Chapter 2

"Hey."

"Oh...hey," Otabek said, glancing over his shoulder. JJ stood at the entrance to the laundry room, a basket overflowing with dirty clothes tucked underneath his left arm. "I'm almost finished with my things."

He quickly grabbed the rest of his clothes from the dryer and dumped them into his own hamper on the floor, not bothering to fold them.

"No rush," JJ said with a shrug, coming up beside him and lifting up the lid on the washer. "There's plenty of room for the both of us."

That may well be true – the laundry room/mud room off the garage was almost as big as his bedroom back home in Almaty – but the faster he could get out of JJ's presence, the better, as far as Otabek was concerned. He picked up his hamper and closed the front-loading door to the dryer with his hip, muttering "It's all yours," before making a hasty retreat back upstairs to the safety of his room, ignoring JJ calling after him.

Otabek let out a weary sigh as he set the hamper down on his bed and began unloading his clean clothes. Ever since "the incident" (as Otabek referred to it in his head), things had been strained between him and JJ. It was mostly his fault, admittedly. JJ tried his best to act as if nothing happened, treating Otabek the same as he always had, but that only annoyed Otabek more. Even though he was the one who told JJ to forget about it, he was unable to take his own advice, the kiss playing over and over again in the back of his mind.

And the dreams… Wet dreams were nothing new, of course, but before, he rarely remembered the contents of such dreams, only knowing that they had happened due to a need to change his sheets in the morning. (Thank goodness I take care of my own laundry, Otabek thought, folding one of said sheets before placing it in the bottom drawer of his dresser. He had no idea how he would explain why he was washing up to five sheets per week. While he was a bit of a neat freak, he was usually nowhere that bad.) Lately, though, JJ had a starring role, slipping into Otabek's most private fantasies as if he was made for them. Sometimes, he could barely look JJ in the face the morning after, flashes of those secret dreams invading even his waking moments.

God, he needed to get rid of this stupid, inconvenient crush, and fast.

After putting away his laundry and placing a fresh sheet on his bed, Otabek booted up his laptop. Earlier during practice, Nathalie had asked if he had any music suggestions for his new programs for next season. She had already agreed to choreograph both for him, as she did for the majority of her students, but she needed his music in hand to get started on them. Otabek hit play on the playlist he had created of possible program ideas, leaning back against the wall and closing his eyes as he listened to various pieces of music through his headphones.

So engrossed in his task, Otabek failed to hear JJ entering his room, startled when he pulled one side of his headphones away from his ear. "Earth to Beka, you there?"

Otabek opened his eyes, glaring at JJ. "I didn't say you could come in."

"Yeah, well, I've been knocking on your door for the past two minutes straight," JJ said, plopping down on the bed beside him without invitation. "When you didn't answer, I figured you had your headphones on."

"Oh." Somewhat chastened, Otabek brought the wireless headset down to rest around his neck and paused the music on his laptop. "So, what did you want? Is it time for dinner?"

"It's Maman and Papa's anniversary, remember? They went out for dinner and a movie, and Madi and Pip are sleeping over at their friends'. We're on our own tonight."

Otabek immediately pushed back a sudden fantasy about what they could do with the whole house to themselves, reminding himself for what felt like the millionth time that JJ was straight and had absolutely no interest in him. "I'm not hungry. Make whatever you want," he said, reaching again for his headphones.

He was about to put them back over his ears when JJ suddenly grabbed his wrist, pulling them both to their feet. "JJ, what the hell –"

"Come on, get dressed," JJ ordered. "We're going to a party."

That was news to Otabek. "Whose?"

"Jeremy's. You don't know him. He was in my chemistry class last year."

"I'm not going to a party thrown by someone I don't even know."

"Oh, he won't mind. It's cool. It's not gonna be a huge party. Just some friends hanging out, eating pizza."

That made him even less inclined to go. "They're your friends," Otabek pointed out. "I won't know anybody."

"What are you talking about? You know me, and you know Bella," JJ said, as dense as ever. "I think a few people from the rink will be there, too." He walked over to the closet and began rummaging through Otabek's clothes. "You know, you should learn to be more social. Loosen up and have some fun! You've done nothing but hang around the house and the rink since you moved here."

Yeah, well, Otabek didn't see much of a point in making many friends when he would eventually end up moving again anyway. In fact, a part of him had seriously considered switching coaches after what had happened with JJ, but if he left now, JJ would know he was the catalyst. Besides, his issues with JJ weren't Nathalie and Alain's fault. They had been nothing but good to him, and Otabek could already sense an improvement in his skating even after only a short time training with them. It wouldn't look good if he left them after only a couple of weeks; he would stick with them through the upcoming season, at least. He owed them that much.

"You go. I'm fine on my own, really," he insisted, sitting back down on the bed. "You don't need to babysit me. I'm not going to burn the house down."

"You're going." JJ pulled a pair of jeans off a hanger and tossed them over to Otabek. "Here, change into those. It's casual, but those sweats make you look like a slob."

Otabek sighed. It seemed JJ wasn't going to take "no" for an answer.

"Fine," he said, setting the jeans aside on the bed before standing back up and yanking down his sweatpants. He was so annoyed that he forgot JJ was still in the room, watching him, until he was pushing his foot through the leg of his jeans. "What? You want a free peep show?"

JJ's eyes narrowed. "I'll be waiting downstairs. You need to lose the attitude before we get there."

With that, JJ left the room, Otabek flipping him off as the door closed behind him.

Twenty minutes later, they arrived at the party, JJ walking straight through the front entrance as if he owned the place. He led Otabek to an out-of-the-way door, a thumping bass already audible down the hall, and started making his way down the stairs leading to the basement.

"I thought you said this was going to be a small get-together," Otabek said – or more correctly, shouted – over the music as he reluctantly followed after JJ.

If this was "small" in JJ's view, then he hated to see what JJ considered a large party. The basement – itself about quadruple the size of his bedroom at the Leroys' – was crawling with teenagers, dancing, chatting, and making out with each other as Imagine Dragons' "Demons" played at top volume. Otabek thought he even detected a faint hint of weed in the air, crinkling his nose at the skunk-like scent.

JJ shrugged. "Word must have gotten out that Jeremy's parents aren't home," he said, not seeming particularly fazed by the crowd.

"JJ, my man!" One of the teenage boys – Jeremy, Otabek presumed – came over, bro-hugging JJ in greeting. "Great to see you again. Haven't seen you around much since school let out. Still busy with the skating thing?"

"Yeah. You know how it is." JJ threw an arm around Otabek's neck. "Speaking of skating, this is Otabek. He just moved here from Kazakhstan to train with my folks. Hope you don't mind that he tagged along."

"Nah, man. The more, the merrier, right?" He took a drink from the red plastic cup in his hands. "Drinks are over there, by the way," Jeremy said, motioning to a refreshment area set up along the far wall. Some beer spilled out of his cup, splashing onto the cement floor. "Kevin managed to bribe his brother to get us a keg. Got some pizza and punch, too, although the pizza might be about gone by now." A girl called out Jeremy's name, Jeremy shouting back he would be right there. "Anyway, gotta go. Enjoy the party!"

They had barely taken ten steps when someone else approached JJ. "JJ, you finally made it!" Isabella said, throwing her arms around his neck and kissing him passionately on the lips. If she even noticed Otabek's presence, she didn't acknowledge it.

Otabek rolled his eyes, realizing she had no intention of letting JJ go any time soon, and began wandering around the basement on his own.

JJ had mentioned that some of the people from the rink might show up, but if there were any around, Otabek didn't see them, feeling more out of place than usual. Why had he let JJ talk him into coming to this stupid party in the first place? His time would have been much better spent trying to decide on his program music for next season.

Because you're in love with him, idiot.

"Hey, want some beer?" the guy in charge of the keg asked as Otabek passed by.

Otabek held up his hand. "No, thanks, I don't dri–" He paused, reconsidering. Beer might be just the thing to help him loosen up, enjoy the party more. Besides, it wasn't as if he was driving – what was the harm in getting a little buzzed? "Yeah, I'll take a cup," he said, walking back over to the keg.

The boy poured him some beer in a red plastic cup. "Here ya go. Enjoy!"

"Thanks."

Leaning back against a nearby wall, Otabek took a sip of the bear and almost immediately spat it out. It tasted awful, some unholy combination of sour and bitter that was difficult to describe, but he managed to force it down, coughing behind his fist.

His coughing fit caught the attention of a couple of nearby boys who were both drinking from the same red plastic cups. Otabek vaguely recognized them from around the rink, although he believed they were hockey players rather than figure skaters. Sure enough, as soon as they walked over to join him, they started chatting about hockey, but as Otabek knew very little about the sport beyond Wayne Gretsky, he wasn't able to contribute much to the conversation. He mostly just listened to them debate about which was the superior Canadian hockey team – the Toronto Maple Leafs or the Calgary Flames – and drank, becoming more accustomed to the taste after a few more sips.

"Hey, check it out," Charlie said, nudging Otabek in the ribs. "One o'clock."

It took a moment for him to realize Charlie wasn't literally talking about the time. Otabek glanced over the other boy's – Spencer's? – left shoulder. A pretty blonde girl caught his eye. She smiled and gave a small wave before turning her attention back to her friend beside her.

"Who is she?" Otabek asked.

"Samantha Winters. She sometimes comes by the rink with JJ's girl," Spencer replied after taking a look himself. "You know, I've seen her checking you out a few times. I think she has a bit of a thing for you. You should go talk to her."

"But I don't even know her."

"So? Go introduce yourself," Charlie said, pushing Otabek forward in the girl's direction.

Otabek looked back. Spencer and Charlie were making waving motions with their free hands, encouraging him to go on. With a sigh, he finished off the rest of his beer, then stopped at the keg for a refill, looking for a little more liquid courage before walking over to Samantha and her friend. He wasn't particularly interested in the blonde, but what the hell? She was certainly pretty enough, and maybe she could help take his mind off of JJ for a while.

"Hey."

"Oh, hi!" Samantha smiled, brushing a strand of her hair behind her ear. "How are you? I'm Samantha, Bella's friend. You can call me Sam. And this is one of our other friends, Caitlin," she said, pointing to the brunette beside her.

"Otabek. JJ's…" He wasn't sure exactly how to describe his relationship with JJ, so he decided to keep it simple. "...training mate."

"I know. I've seen you at the rink a few times." She lightly bit down on her bottom lip, staring up at him with doe eyes. "It's nice to finally meet you. Officially, I mean."

"And...I'm gonna take that as my cue to leave," Caitlin said with a giggle. "Nice to meet you, too, Otabek. See you around!" She gave him a nod of acknowledgment, then joined Charlie and Spencer, slipping an arm casually around Charlie's waist before pecking him on the cheek.

Otabek frowned. Why did he get the feeling that the three of them had conspired to set him up?

Turning his attention back to Samantha, he cleared his throat. "Sorry," he apologized. "I've never really noticed you –"

"Oh. That's okay," she said. "So, Bella said you're from Kazakhstan? Like Borat? That movie was hilarious!"

"Um, that movie… It's not exactly…" He wanted to call it a "piece of shit", but he wasn't exactly in the mood to get into a big discussion about how offensive and inaccurate that awful movie was.

Fortunately, she seemed to pick up on his dislike of the film. "Oh, yeah. Sorry." Samantha took a sip of her beer. "So, what kind of movies do you like?"

That was a safer subject. Otabek wasn't much of a movie buff, his life focused mostly on skating and music, but he had enough knowledge of some recent Hollywood blockbusters not to come across as a complete loser. Samantha dominated most of the conversation anyway, her words starting to slur a bit as she finished off the rest of her drink.

Otabek was beginning to feel a little buzzed himself, no longer as uncomfortable as he had been when he had first arrived. In fact, he was feeling pretty good. A pleasant warmth flowed through his body, and he found himself laughing and smiling at Samantha's movie star impressions.

She really was rather beautiful. If asked if he had a preference, Otabek would say he was probably more attracted to boys, but he liked girls, too. A smattering of cute freckles dotted the bridge of her nose, and her lips were a glossy soft pink, which Otabek much preferred over the ruby red lipstick Isabella tended to favor.

He wondered what it would be like to kiss a girl, if it was any different than kissing a boy. Beyond that foolish kiss with JJ in the pool, Otabek did have some experience with the boy he had dated back when he trained in Colorado Springs a couple of seasons ago, but he had never gone further than holding hands with a girl before – and that was only during the ballroom dance class Coach Cialdini had recommended he take to improve his musicality, which hardly counted.

"Otabek? Hello?"

Samantha waved her hand in front of his face.

"Sorry." Otabek blinked, bringing his sight back into focus. "You were saying?"

"Um, nothing important, really." She took a sip from her cup, her eyes widening as "A Thousand Years" started playing on the stereo. "Oh, my God, I'm obsessed with this song! Isn't 'Twilight', like, the greatest movie ever?" she squealed, snatching Otabek's almost empty cup from his hand and setting both down on a nearby side table. "Come on, let's dance!"

"Oh, uh…" Despite those dance classes, Otabek still didn't consider himself much of a dancer. He'd much rather be behind the DJ booth than out on the dance floor – and he'd certainly choose a better song than some saccharine ballad made popular by a silly vampire flick.

"Please?" Samantha grabbed him by both hands, gently pulling him toward the middle of the basement, where most of the dancers had congregated. "Just one dance?"

Otabek sighed. Well, as long as it was only one dance… He finally relented, following Samantha's lead as she continued pulling him forward.

Along the way, he noticed JJ and Isabella among the gathered dancers. As usual, they only had eyes for each other, their swaying bodies pressed so close that they might as well have been fused together. Otabek's heart ached at the sight, wishing it was him in JJ's arms instead, but pushing such pointless thoughts aside, he turned his attention back to Samantha, placing his hands on her slender hips as she wrapped her arms around his neck.

Stop thinking about JJ, he ordered himself, staring into her bright green eyes. He had a gorgeous girl of his own in his arms. True, Samantha didn't inspire quite the same spark in him that JJ had, but she was cute and nice and seemed to really like him, even though they had just officially met a short time ago.

"You know, I'm really glad you came tonight," Samantha said. "I've been wanting to talk to you for a while now, but you always seem so focused on your skating whenever I see you at the rink."

"Yeah?"

"I get it though. My dream is to become an actress one day, so whenever I'm in rehearsal or something, I'm laser-focused on learning my lines and remembering all my cues and stuff. I really admire people who are passionate about pursuing their dreams. Maybe that's what drew me to you in the first place. You must really want to succeed in skating, to leave your home behind to train halfway across the world."

"I do," Otabek admitted. "I miss my family and friends back in Almaty, but my dream is to one day win an Olympic medal. To do that, I have to train with the best coaches in the world, no matter where they may live."

"Very cool." Samantha's fingers brushed against the short hairs of his undercut. "Speaking of friends back home...do you have someone? A girlfriend, I mean? Or, um, maybe a boyfriend? It's totally cool if you do, by the way. Some of my friends at the theatre are gay, so…"

"No, I don't," Otabek said, suppressing a frown as he briefly glanced over Samantha's shoulder. Behind her, JJ and Isabella had all but given up on dancing, sucking face in the middle of the dance floor. "I'm not dating anyone at the moment."

"Really?" Samantha smiled, a faint blush coloring her cheeks. "I'm glad to hear that. Really glad."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah."

The two of them slowed to a stop, Samantha slightly tilting up her chin. There wasn't much of a height difference between them, but the way she was looking at him, it was obvious she wanted him to kiss her. Following her cue, Otabek gently pulled Samantha closer, wrapping his arms around her waist, and pressed his lips against hers.

As expected, there really wasn't that much of a difference between kissing a guy or a girl. Samantha's lips were much softer than Leo's, which had often been chapped from hours spent at the rink, and her lip gloss tasted faintly of artificial cherries, but otherwise, the mechanics were mostly the same. Though it wasn't the most mind-blowing kiss Otabek had ever experienced if his life, lacking any real fireworks, it was pleasant enough.

By the time they pulled apart, the song was coming to an end. Samantha, her cheeks even more flushed than before, brought her mouth next to his ear and asked in a low voice, "Do you maybe wanna go somewhere a little more private?"

"Oh. Um, yeah, sure." It would be good to get away from the party for a while. Away from JJ.

"This way."

She grabbed his hand and led him through the crowd of grinding, hormonal teenagers, back to the door that went to the main floor of the house. Nobody noticed as they slipped out of the basement, everybody engrossed in their own activities.

Otabek assumed she had wanted to go out to the front porch for some fresh air, so he was surprised when Samantha turned and started climbing the grand staircase in the entryway instead.

"Wait," he said, coming to a stop. "Is it okay to go up there?" He wasn't familiar with the rules of Canadian house parties, but it seemed rude to go wandering around someone's house without their permission.

"Oh, yeah, it's totally fine!" she assured him with a wave of her free hand. "Jeremy doesn't mind as long as we, like, don't steal or mess anything up. Come on!"

Though still a little reluctant, Otabek followed her up the stairs anyway. They stopped in front of the first door on the right, Samantha raising her fist to knock.

"Occupied!" a boy's voice shouted from inside the room, accompanied by girlish laughter.

"Sorry, carry on!"

She didn't even have to knock on the next door down. Loud moans and cries of "Oh my god, yes! Yes!" passed through the walls, leaving little doubt as to what the room's current occupants were doing. Samantha brought a finger to her lips and jerked her head toward the door across the hall.

Otabek took the lead that time, rapping on the door. No one answered back, even when he knocked a second time to be sure. Samantha motioned for him to open the door.

He wrapped a hand around the doorknob and slowly twisted it, cracking the door open to take a peek inside. The room was almost completely dark, all the lights turned off. The only illumination came from the moonlight spilling through the window over the desk, revealing an empty full-sized bed.

"Go on," Samantha prodded.

Otabek entered the room and flipped the light switch. Based on its quintessential "teenage boy" décor – posters of sports stars and bikini babes pinned on the walls, a stack of high school textbooks on the desk, and smelly hockey gear piled in the corner of the room – he suspected the bedroom belonged to Jeremy. Samantha followed him inside and closed the door behind them.

Giggling, she tucked a strand of her long blonde hair behind her ear. "So, um, here we are."

"Yeah, here we are."

They stared at each other for a long moment in awkward silence before Samantha began unbuttoning her blouse.

Otabek sucked in a sharp breath at the sight of white lace. He had had some idea of what Samantha had in mind when she invited him upstairs, but now that it was actually happening, he wasn't sure what to think, not helped by the alcohol he had consumed. Wasn't this moving kind of fast? They had met less than an hour ago, after all, and it was his first time. He had made out with Leo a few times over the course of their relationship, but they had always stopped before things got too heated between them, neither of them ready to take that next step.

Midway down her shirt, Samantha paused and looked back up at him. "Wait, do you have...you know, protection?" she asked.

"Oh, uh, yeah," Otabek said, rubbing the back of his neck. He had recently gotten in the habit of carrying a condom in his wallet after overhearing some of the older guys at Junior Worlds talking in the locker room. Not that he ever expected to have a chance to use it so soon, but it had seemed like the mature, responsible thing to do. Just in case.

"Good."

While she continued to work on undoing her shirt buttons, Otabek pulled out his wallet, fingers fumbling as he took out the condom and proceeded to promptly drop it on the floor. He muttered a few curses in Kazakh under his breath and kneeled down on the floor, feeling around underneath Jeremy's bed where it had slid until his hand wrapped around the foil packet.

Otabek was about to stand back up when he noticed that Samantha's plaid skirt had fallen in a heap around her ankles, joining her blouse on the floor. His eyes slowly roamed upwards, his breath hitching at the back of his throat at the sight of Samantha in her matching lace bra and panties.

She rubbed at her bare arms, glancing off to the side as a faint flush colored her pale cheeks. "You're going to take your clothes off too, right?" she asked with a nervous giggle as Otabek stood upright. "It's kinda embarrassing…"

"Yeah, uh…" After tossing the condom on the bedside table for later, Otabek reached for the back of his T-shirt and pulled it over his head, tossing it on the floor. He then toed off his sneakers and unzipped his jeans, pushing them downwards and kicking them aside.

He was used to stripping down in front of others after years of changing in the locker room, yet Otabek had never felt more exposed, sitting on the side of Jeremy's bed, dressed only in his gray boxer-briefs. Samantha took a seat beside him and tentatively covered his hand with her own.

"So, uh…" She let out another giggle, tucking a strand of her hair behind her ear with her free hand. "Here we are."

"You already said that," Otabek pointed out, amused and strangely calmed by her awkwardness. When they had first started knocking on doors, he had assumed Samantha was used to doing stuff like this, but maybe she wasn't as experienced as he thought.

"R-Right." She pulled her hand away, reaching for the condom he had set aside on the nightstand. "Do you want to put this on, or should I…?"

"I should probably do it." With how hard he already was, Otabek feared he wouldn't even last to the main event if she touched him right now. "But, um, are you sure you really want to do this?" he asked, taking the condom from her. "We don't have to if you don't –"

"I do!" Samantha insisted. "I do, if you want to."

Did he want to? His body certainly wanted to; there was no doubt about that. Otabek swallowed hard as he spared another glance at Samantha, imagining what lay beneath the delicate lace of her bra and panties. He had seen plenty of naked guys in the locker room, but never a flesh-and-blood real life girl other than his mother and sister, and they didn't count.

His mind...was a mess, muddled by alcohol, hormones, and inappropriate jealousy.

And his heart? Well, that still belonged to JJ, who had made it abundantly clear he didn't want it, so why not give it to somebody who did? He wasn't in love with Samantha yet, but that didn't mean he couldn't fall in love with her in the future…

Decision made, Otabek tore open the foil packaging.

So...that was sex.

It wasn't how Otabek envisioned losing his virginity – during a drunken hook-up with a girl he barely knew, in some stranger's unfamiliar bedroom – but it had been an okay experience. He wished he'd been able to last longer, though. He'd come after only a couple of minutes of thrusting inside her, obviously failing to get Samantha off at all. She giggled and said it was fine, but admittedly not the greatest moment for his ego.

Afterwards, he removed his condom, tying it off and disposing of it in a wastebasket overflowing with crumpled papers near Jeremy's desk, hoping nobody would go digging through it and find it. The last thing he wanted was to get Jeremy in trouble with his parents. When he turned back around, Samantha was getting dressed, reaching behind her back to fasten the clasp of her lacy white bra.

"So, uh…" Otabek grabbed his boxer briefs and began pulling them back on, unsure of what to say. "That was...fun?"

"Yeah!" Samantha said. "It was...good." She stepped into her skirt and shimmied the plaid fabric over her hips. "Interesting."

In other words, it had sucked.

"Sorry," he apologized, pulling his T-shirt over his head and tugging it downward. "I guess I had a little too much to drink…"

"No, it was fine, really. Maybe we can do it again sometime?"

"Really?" He hadn't expected that.

After slipping her arms through her blouse, Samantha walked over and handed him her phone. "Here, put your number in my contacts," she said as she started buttoning up her top.

"O-Okay." Otabek pulled up her contact list and entered his information, handing it back to her when she finished getting dressed.

"Thanks."

It took a moment of Samantha staring at him in expectation to realize that she was probably waiting for him to reciprocate and ask for her number.

"Oh, yeah. Right. Just a minute."

Otabek located his discarded jeans on the floor and pulled out his cell, unlocking it before handing it over. Samantha quickly input her contact information, then gave it back to him.

"So, I guess I'll see you around?" she said,

"Yeah. I'll… I'll call you sometime."

Smiling, she stepped forward, hesitating for a moment before giving him a chaste kiss on the cheek. "I'll be looking forward to it. Good night, Otabek."

"Good night."

He waited until she had left the room to put his jeans back on, then sat down on the bed and hung his head in his hands. What have I done...?

When Otabek headed back down to the basement about ten minutes later, he saw no sign of Samantha anywhere. She must have already gone home, much to his relief. He didn't want to deal with the awkwardness of seeing her again so soon after they… Well, did what they did.

In fact, Otabek was more than ready to go home himself. Why had JJ even invited him, if he was just going to abandon him the moment they arrived to hang out with Isabella? Jerk.

But the jerk was still his ride home, so he looked around the crowded basement, finding JJ sitting in a worn-out leather chair in the corner of the room, making out with Isabella, who had made herself at home in his lap. Otabek's heart again seized at the sight. As hopeless as he knew his crush was, it wasn't as if he could magically turn off his feelings for JJ, pretend that he wasn't wishing he was in Isabella's position instead. Not even sleeping with Samantha had helped, as he had secretly hoped it might.

Pushing his feelings of jealousy aside, Otabek made his way over to the chair and loudly cleared his throat.

JJ didn't hear – or if he did, he ignored it, continuing to suck face with Isabella. Otabek rolled his eyes, tapping JJ on the shoulder as he called out his name.

He wasn't able to ignore him that time, JJ finally breaking away from their liplock. "Oh, hey, Beka!" At least he had the decency to be somewhat embarrassed, wiping away the traces of Isabella's fire-engine red lipstick from his mouth with the collar of his T-shirt. "Having fun?"

"No, I'm not." Otabek crossed his arms over his chest. "Can we go home yet?"

JJ reached for Isabella's wrist, taking a glance at her elegant gold watch. "But we've only been here an hour."

"I really want to leave, JJ."

"Oh, but I've barely seen you at all this week, babe," Isabella said. "You've been so busy…" She began trailing kisses down JJ's neck, causing him to suck in a sharp breath. "Stay a little while longer? Please?"

JJ shrugged helplessly at Otabek. "Thirty more minutes? Then I promise we'll go home."

Sighing, Otabek dropped his arms. "Fine. Thirty minutes, but that's all."

Leaving them to resume where they had left off, Otabek wandered off, wondering what he was supposed to do for the next half-hour. A part of him was tempted just to leave on his own. It had taken about fifteen minutes for JJ to drive them to Jeremy's, so walking distance...was way too far. It probably wasn't a great idea to go walking alone at night anyway, especially when he was buzzed and wasn't familiar with the area.

Maybe he could ask for a ride with someone else? A quick survey of the room discouraged him from that idea. The vast majority of the guests appeared to be at least a little intoxicated, if not full-out plastered. He didn't trust anybody enough to ride with them behind the wheel.

It looked like he was stuck waiting around for JJ; at least he had seemed sober. Sighing, Otabek headed back to the keg and asked for another drink, finding nothing better to do. Maybe if he drank enough, he would forget everything that had happened…

Otabek decided he liked beer, after all. The sour taste really wasn't so bad once he got used to it, and he enjoyed how it made everything seem...fuzzy. He even managed to be somewhat sociable, getting caught up in a discussion with Spencer, Charlie, and a few of their friends about the local music scene. It turned out that in addition to hockey, Charlie played in a garage band on the side.

He was on his fourth – fifth? – cup when JJ came up from behind and tapped him on the shoulder. "Hey, ready to head home?"

"JJ!" Otabek stood from his seat on the couch, some of his beer splashing over the lip of his cup. "This party's great! Beer is great! Everybody is great!" he shouted over the pounding music.

"Uh, that's...great, Beka, but now it's time to go home. Remember?"

"No, no, let's stay a little longer." He didn't want to go back now, not when he was finally enjoying himself. Otabek took another sip. "Tasty! Want some?" he asked, handing his cup over to JJ.

"Okay, I think you've had enough for the night," JJ said, walking over to set the cup down on the coffee table, then reaching for Otabek's arm. "Come on, let's go."

"But JJ…" As JJ pulled him away from the group, Otabek stumbled over his feet and had to wrap his arms around JJ's neck to steady himself. "Oops!"

He laughed, but JJ didn't find his clumsiness as amusing as he did, not even a hint of a smile crossing his kissable lips. "We need to get back before Maman and Papa return home from their date."

Otabek released his hold on JJ. "Fine, party-pooper," he said, blowing a raspberry and laughing at himself once again.

"Oh, come on," JJ said with a roll of his eyes. He grabbed Otabek by the wrist and began leading him back upstairs.

As long as he was sitting, it had been easy to ignore the effect the alcohol had on his motor skills, but it was all catching up to him now. Otabek held onto the metal railing for dear life as he unsteadily climbed the stairs, feeling almost like a child again, stepping onto the ice for the very first time. The "fuzzy" sensation he had so enjoyed at first made it difficult to judge distances, causing him to stumble more than once. Luckily, JJ was right behind him, or else he probably would have tumbled the rest of the way down and broken his neck, more than likely ending his dreams of Olympic glory, if not his life.

"Just take it one step at a time," JJ said softly, keeping a hand on Otabek's back to help keep him steady. "No need to rush. We're almost there…"

Through sheer force of will and determination, Otabek managed to climb the rest of the way without any issues. Outside the door to the basement, he leaned against the wall and closed his eyes in an attempt to stop the world from spinning around him.

"Hey, you okay?" JJ asked, alarmed. "Wait here. I'll find you a chair or something to sit –"

Otabek held up a hand. "No, no, I'm fine," he insisted, ignoring the wave of nausea that had come over him. "Just need to catch my breath, that's all." He took in a couple of deep breaths, which honestly did help a little, and cracked opened an eye. The roses on the fancy floral wallpaper were no longer dancing, which Otabek took as a good sign. "I'm okay now," he said, opening his other eye and straightening his posture. "Let's keep going."

JJ didn't look convinced, but he didn't say anything more, leading Otabek to the entrance. Otabek, for his part, was mostly fine until they climbed down the stairs at the front of the house. It was only three or four steps, but his nausea came back in full-force, even worse than before. Though he tried his best to ignore it, hoping it would just go away, about halfway to JJ's car, Otabek realized he couldn't hold it in any longer. Breaking free of JJ's hold on his arm, Otabek rushed over to some nearby shrubs and vomited.

"Beka!" JJ jogged over. "Are you okay?"

Otabek nodded right before puking some more, JJ rubbing circles on his back. "Marde! How much did you drink?" JJ asked.

"Um...a lot?" Otabek guessed, wiping his mouth with the bottom of his T-shirt when he finally stopped throwing up. "I kinda lost count."

Rubbing his forehead, JJ muttered something in Quebecois under his breath. Otabek suspected he was swearing. He'd picked up on JJ's tendency to switch to his native tongue when cursing.

"Okay, so have you finished puking?" JJ asked, switching back to English.

"I think so?" He felt a little better, his nausea ebbing. "At least for now."

"Then let's get you to the car."

JJ wrapped a supportive arm behind Otabek's shoulders, guiding him in the direction where he had parked. Despite the situation, Otabek had to admit it was nice seeing this side of JJ, concerned and worried about him. After helping Otabek into the passenger side seat, JJ went back to the house to grab a bottle of water for him to drink. Otabek leaned against the window while he was gone, the coolness of the glass feeling good against his clammy skin.

JJ returned a couple of minutes later, sliding into the driver's seat. "Here, drink this," he said, handing Otabek the freezing cold bottle of water. "You need to keep hydrated."

"Thanks." He twisted off the cap and took a sip as JJ revved the engine and drove off.

The drive back to the house was spent mostly in silence. Even the radio was turned off. Looking over at JJ, Otabek noticed that his jaw was clenched, his hands gripping the steering wheel so tightly that his knuckles were white. Was he really that angry? All he did was get a little – well, okay, maybe more than a "little" – drunk. What did JJ expect when he had dragged him to a house party where almost everybody else was drinking?

"Hey, I'm sorry," he apologized anyway, not wanting things to get even worse between them.

JJ sighed, his hold on the wheel relaxing some. "What the hell were you thinking, Beka? You should know better than to binge drink. Do you realize how fucking dangerous that is?"

Wow, JJ was even more upset than Otabek realized, if he was dropping f-bombs.

"Yeah, I know…" In hindsight, he realized it really was a stupid idea. "But I told you I didn't want to go to the party," he reminded JJ, crossing his arms as he stared out the window at the passing scenery. "I told you I wanted to leave."

"So, what? You got drunk as revenge? Look, I just wanted you to meet some new people and maybe make a couple of friends. That's all."

"I don't need any more friends."

"I can't be your only friend here, Beka."

"Are you still my friend?" Otabek asked, glancing back over at JJ. It was hard to tell, what with how awkward things had been between them lately.

"What? Of course we're still friends," JJ said, brow furrowed. "At least, I thought we were?"

"But I… I kissed you."

"So? You think I'm homophobic or something?"

Otabek shrugged. "I don't know. Maybe?" He would be lying if he said the thought hadn't crossed his mind, recalling the disgusted look on JJ's face as he had shoved him away from him in the pool.

"Seriously?" Though they were only short distance away from JJ's house, he pulled the car over on the side of the road. "Beka, listen, I don't care if you like guys," JJ said, undoing his seatbelt so that he could fully turn toward Otabek. "I don't. I was mad about the kiss because I already have a girlfriend and it took me by surprise, not because you're a boy."

"Oh." He supposed that made sense, too...

"You shouldn't have done it," JJ continued, "but, hey, I get it. I am ridiculously hot. Sometimes, I even wish I could kiss myself."

Otabek wasn't sure if it was the beer, the sheer relief that JJ didn't find him a disgusting sexual deviant destined for Hell, or something else altogether, but he burst out laughing, JJ joining in a few seconds later – at least until Otabek opened the door and puked some more on the ground.

"Hey, are you sure you're okay?" JJ asked, again rubbing circles on Otabek's back. "Maybe I should take you to the emergency room…"

"No, don't." Otabek sat back up, taking a drink of his water to get the nasty aftertaste out of his mouth. "Your parents will be mad if they found out we went to a party with alcohol, and I don't want to cause any trouble." Not to mention his own parents would probably demand that he move back home, assuming that the Leroys weren't capable of providing adequate supervision.

"Yeah, but…"

"I'm fine," he insisted, closing the door and buckling his seatbelt. "Let's go home. I'll feel better after getting some sleep."

Again, JJ didn't look quite convinced, but, sighing, he re-buckled his own seatbelt and put the car back in drive.

A few minutes later, the car pulled into the driveway in front of JJ's house. The lights in the house were still off, and as the automatic garage door lifted up, Otabek breathed a sigh of relief at the empty spot where Nathalie usually parked her SUV. Good, they had made it home before JJ's parents got back from their anniversary celebration. JJ pulled inside and parked in his mother's spot, the two of them entering the house through the garage entrance.

"Need some help getting to your room?" JJ asked when Otabek paused at the bottom of the staircase leading to the second floor, his stomach flip-flopping as he realized he would need to climb the stairs again to get to his bedroom. "I'm actually pretty strong, you know." To prove it, JJ flexed his toned biceps. "I carry Madi and Pip up the stairs all the time. I can give you a piggyback ride if you want."

"Uh, no, that's okay." As tempting as the offer was – and Otabek was certainly tempted – the last thing he needed was for the both of them to fall down the stairs and break their necks. Besides, he really was feeling much better now that he wasn't so dehydrated. "I think I can make it on my own," Otabek said, taking a hesitant step up.

That didn't stop JJ from following right behind him, keeping a gentle, steadying hand on his back as he had done before. Otabek rolled his eyes at his over-protectiveness, but, again, it was...nice. The way JJ was always bragging and tooting his own horn, it was easy to pigeon-hole him as an egomaniac who only cared about himself, but he actually had a big heart underneath it all.

Isabella was a lucky girl…

Thankfully, Otabek managed to make it all the way up the stairs without incident. He walked over to his bedroom door, surprised that JJ continued following him, passing right by the door to his own room along the way.

"Um, thanks, but I can handle things from here," Otabek said as he opened the door.

"Oh, uh, right. Sorry." JJ, who had started to follow him inside, rubbed the back of his neck, an uncharacteristic blush crossing the bridge of his nose. "Are you sure you don't need anything, though? A glass of water? Maybe some Gatorade? I can probably find a bucket you can keep by the bed, so you don't have to keep running to the washroom if you need to throw up again."

"A bottle of Gatorade would be good," Otabek admitted. He was feeling better, but it couldn't hurt to hydrate a little more before bed to be on the safe side.

"On it! You like the orange kind, right?"

"Yeah."

"Okay. Be back in a sec!"

He wasn't lying. Otabek barely had time to change out of his jeans and vomit-stained T-shirt and into a comfy pair of pajama pants before JJ was knocking at the door. He quickly pulled on the first clean T-shirt he could find and answered it, accepting the Gatorade bottle from JJ.

"Thanks."

"No prob," JJ said. "Let me know if you need anything else, though, okay? I'll be right next door, doing some required summer reading for school."

"I'll probably just go to bed after drinking some of this, but, seriously...thanks," Otabek said. "And, um, I really am sorry, for everything. I know I've been kind of a dick to you ever since...you know…"

"Hey, don't worry about it." JJ smiled, reaching over to ruffle Otabek's hair. "Drink your Gatorade and try to get some rest. See you in the morning."

"Yeah, later. Good night."

DISCLAIMER: "Yuri! On Ice" doesn't belong to me.

AUTHOR'S NOTES: I hope you enjoyed the chapter! Chapter Three should be posted in early September.