Chapter Two
Practices at Kaleido Stage resumed three days later, once the air conditioner was finally repaired. Layla had not seen Yuri since he had dropped her off at home after their last practice. She had thought about calling him and asking him to come practice in her private facility at the mansion, but after what happened…
Her hand wrapped around the side of her neck. The faint remains of a hickie still marred her skin, hidden underneath the high neckline of the leotard she wore. Every time she touched it, she remembered the feel of Yuri's lips on her body, his hands on her breasts…
"Control yourself, Layla," she muttered to herself outside the door to the practice room. "You are stronger than your hormones. Just put it out of your mind for the moment and concentrate on training."
She took in a deep breath, then opened the door. Though she was usually the first to arrive for practice, Yuri was already there, performing a headstand in the middle of the room. His T-shirt gathered around his head and shoulders, showing off his amazing six-pack abs and pecs.
Layla forced herself not to stare, knowing that if she did, she would lose her resolve. This was definitely not the time nor the place to engage in…other activities. "Good morning, Yuri," she said in as cool and professional a tone as she could manage. "You're early today."
"Layla." Yuri flipped to his feet and pulled his shirt back down into place. "Hi."
She took off her jacket and began her usual stretches to warm-up. Though she made a concentrated effort not to look at Yuri, she couldn't resist taking a few peeks. It surprised her to notice that he wasn't paying the least bit of attention to her, his back turned to her as he rolled his shoulders and arms, loosening his muscles.
Layla frowned. Yuri never bothered to hide the fact that he liked checking her out. She'd caught him doing it plenty of times before – a fact that used to annoy her to no end when they were first partnered together – so why wasn't he doing it now, when she wanted him to look at her? She'd even chosen her sexiest athletic outfit – a black leotard cut high on the thigh with a sheer window highlighting her cleavage – to wear that morning, just for his benefit.
She wasn't used to being ignored.
"Yuri, help me with my stretches," she ordered him. If he wasn't going to pay any attention to her, then she would make him do so.
"I was just about to do some practice swings," he said, still not looking her way.
"That can wait. This won't take long."
He finally turned around, walking over to where Layla was lying face-up on the mat. She was propped up on her elbows, her right leg bent at the knee and her head tilted in what she hoped was an alluring fashion as she stared up at him.
"What do you need me to do?" he asked.
"Oh, uh…" She hadn't thought that far ahead. "Push this leg back to my head," she quickly decided, bringing her back to the floor and lifting up her bended leg.
By accident – mostly – her foot brushed against Yuri's crotch, causing him to let out a small gasp. Layla suppressed a smirk, pleased to see that she was able to get some sort of reaction out of him, but he recovered well, grabbing her ankle and bending her leg forwards.
"Like this?"
"More," she demanded. "Up to my head."
In order to do so, Yuri had to kneel down on the ground, positioning his torso over hers as he held her ankle near her head. The suggestive pose also allowed Layla to feel Yuri's growing erection pressing against her, straining to be released from the confines of his leggings.
"Layla, what do you think you're doing?" he asked in a low voice.
"I'm stretching, of course."
"No, you're not. You're driving a man crazy – that's what you're doing."
"Oh, am I?"
"Drop the innocent act. You know as well as I do that you're doing this on purpose. I want to know why."
"I told you before, Yuri, women have needs," she reminded him, looking up at him. "Is it so terrible for me to act on them? It's not like either of us is married."
"No, but –"
At that moment, the doors to the gym opened, and a young blond man – probably around sixteen or seventeen – entered, his face promptly turning as red as a tomato when he saw the rather compromising position they were in. Misinterpreting things, he stuttered out a fast apology and quickly turned back around, leaving.
Layla felt her face flush as well, never so humiliated in her entire life. She had an image to protect. If word got out that she'd been caught fooling around with her co-star in the gym…
"I'll go talk to him," Yuri said, getting to his feet and running out of the gym before she could even apologize.
Which way did he go? Yuri wondered, looking both ways when he came to an intersection. The boy couldn't have gotten much of a head start, but the corridor was clear of anyone else in the vicinity. Yuri randomly decided to go left, relieved when he finally spotted his target exiting the men's room down the hall.
"Hey, you!" he shouted, jogging to catch up with him. "The one in the blue jacket!"
The boy came to a stop and turned around, his eyes widening when he saw who was calling to him. "Oh, Mr. Killian. I'm so sorry about walking in on you and Miss Ham—"
Yuri slapped a hand over his mouth, hoping that nobody was in earshot. "Listen – what's your name?" he demanded to know.
"Kim. Kim Rommins." His voice was muffled.
"Oh, sorry," Yuri said, moving his hand away. "Your name?"
"I'm Ken Robbins, sir," he said. "I've just been hired as one of the stagehands."
Yuri couldn't have cared less. "Okay, Ken, listen to me." Clapping a hand on Ken's shoulder, he lowered his voice. "Whatever you thought you saw in there – it never happened. Understand?"
"I-I think so?"
"Good. Because if I hear of any unflattering rumors about Layla floating around…" He tightened his grip on Ken's shoulder. "Well, let's just say I can make your new job very…unpleasant."
Ken swallowed. "My lips are sealed."
"I'm glad to hear it." With that settled, he relaxed his grip and slipped back in his usual "Yuri Killian" mode, giving Ken a friendly smile. It wouldn't do to get on the bad side of a stagehand, after all. "By the way, welcome to Kaleido Stage. We'll be counting on you to help put on a good show."
"I-I'll do my best, Mr. Killian," he said, seeming a bit confused by Yuri's abrupt change in personality.
"No need to be so formal. Feel free to call me Yuri." Finally letting go of his hold on Ken's shoulder, he turned back around to head back to the gym. "See you around, Ken."
After rounding a corner, out of Ken's sight, Yuri let out a sigh. He hoped Layla appreciated the trouble he had gone through to protect her good name. What was with her recent behavior, anyway? If she wanted sex, she had no shortage of fans and admirers who would no doubt gladly take her up on the offer, so why him?
Not that he wasn't tempted… Yuri shook his head, clearing his mind of erotic thoughts of Layla. He had already decided that what happened the other day in his car could not happen again. Their relationship had to remain platonic for the sake of his revenge; he couldn't give into his baser desires.
Upon returning to the gym, he found Layla waiting for him. She stepped forward, clutching a clenched fist to her chest.
"Yuri, I –"
"It's fine," he said. "He promised not to say anything. You don't have to worry."
"Oh, good." She was visibly relieved, looking as if the weight of the world had been lifted off her shoulders. "Thank you."
Yuri walked over to the ladder and started climbing up to the platform. "Come on, we should start practicing," he said, deciding it was best just to pretend that nothing had ever happened.
"Yuri?"
He glanced down at Layla, who was standing down at the bottom of the ladder. "What is it?"
She opened her mouth as if to say something, but then shook her head, changing her mind at the last second. "No, it's nothing," she said, walking over to the other ladder. "Let's get to work."
Yuri did not offer to give Layla a ride home after practice, so she was forced to call on her chauffeur to pick her up from Kaleido Stage. When she arrived home, she headed directly up to her bedroom and plopped down on her bed. She stared blankly up at the ceiling for several moments until she heard a soft knock on the door.
Layla sat back up and smoothed down her hair. "Come in," she said, knowing without asking that it was her devoted maid Macquarie.
The maid entered the room, carrying a small tray. "I brought you some iced tea, Miss Layla," she announced, setting the glass down on a coaster on top of the bedside table. "I thought you might enjoy a cold refreshment after practice."
Though Layla wasn't very thirsty, she reached for the glass and took a few sips of the drink. "Thank you, Macquarie."
Usually, the maid would have taken that as a dismissal, but Macquarie remained standing where she was, the empty tray clutched to her chest. "Um, Miss Layla, is something…is something bothering you?"
"What do you mean?"
A blush crossed the bridge of the maid's nose. "Perhaps it's none of my business, but you seemed a bit upset when you arrived home."
That came as a surprise to Layla. She thought she had been acting normally, but then again, Macquarie did, on occasion, seem to have the uncanny ability to read her mind. It was one of the reasons why she was such a good servant.
"I'm sorry," Macquarie apologized when Layla didn't say anything. "I shouldn't have said anything…"
"No, it's fine." Standing up, Layla walked over to the full-length mirror in the corner of the room and frowned at her reflection. "Macquarie, do you think I'm attractive?"
The maid blinked. Layla was not usually one to fish for compliments. "Miss?"
"I have a nice figure, right? And a pretty face?"
"You're the most beautiful woman I know, Miss Layla," Macquarie assured her, her blush deepening. "In fact, I think you're amazing."
"Thanks." A brief smile crossed her lips, although Macquarie's words didn't make her feel that much better. Of course she would tell Layla she was beautiful; it was a maid's job to keep her mistress happy.
Besides, it was Yuri's opinion that mattered most.
She let out a sigh. What was she doing wrong? He seemed to enjoy himself well enough that time in the car, but maybe she simply wasn't good at having sex. It wasn't as if she had a ton of experience – certainly nowhere close to Yuri's level. Was that the problem? Did she…bore him?
That was simply not acceptable. She was Layla Hamilton – she was great at everything she tried.
"Miss Layla?"
Layla jumped. "Oh, Macquarie, I forgot you were still here," she said, turning back around.
"Is there anything else you need?"
"No… Wait, do you happen to have a copy of the latest Cosmo laying around?
Macquarie blinked, looking at Layla as if she had just started speaking another language. "Cosmo? You mean, the magazine?"
"Yes. Or a similar magazine would be fine, too."
"I'm sorry, I don't usually read those types of things, but if you'd like, I can pick up the new issue at the store. I was just about to go out to buy some more coffee for tomorrow morning."
"No, don't go to any trouble," Layla said, spotting her computer on her desk and getting a better idea.
"Are you sure? I don't mind."
"I'm sure."
"Well, do you need anything else while I'm out?"
Layla couldn't think of anything, so with a respectful bow, Macquarie finally left the bedroom. After closing the door behind her, Layla turned the lock on the knob and took a seat at her desk, booting up the computer.
She wasn't much of a computer person, admittedly. Her father had bought her the state-of-the-art PC for Christmas last year, but she rarely turned it on, only using it to check her email or occasionally search for reviews on her Kaleido Stage performances. Bringing up the Google homepage in her browser, she hesitated for a moment before typing the word "sex" in the search bar.
"Wow," she said when she saw how many hits came up.
However, most of the top results only dealt with sex in the most dry, technical way, telling her things she already knew from seventh grade health class. Layla sighed. She wanted to know more.
She went back to the search bar and tried a different choice of keywords, bringing up a more fruitful list of results. Clicking on one of the links that seemed the most promising, the webpage opened to a video. Even though Layla was alone, she still glanced over her shoulder before clicking "Play", her eyes becoming glued to the naked couple on the monitor.
Layla tilted her head to the side about midway through the video. Though she was more than flexible enough to get into that position, it was hard to imagine it being very pleasurable for the woman. Still, she learned quite a bit from the video, picking up several tips she was eager to try out if she got the chance.
She continued watching videos and reading how-to articles until dinnertime, nearly jumping out of her skin when Macquarie knocked on the door, announcing that dinner was served. Quickly closing out of the video she had been viewing, Layla called out she was coming and headed downstairs to eat.
DISCLAIMER: Kaleido Star doesn't belong to me.