The Volleyball Scene

I leap into the air and spike the ball perfectly at the apex of its arc, and it flies into the sand on the other side of the net just shy of where Elijah dived to intercept it. I land and grin in triumph at a good shot.

"Wow, okay, Alicia, I didn't realize we were dealing with a pro," he says, picking himself up and dusting the sand off his trunks.

I put my hands on my hips confidently. "I played a lot in high school."

After Freddie unpacked, we managed to snag the last net on the beach, and the six of us are already sweaty and covered in sand. I've got the most experience of everyone, and it shows, but Freddie and Elijah have reasonable coordination and Dani has played a bit before, too. Jack is strangely good at getting to the clutch shots but not much else, and Amy is next to useless. I love her, but it's true.

"How about a match? Boys versus girls should be about fair," Elijah suggests. "Alicia, how do you score this thing?"

I don't know if beach volleyball has different rules to normal, but we decide on a slimmed-down version of the normal rules: best of three sets, first to fifteen points wins the set. For simplicity, we decide to rotate one serve each.

"We should decide on a forfeit," Freddie grins. "It's no fun if there's no skin in the game. How about the losers have to pay for drinks tonight?"

"Freddie don't be silly, we've already got drinks in the cabin," Amy giggles. She looks at me, sizing me up of whether I can carry us to victory. A mischievous smirk spreads across her face. Oh no ... I know that look. "I've got a better idea," she smirks, and I notice her gaze flick down to the front of Freddie's trunks. "How about the losers have to go skinny dipping while the winners watch?"

A few nervous glances are exchanged. I look at Jack and bite my lip, relishing the slight look of panic in his eyes. This will definitely make things interesting.

"Deal," Freddie says, not one to back down from a challenge. Jack looks about to object, but Amy shakes on it before he can get the words out.

"Alright, ladies, huddle up," Amy orders, and Dani and I follow her to one end of the court and cluster round. Amy looks to me. "So, what's our play, Alicia?"

I glance at the three boys, sizing them up. Jack waves his arms animatedly at Freddie, before Elijah puts a calming hand on his shoulder. I grin. "Okay, Jack's the weakest, but he's good at stretching for shots. Just hit it right at him and he'll buckle. On defense, Amy, you stay close to the net to receive our sets, and Dani and I will roam. Got it?"

Dani nods. "Elijah used to play soccer, so avoid his feet if you can."

Amy smiles and puts her hand in the middle of the three of us. We place our hands on top. "Alright, let's go humiliate some boys!"

We throw our hands up, giggling, and take our places.

I crouch at the back of the court, waiting for Jack's serve. It's high and looping, and I deflect it upwards to Amy, who manages to set Dani up for a leaping spike that hammers over the net towards Elijah. He barely gets a foot to it, and it bobbles up to Freddie, who attempts a set for Jack, but he fumbles it and the ball barely makes it over the net. Dani reads where I am and sets it high, and I launch myself at it like something out of an anime. The ball thuds into the ground in front of Jack and sends a spray of sand at his feet.

"Great play, Alicia!" Dani gives me a high five, beaming.

"Not bad yourself," I smirk.

Amy turns mockingly to the boys. "14-6, boys. It's almost like you want us to win." Freddie gives her the middle finger and a challenging smile, while Elijah kicks the sand at his feet. Jack's gaze locks onto mine, a curious expression on his face. An idea glimmers behind his eyes.

The next point lasts a little longer as Amy fumbles a set and Dani scrambles to recover it, but eventually Freddie overdoes the power on a spike and hits the ball out. I fistbump Dani and Amy at winning the first set, and we all head to the bags to grab some water.

"One set down, one to go," Amy says happily, rubbing our lead in her brother's face. Elijah grabs her into a headlock and rubs her head vigorously. "Ow! Get off!"

I chuckle as Dani and Freddie get involved, dragging Elijah off. "What?" he protests. "It's just a bit of twin love, you guys wouldn't get it."

Jack casually walks over and sits down next to me. I smile at him, biting my lip. "Hey. I can't wait to see you skinny dipping later, after you so cruelly denied me last night," I say, glancing pointedly at his crotch.

He raises an eyebrow. "Afraid you're going to be a little disappointed."

I tilt my head, smirking confidently. "How so?"

"Because you, Alicia, are going to lose your team the match," he says with a cold certainty in his voice. "Blank."

SNAP

Despite the adrenaline still running through my body and the euphoria of winning the first set, I go still. All my thoughts evaporate, and I'm weightless in that blissful void again. Obedient. Empty. Completely under his spell.

"Good girl. So deep into trance for me. Relax and listen to me. Submit to me. Obey," Jack whispers. His voice is so soothing. I can't help listening. "You're going to make mistakes, Alicia. Nothing too obvious, but maybe you'll hit it out more times than you should, or you'll misjudge an easy set. The more you try to resist this command, the more impossible resistance will become. You will make just enough mistakes to let us win without looking like you're going easy. You will obey, because you crave to obey my commands. Do you understand?"

My mouth moves on its own. "Yes." Of course I understand. It is so simple. Let the boys win. I will obey.

"Good. Wake."

SNAP

My thoughts rush back in, and I stare at him in disbelief. "You really think that will work?" I say, folding my arms confidently. Inside, though, I'm panicking. I know how powerful his control over me is. Who's to say it won't work?

Jack's eyes dart between mine uncertainly. He doesn't know either. "Well, only one way to find out."

We all take our places for the next set. Dani and Amy are chatting away confidently, but I'm quiet, my thoughts focused on the game. I want to win, and for that, I need to **** down Jack's command and play my best.

I step up to the court and serve. It flies over the net, and Jack dives, barely getting a hand to it. Freddie and Elijah work together to just about get it over, and then it's our play. Dani lifts it up, Amy sets it, and I leap towards it, slamming it down towards Freddie. He gets a hand to it, but it flies out, giving us the point.

I lock eyes with Jack and sigh with relief. Maybe he can't control me that well, after all. He chews his cheek nervously, striding up to the line with the ball in hand.

He serves it over, and it comes straight at me. I clasp my fists together and wait to pass it up, but it seems to swerve at the last second, hitting the side of my arm instead of the flats of my forearms. The ball ricochets off to the side, and Dani barely manages to get a foot to it to keep it alive. I rescue it and pass it back to the boys' side of the net, but without enough power on it. It costs us the point, with Freddie able to aim it perfectly into a corner of the court.

You're going to make mistakes, Alicia, Jack's words echo. I shake my head. No way. I am not losing because of some stupid hypnosis.

The scoreboard begs to differ, though. Where we were trouncing them in the first set, this second one is much closer, with the boys often pulling ahead. Mistakes start slipping into my game, just enough to make me lose that killer instinct that won us the first set. A dodgy pass here, a bad deflection there, a poorly aimed spike that goes right to Elijah's feet instead of into the empty space next to him. It's rarely enough to lose us the point outright, but it puts us on the back foot and lets them back into the game. I even catch myself passing to Amy, our weakest player, when I originally intended to pass to Dani. That also costs us.

You will obey, because you crave to obey my commands. Frustration builds in my stomach.

"Alright, guys, 14-13," Freddie says after another slip from me that ultimately leads to Amy hitting it out. He's pumped up, jumping from foot to foot. "Let's do this."

Dani serves. Together, Jack and Elijah field a decent return that drops to Amy, who digs it up to me. I set Dani, but my thumb slips slightly, unintentionally adding a bit of spin that throws Dani off and sends her spike into the net. The boys cheer.

"Oh, the comeback is on!" Elijah grins, going to grab a drink from the bags. Freddie and Jack slap each other on the back.

"Sorry, guys," Dani says. "I've been playing way worse this set."

My stomach drops with guilt. She can't even tell that it's me that's the problem, not her. That's how subtle Jack's control over me is. I shoot him a glare, but he's chatting with Freddie and doesn't even notice.

"Same here. I'm the weakest link," says Amy. "Damn it, I really wanted to win!"

I shake my head. "I'm the one who's fallen off. This is my fault."

"Are you kidding? You're our best player!" Dani says, putting a hand on my shoulder. "No offense," she adds to Amy, who holds up her hands in a none taken sort of way.

"Yeah, but ..." I trail off. I was going to say I should be better, but I realized how arrogant that would sound. Instead, we traipse over to the boys, demoralized.

"So, final set. All to play for," says Elijah, before he notices Amy's dour expression. "Aw, what's wrong, sis? Not having as much fun now that you're not winning?"

Amy crosses her arms. "Well, duh!"

We sit in silence, gratefully taking gulps of water after exercising under the Florida sun. I catch Jack's eye, and clearly I have a sour expression on my face because he frowns with concern and gives me a questioning thumbs up. I ignore him.

Ending the break, we return to the court. Us girls hang our heads in silence, while the boys smile and chat like they're on a day out at the arcade. Jack even takes off his shirt, which earns him a wolf-whistle from Freddie.

"Damn, bro, our gym sessions are paying off! Also, since when were you comfortable going topless in public?"

Jack shrugs, smirking. "Gotta get serious for the game, right?"

The final set is almost an exact copy of the second. We pull ahead briefly, fueled by frustration and a fear of the forfeit for losing, but our lead quickly erodes as I find my hands don't quite do what I tell them to do. Jack's words echo louder in my head. The more you try to resist, the more impossible resistance will become. I glare at him as we take our places for what will probably be the final point. 14-12 down. Not a good spot.

Dani serves. Jack gets to it, accidentally sending it straight back over towards Amy. She panics and deflects it wildly, but Dani keeps it in with a dive. The ball loops towards the net, and I leap towards it, nudging it over the net just in time. It lands on the other side, scoring us a point, and I catch Jack's eye. Maybe we have a chance, after all.

Now it's Freddie's turn to serve. It swerves towards the corner of the court, and I just about save it with my foot. Together, Dani and Amy manage to get it back over to the other side, but it quickly comes back with even more **** off Elijah's palm. This time Dani saves it, somehow passing it perfectly to Amy, who sets it up into the air for me.

I jump. My hair rises around me, and for a moment I'm weightless. And obedient.

Instead of the powerful spike I had been lining up for, I swing just a little too early, and my fingers only barely graze the ball. It bobbles over the net, and somehow Freddie is there to meet it, driving it down into the empty space in the middle of our court. It lands with a spray of sand.

That's it. Game over.

"Yes!" Freddie yells in triumph. Jack and Elijah both clap him on the back for delivering the final blow, each grinning from ear to ear.

Dani puts her arm around me and Amy. "Unlucky, guys. We played well, though! Amy, you were actually pretty good!"

Amy glowers at the floor. "Why did I make that stupid bet? Sorry for dragging you guys into it."

I laugh slightly. I'd gotten so caught up in the frustration of losing that I'd forgotten what we were even playing for. I squeeze her shoulder. "Hey, it's okay. It would have been worth it if we'd won."

Freddie appears next to me with his hand outstretched and a genuine smile on his face. "Well played, Alicia."

I roll my eyes and shake his hand. "You too."

He moves on to Dani, and then I hear him teasing Amy about the prospect of seeing her naked. Meanwhile, Elijah shakes my hand, wearing an expression of commiseration. "Sorry," he says. "If it's any consolation, you deserved to win after that performance in the first set. It was really close."

"Thanks, Elijah," I **** a smile.

Then Jack is in front of me. "Well played," he says, holding out his hand. I glare at him and shake it silently, and his expression softens. "Alicia, I'm sorry -"

"It's fine," I say sharply, pulling my hand away and crossing my arms. "Well played."

He looks on the verge of saying something else, but then he looks at his feet, deciding against it.