Unexpected

Isabella silently cursed her older sister Charlotte for suggesting they play "Truth or Dare" at her bachelorette party. Weren't they a little too...old to be playing slumber party games? She was twenty years old, about to be a married woman, for crying out loud, not some giggly thirteen year old!

Well, at least there was booze. Lots and lots of booze. Isabella never considered herself much of a drinker – an occasional glass of wine with dinner and, of course, a sip during weekly communion about all she indulged – but the champagne flowed freely, and she took advantage, finding a little alcohol made the situation somewhat more tolerable.

"Okay, Mila, Truth or Dare?" Hannah, one of Isabella's oldest and dearest friends, asked.

Mila, a skater she had met and became friendly with at one of JJ's many competitions, tapped her chin with her finger. "Hmm, I did a dare last time, so let's go with truth!"

"Then, tell us, in general, who's better in bed, men or women?"

Isabella almost spewed her champagne, managing to cover her mouth with a napkin just in time. "Hannah!"

"What?"

"You can't ask her that! It's...it's…"

"It's okay, Bella," Mila said. "I don't mind answering, really."

"But –"

"Izzie, you know the rules," Charlotte – she was the only one allowed to call her "Izzie" without being stabbed on sight – lectured, pouring some more champagne into her glass. "When somebody picks 'Truth', they have to answer the question, no exceptions. That's the whole point of the game. Besides, it's about time someone started asking naughtier questions. I swear I was about to pass out from boredom!"

More like "pass out after drinking almost an entire bottle of champagne by herself", but whatever. If Mila didn't mind… "Fine." Isabella rolled her eyes and gestured for her to answer the question.

"Well, it's hard to say. I think it depends more on the feelings you have for your partner and the skill they possess, rather than the equipment they have. But if I had to choose…" Mila bit down on her pink-colored bottom lip. "I think I have a slight preference for women."

"Ooooo," some of the girls chorused, a couple of them giggling behind their hands.

Isabella again rolled her eyes and took a sip of her champagne. They really were acting like silly teenagers. Silly drunk teenagers. She was about to suggest they switch to a different, more dignified game – perhaps "Go Fish" or "Phase 10", even poker would be more acceptable – when Mila cleared her throat.

"My turn, right?" She glanced around the room, her pretty blue eyes eventually landing on Isabella. "Bella, Truth or Dare?"

She wanted to say, "Neither." It was supposed to be her bachelorette party. Shouldn't they be doing what she wanted to do? Instead, Isabella sighed, not wanting to be a buzzkill when everybody else seemed to be having so much fun. "Truth, I guess."

Mila was a nice girl. Unlike her other so-called "friends", Mila wouldn't dare to –

"Okay, I've got a good one. Where's the most unusual place you and JJ have ever had sex?"

Mila was an enemy most dangerous, not to be trusted.

Those who had known her the longest cracked up, Charlotte snorting and almost toppling out of her chair if not for the quick reflexes of Sara, another skater she had made friends with over the past year. Isabella glared at her sister, while poor Mila wore a look of utter confusion at their reaction.

"Did I get the English wrong?" she asked.

"No, no, your English is fine," Hannah said once her laughter had subsided. "It's just that Bella and JJ haven't had sex yet."

"What?" Mila blinked. "Never? Of any kind? Not even –"

"Not even that. They've been saving themselves for their wedding night."

"And what's wrong with that?" Isabella asked defensively. She knew she was considered an oddball among her friend group for still being a virgin at twenty, but waiting for marriage was something that was really important to JJ. And if it was important to him, then she was more than happy to respect his wishes on the matter.

"Nothing, nothing! You know we're just teasing you, right? It's sweet, really."

"Mmm." Isabella pressed her lips together. There was more she wanted to say, but she really didn't want to get into an argument with her maid-of-honor the night before the wedding. It didn't matter anyway, she supposed. By this time tomorrow night, she would finally be ridding herself of her pesky virginity, and her friends wouldn't be able to make fun of her anymore. "Anyway, now it's my turn?" Disregarding the fact that she technically had not answered Mila's question herself, she turned her attention to Hannah. "Truth or Dare, Hannah?"

"Dare me!"

Isabella smiled. She was hoping Hannah would say that.

"Okay, I dare you to…"


The game somehow lasted well over an hour, the dares and questions becoming more and more ridiculous and risque the drunker they became. Even Isabella stopped being such a snob about it, realizing that she was learning quite a lot from some of the answers. She knew the basics of what to expect on her wedding night, of course, but hearing real-life anecdotes was reassuring, making her less nervous and anxious about the big event.

To be honest, though, she wasn't particularly looking forward to it. She was excited about the wedding and their luxurious week-long honeymoon to Rome, but the sex part? Maybe she really was a prude. A part of her had actually been relieved when JJ admitted to her early on in their relationship that he wanted to wait until they were married to do anything sexual beyond kissing. It had been nice not to have to deal with the pressure, to know that JJ wasn't going to force her to do anything she wasn't ready to do.

But all of that would change in less than twenty-four hours...

"Isabella? Isabella?"

An Italian accent pulled Isabella away from her thoughts. She turned her attention to Sara. "Sorry, did you say something?"

"Truth or Dare?" Sara asked.

Every other time she had been picked during the game, Isabella had chosen "Truth", seeing it as the lesser of two evils, but maybe all the champagne had finally gone to her head, lowering her inhibitions. "You know what? What the hell, let's go with a dare."

Sara cocked an eyebrow. "Are you sure?"

"Yeah, give me a good one."

"Okay. I dare you to –"

"Oh, crap, it's already nine-thirty?" Hannah exclaimed as she looked down at her phone, interrupting Sara. "I didn't realize it was so late! I think it's about time to wrap things up here, girls. Bella needs to get some sleep. It wouldn't do for the bride to walk down the aisle with bags under her eyes, after all!"

Isabella hadn't realized it was so late, either. The party had been scheduled to end around nine, giving her enough time to do her planned facial and take a bath before going to bed. She finished off the last of her champagne, then stood from her armchair, feeling a little light-headed. "Thanks again for throwing me this party," she said. "I really appreciate –"

"Wait, Izzie hazta do her dare," Charlotte slurred from her spot on the floor. She was leaning against the couch, a cool washcloth covering her eyes after she had spent ten minutes puking in the powder room.

"Oh, for the love of…! I'm not going to –"

But Isabella was out-voted, the rest of her guests beginning to clap and chant "Dare! Dare! Dare!" in unison.

Isabella sighed. If only she had kept her mouth shut a few seconds longer… "Fine," she said, pinching the bridge of her nose. "But make it something quick. What's the dare, Sara?"

"Oh, um…" Sara's violet eyes roamed around the room for inspiration. "I dare you to...kiss Mila?" She immediately waved her hands in front of her chest. "Wait, I didn't mean that! Of course you can't kiss Mila. Let me think of something else –"

"Why can't she kiss Mila?" Hannah asked. "Bella's not married yet, you know."

"Hannah!" Isabella was thisclose to removing Hannah from her maid-of-honor duties, never mind that they had been best friends practically from diapers. She loved her to death, but there were times when Hannah got on her last nerve.

Hannah shrugged. "I'm just saying, JJ's the only person you've ever kissed, and after tomorrow, you two are going to be together until death do you part. Aren't you curious what kissing someone else would be like? It's your last night of freedom – live a little!"

Well, maybe she was a tiny bit curious, if Isabella was being one hundred percent honest with herself. But still... "I… Mila might not want to!"

From her spot behind Charlotte on the couch, Mila crossed her shapely legs at the knee and leaned forward, resting her chin on her fist. "Hmm, I don't mind if you don't mind," she said, a playful smile on her lips.

"But I'm engaged! I-I can't –"

"We won't tell anyone, right, girls?" Charlotte promised, pulling the washcloth down from her face. Around the room, the other guests nodded their agreement, a few voicing words of encouragement. "See? Nuttin' to worry 'bout! It'll be our li'l secret."

"But –"

She was running out of excuses.

Isabella looked over at Mila, who was now leaning back on her hands, head tilted slightly upwards in expectation. If she had to kiss a girl, she supposed she could do worse than Mila. She had always thought Mila was quite gorgeous with her flaming red hair and slim, athletic body. Mila didn't have much in the way of curves – a blessing considering her skating career – but her small breasts were perky, the faint outline of her nipples visible through the thin fabric of the cute pink sundress she wore. And her legs… Isabella unconsciously licked her lips as she watched Mila uncross and re-cross her legs.

"So, Bella, are you gonna do it?" Hannah asked, startling Isabella. "I mean, if the idea really makes you that uncomfortable, we're not going to force you –"

"No, I'll do it," Isabella declared, surprising everybody present – including herself. "I'll kiss Mila."

Hannah made a good point about JJ being the only person she had ever kissed. If she ever wanted to know what it was like to kiss someone else, now was the time to go for it, before pledging herself to be faithful to JJ for the rest of her earthly life. Besides, it wasn't as if she was going to kiss another man. She wasn't into women like that. Kissing Mila would be like...kissing Charlotte.

Yes, like sisters! Nothing wrong with that.

"Hey, are you sure about this, Bella?" Mila asked in a soft voice. She had walked over to where Isabella stood, all eyes focused on the two of them. "Hannah's right. You don't have to kiss anybody you don't want to." She rolled her eyes. "Honestly, I don't know what Sara was thinking when she gave you that dare. Just because I once told her I th–"

"You told her what?" Isabella prompted when Mila abruptly cut her sentence short.

Tucking a strand of her red hair behind her ear, Mila unexpectedly blushed. "Nothing, nothing!" she said, for some reason unable to look Isabella in the eye. "You know, maybe we shouldn't do this after all…"

She started to turn back around, but Isabella reached for her elbow, stopping her. Before she completely lost her courage, she closed her eyes and pressed her lips against Mila's.

The kiss was anything but sisterly. Once Mila got over her initial surprise, her body relaxed, her hands moving to cup Isabella's face. Isabella found her own hands instinctively moving to rest on Mila's slender hips, her mouth partly slightly to allow Mila's tongue entrance.

She had kissed JJ many times before, but it had never felt like this, like every nerve in her body was electrified. It was as if they were two magnets, attracted to each other by some unseen force.

But, wait, she wasn't supposed to be enjoying this! Becoming aware of the giggles and good-natured ribbing from the other girls, Isabella abruptly pulled away, her eyes wide with shock. Mila seemed similarly surprised, the two of them staring at each other for a long moment before Mila cracked a smile.

"Well, well, well... JJ certainly is a lucky guy," she said, laughing it off.

Isabella forced herself to laugh as well, joining in with everybody else.

After all, it was just a silly kiss done on a dare. It meant nothing.

Right?


Afterwards, Hannah, Mila, and Sara stayed behind to help Isabella with the clean-up. Charlotte had finally passed out, not waking up no matter how much Hannah shook her by the shoulders and shouted her name. Isabella was almost certain she was faking in order to get out of helping with the cleaning – it would hardly be the first time – but she was too distracted to care very much, her kiss with Mila replaying over and over in her mind.

Despite her best efforts, she found her eyes glancing over at the pretty redhead. Mila was in charge of gathering up the trash, the bottom hem of her short dress riding up the back of her legs every time she bent over to pick something up from the floor.

"Okay, so Lottie is officially dead to the world," Hannah announced, startling Isabella from her inappropriate staring. "Should we leave her on the couch?"

Isabella sighed, rubbing her forehead. She should have done a better job of keeping an eye on Charlotte's alcohol intake. Honestly, though Charlotte was older than her by two years, sometimes Isabella felt more like her mother than a younger sister. "Is she at least still breathing?"

"Yeah."

"Well, we can't leave her down here. My parents would freak out if they came back home and found her passed out." Their mother and father had gone out for the evening, giving them free reign of the house for the bachelorette party, but they were expected back around ten-thirty.

"How are we going to get her upstairs, though?" Hannah asked. "There aren't any guys around to carry her, and I know neither of us is strong enough."

Mila raised her hand. "Um, I can carry her if you want?" she offered.

"By yourself?"

Coming over, Mila lifted Charlotte's unconscious body as if it was nothing, supporting her behind her back and knees like a groom carrying his bride over the threshold. In response to Isabella's and Hannah's dumbfounded looks – Sara apparently found it nothing note-worthy – she shrugged and said, "I used to lift Yura all the time at the rink until he finally hit his growth spurt. Anyway, where's her room?"

"Oh, right. I'll show you," Isabella said, leading her upstairs.

Neither Charlotte or Isabella lived at home full-time any more, but their parents had kept their old bedrooms just as they had left them. Isabella opened the door to Charlotte's room and flipped the switch, Mila raising an eyebrow at all the Justin Bieber posters plastered on the wall.

"Somehow, I didn't peg her as a Belieber."

"It's her secret shame," Isabella said with a chuckle, pulling back the comforter on Charlotte's bed. "Here, lay her down."

Mila gently placed Charlotte on the bed, Isabella taking off her heels and tossing them on the floor. Charlotte let out a soft moan, but she didn't awaken, curling up on her side as Isabella pulled the blanket over her. Bringing a finger to her lips, Isabella jerked her head toward the door.

After the two of them had made their way out of Charlotte's room, she quietly closed the door behind them.

"So...is that your old room?" Mila asked, a twinkle in her eye. She pointed to the door directly across the hall, which, as she guessed, did indeed lead to Isabella's childhood bedroom.

"Um, yeah, but –"

"Oh, really?" With a mischievous smile, Mila walked over to the door. "I wonder what kind of embarrassing posters teenage Bella –"

"No, don't!" Somehow – she wasn't even sure how – Isabella managed to beat Mila to the door, squeezing in front of her and blocking her from entering. "It's...messy."

Even she realized how dumb an excuse it was the moment the words left her mouth. Honestly, she wasn't sure why she didn't want Mila to see her room. She did have a couple of posters hanging on her wall, but they were both of JJ in costume – nothing particularly embarrassing, in her opinion. It was normal to hang up pictures of the people you loved, right?

"I don't mind a little mess," Mila said, Isabella suddenly all too aware of how close they were standing. With her hand on the doorknob, all Mila would have to do was place her other hand on the wall and she would have Isabella pinned against the door, their mouths only inches apart – a thought that made Isabella's heart race in a strange combination of fear...and desire? Mila seemed to be considering it, too, beginning to raise her free hand, but at the last second, she let it fall back to her side, releasing her hold on the doorknob as well. "But if you don't want me to see, that's fine," she said with a shrug. "We should probably head back downstairs and help finish cleaning up anyway."

Isabella exhaled the breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding and slowly followed Mila down the stairs. What the hell was wrong with her? She was getting married tomorrow, to a wonderful man she adored more than anything in the world.

Yet… JJ had never inspired such, well, lustful, feelings within her, if she was completely honest with herself. Kissing him felt nice, yes, and Isabella had always thought he was very handsome, but sexy? Not really. Not even seeing those underwear ads of his had aroused her, not like the sight of Mila crossing her legs earlier, giving just the briefest flash of pink lace.

She paused, tightly gripping the banister. Oh, God. Was she about to make the biggest mistake of her life, marrying JJ?

Isabella shook her head. Cold feet, that's all it was. That had to be it. Either that, or else she had drunk far more than she thought she had, the alcohol going to her head and causing her to have such strange, delusional ideas. After all, she wasn't attracted to women. She wasn't. She couldn't be. Mila was only a good friend. She was certain that once they got through the wedding night, she would become more sexually interested in JJ, like a proper Catholic wife should. Isabella purged all improper thoughts of Mila out of her mind and continued following her down the stairs.

Hannah and Sara were already finished with the cleaning when they returned, gathering their things. "Hey, Mila, ready to head back to the hotel?" Sara asked. "Hannah offered to share her Uber. He's already here to pick us up."

"Yeah, almost. I need to go to the restroom first," Mila said, pointing in the direction of the first floor powder room. "You two can wait for me in the car. I won't take long."

"Okay."

While Mila freshened up, Isabella said good-bye to Hannah and Sara. Hannah gave her a hug, frowning when she pulled back. "Hey, are you okay?" she asked in a low enough voice that Sara wouldn't overhear.

"W-What?" Isabella crossed her arms. "Yeah, I'm fine," she lied. "Why wouldn't I be?"

"I don't know. It's just a weird vibe I've been getting from you all evening. You haven't been as excited about the wedding as I thought you would be."

"You worry too much, Hannah-Banana."

Isabella thought using her affectionate childhood nickname would reassure Hannah, but it only seemed to make her more suspicious. She placed her hands on Isabella's upper arms. "Bella, look, I know I maybe went a little too far with some of my teasing earlier, but you know I love you, right? You can tell me anything. If you're nervous or having second thoughts –"

"I'm not. I just drank a little too much, that's all," Isabella said. "Really, I am excited. I'm getting married!"

"If you say so." She wasn't sure if Hannah entirely believed her, but she released her hold on her arms and smiled. "I'll see you tomorrow morning, then. Try to get some sleep, okay? It won't do for you to be a hungover bride!"

"I will. Good night!"

Isabella had just closed the door behind Hannah and Sara when Mila returned from the powder room. She grabbed her cute pink sequined purse from where she left it on the couch and slung it over her shoulder, tucking a strand of her hair behind her ear.

"So, um, see you tomorrow, I guess," Mila said. "Good luck, or is it 'best wishes'? I never remember which I'm supposed to say."

"Best wishes, and thanks. I really appreciate you and Sara traveling so far to be here. It means a lot to me, and to JJ." Was it just her imagination, or was Mila actively avoiding looking at her?

"Of course, we wouldn't have missed your special day." No, not her imagination. Mila was definitely averting her gaze, pretending to smooth out some non-existent wrinkle in her dress. "Anyway, I should probably get going. I don't want to keep Sara and Hannah waiting too much longer."

"Oh, okay. Right."

Isabella once again opened the front door, holding it open for Mila, who seemed in a rush to leave. She barely glanced at Isabella as she passed by, keeping her head down.

"Mila, wait." The words were out of Isabella's mouth before she even had a chance to think.

Mila came to a stop on the walkway, turning back around. "Um, did I forget something?" she asked, fiddling with the chain-link strap of her purse on her shoulder. "I don't think I brought anything else besides my purse…"

"No, I…"

She wasn't even sure herself why she had stopped Mila.

Isabella looked down at the ring on her hand, the round-cut solitaire diamond sparkling in the light coming from the outdoor sconce. She had been so unbelievably happy when JJ gave it to her, proposing in front of both their families at Thanksgiving. It was a dream come true...or so she thought at the time.

Yet… What if it wasn't cold feet or a drunken delusion or any of the other excuses she had been making to herself since the kiss? What if she really was attracted to girls – attracted to Mila? What if the only reason she fell in love with JJ was because that was what everybody expected of her?

Mila took a step forward. "Bella?"

"No, it's nothing." Isabella dropped her hand back down to her side. JJ loved her, trusted her. How could she even think of betraying him, on the eve of their wedding, no less? "Never mind. I just wanted to say good night."

"Oh, good night." Mila smiled, although it didn't quite reach her eyes. "Sleep well. I know you're going to be a beautiful bride."

Isabella waved and watched Mila until she climbed into the backseat of the Uber driver's car. I made the right decision, she thought, going back inside.I love JJ. I do. This is the life I always wanted.

But that night as she lay in bed, it was not her future husband who featured in her dreams. Instead, Isabella secretly dreamed of making love to a sexy Russian redhead – a dream that would never come true.

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

AUTHOR'S NOTES: I hope you enjoyed the story! This fic was written for the Yuri! On Ice Rare Pair Week, Day 3: Announcements/Secrets. I'm doing something fun for this year's Rare Pair event – six Mila one-shot romances, all shipping her with a different character. Next up, Mila/Leo!

Feel free to follow me on Tumblr! My username is kaleidodreams.