A First, My Friend's Sister Ch. 01

"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.