buttressing even the most extraordinary of changes. And the best part? Tessa still had no idea how big a role I'd actually played in her transformation. How much a role I was still playing.

I grew bold. “That outfit looks incredible,” I said, taking the sight of her in all over again. “You look great like this, Tess. You're beautiful!” I loved seeing her bare legs, her bare neck and shoulders, always hidden before by shirts, by long hair, by long dresses or pants.

Tess blushed and smiled, preening and fretting with the front of her denim romper. “Thanks, Wyatt. But it feels like I should be thanking you!"

I laughed and rubbed the back of my neck. I didn't know what to do with my hands. "No way. It's nothing. If you didn't give me the idea you were ready... you said you wanted to try out stronger subliminals, right?"

"Right." She laughed. It was like music. "Careful what you wish for, huh? And, one more thing, before I forget,” she said. "The key phrase for this CD is Ask me to take off my clothes, in case you need it."

Holy shit. Those words, spoken by this new, attractive Tessa sent me into overdrive and bolstered my confidence to dangerous levels. What more could I get away with? Where was the line?

I swallowed, trying not to let my eyes roam too hard. "Yeah, but..."

"But?"

I schooled my excitement. One step at a time. "I guess... I'm not sure if you really took to the whole script," I said skeptically, trying to sound detached and scientific as I stroked my chin and gave her a critical look. "Tess, aren't there parts of yourself you still don't feel comfortable with?”

Tess's eyebrows shot up, and she looked herself over, front and back. "There's a question. Well, I'm not sure. It’s kind of hard to say, isn't it? I mean, I don't feel any less comfortable with how I look than normal. Or... more comfortable than normal, I should say." She stared down at her flank and hip for a moment, distracted, before she rubbed her forehead and blinked away. "Wow, I'm really not used to looking this good yet..."

I gave her a thoughtful look. "There is a test we could do if you're not sure about how you're feeling," I gestured to her button-down outfit. “We could... have a look. Perform a direct test."

Tess scoffed, incredulous, but humored. “What, you want me to take off my dress?”

I looked at her long legs. "That's not a dress."

"Oh, whatever, like you're the fashionista now. It's not overalls either," she groused. “I’m not exactly wearing a bra under this thing, you know."

My face heated at the rebuke. “Well. Geeze. I don’t know." I was unsure how to phrase what I wanted Tess to do without sounding sketchy as hell. I knew she had the conditioning for it - 30.11. It is normal to undress when Wyatt asks - but how could I ask her to do so, and make it sound normal?

Fortunately, Tess took matters not her own hands.

“It's fine. It's important we test the effect of the body positivity script, I'm not arguing that. How about a compromise?" With that, Tess popped the first button of her romper - the thing had six buttons total, extending about as far down as the buttons on a pair of jean shorts might. "Personally, I like how this thing looks better with all the buttons done up, but I could see myself undoing a button or two if it was hot or something.”

She put her hands up behind her her head and turned slightly left and right for my benefit, grinning like a fool. With the top button undone, the romper loosened enough at the top to show an extra flash of delicate skin at the right angles.

She was beautiful. My pants tightened.

"Seriously, whatever body positivity script you put on that CD, I feel great," she said, beaming as she posed. "Even the concept of wearing something like this before would've sent me into a panic attack. Now I'm like, who cares? What would it hurt?"

I nodded. "You're not hurting me, that's for sure." I chose my next words carefully. "So... you said you'd be comfortable wearing this even with another button undone?"

Tess paused. "Yeah, sure. Under the right circumstances."

"Show me."

Tess popped another button, this one at the midpoint of her chest. "This would really be pushing it, but I could pull it off," she said, adjusting the almost recklessly low neckline of her romper. The soft side swells of her petite chest were visible on either side of the unbuttoned V.

I swallowed. "Wow." I drank in her curves. Her skin. So much skin.

Tessa wiggled her hips and stuck her tongue out at me between her teeth. “I know, right? How did I not know I was hot?” she asked. “My point is, if I did, I would've never been embarrassed about showing off like this. So, don't you see?"

"Don't I see what?"

Tessa bounced on the heels of her feet, which made other parts of her bounce dangerously. "Your subliminal technique works, Wyatt!" she shouted at me. "You cracked **** learning!"

The last thing I needed was Tessa thinking too much about what I could do with such a strong method of influence over her mind. I kept my cards close to my chest.

"Maybe," I said, carefully. "What you're telling me - showing me - is a strong data point, but it's just one data point. It could be an outlier. Hell, maybe you're just telling me what I want to hear."

"You think this is confirmation bias?" asked Tess, gesturing to her whole cute, sexy body.

I swallowed and tried to stay clear-headed. You're in control, I told myself. Not Tess.

"Could be. But it'd take more than two undone buttons to take what you're saying without a grain of salt."

"God. You're stubborn as ever," said Tess, scowling and popping another button, this one a few inches beneath her breasts. "Believe me now?"

My heart skipped several beats. "I-I didn't literally mean I had to see more undone buttons, it was a figure of speech!"

Tess didn't immediately rebutton her top, and my eyes were drifting. Her romper opened up almost all the way to the navel, her nipples barely staying out of view.

Tess looked sheepish at her mistake, but quickly found her footing. "But, but the point still stands! Wyatt, this is huge!" She gestured sharply at herself. "Look at me and draw your own conclusions. What explains this?" Her nearly-free boobs jiggled with the **** of her pointing. "What do you think?"

"They're... well, they're awesome," I said, staring at her barely hidden breasts. They were almost popping out...

Tess rolled her eyes and fixed her romper slightly. Aw, man! “No, I mean about the subliminals! I don't know what your body positivity script was, but you do. Doesn't this look like strong uptake to you?"

Right, I was supposed to be the scientist in this scenario. I **** myself to look away from Tess's massive cleavage - or rather, lack thereof. Her chest had no support whatsoever!

“I'll admit I didn’t think you’d take to it so quickly," I said. "You used to be embarrassed about wearing a swimsuit for PE, so this is... unbelievable, frankly. Especially if - as you claim - you really feel okay about all this.”

“I swear, I do,” Tess promised, speaking confidently, without room for doubt.

Her confidence was infectious. "Prove it."

She quirked an eyebrow.

"You only undid as many buttons as any girl would feel comfortable with at a party," I declared, challengingly. "That's a lot for you, sure, but everybody's confidence changes naturally on its own. I know the script I used, and it didn't have any half-measures. If the subliminals are really as effective as you claim, you should feel good about your body - your whole body - not just flashing a little skin. So if you really want me to think I've cracked the code, prove it. Undo another button right now."

Tess put her foot down. "I'm already halfway to falling out of my top," she balked.

I scoffed. "Please. I see more risque outfits whenever I walk through the student union. Sounds like you're still the same old Tess to me."

"I'm being serious."

I shrugged. "So am I. You want me to abandon all scientific rigor and pronounce the experiment a runaway success. I bet you're perfectly comfortable just how you are, even with three buttons undone."

Tess aggressively undid another button. "What about this?"

"Pfft. You just did that cause you're mad and you want to prove a point," I said, folding my arms.

"Nuh-uh. You want to see me proving a point? This is me proving a point," said Tess, jerking free another the button over her navel. She threw out her arms. "See?"

I did. I really, really did. My mouth was dry. I licked my lips.

"Do another."

Exasperated, Tess complied. She now only had one button left. Her romper was open from mid-chest, all the way down too her lower belly.

"And... and if I told you to unbutton that last button..."

"I could, and it wouldn't be a big deal," said Tess.

"Then do it."

Without a shred of hesitation, Tess did exactly that, and I saw a peek of her white panties at the base of her totally unbuttoned romper. "See?" she asked.

The romper miraculously stayed up through sheer stubbornness alone, but not even denim is that powerful. Right there, sure enough, were pinkish tones of flesh peeking above and to the sides the loose garment.

I stepped back away from the stairs and stared openly at her chest now. Tessa really was ready, wasn’t she.

I swallowed. “Uh. Tess?”

She sighed, hands on hips, clearly at wit's end. “Yeah?”

"I can see a bit of your... uh... nipple."

Tess's eyes widened. "Oh crap." She quickly folded her arms to save her modesty. "Sorry Wyatt, I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable. Kinda got carried away..."

I was at full mast, straining against my jeans. "I was actually more worried about you," I said.

"No, that's what I've been telling you. You don't need to be," she explained, her voice soft. "I'm not embarrassed about myself anymore. "

"And that means you're okay with a nip slip?"

She flinched at the suggestion. "What? No way!"

"But-" I looked to her chest.

Tess's arms tightened. "This doesn't count. This was a test. An experiment. Anyway, it's just us. It's not like you're just some random guy who's going to be weird about this."

I thought hard. "In that case, I need you to trust me."

"Why?"

"Because I'm going to tell you to pull your romper open."

Tess blinked. “You want me to…”

I nodded. “I do. I believe you now, everything you're saying, but this is something I need to verify."

Tess paused for a long moment. Then, with a slightly confused smile, she loosened her arms over her chest. “I mean… this is okay with you, right? It’s not weird?”

I shook my head. “Course not. Why would it be?”

With a nervous, slightly bemused expression, Tessa took the sides her unbuttoned romper and fully pulled them aside. The garment fell back and away from her body, clinging only barely to her slender hips and leaving her otherwise topless.

I caught a glimpse of a bare chest, but then she slipped her hands over her breasts, with a red face.

“This is for the test, okay? I don’t want you getting the wrong idea,” she said.

I couldn't help but stare openly. I’d seldom been so hard. “The wrong idea?” I mumbled, very distracted by how her fingers were tucked into her arms, and how her soft breast flesh swelled at the pressure of her grip.

“You’re the first person who’s ever seen my boobs like this,” Tess said, half shy, half nervous. But she looked more surprised than anything.

“Well. Like I said. They’re awesome,” I told her, swallowing again as I stared at her hands. “Please?”

Blushing and giving an embarrassed smile, Tessa slowly let her hands slip to her sides till stood as normal. She fidgeted in place, awkwardly, but otherwise left her cute, perky boobs naked and exposed to my gaze. Her nipples were plump, pink, and stiff in the cold. I wanted nothing more than to pop each one into my mouth.

“This feels really weird,” she said, an oddly pleased expression on her face. “Like… it feels kinda nice... being noticed. But it’s kinda weird we're doing this. I know it's a test but…”

“I don’t mind,” I said, licking my lips as I watched her soft nipples, how they shifted when she breathed. The delicate flesh goosebumped against the air.

My reassurance put Tessa more at ease, the edge of her worry evaporating as the seconds ticked by.

"This thing's only getting in the way," muttered Tess.

Suddenly she stepped back and pushed her romper down and off entirely, stepping out of it and hanging over the back of the couch. She recentered in front of me, wearing her white knee socks and panties, and nothing else. She stood straighter, more certainly presenting her chest to me.

I forgot to breathe. I drank in every inch of Tess's smooth, soft skin. She was bared for me and me alone.

She was obviously intrigued by my powerful, instinctive reaction. "You really like looking at them, don’t you,” she observed, watching me closely.

“They’re so cute,” I said, unable to hold back. “Mind if I just…” I reached out to her.

Tessa warded me off, leaning back and out of reach at the same time. “Now that would be weird.”

She went self-conscious for a second but then thought better of it and placed her hands on her hips and face me full-on. Like she was proving to herself that she shouldn’t be ashamed of this.

I could see every contour, every dimpled goosebump on her chest. And her naked legs, her flat stomach, and delicate shoulders…

“So. Wyatt,” she said.

I remembered Tess had a face. That she was a person. I looked up to it. How could I forget how cute she was? How pretty her eyes, her cheeks, her lips were? Her glasses framed her perfectly.

Tess avoided making eye contact. “This is... fun and all, but I think we... uh... proved the point." She shook her head. “Like, I don’t mind that you want to look at my awesome boobs. It's nice - cool, I mean - being able to cut loose and show off for once, but... we’re friends. Right? I need to know we’re on the same page.”

“Oh no, I’m not looking at you like that,” I denied, quickly aising my hands. “Believe me. This is just, fooling around with the experiment. Harmless fun, right? And you look really great.”

Tess let out a relieved breath. “Okay. Good,” she said, reaching for her romper again. “And - this was fun. Even if it was just testing things out. So, thanks for... accepting me. All of me. It's kinda sweet, actually. Nobody's ever... uh, but um. Maybe I’ll save my boobs for when I get a boyfriend.”

“No, yeah, for sure,” I assured her. But I’d tell Tess anything she wanted to hear so long as I could feed her more subliminals. “Okay. Good talk. And, good work. This was more than I ever thought possible."

"Me too," said Tessa, putting her little romper on again.

"I'll pick out another CD for you," I said, barely able to restrain myself from lunging forward and copping a feel anyway before she could redress; I turned toward the stair to look somewhere, anywhere else. "I hear what you're saying, but we need to be, ah, thorough, and check these results."

"Oh, yeah, sure," said Tessa, blushing and nodding dumbly as she buttoned her romper back up. "Scientific rigor."

"I’ll be right back with that next CD," I said, shooting up the stairs three at a time.

This was awesome. Tess was awesome. I was awesome.

And I was just getting started. Before I was through with her, Tess would be perfect.