"I guess," she finally said, as she opened the door for me, "There's one thing I'd change." She sounded serious now. "It's gonna sound stupid, I know "
"Trust me, it won't," I assured her.
"I guess I kind of wish "
Here goes, I thought. Things had worked out so wonderfully for me that I wanted to share it. I was walking proof of the kind of good the rock can do. If I can help somebody else feel a little bit better, than I have to. I casually reached into my purse and gripped the rock. "I wish," I said so softly, so far under my breath that I could barely hear it. I wasn't ready to share this with everybody yet. Karyn was an exception. I did want Jill to enjoy the benefits though. "That whatever Jill wishes for would come to pass. I also wish that she wouldn't realize anything had changed." Had to cover the fact that she was in earshot.
She gave me a weird look, "Did you say something?"
"No," I told her. "Please go on."
She nodded, but continued to regard me with a rather curious expression. Almost the same expressions she'd worn when she'd walked in on me earlier.
"I just wish that I'd been more of a free spirit when I was younger, gone to parties, gotten into a little bit of trouble, dated. That sort of thing. I know it sounds dumb but "
I felt the now familiar warming of the stone in my palm, accompanied by customary flash of light. When it cleared, and I looked up at Jill, I almost had to take a step back. This obviously wasn't the same person I'd came to the mall with. I mean it was, but it wasn't. She was still obviously Jill, but there was a fundamental un-Jillness about her as well. Her long black hair fell loosely over her shoulders now, and she was wearing a little more makeup than she had been a moment ago. Her clothes had completely changed too. She'd always dressed rather conservatively, it was something people noticed about her. Jill had never been one to turn a blind eye to modesty. Until now anyway. It wasn't that she was dressed like a slut, because she really wasn't. She was wearing a pair of tight blue jeans that highlighted her hitherto rather hidden figure, and a pair of black stiletto boots with a modest two inch heel. Up top, she was wearing a black button up blouse with the top two buttons undone, showing the world just the beginning of her modest cleavage. She was carrying a purse much like mine, and she was wearing a smile. It was odd, and I began to wonder just how stupid I'd been to let her No, that wasn't right. I didn't let her do anything. She had no idea that her words were going to carry as much weight as they had. This was my fault.
Still, maybe it wouldn't be so bad. Maybe, like me, she'd be happier this way. The broad grin she was wearing was a rather promising indicator in that direction.
"Did you see those two guys out there?" she asked as though nothing had happened. "Maybe we should go back out there and introduce ourselves," she said softly. Her tone of voice, and the way she raised her eyebrows made it absolutely clear what the phrase 'introduce ourselves' meant.
"We're here to shop," I said, "Not to pick up guys." I was a little worried now, and started to wonder whether I should try and make some kind of damage control wish. For the moment I decided against it. She didn't seem so bad, a little more amorous than before, but maybe that wasn't such a bad thing. She'd always been a little bit of a wallflower. At least I'd never heard about her dating anybody while we were growing up. Besides, I wasn't sure I'd even seen her smile that wide.
"Fine," she said with a chuckle. "I'll pick up guys on my own time, let's go look at clothes!"
I nodded, feeling a little bit better.
We made our way through the mall, stopping to do some window shopping. I knew, or at least suspected that we didn't have much money between the two of us, but it was still fun to browse. More than once I found myself checking out a couple of guys too. It was weird, I noticed, but I wasn't really interested in the women I saw. At least not in the same way I had been when I was a guy. Every once in a while, I found myself looking at a girl and thinking things like, I love her hair! or, I wonder where she got that top! I'd always thought of myself as bisexual, at least before the wish, but now I was starting to wonder if that was just my way of dealing with my inner turmoil and the innate wrongness of my physical existence.
My concentration was broken as we walked by a lingerie store. Looking at some of the bras, particularly the lacy little semi-transparent numbers, and a few of the other items, I found myself wondering what I would look like in them. Apparently Jill noticed because she popped me softly upside the head.
"Thinking about surprising some lucky boy?" She asked with a fiendish grin. I was finding that I liked the new Jill less and less. I tried not to blush. That was ultimately it though, wasn't it? I didn't have a particular boy in mind, but that was what I was thinking, wasn't it? Why else would I want to look and feel sexy? I'd want to be noticed.
"Nobody in particular," I told her softly, gazing at the interior of the shop.
"Ooh," she whispered mockingly, "thinking about some tawdry one night stand?"
I pushed her away. I knew she didn't mean any harm, but she was starting to get a little annoying.
"Come on," she finally said, taking me by the hand. "Let's go in."
She didn't really leave me much choice, and I didn't really fight her. I knew I couldn't afford anything in here, but what would it hurt to try a few things on. I started checking out the racks and feeling the material, imagining how good it would feel against my bare skin. I was looking at one particular article when I happened to glance up, and found myself staring right into the eyes of
