“Are you ready?”

“Of course,” I said, blushing.

They snapped their fingers.

~

My rideshare promptly dropped me off, and I was hoping to find some action tonight.

It was an unseasonably warm but nonetheless chilly night outside the club. The nighttime clouds above were tinged a haunting orange from the city lights, rain or snow or snowy rain threatening to fall at any moment, but with any luck, I wasn’t going to have to worry about being cold tonight.

I stepped in and saddled up to the bar.

“Pumpkin spice mocktail, please,” I smiled.

“Make that two,” I heard a husky voice behind me say.

As they moved next to me, something about the stranger seemed familiar, as if I’d seen them in a dream. But I could swear we’d never met…

“You look lovely tonight, mx,” they said. “Your outfit and your makeup are both gorgeous.”

I giggled. I didn’t think it would be this easy.

“You don’t look so bad yourself, uh…”

“Dixon,” they said. “But you can call me Dix for short. And you?”

Once again, the name rang a far-off bell. I shrugged it off.

“Sam,” I responded as smoothly as I could.

“Nice to meet you, Sam.” They put some emphasis on my name, with a flirtatious raised eyebrow. “What brings you to the club tonight? Looking for a dance partner? Maybe something a little more?”

“Something a little more,” I responded confidently. “But some dancing couldn’t hurt. I’d like to get to know you a little better first.”

The bartender placed our mocktails in front of us, but before I could take a drink, I felt a vibration near my leg.

“Excuse me, I’ll be right back.”

“Of course,” Dix smiled.

I stood up and went around the corner to check my phone. My manager had to know I wasn’t on call this week.

Nothing. No notifications. I groaned and put it back in my shorts pocket, returning to my seat, where Dixon was patiently waiting.

“Something wrong?” they asked.

“No. Phantom vibration, I guess.”

“Oh, I hate when that happens. Ah well.”

They raised their glass. I raised mine. We drank.

Something about it tasted… odd. It still tasted good, but just… odd.

“You okay?” Dix asked. Apparently they noticed my grimace.

“Yeah, it’s fine! It’s good. Just… something weird about it that I can’t really put my finger on, that’s all.”

“Well… wanna go dancing?”

“Hell yes, I do.”

We stood up, and I grabbed their arm.

This was happening really quickly. Normally, my guard is up when on the hunt for a quickie at a club like this. But something about Dix seemed very personable. They looked like the kind of person you could trust from a first glance.

And they were very attractive, to boot. We both were; while I gussied myself up in a crop top, some fishnets, and very short shorts, they looked like someone out of a biker movie, with an open leather jacket covering a sports bra, bottomed off with well-worn denim and a pair of rough hiking boots.

They affirmed how I felt as we started to dance.

“God, you’re so fucking hot,” they growled softly.

“I know… you are, too,” I breathed.

I started to sway with the music, warm bodies all around me. Somehow, even when they were out of sight, I could still sense Dix’s presence. They were like a beacon of sexual heat; a flashpoint in a crowd of sweating, carefree dancers.

At several points, I felt them grind against my backside. I knew it was them, and I danced directly into them, letting them know that the “something a little more” we were both seeking was an inevitability.

I started to lose my momentum a little. That’s weird, I thought, Didn’t I order a non-alcoholic drink?

But then I turned around, and Dix gave me an absolutely filthy stare, and the thought dissipated.

“Turn around,” I saw them mouth below the music.

I obeyed without question, and moaned, feeling a thrill between my legs as their hands surrounded my hips and guided them against their body.

“It looks like that drink is starting to take effect,” they purred directly into my ear.

I felt a shudder deep below the waves of pleasure. What were they talking-

“It’s okay. You don’t need to worry.”

It’s okay. I didn’t need to worry.

“You’re getting more suggestible, but don’t worry. You like it, and whatever comes next, you’ll enjoy it.”

I was getting more suggestible, but I didn’t worry. I liked it. Whatever came next, I was sure I’d enjoy it.

I continued to dance against them.

Eventually, they took hold of my hand. I allowed them to drag me to a bathroom.

The world seemed to… glow, almost. Everything seemed so magical. So soft, and detached from conscious reality.

“Look at me, Sam.”

Dix’s voice pierced through my mind, and it sharpened, pointing directly towards them.

They took hold of my chin.

“Hm,” they chuckled. “You really don’t remember our negotiations from earlier, do you?”

I half-giggled. Of course I didn’t remember our negotiations from earlier. It seemed so obvious, hearing it in their voice.

“Don’t think about that, sweetheart.”

I didn’t.

“In fact, don’t think about anything but following my voice. My voice is your thoughts now.”

Their voice was my thoughts now.

“Smile.”

I smiled blankly. I felt happy warmth flood my mind. Their voice made me happy.

“Now. You’re going to follow me out of the bar. We’re going to walk down the street to my car. You’re going to hold onto my arm as if we’re going home to fuck for the night. You’re horny for me. You really enjoy my company. You don’t mind being my arm candy as I take you wherever I plan to take you. And you don’t need to worry about wherever that is, because wherever that is, it sounds like a place you want to go. Do you understand? Nod your head.”

I nodded, then hugged their left arm like the clingy partner I was becoming.

“Very good,” Dix said, then walked out of the bathroom. I followed.

We were almost out the door when a bouncer stopped us.

“Headin’ home?” he said, suspiciously eyeing me.

Dix gave me a mischievous look that somehow told me exactly what to say.

“Yeah! Dix here’s been really sweet to me tonight, so we’re heading home together.”

The words came out eloquently and I finished them off with a little wink and tongue-out smile.

“Heh, alright,” said the bouncer. “Can’t be too careful. I’ve stopped plenty of people who have been roofied. Glad to know you’re okay.”

“Thanks, man,” said Dix. “You’re doing God’s work. Have a good night.”

I paid the bouncer no further mind as the two of us walked out into the streets.

Before too long, I felt a soft heaviness on my shoulders and dimly noticed that Dix had put their coat on me to keep me warm.

Warm…

I felt so cozy, snuggled next to Dix’s arm. They were comfortable. They gave me comfortable thoughts. I closed my eyes…

I eventually found myself standing next to a blue sedan.

“You can let go now, Sam.”

I let go and stood there, staring off into soft space with the same dopey, agreeable smile that Dix had put on my face. It remained partly from their command, but also from the sheer euphoria of… whatever was going on. Something in the drink…?

I was distantly aware of the sound of a car door opening, then Dix’s words pierced through my soft mind again.

“Get in. Sit. Put on your seat belt.”

I complied and leaned back, relaxed and dreamy. The car was even warmer than Dix’s coat. I would have dozed off if Dix hadn’t kept issuing commands.

“Hmm…” they pondered. “Take the seatbelt back off.”

I obeyed.

“Take your crop top off.”

I took it off, exposing my breasts. I felt Dix play with one with the same reactive distance as hearing something underwater.

“Okay. Put your seatbelt back on. Let it frame your tits.”

I did so, making sure my chest looked as presentable and sexy as possible, then leaned back again and stared at nothing in particular.

“Mmm,” Dix let out a quiet moan. “That’s better. Good job.”

I did a good job for Dix. An arousing calmness washed over me.

I felt wonderful. I was so relaxed, detached from thought and from memory, patiently inactive and waiting for Dix’s next instructions. I was perfectly content doing and thinking nothing but what I was told.

My eyelids started to flutter, just a little.

Some moments passed peacefully before I heard Dix speak again.

“Awww… sleepy, are we?”

“Sleepy…” I repeated, softly and dreamily.

“You can go to sleep now.”

~

I dreamt of Dix’s words; listening, absorbing, but not processing.

I dreamt of a chillingly soothing breeze contrasted against a safe warmth.

I dreamt of rope brushing gently, sensually, across my skin.

I dreamt of falling…

I dreamt of distant pleasure…

“Alright. Awaken.”

~

I opened my eyes and felt the biting chill of cold winter air.

It was freezing, more than the city streets outside the club. I felt it in my ears and my cheeks. I had a blanket tied around me in an attempt to keep me warm, and while it wasn’t doing nothing, the chill still felt desperate across my face. I could feel my skimpy outfit rub up against it.

I looked forward, trying to regain my senses, confused at why I could see the dazzling, unpolluted night sky without looking up.

And then I realized.

“Dix!?”

I was tied to a camping chair, hanging over a steep incline – almost a cliff – by a single rope.

“Dix, what’s going on!?”

I felt it dig against my back.

“You can’t remember?”

I heard their voice, slick with coy mockery, over the side of the incline.

“You asshole!” I yelled. “You put something in my drink!”

“It felt nice, didn’t it?”

“I don’t care if it did! What’s going on!?”

“I’m sure you can put two and two together.”

“We’re obviously not in town. Where are we?”

Dix smiled cruelly. “Who can say? This is a big state.”

“You-”

“Alright, that’s enough questions out of you. I actually drugged and kidnapped you because I wanted to ask you something.”

“What!”

I watched as Dix knelt down and picked up a pair of shears. My anger turned to gut-wrenching fear.

“No. You wouldn’t,” I pleaded.

“I might not have to,” they responded. “There’s a thumb drive full of information somewhere back in town. If you tell me where it is, I might pull you back up and untie you. Then you might have a chance to hitchhike back, if anyone’s around.”

I couldn’t give Dix that information. That thumb drive contained… well, it contained something important. It was so secret that I couldn’t think of who gave it to me or what was on it. And even if I could, I would never-

Their shears hovered over the rope.

“No!” I yelped. “I’ll… I’ll…”

“You’ll what?” they taunted. “You can scream, but we’re far enough away from civilization that I doubt anyone except the wolves down there will hear.”

“Fuck… fuck fuck fuck…”

“Where’s the drive?”

“I don’t know!” I cry-screamed. “I don’t know I don’t know I don’t know!”

They sighed and stood up, taking the shears with them. A small part of me sighed in relief.

They disappeared from sight, and the fear started to take hold again.

I heard a car door slam shut, and I had another panicked realization: there’s no trees up there. Which means I’m tied to…

“No!” I yelled.

I heard the car start.

“Nooooooooo no no no no no no no! I’ll tell you I’ll tell you please don’t drive please just pull me up I’ll tell you everything!”

The door opened.

“Where?” they demanded, from a distance.

I told them everything.

~

I sat down in the car’s passenger seat with a huff.

After I told Dix the thumb drive – my porn stash – was in my desk drawer, which they knew, my memories came flooding back. The negotiation, the pre-scene trance before they dropped me off at the club, the secret trigger that would release me from the amnesia’s grip, all of it. They pulled me up off the incline, untied me, asked if I was okay, and ferried me back to the car.

They handed me a thermos full of hot cocoa and put on my favorite bedtime playlist.

“You sure you’re okay?” they asked.

I let out an angry giggle. “It was really hot, just… intense, is all. I didn’t know you were capable of being that sadistic. Which is what I wanted, but… wow.”

We had done rope jams and suspensions at parties, but this was something else. I was still catching my breath.

Dix buckled their seatbelt and started driving.

“Phew…” they phewed. “It’s so much later than I thought. I’m tired. Pass me some of that.”

“Should I drive?” I offered. “Adrenaline’s still pumping a little.”

“I’ll be fine,” they said. “You’ll probably be out like a light once the rush passes.”

I sighed. “Yeah, you’re probably right. Let’s go home and get some sleep.”

I took another sip of cocoa.

Twenty minutes later, Dix was proven right.