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hypnotized into doing it. It s because on some level, you ve
wanted very much to have sex with him, anyway.
Otherwise, the posthypnotic suggestion wouldn t have
worked for you. All the hypnosis did was help you move
past whatever fears and inhibitions have been holding you
back. For the past few weeks, all you ve been doing is
something you ve been wanting to do all along on some
subconscious level. If you re having sex with Turner, Becca,
it s because you want to. And you probably have for some
time now. You were just too scared to act on your desires.
Becca thought about what Dorcas said for a long time
without speaking, and suddenly, it was as if a little light went
on in the back of her brain. Actually, she realized, she
hadn t been making love with Turner because she wanted
him. Well, not just because of that. It was more because
she loved him. And she probably had for a long time now.
She had just been too scared to acknowledge it.
Her feelings were genuine, just as she d told herself
they were. And if her feelings were genuine, then her love
for Turner must be genuine, too.
Holy moly, she thought. All this time, she d been in love
with him and had never even realized it. She d been too
afraid to accept it. Too afraid of its strength. Too afraid
maybe he didn t love her back. But she had always loved
him. Just as he had always loved her. That was why the two
of them had ended up horizontal at the office Christmas
party two years ago. It was why they d come close to having
sex in college. It was why they d fooled around when they
were teenagers. Even then, they must have been falling in
love. And even then, they d been too half-witted to realize it.
Or at least Becca had been too half-witted to realize it.
Turner, she thought, recalling the look on his face the
Saturday before, had known all along. But he hadn t told
her, because he d been afraid he would lose her. She, who
had always said sex would mess things up in their
friendship.
She was such an idiot. She should have realized that,
with Turner, sex would be infinitely more than just sex. It
would be love, too. And it would only make what the two of
them already shared better. Better than better. Perfect.
Because that was how she d felt over the past few weeks
with him. As if nothing in her life would ever be wrong again.
 But the posthypnotic suggestion didn t work for
Turner, Becca objected. Though why she was objecting
when it looked like things were going to be okay, was
beyond her.  He told me the other night. And I remember
that first time, when I came on to him, he did his best to put
me off. I mean, he did put me off. It wasn t until later that we
actually made love. And even then, he resisted me for as
long as he could. So he couldn t have been responding to
the word underwear the same way I was. Otherwise, that
first time, he would have been all over me the same way I
was all over him.
 If the posthypnotic suggestion didn t work for Turner,
Dorcas said,  it was only because Turner obviously didn t
need a posthypnotic suggestion to put aside any inhibitions
he might have. He would have made love with you no
matter what the circumstances. All he needed was to know
that you wanted it, too. Once he did know that& 
Wow, Becca thought. Dorcas was good. Forget the
hypno part. This was therapy, plain and simple. Becca
should have been on a couch a long time ago.
Except it should have been on a couch with Turner.
 Dorcas, she said,  I don t know how to thank you.
 Well, a good start might be not reporting me to the
hypnotherapist watchdogs, she said nervously.
Becca smiled.  Throw in a free quit-smoking session
for me and Turner once we get this straightened out, I
mean and we ll call it even.
 Done, Dorcas said with a smile that showed obvious
relief.
Because she and Turner would get this straightened
out, Becca promised herself. Today. Hey, he was home
from work, right? She just needed to stop by her place first
to change clothes and pick up a few things. She d be
spending the night with him, after all. The first of many, if
she had anything to say about it. And she d show up
unannounced, of course, since that would give him no
choice but to open the door to her. And then she d tell
him&
Well. She d tell him how much she loved him.
No. Better than that. She d show him.
But there was something else she had to do first.
 Dorcas? she said.  I need one more favor from you.
 Anything, Dorcas told her.
 I need for you to take away that posthypnotic
suggestion about the word underwear, Becca told her.
 Because I don t need it anymore. And I need for you to do
it as soon as possible. I need for you to hypnotize me
again, right here and now, and clear all the cobwebs out of
my brain. Because the next time I make love to Turner, I
don t want there to be anything between us. She smiled a
little tentatively.  No fears, no worries, no inhibitions, no
posthypnotic suggestions.
No underwear, she added to herself with a smile.
Dorcas nodded.  No problem.
Good, Becca thought. That was good. And soon, it
would be good between her and Turner again, too. Better
than ever, she promised herself. Because the next time she
and Turner got together, it would be for the rest of their
lives.
EVEN THOUGH IT WASN T a Friday or Saturday night, Turner was
lying on his couch staring at the TV wow, he d never
realized how Night of the Living Dead was such a perfect
metaphor for romance in the twenty-first century when he
heard the knock on his front door. But he didn t feel like
answering it. Even though it was early afternoon, he d left
the blinds closed throughout his apartment. The bright,
cheerful, sunny day outside would have ruined the lousy
mood he wanted so badly to nurture. Whoever was at his
front door was sure to offer a diversion, and he didn t want
one of those, either.
No, he just wanted to lie here comatose and watch
while Duane Jones beaned the undead right and left with a
variety of household objects, because it made Turner feel
so much better about the way he d left things between
himself and Becca. Hey, maybe he d lost the love of his life,
but at least he wouldn t be eaten by zombies.
So that was a definite bonus.
Unfortunately, whoever had come calling evidently [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]