Chapter 1

Chapter 1

“Come on in Danny.”

Daniel looked at the date coach. He wasn’t sure of her height, but Dr. Chantry was taller than himself for sure, especially in her heels. Daniel himself stood at 5’ 10” and he was about 156 pounds. He’d been on the slim side most of his life and had struggled to gain weight. He did work out fairly regularly and at thirty years old, he was in decent shape, with a bit of muscle – but a little fat round his middle too, which he couldn’t seem to shed. Any weight he’d ever gained had been hard won, through heavy training, and he just didn’t have the time for it now. That too was part of what was bothering him; he wasn’t feeling very attractive and he knew that was having an impact on his ability to get dates.

And thus he’d made an appointment with Dr. Veronica Chantry.

Dr. Chantry, on the other hand, couldn’t be in doubt about her attractiveness. She looked athletic and muscular through her professional white shirt and pencil skirt, had just the right amount of feminine roundness. Strong and feminine – and she didn’t look a day over 35. With her long brunette hair, gorgeous face, perfect makeup, and killer body, Daniel could tell his date coach would have no problems getting dates. Daniel did have problems.

Dr. Chantry gestured to a chair and he sat down. She sat across from him in another chair, crossing her legs. The sound of her stockings rubbing against her skirt distracted Danny.

She leaned slightly toward him and smiled a warm welcome. “So what brings you here today?”

Danny couldn’t take his eyes off her perfect lips, though he knew he shouldn’t stare. Why did I come here, he thought? It was so embarrassing. He felt desperate; that’s why he’d come here. But Dr. Chantry’s presence wasn’t what he’d expected and it was triggering his anxiety. “Uh, well, um...”

“It’s OK Danny.” she chuckled. “Here, let’s start over. “ She leaned forward from her couch and offered her hand in greeting. He looked at her perfect red nails, just the right amount of jewelry, and reached out a bit mesmerized. “Nice to meet you,” she said. “Welcome. Just take a breath, relax, and there’s no hurry to answer.”

“Yes, Dr. Chantry, uh, call me Daniel though please. Well I’m here because I’ve had trouble finding a date, basically.”

“Of course, Daniel. When was the last time you’ve been on one?”

“Ever since I moved out here, actually, about two years ago for a new job. I’ve been living alone in my apartment, and I’ve yet to meet anyone.”

Daniel was a little bit of a shut in ever since moving, mostly destroying his self-confidence. It had made it a difficult for him to speak to women, and Dr. Chantry could see the lack of confidence in his posture.

Continuing with her questions, Dr. Chantry asked, “do you ever go out with friends?”

“All my friends live on the other side of the country, so I rarely speak to them these days. So I mostly just stay at home, watching TV.”

“Mhm,” the doctor mused as she took notes. She looked up at Daniel and took stock of her latest client. Tall, but not too tall. Didn’t look overweight and his build was slim anyway. She imagined he must feel some pressure as a male to be bigger, heavier. She noticed too that – although slim – he wasn’t sporting a tight six-pack. He probably wishes he had better abs.  She made a note of all this as potentially useful information/ He had dirty blonde hair, which covered his ears. He doesn’t look like he’s had a haircut in a while, thought Dr. Chantry. Despite the shaggy looks, his face looked smooth, and even decidedly a bit feminine. He apparently liked being clean shaven, and maybe he didn’t even have to shave that much. The light hair helped.  His clothes definitely needed work though. She had told him to come dressed up as if he were on a date, and he’d come wearing a short sleeve button down shirt and khakis at least one size too big. Dr. Chantry sighed to herself as she took down more notes. It would be a lot of work – the date doctor would be earning her keep this time - but the end result would be worth it.

“Alright I think I can help you. It’ll take some work though, think you can handle it?”

“That’s what I’m here for! So should I call you Dr. Chantry, or Veronica, or what?”

“Oh, you’ll call me Dr. Chantry.” She smiled an electric smile. Perfect white teeth between perfectly shaped red lips.  Her smile disarmed him, so it didn’t feel as uncomfortable as it ordinarily might have.

“Of course Dr. Chantry. Well, just tell me what to do,” Daniel responded enthusiastically.

Dr. Chantry stood up and walked over, picking up a small glass of water, and handed it to Daniel. “Drink some of this water, and then hit me with your best pickup line.” She returned to her seat and sat across from Daniel.

“Ahem, alright.” Daniel picked up the glass and gave it a big swig, then summoning up some confidence he looked up at the doctor and delivered his line.

“Can I have your phone number? I seem to have lost mine.”

“Oh boy,” Dr. Chantry said, looking down to her pad, “we have some work to do.”

“What’s, what’s... what.” Suddenly Daniel found it difficult to speak, and his eyes glazed over as he sat silently. The doctor looked up at him, verifying the water - with its rohypnol-like ingredient - had done its job. People always drink the water, she thought. She always told new patients to plan on two to three hours for the first session.

She moved from her seat and sat down next to Daniel on the long brown leather couch - and began what would be a long process of learning for Daniel. Their work was going to take a while, so it was best to start slow; the doctor strategized and began to speak.

“Can you hear me Daniel?”

“Yes,” Daniel spoke, barely audible.

 “Ok, well first things first. I’m your date coach right? You came to me for advice. So, you will trust what I say. Everything I say you will believe, because I’m your date coach. It doesn’t matter what you think, because nothing’s working for you, this is why everything I tell you to do is true, and you will do it without question. Do you understand?”

“Yes,” Daniel spoke again, still very quietly.

“OK. Let’s take it easy for this week. You’re going to begin thinking differently about your weight, and about fitness. You know you’ve had difficulty gaining weight, and if you want to build confidence, you’ll want to accept yourself as a healthy attractive slim person. You will no longer worry about gaining weight, but in fact you’ll like yourself slim. And you want to be fit.  You like yourself as a healthy, attractive and slim person. You want to be fit. So… you’ll start running, every day.”

Since she knew he probably struggled with trying to be larger, she wanted to affirm that it was OK to be slim, and he could be attractive and sexy that way. She spent the next hour repeating the suggestions that he would be happy being slim and athletic. That he would feel better and better about himself as he became slimmer and more athletic. Daniel really needed to feel that slim and athletic was attractive. She wanted him to feel good about himself as he slimmed down and became more fit. The more he felt good about being slim and athletic, the more he would be motivated in that direction.

“Remember, you’ll start running. Every day, before work, get up earlier and run. We’ll start you off light, so don’t overdo it. I also want you to start eating less. Eat healthy, but less. You’ve got a little bit of fat in the wrong places, so you’ll run to stay attractive and slim. You want a slim attractive waist. So you’ll have some oatmeal for breakfast, chicken salad for lunch, fish and broccoli for dinner. Things like that. You’ll want SMALL portions. Slim and athletic is attractive. Slim and athletic is attractive. You want to be attractive. Finally, for practice, I want you to try talking to a girl at work. You don’t have to have any interest in them, in fact it’s better that way. We’re just trying to get back some of your self-confidence for talking to women. Got all that? You want to be slim and athletic. You want to be attractive.  So… run, eat less, and talk to women at work. Repeat it back for me now.”

Daniel took a second and then mumbled out, “Want… be slim, athletic… want to be attractive... run, eat less, talk women.”

“Perfect,” the doctor said as she moved back to his chair, and prepared to wake up Daniel. “Now when I say ‘banana hammock’, you’re going to come out of this trance and feel energized and refreshed. You won’t remember being in a trance, and you’ll act on everything I’ve told you, but you’ll only remember that you’ve just finished agreeing with my advice. You will definitely keep coming back here on schedule to see me and you will always drink water when I offer it to you. You’ll feel better and better about yourself every time you come to see me. Alright, here we go—‘banana hammock’.”

“That sounds like a great plan Dr. Chantry. I’m a little nervous about the talking to women part but I’ll do my best,” Daniel said as if nothing happened.

“Alright, I’ll see you next week then? Thank you for coming by.”

“Thank you for all the help, Dr. Chantry. I’ll definitely be coming back next week for more help.”

Dr. Chantry held out a hand again to shake his goodbye. Daniel noticed again how slim and fit she looked and thought that someone as attractive as her would be a really good date coach. He felt he’d made a good choice.

Daniel left the office feeling refreshed, while Dr. Chantry sat back in his chair, musing over the coming months, and she smiled to himself.

* * *

It was a Wednesday, and lunch time.  Daniel walked into the kitchen to get his salad, when he saw one of his coworkers. Alright, here we go. He thought how he hadn’t been able to talk to any woman casually this week, and now it was halfway over.  I’ve got to make my move. Taking a deep breath, he managed to get out a weak “ah, um, hi,” waving to his coworker’s back. She didn’t notice him. “Excuse me!” Daniel blurted it out too loudly causing the woman to jump. At first he thought that this ruined his opportunity, and was about to leave, when his coworker spoke, “Oh hi Daniel!”

“Hi Linda,” he said meekly.

“I don’t see you around often, how are things?”

“Good. What’s for lunch?”

They made small talk and went back to work. Happy with his little achievement, he patted himself on the back. Dr. Chantry’s advice worked out well. Her advice was good and Daniel felt better about himself. He was glad he’d gone to see her after all.

***

The following week Daniel came in for his appointment with Dr. Chantry. My date coach! Daniel felt a rush of positive feelings and confidence seeing her. The doctor motioned for him to have a seat, as she asked, “how has your week been?".

“Excellent,” replied Daniel, “between the running and the new diet, I’ve already lost a couple of pounds! I’ve been kind of hungry, but it feels great to lose some of that extra weight. You know, I used to worry about trying to bigger, but I realized I really needed to acknowledge that I’m just not a big guy, and it would be a lot better if I just stayed fit and healthy, and accepted myself as a slim person.”

“That sounds great! Good for you. I heartily support that. And what about talking to a woman at work?”

“I think it went okay, it’s hard for me to tell. I was really nervous at first, but um, I was able to talk to this one woman, Linda. I’ve managed to talk to her a few times this week.”

Dr. Chantry continued to ask questions about how Daniel handled different situations, and past relationships. Afterwards, she grabbed a glass of water and handed it to Daniel. “Here, all that talking must have made your throat dry.”

“Thanks,” Daniel said as he took the glass and gulped some of it. Just like last time, he was quickly in a trance.

“First of all, you trust me now. You trust me completely. You now know that what I say works, what I say helps you, and that when you do what I say, things are better in your life and you feel better about yourself. Even if you think my suggestions sound strange, you know they’re for the best. Now, we’re going to speed up your getting in shape a bit. We’re going to make sure you’ve got the body you need. I want you to run a little bit longer this week. In addition, from now on, your meals will always be an apple for breakfast, a light salad for lunch, and a small fish or chicken breast for dinner, don’t fry them. Are you following me so far?”

“Yes...” Daniel replied from his trance.

“Good, now tonight I want you to buy an aerobics exercise video – one that focuses on toning your legs and butt and trimming your abdomen. It’s important that it’s just aerobics, no weights or anything like that.  We need – you want, really want -your body lean and slim. And remember, you’ll want to focus especially on toning your legs, butt and trimming your waist. You really want your waist to be slim and trim, and you really want to begin developing your strength in your butt and legs - because you know women will find that sexy. Women really like a sexy butt. You so want to be attractive and you know that being slim and athletic will make you attractive and sexy. Having toned legs, butt and a trim waist will make you feel attractive and you will be attractive. You want to be attractive. In fact you ache to be attractive. You want to be attractive, and having toned legs, butt and a trim waist will make you attractive…..  And so you’re going to follow the video three times a week.”

“Want to… be attractive… I want…” Daniel affirmed from his trance.

“Good Daniel. Also since you’ll be exercising so much, want to be sure you’re clean and attractive for the ladies. You don’t want to smell or be gross. Cleanliness will become very important to you. This makes sense to you and you’ll follow my advice. From now on, you’ll shower every time after you run or exercise, and wash your face in the morning and before you go to bed. Cleanliness is important to you and will make you feel attractive.  It’s so important to you to be attractive. The more attractive you feel, the better you feel about yourself.  You want to be more attractive, you ache to be attractive, and you know I can help you. You need me to help you. You need me.” Dr. Chantry paused, and then added, “Tell me Daniel, tell me how you feel.”

“Want ….be clean…. Want … be attractive…. Will feel better…. Please… please help me…..need you….”

“Of course I’ll help you Daniel.” She smiled. It was best to reinforce a patient’s sense that coming to see you was important, “Now Daniel, since you’ll be showering so much, you’ll need to take care of your skin so it doesn’t get too dried out – you know women won’t like you if you have dry skin. Sexy attractive guys know this. So, you’ll get a moisturizer and use it all over your body every time you shower, so your skin doesn’t dry out. Girls really like guys who take care of their skin. Moisturizing will make you attractive and you want to be attractive.”

“Shower… wash face… moisturize every time… be attractive.”

“Nice, yes. Okay, now let’s get to working on your relationships. Your new friend, Linda, right? I want you to keep talking to her. You should start complimenting her on things occasionally, if she wears nice shoes for instance. Perhaps ask her where she bought her jacket. It’s a good way to show her you’re interested in her. Don’t worry, you’re not asking her out. You’re just practicing talking to women. In fact, this will work better for you if you know you’re not going to ask her out. Remember, just talk with her, compliment her occasionally. You’re just getting used to talking with women. You won’t be asking her out. You‘ll be very clear that you only want to be friends. This will be good for you, will make you feel comfortable when you talk with women, and it’s what you want.”

Dr. Chantry smiled to herself. And if this goes well, he won’t have to worry about her thinking he’s hitting on her.

“Alright I think that’s about it for this week. As usual, you won’t remember being in a trance, and when you awaken you’ll remember having agreed to my suggestions. And you’ll feel better and better about yourself as you carry them out.” She paused, and then said, “Banana hammock.”

Daniel suddenly snapped out of his trance, and spoke, “that sounds like great advice Dr. Chantry. I’m looking forward to showing you the results next week.”

“Indeed. I’ll see you next week then.” Dr. Chantry waved as Daniel let himself out. She saw he look at himself in the mirror on the way out, pinch the little bit of fat he had at his waist – and then frown.

Dr. Chantry smiled to herself. Perfect.

* * *

Daniel ran into Linda in the hallway, “Hi Daniel! How’s it goin’ huh?”

“Pretty good right now. Oh uh, I like your shoes, where’d you get them?”

“Huh? Thanks, I got them from Nine West. You like them huh?” Linda asked, looking a little curiously at Daniel. She decided he was just being his awkward self, and paid him back a compliment, “hey, have you lost weight?”

“A little, yeah,” Daniel said, looking down at himself.

“Lookin’ good, keep it up.” As they walked away from each other, Daniel was feeling pretty good about himself.  The compliment made him feel…. attractive. The good feeling made it easy to ignore his hunger - and his sore legs, butt and stomach, from all the toning he’d been doing. Besides, Linda had said he looked good, and that just reinforced his desire to work out even harder. Slim and athletic. Attractive. Feels good being attractive. Daniel smiled and felt warm.

* * *

“Good to see you again Danny,” the doctor greeted Daniel as he walked in.

“Daniel, please Dr. Chantry – and nice to see you too.”

“Oh my mistake, Daniel, I forgot, please have a seat.”

Dr. Chantry continued as Daniel sat on the couch, “So how are things progressing this week? You look like you’re in better shape. And things with Linda?”

“Things are doing very well! I’ve lost another pound or two this week! I’m already down to 151—I don’t think I’ve been in this good shape in my life! It feels great being my slimmer self. It feels so much more natural for me.” Dr. Chantry chuckled as he continued, " And things have been going mostly well with Linda. We eat lunch together every day now, but she thinks my diet is a little weird. She also keeps giving me a strange look when I compliment her. I’m not sure she likes it.”

“I see. Well, we can take care of those things fairly easily Danny - I mean Daniel. But for now let’s talk a bit more about you. Specifically, your clothes.”

“What’s wrong with my clothes? I think they’re ok...”

“For when you’re alone, or going to the market maybe, but you’re going to have to step it up if you want a date. Keep up the exercise and diet, you’ve been doing great there. But you need to start buying some new clothes. Now that you’re losing weight and getting more healthy and fit, your old clothes don’t fit so well. I want you to buy some new clothes, and try to buy them more fitted, slim fit, that kind of thing.”

“I’ve never bought those kinds of clothes before...” Daniel asked, concerned.

“You’ve never been in shape enough for them. Trust me, with your increasingly toned athletic shape, you’ll look great with them.”

“Okay, I guess that makes sense, I’ll do that then.”

“I also want you to get a haircut. Don’t worry, I’m not asking you to cut it short. In fact, since really hot guys have man buns now, you definitely should let it stay a bit longer, and when it gets long enough, you can pull it back just a bit. You’re actually almost there now. So, you’re just getting it cleaned up, trimmed.  I know a good salon. Here, take this card, and if you show them the card at the salon, they’ll give you good discount. A good haircut can do wonders for your chances with the ladies.”

“Sure, I think I can handle all that...” Daniel replied, looking a little flustered.

“Alright it looks like I’ve given you too much to take in at once, I didn’t mean to make this difficult. You look like you could use a drink—here, have a glass of water, while I think of the other things we should go through.”

Daniel took the glass from her beautiful hand, drank the water as instructed, and was soon in a trance again.

“Ok, now that we’ve gotten past the boring things, we can get to the interesting ones. Daniel, listen to me, whenever I tell you anything you’re unsure of, I want you to remember that you trust me and that everything so far has gone right. You will wholeheartedly believe that what I’ve told you to do is what you want and need to do. My reasons make sense, and you know they do, so there’s every reason to go along with what I say to the best extent you can. You trust me, you believe what I say because it works for you, and you’ll think of reasons to follow what I ask you to do. So do you trust me Daniel?”

“Yes...trust you...” replied Daniel from his stupor.

Dr. Chantry continued, “In fact, Daniel. You need me. You feel so strongly that you need me and my advice. You feel that you won’t succeed without following my advice.”

“Please… please Dr. Chantry… need your help… please… tell me what I need…”

“Good. Now, remember, being attractive is very important to you. You want to be attractive so you can get dates, so you can feel good about yourself, and so you can like yourself. Being attractive is so very important to you. You need to feel attractive to feel good about yourself, to like yourself. You need to feel attractive to feel good about yourself. You want to be attractive to dates, so very much. You want me to help you feel attractive, and you feel you need me to help you be attractive.”

“Yes… please… want… need your… help…  to be attractive…. like myself…”

“Wonderful,” Dr. Chantry replied. “Now when go to the salon, tell them you want to get your hair trimmed, that you’re letting it grow longer, and that you want to eventually be able to pull it back into a bun when you want. You want to do this because you know dates will like it and find it attractive and sexy. You really want to be attractive. You ache to be attractive. Tell me what you’re going to do.”

“Hair trimmed… growing out… want bun… will be sexy… want to be attractive.”

“Good.” Dr. Chantry leaned in closer to Daniel, “Now the next time you’re alone with Linda, and when you compliment her and there’s a moment of uncomfortable silence, you’re going to do something that will make you feel much more comfortable talking to her, and her to you ....” Dr. Chantry continued to whisper instructions as Daniel listened, taking it all in.

“… and you want to do this because you’ll be so much more at ease together.“ Dr. Chantry leaned back in her seat and her voice raised slightly, “Do you understand?”

“Yes Doctor Chantry… at ease…” responded Daniel as he nodded his assent.

Continuing on, Dr. Chantry spoke, “Finally let’s start helping you in the face department. I can see you’ve been moisturizing after you shower, but your facial skin could be in a lot better shape. We want your face to be more appealing to possible dates. You want that don’t you Daniel?”

“Yes, Dr. Chantry. Of.. course.. I… do.  Be attractive…to dates…. Will feel good…..”

“And you will feel good about yourself… when your face is in better shape. I want you to buy a facial cleanser and some face lotion. You want to get your face looking nice and fresh. Smooth is sexy and appealing.  Smooth is attractive. The same goes for your lips.  If you’re going to date anyone you’ve got to have a nice kiss, right? So buy some lip balm. Men with smooth lips are sexy and attractive.”

Dr. Chantry thought a moment, “Hmm... oh right. I’m tired of remembering to call you Daniel. From now on, you respond to Danny and like people to call you Danny. Tell me you like it.”

“Smooth face and lips.. sexy… attractive. I like.. being called… Danny.”

“Good Danny. Good. Remember that my advice has always worked well for you, that you trust me, and that you feel better about yourself whenever you follow my advice. In fact, you feel you need my advice and need me to help you. You want to please me Danny. You need me and you want to please me. You’ll always agree with me from now on, and will only be able to think of reasons why you should do what I’ve told you. You’ll never contradict me again. And you feel good about yourself when you agree with me and my advice.” Dr. Chantry then said, ‘banana hammock.”

“Alright doctor, sorry about my face. I’m glad you’re looking out for me and happy you told me. It makes sense to take better care of my face to help me get dates. With all this exercise, I definitely want to be sure my skin is clean and smooth and healthy. At least it’s easy to take care of right?” Daniel smiled awkwardly as the doctor nodded. “Can I see you next week then? This is so helpful and I really want to see you.”

“That’s right Daniel, next week.”

Daniel sighed with anticipation. “Great. See you then.” As he stood up and walked toward the door, he turned back for a moment and said, “Oh, and please call me Danny.”

“Of course. Goodbye Danny.”

Danny sighed again and smiled, and waved goodbye. He glanced at his face in the mirror and ran a finger over his cheek, then rubbed his fingers together and frowned.

Dr. Chantry watched Danny and smiled to herself as he left. This is going even better than expected. Soon enough he’ll be able to get all the dates he wants...

* * *

“Wow did something happen to you? You’re really looking sharp lately. New haircut and everything huh? I need to be on whatever diet you’re on!” Linda beamed at Danny and they chuckled as they sat down for lunch.

“But seriously Daniel, you should eat something a little more than that salad. You need your energy!”

“I feel fine, don’t worry. Oh, and call me Danny, I’ve decided I like it better. You’re just lucky because you don’t have to do anything to keep your figure!”

“Oh you,” she motioned away his words, trying to decide whether he was hitting on her with the compliments - or if he was like that.

Her quiet thinking wasn’t lost on Danny, whose eyes now glazed ever-so-slightly and he said in a quiet voice. “Look Linda, I have something to tell you.”

He had Linda’s attention now, who took his quiet - somewhat flat – voice to mean he didn’t want to be overheard. They were alone in the corner of the building where they ate lunch, and Danny, now fully I trance, said, “I have to tell you something. I won’t bring it up again, and please … I would like for you never to bring it up again either, at least until I do.”

“Well you’ve got my attention now,” Linda said, though she suspected she knew what was coming.
“I won’t bring it up unless you do.” She smiled reassuringly.

Danny continued to automatically deliver the words that Dr. Chantry had implanted in his unconscious.

“I hope we can be good friends, and I really do just want to be friends. I like a lot of things about women – a lot -- and I hope I can learn more about them from you, but I’m not interested in women in that way, if you know what I mean.”

“Oh Danny, of course I do. Thank you for telling me.”

Danny continued in a somewhat flat voice, which Linda took to be anxiety. “Linda, this is very hard for me. I’m glad you know, and I’d appreciate your not bringing it up again or telling anyone else.”

“Of course Danny. I understand!” Linda was glowing and spontaneously hugged Danny, who startled.

He blinked his eyes and suddenly became more animated, “Well thanks! What was that for?”

Remembering Danny’s request not to bring it up again, she gently punched him in the shoulder, “Oh nothing silly.” She smiled and added, “We’re going to be such good friends!”

Danny stuttered a bit, “W…well….good!” Now returned to himself, Danny remembered nothing of what had just happened.

Danny and Linda continued to talk and finish their lunch. Danny was amazed at how animated Linda was and it just made him even more relaxed. She’s so easy to be with! Linda threw away her lunch trash, told Danny she’d see him later, and waved to him as she left the room. Danny refreshed his lip balm and felt surprisingly cheerful as he returned to work.

***

Danny sat on the couch in Dr. Chantry’s office, there for his weekly appointment. He always felt excited to see her, knowing she was helping him. He really wanted to hear what other suggestions she had. He felt her advice was definitely helping him be more attractive to possible dates. And he was feeling better and better about himself.

Dr. Chantry had listened to Danny’s report of his week and said, “That’s great news. You’ve lost another couple of pounds!  So, you’re 148 pounds now and you’re well on your way to your ideal slim athletic weight. Just keep going.”

“I’ve noticed I’m losing the nasty fat from my waist, and I feel great, but it seems I’m not losing quite as fast as I was.”

Dr. Chantry looked him up and down and noticed his working out to trim his waist was having its effect, and that what he was doing to work out his butt and legs was definitely working to his advantage. Mmhm. “Well Danny, some of what is happening is that you’re getting stronger athletic muscles, but trust me that you’re doing exactly right. You’re definitely looking more attractive.”

Danny felt a rush of confidence and felt good about himself.

“What you’re doing is working, so you’ll just have to continue to emphasize trimming your waist – and if you really step up your butt exercises, work those glutes until they are strong and large, that would help change how your waist appears. Potential dates will notice and find it really appealing. And you’ll just know when you hit your perfect athletic weight.”

“Well sure Doctor, that makes sense.”

“Sounds like things are all good with Linda as well, so that’s all in order then?”

“That’s right doc, I couldn’t be happier. She’s so easy to be with, and she seems to be super comfortable with me.  And it’s been easier to talk to women in general too, I’ve been greeting them, complimenting their clothes and shoes, and they all react friendly—I can’t believe it was this easy to talk to women!”

“That’s right Danny! You’re making such great progress and I hope you’re convinced of the power of our work together!”

“Oh I am Dr. Chantry! I totally trust you and your advice! Please, whatever you have for me, I’m all ears!”

 “OK Danny. Alright today’s going to be a big day for advice and homework, and you’re going to have to trust me. Are you ready for this?”

Danny not only wasn’t nervous, but really wanted to hear what she had to say, “Of course, you don’t even have to ask me! Whatever you say! I’m ready for all of it!”

“Excellent. Because you’re going to ask Linda if she wants to go hang out with you somewhere.”

“Like a date?? Am I ready for something like that?” Danny asked, surprised.

“No, no. You’re right, you’re not ready for a date yet, but this is not a date, you just want to hang out.  She won’t feel pressured if you’re just hanging out. Remember this is just practice for you too, so you’re not trying to string her along or anything.”

“Oh ok, I understand. Where should we go?”

“Ask her to take you out to her favorite club. It doesn’t matter if you can’t dance. The point is to get you used to an environment like that. It will be healthy for you.”

“Alright, I hope she’s into clubs.”

“If not then a bar is fine too, but I’m sure it will work itself out.’”

Dr. Chantry thought a moment and said, “Here Danny, have some water while I look at what’s on the rest of the agenda for today.” Danny drank it as usual, and was out almost immediately.

Dr. Chantry confirmed he was out, and began anew, “Remember Danny. You want my advice. You need it.”

“Want… advice… trust you…”

“Danny, you so want – so need - to be attractive. And you like yourself better when you know others find you attractive.  And you feel you need me to help you feel attractive.

Danny’s face tightened, “Please… yes.. want to be attractive… need you to tell me…”

Dr. Chantry smiled and continued, “Good Danny. So…. your clothes need work if you’re going to a club. You’re getting in much better shape now, and you’ve got to show some of that off. I want you to buy some new jeans, skin tight. And new shirts. Skin tight too of course, and preferably ones with a V-neck style.”

“Of course…. Skin tight…”

 “Great. And we’ve got to give you a little flash, some pizzazz, if you will. So, I want you to buy a bit of jewelry, nothing too much. A ring, a necklace, and a bracelet. No big deal, just something to give you an interesting look. And get your ears pierced.”

“Ears pierced….” There was a slight furrow in his brow, “.. both...?” Danny asked while touching his earlobe.

“Well of course! It’s the cool thing to do nowadays anyway. Girls will know you’ve got modern sensibilities. Get your ears pierced. Both of them. And when you get the piercings, you’ll feel even better about yourself.”

“Modern…. both pierced….”

“Yes, it’s a very good thing. Very modern.”

“And on the subject of ‘good things’ I also want you to stop working out using that video at home. We need to step it up a bit. There’s a gym I want you to go to, don’t worry it’s near your home. I want you to sign up for a couple of aerobics class. Actually, two of them. You’ll do the light one three times a week, and the heavy one once a week. We’re going to tone you up even more, and this is a great way to do so. Remember, you’ll pick classes that also focus on your waist, butt and legs. You feel really good working those out, and remember that even as you work hard on your waist and lets, you’re going to really work on your butt.”

“… aerobics class….. feel good working those out…”

“Yes, definitely get a focus on those things.” Dr. Chantry handed him the card. “Banana hammock.”

Danny became alert, looked at the card, and then up at Dr. Chantry, “wow you’re right. A lot for this week, is there more I should be doing?”

“Nope that about covers us for a week. Oh, actually one more thing as well. I’ll see you in two weeks instead, but I want you to have lost three to four more pounds by then alright? We’re so close to where we want you, we’ve just got to make that last push. Think you can do it?”

Danny felt a bit of disappointment that he wouldn’t see her in a week. I’ll make her proud when she sees me. “Of course, doctor, I don’t get very hungry nowadays anyway. Sometimes I even skip lunch!”

“Alright, wonderful. I’ll see you in two weeks Danny.”

* * *

Danny was a little nervous. Even though it wasn’t a date, and they seemed to be good friends now, he still had to actually ask her to go somewhere with him. He made sure he wore nice clothes today so he wouldn’t put her off. He had on his new slim-fit V-neck and his gray slim jeans, trying to stay cool as they sat down for lunch.

Linda spoke first, “I like your earrings; they’re cute! And your hair… ooh la la!”

Danny touched one of his small diamond studs, and felt a burst of warmth in his stomach. She likes my earrings and my hair! Dr. Chantry was right. Girls would think he was modern and attractive. “Thanks. I like the way you did your hair today too.”

Linda smiled, “Alex does a great job. I can give you the card for his salon if you like.”

“Sure, um, maybe later.” Definitely anxious now, he decided it was as good a time as any and went for it, “um, hey, what are you doing this weekend?”

“Oh, are you asking me on a date, hmm?” The two of them laughed. She laughed because she knew he wasn’t into her like that, and he laughed because his nerves were now shot.

“Ah, uh, oh no. No! No. I just want to hang out, y’know? You think we can hang out sometime?”

“Sure, that’d be great! What kind of hangout did you have in mind?”

“I was thinking maybe somewhere fun, like a nightclub maybe. Do you know any?”

Linda looked surprised, “Do I? Boy, I know all the good places. But I didn’t figure you for the clubbing type.”

“Well I figured with the changes I’ve been going through, something fun would be nice.”

“Let me call my girlfriends then, we’re going to have a great time, an outing for your ‘outing’!” Linda quickly closed her mouth, remembering not to bring it up. She glanced sideways t Danny, worried she might have offended him. She was relieved when Danny didn’t seem to notice what she’d implied – or at least didn’t react to it.

* * *

Two weeks went by quickly, and Dr. Chantry was thinking to herself as Danny walked in to have a seat. This is going to be a big turning point for Danny today. We’re definitely going to have to use the water. “Doctor, I did it! I’m down to 144 pounds, and I feel like such a different person now! I’ve never looked better, and I get a lot of looks around the office now.”

You’re going to get a lot more soon, thought Dr. Chantry, who then asked, “How did your night out with Linda go?”

“Extremely well! We went to this night club where they played great 80’s music all night, and we danced and drank and talked. She seemed to enjoy herself a lot.”

“That’s perfect, because we’re going to need Linda’s help for the next steps. She’s a woman, so she knows what women like, right?”

“That sounds reasonable.”

“So, you’re going to talk with her about what women like, fashion, style, that sort of thing. Girl talk, if you will.”

“But how is that going to help me?”

Dr. Chantry gave Danny a disapproving look as she spoke to him, “Trust me Danny. You have to understand women, to understand how to be with them. Do you get it?”

Danny felt immediately better and saw the benefit in it. “Ahh I see. That makes perfect sense. Of course, you’re always right. But how do I talk about that stuff with her? I don’t know the first thing about any of that, so I can’t start any conversations.”

“No problem. I’m going to pay for a few subscriptions to fashion and style magazines for you. No need to make you pay for something like this.”

“You’ll buy them for me? Wow thanks Doctor, that’s really nice of you.”

“It’s no trouble, really. I want you to study them well, and talk with Linda about them, since she sounds like she’s a fairly fashionable woman.”

“Oh, I’d say she is, I hear her talking to the other girls in the office about stuff like that all the time.”

“Great, if you get into any conversations with them too, that’s absolutely perfect. The more you’re able to be comment knowledgeably on fashion, the more they’ll know you understand them. And the more attractive you’ll be and the better date prospect you’ll be. So, for example, it’s great if you can say to her something like ‘I like your Gucci purse. Those are super cute Prada shoes.’ And so on.”

Danny looked at her with wide open eyes, absorbing her advice. “Great. I’ll be sure I can do that!”

“So, we’re going to get into a few more things now, why don’t you have some water?”

“Sure thing.”

In a few moments, Danny was out, and the doctor started to speak. “Okay Danny. Time to get serious. I’m going to tell you to do a number of things. You’re going to do them. Just as always. But now people are definitely going to notice you, and talk about you, and stare at you. When they do this, you won’t feel embarrassed, and you won’t think anything they tell you is strange. In fact, you’re going to enjoy the new attention. You want people to notice you. Being noticed means you’re attractive and you’ll be able to get dates. So, when people look at you, even stare, you’ll feel really good about yourself. Now, what will you do when people stare at you?”

Danny sighed in his trance, “Enjoy… Feel good.”

“Perfect. Now we need to get you new clothes again, because you’re getting perfectly athletically slim. Buy some skinny jeans, at least three pairs, in whatever colors you want. We should also do something about your height, because being taller will make you more attractive to possible dates. And you so want to be attractive. You need to be attractive. Taller is attractive. And so, I want you to buy some shoes that will make you taller, that will make you attractive. First, get a pair of boots, with at least one and half inches of heel. That’s pretty low so you could probably get away with a platform sole on combat boots or something similar. Same goes for some tennis shoes. If you have to buy shoes in the girl’s section, that’s fine. You can get a unisex looking style, and you’ll feel it doesn’t matter - since the purpose is merely to get some height so you can look more attractive.”

Dr. Chantry stared at Danny’s face, noticing his hair and his thick eyebrows as he sat in a trance, before continuing on. “On that note, we’ll take more steps for your face and hair as well. I want you to go back to the salon I sent you to before, and tell them to give you some highlights. Maybe around the bangs or something. You’ve now decided too that you want to wear your hair down, so tell them that’s how you will wear it. You want to wear your hair down so potential dates can see it better – but still push it behind your ear of course to show off your modern sensible earring.  Ask them to make your hair sexy and you want to feel attractive. They’re good and know what to do. You’ll agree to anything they say, knowing they are professionals and that they know what looks good. You’ll trust them. Afterwards, ask them to trim your eyebrows too. You’ll feel like ladies will like it more if your eyebrows are sleeker and cleaner. Now tell me, do you think your communication skills are good enough to talk fashion with women other than Linda?”

“Not...sure...” Danny said, frowning. “Need … your.. advice… need help…”

“Glad to help Danny. Just follow my tips, and you’ll feel confident about it. So as we said, you’ll study the magazines you’ll be getting and be able to talk about fashion. But to be attractive, you have to understand how girls communicate. Girls are expressive, and like to use their hands. So you can understand how they communicate, I want you to watch how they use their hands when they talk, and since you want to communicate with them more easily, you’ll use your hands that way too. You want to connect with them better. And before you start talking to anyone, I want you to touch them lightly. The arm or the shoulder is fine. Make sure you don’t touch them too hard; it should just be a very light very gentle touch, like this…” Dr. Chantry demonstrated by gently touching Danny on the arm.  

“In order for you to understand women better and better, and for you to have a better chance to get dates, you will pay increasing attention to how women move their hands when they communicate and how they use their body language when they communicate.”

“The better you can do what they do, the better you’ll be able to communicate with them. So you’ll want to practice communicating the way they do - all the time - regardless of if you’re speaking to women or not. Practice makes perfect after all. And the more you practice communicating in that way, the more confident you’ll feel and the better you’ll feel about yourself.”

“Danny, I just remembered you have earrings but I can’t see them. What’s the point of wearing them if no one can see them? I want you to start keeping one side of your hair behind your ear, at least this way we can see one of them. If you feel like your hair is over your ears, I want you to use your hand and sweep it back around your ear again. As often as needed through the day. And in fact, there’s nothing wrong with playing with your hair in general. It shows women you care about your hair, and thus your appearance, and that’s a good thing. I want you to go ahead and play with your hair, twist it around your finger, play with the ends in your hands. When you get nervous or if you’re thinking about something, doing this will make you feel especially comfortable. You’ll increasingly pay attention to women’s nonverbal body language so you connect with them better. You practice it more and more, and also use your hands to communicate better, all the time. And you want them to see how modern you are by showing off your earrings and playing with your more modern hair. Do you understand?”

“Yes. It’s… a… good.. idea… I will...definitely... do.. it”

“Excellent, ‘banana hammock’.” Dr. Chantry watched Danny wake up and continued, “Now I want you to go out with Linda and her friends a few more times. And don’t be afraid to let loose a little, it’s ok to have a few drinks and get drunk, as long as the girls are there to watch your back.”

“OK, I’ll try and have a bit more fun Doctor!” Danny said, spontaneously sweeping his hair back over his ear.

“I really like your earrings Danny.”

Danny felt a burst of pride and smiled broadly, feeling really good about himself. He reached out and gently touched Dr. Chantry’s arm with his fingertips, “Thank you Dr. Chantry. You’re really helping me!” Danny again swept his hair back over his ear.

“Sounds great, see you in two more weeks then Danny.”

* * *

“Ooh I love your hair, it’s hot,” Linda complimented Danny, “I love those highlights! And it looks so great when you wear it down like that!”

“Thanks.” Danny’s felt so happy she liked his hair. All of a sudden, he felt really good about himself. After all, he’d been thoughtful about brushing out and drying his highlighted chin-length hair just as they’d done when he left the salon, though he had pushed some behind his ear.

They arrived at the club, meeting up with Linda and Danny’s coworkers, and Danny was getting some stares. “Are you alright with all those looks you’re getting lately? I guess it’s a big change for you,” one of their other coworkers asked Danny.

“Nah, it’s alright. I’m not putting in all this effort so no one can see me, right girls?” They all laughed. Danny enjoyed clubbing with Linda and her friends nowadays. Danny had a cocktail as one of the girls noticed something, “Hey, you and I have the same boots!” Danny became flushed because he knew he was wearing girl’s shoes. He wasn’t ashamed, but he didn’t exactly want to flaunt that fact.

Linda came to his rescue, “Oh don’t tease him. Danny’s a slim guy, he just needs to get things that fit him, right?”

Danny twirled his hair in his fingers, fidgeting around as he tried to relax, “Yeah, and my feet are not that large, and I liked these boots.” He leaned sideways, crossed his feet at the ankles, to show the boots to Linda and the others. “Don’t they look good on me?”

“Oh no, no, no! I didn’t mean to insult you! I’m so sorry!!” Linda’s friend reached out to touch him on the arm to reassure him, and lowered her voice kindly, “Danny. I really think the boots are cool. That’s why I got them. They look great on you too – that’s all I was saying!”

Danny, now used to noticing women’s nonverbals, softened his voice too, crossed one leg over the other at the thigh, leaned in and touched her back on the arm.  With his other hand, he waved his fingers dismissively, communicating to her not to worry, “No it’s okay, and they are girl’s boots after all. Heh, they go well with my top though right? Green’s in style,” he said, standing up and putting both hands on his hips - posing to show off his outfit, a skin tight green shirt with a V-neck, with dark black skinny jeans and his girl’s calf-high black boots. He felt he was doing a really good job of communicating with them now.

They all laughed and talked, even as Danny mused… Dr. Chantry is such a great coach… I can’t wait to tell her how comfortable I’m getting around women!

Danny was on his way to be very tipsy, but thought, What the hell, I’m with my girls, so I can get a little drunk!

TO BE CONTINUED...