The Erotic Mind-Control Story Archive

The rest of Kim’s volleyball game passed in a daze. When it was over, Bryce wasn’t even sure who had won. He made the necessary chatter with his wife and son on the way out of the gym, and with their family’s social familiars as they passed them by, but none of it registered with him, and no thought went into it for Bryce. His mind was still on Hallie— there was no room for anything else. And even if there had been, nothing else would have seemed important enough to qualify.

They waited as a family in the lobby for Kim to emerge from the girl’s locker room. After they’d waited awhile she came out. And when she reached them, Bryce offered her non-commital encouraging comments to cover the fact that he had missed most of the game and remembered very little from it.

He also made general small-talk to her— both of these things were offered to Kim with the same enthusiasm that Bryce had put into the chatter he’d made with everyone else he’d interacted with since meeting with Hallie out in the hallway— his wife, his son, their acquaintances. Which was to say there was very little enthusiasm in what Bryce expressed. He was checked out entirely— as concentrated on Hallie as ever, and finding all other topics inferior to her; unworthy of his time or attention.

But Kim was as unaware of Bryce’s detachment as the rest of his family had been throughout the night: and she seemed to genuinely appreciate Bryce’s vague remarks of encouragement without catching on to the fact that he’d missed her game.

Together, the four of them — Bryce, Selene, Kim and Dan— all made the walk back to their car, where their driver was waiting for them. They all climbed in, and continued their conversation as the driver started it up and drove it on its way — three of them in good spirits, and the fourth saying the parts of his dialogue that needed to be said, but otherwise feeling completely uninterested in what was going on in the family car as their driver took them back home.

The game had lasted a few hours, and the evening was already getting late, so it was to Bryce’s relief when Selene commented that she was ready to turn in for the night. Dan seemed similarly tired from the outing, and Kim was probably the most tired of all, since she’d been exerting herself during the game. Each family member said their goodnights, and then parted ways to head up to their respective bedrooms.

When Selene went up to bed, Bryce went with her. He wasn’t eager to sit around awake, waiting up, all by himself. He was looking forward to being done with this day, just as the rest of his family was— though for an entirely different reason. If this day ended, it meant that tomorrow would follow it. And tomorrow would be a day on which Bryce got to see Hallie again— he was willing to do whatever he had to get himself closer in time to seeing her again.

He and Selene got ready for bed in relative silence— Selene was clearly tired, and likely assuming the same was true about him.

Bryce was actually not tired, but he was going through the motions of his nighttime routine all the same: changing into his sleepwear and making all the necessary preparations.

Bryce was already suspecting that tonight would be another sleepless night of the kind he’d been having so often lately. A night spent lying awake thinking of Hallie… though tonight, he’d likely be lying awake and thinking of her with much greater excitement than usual— since he was going to see her again tomorrow.

It was such an exciting idea that it would probably keep him awake, but he already knew he wouldn’t mind that. Thoughts of Hallie were a treat in themselves, and Bryce had a knack for being still and restful in the bed even when his mind was completely alert and racing in a thousand directions. It was a habit developed through his years of being CEO and thinking of business late into the night, even when lying next to his wife— but it was equally well-used for lying awake and thinking of Hallie instead of business. This was how he’d been using it recently.

Selene said a second goodnight to him, and quickly climbed into bed. Bryce turned the lights off for her, at least appearing to be thoughtful. In practice, he was only doing it because it needed to be done, and because it was expected. Then Bryce climbed into bed next to Selene: he was expecting thoughts of Hallie to consume his mind, and occupy his attention once he was settled in.

But when Bryce was lying down, he was surprised to find himself actually becoming tired. He hadn’t been tired at all until he laid down, and then it had happened so suddenly. And now there was a heavy tiredness in him— he couldn’t find it in himself to fight it off. It was important that he sleep… he needed to sleep… the only thing he could do was give in to the impulse.

Bryce slipped out of conciousness into rest, though he didn’t go into it completely. Some part of him was still awake and doing something in the back of his mind… but Bryce couldn’t tell what. It was easier to rest… to sleep he was supposed to. If anything was going on back there, and keeping him at least partially waking, that was fine… as long as time was moving on quickly while it happened. As long as time was passing, it was bringing him closer to being with Hallie again…

That part of him that was awake and rearranging things inside his head didn’t slow down the passage of time for him while it did its task— and that was all he really cared about, so he was happy for it to carry out its work. He hadn’t wanted either the previous evening or the current night to be prolonged, but they weren’t. The night passed quickly, giving way to a new day. And before Bryce knew it, it was morning, and he was waking all the way up again.

Before he’d even opened his eyes, Bryce was filled with a sense of excitement. Today was a day that would bring a visit with Hallie— and to Bryce, that made it the perfect day.

When he opened his eyes, he saw the early morning light that was waiting to greet his awakening. He’d woken up earlier than usual— it seemed like Selene was still asleep beside him, for now… but he was feeling different, and now that he was awake, he was very aware of that fact. The excitement in him faded into the background as he turned his attention to this new feeling.

Something had changed in the night… he had changed in the night. The man who had gone to sleep the night before was not the man who had woken up— or the man who was lying here now, and reflecting on this. Bryce felt very disconnected from yesterday’s man. That man had been uninterested in his family— but he’d still been willing to put in a minimal amount of effort to disguise that lack of interest. And that man had still been relieved, on at least one level, that his disinterest had gone unnoticed by them.

Now, today’s man knew he didn’t care about his family at all— on any level. He was more disinterested than yesterday’s man had been— and now he no longer cared if his family knew it or not. He wouldn’t care if it was noticed or commented on.

In fact, he didn’t seem to care about any of his responsibilities anymore. There was only one thing that mattered to him now— Hallie. Yesterday’s man had felt this way also, it was true. But Bryce felt that he, today’s iteration, had bested his previous self. He knew how to center Hallie completely now— in a way that he hadn’t known to do it even the day before. Hallie was the only thing that mattered— and every decision now had to flow from this truth. Every thought he had, even about things that had nothing to do with her— these all had to flow from her, too. Bryce’s whole world was shaped around her, now.

He didn’t need to think so much about his business now— or any of the other things he had used to worry about. All those troublesome thoughts had been filed away in the back of his mind. He remembered with that half-waking state that had lasted through the night, and understood it in a new light. His mind had been making this transition for him; helping to become this new and better version of himself, today’s man, and archiving all things that were old and unnecessary in the back of his head.

But Bryce felt they were still there. If he needed them, he could take them back out. He could become the man who thought those thoughts, or the man knew how to do those things for as long as he needed to be that person. They were like a rarely used gear on a car— always available, but hardly ever shifted into.

If Bryce needed to go back to being that thoughtful, methodical, and precise man that had served his business so well, he could shift gears and be that man— but until then, he was free to center himself on Hallie and think of nothing but her.

This change in him was to Hallie’s credit, and not his own. Seeing her yesterday had made a deep impression on him— had inspired this new understanding in him, had maybe even inspired that part of his mind to spend all night shifting things around. She was such an incredible person that she could make impressions like that— it only made Bryce admire her more.

She had inspired this transformation in him; she was an inspiration to him in all ways, but she had inspired him to want to become this newer version of himself. This man he was today, who was free of all old thoughts and patterns. This man who had been able to put them all away in the back of his head until he needed them; this man who was free to be entirely dedicated to Hallie, now, with no concerns about anything else to get in the way.

As Bryce had lain there, reflecting on his shifted mental state, the morning had gone on without him. Selene had at some point risen from the bed, and left the room to go out into the rest of the house, and Bryce hadn’t even noticed.

This was the sort of thing that Bryce would have noticed, once. The pre-Hallie Bryce would have noticed because he’d still cared for Selene then, and he’d been very attentive to her. But even yesterday’s Bryce would have noticed, not out of care, but out of a general sense of perceptiveness. Bryce had been a perceptive man before— but this trait had been put into storage along with the rest of him, until it was needed again.

Bryce didn’t feel like staying in bed any longer, so he rose, and dressed quickly. He was already thinking about Hallie again— thinking that he would see her again. The excitement from Bryce’s first waking moments had returned. And the fact that Selene had gotten up before him and left the bedroom unnoticed was already forgotten.

Bryce went out into the main area of the house, but he noticed nothing as he moved through it. His focus was turned completely inward, and he was shut off from everything else.

This changed when Bryce reached the main living area— his internal musings were rudely interrupted by the sound of crying.

Selene was sitting on one of the couches in the living area, and she was the source of the crying— Kim and Dan, who were both also apparently awake, were sitting on either side of her, trying to say comforting things and giving her comforting pats on her arms.

“What’s going on out here?” Bryce asked, when he caught up to his family.

“It’s my father,” Selene said, looking up from where she’d been crying into her hands. The tracks of her tears were still clear on her face, and she was still silently crying as she spoke. “Mother just called five minutes ago. He’s sick— badly sick. The kids and I are going to see him. We don’t want to miss out— it could be our last chance. We’re just about to leave; once I get myself collected. I thought I’d get some of this crying out of my system first.”

If it had been the day before, Bryce might have felt a stirring of sympathy. But the night had passed, and left him a changed man. He felt no sympathy at all— but even so he didn’t care to be deliberately cruel. He just needed to explain to Selene the way things were going to be, in a matter-of-fact manner.

“That’s too bad,” Bryce said. He tried to keep his voice from sounding too flippant, but didn’t really care how successful his execution was, so the result was probably inconsistent. “But I can’t come with you. I can’t afford to take time off from work right now.”

Selene didn’t look surprised by this answer. She also didn’t cry any harder when he said it. He’d thought about guilting her if she tried to pressure him in to coming along, by reminding her how busy he’d been lately — but Selene wasn’t often the type to put pressure on him, and it looked like she was going to accept his answer, so he wouldn’t need to.

“I know you can’t,” Selene said, drying some of her tears. “I understand.”

That was Selene: she was understanding. But Bryce found that he truly felt nothing for her now. He didn’t appreciate any of her qualities, no matter how positive they were, or how endearing he’d once found them— so he was unmoved by her understanding response.

And beyond this indifference to Selene’s positive qualities, he was beyond indifferent to her plight. She was crying and sad about her sick father: and Bryce felt nothing.

Having an ill family member was a hard experience for anyone to go through. At one time, Bryce would have felt empathy for a stranger who was going through the same thing, but now he felt nothing, no sense of empathy at all, and it was his own wife who was going through it.

And he didn’t even feel guilty about this lack of emotion on his end. He was unmoved by Selene’s tears, and didn’t care about how hard this situation would be for Selene. In fact, even as he was talking to his family, he was only thinking about the same thing he’d been thinking about all morning. He was going to see Hallie later— and the excitement that knowledge inspired in him was the only thing on his mind.

But Bryce still had to keep the conversation going in order to wrap it up.

“Thanks for understanding,” he said to Selene. “Safe travels to you all as you make your visit. And keep me in the loop,” he added.

Even as he said it, he was wondering to himself what the point of staying in the loop would be. He wouldn’t care any more about Selene’s father, or Selene, for that matter, than he did at this very moment.

Bryce thought about his phone, sitting there in his pocket. Staying caught up on Selene’s father’s situation seemed pointless… but now that he thought about it, staying caught up on anything seemed pointless. Why should he even bothering answering phone calls or texts anymore?They didn’t matter to him anymore— none of things they could communicate to him would actually be important to him; all those things were irrelevant.

But these thoughts did not show on Bryce’s face. And Selene was still trying to get herself together, with both Kim and Dan still trying awkwardly to comfort her.

Bryce decided to leave them all to it— he said his goodbyes, which were met with goodbyes of reply, and promises to keep him up to date. Bryce didn’t bother saying anything in response to these— he was eager to get to work, because getting to work meant getting on with his day— and getting on with his day meant getting to see Hallie.

It was a quick ride to the office, because Bryce’s attention had turned inwards again— and it stayed there, at least until the car pulled up outside the Towner Industries building. He didn’t bother thanking his driver as he usually did— just got out of the car, told his driver to be back at one pm, and then headed inside without a backwards glance.

He moved through the building’s lobby, barely taking in any of its surrounding details; he walked right back to the elevators, and got into one. It was the high-speed elevator that skipped floors to get to the top part of the building. Bryce was once again alone in the elevator— people seemed to like giving him a wide berth, even though his past self had tried to be approachable.

The elevator’s doors closed in front of him, and it started moving. As it ran its way up to the top floor, Bryce felt his mouth turning up into a devilish grin. It had spread across his face of its own accord; and it felt maliciously gleeful even as he wore it.

Then, Bryce heard a sound come out of his mouth— it sounded distinctly like a growl, changing his maliciously gleeful expression back into a look of open hostility. He had thought of Chet Rodriguez again. A day later, and he still hated the man. This new version of himself, this new man that he was now hated Chet Rodriguez as much as yesterday’s Bryce had, if not more. He knew he would hate Chet Rodriguez forever— what Chet had done was unforgivable.

No matter what else changed in him— no matter what other Bryces there might be left to change into, on other days— if there was a tomorrow Bryce that was as different from him as he was from yesterday’s Bryce— they would all have a hatred of Chet Rodriguez in common. Bryce’s hate for him was a fixed, unchanging characteristic— and it was so deeply rooted in him that Bryce was sure it could never be removed.

Yes, he still hated Chet— and still hated Chet’s district, too, hated them both so much that he wanted to do something with his hate. If it was possible, he hated them even more intensely than yesterday’s Bryce had. He should take on a special project that morning— something that would give his hate an outlet, and put it to use.

When the elevator let Bryce out onto his top floor, he passed his secretary Cindy’s desk on the way into his office, and as he passed he stopped for a moment. “Cindy,” he said. “Get me all of Chet Rodriguez’s account numbers— all of his district’s retirement account information, everything — before they’re closed out at the end of today.”

Cindy still seemed a little wary of Bryce after the way he’d turned on her the last time they’d spoken, but she managed a nervous sounding, “Yes, Mr. Towner,” and Bryce advanced into his office, without paying any further attention to Cindy.

As Bryce entered his office, he felt oddly disconnected from it — like he was entering the room for the first time. He knew, logically, that the old Bryce had come in here every day. Even the Bryce of a few days ago had felt at home in this space, had felt that this office was familiar. But today’s man was looking around the room as if he had never been in it before; it held no sense of familiarity for him. He was seeing it like a stranger— with a completely fresh set of eyes.

There were a few big tvs on one office wall— there were bookshelves on another, filled with books on finances that were written by various financial experts. There was even one book which had been written by Bryce himself— though his new self felt as disconnected from it as everything else in the office. There was also a meeting table in the middle of the room— and near the large window that looked out over the city, his desk. Bryce sat himself down at it like a man on the first day of a new job, taking in his surroundings for the first time.

After a few thoughtful looks around the room from the perspective of his desk chair, Bryce started his computer.

It booted up in front of him, and then prompted him for his login information. He had to stop for a minute and think. His login was part of all that useless knowledge his mind had filed away for him, and it took him a few seconds of concentration to retrieve it.

Once he logged in, he saw his email client had a notification— Cindy had already emailed him, and sent him the account information he had requested of her.

Bryce switched from his secretary’s email to his schedule for that day— it was hosted in the same program as his email inbox, so it was easy to switch over to it.

When he saw that day’s schedule, he let out a laugh as he thought to himself about his special project. It would take a few hours— damn, he was going to miss a few of his meetings.

He sat there for a few seconds without doing anything else, and then closed his eyes. He had to go and retrieve that other personality… had to go back into that part of his mind where the old Bryce was kept; shift the car into its rarely used gear, and be the Bryce who still knew how to do his work, and could rise to meet all its obligations. He needed that old Bryce to be able to do his special project— needed to become the man he had once been again, briefly.

He felt the smile from the elevator return to him— that devious look was spreading over his face again. “There we go…” he said, as he felt his old identity— and all the knowledge that came with it— slotting back into place.

It was easy to get to work on his project with that old knowledge to rely on. And working was an all-consuming feeling— he was completely engaged in his work, completely absorbed by it. Other things happened in the background— phone calls rang— emails arrived— but Bryce was working on his project, and he ignored everything else, no matter what it was.

Before he knew it, ten am had come around, and his project was complete. He realized he’d been smiling the same smile the whole time he’d been working, and he’d never even realized. But the task was done— and the knowledge his past identity had given him was no longer necessary. Time to put his old self away again— Bryce slid him into place in the back of his mind to sit there unused. “Goodbye, old Bryce,” he said to himself. “Until I need you again.”

Then he looked back at his schedule. When he’d thought ahead earlier that morning to his now-completed project, he’d known it would conflict with a few meetings. He’d missed several, but there was a scheduled meeting that had started thirty minutes ago which was still going now, and which he was thirty minutes late for. Bryce shrugged to himself. What would be the point in showing up to that meeting now, this late? He may as well just stay in his office and miss it entirely.

Bryce looked around the room again, taking everything in for a second time now. Since he’d been here for a few hours, it didn’t feel quite as unfamiliar as it had when he’d first entered.

He had missed them the first time, but this time as he looked over his surroundings he noticed the family photographs that old Bryce had kept sitting on his desk.

New Bryce felt no connection to these photos now— if there was going to be any picture on his desk, it should have been a picture of Hallie. She was the only one that belonged there. But these pictures of old Bryce’s family definitely did not belong. Bryce gathered them all up, and threw them into his garbage can.

He skipped the meeting that he was already thirty minutes late for— but he had some other meetings scheduled for that morning, and he did at least make the attempt to show up to them. Nothing that was discussed in any of these meetings made an impression on him. It was hard to concentrate: Hallie was still the primary thought in his head, and he only thought about her more the further that the morning advanced. Minute by minute, he was getting closer in time to seeing her again. So minute by minute, he was feeling more and more excited and eager.

At last, one pm arrived. Bryce left his office without even so much as saying goodbye to Cindy at her desk, rushing to get back down to the street. When Bryce got there, his driver was waiting for him, just like Bryce had told him to be— and Bryce told his driver to take him to the Blue Room Bar & Grill. Then he settled in for the ride, feeling contented. At last, he was going to see Hallie.

They arrived at the restaurant very early: it wasn’t even close to two pm, but Bryce didn’t mind being early. He preferred to be early— it was unconscionable to him to think of keeping Hallie waiting even one minute, so he was glad that there was no danger of this happening.

His car pulled up, and Bryce got out, and walked to the restaurant’s entrance. He entered, and passed into the restaurant’s waiting area, and as he did, he received several glances from the other people who were also waiting there. They had clearly recognized him as Bryce Towner, CEO of Towner Industries— some of them were even pointing at him, as if seeing him was a celebrity sighting for them. Bryce ignored them, and seated himself on one of the restaurant’s waiting-area benches. He checked the time— it was only one fifteen pm. He settled in to wait for Hallie to arrive.

The next forty-five minutes passed quickly, hurried along by more thoughts of Hallie. At the end of this time, when two o’clock arrived, Bryce saw Hallie pull up in her car. He remembered seeing it before, when he’d walked her back to it after Kim’s game the previous day.

Hallie stepped out of her car, and the restaurant’s valet was quick to take her keys from her. Then the valet got into her car, and drove it away to park.

Hallie stood in place for a second, watching the valet drive her car off. It would take her a minute to walk from where she was and come into the restaurant— and Bryce knew he just couldn’t wait that long. So instead of waiting for her to come in to him, he went out to her, standing from the bench and rushing across the waiting area to exit through the restaurant’s front doors.

“Hallie,” Bryce called— she was still watching after her car. But when she heard her name, her eyes turned to him, and it was like the sun coming up from behind a hill. Hallie’s attention filled Bryce with a warmth, and it was easy to bask in it. He was even more determined to reach her, and increased his pace.

He closed the remaining distance between them, and then took Hallie’s hand in greeting, giving it a squeeze.

She let him clasp her hand for a minute after that— then she removed it from his grip, so she could wrap her arms around him in an embrace.

All the positive qualities of Bryce’s personality— the ideal qualities he had aspired to, and the ideal qualities he had attained, both before he’d met Hallie and after— they were all achieved in perfection and brought to culmination in this one hug.

He had become the man he wanted to be. He had achieved his ideal— though the definition of his ideal had changed since meeting Hallie. Being the ideal, and having ideal qualities meant having qualities that would serve Hallie. That had not always been Bryce’s definition of the ideal, but it was now— and in this moment, he had attained it; he felt this was a greater success than any he’d had in his life before. He was the man he wanted to be— the perfect man. The man he’d never even knew he wanted to be until he’d met Hallie. The man who could give her everything she wanted; the man who could be everything she wanted.

And in the moment of that embrace, Bryce felt that every question in his life had been answered— every issue he’d ever had had been solved: and everything he was, everything he had ever been had come to the point of completion.

Everything was perfect now, everything was complete— and everything was finished. Hallie’s embrace was the end to every narrative— a perfect ending, a happy ending that could not have been any happier.

“Bryce,” she said, as she went on hugging him. “It’s so good to see you again— I’m so glad we could get together for this lunch.”

This only increased Bryce’s feelings of joy. He loved to listen to the sound of her voice— loved to hear her speaking, but it was even better when she spoke her feelings, and best of all when the feelings she expressed were so positive. She was happy to see him— what a thrill! And she was glad that they were spending time together over lunch— it filled him with such happiness to know this. Bryce only wanted to go on listening to her; hearing all her feelings, hearing about anything and everything she wanted to tell him— hearing anything at all that she wanted to express to him.

And in that moment there was nothing Bryce wanted so much as for Hallie to know how he felt about her— how important she was to him, how important she was in his life, that she was the new center of it— making sure that she knew that was what he wanted most of all. And yet simply telling her this wouldn’t accurately convey it— if only there was some way he could show her. He felt that he might have to spend the rest of his life proving it to her in every way he could; words just weren’t enough to do it justice.

At last the hug came to an end, and the two of them pulled back from each other. But standing in such proximity, Bryce could fully appreciate the way Hallie looked today.

She was wearing a blue dress that was both sleeveless and strapless. The top of it curved perfectly along the arcs of her breasts, sitting about half-way down them. The entire dress was practically held up by the size of her breasts, and it put her cleavage on display. The fabric at the top of the dress gathered and cinched in around an eyelet that lined up perfectly with the deepest part of her cleavage line, causing it to pull tight over the parts of her breasts that it did cover. And the dress hugged so close to her body— but Bryce couldn’t blame the fabric for wanting to be as close to her as it could get.

It was a short dress, too, showing off most of Hallie’s perfect legs below its skirt-line, which rested partway down her upper thigh. The dress was mostly blue, but there was a white outline stripe that arced along the top of the dress, and that lined the chunk above the hem at the base of it.

Bryce couldn’t believe how amazing Hallie’s body looked in the dress; it hugged her waist, it hugged her large breasts, it hugged her hips— there was no woman as attractive as Hallie anywhere in the world, Bryce was sure of it. She had a one-of-a-kind body, and Bryce couldn’t keep himself from staring at her. He knew his mouth was gaping open as he stared— knew his tongue was lolling out. He couldn’t bring himself to care— or to hide his reaction in any way. But he felt more immature than ever— he had no ability school his reaction the way a man might. He was gawking like a teenager, and he had absolutely no regrets about that.

“Let’s go in now,” Hallie encouraged, though she looked pleased by Bryce’s reaction to her outfit. She hooked her arm through Bryce’s, and together the two of them entered the restaurant.

The host was waiting for them, when they got inside— had clearly been watching for when they came back in. He spoke up as soon as he saw them. “We’re ready for you, Bryce,” and then he started walking.

Bryce and Hallie followed him— he was taking them back to a private corner table; clearly, the restaurant knew who Bryce was, and had wanted to give him maximum privacy.

Once the host started leading them, Hallie unhooked her arm from Bryce’s, and got a few steps ahead of him. Bryce didn’t mind this— he followed behind her, appreciating the view he had from this new position. He could stare at her openly, from here— she was just as shapely and just as unbelievably attractive from behind as she was from the front-view.

The rest of the restaurant was fading away around him— Hallie was the only thing in it. Somewhere, dimly, he knew the tables they passed on the way to their own were watching— watching, and pointing at Bryce— marveling at seeing a celebrity like him in the restaurant. But none of this information seemed real to him. Hallie was the only thing that he could see.

At last, they reached their table, and Hallie took a seat on one side of it.

Bryce didn’t even consider seating himself across from her. He wanted to be as close to her as he possibly could be; so he sat down right next to her. Even as he was sitting there, facing her, he knew he was still gaping at her— he just couldn’t get over how beautiful she was.

And he was waiting— waiting for her to speak again, to have that wonderful experience of listening to her again. He was listening closely, even though for that moment there was still only silence to hear— listening and waiting for her to share something else with him, so that he could know it. Waiting for her to tell him something else she wanted, so he could get it for her and prove how much she meant to him.

But even as he listened, he was still watching her. He would look into her eyes— and find that mystery that drew him, there— but then his eyes would drop instinctively to look back to her breasts, outlined by her dress. Then his eyes would go back to hers; then back to her breasts— they kept moving back and forth.

“It was fun to see you yesterday at that volleyball game,” Hallie began speaking— Bryce looked back to her face as a whole, to listen intently to what she wanted him to know. “It was also lucky— I used to be a counselor at a college. One of my friends goes to the high school that your daughter Kim was competing against. That’s why I was at the game. But if any other two high schools had been playing each other, I wouldn’t have been there, and we never would have met up yesterday.”

Bryce didn’t even want to think about that possibility. So he was grateful when Hallie kept speaking, and changed the subject.

“How was your morning?” She asked.

Bryce felt excited all over again— he wanted Hallie to know everything that he’d done that morning. “Do you remember Chet Rodriguez, and his school district?” He asked, eagerly. “How they tried to interrupt us?”

Hallie put her hand on Bryce’s. “How do you feel about that?”

She hadn’t answered his question; but Bryce didn’t care. “I hate him,” he responded quickly. “And I hate the people of his district, too.”

He felt the hate surge up in him when he said it— and he knew it was clear in his facial expression, for Hallie to see.

“But I made him pay this morning,” he added. “Their portfolio, including all their retirement accounts, was worth twenty million this morning. That’s small change, to me” — and Bryce couldn’t help but laughing when he said that — “but I started trading on their portfolio; I made one bad trade after another. That will teach Chet and his people never to interrupt my time with you ever again.”

Bryce brought his phone out at that lull in his speech, to check the value of the district portfolio. And when he saw the information there, he couldn’t keep himself from letting out a gleeful, wicked laugh. “Their portfolio is worth two million now— and that value is still falling.”

Hallie raised Bryce’s hand to her lips, and pressed a kiss to it. Then she made a beckoning motion with her other hand— gesturing for Bryce to move his face closer to hers. Bryce followed the gesture— and was rewarded with a full kiss on the lips.

As soon as Hallie kissed him, Bryce eagerly kissed her back— and when he increased the intensity, she matched this increase until they were both kissing each other passionately.

When the kiss ended, Bryce pulled back and saw that Hallie was giving him a seductive smile. A smile that seemed to be enticing him to kiss her again… or maybe do even more than that… there were so many promises of things to come held in that smile, and Bryce wanted to see them all carried out.

He had thought Hallie’s embrace had completed him— but he knew now that he had been wrong. This kiss had been the completion— the ending to everything, the culmination of everything in perfection, and the culmination of his identity. Everything he’d ever searched for in his life, everything he’d tried to become, every way in which he had ever tried to grow, everything he’d ever wanted— all of these things had been found, simply, within that one kiss. Bryce would never need to go looking for anything else, as long as he could keep sharing kisses like that with Hallie.

He wanted her more painfully than ever— wanted more kisses from her, wanted to be even closer to her, wanted to share more touches with her — and he found he also wanted to hear more words from her. He’d been craving her words before, listening for them when she’d been silent. But he was craving them more deeply now; he wanted her to speak, so that he could listen. He wanted to hear any and all words that she wanted to share with him.

She didn’t give him the words that he’d been waiting for yet, though. For the moment, as they sat there, they only held hands. And as they held hands, Hallie’s fingers were tracing over his, running in circles on the surface of his skin.

Bryce felt that he wanted to talk more with her— he wanted to hear things from her, but if she wouldn’t offer this information, he would gladly prompt the conversation. He wanted to talk to her— but it never even crossed his mind to talk about work, or family; neither of those things mattered to him anymore. They’d been dwindling in importance for him ever since he’d met Hallie, but after that kiss there could be no more doubt. They were completely meaningless to him now, and neither one of them warranted being a topic of conversation.

“How did you get so beautiful?” Bryce couldn’t help asking. It was the only question that seemed important; the only thing he wanted to talk about, because it was the only thing he could think about in that moment, as he sat there looking at her. It sounded like a pick-up line, but he wasn’t trying to be cheesy. He honestly meant it— he was being completely serious.

Hallie only gave her seductive smile in reply— and said nothing else.

Bryce felt his mind racing— he wished she would give him something; tell him more about how she was feeling— if she would only do that, he knew he would latch on to any feeling she named, and share it with her. He would feel it too, as soon as she said it— and he wanted things to be this way. He wanted to be one with her, entirely connected— sharing the same emotions, thinking the same thoughts; wanted to be completely joined to her, completely unified.

If only she would tell him something that he could do to make this happen. He would do it— he would do anything. He was craving it now, craving to be joined with her that deeply and craving to do the things she said— craving to do things for her that she wanted done.

She would give him her approval in return; and that was the most precious prize to him in all the world. He wanted her approval— he liked the simple idea of getting it, but it went beyond that. Wanting Hallie’s approval was like a physical feeling in his body— an aching that was becoming harder and harder to ignore. And getting it felt like complete satisfaction— so indescribably good that Bryce wanted to experience it again as soon as he possibly could. He longed for it— wished for it, more than anything. He wanted it so badly.

The waiter brought their food a few minutes later. Bryce had ordered two impressively large steaks for them, and a bottle of very expensive wine. Lavishing money on Hallie felt like such a natural thing to do that Bryce hadn’t even hesitated when he’d placed the order.

The two of them ate, enjoying their meal together. When their food was about half-eaten, Hallie excused herself to use the restroom, and got up from the table.

Bryce watched her go as she walked away— even now, he was still staring in awe at how attractive she looked in that dress.

Once Hallie was out of sight, Bryce pulled his phone out again. In the time that he’d been out with Hallie so far, he’d received many work calls, all of which had gone straight to his voicemail. Bryce was glad that he’d silenced his phone— if any call had actually come through and interrupted his time with Hallie, he knew he would have been extremely angry at whoever was calling.

He was going to keep ignoring his work calls— he wouldn’t do anything to respond to them now. Instead, he went back to view Chet’s portfolio— it had been an eventful afternoon so far. During this time, Bryce had not only received many work calls— Chet’s portfolio had also fallen another five hundred and seventy-five thousand dollars in value. He smiled to himself again when he saw this.

Then he happened to look up— and he saw Hallie coming back down the hallway. Once more, he stared at her beauty and found that he could not look away.

She reached the table, but once there, she did not retake her seat from before. Instead, she gestured with her hand, indicating — she wanted to sit in his lap! — and then in the next second, she had seated herself on Bryce.

Bryce could feel the warmth coming from her body through the places that his body was touching her; her warmth was radiating into him. And the position she was in now, on his lap, had moved her breasts much closer to his face— they seemed even larger from this perspective, and they almost completely filled his field of view. And with her so close, the scent of her perfume surrounded him. It filled his awareness with every inhale.

But her cleavage was so close to his face now— it was almost impossible to think, or notice anything else.

Hallie’s hand came up to his face, and she touched his chin lightly with her finger, tracing her fingernail down it.

Bryce managed to look back to her face as she did this, and she gave him a coy, flirty smile. “Could you do a little something for me?” She asked, in that coy way. It made Bryce’s heart swell. He’d wanted the chance to do something for her— to prove what she meant to him. It seemed like now, he was finally going to get that chance.

Once she’d asked, her hand dropped from Bryce’s chin back down to his dress shirt, and she started twisting one of his buttons again in that same playful way as she’d done before.

Bryce managed to keep looking her in the face— though her breasts were prominent in the periphery of his vision, tempting his eyes to go back to them. “What would you like?” Bryce breathed.

Hallie tilted his head back, and moved her lips over his, pressing a light kiss to them before pulling back. It was only their second kiss— but Bryce found it exhilirating, and he was already craving their third. It had ended much too quickly.

“I saw a tv special about you,” Hallie said, her tone confessional. “It was talking about your relationship with you wife. You worked eighty hours a week to pay off her car when you were fifteen years old— before you’d made it. And she’s kept that car for all these years, because it meant so much to her. Do you still have that car, sweetie?”

Hallie was running her fingernail along the buttonline of Bryce’s shirt again.

Bryce nodded wordlessly— his eyes had fallen back to Hallie’s breasts, and he was watching them move, now— move with her body, surging forwards with each breath she breathed in, falling back with each breath she exhaled. The motion was impossible to ignore.

“Well, I’d like that car to be taken away somewhere, and, well…”

Bryce looked back up from her breasts when she spoke again. Hallie gave him another one of those coy smiles, and as he watched her, she reached for the bread basket on the table and took a piece of bread from it. With Bryce still watching, she tore the slice into little pieces, letting them fall through her fingers down to the floor. He could feel her looking at him as she did it.

Bryce didn’t return her look. Instead, he watched closely as she destroyed the piece of bread— fully taking her meaning. The only thought in his head was how much he wanted to do it— he would be only too happy to make it happen.

“I’ll have that car crushed into tiny pieces,” he swore. “You need it— and I’ll be glad to show you what I can do. I want to show you how much you matter to me. I would do anything that you needed, to show you that.”

The last of the bread had fallen away— and with the demonstration finished, Bryce could look back up to her face. He tried to keep his focus there as he spoke— but he found that in practice, his attention was split with her breasts even when he tried to put all his effort into looking at her face.

Hallie gave Bryce a smile of acknowledgement— then slid back down into her own chair, and the two of them went back to eating their meal. They finished their food a few minutes later, and when they were done, the waiter brought their bill. The total for their lunch was twelve hundred dollars.

Bryce pulled out his black Amex card, and gave it to the waiter. The waiter disappeared to make the charge, and then came back a minute later to return it to him, also bringing with him the pad for Bryce’s signature.

Bryce looked over the receipt one more time to see the charge that had been made— and then his eyes fell on the tip line. The pen was still in his hand, hovering above it— dipping down toward it to write— and then he heard Hallie speak from beside him. “Five thousand dollars,” she said.

Bryce felt the number stick in his mind— and he wrote five thousand down as the tip, without even thinking, and then signed the receipt.

With the payment complete, Bryce pulled out one of his business cards, and with the pen that was still in his hand, he scratched out the information on it. Then he turned it over and wrote down his personal phone number, and his personal email address. He slipped this to Hallie; then both of them stood from the table, and walked back to the waiting area together.

Bryce’s driver had once again pulled up outside. Bryce had told him to come back around three o’clock, and then just hang around until Bryce came out of the restaurant.

As he stood in the waiting area with Hallie, he looked back from his car to her and spoke. “Take my car— again, my driver will drive you anywhere that you want to go.”

Hallie’s only response to this was a kiss that she pressed to Bryce’s lips.

There was noise around them— it sounded like surprised murmurs passing between onlookers— his name was woven through it. “Is that Bryce Townsend? Is that Bryce? Is that Bryce?” But Bryce could hardly pay attention to it; he was completely absorbed in the kiss he was sharing with Hallie.

She pulled away again, to Bryce’s disappointment. “Thanks for offering your car, but I’ll decline this time. Don’t worry, though. I’ll be in touch.”

Bryce could only watch helplessly as Hallie walked back outside— he kept watching her as she stood at the valet stand, waiting for them to bring her car around. Then she turned, and through the restaurant window, blew a kiss to Bryce before climbing in and driving off.

There was nothing left for Bryce to do but get into his own car. And as his driver drove him away from the restaurant, Bryce couldn’t help but think how impatient he was for Hallie to contact him again— how impatient he was to see her, touch her, and kiss her again.