Meeting up with some friends

Jess and Kevin arrived in the mall without ceremony. One second they were in her bedroom and the next they were standing just inside the entrance to the mall. It was surprisingly empty, mostly moms with their toddlers and old people exercising. Jess found herself feeling disappointed; she wanted an audience to show off her new boyfriend, and to mess with using his powers.

Pouting, she turned to her Master, and complained, "Master, there aren't enough people here. Can you do something?"

Her Master might have been a demi-god, and he was even starting to figure that out, but he was still a guy, and like every other guy she'd ever met, he couldn't resist her pout. After thinking for a moment, he said, "I wish today was a holiday."

Suddenly, the mall was considerably more crowded. There were some teenagers lounging around in the food court and the trendier shops, as well as a lot more twenty- and thirty-somethings browsing around. It was still fairly empty, all things considered, but malls weren't exactly trendy hangouts anymore.

Jess wasn't sure if she regretted asking for the wish or not, but she definitely regretted the side-effect. The young genie had to bite her lower lip to stifle a moan, and squeeze her thighs together to try to hold back the pleasure. She hoped her Master hadn't noticed, because she really wanted to get some shopping done and wasn't sure how he'd react.

Oblivious to Jess's near miss, Kevin looked around the mall and its inhabitants. Apparently displeased with what he saw, he said, "I wish malls were still popular, like, 90's Mallrats popular."

Jess's eyes went wide, and not just from the sudden explosion of pleasure she was feeling. As soon as the wish left Kevin's lips, the mall was teeming with shoppers and loiterers, the majority of them high school and college age. Half-empty display cases were now full, every storefront was occupied, and kiosks had sprung up like weeds.

The young genie didn't have long to take it all in, however, as the unexpected follow-up wish finally pushed her over the edge. It felt wonderful and horrible at the same time, making all the sensations more vivid. The warmth flooding through her from her core sent shivers down her spine, more than enough to make her soak the fresh sexy panties she'd put on for her Master. At the same time though, she felt intense shame at being unable to control herself and fear that someone in the now crowded mall had noticed. She found herself barely able to stand, nearly doubled over in pleasure and panic as she raised her hand to her mouth to cover a garbled cry of ecstasy.

Refusing to let her circumstances define her life, Jess caught her breath and fought to stand up straight on her quivering legs. Taking her Master's arm, both for support and because she liked the oblivious cutie, she smiled up at him affectionately, and said, "Mallrats? You're such a geek."

Kevin smirked back down at her and said, "So, you know the movie? That's pretty geeky too, you know."

Jess blushed, "My dad's a Kevin Smith fan, alright?"

"He has good taste," Kevin commented, "Also, you being a little geeky is pretty sexy."

Before Jess could decide whether to defend herself or take the compliment, someone behind them cleared their throat and a familiar voice snobbishly said, "Excuse me."

Turning around, she found her friends and fellow cheerleaders, Sam, Tiffany, and Lauren. "Oh, wow, Jess. Sorry, didn't realize it was you," Sam apologized. "Wait, why are you just standing here?"

"Better question," Tiffany chimed in, pointing to where Jess was holding onto Kevin, "Why are you clinging to Kevin?"

Jessica opened her mouth to try to explain that Kevin wasn't really a loser and that they were going out, but was interrupted by Lauren's squeal.

"O. M. G. Are you two finally together?" the petite freckle-faced girl asked, "We've all been waiting for, like, forever."

"Guys, let's get out of the entryway before we get trampled," Sam suggested, the statuesque redhead leading the group off to the side, "Okay, now, we need details."

"Seriously," Tiffany said, pushing a strand of her long black hair out of her face, "You two have been denying that you were or ever would be a thing since middle-school; what changed? Not that there's a problem with you two dating or anything of course. With you off the market, the rest of us have a better shot with Brad."

"We need to know everything," Lauren emphasized, staring dreamily at where Jess was holding Kevin's arm.

Jess was utterly confused. Her friends were not only cool with her dating Kevin, they seemed to be happy about it, as well as thoroughly unsurprised. Finding herself blushing, she said, "Well, Master was in my room and we—"

"Um, Master?" Sam asked apprehensively. "Look, I'm happy that you two are together, but I really don't need to know about your kinky fun time."

"Um, yeah," Tiffany agreed, though something in her voice left Jess wondering if the raven haired girl actually was curious.

Jess hadn't realized that she'd actually started calling Kevin 'Master', and not his name. Tripping over herself to correct her gaff, Jess said, "Sorry, that was, um, never mind. Anyway, Master and I were just hanging out and one thing led to another and here we are." She moved her hand down to intertwine her fingers with her Master's.

"Oh, that's so sweet!" Lauren squealed.

"And absolutely bereft of details," Tiffany added, rolling her eyes. "You two have been friends for years. What changed?"

"It was, uh, after the party," Kevin said. "We were talking about growing up and turning into adults, then I surprised her with a present and asked her out."

Jess felt herself blush at her Master jumping in to save her. He really was a sweet guy.

"So what's the present?" Sam asked, eyes scanning over Jessica looking for it.

"I, uh, got us matching rings," Kevin replied. He followed by quickly whispering, "I wish Jess was wearing a ring that matched my eyes."

Jess quivered in pleasure as she held out the newly materialized ring, examining it at the same time as her friends. It was a slimmer, more feminine version of the design of Kevin's ring, with an orange topaz instead of an emerald.

"That's so cute! They match your eyes!" Lauren said, clearly still very excited about the whole thing.

"I guess that's pretty cool," Tiffany said, "but what was that about a wish or something?"

"He was, uh, just saying that he'd been wishing that this would happen for a long time," Jessica said, trying to cover for her Master. Looking up at him, she added, "I have been too."

"Aw, that's so–" Lauren began, only to get cut off by Tiffany.

"I swear if you say 'sweet' or 'cute' one more time, I'm throwing you in the fountain," the raven haired girl threatened, sounding serious.

"Um, sorry," Lauren said, dropping her head.

"Anyway," Sam said, rolling her eyes, "congrats you two. I'm glad you finally figured it out."

"Yeah, congrats," Lauren echoed, her mood already back up.

Tiffany smiled and said, "Congratulations, but Jess, don't let him start dressing like a nerd just because you're dating. Alright?"

"We're actually here to do some shopping for him," Jess replied, happy to be on a subject that made some amount of sense.

"Why not just have him wear what he always does?" Lauren asked, looking confused.

Sam shook her head and chuckled as she looked down at the shorter girl in disappointment. "Lauren, honey, there's always a reason to shop, especially when your new boyfriend's loaded." Turning to Jess and Kevin, she said, "You two have fun, we're going to go hit the food court and see who's here."

"Later," Tiffany said as the three cheerleaders walked past.

"Bye, have fun," Lauren added over her shoulder as the three headed for the escalators.

Kevin and Jess sank into a nearby bench in near perfect sync once Jess's friends disappeared into the crowd. "I wish we knew what the heck they were talking about," Kevin said in exasperation.

Jess felt another twinge, but she was distracted from it as a lifetime of experiences flooded into her mind. It wasn't nearly as much as the multiple doctorates had been, but it was still overwhelming. For whatever reason, she now had a whole other life that everyone else thought was how everything had always been.

Apparently she had always lived next to Kevin, and they had been friends since they were kids; the two of them and his sister, which was a whole other thing. He was rich, like richer than rich, and kind of cool because of it. She'd guided him and made sure he'd dressed and acted cool in public, even if he was still a geek at home. When they got into middle school, she even got him to join the football team, which he had no problem with, given how fit he was. They were best friends and two of the most popular people around, so obviously everyone thought they'd end up together or already were on the down-low.

Jess's contemplation was interrupted when Kevin slapped his forehead and said, "Of course, wishes are retroactive."

"What?" Jess asked, head not quite finished spinning.

Turning to her, Kevin explained, "I wished my family was rich and that we lived next to each other, right? Wishes are retroactive unless I'm specific; they change how things have always been. So, I've always been rich and fit, and we've always lived next to each other. Everything in our lives happened differently, because our circumstances were different."

Jess leaned her head on one of Kevin's broad shoulders, "I think I like it better this way."

Kevin draped his arm over her shoulder and kissed her on the head. "Me too."