Three Wishes

She watched him walk hastily across the street. His shoes looked worn, but sturdy enough to help him seemingly glide across it. Riley continued watching this older, handsome figure as he seemed uninterested in the many honks and shouts following his every step. She actually chimed in accidentally yelling "watch out," as a blue corvette nearly missed the man's right calf.

Lady quickly covered her mouth and glanced down at her feet just as fast for she did not want 'Mr. Lovely' to notice her or her gut-wrenching concern. She decided after two seconds to look up for she did not want to lose sight of her mark's red hair or his seersucker suit. After he made it to the sidewalk beyond the loud street, the man turned and caught Lady's dark eyes. She tried to look away again, but what was the point. He knew she was following him.

Still, he did not seem to mind.

In fact, Lady's latest crush seemed flattered as he smiled and waved gently at her. He wanted her to venture over the same treacherous route he traveled fearlessly. Although Lady wanted to be as daring as him, the young woman knew she was not that reckless.

In truth, she was very cautious. Her pursuit of the beautiful stranger was not how she generally behaved, but she felt unusual the moment he stepped into her gaze. Abandonment of her inhibitions, and the embracing of her attraction to him immediately felt natural when she saw his face moving in her direction. His presence invited her to take a walk away from her favorite park bench and novel.

She did not know it, however the beautiful stranger was consciously controlling Lady's every move. His ability made Lady walk behind him for twenty minutes before he bravely strolled across that angry street. That same power would now cause Lady to bypass her typical practice of waiting for a signal from a fancy silver light pole.

When he waved gently, the man's bright green eyes twitched to usher her forth. Lady did as he commanded. Without a scratch, she suffered the same screams and car honks from upset drivers only to stand before this magical man.

"Hi," the man said looking down at the perlexed Lady who wondered how she was now standing in front of him whom she felt captivated by only seconds before. A general side effect of the man's powers was his victim's sense of time being lost.

She was understandably confused. She looked around and realized she was in a completely different area of the city by a darkly tinted shop named 'Come On In'. What an odd name. What an odd situation..

Still, she answered because she did not want to be rude. "Hello. Umm. Who are you?"

The man chuckled a little bit. "My name is Ben Allander, and who are you?"

"I am, Lady Lending. It's a pleasure..." She hesitated uttering those words, but Lady was as polite as she was cautious.

"I'm sure," Ben winked. Lady looked even more bewildered. She assumed, or rather hoped that the dashing Ben would be particularly humble, not conceded.

Yet, her brief infatuation was not crushed for she justified his response. She thought 'maybe he's just trying to be funny'. She tried forcing a smile, but was clearly not amused; just confused. She had no idea why she was charmed by Ben, but she was prepared to continue her trek behind him till she did. She already came this far...

These thoughts of continuing the adventure was of her own volition. Ben had stopped using his method of control over her the moment she crossed the street.

He unlocked the door to his shop and said "follow me". Giggling once more Ben stepped inside with Lady trailing.