Mason and the Genie

"Feel better, Master?"

His eyes shot open wide to see the genie sitting on the table behind his laptop while the screen of his laptop showed the results of his last search. "Where is she?" he blinked, startled, confused, and disappointed at the sudden change.

"I wish you would vanish long enough for me to have an orgasm with my girlfriend." the genie pronounced in an exact impersonation of his voice.

Still reeling from the sudden change, Mason felt disoriented as he absorbed her words. None of this was possible, he thought. He thought of Sindee. "Did I just vanish for her, too?"

"Actually, she thinks her internet went down, Master."

Still holding a palm-full of semen, Mason washed his hands in the sink before returning to his computer and logging into the webcam site. "Fuck," he announced finding Sindee offline. "Bring her back!"

"Your wish is my command," the genie announced.

For a brief second, he nearly uttered the incantation of "I wish" before freezing in place. Those were the same words she had used seconds before Sindee had inexplicably shown up on his computer screen. "No," he uttered, unsure if he was refusing her offer or rejecting his reality, probably both. He refreshed the page a couple of times before opening up the email portal to the cam website and sending her a message. "Hey! What happened?

Moments later, he received a reply, "Internet issues, I'm so sorry!"

Sucking in a deep breath, Mason calmed himself before composing a response. "All good, he typed. "I had a great time. Thank you for the treat and I promise to hold up my end of our bargain."

"You better! I'll see you Wednesday," she replied and he noticed the message at the bottom of her email saying it was sent from her iPhone.

"How long before her internet is back up?" he asked the genie.

"Oh, it already is, Master."

"Good," he sighed, flopping back in his chair to contemplate the rest of it. Naked and sated, he couldn't deny the reality of what had just happened. Completely unplanned and quite unexpectedly, he had just had cam-sex with his online girlfriend. He had no memory of initiating the call, but he had no doubts that it had just happened. "Fuck," he muttered, becoming very used to swearing to himself.

Unable to sit still, he began pacing back and forth between his table and breakfast counter as he wrestled with this new information. As an undergraduate in college, he had earned a reputation for being a pacer as he tried to think through problems. He kept glancing at the hallucination sitting on his table. Was she really a hallucination after all? He thought about how accurately the genie had represented Sindee, including the change in the color of her hair, her height, and knowing she had once had brownish-blonde hair. None of that felt right to him, not a single part. How could she know?

"I'm going for a run," he announced as if he owed the genie an explanation about any choices he made.

As he pulled on a t-shirt and running shorts, the genie reappeared on top of his dresser. "I can make it so you would never have to run again, Master."

"I like running," he said, heading to his front door.

He got as far as his sidewalk when the genie reappeared alongside him wearing shorts, a sports bra, and running shoes. "This is exhilarating!"

When Mason picked up the pace, so did she. Realizing he couldn't out-run a mythical being any better than he could out-run his problems, he eased off to his usual pace before taking a left at the end of his street and heading towards the running path through the woods where he had first found her bottle. "How did your bottle even wind up on this path?"

"I don't know," she said, not the least bit winded. "I serve until three wishes are granted and then I return to my realm, Master."

"Heaven."

She flickered, her visage momentarily flickering into the horrendous one he had glimpsed earlier. "Not heaven. Djinn are not welcome there, Master."

He kept an eye on the pathway in front of him to make sure no one could see him talking to himself. "Are you evil?" His research had suggested Jinn could be good or evil.

"I am djinn," she replied with an easy smile.

"Will you be judged one day?"

"Perhaps."

"Are you enslaved?"

"Aren't we all?" she answered. "You must eat, Master, does that make you a slave to food?"

He fell silent as they overcame a jogger huffing and puffing with exertion. Lost in his thoughts, he tried to see things from her point of view. If, and it was another damn big IF, he lived a blissful-like existence constantly interrupted by having to fulfill wishes, then wouldn't he be eager to get it over with and head back home?

"Did he see you?"

"Only you can see me, Master."

After rounding a gentle curve, they approached a small family out for a Sunday stroll. Mom pushed a stroller with oversized wheels while Dad walked a large dog. Out of experience with dogs, Mason slowed to a walk and moved to the far side of the path. As they approached the family, the dog zeroed in on the genie and began growling. The genie moved to Mason's other side, farther away from the snarling animal. "That is not a good dog, Master," she whispered while its owner tried to calm the big dog.

"He can see you?"

"All animals can. Only humans are blind, Master."

He waited until they were well past the family before resuming his run. "What did you mean when you said he wasn't a good dog?"

"I fear for their child, Master."

He ran for a moment longer while considering those words. "What's that even mean?" The genie shook her head; she couldn't or wouldn't tell. "Fuck," he sighed, noticing the look of concern on her face. "Can you wait here for a moment?" The genie nodded, jogging in place while Mason turned and fast-walked back in the direction of the family. The dog showed little interest in Mason. "Hey buddy," he called without getting too close. "Be careful with that dog, okay?"

"Sorry he growled at you," the man said, looking annoyed.

"No, I meant with your kid. I had a bad experience once with a dog like that."

Stopping in place, the husband and wife shared a glance. "Thank you!" the wife called back.

With a wave, Mason went back to running. As he reached the genie, she fell into step alongside him. "You are a good man, Master."

"I'm an idiot who is seeing and hearing things," he said, wondering why he had even bothered the family. He shrugged away the thought as he picked up his pace. In every run, there came a point when conscious thought fell away and he became nothing more than the path, the rhythm of his feet, and breathing. He needed that distraction.

The multipurpose pathway circled a small pond in his subdivision. Unfortunately, a Sunday afternoon quickly turned into the least rewarding of times to run as he kept coming up on one family after another. As he emerged from a cluster of trees, he spied a long, straight stretch uninterrupted by people. Turning on all his power, he raced for the end as fast as he could, out of breath and sweaty as he reached the road and the sidewalk back to his house.

Slowing to a walk, his chest heaved while the genie looked completely unaffected. She remained blissfully silent as they finished the walk home. He thought about the first family they had passed, the one with the snarling dog and then he thought about the other people with dogs. Only that one dog had growled at the genie while the other ones looked excited to see her. "How did you know about that dog?"

"The same way I know about man, Master."

"What the fuck does that even mean?"

"Some men are evil, Master. Surely, you know that."

"And what am I?" he asked, walking up his driveway.

"You are lonely, but you are good, Master."

"I'm not lonely," he said, "I'm a pervert with an imaginary girlfriend." Opening the door, he shut it in her face just to see what would happen. Without a word, she rematerialized in front of him, back in her genie costume.

"You're not a pervert, Master."

"Uh-huh," he said, dismissing her on his way to a shower. Dismissing her wasn't the same as getting rid of her—that seemed impossible to do as she materialized floating cross-legged in his shower. "Do you mind?"

"I'm sorry, Master, but I am bound to you for two more wishes."

He felt the allure of making two bullshit wishes just to get rid of her and held back. "I don't know what happened with Sindee this morning, but I'm still not convinced that you're not a hallucination brought on by an accidental poisoning or too much stress."

"Then make another wish, Master. Make one that's irrefutable."

"Tempting, but on the outside chance that you're real, I'm not going to waste one, either."

"As you wish, Master."

"Damn right," he grumbled, uncomfortable with having an audience. He didn't linger in the shower, just long enough to rinse off the sweat and feel human again. After toweling dry, he looked in the mirror, considered his tangle of pubic hair, and recalled his promise. He was never one to put off until tomorrow what could be done today, a trait his college cohorts had hated.

"Looks like you're going to get a show," he told the genie as she sat floating two inches off his vanity. If she had a comment, she kept it to herself as he picked up his trimmers and began trimming away as much pubic hair as he could. "What? No promise of how you can make sure I never have to do this again?"

"It's true, it would cost but a single wish, although I don't think you truly want to remain hairless, Master."

"Then why am I doing it?"

"Love, Master."

"More like lust," he scoffed, enjoying how his cock began to grow. Freezing before he started with the razor, he remembered his promise to document the procedure. Naked, except for the wreath of shaving cream around his stiff prick, he darted into the next room for his phone. It took a bit of finagling to situate it just right. Propping the phone against his toothbrush holder and using the selfie camera seemed to work best. "Have you ever watched anyone do this before?"

"I have seen many things in my time, Master."

"Does any of it even get you excited?"

"Djinn know passion, Master. We even know love."

"There's a difference between love and lust," he said, realizing it would take more than one stroke of his razor before his skin became smooth.

"If it be your will, Master, tell me how you see those differences."

He sighed, briefly wondering why he was even talking to the apparition. "I suppose it's hard to tell the difference, especially at first. I guess love almost always includes lust. Hell, for all I know, that's where it starts. But lust fades and love doesn't."

"Do you love Sindee, Master?"

"Sindee?" he repeated. "She's a special case, isn't she. For one, she's not real. I mean, yes, I know she's a real person hustling to make a buck in an unusual way, but I don't know how I feel about her. Does part of me love her? Is being deeply in like the same as being in love?" He laughed at himself. "I'm either in love or addicted."

He paused and realized he should change his blade, shaving shouldn't take this many strokes. Later, he would work through his video and capture the best screenshots. Why try posing for the camera when a video would take thirty frames a second for him? He restarted the video before going back to work on himself. His hard cock throbbed from the attention and he caressed it a few times.

"Now this would definitely say I was in lust with her," he chuckled. "But the best part of our calls usually happens before or after sex. I like talking to her, although I don't know if I can believe a single word she says."

"Sindee never lies to you, Master."

"Yeah, I'd like to believe she doesn't lie, but I get it. She's paid to put on a persona that earns her money." Veronica had been the same way. In the club, she was outgoing and flirtatious. Depending on the guy, she was also into chicks although she was as straight as they come. She would say whatever it took to earn another buck slipped into her garter belt, get the guy to buy her another watered-down drink or a private dance. Veronica's work persona had been very different than her private personality. He wondered if Sindee was the same way. Was Sindee boring in real life? He wanted to believe that he got to see the real Sindee during their calls.

"Sindee never lies to you, Master," the genie repeated.

"If it's true that Sindee always tells the truth, then why doesn't she have a boyfriend? Hell, she probably has to beat the men off with a stick. I know she claims to be a homebody, but I'm not sure I buy the whole agoraphobia diagnosis. Although, if it's true, she sure found a great way to make a living."

He fell quiet as he concentrated on shaving his balls. Being hard actually made the procedure easier. So did stretching the flesh of his balls sack over his testicles for a smoother stroke.

"When I'm done with this, are you going to let me jerk-off?"

"You may do as you wish, Master, so long it doesn't involve me. But if you should wish it, I would be yours in any way you'd like."

"I think I have enough saved up memories of Sindee to handle things on my own."

"As you wish, Master," she said with something that looked like an approving smile on her face.

"Guess you'll get to watch, though."

"It will be my honor, Master. It's actually something I don't get to witness very often. Why do it yourself when you can have any fantasy your heart desires?"

"As tempting as it is to wish for Sindee in real life, I would never want her against her will."

"It would not be against her will, Master."

"I just wouldn't want it to be like it is online where I'm never sure if she's truly having fun. I bet she would make one hell of an actor."

"I could become Sindee for the rest of your days, Master." As if to illustrate the point, she transformed into the most recent vision of his online girlfriend, complete with red hair and a shaved pussy.

Mason's cock jumped with desire at the sudden vision of Sindee, he couldn't help it, but he could help what he did about it. "No, I'd want the real thing. 'Warts and all,' as they say."

The genie flickered back to being a pretty blonde in a Halloween costume.

"This feels remarkably hot," he mused, caressing himself and enjoying the change in how it felt touching himself. He modeled for the camera and giggled. He felt equally foolish and turned on by what he had done. How many straight, conservative computer programmers would have shaved body parts? Returning to the shower, he rinsed away the remaining shaving cream and discovered the joy of the new, slick feeling to his manhood.

After toweling off, he remained excited and hard as he realized he should apply some lotion. He had two choices, deal with the nuisance of being excited or taking care of himself. After making sure his phone had a good view of the proceedings, he used more lotion and began caressing the length of his stiff cock. Damn, that feels good. Ignoring the genie, he kept his thoughts squarely on Sindee as he replayed a mental highlight reel from half a year of video calls with the very unique woman. He had never met a woman like her, virtually or in real life. He loved her smile, her constant sunshine, and her remarkable openness about her body. Leading up to his orgasm, his thoughts became very carnal indeed.

With the joy of satisfaction, he moaned as he reached his peak, gleefully pumping his orgasm into his palm for the second time that day. Rinsing lotion and another orgasm from his hands, he smiled at the genie. "And that's what a real woman can do for a man."

"I can be a real woman, Master."

"Uh-huh," he scoffed, drying his hands and deciding to stay nude for a while longer. He made cucumber sandwiches for his late lunch and ate them in front of the TV while watching the end of a football game that didn't matter to him. He ignored offers from the genie to make sure his favorite team always won or the more intriguing offer to always know which team would win. "You're sort of a nuisance."

"I'm sorry, Master, but after two more wishes, I'm gone forever."

"What if I don't make any more wishes?"

"I am bound to you until you do, Master. Even if it's an accident, everyone makes their wishes."

There was something ominous about what she had just said. How many times do we wish for something we don't really want? He dipped his toe into that water. "What if I wished for someone to die?"

"Then they would die, Master," she promised as casually as any other offer of wish fulfillment she had made.

"And that doesn't bother you?"

"I am bound to serve, Master, not to judge."

The metaphysical implications of her being real made his head spin. Turning off the TV, he pulled on clothes and spent the rest of his day doing the little chores best saved for a lazy Sunday. As he vacuumed and dusted, she made offers of servants who would do all his chores. He started a load of laundry while refusing the help of a maid. Real or not, her endless stream of ways to make his life better in exchange for his remaining wishes created a constant distraction that he would need to resolve before the start of his work week.

With a beer in hand, he settled in front of his computer to harvest the videos made of him shaving for a few choice photographs. The genie sat behind his computer, thankfully quiet for several minutes. Her silence didn't last long, though. "You are her favorite caller, Master."

"How do you know?"

"I have the ability to know many things," she said with her ever-present smile.

"I don't want you to force her to do anything ever again. Do I have to spend a wish for that?"

"Your wishes are yours to make."

"I don't want someone to love me because I wished it," Mason insisted.

"Your wish is my command," she said, repeating five words he had grown tired of hearing.

He pondered her reply for a moment and realized what she meant. If he didn't want something, he shouldn't wish for it. Still thinking about his morning play with Sindee, he remembered its abrupt ending. "Did you enjoy seeing me naked?"

"You're quite attractive for a man. But I am djinn. I've seen better." She smiled before adding, "I've created better, Master."

Mason shrugged, unsure if there was a compliment mixed in there or not. His thoughts were still on Sindee. He wondered if she was having a good night. He hoped so. He imagined her naked in front of her camera, displaying her shaved pussy to strangers and coaxing orgasms from them. He wasn't jealous. She might be virtual, but he liked having a girlfriend other men wanted. He liked that she was secure in her sexuality, too. Outside of work, Veronica had overcompensated by playing down her natural sensuality. He hoped Sindee wasn't like that.

Sometimes their call started with an obviously frazzled Sindee. Just a few weeks ago, he had noticed her looking especially frazzled as if she had just finished having an orgasm.

"Looks as if someone has been having fun," Mason had said with a smirk while feeling a pleasant thrill at seeing her like that. He had no reason to resent her having fun at work, especially considering what she did for a living. He knew she would still take very good care of him, too.

"Sorry," Sindee said, looking embarrassed.

"Don't be," Mason assured her. "I know I'm not your only caller."

"Does it turn you on to know I get naked for other guys, too?" she purred, quickly seizing hold of the idea as fantasy fodder.

Her quick mind made him smile. "Maybe, if I could watch you do it in real life; otherwise, I'm glad you had fun."

"I want to have fun with you, too," she insisted.

"Then we're on the same page," he said with an even bigger smile. He saw her relax as a contented smile crossed her face, too. "Must have been a good orgasm."