Love and Fortune Ch. 01

Author's Note

This is a tale of 'mind control' in the sense that reality itself is being manipulated, albeit mostly passively; think 'super-luck', if you will. What it isn't is any kind of hypnosis or coercion or anything directly forceful; I wrote this little tale with the idea of consent and mutual happiness in mind, in fact. Maybe it's tough to categorize, but I hope you'll all find it titillating all the same.

Chapter 1: A Change of Fortune

Ben woke up in bed on a Friday morning with nothing on his schedule... feeling that there was something he was supposed to remember. As a plain guy with little going on in his life -- crappy apartment, lame day-job (which at least gave him Fridays off, bless that), no girlfriend or action to speak of -- it took him a minute to recall what exactly had happened that was at all out of the ordinary.

Then he looked over at the little bracelet of wooden beads on his dresser. Oh, right. His cousin had sent him that; she was traveling through Africa to do volunteer work, and apparently, as the note she'd sent with the bracelet had suggested, she'd gotten this from some kind of genuine shaman. He suspected she was pulling his leg about that -- such japes were typical of his cousin. More than likely, it had come from some overpriced souvenir stand in one of the bigger cities like Nairobi. It had a little inscription on the central wooden piece, a couple of sinuous foreign runes he couldn't decipher, but apparently, as his cousin had told him, together the symbols meant "Much Love, and Good Fortune."

Ben hadn't really intended to wear it, as his cousin had recommended. She'd told him it could be a sort of good luck charm for him. Maybe it would magically bring him all the crazy good luck and exciting romance he'd forever longed for -- or so she'd seemed to suggest. Ben knew that was silly, though -- or, at least, he'd thought so yesterday when he'd gotten it in the mail. But today, looking at it with fresh eyes after waking up feeling this uncharacteristically optimistic...

Why not give it a try? What did he have to lose by slipping it onto his wrist for one day? He wouldn't know until he tried, would he? And if nothing happened... then he wouldn't need to worry about it anymore.

He slipped out of bed, swallowed as if to mentally prepare for something amazing to happen -- and put the lucky bracelet on. Then, dressed in jeans and a t-shirt and carrying his laptop in a bag slung over one shoulder, Ben walked out into the streets of the small suburb where he lived alone, heading toward his favorite coffee shop.

It wasn't hot outside; that was how he recognized something was up when he noticed the bracelet felt warm against his skin. As he wore it, Ben seemed to sense a power working through him. A strange sensation like magic ran up and down his spine with each step. It made him feel excited and alive. That felt weird... but good. Maybe this little thing was magic after all? Or maybe it was just his imagination. Either way, he felt more positive about things in general, and there was a definite feeling like something good was going to happen. Maybe this would be his best day ever -- who knew?

Ben's morning walk was uneventful. Nothing got in his way, no one bumped into him, and he arrived at the coffee shop without incident. He stepped inside and saw that, as usual, the shop was busy with customers lining up by the counter or sitting around waiting for their orders to arrive. The barista behind the counter smiled at him -- a cute girl he'd definitely noticed with interest a few times before, but had never had the courage to talk to; not, at least, about anything more than coffee orders.

"Morning!" she greeted him from behind the counter when it was his turn to order. She had straight brown hair, a cute smattering of freckles, and a pair of round glasses. The tag pinned to her blouse displayed her name: Aimee. "The usual, Ben?"

He nodded back politely. Over the past weeks, Aimee had come to recognize him, and she remembered what his typical coffee order was: an iced mocha. Before long, she'd whipped up the beverage and handed it to him. Ben thanked her. Then, as he sat down at a table, he looked back, expecting to see that Aimee had already gone back to work, her interaction with him complete. But Aimee, it turned out, had been looking his way the whole time -- and as she met his eyes, she gave him a smile that seemed almost flirtatious.

Okay, maybe things really were changing for him. Aimee kept on looking his way, which made him blush and look away awkwardly each time he glanced back to meet her eyes. To distract himself, he took out his laptop and began to browse through a few blogs he followed -- but he couldn't take his mind off those looks the cute barista kept giving him. Was Aimee into him all of a sudden? Well, what else could it mean if she was checking him out like that?

Ben felt himself getting a little excited as time passed. Why this sudden change in Aimee's attitude? Sure, she'd been friendly and polite before, but never openly flirty -- which had disappointed Ben in the past, in fact, as he'd always found her quite cute. Was there something new and special about him in her eyes all of a sudden? Was it because he was wearing that little bracelet? Or was this all just silly nonsense made up by his overactive imagination?

Ben finished up his coffee in silence while he scrolled down a blog page on his laptop. He was managing to keep his outward emotions down, but all the same, it was hard not to feel like he was right on the cusp of something amazing -- the same way Aladdin must have felt when he'd found that lamp, or Cinderella when her fairy godmother had appeared to her. The air around him felt charged somehow, as if by magic.

He found that he felt more confident than usual. He thought about the inscription on the bracelet, those foreign runes: "Much Love, and Good Fortune." Putting aside common sense for a moment and focusing just on how powerful he was feeling, he kept those words in mind. Suppose the wooden beads really were magical. Did the inscription mean things would more likely go his way if he wore the bracelet?

An idea came to mind as Aimee offered yet another interested smile. He decided to try his luck with a proposition for a date. Why not give it a shot? He'd never know unless he tried, right? Spurred on by his newfound confidence, Ben walked back over to where she stood behind the counter.

"Hey," he said to her, smiling a little wider. "Caught you looking."

She blushed and looked away again, tittering. Ben reached out and touched her hand with his own, not wanting her just to bat her eyes and walk off. He wanted her to stay. No more flirting games, no more indirectness; he was going to cut right to the chase.

A part of him felt like a tactless idiot for grabbing hold of her like that. That was what desperate losers did, wasn't it -- get handsy with women who'd sooner be on their way, and then get screamed at or worse. But none of that happened. Aimee looked surprised but pleased as Ben pulled her attention back to him. Her fingers laced with his, warm and soft.

"Hey, it's okay," he offered. "I didn't mean to embarrass you. I just wanted to say... thank you for making my coffee all these times."

Aimee smiled at him shyly, holding onto his hand a little tighter. Then she leaned forward slightly. "You're welcome, Ben," she said sweetly. "Really, it's no trouble at all. Besides, it makes me happy that someone likes their iced mocha so much they come in here this often."

Ben laughed a little. "Well, I have to confess, it's not just the coffee. I like the girl who makes it, too. In fact, I think that's the real reason I keep coming back."

He gave Aimee a long look as her cheeks turned pink again. Then he felt something inside of him -- some surge of magical power or energy. It was hard to explain exactly what he went through as he stood there gazing into her eyes and she looked back at him -- only that he knew he wasn't imagining things anymore. He saw her blush deepen. He sensed her openness, her mounting hope. He knew what she wanted.

Okay, he thought to himself, tossing out the last of his worry and doubt. Magic powers. Good Fortune. Much Love. Let's see where this goes.

"Aimee, do you want to go on a date with me?" he asked quietly after a moment.

Her face brightened even more than before, making Ben feel proud and excited. She nodded enthusiastically. "Oh my gosh, yes. I'd love to. I get off work in the afternoon. Would tonight work?"

"Yes, of course!" he said. "We could meet up around... let's say, seven o'clock? Then we'll grab dinner somewhere nearby. Sound good?"

Aimee grinned. "Of course!" She squeezed his hand gently, then reached into her pocket for her phone. "Hold on, I'll give you my number."

She texted him her digits, and they parted ways. Ben strode out of the busy coffee shop, and Aimee settled back to work -- without anyone else noticing the long look of desire she gave him as he headed out the door.

***

Ben spent the rest of the day on cloud nine. He was excited for his date with Aimee, but he also was excited that the bracelet really worked, or seemed to. He had no idea if it was just a coincidence or not; he'd never heard of such a thing as a real, working magical charm like this one before -- or at least he hadn't until yesterday when his cousin sent him this little wooden bead bracelet with its portentous inscription. Yet he couldn't deny what he'd felt: that confident rush, like pure warm positive energy coursing through his veins, assuring him that anything was achievable, all things were possible.

He had a lot of time before his date, so he entertained the idea to mess around with the bracelet's good luck powers, seeing how well he could get his way. Why not experiment a little -- see what the limits of his newfound fortune were?

In town, he decided to walk over to a nearby clothing store and see what might happen inside. It wasn't a place he would usually go into; not by a long shot. Their wares were upscale and expensive, and mostly catered to women. Most men who shopped here, he'd always figured, would be buying gifts for girlfriends -- and he himself had rarely had any girlfriend to speak of. But today, a lot had changed. He had a date with Aimee coming, he had a magic bracelet, and it was the closest open shop to him. Why not, he thought?

As he suspected there might be, there were plenty of women browsing through the store. As Ben walked past the tables and shelves, he caught sight of many a pretty face. And, to his joy, almost all of the attractive girls seemed to notice him. Some smiled shyly or waved; others looked away and bit their lips, their cheeks blushing as they beheld him. All these reactions were making him feel as though he'd turned ten times more attractive than he'd been yesterday -- and, of course, stroked his ego wonderfully.

He didn't imagine he wanted to follow through and do anything in particular with any of these girls; he had plans with Aimee tonight, after all. He felt content in the moment to bask in their flirty glances and appreciate their long looks, taking it all as confirmation that the bracelet's magic had changed quite a bit about how the world saw him.

But then, Ben noticed one girl in particular who seemed especially drawn to him. She was wearing tight jeans that hugged her curves nicely. Her hair was straight black; it was pulled into a ponytail that bounced gently with each step her slender legs took as she made a confident beeline toward the spot where Ben was standing. She was tall for a woman -- maybe five feet and ten inches or so -- putting her right at his eye level.

He looked her way as she approached, and when he met her eyes, he felt that same surge of confidence all over again -- and then he knew he had to introduce himself.

"Hey," he said to her. "I'm Ben. What's your name?" He offered a hand out for a handshake. The woman smiled, then took his proffered fingers between hers. They shook hands lightly, then let their touches linger a bit longer before letting go.

"Alicia," she replied, smiling at Ben warmly. "Alicia Kayne. Nice to meet you."

Alicia had bright blue eyes and an oval face, graced with soft cheeks and full lips. Her body was slim, and her clothes were stylishly casual. As they stood there talking, Ben could feel the power of the bracelet working through him, making him more confident, bolder, and happier all the while... and it seemed like the same thing was happening with Alicia.

They'd just met, but by magic, they quickly felt very comfortable in each other's presence. They walked around the store together and talked about nothing in particular. It was easy; it was fun. And it was obvious that both of them wanted to get closer to one another than a couple of passing acquaintances would.

Ben found himself getting increasingly excited as time passed. Alicia was hot to trot, and somehow he didn't feel at all wrong about the longing he had for her, despite his date tonight with Aimee. It was like the bracelet assured him he could have them both if he wanted... plus many more. Much Love, he thought. Good Fortune indeed!

The two soon were getting a little handsy with each other. As they paused by a clothes rack, Alicia leaned up against Ben and smiled at him beautifully; then she reached out a slender hand and ran her fingers gently across his chest -- right over his heart. Then, with an inviting look, she strode off toward the changing rooms, curling a finger at him in a gesture that said 'Follow me.'

She pulled back one of the thick curtains; beyond was a pleasant and comfy little space where they'd be afforded privacy for a moment. Ben followed in behind Alicia, and she closed the curtain softly before turning back around to face him. Their lips touched in an impulsive kiss that quickly turned into something deeper and hotter than either of them expected. Then they moved together slowly, exploring each other's bodies with their hands while their lips and tongues dueled passionately.

Giggling playfully, Alicia pushed Ben down gently onto the little bench in the changing room. Then she straddled him. They dry-humped for a minute, then got to taking off each other's clothes little by little -- freeing each other of just enough clothing to facilitate this spontaneous encounter. Ben's belt was undone, his boxers drawn down, his cock freed; Alicia's panties were pushed aside -- and then she sank onto him.

Ben gasped as he felt the snug, slick embrace of the first pussy he'd fucked in what felt like forever. Alicia let out a breathy moan, barely managing to keep her voice down as she started up a slow grind. Ben only needed to sit back and enjoy what she was doing to him -- these glorious sensations her body imparted.

They fucked with greater and greater need, their lust for one another driving them until they both found release. Alicia came just as Ben's own orgasm took him, and he spurted jet after jet of his seed into her hungry, quivering snatch.

Their quick tryst concluded, they held onto each other tightly for a moment, cuddling and kissing. Then they shared soft laughter, amused by the boldness of what they'd just done. After their clothes came back on, they left the store and reconvened on the sidewalk outside. Only then were words exchanged.

"Wow," Alicia said dreamily. "That was amazing."

Ben smiled in his agreement. He felt great about everything that had happened between them, but also knew there would be much more in store for him -- with Alicia, of course, for he got the feeling she'd want to do this again -- and as he well remembered, with Aimee too.

"Are you thinking what I'm thinking?" he confidently spoke.

Alicia smiled slyly. "If it's that I want to do that again, then yes. Maybe next time, somewhere we won't have to be so quick and subtle, even. Here, let's exchange contacts."

He got Alicia's number, which he took down in his phone's contact book. He promised that he'd call her soon so they could have more fun together -- at her place, his, or wherever else suited. The two parted ways after exchanging a loving and grateful hug; then Ben went home, feeling even better about his new lot in life.

He hardly knew it, but this was just the start of all the amazing luck that was about to come his way. As he'd soon find out, his bracelet had a lot more in store for him than what he'd experienced already. With the way his life was about to turn, his humdrum past would soon seem like nothing more than a dull memory.

For now, though, he thought less far ahead. He thought about getting home, getting ready. He had a date tonight, after all.