Inspired by the "Shortstack Girfriend Genie" CYOA
John burst into the apartment he shared with his girlfriend, Tiffany. "Tiff? You here? I've got something to show you!"
"I'll be there in just a moment," called a voice from the back.
John put his backpack down and set a small box on the coffee table. Tiffany shuffled into the room a moment later and flumphed onto the couch. She smiled up at him. "What's up?" she asked.
John smiled back at her. If he was honest, she wasn't conventionally beautiful, but every time he saw her his heart warmed. She was about his height, 5' 8", with luscious brown hair and dark brown eyes. She was a bit heaver than she would have liked, but he didn't mind. He loved her for her personality, for her creativity, and her drive to keep going despite her chronic illness.
"I think I've found something to help your condition." Tiffany suffered from chronic fatigue syndrome, which prevented her from expending energy for more than a couple hours a day. This was excruciating for someone who had multiple hobbies like sewing, playing music, and medieval combat.
Tiffany gave him a wry smile and glanced at the box on the table. "Oh? What's that?"
John sat down in a chair opposite the coffee table from her and put his hands on the box. "Okay," he said, "I know this is going to sound crazy, but I swear it's all true."
"Okayyyy..." she said.
"Well, after I finished my shift at the bookstore, I was walking back through the mall to my car, and I saw a shop that wasn't there when I walked in. I know because I remember wondering when they were going to put a shop there. And you know what they say about that."
Tiffany nodded, her eyes wide. "You found a wandering shop!" They had both heard rumors about it, everyone had. Magical shops that appeared at random and gave magical artifacts that changed people's lives, for good or ill. "And you went inside?"
"Well, yes. You see a chance like that, you take it."
"What was it like? Packed, dusty and smelling of incense?"
John chuckled. "Not as much as you'd expect. Smaller than the stories say, though I don't know how big the back room was. One half was bookshelves, while the other half was a glass counter with, you know, magical looking stuff. I was browsing the books when the owner asked if he could help me."
Tiffany was fully engrossed in the story at this point. "What was he like?" she asked, eagerly.
"Kind of like his shop, like a mixture of a professor and pawn shop owner. Old, white hair, but looked healthy and shrewd, like he could see right through me. I wanted to say I was just browsing, but the stories say you should ask for what you want. And I've helped enough customers to know how to ask for what I want. I explained about your condition and said I wanted to fix it, or at least make things better for you."
"Oh John, you didn't have to do that."
"I know, but everything else is great, and if we fix this one thing, things will be even better."
"That's true..."
"And, in all the stories in these shops, people who buy from them have things go better if they're not being greedy, like if they're helping someone else."
She considered this. "That's also true."
"Anyways, the old man thought about it for a minute, then was like 'just a moment' and went into the back and brought out this." He opened up the box to reveal a small brass lamp.
Tiffany gave a sharp inhale. "Is that...?"
"I think so. He told me he was sure she could solve the problem, but she'd probably take some convincing, and might not do things the way we expect."
"The...genie?" she asked, hopefully.
"I think that's what he meant. I asked him 'how much' he said 'what would you give for this?' I pulled all the money in my wallet out along with my cards and said 'I'd give everything for this.'"
"John..."
"Don't worry, he just took a dollar off the top and said 'this is a fair trade. I just needed to know your sincerity.' Then he boxed the lamp up and led me out the door. When I turned around, the shop was gone."
They were both silent for a moment until Tiffany broke the silence. "So, it really was the wandering shop."
"I guess so."
"Are you going to rub it?"
"Do you want me to?"
"If this can fix me, don't you want to try?"
"Maybe you should rub it, since it's your condition we want to fix."
Tiffany hovered her fingers above the lamp, afraid to touch it. She withdrew her hand. "No, it was given to you, you should do it."
"Really? You're not afraid I'd turn you into my ideal bombshell?"
Tiffany snorted. "I trust you, John. You wouldn't do that to me. Besides, like you said, these things usually turn out better when the wisher is altruistic."
"Okay, I'll do it." He picked up the lamp, which was surprisingly round, yet stubby, and rubbed it with his other hand. "How long do you think it will take until..."
He was cut off by a sudden burst of blue smoke from the end of the lamp with a loud bang. John jumped from his chair and backed up as the smoke coalesced into the promised genie. She was certainly wearing the harem pants and belly shirt worn by Barbara Eden, but there the similarity ended. Her body shape reminded John of Midna from The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess, if she also had huge breasts. Her skin was dark, and she would have looked middle eastern if not for her fire red hair. She was also only three feet tall. Her laughter filled the room as she floated and twirled in the air.
"Free at last!" she cried. "That old shopkeeper must have finally found someone who needed me!" She looked around the room, settling her eyes on John. "You must be my new master."
John realized that his jaw had dropped and closed it before answering. "Are you a really a genie?"
The genie laughed, though not scornfully. John thought she had a beautiful voice. "What else would I be, coming out of a lamp like that? Yes. I am the Shortstack Girlfriend Genie. You must be in need of a girlfriend, no?"
"The what now?" John asked.
"The Shortstack Girlfriend Genie! I can grant you one wish: The shortstack girlfriend of your dreams!"
"What's a shortstack?"
"You know, short, but stacked," she gestured to her breasts. "Super curvy, like me. Small as a child, but no one would mistake me for one!" she said, making a putting her hands on her sizable hips and thrusting them to the side.
"I suppose not."
"Of course not. Now, you wouldn't have rubbed my lamp if you didn't need a girlfriend, and I want to give one to you! Would you prefer a halfling, a dwarf, a goblin..." she began, ticking options off on her fingers.
"Wait, wait, wait," John interrupted. "I already have a girlfriend," he said, gesturing to Tiffany on the couch.
"Hello!" Tiffany said, and waved to the genie."
"Wait, what?" said the genie. "Why did he give me to you, then? Did you not tell him you had a girlfriend?" She got a mischievous grin on her face (making her look even more like Midna, John thought). "Looking to start a harem? Need a willing third? I can work that up."