Mason and the Genie

On his way home, Mason decided to treat himself in a different way. Spying one of those over-priced, all organic groceries, he decided to give it a shot. As soon as he walked through the front doors, he could see the attraction. The produce looked amazing. Picking up a basket, he admired fruits and vegetables that looked pretty enough to be part of a photoshoot. He forced himself to ignore the price and tried filling his basket. He was only half successful. Even with a full bank account, he couldn't justify the premium prices. He would have to work at being a better millionaire.

As he walked the aisles of the specialty grocery store, he saw brands that he recognized at twice their usual prices along with brands that were completely new to him. Midway through a cereal aisle filled with foreign brands, he paused as it accorded to him what he was doing. He seldom visited this side of town and he had never visited this particular grocery store. The coincidence of those two things struck him hard. Slowly, he glanced around at the other shoppers, except there weren't very many of those. How did someplace like this stay open with so few shoppers?

He passed a long display of olive oil. He had never imagined there could be so many different kinds of olive oil. He paused to admire an interesting shaped bottle that made him think of the bottle he had found on the side of the path. Once more, he looked over his shoulder for a flash of colorful hair before realizing he was being foolish. If this was when and where his wish would come true, he would never see Sindee/Alice, not unless she wanted to be seen.

What would happen if she saw him and didn't want to approach him? Maybe she would panic, which was highly likely because of her condition. Or, even worse, maybe she would see him and reject him. Damn, that would suck, but he liked that it would be her choice. Either way, if she ever saw him and didn't approach him, would she ever tell him? Would they still be able to have the same kind of special and intimate conversations if she rejected him?

His heart went out to her. He regretted making a wish that might put her in an awkward situation. He should have thought it through. He should have taken the time to write it out like a program and cover all of his bases. Shrugging away the would've/could've/should've regrets of real life, he kept working his way down each aisle. Part of him still missed the genie. While she had only been part of his life for a few days, he had gotten very used to having her around. He wished he had been able to tell her good-bye.

Reaching the ice cream section, he paused and smiled at the display. As he saw the ice cream, all thoughts of the genie vanished and were immediately replaced with thoughts of someone equally magical to him. He paused to wonder if he should risk buying ice cream. Could he get it home fast enough to make it worthwhile? Throwing caution to the wind, he pulled open the cabinet door and reached for a tub of Creamy Vanilla. Even if it melted, he could afford to buy more.

"I like French Vanilla better," said a voice from directly behind him.

Letting go of the freezer door, Mason saw the reflection of a short girl wrapped up in an over-sized hoodie that hid her multicolored hair. Even if he had seen her, he would have never recognized her covered up like that. As he slowly turned around, he felt his smile growing even bigger on his face. "It's nice to meet you, Alice."

"And it's nice to meet you, too," she said, looking terrified while she tried to smile at the same time. Nearly knocking his basket out of his hand, she wrapped her arms around him, pressed her face against his chest, and hid there for a long time. Finally looking up, she had found her true smile. "You really are real."

"I always have been," he smiled back.

"I guess slow dancing is out of the question for us."

"Bullshit," he said, holding her against his chest as if the frozen food aisle had suddenly turned into a dance floor. Laughing at their foolishness, they danced half a dozen steps to the piped-in music from overhead. He ended their impromptu dance with a dip and her hoodie fell away to expose her colorful hair."There's my girl!"

"I feel naked," she said, glancing up and down the aisle and looking worried. He moved to pull her hoodie back into place and she stopped him. "No, I like being naked with you. You make me feel brave." Reaching past him, she opened the freezer door and pulled out a tub of French Vanilla ice cream. "I think this is what you really wanted, isn't it?"

He wrapped an arm around her waist. "I have everything I could possibly want in my arms right now."

"Damn, you're corny sometimes," she teased, hugging him tightly.

Right before they kissed for the first time, Mason caught a glimpse of an attractive blonde walking past the frozen food aisle with her hair up in a ponytail. It was difficult to tell who was smiling more, the two lovers or the random shopper spying on them. After their first kiss, he kept his arms around Alice as he looked up and down the aisle for a second glimpse of the woman he had seen. Something told him, that would be the last time he ever saw her and that was okay with him.

I hope you enjoyed this story. This is my first time posting in this category and I hope it fits for most of the readers!

This story was generously edited by Patientlee, another author on the site you might enjoy. With that said, all remaining mistakes are surely my own despite her careful eyes and gentle nudgings. I hope those mistakes were minor nuisances for you.

This is my official entry into the 2020 version of the Literotica Annual Halloween Story Contest. I hope you'll consider being extra kind and generous with leaving a nice rating.

I started this story several years ago, long before there was a Covid-19 virus, shelter-in-place orders, or Zoom video meetings. Hopefully, you were able to enjoy a respite from that concern.

For years, I've contemplated how strange it would feel to find a real genie in a bottle. Would you believe it or would you think you had gone crazy? I did a lot of research into the concepts behind genies, jinn, djinn and djinni. (Any of those are correct, btw.) I hope my take on the lore satisfies you well enough.

I read all the comments and welcome any messages you wish to send. Be well and Happy Halloween!