The Amulet 5

There is some sex in the story at the end, but this is more about the characters and the story than the sex.

...

Rob had it bad. He was obsessed with Katrina and had been since they were in high school together. Now they were both 19 and starting their sophomore year in the same college. Katrina was a beauty, with a pretty face, c-cup boobs, and a nice ass. She always dressed nicely, sexy, without being slutty, and Rob mooned over her, as did most of the straight guys at that school.

Rob wasn't bad looking, about 5'11" and 160 pounds, fit but not ripped, a decent looking face, but no Adonis. He was just a nice, slightly above average looking guy, but a bit shy. Katrina knew him, and considered him a friend, but never seemed to look on him as ever being more than that. Being shy, Rob had never pushed the issue at all. So Katrina dated all the hot guys and paid no attention to Rob. Rob wanted Katrina desperately, but had no idea how to ever make that happen.

Back in high school, near the end, Rob went to one of the school dances. Rob normally didn't torture himself with that sort of thing, but went this time. Katrina was dancing much of the night, with half the starting football team and other popular guys. If she wasn't dancing, she was swarmed with guys trying to talk with her. Rob couldn't have gotten anywhere near her.

Late in the evening, Rob saw that there weren't quite so many guys around Katrina, so he went over and managed to get close enough to her to actually speak to her.

"Katrina, would you like to dance?"

"Hey, Rob, thanks for asking, but I'm a bit tired."

"Are you sure?"

She leaned close to him, which made it hard for her to be heard by anyone else over the music. "Geoff just asked me to dance, and I said no. I can't go dance with you after turning him down."

"I understand. Maybe some other time."

Katrina continued. "You know, I'll bet Rachel, over there would love to dance. Nobody's asked her though."

"Rachel?" Rob looked over at Rachel, who saw him looking and smiled. Rachel was rather a wallflower, and understandably so. She had glasses with thick frames, braces, her hair was pulled up into some sort of shapeless mess, and she wore baggy clothes with shoes that looked like refugees from the 1940s. She was smart and a bit shy, but no one's idea of their dream girl.

"Ask her to dance. Please. As a favor to me." Katrina turned him around so he was facing Rachel and gave him a slight nudge in her direction.

Rob looked back at Katrina as he slowly walked over to Rachel. As he came up to her, she smiled, showing her braces in their full glory. Rob stuttered as he spoke. "Hi, Rachel. I... um... wondered if... well, you'd like to... um"

"Dance? I'd love to."

Rachel grabbed his hand and led him to the dance floor. There was a fast song playing, but they no sooner started dancing than it ended, and a slow song came on. They stopped and looked at each other before Rachel spoke. "That wasn't a full dance. Could we dance this one? Please?"

Rob couldn't think of any gracious way out, so he took Rachel in his arms and they slow danced. Rob held her loosely, but Rachel put her arms around him and pulled him closer. Rob closed his eyes and in his mind he was dancing with Katrina. It felt wonderful feeling her body up close to his, as long as he could pretend it was Katrina instead of Rachel.

The dance ended and Rob came back to earth and opened his eyes. Rachel looked at him and spoke. "Thank you for asking me to dance. I really enjoyed it."

With that, she kissed him on the cheek let go of him and walked away, before Rob could say anything. Rob had a little bit of conflict. He had enjoyed the dance, but mostly because in his mind he was with Katrina instead of Rachel. It was almost like Rachel understood and left before Rob could say something really stupid and ruin that one bright spot in Rachel's evening. Things were coming to a close, and Rob stumbled out of the dance and went home.

...

After high school Rob started college at a decent state university in town. Both Katrina and Rachel were also enrolled there and he saw both around campus pretty regularly. Katrina was still very popular while Rachel continued to be the wallflower. Rob continued to wish he could get anywhere with Katrina, but on those few occasions when he could ask, she already had commitments.

One day, Rob was at a flea market and came upon a stall where a gypsy woman had set up her wares. He wandered through her stall, almost bemused by the things he saw. He came upon a case with an opalescent stone on a silver chain. There was a notation which said it was a love amulet. As he looked at it, the gypsy woman came up to him.

"You are in love, no?"

"Well, yes, I am."

"And the woman you love, she does not return that feeling?"

"No, she just thinks of me as a friend."

"The love amulet, it can bind you to your love."

"A stone can do that?"

"An ordinary stone, it isn't - a magic stone, with the power to create love."

"This is a magic stone that can really make this girl love me?"

"Magic is nonsense, you think?"

"I don't think some stone will make her love me."

"Some other way, you think you can gain her love?"

"Probably not."

"Then maybe magic, you need."

"How much is it?"

"Normally very expensive, but you, I like. Fifty dollars."

"I don't know if I have that much cash."

"Open your wallet, if you don't have, maybe I take less."

As a matter of fact, fifty dollars was almost exactly what he had in his wallet. He'd gone to an ATM and gotten fifty earlier in the day. That was nearly all the cash he had on him though. Rob reluctantly took out his wallet and opened it, to show two 20s and a ten. He looked at the cash, and then at the gypsy woman. She never even looked in the wallet, just looked him straight in the eyes.

"Is getting your love not worth fifty dollars?"

"But how do I know it will work?"

The woman opened the case, but did not touch the amulet. She gestured to him. "Take it, hold it, feel its power."

Rob felt compelled to reach in the case and take the amulet and chain from where it hung. The stone had a glow and seemed to pulsate. While Rob didn't believe in magic, he felt there was something about this he could not explain. He held it in his hands and it seemed to have a life of its own. He couldn't explain it, but felt that somehow the woman was telling the truth.

Rob held the amulet in one hand, barely able to tear his eyes away from it. With his other hand he held out his wallet, and the gypsy woman took the fifty dollars from it. Rob put his wallet back in his pocket, still drawn by the stone in his hand. The woman touched his shoulder and guided him out of the stall.

"Hand your love the amulet. When you both touch each other and touch amulet, love begins."

So he had to give the amulet to Katrina and touch her when he did so. That was no small feat, given the number of guys who always seemed to be around Katrina wherever she went. Rob found a bench and sat down looking at the amulet and wondering how he could do that. Rob sat there, holding the stone in his hand and still mesmerized by it.

As he sat there, Rachel walked up and sat down alongside him. "Hey, Rob, how are you doing?"

"I'm okay, Rachel. How are you?"

"Just having fun hanging out here and seeing what they have."

Rob had closed his hand as she sat down and now opened it to look at the amulet again. Rachel saw it and seemed amazed. "Oh wow, Rob, what is that?"

With that, she reached out, grabbed his hand and touched the amulet. Rob felt something like a jolt of electricity starting in his hand and running all the way through his body. He turned and looked at Rachel who sat there touching the amulet and looking into his eyes.

"I bought this."

"You bought it?"

"For you." Rob wasn't sure why he said that. In a way he couldn't even believe himself, but he actually said it. As he sat there, he looked at Rachel's face, and for the first time, he saw beyond the goofy glasses, saw beyond the braces, saw beyond the disheveled hair, and realized she had a pretty face. Rachel's eyes got wide as he looked at her.

"You bought it for me? For real?"

Rob unfastened the chain, and put the chain with the amulet around Rachel's neck, and fastened it back again. As he did, Rachel opened her lips slightly and leaned forward. Rob leaned forward and kissed Rachel. When their lips met, he felt a warmth spreading from his lips throughout his entire body. His entire world seemed to close down to him and Rachel and their lips.

After what seemed like an eternity, Rachel pulled back. "Thank you, Rob. I love this. Give me a call please, okay?"

They both stood up, Rachel gave Rob a quick kiss, then had a sweet enigmatic smile, turned and walked away. As she did, Rob really looked at her for the first time. She had a nice figure, she just seemed to keep it hidden under lots of clothes. Rob found himself wondering why he'd never paid more attention to her.

As the little glow of the kiss with Rachel wore down, Rob was disturbed. He bought the amulet to try to capture Katrina's heart. Instead somehow it caused Rachel to capture his heart. He wondered what if anything he could do about it. He wandered back to where the gypsy woman had her stall, but she wasn't there and the stall was empty.

One part of him still wanted Katrina, even as the other part seemed to want Rachel. Rob was torn, Rachel never made herself look attractive, yet because of the amulet, he found himself drawn to her. How could he extract himself from whatever happened with Rachel? He wasn't sure, but one part of him desperately wanted to find out.

...

That night, as he slept, Rob had dreams of Rachel. She was a mess and not a particularly hot one, but she still dominated his dreams. He woke up swinging between wanting her desperately and wanting desperately to get away from whatever he felt for her. He jerked off in the shower and tried to see Katrina in his mind, but always seemed to come back to imagining being with Rachel.

He got to school and went to his first class. After he left, he ran into Katrina. She was as pretty as she had even been, and he still found her attractive, but Rob didn't seem to feel the fire that he'd felt before. He was disturbed, a part of what he'd felt was slipping away from him. He still found her desirable, but no longer had the burning desire he'd had before.

"Hey, Rob, how are things going?"

"Pretty good Katrina. How about with you?"

"Not bad. How about you and I get together for lunch some time?"

"That sounds great. What about today?"

"Sorry, Rob, I'm tied up today. Maybe later this week or next week."

"Okay."

Katrina continued on her way to her next class, while Rob stood there marveling. For years he'd wanted nothing more than a chance to spend more time with Katrina, now he might actually get that chance. At the same time, he felt twinges of guilt. He wondered if that was a betrayal of Rachel, and how she'd feel. He just didn't understand it all.

Just before lunch, Rob ran into Rachel. Instead of the unruly mess that her hair normally was, she had let it down, brushed and styled it. She actually had very pretty hair, when she made the effort. Rob couldn't help but comment.

"Hey, Rachel, I really like the way you did your hair."

"Thank you. I don't know why, I just felt like spending a little more time on it today."

"It's very nice and quite flattering. Makes you look prettier."

"I'm so glad you like it."

"What are you doing for lunch today?"

"I didn't have any plans."

"Let's have lunch together."

"I'd like that, Rob."

They walked over to the cafeteria on campus. Along the way, without thinking about it, Rob took Rachel's hand and held it. She smiled at him and giggled a bit, at which point he realized what he'd done, but didn't feel he could let go of her hand. They got to the building, and he opened the door for her. She gave him another smile.

They each got their food and found a table. Rob held the chair for Rachel as she sat down. She seemed quite pleased with it all, and Rob was pleased that Rachel was happy. As they were finishing lunch, she unbuttoned the top two buttons of her top, which surprised Rob. She reached in and pulled out the amulet, which she was still wearing around her neck.

"I really love that you bought me this, Rob."

"I... I'm glad you like it."

"I feel like I haven't thanked you properly."

"I... well..."

With that, Rachel gave Rob another kiss. The cafeteria just disappeared to Rob as she did. All he could see, feel, or hear was Rachel and her lips on his. She broke the kiss and the world came rushing back in and Rob was a little embarrassed at the open display of affection right there in the cafeteria, while at the same time he was ecstatic over the kiss.

Rachel tucked the amulet back in her blouse, and redid the buttons. They put their trays up and Rob put his hand at the small of Rachel's back as they walked out. As they were exiting, Rob looked to one side and saw Katrina sitting with a big athletic looking guy. Katrina looked at Rob, smiled and gave him a thumbs up.

Rob was puzzled. Katrina wanted to go to lunch with him, but was happy he had lunch with Rachel? Was there something he didn't quite get? Okay, Katrina has no problem getting guys, but it seemed there was something more going on. At any rate, Rob had two more classes that day, before he went to his part time job.

Rob worked at a grocery store, bagging groceries, stocking shelves, all that sort of thing. It was no great shakes, but they were willing to work his schedule around his classes, and it was better than some other entry level jobs. Once in a while, he saw some of his classmates at the store, but seemed more likely to see their parents in there.

Rob thought about Rachel as he worked. Her hair did look much nicer today, but was that a once in a blue moon kind of thing? Was she changing because of him? He still felt uncertain about how he felt about her. He found himself wondering how she'd look if she made more changes. He also wondered how likely any changes were.

That evening, he did reading and studying for his classes at home, but often found himself thinking about Rachel. He kind of wished he'd been able to give the love amulet to Katrina. He still liked her and even with his newfound attraction to Rachel, still pined for Katrina.

Rob had only two classes the next day, and went to lunch without running into either Katrina or Rachel. As he sat eating his lunch, his mind drifted to Rachel and to Katrina and the confusion he had over his feelings toward each. He was almost done with lunch, when Rachel sat down at the table with him. She gave him a nice smile and he couldn't help but smile back.

"Hey, Rob, I didn't have any morning classes today, but wondered if I'd catch you in here."

Something looked different about Rachel. She had her hair down and styled again, but her face seemed prettier than usual. Now he'd already noted that she had pretty features, even if that got somewhat hidden by the dorky glasses and the braces. There was more than that, and he realized that she had used some makeup - not a lot, but a little to enhance her features.

The woman who had seemed hopelessly nerdy and plain a few days before, seemed to be changing before his eyes. Okay, she still had the horrible glasses, the braces, and the shapeless clothes, but she wasn't what she had seemed to be. And she seemed to be drawn to him, though he chalked that up to the amulet that he shared with her by mistake.

They talked a little more. Rachel worked at a department store, one he seldom went into. He wondered if maybe he should stop by there. He caught himself and began wondering. Didn't he really want Katrina? That's who he bought the amulet to attract. Now he could hardly ask for it back from Rachel, that would be horribly tacky. Maybe he could buy another one.

His mind drifted, but he still found himself with an ever growing attraction to Rachel, who slowly seemed to be blossoming before his eyes. Now she might not ever be another Katrina, but might she not be nicer than she had once seemed. Beyond that, Rob had an in with Rachel. She was clearly drawn to him. Even if she was never as pretty as Katrina, if she was all his would that matter?

All these things and more went through Rob's head as he sat and talked to Rachel. He was so caught up in the talking that he didn't realize the time until it was almost time for his next class to start.

"I'm sorry, Rachel, I didn't realize the time. I have to get to class."

"We'll catch up again soon, Rob."

He got up, and as he did, so did she. Before he left, she gave him a quick kiss that made him wish he'd had more time to stay and kiss her. Rob thought about Rachel a lot in his next class, and even after that. Every time he saw her, it was like the amulet worked even more on him. Could he change that? Did he even want to change that? He wasn't sure.

...

Rob saw Rachel on the way to class the next day. She smiled and him and he was surprised to see that she wasn't wearing her braces. Without the braces, she had quite a pretty smile, and he felt a warmth down deep inside him when he saw her smile. They agreed to meet again for lunch at the cafeteria, and agreed on a time.

They got their food and sat down at a table together. The amulet was visible, though she still wore baggy clothes, her top was just low enough to see the amulet around her neck. Rob held the chair for Rachel when she sat. She gave him a big smile.

"Your smile looks so pretty."

"So you didn't like my smile with my old braces?"

"It's not that, it's just that they were a distraction that made it harder to appreciate how pretty your smile is."

"Pretty? Is that what's important to you?"

"You are pretty, but you're more to me than just pretty."

"Like what?"

"You're a nice person. You're sweet, and you're smart."

"Not a bad save. I know I could look prettier than I have. I just know I'l never be as pretty as some of the girls, and I never worried about it because I didn't want guys interested in me because of my appearance."

"There was something magical that happened when I gave you that amulet. When I did, all at once I saw more in you than I'd ever seen before."

"Magical, huh?"

"Yeah, it was."

"What happens when that magic fades?"

"I... don't think it can."

"We'll see. I don't mind being a little nicer looking for you. Just don't get all hung up on appearances."

"Being prettier is nice, but it's more than that."

"If you want pretty, you should chase Katrina. I know you've been drooling over her since high school."

"She doesn't matter to me anymore."

"You either aren't being honest with yourself, or you aren't being honest with me."

"Okay, I still think she's pretty, but that isn't as important to me anymore."

"Easy to say."

"No, really. I found something in you that I never found in her."

"Someone who doesn't nicely tell you to get lost."

"I can't really explain it."

"Maybe because it isn't really there?"

"Give me a chance to show you how I really feel."

"You mean you're going to stop mooning over Katrina every time you see her?"

"I'm not that bad."

"Really, sometimes you are."

Rob squirmed nervously in his seat. For as much as the amulet made him love Rachel, he knew he was still attracted to Katrina.

...

Rob met Rachel for lunch the next day. Rachel still had her hair nicely styled, wore a little makeup, and was using the invisible braces, but she'd now switched to a pair of glasses with stylish frames. Her clothing was still loose and baggy, but it was becoming clear that Rachel did have a cute face. When Rob saw her, his heart beat a little faster.