A New Dawn

I wake with a parched mouth. One arm is draped over Jack's bare chest, and under the covers I can feel his jeans pressing against my leg. I gently extricate myself from the bed, trying not to wake him, and realize I'm still naked. Memories of countless orgasms under his touch drift back to me, and I smile despite the minor aches throughout my muscles.

I can't find my underwear in the mess on his floor, so I grab an oversized Hawaiian shirt from his suitcase and button it up before cracking the door open. Voices drift down the hall from the main room - Elijah and Dani are having breakfast. Quietly, I tiptoe along the hall to mine and Amy's room and slip inside.

"Oh my god, you have a major case of morning after hair," Amy whispers as soon as I enter. She's sat in bed scrolling on her phone, but swings her legs round and puts it away, grinning expectantly. "Sooo? How'd it go? I mean, from the sounds of it you had a wild ride and then some!"

"Oh god, was I loud?" I ask, checking my hair in the mirror. She's right, of course. All the sweat made my normally luscious waves dry in a tangled mess.

"Babe, you would have woken a deaf dead man with your screams," Amy says sardonically. "I literally thought you were dying at one point and nearly started running to your rescue, and then I heard you moaning like a damn pornstar and noped the fuck out of there. Was it really that good?"

I drag my hand down my face, cringing but nodding. "You have no idea. I'm so sorry about keeping you up, though. Listen, can you do me a favor? Can you get me some water? I'd do it, but I don't want the others to see me like this." I gesture at Jack's shirt.

"I got you, babe," she says, hopping off the bed and dashing to the kitchen, before returning moments later with a cup of water. I gratefully take it and chug half of it in one gulp. "You owe me, though."

"Sure. Thanks." I gesture awkwardly at the door. "I'm gonna ... yeah."

Amy giggles as I slip out and pad back to Jack's room. He stirs as the door clicks shut beside me, and opens his eyes. I wave shyly.

"Hey," I say, taking a seat on the edge of the bed and passing him the cup. "Water?"

Jack rubs his eyes, still waking up, then sits up and accepts the cup gratefully. He takes a sip while his eyes roam down my body to my bare ass. Then he catches me watching him and quickly looks away. "Thanks for last night, I ... had a good time," he says nervously.

"Did you? My memory's a little fuzzy, but I seem to remember I had all the fun," I smirk.

He squirms and briefly meets my gaze, his soft brown eyes pulling me in. "I enjoyed making you feel good."

I nod, smiling slightly. "Uh huh. So you'll understand if I want to return the favor."

I lean down slowly, and after a moment of hesitation his lips meet mine. Kissing him hungrily, I peel back the covers and run my hands down his chest to the front of his jeans. I feel a twitch through the heavy fabric, and he kisses me harder.

Then, all of a sudden, he pulls back. "Blank."

SNAP

I blink. I'm sitting up straight, hands by my sides, when the last thing I remember was that we were making out and I was about to undo his jeans. Jack watches me, the ghost of a smile on his lips.

"Did I ... Did you just hypnotize me?"

"Maybe. Do you remember anything?"

I search my brain for any trace of what my body had just done. None remains. It's like I simply jumped forwards in time. I shake my head. "What did you make me do?"

"Just gave you a couple of suggestions. You might find out what they are, eventually. Or you might never know." Jack smiles and teases a finger up my bare leg. "Does that turn you on?"

A dribble of panic enters my mind. Like when he gave me the suggestion to come to his room that first night, he could have put anything in there, and I may never know. The thought makes my breath catch in my chest as a heat rises in my loins. "A little," I admit in a whisper.

"Good," he grins, pulling me into a kiss.

I melt against him, running my hands over his muscular chest. And still nothing sparks in my brain, no memory at all of the missing time. I marvel at the power he has over me, the power to make me cum from just a single light touch of my clit, to summon me to his room hours in advance, to make me completely empty with just the snap of his fingers. It's intoxicating.

Then an insidious thought occurs to me and I pause mid-kiss. He pulls back, his soft brown eyes searching mine. "What's up?"

"I ..." I hesitate, unsure how to phrase it, or even if I want to voice it aloud. "Are you making me like you? Like, with hypnosis?" I know I sound crazy. This is quickly veering away from reality and into the realm of fantasy, but ... What if he can influence how I feel about him?

Jack's eyebrows furrow with concern. "No? I don't even know if that would work."

"But you can make me do so many other things," I press. "Why not that?"

He tilts his head, considering it. "I guess? Either way, I wouldn't do that. That seems ... I don't know, more icky, or something. It's like the rules for the Genie in Aladdin - no making people fall in love."

The sincerity with which he answers the question takes me by surprise, but reassures me that the thought hadn't even crossed his mind. "Okay. Sorry, that probably sounded like conspiracy theory shit," I say sheepishly.

"No, it was a fair question." He strokes my arm and gives me a warm smile. "Sorry if the thought scared you. I mean, this is all new to both of us, it's better to ask than not."

"True." I grin and bite my lip. Just as I start to lean in for another kiss, a sudden loud knock on the door squashes any thoughts of returning the favor of last night.

"Jack? You need to get up, bro, Freddie's bus is due in town in like 30 minutes," Elijah calls through the wood.

He looks at the ceiling, then smiles ruefully at me. "Blocked by a bus," he says. "Alright, I'm getting up!"

Dani gives me the side-eye as we wait at the bus stop for Freddie to arrive. I blush and look at my flip flops. She definitely heard me last night, but neither she nor Elijah says anything about it. Instead, everyone tiptoes around the elephant, even Amy.

Finally, the bus pulls up at the stand, and a bunch of holiday goers hop off. Among them is a somewhat tall Asian-American with a fade and a jawline that would make most girls swoon. He spots us and waves, pulling a small case behind him and wearing a big smile.

"Freddie! You made it!" Amy gushes as she rushes forwards to give him a hug. The top of her head barely reaches his chin.

"Hey, guys," Freddie smiles. "What have I missed?"

I meet Jack's eye guiltily as Freddie gives Dani a hug and Elijah a fistbump. "Not much, man, mostly just drinking," says Jack, clasping his hand and giving him a slap on the back. "How was the weekend?"

Freddie runs a hand through his hair. "Okay, caught a couple of fish, but I would have much preferred being here. Hey, Alicia," he says, wrapping me in a quick hug.

"Did your mom give you any grief for leaving early?" I ask.

"She tried to," he laughs. "I bounced before she could get all the words out."

Elijah laughs and pushes his shoulder. "Nice work, amigo. Let's get some beers, huh?"

We walk back to the cabin as Freddie elaborates a bit more on his family weekend away. Jack walks just behind me, and I catch him staring at my ass once or twice, but beyond giving him a seductive smirk, I act as normal as I can.

"So, my dad's standing there in the boat, holding this massive carp, and right when my uncle is about to take the photo, a wave rocks the boat, my dad slips, and the fish jumps out of his hands and slaps him in his face," Freddie says, finishing the story to a chorus of laughter as we walk up the path to the cabin.

"Oh my god," Amy wheezes. "That's amazing! Please tell me you have the photo."

Freddie shakes his head. "My uncle's old school, he uses a disposable camera so he hasn't developed it yet. No idea how it's going to turn out." He looks at the cabin. "This the place?"

"Home sweet home!" Amy says, opening the door. "You and Jack's room is down the end there. I didn't get much sleep last night, so I'm gonna take a quick nap while you unpack." She looks at me pointedly when mentioning her bad sleep, and I scratch my nose with my middle finger.

"Me too," says Dani, giving me another side-eye. Goddamn, what is with everyone throwing shade today? Elijah agrees, and they both head to their room.

Jack and I linger in the main room of the cabin as everyone else heads to their rooms. I bite my lip, a cheeky grin on my face. "Sounds like we made a bit too much noise last night."

"You mean you did," he smirks.

I swat his shoulder. "Your fault."

I run my hand up his arm as he looks at me with lust in his soft brown eyes, and I feel my heart flutter and my breathing become shallow. He steps a little closer, his hands drifting to my waist. I part my lips slightly. Somewhere down the hall, a door opens.

"Yo, Jack, can you move some of your stuff off the floor so I can have some space?" Freddie calls.

Fuck you very much, Freddie.