The Erotic Mind-Control Story Archive

The room was stuffy and warm, lit only by the television monitor and the mesmerizing web of colored lines that snaked across its screen, twisting and turning themselves into fascinating, beautiful patterns. Music from the dance floor echoed softly in the background, forming an almost hypnotic beat that seemed to draw her further and further into the web of colorful lines. Her pretty green eyes were glazed and blank, and she sat unrestrained in a simple wooden chair, arms limp at her sides, her breathing slow and soft.

Her erstwhile target stood next to her, just to the side of the television screen, studying her like a scientist running an experiment. After a while, she spoke. “Who do you serve, Kate?”

She stared straight ahead at the screen. “I serve only you, Alice.”

“Very nice. And what will you be doing for me?”

“I will believe that I completed my mission. I will return home. I will carry out your commands and then forget them.”

“That’s quite good, dearie. Now sit quietly while I have a little chat.”

“Yes, Alice.”

A man approached them, and Alice turned to face him. “Wait an hour and then take her outside, and bring her out of her trance. She’ll find her own way home.”

He nodded. “Do you think she’ll do it?”

“Mmm, I suppose it’s possible. She’ll likely accept our commands if we have any to give to her. But her false report of my death is enough to buy me a few months. Much better than just killing her outright. I’d rather not look a gift-whore in the mouth.” She looked down at the redhead in the chair. “Oh, I’m being too mean to her, Alex. It’s not her fault that she’s a whore. Look at that face. They’ve got her so well-trained that she went under for me in a matter of minutes. The poor girl’s brain is nothing but scrambled eggs. Such a waste of a lovely, lovely young woman.”

“Maybe you’re getting soft in your old age, Alice.”

Alice glared at him. “Kate, if I tell you to kill Alex here, you will do so without hesitation, do you understand?”

“Yes, Alice. I will kill him without hesitation.”

He backed away, out of her view, although the screen and its wonderful colors was all that commanded her attention. The lines had turned into circles, endlessly spinning in a slow, lazy turns, slowly changing from red to green to blue and back again. She felt her body relax even further, something that hadn’t seemed possible just a few minutes before. The wooden chair had somehow transformed into the softest easy chair in the world, and she sank into its warm, plush folds with a sigh of pleasure.

“Oh dearie, you are so enjoying my little light show, aren’t you?” Alice said, walking over to the chair. She knelt down and lowered her voice, as if confessing a long-held secret. “Perhaps I am getting soft in my old age, Kate. You were sent here to kill me, but the real you doesn’t even know what you’re doing with her body, does she? The people you’ve killed, the risks you’ve taken. It’s not fair to her, not a bit. I used to send girls like you off to drown themselves in the Spree, but it’s not you that I’m killing, is it? I’m killing her.”

Alice leaned in closer. “I’ve decided to get out of the mind control business forever, and so have you. I’m about to tell you the most important thing in the world, the command you will obey for the rest of your life. Listen to me and obey, Kate. Obey with every fiber of your being.”

She let Alice’s words fill her mind as the colored lines swept over her face. Her mouth opened, and she began to repeat the most important thing in the world back to her captor.

“Mrs. Pendleton?”

Kate looked up from the battered copy of Freeport Monthly Digest to find Doctor Mulroney staring down at her. His stern face soon gave way to a broad smile, and he held out his hand. “I’m so glad that you could make it in this afternoon, Kate. Please, follow me into my office.”

She gladly took his hand and let him lead her down the usual maze of corridors to his private office, a fairly spacious room that overlooked the courtyard and the boiler plant. It offered several seating options, and she dropped into the chair that faced his desk with a happy sigh. “I’m really sorry that it took me so long to make this appointment, Doctor. Thanks for fitting me into your schedule on such short notice.”

He took his usual seat behind the desk and rifled through a folder filled with official-looking paperwork. “I know how hard this has been for you,” he said, as he flipped through the pink and white pages. “Remember what I always say, we’re going to do our best to get you through this.

“I know. I trust you, Doctor.” She began swinging her legs against the chair legs, almost absentmindedly. “You always know what’s best for me.”

“Not always, Kate,” he said, chuckling to himself. “There’s a very good team at this hospital dedicated to making sure that you get the best care. I’m only lucky because I actually get to be the one who interacts with my patients on a one-to-one level.”

“I’m really lucky to have you,” she said, giving him a winning smile. “I’m sure that you already have a plan for me. What can I do about this thing? In my head? Is it serious? Am I going to need brain surgery or…” Her voice fell. “Is it worse? Will I need chemotherapy?”

“We’re going to find that out together as well, Kate,” he said, putting the folder on the desk. “But let’s not jump too far ahead, okay? As I said over the phone, this could be many different things. It could be benign. It could be that it has been inside your head for years, same as always, and no one noticed it because no one ever thought to look for it. And if it turns out to be more serious, we’ve found it and now we can start to destroy it.”

She laced her fingers together and held them in her lap. “Okay. Is there anything I can do right now? To… destroy it? Or see if it is more serious?”

“I’m glad that you asked that. You’re correct. The human body is often very good at showing us what’s wrong with it. After all, that’s how we all did medicine before there were things like X-rays and MRI machines. Observe and react.” He picked up a penlight from his desk. “For example, if you look into this penlight, I can see how your eyes react to it.”

She turned to look into the light, squinting her eyes a bit.

“See? Your eyes know to focus on the light. And to follow it, as I move the penlight back and forth, just like this. That’s right. Back and forth, just like this. Your eyes follow the light back and forth.”

“Back and forth…” she said softly.

“I can tell how healthy you are by how you concentrate on the light. How you listen to my voice. How you react to the sound of my voice, and to the light, back and forth. I can tell you’re healthy if your eyes begin to droop a little, as if you’re a little sleepy. Just a little tired, listening to my voice, concentrating on my voice. Can you hear my voice?”

Her mouth was dry. “Uh huh,” she managed. Her eyes were half-closed, and she briefly worried that she was going to fall asleep right in the middle of Doctor Mulroney’s office. Then she remembered that he had asked her a question. Fortunately, he chose that moment to repeat it, and she responded, her tired eyes momentarily forgotten. “Yeah. I can… hear.”

He smiled. “Very good, Kate. You’re feeling very safe and relaxed, safe and warm and tired, tired and relaxed. Back and forth, heavier and heavier, more and more tired. Relax, and sleep. Eyes so heavy. Relax, back and forth, and sleep. Sleep. Close your eyes, and sleep. Kate. Mrs. Pendleton. Kate? Are you paying attention?”

She looked around and shook her head. Doctor Mulroney was looking at her with concern, and she felt the familiar pit form in her stomach. It happened again. “I’m… I’m sorry. I zoned out.” She blinked her eyes rapidly and tried to smile, hoping to allay his worries, but he was having no part of it.

“As your Doctor,” he said slowly and forcefully, “I’m very concerned when you say things like that. Especially when I’m trying to tell you what you need to look out for, all of the signs and symptoms you need to think about.”

“No no!” She held up her hands. “No, I’m listening. I’m just… things with James have been rocky, and I’m just thinking about a lot of things. No, I know. If I start to get dizzy, if I feel any signs of vertigo, um, if I’m sleeping too much or too little, if my appetite changes, if I feel really weak… does that cover it? I’ll let you know right away.” She stood up and stretched her legs. “Ugh. Sorry, I feel like I’ve been in that chair for hours.”

“No worries, Mrs. Pendleton. I’m going to give you some paperwork about your condition. This is mostly boilerplate stuff, but it’s more accurate than what you’ll see on the Internet. I don’t want you to panic in the middle of the night because some website told you that having itchy eyes was a sure sign that you’ve got two hours to live.”

She giggled as he handed her the paperwork. “Oh my God, you must get that all of the time. All of these websites… and it’s like every one of them ends with you having ebola.”

“Exactly, exactly!” He stood up from his desk. “And the winter winds warm the coldest hearts.”

Her hands dropped to her sides, and the paperwork fell from her limp fingers. Her head tilted slightly to one side. “And the deepest souls,” she added.

He pointed to an empty mug on the desk. “Kate, on my desk is a coffee cup full of scalding hot water. Pick it up and pour it over your head.”

Without a word, she walked to the desk and picked up the mug, swinging it over her head in one smooth motion. She stood there, frozen in place, mug held high in the air.

He moved to her, and slowly removed the coffee mug from her hand, leaving her arm in place. Running his free hand along her jeans, he paused to take in the feel of her firm ass. He placed the mug on the table and lifted her sweater over her head, caressing her breasts and her body as she stared through him. “You’ve always been a hot little piece of ass, haven’t you? Don’t answer. Remember only that this is our special little trigger phrase, yours and mine alone. When I snap my fingers, you’ll become my perfect lover, attentive and adoring and obedient. You will awaken only when I snap my fingers again.”

He pulled down her sweater and stepped back. Snapping his fingers once, he enjoyed the sensation in his pants as he watched the life flow back into her face. Her whole body seemed to soften, and she lowered her raised arm until it was around his shoulder, pulling him into a loving embrace. She said nothing, and gazed into his eyes.

“Your triggers seem to be holding this time,” he said, as he brushed the hair from her face. “Having Disha program you to obey me did the trick after all. I guess I owe our mutual friend a drink.” He leaned in and gave her a soft kiss on the lips. “Do you remember your new orders, Kate?”

She held him like she’d held James at their wedding, staring deep into his eyes and swinging slightly back and forth. “I trust you and Disha completely,” she said dreamily, “and I will let both of you hypnotize me whenever you want to. I’ll go deep into trance and obey you without question.”

“Kiss me,” he ordered, and she did, letting her soft lips linger on his before pulling away again, resuming her languid pose and her adoring gaze. “I wish I had the time to take you right now, my little minx, but our friend is demanding a progress report on you this afternoon. He’ll certainly be pleased. Speaking of progress, how is our feisty blonde doing? Have you been hypnotizing her as I asked?”

“Yes,” she said. “I have. She’s so pretty. I love hypnotizing her. She goes deep into trance for me.”

“I should have known that would be the one suggestion you’d hold on to. All of that Golden Dawn nonsense. Is she ready for deeper programming?”

“Yes.”

“Good. I’d like to send the both of you out on a contract one of these days. Imagine the damage the two of you could do together! We’ll have to arrange for her to take a long vacation soon, and dust off that old brainwashing machine again. You should be proud, Kate. This is the closest we’ve come to making a new agent in years.”

“I’m proud,” she agreed.

He gave her another kiss, squeezing her ass for good measure, and then untangled himself from her embrace. He looked her over to ensure that nothing was out of place, and snapped his fingers.

She blinked and looked around. “I… what was I… I’m sorry, did I zone out again?” She looked at the jumble of papers on the floor. “Oh, Doctor Mulroney, I’m so sorry! This keeps happening to me. Is it a sign that… is it bad?”

Dammit. He cursed his own incompetence, allowing himself to slip up so easily. Fortunately, it offered him an opportunity to run some more tests. “It’s okay. It’ll be fine. Are you tired of the Weltschmerz, Kate?”

Her hands fell to her sides again. “I… Yes.”

“I think we’re all back to normal again,” he said, as he gathered the paperwork from beneath her feet. He placed the bundle into her hand and curled her loose fingers around it. “In a moment I will snap my fingers again and you will awaken, remembering only the programmed events. Do you understand?”

“Yes.”

Another finger snap, and she came to life again. “I’m so, so glad that I came in today, Doctor Mulroney. I can’t tell you how great I feel! It’s like a thousand pounds off my back. Thank you so much.”

“Any time, Mrs. Pendleton. Remember to set up an appointment with myself or Dish- Doctor Kapoor very soon, okay?”

“Of course,” she beamed. “Looking forward to it!”

What Decker doesn’t know, he doesn’t know he thought to himself as he watched Kate leave. If only he could find a way to get Nikki into his office as well. Or the test project girl. Perhaps it wouldn’t be that hard after all, now that he had Doctor Kapoor completely under his spell. Just a few of her “helpful” sessions here and there, and in no time he’d have all of them at his command. Then he could finally get rid of his annoying partner for good. Especially now that I have my sexy little assassin at my beck and call…

Kate was singing as she left the hospital, letting the bright sunshine fall on her face and spinning in circles as other patients and staff tried to steer clear. “Another day, another lovely day… hey, how are you?” She gave an orderly her best smile and danced around him, tapping her feet in time to an invisible beat until she reached the parking lot. The Honda was just a few rows away from the front of the lot, and she smiled as she reached into her purse.

“James?” she called out, peering through the front door of her own house and hoping against hope that she would hear his voice. That it would all be back to normal. Please, James. I feel better now. I’m better now. I’m sorry. It’s going to be okay now. But there was nothing but silence, and she reluctantly pushed the door open and walked inside.

She placed her purse on the countertop and made herself a fresh pot of coffee, even as the sun sent the last of its rays into the kitchen. Any doubts about caffeinating herself at this late hour vanished as she let out a loud yawn, and stretched her arms above her head. “Nope, no nap time for you, Kate.” She glanced over at the bottle of bourbon. “No time for you either, Mr. Stephenson.” She set the coffee maker to ‘brew’ and settled onto a stool, pondering her options.

The phone rang. She pulled it out of her purse and, without looking, sent it straight to voicemail. But, James!, a part of her mind protested, sending her hand back out to at least see what number the incoming call came from. The rest of her, however, held firm. “No, no, no. Doctor Kapoor is right. He’ll come home when he’s ready to come home. Shut up.” Her hand relented, and she left the phone where it was.

The coffee was ready in just a few minutes- it was an expensive-looking machine, and she wondered why she and James had decided to spend so much money on it. Perhaps it was a wedding gift? A Christmas present? A gift from one lover to another, once they’d reached the point where they both knew that the most romantic presents were sometimes the most practical ones? Something they’d lucked into at a garage sale? She thought about asking James, but of course there was no James to be had, so she was left with nothing but a mystery. Just like always, Kate. Just like this whole month.

She opened a cabinet and reached for one of the usual brown mugs. Spying a more interesting target further inside, she retrieved the footstool from under the sink and climbed onto it to get a better look. Sure enough, buried behind random mugs and glassware was a bright yellow mug plastered with the NCPU alumni logo. She couldn’t help but laugh. “All of that secret agent nonsense, calling the alumni office… the answer was right in my own kitchen the whole time. Ah, seriously Universe, you’re killing me here!” She looked into the bowels of the cabinet. “Hello in there,” she said. “Got any more answers in there for me? Any Golden Dawn mugs? Shot glasses from Mexico? Anything?” Then she realized that she was actually looking in my cabinet for a Golden Dawn cult mug, and she sheepishly closed the cabinet door.

The coffee was nice and hot, and black, the way she liked it best. Or so it seemed. “Well, whatever old Kate liked,” she declared, “it’s too late now. Black is the new black, Kate Pendleton.” She took a long sip, and felt triumphant. Everything was going to be okay.

“Can I join you?”

She felt her body jump put of its skin, her heart leaping into her throat for one moment of pure panic before thankfully settling back into her chest. She spun on her heels, and he was there. Standing in front of her. Looking like a refugee, tired and defeated. He gave her the best smile he could manage, but his eyes told the real story, as he stared at her with wonder. Like someone had just handed him the Mona Lisa.

“James,” she said.

The coffee mug slipped from her fingers and shattered on the floor.

She’d pictured it a hundred times in his absence. The reunion. The return. The two of them rushing into each others arms, tearing at their clothes, feeling their lonely and love-starved bodies become one again. Letting all of that built-up passion feed on itself, becoming a furious storm of erotic lovemaking and kissing and whispered declarations of eternal love.

Instead, they sat on the sofa, looking at one another without speaking. Aside from a discarded overcoat and a pair of shoes, they were still wearing all of their clothes. They both held a coffee mug, letting the black liquid inside cool to room temperature. The grandfather clock chimed softly.

She finally forced a sentence up and out of her body, fighting it every step of the way, kicking it out of her mouth like a bartender evicting a drunk. “So… we’re here.”

“Yeah,” he agreed. “Listen, I…”

“No, I should…”

“It’s okay, I…”

Another five minutes went by.

“Hey,” James began, “do you know why they banned gambling in Africa?”

“I…”

“Because there’s too many cheetahs.”

She laughed, hard, much harder than the joke deserved, but she put everything into it. The doctor visits, the fear, the flashbacks, the blackouts, the worries, the stupid broken mug that was still lying in pieces on the kitchen floor. She packaged it all into her laugh and let it escape from her body, letting her eyes close as tears formed beneath them, setting the new mug on the table to spare it the same fate as the one in the kitchen. She laughed until her sides hurt, and only then did she attempt to compose herself, looking up at James and giggling.

“I gotta remember to save that one for parties,” he said, grinning.

“Oh jiminy-friggin-Christmas, I missed you so much,” she said, taking his hand into hers and giving it a good squeeze. I’m so sorry, I really am. I didn’t know what I was doing. I still don’t know. But there’s—“

“I know, I know,” he said, reaching out and placing his free hand on her shoulder. “I know. I don’t want to talk about it. I just… can I just look into your eyes for a while? Just stare at your face? I missed it so much. Just that, I’d give up a thousand lifetimes for just that.”

She smiled, and the tears threatened to break out again. “Where did you go?”

“Downtown hotel. It was cheaper than the airport one. Kind of gross, though.”

“That’s it? You just sat there for days on end?”

“Well, I went to work, too.” He thought of the blonde at the bar the night before. “It was really boring. You?”

“Here, obviously. Claire came over one night.” She thought of Claire, deep in trance, sitting in the back booth at Franklin’s. “Girls night out. Otherwise… I had a lot of time to think about things. About us.”

He slid towards her on the sofa until they were next to each other, still holding her shoulder as she held his hand. “Me too. And I’m sorry if I’ve been a butt this past week. I thought it would maybe help if we didn’t… no. I thought I could run away from what happened in the shower, that’s the truth. I was afraid to talk about it, so I ran away.”

“I won’t do it again, James. I promise.”

He reached his thumb over the top of her hand and pressed down, squeezing her hand as she squeezed his. “I’m here for you one way or another, all the way until the end. I won’t run away again. That’s my promise.”

“James…” she paused, and let the knot in her stomach settle a bit. You practiced this, Kate. “Were we always happy? Have we always been kind of lovey-dovey like this? I can remember being with you, loving you, being intimate with you obviously, but was it always that good?”

“I hope so,” he said.

“No, James. Do we… do we fight a lot? Do we cheat? On each other? Do I ever hit you? Do… do you ever hit me?”

“I love you, Kate. That’s the honest truth.” He thought about Sarah again, but shook his head until the thought went away. “I’ve never cheated on you. I’ve never hit you. You’ve never hit me.”

She pulled away from him. “You left one thing off of that list.”

“I never meant…”

“Did I cheat on you, James?”

”How was Boston?” he asked, as she unloaded her suitcase and coat into the front hallway.

She gave him a tired look. “Absolutely exhausting. Three days of hell, plus the flight delay and waiting forever at the baggage return. They sent us to the wrong baggage claim. I’m really glad to be home.” She joined him on the sofa and kissed him. “Did I miss anything?”

“Claire’s been calling. You’re supposed to plan her engagement party, I guess.”

“Oh shit, that’s right! I forgot. I’ll call her tomorrow. There’s so much going on these days, I can’t even. Would you mind if I just tuck into bed? I’d stay up, but I’m just super exhausted right now. That flight felt like it was nine hours long. How can you get jet lag if you don’t cross a time zone?”

“Fine,” he said flatly.

“That is not a ‘fine’ fine, James. That’s a ‘nothing is fine’ fine. What’s the matter?”

He sighed. “I never see you any more, that’s what’s not fine. You’re always skipping out of the house for days at a time. And when you come back… we never do anything together. You’re always too tired, or you’re not feeling well, or…”

“I’m sorry, honey.” She kissed him even as he moved to avoid her. “Farmingham is kicking my ass right now. I didn’t even want to go to Boston. But I’ll get fired if I say no.”

He looked at her. “I thought that you were going to quit?”

“How is that fair? I have to quit my job so that we can spend more time together? You don’t like your job, either. You could quit. Don’t make me choose between my career and my husband. I can’t. I won’t!”

“Are you seeing someone?” he blurted out. “Is that what this is?”

Her face turned red. Instinctively, she raised her hand to slap him, but found the strength to hold back. “What. The. Fuck. Did you just say. You… fucking… ASSHOLE!”

“You’re always at work, Kate! Even when you’re home, work calls and suddenly you’re off to work on a ‘project’ for days at a time! Doesn’t matter what we have planned, what your friends have planned, nope, work takes priority! But you hate work! So what else is it? A guy at the office? Someone you met on the road? Someone that—“

She picked up the TV remote and threw it, hard, against the wall. It shattered, sending batteries and plastic parts across the floor. “Don’t say another word,” she hissed. “Don’t you dare say another word. Don’t you DARE, James! I love you. I love only you. I fuck only you. I dream only of you. Don’t you EVER accuse me of running off to fuck some asshole when I’m TRYING to be a good wife and a good professional and a good PERSON.”

He rose from the sofa and headed for the study. “I don’t believe you,” he said coldly.

“JAMES!”

“Did I cheat on you?” The tears finally came, and she let them fall. “Oh my God, James.”

“I didn’t trust you,” he admitted. “I didn’t. You were always gone for so long, without any notice. I didn’t know how bullshit your boss was being to you back then. One day you took a work call and dropped everything like you always did, and I… I followed you, without you knowing. And you went right to the airport and right through security and that was that, just like you’d said you were going to do. And I’m standing there in the departures hall, looking really stupid. I felt horrible. Remember when you came home from Santa Fe and I said I had the flu really bad, and could barely talk? That was why. I was embarrassed. I vowed to never ever do it again. And I never did. Never could.”

“I don’t remember that, James.”

“Oh. Oh! Right, I’m sorry.”

A pause. “You spent like three whole days pretending to be sick?”

“Uh huh. I stuck my fingers in my nose with my head under the covers so that I’d sound really stuffed up. The worst was running to the bathroom and pretending that I was getting sick. I just stood there staring at the mirror making throw-up noises.”

“For three days.”

“Yup. Brack. Brrrraaarrrp. Blaaaargghhurk!”

She swatted at him. “Stop, stop! Ugh, so gross! You’re a fucking cartoon character, James Arthur Pendleton Junior. Holy shit, I love you.” She took his hand again.

He straightened his posture and stuck out his chin, holding up his free hand as he proclaimed: “Kate Thomas Pendleton, beautiful wife of mine, I will always try to be the best husband I can be. I promise you that I will never, ever doubt you again, I will never, ever leave you again, and I will never, ever mmmmph mmmmmph mmmmmhmmm.”

He let her tongue shove his aside as her lips engulfed his, falling backwards as she rolled on top of him. She tore into his shirt, sending plastic buttons off into the far corners of the living room as he pulled her t-shirt over her head. Then their lips met again, over and over, breaking away only to land again on faces, noses, and chins. She cupped his face and stared into his eyes. “Let’s keep going.”

They were both panting heavily as they reached for their own belts and pants, peeling them off clumsily, eagerly, as fast as they could be rid of them. Kate’s jeans landed on the coffee table, scattering the mugs and the plates onto the carpet, but they both ignored the mess and returned their attention to one another. In a flash, her bra joined the jeans on the table as she plunged down onto him, burying her face in his chest and neck, coming up for air only reluctantly. His hands reached for her panties, and they quickly hung from her ankles. She kicked one leg, then the other, sending the garment flying as James pulled down his boxers.

“Wait, wait,” he breathed, rolling her over onto her back. His back pushed against the coffee table. It topped over with a crash, and she laughed gleefully, spreading her legs as he put his head between them.

“We made… a mess again…” she said, as he let his lips and tongue work their magic on her, slowly and gently bringing her to climax. She closed her eyes and absorbed every bit of the pleasure that flowed through her, eagerly taking it all in, greedily desiring more of it. He obliged, slowly moving up her toned, beautiful body, pausing again and again to lavish attention on her stomach, her breasts, and her neck. He entered her, and she gasped, digging her fingernails into his back.

“Yow, easy tiger,” he protested.

“Shh. Work through the pain,” she cooed. She pulled his face to hers and took in his scent, the feel of his hair as it slipped through her fingers, the warmth of his skin on hers.

He rode her gently at first, pressing against her as placed his hands on her shoulders and kissed her tits. As he sped up, she locked her legs around him and pulled him in deeper. “God… I missed… this so… much…” she breathed. He said nothing; James always got silent when he was close to orgasm. Their eyes met and locked as they rocked back and forth. “Mmmm… a little longer… James…”

The orgasms hit them both at roughly the same time, to their mutual satisfaction and pride, and they both rode the waves of bliss that followed for as long as they could.

The phone rang again, and they both looked at it. “That’s the third time,” James groaned. “How are you so popular this late at night?”

“It’s probably Claire. You know how insistent she can be. I’ll check the voicemail later.”

He frowned, and raised an eyebrow.

“God, you are the worst! We are so getting a divorce.” She kissed him on the lips, and added a quick one to his forehead as well, before reluctantly climbing off of him and padding into the kitchen. Stepping around the broken shards of mug, she flipped the phone over.

“UNKNOWN NUMBER,” read the display. The jaunty, jazzy ringtone continued.

She rolled her eyes. “Fine, great, hey yeah, I’ll stop having amazing sex to listen to your sales pitch about vinyl siding.” She picked up the phone. “What?” she barked.

“Hello Kate. Are you tired of the Weltschmerz?”

She knew just what to say.

“Yes.”