A Lifes Intent Ch 01

"C'mon Shella, you've gotta see the gown I bought for the prom!" a beautiful young woman said excitedly, pulling her friend into the house.

"Slow down Karyn!" Shella exclaimed as she bumped into the frame of the door. "What's the big deal about this gown Karyn?" Shella asked as she was being half led, half dragged toward Karyn's bedroom.

"You'll see, the guys at school won't know what to do with themselves, especially Jason!" Karyn said with a smile, referring to her boyfriend who also happened to be Shella's best friend.

"Karyn! Jeez, you know I'm still trying to get used to the idea of two of my friends dating." Shella said, a minor note of annoyance in her voice.

"I know, but I also know you've been eyeing my older brother awfully close lately, so fair is fair." Karyn said as she watched Shella's fair skin turn a distinct crimson.

"Okay, let's see this gown," Shella replied, quick to make a change of subject as she followed her friend into her bedroom.

Karyn closed the door as Shella made her way in.

"You'll have to see it on, I almost didn't notice it on the shelf," Karyn said as she pulled off her blouse and snaked her skirt off before walking into her closet. A few minutes later Karyn came out of her closet and Shella eyed her friend. She was wearing a floor length strapless black silk gown that cut dangerously low. The dress perfectly matched Karyn's raven black hair and hugged her every curve on her tone body with no lines interrupting its delicate form.

"Jesus Karyn, are you trying to kill someone?" Shella asked as she looked at her friend and smiled.

"No, but maybe turn a few heads." Karyn replied.

"A few, try the whole room! Did they have another one?" Shella asked with a sheepish smile, prompting her friend to laugh.

"I'm gonna go grab a soda," Shella said to her friend, excusing herself.

--

Karyn's older brother Darius was in the kitchen. He was there with the intent to hijack a few cookies that his mother made before leaving for work. He hadn't known that his sister's friend was in the house or he might have worn a bit more, still clad in only a towel having just gotten out of the shower. He turned around, cookies in hand, just as Shella walked into the room.

"Oh, uh, hi..." Darius said, surprised at the presence of Shella in the room. "Cookie?" he offered in attempt to distract her away from his lack of clothes. The attempt seemed rather unsuccessful as her eyes seemed glued to the towel around his waist. Her hand somehow managed to grab the cookie while her eyes remained rooted in place.

"Thanks," she said in a distant sort of way, her eyes now alternating between trying to process what she had grabbed from him, and his abs.

"Mom made them before she left for work," he added as she finally seemed to have processed that she was staring and pulled her gaze away to take a nibble of the cookie.

"Mmmmm," Shella mused in a way that gave Darius the distinct feeling she might not have referred to the cookie.

"What?" Darius asked, her gaze now directed into his pale green eyes.

Shella blinked and blushed.

"You have amazing eyes," she said softly. Darius shook his head and gave her an amused smile.

"With the exception of your eyes, you look like the statue of a Greek god," Shella breathed. Darius laughed.

"I wish," he said.

"You do," Shella insisted as she took a step closer to him, which left him just inches from her. Karyn, who had slipped into the room a moment before, found this opportunity to make her presence known in the kitchen.

"Shel, did you grab me a soda too?" Karyn asked causing both Shella and Darius to jump.

Darius' head snapped up to focus on the sudden change in the room. His eyes widened when he saw the dress that his sister wore.

"What the hell are you wearing?" Darius asked.

"My dress for the prom on Friday" Karyn replied flatly.

"Has our mother seen it?" Darius asked, convinced that there was no way her mother would approve of anything that revealing.

"She helped me pick it out silly. Speaking of clothes, where the hell are yours?" Karyn retorted mirthfully. Karyn's comment caused Darius to blush from head to toe, the two young women's attention now back on the state he had walked into the kitchen in.

"I got out of the shower and smelled cookies, didn't think there was anyone here, so I just walked from the shower to here to get one," Darius replied honestly.

"Cookies!" Karyn said excitedly.

"Where's mine?" She added as she held her hand out to her brother who deposited one into her hand. "Thanks!" she said before her attention returned to Shella.

"So what are you wearing to the prom Shel?" Karyn asked.

"Uhm, I don't have a dress Actually, I wasn't really planning on going," Shella answered.

"Why not?" Karyn demanded.

"Because I'm tired of the school dances, and because with all the time I spend in the pool training I've never had time for a boyfriend and I end up going alone and sitting around watching everyone else have fun," Shella insisted. Karyn thought for a moment as she munched on her cookie.

"Darius can take you," Karyn volunteered. Darius shook his head.

"Karyn, I can't do that, I'm five years older than the both of you," Darius protested.

"C'mon Darius! Just this once," Karyn pleaded. Darius prepared to continue his protest but couldn't help notice Shella's face had lit up at the idea. Finally, after a moment Darius sighed and nodded.

"Just this once," he agreed. Shella's eyes lit up and she suddenly gave Darius a tight hug. Darius awkwardly hugged her back.

--

"What are you so nervous about Shella Lynn?" her mother Bethany asked, while she helped her daughter do her hair.

"I haven't been on a date in forever," Shella reminded her mother. Bethany chuckled. "You're a swimmer Shel, and your training and competitions must take top priority. The only reason I agreed to let you go to the prom with Darius is you've worked so hard lately and you haven't let your grades slip once this year. I'm proud of you. Besides, you and Darius have known each other since you were still in diapers, it isn't like he's going to suddenly get the wrong idea about you," Bethany said. "Darius is a nice young man, but too old for you, and definitely not marriage material," Shella's mother added in a half scolding manner. Shella laughed then winced as her mother accidentally jammed a bobby pin into her scalp.

"He's only twenty-three mom, besides I'm not looking for someone to spend the rest of my life with, I just turned eighteen, I just want to have a good time." Shella reminded her mother. Her mother took a step back as Shella turned around on the stool. Bethany smiled. "You look perfect," her mother said.

Shella's mother held out a pair of delicate diamond earrings. She put them on and a moment later stood to study herself in a full length mirror. Her fiery red hair was pulled into an elegant french twist. She wore only the slightest amount of makeup, just enough to emphasize her graceful features. The gown she wore was the same as Karyn's, aside from matching her deep blue eyes. She turned away from the mirror, and a content smile crept onto her face as the doorbell rang.

Bethany walked down the stairs and opened the door. Darius stood there nervously in a charcoal gray suit and a single white rose in his hand. "You look nice Darius," Bethany said. Darius thanked her and turned his attention to the stairs, waiting for his date to appear. As Shella appeared at the top of the stairs Darius was left thunderstruck. He recognized the dress immediately as a near clone of the one his sister was wearing, but on Shella it took on a whole new light. The dress clung to her like only silk could, following every part of her form that he could see, and creating a seductive appeal that not even a priest could ignore.

Bethany laughed at the dumbstruck appearance that her daughter's friend had collected; she decided to speak in order to bring his attention back to the reality she intended for him. "Have her back by nine thirty," Bethany said, slightly coolly.

"Mom!" Shella protested. "I was going to stay over with Karyn tonight!" she added. Bethany shook her head "You have practice in the morning," Bethany reminded her daughter.

Shella gave her mother a pleading look. "At least let me stay out till eleven," Shella said, hoping her mother would cave. Bethany thought for a moment then nodded.

"We'll try that this once, and if you can't wake up in the morning, you'll go back to your regular curfew," Bethany said, caving in to her daughter. Shella smiled gratefully and gave her mother a kiss on the cheek before following Darius to the car where Karyn and Jason waited.

--

Their entrance to the dance floor was one that Shella couldn't have predicted more accurately. Upon their entry more than a few heads turned, and a few lingered far longer than respective dates cared for. For their parts, Shella and Karyn found themselves giggling in response to the loose jaws of the men and the cold stares of several of their female classmates whose dates had been effected by their entry. Shella had never felt seductive before, and it felt good. All the eyes in the room that had trained on her, especially the ones belonging to Darius, nearly set her nerves on fire.

Shella didn't wait long to pull Darius to the dance floor, wanting to tease Darius with the things she would give him willingly and tease the other men in the room with what they couldn't have. She found herself gyrating against him to the beat of the songs filling the air as her reluctant partner gave in and let his body move with hers. The tempo of the songs was fast, alternating between things she didn't really hear, instead absorbed by the beat and the feeling of another body against hers. Darius for his part was being shaken into another world, torn between his reluctance at giving in to the beautiful young woman he had pressing against him and the natural lust that was bubbling up in him and pooling near his groin. His willpower was failing him by the moment as he felt her ass, which was clad only in the thin material of her silk dress, move up and down against his quickly hardening shaft. The tempo of the song playing around them shifted into a slow romantic rhythm and she pulled away for a moment.

Shella knew that her face was flushed; she had been unable to believe what she had just done to her best friend's older brother. Her own body was on fire, her nipples were hard bullets against the fabric of her gown, and with every movement the silk threw electric sparks into her body.

Shella tried her best to momentarily regain her composure, but the moment she turned and leaned into him for the romantic song chanting its way through the room, any hint of composure she had was lost. For all the other eyes trained on her in that room, the only ones she was interested in were his.

Darius felt his last measure of resistance to the idea of the young woman he was dancing with fade the moment that she had moved into him. Her hands and forearms were pressed to the sides of his chest and her head was resting gently against his shoulder. Her warmth against him was electrifying as it slowly worked its way into his soul. His hands, no longer in his mind's command found their way to the small of her back and began to gently caress the small of her back, eliciting gentle sighs. Shella looked up at him and he found himself at once captivated and adrift in her eyes. Before he had a chance to think, to consider, he found himself leaning down into a kiss.

Shella was surprised at the sudden connection between her lips and his.

Darius was surprised at how natural it felt.

They both found themselves leaning into the kiss, their lips parting and their tongues coming together. One of Darius' hands dipped lower as it traced along the inner curve of one of her ass cheeks before grasping it gently. One of Shella's hands worked higher, following up his chest and along his collarbone before resting along the back of his neck. They were lost to anything outside of themselves and that moment. At least until a familiar voice jarred them back into reality."I see you two are getting along well," Karyn said mirthfully, which caused the pair to abruptly end their passionate kiss, both blushed at the sudden awkwardness of the moment. "C'mon you two, its time to get going, the dance ended a few minutes ago if you hadn't noticed." Karyn added much to the surprise of Darius and Shella.

--

The ride home afforded Darius little chance to think. The moment the two couples loaded into Jason's sports car Shella latched her arms onto his and her head found a resting place on his shoulder. Her warm breath tickled his collarbone and kept him at a constant uncomfortable state of tension, his heart felt like it would leap out of his chest any moment and his mind was fogged over like a New England shoreline.

"We're almost home you two," Karyn said to the two passengers in the back with a smile. Shella was curled up next to Darius in a state of bliss and Darius' expression gave the distinct impression that he couldn't decide between pouncing the beautiful young woman next to him and running like hell. Karyn decided that it was more likely that Darius was falling for her best friend and she was going to do everything in her power to make sure that happened. Karyn whispered into Jason's ear for a moment before he nodded in reply and pulled in to Karyn and Darius' driveway. Shella and Darius both got out of the car before noticing that Karyn and Jason had not. "We're gonna go grab a pizza and bring it back to the house" Karyn said to the pair as Jason shifted the car into reverse and backed out of the drive. "Don't do anything I wouldn't do!" Karyn yelled out the car window when they reached the end of the drive and turned on to the road. "What exactly would that be?" Darius muttered to himself watching the car drive off into the night.

"I think your sister is trying to hook us up," Shella said with a giggle. "I do too, she's devious like that," Darius replied with a slight grin. Then they both looked at each other and at almost exactly the same time said, "Its working" before they leaned in together for a quick kiss.

Darius and Shella found themselves alone in the living room as Karyn's twin brother Ryan came in from the back porch, dripping wet from his swim in the pool, his latest girlfriend in tow. "Hey Darius, Shella, how was the dance?" Ryan asked. Darius shrugged. "Dance like," he answered. "Thank you Monosyllabic man for that stirring description," Ryan said with a laugh as his date tugged at his hand in attempt to pry him from the conversation. "I have to get Cindy home. Shella, will you be here when I get back?" Ryan asked giving her a look that Shella had learned to ignore over the years. Shella resisted the urge to roll her eyes; she was getting annoyed with Ryan's fascination for her. "Ryan, you're a nice guy, but you're just a friend," Shella said gently. Ryan grinned. "Figured it was worth a try. You look hot by the way," Ryan said as his date gave him a dirty look and pulled him from the room. "I don't expect we'll be seeing her again" Darius said as he and Shella exchanged looks and laughed as Ryan and his date left the house.

"I think I'm gonna take a swim," Shella declared the moment she heard Ryan drive away with his date.

Darius gave a bewildered look and asked, "Don't you need to change into a suit first?"

"I hadn't planned on wearing one, " Shella said flatly as she made her way to the back porch, leaving Darius standing there dumbfounded. Shella stepped out onto the patio and slipped her dress off, placing it gently on a lounge chair. She kicked off her heels and looked up to see Darius standing in the living room a few feet away from the door. Shella turned towards him and gave a small but teasing smile. "You're welcome to join me," she called to him before she walked over to the deep end of the pool and dove into the water.

All Darius could do was stand there dumbfounded, his date, his sister's best friend, a young woman that until today he thought of with pristine innocence, had just removed the last of her clothing and jumped into his pool. His mind was reeling and wrestled over rather or not he was dreaming. A perfect specimen of feminine wiles had just jumped into his pool and was now floating near the surface. He found himself drawn to the edge of the water where he sat, in a trance, as he watched her flawless body glide through the water.

She couldn't believe she had just done that.

She had never before so much as thought about what she had just done on impulse. She knew Darius was sitting at the edge of the pool watching her and something about that excited her. Her head was spinning; knowing that Darius' eyes were glued to her every movement made her heart race and lit a fire inside her.

Darius was frozen in place, all he could do is watch her glide through the water, her body thinly veiled by the water's movement. She dove under the water and came back up at the edge of the pool where he sat. She pulled herself up so that her arms rested folded on the edge. He heard her speak, but at that moment he was unable to process what it was she had said. "Sorry, er, what?" he asked trying to lift the fog in his mind.

Shella gave a strange smile before she grabbed him by an arm and pulled him, suit and all into the pool.

"What the hell?" Darius said as he came up sputtering.

"Only way I could think of to get you out of that daze you were in," Shella said giving him the most innocent look she could muster. Darius pulled himself back up to the edge of the pool and started to remove his tie.

"Oh you're going to get it now," He said playfully as he pulled off the rest of his clothes and dove into the water. Shella gave a playful shriek and then swam off playfully as Darius started to chase her around the pool.

Darius caught up with Shella and backed her to the edge of the pool and started to tickle her furiously. She fought back and they started to wrestle in the water, his size far outmatched hers and he soon had her subdued from behind, her arms trapped to her sides as he took her into a hold around her waist. She could feel him harden against her as she still tried to struggle. Shella suddenly felt a twinge of panic.

"Darius... I... I..." Shella stammered.

"What's wrong Shella, " Darius asked, he felt her body tense against his and was concerned.

"I... I've never... I'm a virgin, " Shella managed to say quietly.

"Shella, it's okay, I won't do anything you don't want," Darius said softly. Shella relaxed in his arms, he released her from his hold but as he did so he brushed a hand past both her nipples eliciting a light moan. "But that's for getting me worked up, beautiful little minx." Shella smiled at that.

Shella made her way to the edge of the pool where there was a small pile of towels. She pulled herself out of the water and wrapped herself in a towel and then handed Darius a towel. He wrapped the towel around her waist. "Uhm, I didn't bring any clothes, think Karyn will mind?" Shella asked Darius. Darius laughed.

"She's your best friend, what do you think?" Darius said, a broad smile on his face. A smile crept onto Shella's face in response.

"I'm going to go find something to put on," Shella said.

"You go do that, my beautiful little minx," Darius said. Shella smiled again, she liked the sound of that even more.

--

A half hour later Jason and Karyn arrived back to the house. The smell of fresh pizza invaded the house quickly and lured Darius and Shella out of Darius' room.

"What took your guys?" Shella asked Karyn.

"Oh, the pizza took forever, besides I didn't think you two would want us hurrying back," Karyn said. She looked her friend over and then added "Nice outfit by the way, where'd you get it?"