Page 45 of No More Heartbreakers

“You’re not going to try to hypnotize me or something, are you?”

He laughed. “No. Nothing like that. Come on over to the sports ‘office’ when you’re ready.”

I finished my makeup, printed my scripts, and a half hour before the newscast, I did wander back over to the sports corner. Aric sat at his monitor, unaware of my presence.

Pausing, I stared at his back, wondering if I’d lost my mind. I’d almost decided to sneak away and resign myself to another night of wretched retching, but he turned around and caught me.

“Hey. You ready to try it?”

I nodded and walked over to the chair Aric was positioning opposite his. “So… how did you learn to do this?”

“My mom. She’s a cognitive therapist,” he said.

“So you must have stellar mental health, then.”

“Or I’mreallymessed up. It can go either way,” he joked. “Anyway, she taught me a few things to use before swim meets, and it’s helped for work, too. Okay, close your eyes.”

I closed my eyes but quickly opened them again. “Promise you’re not going to make me cluck like a chicken or stand on my head or take off all my clothes?”

He grinned and raised an eyebrow in a way that made me wonder. “I’m starting to wish Iwasa hypnotist.”

Laughing wickedly, he said. “No, you can trust me. Close your eyes. Good. Okay… you’re going to think about relaxing your body, one muscle group at a time. Start by tensing your toes for five seconds, then relax them for thirty seconds. Don’t worry about counting, I’ll talk you through it. And the whole time, you’ll be saying to your mind, ‘I’m relaxing now,’ or ‘I’m starting to relax.’ Okay, now your calf muscles. Keep telling yourself, ‘I’m beginning to relax now.’”

His voice paused then continued, “All right, now tense your thigh muscles… and relax them.”

I wasn’t sure I would be able to achieve the level of relaxation we were aiming for as Aric verbally worked his way up my body.

Certain areas hehadn’tmentioned were tensing as well.

Was he watching me, focusing his eyes on my different body parts to make sure I was doing it right?

My entire body tensed, all at once. My eyes flew open.

“I can’t do this.”

“Yes you can. You were doing great.”

“I feel silly. I’m too self-conscious.”

Aric folded his lips in and looked up at the ceiling for a second. “I’ll tell you what—I’ll close my eyes, too, okay? I won’t watch you. Although, I have to say, you did look pretty peaceful there for a few minutes.”

When I gave him a wide-eyed look, Aric laughed softly and closed his eyes, resting his hands on his spread thighs, palms up. A pause.

“You’re not looking atmenow, are you?” His voice held a seductive, teasing note.

I slammed my eyelids closed. “No.”

We sat facing each other, but not touching, eyes closed (I peeked once to make sure), and Aric began again at the toes. By the time he told me to tense and relax my neck, I had to admit I felt pretty serene.

“Now, picture yourself inside a large clear bubble, like the ones you blow when you’re a kid.” Aric’s voice was low and soothing. “Your bubble lifts off the ground and floats, rising high in the sky. You’re traveling inside your bubble to a beautiful, peaceful place, a place where you feel good. Your bubble lands there and you get out. Notice what you see, the sounds, the smells of this place.”

I was in the newsroom with Aric, but I was also at the beach. For a few minutes, I could smell the ocean air and feel the grains of sand under my knees and hands, hear the rushing and fading of the surf.

It was actually working. I was doing it.

And then it was gone.

I’d gotten too excited and yanked myself out of the moment. My eyes opened, the heavy relaxation slowly lifting from my limbs.

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