Forever Yours
©2025 Elder Road Books - Lynnwood WA
Chapter 1: The Principles of Lust
“Before the middle of this century, the growth rates of our technology—which will be indistinguishable from ourselves—will be so steep as to appear essentially vertical. From a strictly mathematical perspective, the growth rates will still be finite but so extreme that the changes they bring about will appear to rupture the fabric of human history. That, at least, will be the perspective of unenhanced biological humanity.
“The Singularity will represent the culmination of the merger of our biological thinking and existence with our technology, resulting in a world that is still human but that transcends our biological roots. There will be no distinction, post-Singularity, between physical and virtual reality. If you wonder what will remain unequivocally human in such a world, it’s simply this quality: ours is the species that inherently seeks to extend its physical and mental reach beyond current limitations.”
—Ray Kurzweil, The Singularity is Near
HENRY RUSHED from his last class on Thursday to get to the side door of the school where Isobel usually met her ride and looked across the parking lot. Shit! Isobel was kissing Luke next to his new Corvette. Luke’s father had surprised him with the car for his eighteenth birthday the previous Sunday.
“Aw. You’re too late,” Chastity said from behind his left shoulder.
He wasn’t sure when she had shown up. Must have gotten there right after him.
“She’s going to the prom with Luke. You know, she likes you both, but he has more ‘status’ than you do. So far. His dad owns a company.”
“He’s the Chevrolet dealer,” Henry laughed.
“That’s a company,” Chastity said. “Isobel can’t see into the future past the obvious. Luke is a good catch. He’s the last of us to have turned eighteen. You should have seen her eyes when she saw his new car. He’s smart and has money. Or his father does. She doesn’t see what I see.”
“What’s that?” Henry asked, turning to Chastity at last.
Chastity, Isobel, Luke, and Henry had been best friends for years. Isobel was the glamour girl, with Latina fire and good looks. Luke was the DECA business club’s selection for “most likely to succeed.” Henry was a software and computer geek. But Chastity...
Henry quickly decided he hadn’t been paying enough attention to Chastity. She was tall and thin and certainly pretty. He couldn’t help letting his eyes wander over her statuesque form. Either she’d removed her bra or had just taken off the vest she wore over her T-shirt. He could see the hard points of her nipples pressing the fabric out and the distinct shape of the barbell nipple piercings she’d gotten on her eighteenth birthday.
“I see our future,” she said. “Luke is going to manage a great company. Isobel is going to make money grow. But you, dear Henry, are going to make us millions.”
“Millions? I hope you are a true prophetess,” Henry laughed. “And what are you going to do?”
“I’m going to start by going to the prom with you,” Chastity said.
“You want to go with me?” he asked, a little surprised. He hadn’t had much hope of Isobel going with him, but he’d always considered Chastity a little out of his league. Great friends, but ultimately just a fantasy. Chastity almost always had a date on the weekends—sometimes two or three.
“Well ... Not ‘go with’ as in dating. Just take me to the prom. Treat me like a goddess for the night and I absolutely guarantee you’ll get lucky,” Chastity said.
“Wow! You know, most girls are happy with princess treatment.” Henry crossed his arms and waited for Chastity’s response.
“I know my worth. And you will,” she said, pulling his hand around and placing it on her butt. Henry squeezed lightly as they looked into each other’s eyes.
Chastity was suddenly very attractive in ways Henry never seriously considered before.
“Okay, my goddess. I’d be delighted to take you to the prom,” he said, giving her bottom another squeeze.
“And have fun with me?”
“I promise we’ll have fun and you, too, will get lucky.”
“That’s a fair transaction,” Chastity smiled. She put a hand on his chest and used her thumb to trace around his right nipple. “Just remember: Worship my body. Don’t pretend to fall in love. We don’t need that complication. It’s just for the night.”
“I’ll check online for ‘how to worship a goddess’,” he said, pulling her close.
“Oh, yeah. I’ll share some links. Maybe you want to get us a hotel room for the night, unless you have a private space at home.”
“Not that private. I hate to have my parents hearing my date screaming my name,” he said. He brushed his lips against hers lightly.
“Better see if the hotel has a soundproof room. I tend to be noisy when I’m having a good time.”
Henry was serious. He could find almost anything online. He broke most of the stereotypes of the computer geek. He didn’t spend much time playing games, like most of his classmates did. If he was on his computer, he was creating something. He didn’t smell, bathed regularly, and wore clean, if not new, clothes. He had intense blue eyes that people said saw right through them. He was polite and had a decent sense of humor. He might not be elected homecoming king, but people generally liked him.
The next night, Friday, there was a dance after the last regular season basketball game. Henry joined Isobel, Luke, and Chastity at the game as their typical foursome when they didn’t have individual dates. Isobel was constantly bumping into and brushing against him as she flirted. After the game they all headed for the end of season dance. At her insistence, Henry took Isobel to the dance floor.
“Are you supposed to be paying so much attention to me?” he asked. “You’re going to the prom with Luke.”
“That’s not for two months yet. I notice you aren’t just hanging on Chastity,” Isobel said.
“Part of our agreement. We aren’t dating, we’re just going to the prom together.”
They bounced around to the music and Isobel backed up to grind against him as she threw her head back to ask, “What makes you think Luke and I are dating?”
“The way he’s staring at you across the room.”
“Yeah. I love that. He’ll wait until I’m done with you.”
The song ended and Isobel wandered toward Luke, who made a direct line to her. Henry didn’t manage to leave the dance floor before he was snagged by Sheila, the class president. The blonde cheerleader was intent on lecturing him about the need for a senior project for the class. Henry automatically checked around to see where his friends were.
“Are you listening to me, Henry?” she asked, moving in closer and putting her arms around him in a way that wasn’t particularly suited to the music.
“Of course, Sheila. And I agree that we need a really good senior project. But it’s getting late in the year to be starting something now,” he answered. She cuddled in his arms, satisfied that he wasn’t daydreaming, or watching that slut, Chastity.
“Well, what do you think we could do, given the time constraints? It’s already March and we’re just three months from graduation.”
“Yeah. I can’t believe nobody thought of this six months ago.”
“We were all too concerned with getting early apps for college out. Have you been accepted somewhere yet?”
“Yes. I’m staying local and will go to the university. They have a good computer science program with a new specialization in artificial intelligence and machine learning. I have a couple of good scholarship offers.”
“That stuff’s creepy,” she said, shuddering a little. The motion did wonderful things for the way her breasts were pressed against his chest.
“How about if we got an upgrade to the gym PA system?” Henry asked suddenly. “Announcements during the game tonight were all garbled. I don’t think it was just my hearing. I worked the system for an event once and it must be fifty years old. It’s practically falling apart.”
“That’s true. Do you think we could raise enough money in the time we have to replace it?”
“Put Isobel on raising the money and Chastity on recruiting volunteers. The whole system will need to be removed and those speakers in the middle of the gym must weigh in at fifty pounds each. I’ll check with the local electronics stores to see what we can get. Might have to build something, but it can be done. I’ll take Luke with me and he can negotiate the deals,” Henry said.
“You four do everything together, don’t you? Well, I won’t complain. If you need a date because Chastity is off screwing someone else, let me know. I mean, you know, while we’re working on the project,” Sheila said.
“That’s really kind of you, Sheila. I’ll see what comes up.”
“Mmmhmm,” she said, rubbing her middle against his to see if she could get something to come up.
It was, but the song ended and Henry guided Sheila over to where Luke had arrived with Isobel, Chastity, David, and Rachel. It seemed Luke was telling a very funny story and Sheila laughed politely as she heard the punchline.
“Hey, I was just talking to Henry about what we could do for a senior project,” Sheila said, stepping in. As class president, she was used to commanding attention whenever she wanted it. “Isobel, I’m wondering if we could meet after school Monday to talk about the fundraising aspect. Luke, I think Henry has an idea about putting in a new gym sound system that could use your negotiating skills. Anybody else want to get involved? Why don’t we all plan to meet Monday. Invite others and we’ll divide up into working groups.”
“Great idea, Sheila,” David said, moving next to her. “You know I’ll do whatever you need. Why don’t you fill me in on the details while we hit the dance floor.”
“That was slick,” Rachel said as the two left the group.
“Don’t worry. Henry will dance with you,” Chastity said. “He’s a great dancer.”
Henry doubted that what he did could be called great dancing, but he did manage to not make a fool of himself or his partner. He led Rachel to the dance floor. Chastity had cut him off just when he was going to ask her to dance. Luke led Isobel to the farthest side of the gym to clutch each other and shuffle their feet. Chastity was alone for almost fifteen seconds before one of the basketball players asked her to dance.
To read the complete story you need to be logged in:
Log In or
Register for a Free account
(Why register?)
* Allows you 3 stories to read in 24 hours.