A First, My Friend's Sister Ch. 01

johnwhoknew©

Everyone has a story about his or her first time. Some are good, some are bad, and some are really embarrassing. Some are actually just humdrum and ordinary. My own story is probably one of the ordinary ones. Nothing embarrassing happened. It was enjoyable and fun, but I'm sure I wasn't all that great. In fact, the details are probably too boring to even bother elaborating about.

Jeanie Delvecchio, on the other hand, now she has a great story about her first time. And I'm not just saying that because I was involved. Well, more than involved -- I was the one. Still, biased though I may be, it's a great story. And it begins the same way a lot of first time stories begin: long before the actual act.

Jeanie and I grew up in a relatively small town. It wasn't a truly tiny place like in the Midwest, but it was a quaint little town on the East Coast, within driving distance of a few big cities. A nice place to raise a family in the heart of suburbia.

Growing up there had given us both the values and morals of the good, hard-working American tradition, as well as a rather acute sense of wanderlust and a hunger for adventure. But it was a happy upbringing and we were healthy, good-natured, middle-class American kids.

My best friend was Tony Delvecchio, Jeanie's older brother. Tony and I were a year older than Jeanie and a year ahead of her in school. I also had a younger sister, Jocelyn, who was the same age as Jeanie. Our sisters were friendly with one another, but not as close as Tony and I. We were inseparable.

We met on the first day of 6th grade. The Delvecchios had just moved in down the street from us less than a month before. Jocelyn and I had noticed that two new kids moved in on our street, but we didn't have time to play with them right away because we took a family vacation and were out of town during the weeks right before school started. Consequently I met Tony while waiting for the bus on the first day of school. Jocelyn and Jeanie met each other later on the bus to elementary school, but Tony and I had to leave for school earlier because we were big, bad 6th-graders.

Our friendship began the second we started talking. Tony and I were pretty much of one mind, and that mind mainly revolved around two things: sports and mischief. We weren't malicious kids, just your average punk-ass pre-teens, thinking we were a lot cooler than we actually were.

In detentions and on sports teams our friendship grew through the years. The names Jim Stillman and Tony Delvecchio became synonymous, and they always meant hijinks. And all the while Jeanie was there, tagging along with us whenever she could, bearing the brunt of our immature antics. Tony was the typical older brother, taunting and teasing Jeanie in sometimes amusing, yet sometimes cruel, ways. I'm sure I was probably the same way with Jocelyn at times, but most of the time I was pretty nice to Joss. I never saw the fun in picking on my little sister. But Tony tended to be a big pain in Jeanie's ass. I never understood why; I think it was just a deep competitive drive that lurked inside Tony. He always wanted to win, and he always had to try to be the best. I think that attitude carried over to his sister.

So he would pick on her relentlessly. But don't get me wrong, he loved her dearly. It was ok for him to tease her, but if anyone else dared cross her, he'd be on your ass in a heartbeat. He had a fiery temper that could be intimidating at times, but since he and I were so close I never really worried about it myself. And, of course, I never crossed Jeanie. Sometimes I'd pick on her in a good-natured, not-too-mean kind of way. But I was never insulting or disrespectful.

I think it was this quality in me that originally made Jeanie take a shine to me. We were in our early teens, just beginning to notice members of the opposite sex. At that age, a single year made a huge difference in the way you looked at the opposite gender. For Tony and I, younger girls were essentially invisible. For a girl like Jeanie though, her older brother's friend was probably pretty appealing. So over time it became kind of an ill-disguised secret that Jeanie had a crush on me.

Her crush really came as no surprise, especially with the way Tony picked on her. I was constantly defending her and taking her side to protect her from his ribbing; it was only natural that she would start to like me. In opposition to Tony's tormenting ways, I became somewhat of a hero figure.

Jeanie was a bit of an awkward girl in her early teens. She wore big, plastic glasses, and she hadn't quite had her growth spurt yet. So she remained shorter than most girls, and a bit flat-chested. Plus, her hair had a natural curl to it that was always difficult to tame. Tony pointed these so-called "faults" out to her on a regular basis, and I'm sure it wreaked havoc on her self-confidence.

To her credit though, Jeanie would fight back. She'd throw barbs at Tony, and occasionally a punch or two. She was a tough kid with a lot of fire in her, and it made her very likable and a blast to be around. For my part, I really did genuinely like Jeanie, but, as I said before, younger girls were essentially invisible in a romantic kind of way.

But the kid had fire, and it made her appealing, there was no denying that. She needed that fire for so many reasons. She had an older brother who took satisfaction in messing with her, and she had the unfortunate curse of having a unique name. For a kid in your early teens, nothing is worse than having a name like no one else's. Other kids will pick on you and think of the most ridiculous jokes.

Jeanie's full name was Francesca Giana Delvecchio. It was a family name from way back and her parents had bestowed that tradition on her. Early on though, she viewed that tradition as a burden. She had abandoned even trying to get any normalcy out of the Francesca name and instead decided to go by a nickname for her middle name. After some time, the Jeanie nickname stuck and it was only on occasion someone would use her full name to poke fun at her. Except her brother, who would constantly call her Frannie, Frankie or any other variation of the formal name she grew to hate.

Which was a shame because I always thought it was beautiful. In her adult life she has come to accept her full name, and even embrace it. But back then she saw it as a curse. No matter how hard I tried to convince her otherwise, she insisted she hated the name and never wanted to hear it. Except, of course, from me. Because I had told her how nice I thought it was, even from the first time I'd heard it, she would let me call her Giana. Or sometimes even Francesca as long as no one else was around to hear.

And so it remained as we made our way through the years of school, up into high school. Tony's rivalry with his sister remained into our high school years, pathetic as it was. And I was always there to defend her. Her crush on me seemed to subside a bit as we grew older. She still always smiled when I was around, but she didn't always fawn on me with her doe eyes like she did when she was younger. As we matured we just became good friends.

Unfortunately, that was all we could ever be. Even if I had started to like Jeanie, there was no way I could ever have dated her. Tony was absolutely against anything and everything about Jeanie having a romantic life. All the boys she dated had to hide. They could never come over to the Delvecchio house when Tony was around for fear of having their asses kicked. For all the tormenting of his younger sister he did, Tony was fiercely protective of her.

His job of fending off boys became increasingly difficult as the years went by. Jeanie matured slowly but surely. By her junior year of high school, she had blossomed into a beautiful young woman. She had grown a bit and now stood about five feet, five inches, an average height. She wasn't a particularly tall girl, but she could no longer be called "shortie" by her brother, especially since he was only three or four inches taller than her.

She had filled out as well. Her breasts and hips now had curves, and the back of her jeans stuck out in a particularly appealing way. Not that I ever looked, heaven forbid. I knew Tony would kill me if he ever caught me checking her out. Plus, I saw myself as kind of an older brother for her too so I made sure to squash those thoughts as soon as they crossed my mind.

It wasn't easy though; Jeanie had become quite gorgeous. Besides her body maturing she also ditched the big glasses for contacts and had settled on a shoulder-length hairstyle that did justice to her cute, round face. And her eyes could absolutely melt you. She had deep brown eyes that sparkled with richness. They had a fiery flare whenever she laughed or got angry. On several occasions during our conversations, I would find myself becoming hypnotized when I looked into them, and had to snap out of my reverie. Any time I ever had a romantic thought about Jeanie, I would mentally chastise myself.

"She's off-limits, stupid. Wake up and stop fantasizing. She's Tony's sister, and he'd kill you. Besides, she's practically your sister, dumbass!" This thought process soon became a recurring theme in my head.

I kept myself in check pretty well throughout high school. I never so much as placed a finger on her, or made a single romantically-inclined remark. Besides, Jeanie got plenty of attention from the boys so I was certainly the least of anything her brother had to worry about.

Jeanie was quite popular in high school, in fact. Probably more popular than even Tony and I were, and that fact drove him insane. Not me. I had long since resigned myself to the fact that both my younger sister and his were pretty much way cooler than we were. I never saw that as a threat or a problem. Good for them, I figured. And it wasn't like Tony and I weren't having fun. Sure, maybe we didn't run with the cool, popular crowd, but we had our share of friends. And we sure as hell had our share of fun. I'd had a couple of girlfriends and I was beginning to search that new realm of discovery. So I never saw the point of messing with Joss or with Jeanie. On the contrary, I was always friendly when I saw them.

Practically every day at lunch I would swing by Jeanie's table and whisper, "Hey Francesca," as I dropped a soda or a candy bar on the table in front of her. "Hey James," she would whisper back, knowing full well no one ever called me by my proper name either. It was our little game, and it made our friendship special. Like we had a secret only the two of us shared.

Plus, I had my hands full with keeping an eye out for my own sister. She too had blossomed into a gorgeous young woman, and she drew the attention of all sorts of guys. I never really picked on Jocelyn, but I definitely let her know when I didn't approve of a guy she was hanging around with.

Soon though, Tony and I were seniors and graduation was upon us. I couldn't believe how our high school years had flown by, but the next thing I knew I was applying for colleges. In the spring of my senior year I opted to attend a state school in the fall about an hour and a half away from our hometown. Tony, however, opted to start working right away. He had spent his summers working at a landscaping company. Not only did he really like the work, he was really good at it. So good, in fact, that he would be made manager of the company just a few years after graduation. He was a hard worker with a smart business mind; the decision was easy for him.

He wished me well when I left for college, and of course he visited me often. College girls definitely liked the fact that he actually had money. Most of the guys they met, like me, were pretty much flat broke all of the time. Tony could afford to take girls out to eat for a real meal, and we took full advantage of this fact. Mostly he'd pick up the check and I'd scrape a few bucks together and throw them Tony's way when I could. But it worked. We were always able to find girls willing to double-date with us.

Our arrangement was that he was the money, and I was the wit. I would charm the girls, and he'd get the check. That deal was fine with both of us. Tony was always just a bit awkward with the ladies. Having me there to break the ice initially and to keep the conversation flowing smoothly throughout was worth the money, he said. We made a good team.

Soon though, my freshman year of college came to an end and I moved back home for the summer. It was mid-May, and I immediately applied to get my old high school job back. I was a waiter at a local Italian restaurant. The family that owned the restaurant was good friends with the Delvecchios and it was Tony's father who'd first gotten me the job. In the beginning, both Tony and I had started out as bus boys when we were 16. Tony got the job with the landscaping company for better money and left soon after, but I stayed and eventually went from bussing to waiting on tables. It was decent money and it did the trick.

But soon an adventure was to come my way that I had no way to see coming. When I returned from college it was mid-May and Jeanie and Jocelyn were nearing the end of their high school careers. They had both recently turned 18, and could truly be called women now. Having been away for a year I marveled at how beautiful, smart, and mature they now were. I had to shake my head when I hung out with them, hearing how grown up they had become. Gone were the kid sisters I once knew.

I had just eaten dinner with the Delvecchio family one night, when Jeanie approached me out of the blue. I'd only been home a couple of days and Tony and I were planning on going out for the evening. He was upstairs cleaning up before we left when Jeanie popped into the living room where I was lounging on the couch waiting.

"Hey James," she teased as she ran into the room and jumped on the couch next to me. She was wearing a pair of tight, black Capri pants that hugged the generous curves of her hips and behind, and a loose-fitting shirt that revealed an almost immodest amount of cleavage as she curled her feet under her and leaned toward me. Her perfume was sweet and delicate in the air.The fleeting thought swept through my mind that this was no little girl anymore, but I pushed it aside. I couldn't let my mind wander like that.

"Hey Giana," I teased back, echoing our old joke.

"So... um, I've been wanting to ask you something for a while, but I... uhh, don't really know how to." She seemed very ill at ease and she kept biting her lower lip as she talked. I didn't really know what was going on, but she looked so impossibly cute, even in her discomfort, that I had to try to calm her.

"What's up, Jeanie? You know you can talk to me about anything." I tried to give my voice a soothing, comforting quality. It was rare to see her uncomfortable about anything, so I wasn't sure what was going on. I put my hand on her forearm to reassure her. Her olive skin was warm and soft to the touch, and I felt a little tremor pass through me when I caressed her.

She smiled down at my hand on her arm and seemed to relax a bit. "Well," she said, still smiling, "I'm just going to come right out and say it." She took a deep breath to gather herself. "My senior prom is next Friday, and I would very much like it if you would do me the honor of escorting me."

The last part of her question came out rushed and a bit awkwardly and she exhaled sharply after saying it. My jaw dropped open when she said it, but she quickly regained her composure. "What I mean is," she continued, gathering herself, "would you please go with me to my prom?" She smiled hopefully as she asked, shrugging her shoulders slightly in anticipation, and it made my heart melt. Her big brown eyes gazed into mine expectantly, waiting eagerly for my reply.

"Oh Giana," I said, somewhat taken aback. I squeezed her arm with my hand. "You know I would love to go with you, I mean, I would be like the luckiest guy in the world." She gave me a huge, wide smile when I said this.

"Really?" she asked, her smile beaming. She was an absolute vision to behold as she smiled, as though this moment had been building in her head for quite some time, and she got the answer she'd been longing to hear.

"Absolutely. I would be very honored and very lucky. Except..." I let that word hang in the air for a moment, and she gave me a puzzled, expecting look. "Well, I'm not sure your brother would approve."

"Oh... right. That." She said it slowly as though she was expecting me to say it, and possibly feared I'd say it too. "What if I told you to just leave the brother thing up to me?"

"Well, I guess..." I paused for a moment, thinking. "Hey, what about Jeremy?" I asked, suddenly remembering that the last time I saw her, over Easter, she was still dating Jeremy Gund, a guy in her grade that she had dated for nearly a year.

"Yeah, he and I broke up," she said flatly, no emotion whatsoever in her voice. It was clear that that subject matter was closed.

"Oh I see. Well, in that case..." I stopped to think for a moment. Somehow I feared this might cause some sort of friction between Tony and I. But the sweet look of anticipation on Jeanie's lovely face warmed my heart, and I put any fears aside. I took both her hands in mine. Something told me that given the past we shared, Jeanie had probably very much been looking forward to this moment. How could I possibly let her down?

"I would love to go with you, Giana," I said softly.

"Oh my God, are you serious?" she asked sweetly.

"Yes, of course." I knew the prom was a very big deal to most girls, and if I could somehow make the evening special and memorable for Jeanie, then I felt I had to do it. I owed her that.

At my reply she squealed delightedly and pounced on me, throwing her arms around me and hugging me tightly. I put my arms around her and held her close.

"Thank you so much, Jim," she whispered in my ear, "this means a lot to me, it really does." Her breath was warm and soft in my ear, tickling me and sending little waves of arousal through my body. I suddenly became very aware of the sexuality of the creature I held in my arms. For the first time ever, the thoughts I kept censored in my head came crashing forward uncontrollably. Her body was warm pressed against mine, her breasts soft and yielding against my chest. Her hair smelled sweet, and I could sense the warmth of the soft skin on her neck just inches below my lips. I ran my hands down to the small of her back, to where I could already feel the gentle rise of her rounded bottom, and I felt her fingernails dig gently into my own back.

Suddenly I was struck by a thought. She wants this. I knew I wasn't imagining things as I felt her exhale a long, warm breath into my neck, sighing contentedly as she did so. Her nails were in my back holding me close to her, and I realized in a heartbeat that I had to stop this. It would be far too easy to let this get out of control and her brother or parents could walk into the living room at any moment. Even just holding Jeanie in this close, tight embrace was more than I should do; it wasn't right. And the temptation to touch her, to feel her soft, supple young body, was becoming more than I could control. I longed to let my hands drop down onto her behind, to squeeze her softness under those skin-tight pants. To let my lips caress her smooth neck, and make a trail of gentle kisses slowly down to her rounded cleavage.

But I took control of myself. I ran my hands to her sides and pushed her gently away, regaining my composure. I looked her in the eyes. "You do realize Tony is going to be a real pain in the ass about this, right? I'm worried you'll get your hopes up, just to have him crush them."

She ran her hand along my cheek. "Listen, James," she said calmly, "you just let me deal with the pain in the ass Anthony Delvecchio. You made me very happy with what you just said, so my hopes are going to be way up no matter what." After saying this she gave me a wide smile, and leaned in quickly to kiss my cheek. The actual kiss though, was not quick. She placed her lips fully on my cheek and gave it a long, slow kiss, sensual and alluring. Then she pulled back, looked me in the eyes, and whispered simply, "Thank you."

"The honor is all mine," I replied sincerely. She bit her lower lip and smiled again, then jumped up off the couch and headed out of the room. She skipped by Tony just as he entered the room.

"What's she all giddy about?" he asked snidely.

"Isn't she always giddy?" I asked, avoiding the question.

"Yeah, I suppose," he replied shortly, but he eyed me warily, almost as though he suspected something was going on.

"You finally ready, sweetheart?" I asked, changing the subject. "God, you take longer than a woman, I swear."

"Blow it out your ass," he snapped jokingly, but my change of subject worked. We took off and went to hang out with friends. Throughout the night though, my mind kept wandering back to holding Jeanie on that couch. How sweet her hair smelled, how soft and warm her body felt against mine. I knew these thoughts were trouble. Once Tony found out that Jeanie had asked me to the prom he would flip his shit. Hopefully, it wouldn't cause a fight.

The next evening after work I again went to the Delvecchio house to hang out with Tony. I hadn't talked to him at all that day and had no idea what drama might await me. Jeanie answered the door when I knocked and immediately leapt into my arms, crushing me with a tight hug.

"Hey Giana, how's it going?" I asked, lifting her up in my arms.

"Awesome, James, how are you?" she replied, her breath tickling my neck and making my heart flutter.

I broke the embrace and set her down, looking sternly into her eyes. "So... did you talk to Tony?" I asked hesitantly.

She just lifted her eyebrows, rolled her eyes, and walked into the house, a sure sign that I was in for some shit with Tony. I followed her into the house, ready for the worst. Her parents were in the kitchen talking, and they greeted me after Jeanie yelled, "Tony, Jim is here!" at the top of her voice. Seconds later I heard the loud thumping of Tony coming down the stairs. He met me in the hall and immediately hooked his thumb toward the living room, indicating I should follow him there now, or else. I followed behind him, ready for whatever might come next.

When we reached the privacy of the living room, he spun on his heel and whispered fiercely, "So what's this about you and my sister and the prom?" His eyes had a dangerous gleam in them when he asked this.

Trying to sound nonchalant about the situation, I answered calmly, "Hey man, it's not a big deal. She asked if I would take her and I said yes. You know how it is, the prom means a lot to girls and I didn't want to disappoint her."

"Listen, bro, you better not..."

I stopped him before he could continue. "Dude, I'm not going to do anything bad to her. I respect her. And I respect you and your family. I will treat her with dignity, man. I mean, am I worse than some other jackasses she could have chosen to go with?"

At this Tony gave me a devious smile. "Actually..." he began.

"Don't even say it," I pointed at him menacingly, but smiled to show him I was kidding.

"Hey, I know how you are!" he joked back. At that point I knew everything would be ok.

"Oh yeah? How am I?" I shot back.

"You're the love 'em and leave 'em type. And you better not pull that shit with my sister, man." He pointed back at me menacingly.

"You know damn well I wouldn't," I replied.

Tony thought for a minute, then stepped toward me and punched me, not too forcefully, but still rather strongly, right in the gut. "Ok," he said, "you can take my sister to the prom. But I'll be watching you."

"Yeah, right, got it," I said thickly, trying to catch my breath.

He brushed past me and walked out of the room. "I'll be back in a minute, just gotta throw some cologne on," he said. We were going to a party that night and apparently he wanted to be ready to talk to chicks.

"Right, I'll just be here in pain," I shot back as he left the room. His punch really did hurt. A minute later Jeanie peeked her head into the room.

"Is everything ok?" she whispered.

I smiled at her. "Yes, everything is fine," I replied.

"Seriously, he's cool?" she asked timidly.

"Yeah, it's all good. He's fine."

"Oh my god, that's so awesome," she exhaled relieved as she ran into the room and jumped into my arms. I caught her and held her, as she began babbling excitedly. "This is such a relief; I was so worried he was going to be a jerk about it. But seriously though, you're sure he's cool?"

"Yes, he's cool. Everything's fine."

"That is so great. Now Jim, I know you're going to a stupid high school dance and you probably think it's totally lame, but it really means a lot to me and I'm so happy you said yes."

"It's my pleasure, seriously, Jeanie..."

"No, I'm serious. I'm so happy you're going with me, and I'm gonna make it a really great night and I promise you'll have fun."

"I'll have fun just being with you, Jeanie, don't worry about me."

"Oh Jim," she cooed, jutting her lower lip out cutely, "that is so sweet. You have no idea how relieved I am that Tony didn't make a big deal out of this."

"Well, there was a certain condition he made very plain," I began, pushing her back slightly and putting my hands on her arms. "I'm pretty sure he'd probably kill me if I put a single finger on you, so I got the hands off warning."

Upon hearing this, Jeanie gave me a devious little smile. "Oh he would, would he? A single finger?" She pursed her lips together and raised her eyebrows.

"Yeah, a single finger," I repeated.

"Well that's a problem, isn't it?" she asked, grabbing my hand in hers. "You're going to be my date, Jim," she said, her voice lower, and tinged with an undeniable hint of seduction. "I'm going to want to dance with you; I'm going to want you to hold me. How are we going to do that if you can't even put a single finger on me?" As she said this, she held my right hand in both of hers and extended just the index finger. She brought it slowly up and held it in front of her face.

It wasn't easy, but I found my voice. "Your brother was very adamant, Jeanie," I whispered hoarsely, caught up in both my arousal by this unexpected flirtatious moment, and my fear that Tony would come down the stairs and see us. "Not a single finger..."

Jeanie smiled again deviously. "But what could one little finger do?" she whispered seductively. Then she guided my finger slowly to her cheek, and traced a little meandering line down toward her lips. "It's totally harmless."

As she said this she traced the outline of her lips with her fingertip, making a little circle around both her bottom and top lip. She opened her mouth into a little O, and her breath was warm on my hand. Her lips were tantalizingly soft, and it took every ounce of willpower I had not to lean in and press my mouth onto hers, feeling the gentle softness of her pretty lips, so pink and full and warm.

"Yeah," I whispered breathily, "it sure seems harmless." I had barely finished the sentence when Jeanie gave me a little half grin and caught my fingertip between her lips. Very slowly, and very seductively, she let her tongue softly lick my fingertip, just grazing it gently and lightly. Then she dragged my finger down over her bottom lip onto her chin, then ever so slowly down beneath her chin onto her neck, never breaking eye contact with me.

"See," she whispered, her voice smooth and sultry, "isn't this nice?"

"Yes," I replied. It was the only word I could find the strength to muster. She guided my finger lower still, down below her collarbone onto her chest. My knees trembled and my heart skipped a beat as I felt the soft skin of her chest. She was wearing a tight white tank top that was cut low enough to reveal a tantalizing view of her cleavage. The tank top was just slightly transparent, and I could see the outline of her bra beneath it. Her breasts hung perfectly like two small apples, just inches below my hand.

I felt my finger trembling in Jeanie's hand, but she continued to guide it lower until it met the fabric of her tank top at the very top of her left breast. She then traced the outline of the tank top along her breast, and I could feel her soft, warm skin beneath it. I longed to push my finger down inside her clothes, to feel the softness of her breast, to press against her nipple. But I resisted. Her brother would be down any moment; her parents were in the next room.

"Well," she said softly, "I think we passed the one finger test. No damage done, right?" She let go of my finger, but I left it there, just barely hooked inside her tank top.

"Right," I replied, "no damage done." I maintained eye contact with her as I slowly and seductively let my finger slip down a little lower on her breast, dragging her loose-fitting tank top with it, until I felt the very top of her bra. She didn't stop me, but instead almost urged me on with her eyes. How badly I wanted to go further. To hook my finger inside her bra, to feel the warm softness of her breast, to graze my fingers on her nipple and feel its firm tightness. But at that moment I heard the heavy thud of her brothers' footsteps coming down the stairs so I quickly pulled my finger away and we both giggled a bit with embarrassment.

Tony entered the room brusquely and muttered, "All right, break it up. Let's go, stud."

I smiled at Jeanie and said, "Well, I gotta go. But I'm really looking forward to it, Jeanie."

"I am too," she replied, smiling demurely. She bit her lower lip and took a step away as if to leave the room, but her eyes never left mine. As I turned to leave I let my eyes wander down to her gorgeous body. My god, I thought, this is no little girl anymore. She wore a pair of short shorts and her olive colored legs looked soft and shiny as she lifted her left leg slightly at the knee, and rubbed it against her right. She was barefoot and her toenails were painted bright red, a tantalizing contrast to the dark skin of her feet. Her semi-transparent tank top hung loosely off her, but beneath it I could see her nipples straining stiffly against her bra. They pushed against the blousy fabric leaving little shadows beneath, a testament to how taut and firm they must have been at that moment.

She hooked her thumbs into the pockets of her shorts and said sweetly, "Bye, Jim," as I walked away.

I turned just as I left the room and answered, "Bye, Jeanie," smiling at her. I didn't know what I'd gotten myself into. Jeanie was so beautiful and so sweet. I could feel her intoxicating me. Throughout that night I couldn't get her out of my thoughts. What was that alluring seduction thing that we shared? Every time I thought about it I felt myself stiffen in my pants. It was so crazy. I didn't know what I was thinking, or what I should do.

I didn't see Jeanie again until the Wednesday before the night of her prom. We were both busy, me with working and her with school, so we missed each other over a few days. The prom was on Friday, so when I stopped over her house to grab her brother, she met me at the door and said she wanted to show me some things. Her brother was still getting ready, as usual, so I agreed.

"Come on, it's in my room," she said, and grabbed me by the wrist. My heart leapt both from her hand on my arm and from the prospect of being alone with her. When we arrived in her room, she swung open her closet door and pulled out her dress on a hanger.

"Here's my dress, Jim, do you like it?" She held it against herself to give me an idea of how it would look on her. The dress was a shiny fabric, not stiff at all, but flowing and light. It was a crimson color, but in the light, every shadow on it made it seem even darker and more rich. The hem was cut just above her knee, not too slutty yet not too chaste either. It was really the perfect dress for her.

"I really like it, Jeanie; it's beautiful," I gushed.

"Seriously, do you think it's nice?" she questioned.

"Absolutely," I nodded. "It's gorgeous. It suits you very well."

She smiled and stepped toward me to give me a closer look. "Are you sure, I mean, I wasn't quite positive about the color and I don't know if it's formal enough..."

"Jeanie," I interrupted, "stop." I put my hands on her waist, smoothing the dress against her as she held it up. "Really. Don't think too much about this. It's perfect. You're going to look absolutely gorgeous and I'm going to be the luckiest guy in the world to be escorting you. Ok?"

She just smiled up at me. "Jim, you're so sweet."

I smiled back. Suddenly I realized where we were. Alone in her room. My hands were holding her just above her hips. If I wanted to I could just pull her toward me. I could press my mouth onto hers and kiss her, holding her body against mine. And I realized, with a shockingly quick, lightning fast realization, that that was exactly what I wanted. But just as quickly I fought the impulse, and tried to change the subject both in my head and with her.

"But wait a minute," I stammered, "isn't it bad luck for me to see the dress beforehand?"

"No silly," she replied smirking at my gaffe, "that's only for wedding dresses." She smiled at me. I raised my eyebrows to illustrate that I was just a dumb guy and had no idea, but before I could respond she said, "That's something we'll worry about later."

When she said this she gave me a more serious look. She was still smiling, but her gaze indicated that she was only half-joking when she said it. I knew in that instant that she did still care about me. Whatever crush or puppy love thing she had for me had long since gone away. But in its place there was an affection, a caring. I could feel it, as though it had a form and was palpable. It was there, hovering in the air between us.

This girl cared for me, enough that she was willing to even hint at our future wedding. But what surprised me most was that it didn't scare me. Not in the least. I pictured this girl walking down the aisle with me waiting, her dress a glowing white, her smile as bright as the sun. And I wasn't afraid of it. If any other girl in the world had even dared to mention the word "wedding" I would have run away scared and never looked back.

So what did that mean? What did I feel for her? I could try to pretend that I didn't care, that she was just Tony's little sister, the awkward kid that I always had to stick up for. Or I could admit that I did care for her. That she wasn't just the little kid I once knew. She was a beautiful girl who I cared about. Deeply.

As these thoughts swirled through my head I realized that we were slowly moving toward each other. She had stepped into me, or was I pulling her in? It didn't matter; we were leaning toward one another, our mouths so close, both inhaling anticipating the inevitable kiss...

At that moment Tony bellowed down the hall from his room, "Let's go, sweetheart, we're outta here!" Jeanie and I caught ourselves, mere inches from kissing. I stepped away and again we both giggled nervously.

"Well," I said awkwardly, "the dress is lovely, Jeanie. You're gonna look great."

"Thank you, Jim," she answered just as nervously.

"Umm, I guess I'll see you in a couple days then," I said, feeling rather sheepish for some reason.

"I can't wait," she replied smiling.

I left and once again spent the evening thinking about Jeanie. I knew I was in deep, but I vowed to myself that I would keep things under control. I had made a promise to Tony that she was hands off, and I couldn't break a promise to my best friend. I did my best to keep my thoughts reined in over the next couple days. But I couldn't help stopping at the florist shop and ordering roses that would do justice to Jeanie's dress. And I made sure the corsage would look nice as well. I wanted to pay close attention to those details. I knew the night would mean a lot to Jeanie and I had to get everything right.

The night of the prom I arrived at the Delvecchio house a bit early. Jeanie and her friends had rented a limo, and there would be three couples all riding in it. The other couples were kids in Jeanie's class that I had known while I was in school and I was pretty sure they were all cool. I was psyched because it was shaping up to be a fun night. And with a little luck, maybe I wouldn't have any time alone with Jeanie where my desires could have a chance to take over. I knew there was no way I could resist the temptation if the opportunity presented itself. So hey, maybe that opportunity would never come up if we were hanging out all night with the other couples.

Tony had a blast making fun of me in my tuxedo as I waited for Jeanie to get ready upstairs. Mr. Delvecchio was pretty cool and came to my defense though, telling Tony he would do well to clean his ass up every now and again. I just laughed at that one. Mrs. Delvecchio was upstairs helping Jeanie get ready and when she came down she told me how handsome I looked. And it was a good thing, she said, because just wait until I saw Jeanie. She smiled proudly and I knew exactly what she was talking about a moment later when Jeanie came down the stairs.

She looked absolutely breathtaking. Her dress flowed perfectly around her as she walked. Her hair was done up formally, with curly little strands hanging down onto her bare shoulders. Her makeup was elegant; it didn't look overdone or caked on, but instead was light and accented her soft, round face and olive complexion perfectly. I was awestruck.

The dress had thin spaghetti straps on her shoulders, and the neckline dipped just slightly between her breasts, revealing a tasteful, yet alluring, view of her cleavage. It hugged her hips impeccably, revealing their soft roundness. When she held it up to herself the other day, I got only an idea of how nice the dress was, but it didn't do justice to the effect of seeing it on her. Now that she was wearing it I realized that it was made for her, perfectly complementing her stature and form. She spun around in a little circle and the back hung low, revealing her softly muscled shoulders.

I felt my knees give way slightly as I stepped forward to receive Jeanie. "You look absolutely gorgeous, Francesca," I whispered as I gave her the roses.

"Thank you, Jim," she answered smiling. "These are beautiful," she said admiring and smelling the roses. "You shouldn't have."

"Oh yes I should have," I replied. Then I took her delicate wrist in my hands and put the corsage on it gently.

"Oh Jim, that's perfect, this is too much," she gushed.

"Too much? Come on, I wanted to get you something nice."

"This is really very nice, Jim, thank you so much." As she said this she wrapped her arms around me and hugged me. She smelled incredibly good, her perfume delicate and airy. Her sweetness was intoxicating and I realized I didn't want to let her go. But her father broke us up saying, "All right, lovebirds, come on outside so we can get pictures."

Tony rolled his eyes at me as I took Jeanie's hand and led her outside. Her parents took a bunch of pictures for what felt like an hour, but soon enough the limo and the other couples arrived.

The first couple consisted of Jeanie's best friend, Missy Martz, and her boyfriend, Dan Reindorf. Missy's real name was Melissa, but everyone called her Missy. I wasn't really good friends with her, but she was always nice when I came around to say hi to Jeanie and she always said hello when I saw her. Dan, on the other hand, was a bit of an arrogant putz. His father was a local doctor which meant he came from money. He acted like a condescending ass most of the time, and we all wondered what Missy saw in him. Her father was an accountant and did good business, so Missy was also from a pretty well-off family. But she didn't act the way Dan did. They seemed like a mismatched couple. She was really nice while he was such a douche.

The other couple I didn't know well at all. It was Jeanie's friend Beth O'Brien and her boyfriend Mark. They seemed pretty nice and we all wound up posing for a bunch more pictures together, until finally it was time to leave.

Jeanie and I went over and introduced ourselves to the limo driver, Steve. He was a middle-aged guy but he was really cool. I was afraid we'd have the "hardass jerk" kind of guy, yelling at us for being a bunch of snot-nosed teenagers just looking to cause trouble.

After we introduced ourselves to Steve, there was a moment when Jeanie and I were alone. The other parents and the other couples were all talking and laughing, when Jeanie and I found ourselves off to the side alone momentarily. I took the opportunity to whisper to her, "You really look breathtaking, Giana."

"Thank you, James," she whispered back, "you look very handsome yourself." I put my arm around her and rubbed her arm affectionately. She smiled, but then a wicked little grin played across her lips and she chuckled.

"What?" I asked suspiciously. "What's so funny?"

"Well... you don't even know the best part yet," she said intriguingly.

"So..." I needled, "what is the best part?" I raised my eyebrows curiously to play along with her.

Ever so slowly she leaned in toward me, pulling me down close to her, and putting her mouth to my ear to tell me a secret. She cupped her hand over her mouth, her breath warm against my ear and neck, and she whispered breathily, "I'm not wearing any underwear."

Then, very lightly, and very quickly, she licked my earlobe. It was tantalizingly soft and incredibly alluring. She then stepped away to join the group, grinning wickedly back at me and grabbing my wrist, pulling me along with her.

Good lord, what did this evening have in store for me? I felt my heart quicken, and a tiny little stirring began in my pants. I might as well admit it, I thought; I was attracted to her. No, it was more than that. I wanted her. I wanted her so badly I could taste it. But I couldn't have her. She was my best friend's little sister. It was wrong, so wrong. I had promised him that I wouldn't touch her. Yet here she was, so gorgeous, so sweet, so irresistible. What the hell was I going to do?

I watched the way her dress clung to her body in the breeze. I watched the way it softly suggested its way into her crevices, knowing there was nothing beneath it. Knowing that the fabric was clinging directly to her body in its most secret, most beguiling areas. And I could smell her, the soft, sweet perfume dancing on the breeze. It was intoxicating. She was so lovely, so perfect in that moment; her smile bright and wide and fascinating.

I was definitely in trouble. It was going to be a long night.