An Unforgettable Melody Ch. 02

Hello again! A special thanks to everyone who has read the first two chapters I've submitted so far; I'm really glad to see people are enjoying this story and my take on this scenario. To answer a question several people have asked: Yes, I do have a full story mapped out, complete with a definite conclusion. With that said, on to the next chapter.

Ch. 02 Song Titles

Buy Me a Boat (Chris Janson)

The Devil Went Down to Georgia (The Charlie Daniels Band)

When I Fall in Love (Chris Botti)

*****

An Unforgettable Melody: Ch. 02

Mike awoke on the sofa, Melody still wrapped in his arms. Stroking her deep red hair lightly, he recalled the events of the last twenty-four hours. The art sale, that mysterious locket, the puzzle opening it, all of it had led to this girl currently lying on his chest. She was apparently a genie, bound to be a sexual servant to whoever released her from her vessel. Mike, being uncomfortable with her subservient nature and the idea of owning her as a slave, wished for her to gain as much free will as possible, and for her to be an equal partner to him. Her gratitude for him making such a wish had led them both here, lying on the sofa with him half naked.

Melody looked up at him, kissing him softly on the lips. "Hey there, sleepy. Did someone tire you out?"

Mike stuck his tongue out at her. "You know damn well what tired me out."

She giggled her trademark laugh. God, Mike loved to hear her laugh. "I hope that was ok, taking what I wanted like that," she said. "I'm still figuring out this whole free will thing."

Mike kissed her forehead. "You were amazing. Knocked me out cold. How long was I out for, by the way?"

"Not long, maybe twenty minutes," she said, sitting up. "We've still got the whole day ahead of us. Whatcha wanna do now?"

Mike eyed her knowingly. "I see that look in your eye, Miss 'I'm up to no good.'" Melody tried her best to put on an innocent look on her face.

"Honestly," Mike said, sitting up, "I've got lots of questions, mainly about your powers. You mentioned that tingling I feel in my head when I make a wish. Did you say you were reading my mind?"

She shook her head. "No. Reading your mind without your permission is explicitly forbidden to all genies, from servants up to the most powerful King Jinn. It would be an invasion of your privacy, and a major ethical breach. The tingle is my attempts to hear the thoughts behind your wish, ensuring I interpret it properly and give you what you intended to ask for. However, if that bothers you, I will gladly refrain from doing so."

"No, that's fine, as long as it only happens when I wish for something. I didn't realize that was something genies were capable of doing. That's why I was trying to phrase those first few wishes very carefully. The last thing I want is a poorly worded wish backfiring on me."

Melody nodded. "That's understandable. Many of the legends you may have read about jinn and genies are rooted in actual events."

"Like Aladdin and the genie of the lamp?"

"Yes, although that specific account is merely legend. Jinn and genies such as myself are fulfilling our primary purpose for existence. There are sexual servants, household servants, and political advisors, just to name a few. Some genies, however, are bound to an object, such as a lamp or bottle, as punishment for failing to follow our code of conduct. Genies facing such situations would commonly twist their masters' words in an attempt to gain their freedom through a poorly conceived wish."

Mike nodded in understanding. "Ok, so basically, it's only with my permission that you delve into my thoughts, and even then, you only draw information pertinent to the wish. Is that correct?"

Melody smiled. "Exactly."

"Alright then... oh, you mentioned both jinn and genies. What's the difference?"

"That is merely a gender distinction. Males are jinn, while females are genies."

"Are there still many in existence?"

Melody closed her eyes for a moment in thought. "I cannot say for sure. It's certainly possible, but we genies are unable to detect each other's presence. This is another failsafe for the protection of our masters. In the past, some masters desired to gain power over multiple genies, seeking out other masters and pitting their genies against each other, necessitating this rule. If we were to encounter one, I wouldn't be able to know if it was another genie or not, though I would certainly detect a magical presence in the area, as would they."

"Cool. Ok next question. While you were performing the, um, most awesome, mind blowing blowjob in the history of the world..."

"Oh, you ain't seen nothin' yet," Melody shot back.

Mike laughed as he tried to stay on topic. "...There was a moment when I heard you speaking in my mind. Are you able to communicate telepathically?"

On cue, he heard her voice in his head again. Yes, but only with you.

Openmouthed, Mike could only reply, "Wow. That's cool."

"Why don't you try it?"

Mike cocked his eyebrow. "How?"

She giggled. "It's easy, silly. Just think what you want to say, and direct it to me."

Mike concentrated. Like this?

Perfect! You're a quick study. Since you are my master, even with the free will you wished for me, I am never more than a thought away from you.

Really? Even if we're nowhere near each other?

Of course, Melody replied. We could be universes apart, and I would still be with you in a moment's notice. That's how strong my connection to you is.

"Very nice. Although, I have to admit, I love hearing your voice in reality," Mike replied. "Your laugh has got to be one of the sweetest sounds I've ever heard."

She giggled. "Yep, that's the one," Mike said.

Melody kissed him on the cheek. "You really are the best. A better master than I could have ever dreamed of." She moved closer and laid her head on his shoulder. "What other questions did you have?"

Mike thought for a moment. "Honestly, I want to learn more about Melody the person. Likes, dislikes, interests and such."

"Well..." she said, seductively raising her eyebrow.

"Besides sexual interests!" Mike laughed at himself for not anticipating her response.

Melody chuckled. "Fine, fine. I haven't actually developed any likes or dislikes. I mean, I was only born about twelve hours ago, and I've only had free will for a little over an hour. If I'm going to find out about my interests, as I can tell you would want me to, why don't I start by finding out more about what makes Mike tick?"

Nodding, he responded, "Fair enough. Let's see, I'm 26 years old, born and raised here in Atlanta. Went to school at Auburn University and Florida State University, became a professional musician after that. Currently play second trumpet for the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra."

"Ooh, a musician! How delightfully sexy," Melody interjected, twirling her hair between her fingers.

Mike laughed. Being a band nerd never did him any favors with the ladies in high school. Man, how times do change.

"Outside of that," Mike continued, "I'm pretty introverted in my personal life. I try to avoid dealing with people unless necessary. Of course, the ones I actually choose to keep around as friends, you included, aren't people," he said with a wink. "But typically, a relaxing day for me is being a homebody, watching superhero movies, and playing video games."

Melody's eyes perked up. "Video games you say? That sounds like fun."

Mike looked hopefully at her. "You like video games?"

She smiled. "Well I've never played them, obviously, but based on knowing the concept of what they are, I think they'd be something I'd enjoy quite a bit."

That was all Mike needed. "How bout we fire one up? I'll show you the ropes."

He stood up and moved over to his entertainment center. Checking through his game collection, he ran through several titles looking for the perfect first gaming experience for Melody. Call of Duty? Nah, too violent for her first game. NCAA Football maybe? Eh, probably not, the controls are pretty complex. Oh, perfect!

He pulled out one of his favorite games ever, Mario Kart Wii. "How about a race?"

"I'm game," Melody replied excitedly.

Mike powered up the system and handed her a controller, giving her a basic rundown of the button configuration. She picked up quickly, and they were off on their first race.

"Ok, I'll make sure I go easy on ya. I want you to have fun, after all."

She shrugged. "Your funeral."

Damn! Little trash talker!

Mike won the first race; mainly due to Melody being so entranced by the game's graphics that she forgot it was actually a race. The three walls she ran into didn't help either.

"Crap... this is harder than it looks," Melody sulked.

Mike laughed. "Well it doesn't help when you constantly say, 'Ooh, what's that? Hey that's pretty! What's over there?!'"

She stuck her her tongue out at him. "One more go! I got you this time!"

Mike chuckled. "You got it. Just no crying."

Their second race was much more evenly matched. Mike was still going very easy on her, but he noticed she was quickly getting very good. Just as he thought he was going to win, she snuck up behind him with the dreaded Blue Shell weapon, beating him at the last second.

"YES!" Melody squealed with excitement.

"Dammit!" Mike couldn't believe how fast she had caught on. If she hadn't just been born today, he'd have sworn she was hustling him. "Ok, from here on, no more going easy on you!"

"Bring it," she whispered seductively.

Mike eyed her warily. "I don't think I need to remind you of how unsportsmanlike it would be to use any kind of sex appeal to your advantage."

"Fine..." she said rolling her eyes.

Starting up their third race, Melody got off to a quick start, but a couple of well thrown banana peels from Mike put him back in the lead by the start of the third lap. Rounding the halfway point of the track, he got hit again with the Blue Shell, Melody zooming past him. It took every ounce of skill he had, but he was finally able to trip her up rounding the final curve and pass her at the last second for the win.

Mike pumped his fist in victory. "That's what I'm talkin about!"

Melody flexed her sore fingers. "Wow, you're good when you go all out."

"So are you," Mike replied. "How'd you get so good at that?"

"Not sure," she said, shaking her head. "After the first race, it just seemed to come so naturally to me."

"Hmm..." Mike thought for a moment. "I wonder if has anything to do with that 'ideal woman' thing you mentioned? I've always been really impressed by, and attracted to, girls that aren't afraid to hold their own in video games."

"That could be it," she mused. "Let's play another one! What else ya got?"

Mike hesitated for a moment, before suggesting, "Well, Call of Duty is a lot of fun, and as fast as your reaction time was in Mario Kart, I think you'd do really well at it. Only thing is, it's a pretty violent, shoot-'em-up game. That ok with you?"

With zero hesitation, she replied, "As long as it's all make believe, that's totally cool with me."

Well alrighty then, he thought to himself. Mike switched over to his PS3 and grabbed a couple of controllers. After firing up the game, he went over the controls before they played a practice round. Mike hid his character somewhere on the map, and Melody had one minute to find and shoot him.

Upon killing him for the first time, she jumped in shock, adrenaline pumping. "Wow, this is intense!"

"Yep," Mike agreed. "The developers worked hard to try to make it as realistic as possible. Ok, I'm hiding. Let's go again."

She found him much faster this time around, quickly getting a feel for using the radar and how the maps were structured. After two more rounds of hide and seek, he had Melody hole up in a central location to practice being attacked from various directions. At first, he easily bested her each time, but she eventually got better at her aiming and reaction time. By the end of the ten-minute round, Melody was surviving around two of every three encounters. Seeing her rapid improvement, Mike felt she was ready for the next level.

"Well, this should be fun. You ready to go online?" Mike knew the online players would be in for a shock when they went up against her.

"Sure," she said with a smile. "You wanna use those?" She pointed to his two gaming headsets charging in the TV stand.

Mike got a wicked smile on his face. "Definitely, but lets keep the fact that you're a girl a secret until we start thrashing these losers."

He activated the Bluetooth connections on the headsets as they entered the pre-match lobby. Muting his microphone momentarily, he turned to Melody. "Just remember, some of these guys have a huge bias against girls who play video games, particularly if they're better than the guys. If they start acting like assholes, be strong, and don't take any crap. You have full permission to put them in their place."

She smirked. "Random dudes acting like jackasses who AREN'T my master? So not a problem."

Atta girl.

They spawned into their first match, taking place on a pretty large map. "Ok, stay out of the open on this one, there's lots of sniping spots," Mike cautioned.

As the match progressed, Mike got taken out more than typical, but was always in good position to callout sniper locations to his teammates. Melody, using a stealthy setup with a silenced weapon, was able to constantly sneak around the map, taking out said snipers from behind. One particular player kept returning to the same sniping spot, allowing her to constantly ambush him with little effort.

"SON OF A BITCH!!" He had now died five times in a row. "Who's the little pussy who keeps doin' that?" Hearing his complaining through the headset, it was all Mike could do not to laugh in his face.

Anticipating that he would change his tactics, Melody was ready, planting a land mine in the spot she had been hiding in. Sure enough, he attempted charging the position, only to be blown to smithereens. Melody couldn't help but unleash her trademark laugh as he raged into the microphone, finally revealing that a girl was the one dominating the match.

"No fucking way," he seethed. "The hell is a fucking GIRL doing here?!"

Melody giggled. "Last I checked, she's kickin' ass and takin' names."

"Shut up and suck my dick, bitch. That's where you belong."

Mike had expected this kind of reaction, but that didn't make him any less enraged at this idiot's treatment. Just as he was about to unleash on him, Mike felt Melody's hand gently stroking his knee.

Melody calmly replied into the headset, "Unfortunately for you, the only blowjob you'll be getting is the land mine you just stepped on. Oh, and this frag." She tossed a grenade into his hiding spot, killing him once again.

"FUUUUUCK!!" As his rage grew, now even the other players were laughing at him. As much as some guys had a stigma against girl gamers, this group was apparently able to recognize true skill when they saw it.

"Damn, girl," one of the others chimed in. "You good. And you sound hot. Looks like you in the ATL with me. Wanna hook up?"

Mike rolled his eyes. Like this douchebag has a shot with you, he thought to Melody.

He's so cute. He has no clue just how out of his league he is, she thought back.

As the match ended, she replied in a sultry voice, "Sorry boys, but I have eyes for only one smoldering stud of a man. Say hi baby!"

"That would be me," Mike said with a sense of pride.

"Well that's enough fun for us today," Melody continued. "Now we've got some real work to do..." They signed off as catcalls and whistles echoed through their headsets.

"That was fun!"

"Sure was. I still can't believe that tear you went on," Mike replied. "You just annihilated them out there!"

As they basked in their post game glow, there was a knock at Mike's door. Walking over to check the peephole, Mike could see it was his upstairs neighbor, Sandra.

As he opened the door, Mike heard the now familiar greeting from bubbly single mom of two kids. "Miiiiike! How ya doin' son?" She immediately grabbed him in a hug before he could even think of protesting.

Sandra seemed in a particularly good mood today. Dressed in a white tank top and loose sky blue workout shorts, she had her straight, black hair pulled back into a ponytail. Mike had never been attracted to black women, merely out of personal preference, but he could definitely appreciate that she was quite a good-looking woman. Slim and athletic, her light black skin and warm eyes easily helped her appear younger than the late thirties she actually was.

Mike gently hugged her back. "I'm doin' pretty good, Sandra. What's got you so excited today?"

"It's Tyler's birthday next Wednesday, so I'm throwing him a pool party today." Tyler was her twelve-year-old son, soon to be thirteen. "My brother's cooking burgers and dogs on the grill. You're welcome to stop by for some free food, Mr. Starving Musician," she said with a wink.

"That sounds awesome, though I don't have a birthday gift or anything..."

"Mike, hush," she interrupted. "After you've helped look out for him these last three years, helping with homework, being that positive male role model, just being there is gift enough. That boy really looks up to you, ya know."

Mike knew it was true. Three years ago, he had given Tyler his first trumpet lessons. Even though he only stuck with it for two years, the two had connected very well. Mike had used those lessons to teach him not only about music, but important life lessons as well. Staying on schedule, avoiding procrastination, refusing to settle for anything less than his best effort. All of these things had helped keep the boy from straying away from a difficult path to follow.

Ultimately, Tyler's greatest respect for Mike had come just over a year ago, during the winter storm of 2014. With the entire city iced in and the interstates clogged with abandoned vehicles, Mike had been walking from his apartment to the Baptist church across the street, checking in to see if there was any assistance they required to help Atlanta's stranded travelers. As he made his way back, he had seen Tyler with a group of three of his friends from the public school he attended at the time. Clearly a rough crowd, Mike overheard them talking about all of the cars stuck on the interstate as easy targets for "free samples," as they called them.

As Mike approached the group, clearing his throat in the process, the group scattered, except for Tyler. Staring silently at Mike, Tyler knew he was likely in big trouble. Realizing that the kid was easily the youngest of the group, being subjected to peer pressure was a constant threat. Mike called Sandra, letting her know that he had met up with Tyler while out walking, and that Mike would make sure he got home safely before dark.

Mike explained to Tyler that there were some things he needed to see. While talking with his friends, Tyler didn't have any reason not to go along with them. Mike planned to give him just that. As they walked along the main road leading to the interstate, Mike stopped at one car with a middle-aged man leaning against it. The man introduced himself as Carl. He worked construction around the city as an independent contractor, and explained he got paid in cash every Friday, with no option for direct deposit. It being Saturday, Mike could safely assume that he had his pay from yesterday in the car with him. Mike asked him what would happen if someone were to come along and steal that money from his car. As Carl eyed Tyler, he could tell what Mike was getting at, and confirmed that losing that money would result in him falling behind on his rent and having to make some tough choices between paying his heating bill or being guaranteed to be able to buy enough food for his family of six for the week. Mike thanked Carl for his time and insight, shaking his hand as they parted.