Jadzia had never wanted to go to the graduation party, but Bo insisted.
"You can't miss your graduation!" She said with a horrified expression.
"I've already been to my graduation," Jadzia replied.
"Well you can't miss your last opportunity to get drunk with our friends-- and besides," Bo interjected before Jadzia had a chance to mention she didn't drink "you have to go, you've bought a dress already."
This much was true. A few weeks ago, Jadzia had tried to sneak out the door to the mall, but Bo had caught her and asked where she was going.
"I need to get one of those flashcard PADDs so I can study Ancient Civilizations," she whispered.
"Well I'll come with you and get a grad dress, " Bo responded cheerfully, "And then we can study Ancient civilizations together."
Jadzia thought this was a terrible idea. Bo always took forever to pick out clothes and was a horrible student. A night of 'studying together' meant a night of tutoring Bo. But after four years of friendship, Jadzia knew to pick her arguments carefully.
"Sure," she said, "But we need to shop quickly so we can get to studying."
"'Zia," Bo said, shaking her head, "Always so worried about them studies..."
The first store they went to had a white bridal-style dress with a plunging neckline in the window.
"Jadzia!" Bo exclaimed, "You need to get that dress for graduation."
"I'm not sure if I'm going yet," she replied.
"Of course you're going! You can't miss graduation." Bo turned around and flagged a clerk.
"'Zia wants to try on the dress in the window," Bo told the clerk quickly. He picked it up and led the two girls to the dressing room. Jadzia went inside and put the dress on.
"You look fantastic!" Bo yelled as soon as Jadzia exited the change room. Jadzia wasn't so sure. The dress left a lot of chest visible
"Uh ... it's bit immodest," she stammered.
"Nonsense," Bo declared, turning towards the clerk, "she'll take it."
"She also needs a string of pearls," Bo told the clerk at the till, "Fake ones. There's no need for real ones for just one night."
"That's not really necessary," Jadzia murmured.
"Yes it is," Bo insisted, "You can't go with no jewellery, and the stuff you own is all so childish."
Jadzia made a face at her, but reluctantly pulled out her wallet. When the cashier was finished, Bo said,
"There. Now you have a nice outfit for graduation. I wish I could wear one like that, but I have too much cleavage."
Jadzia thought that this was a mild way of putting it; Bo's 'cleavage' consisted of several rolls of flesh that were visible regardless of what dress she tried on. That said, Jadzia told Bo that every dress looked good, in hope of getting home early to study.
Tonight, exams were over and the two girls were putting their dresses on.
"I'll do your makeup," Bo told Jadzia, "And stop hiking your dress up. It looks nice the way it is."
When the girls walked through the door into the party, three guys came up to greet them.
"Bo!" they yelled. Jadzia recognized one of them as her lab partner from Warp Field Analysis.
"It's the brain cadet!" he exclaimed, looking surprised to see her.
"Who?" another guy asked.
"Jadzia here saved my life in the WFA lab," he explained to the other guys. "Good to see you out," he said, shaking her hand and turning back to the group. A few meters away, Jadzia could hear Bo laughing hysterically.
"How big is the bong!?" she screeched, still snorting, "I'm going to have to see this!" She turned to Jadzia and said, "I'll see you in a bit. Make sure to have something to drink in the meantime!"
Jadzia walked over to a table with a bowls of drinks on it. She saw one marked 'lemonade' and walked over to it. She seemed to remember that this drink didn't contain alcohol, but she leaned over and sniffed it, just to be sure.
"Checking for poison?" a deep voice rang out from behind her. She turned around, and a Bolian man she thought she had seen in a few of her classes.
"Just alcohol," she said, "I can't remember whether lemonade has any."
"Trying to stay sober?" The man asked.
"No, just don't like the taste," she said.
"Me neither," the man said, "I don't see how humans can drink the stuff."
"I thought it might be because I don't have the same taste buds, but I looked it up, and they're exactly the same. Now I think it might have something to do how the nerve impulses are transmitted to the brain."
"And to think I just assumed that humans enjoy the taste of soap," he quipped.
Jadzia laughed.
"My name's Echo, by the way," the man stated, "Echo Leyhe."
"Jadzia," she said, sticking her hand out.
"You're awfully pretty to be out here alone," whispered.
"I was here with my friend Bo, but she went off to play with this toy called a bong."
"Is that the thing they lower down their esophagus?"
Jadzia nodded gravely, and Echo laughed.
"Human activity that I don't understand number four hundred and eleven," he moaned jokingly. "I'm about ready to blow this joint. Do you want to come to my quarters? I have some real Betazoid hot chocolate."
Jadzia nodded shyly, and Echo took her hand.
The two sat on the side of his bed, drinking out of mugs. Echo had a large collection of Bolian paintings on his wall, so Jadzia asked him about them in turn.
"Now that one's a mekula," he said, "It's use for removing asko berries from their shells. Now, the other one may look like a knife, but--" he stopped mid sentence.
"What's wrong?" she asked.
"Oh, I just realized how beautiful you are in that dress. And that necklace goes so well with your spots." He reached out and ran his hand along the line of it. She shivered.
Echo stared for another minute, and then leaned forward and kissed her. His hands clamped down around her shoulders and her drew her closer. She pulled away slowly. Then she kissed back.
He was different than the Trill boys Jadzia had kissed. His tongue was flat and cold and his breath was very slow. Yet he moved like an expert, caressing her mouth at just the right speed, holding her with just the right pressure. She wanted to have more of him. She clutched him with her arms and probed his mouth deeper and deeper. His breathing quickened, and he brushed his lips along her cheek and pulled away.
Echo stood and faced her, staring down with blazing eyes. Jadzia sat there for a moment, stunned, until she realized what he wanted. She crept backwards on the bed and spread herself out. He lay on top of her and continued kissing. His hands travelled through her hair, across her chest and around her hips. Then he focused on the spots along her neck, and rubbed them up and down with his fingers.
"You like that, don't you," Echo whispered. Jadzia nodded. He began to kiss her more ravenously and touch her more ferociously. It was overwhelming. Jadzia felt dazed with the flurry of kisses and caresses.
Slowly, she became aware that he was hard and pressed against her. She enjoyed the ebb and the flow of the pressure for a few moments, when a quiet, fleeting thought entered her mind.
"But what if he wants to put it in me?"
"I'll let him," her mind answered in time with the next surge of pressure. Her thoughts were light and ethereal. She knew she was losing control.
She felt Echo pull her dress off her shoulders and cup her breasts in his cool hands. Her eyes fluttered open and she looked at him.
"Are you sure you're okay with this?" he asked. She was about to coyly nod, but instead replied,
"I've never slept with a Bolian before."
Echo liked this. He grinned.
Jadzia wondered where such a bold response had come from. She didn't know. She didn't care. She didn't know or care. She felt like she was in a mind-control device, like they used during training. Her reservations were weak and caged, and a booming voice commanded her. The voice was strong and loud. And it was saying yes.
Echo pressed his clothed member into her as he ravished her breasts with he mouth. His hands still travelled along her spots, tantalizing her. Her desired mounted and she ground into him desperately, harder and harder. He didn't stop. She threw her head back and whimpered.
Jadzia trembled in anticipation as Echo drew one hand away from her neck. It drifted across her breasts, down her stomach, and finally peeled her skirt back. It gave a few light pats on the crotch of her underwear. Each touch sent electric currents through her body.
She gave a sigh of relief as Echo removed her underwear. It was pure pleasure as he swept his fingers through her vaginal folds. He would go inside her soon. She knew it. His fingertip circled around her hole, stretching it out slightly. Now the finger was going deeper. Getting close to the mark. She edged up against him. He was so close. She shivered, almost feeling it.
"Echo Leyhe, what do you think you are doing?"
An angry voice pierced the silence. Bo's.
"Taking advantage of drunk chicks again, are we?" she taunted. Echo got up sheepishly. Jadzia pulled her dress up and put her underpants back on. Her mind was clouded and she felt vaguely devastated. Bo pulled her outside.
"I'm sorry, I never should have left you alone," she said, "I'm so I found you before anything serious happened." Jadzia could tell that Bo had been frantic. She found this slightly irritating.
Soon, they were with Bo's three friends again.
"Sorry I had to miss out on this round," Bo said with genuine rage in her voice, "I had to rescue Jadzia from Prince Charming over there." Echo had followed a few meters behind. Bo shot a dirty glare at him.
"Echo, my man!" one of the guys said, giving him a wink and a handshake.
"Hear, hear," boomed the others.
In a few minutes, the drinking resumed. Echo walked up to Jadzia.
"What are your plans for after graduation?" he asked kindly.
"Well," she said with a smile, "I'm planning on returning home--"
"She's going to have six people implanted in her liver," Bo interrupted. "Me, I dream of spending my life on Risa surrounded by Cabana boys, but Jadzia want to hear voices in her head!"
Everyone laughed at this, including Echo. Jadzia was enraged.
"I was talking!" she yelled. Everyone looked at her.
"Poor 'Zia," Bo said, "She really is drunk. I'll have to take her home."
"I am not drunk," Jadzia insisted more loudly, "She just interrupts constantly."
More stares and silence.
"This happens all the time," Bo continued, "she forgets which human drinks have alcohol and drinks them accidentally. I still can't forget the time she confused rye with Sprite. Three years later I have yet to remove the vomit stains from the rug."
Everyone laughed wholeheartedly, and Bo dragged her from the room.
"I'm really sorry," Bo said while walking home, "I keep forgetting not to leave you alone at these things. I hope you can forgive me."
In Jadzia, the rage surged like a supernova. Her eyes filled with anger that Bo would never understand. With forced calm, Jadzia smiled at Bo, and tried to look drunken. Her friend would never know the truth. At least not for now.
