And the story continues. Thank you guys so much for the reviews!

SOULMATES

CHAPTER TWO – As Long As It's a Date

Usagi sat in her History class tapping her pen on her notebook. Her chin rested on her hand and, although she was nowhere near paying attention to what her professor was saying, stared at the front of the classroom. Honest to God she was trying to listen and to take notes but her mind just would not wrap around the facts the professor was dishing out. Instead her mind was wondering what a certain man with no name was doing at this particular moment. Was he at the arcade talking to Motoki? Was he wondering about her as he tried to work just like she was so desperately trying to hear the teacher?

The blond sighed. It had been over a week since she talked to him. Over a week since they decided to go do something together and over a week since he so totally took her availability for anyone else to attract her by just one look. That's it, she thought slamming her hand on her desk, I'm going to talk to Motoki. Without thinking twice, she shoved her notebook in her bag along with her pen and threw the strap over her shoulder, stood up and walked out of the room. It was not until she was halfway to the arcade that she realized she actually left in the middle of class.

Crown Arcade was not busy around lunch time during the week. It opens at eleven o'clock everyday and closes at nine o'clock, except Fridays and Saturdays whenever it closes at eleven-thirty at night. Usagi walked to the bar and sat down, her bag hanging from her shoulders and rested at her hips. She folded her arms and leaned forward craning her head around behind the counter trying to find her friend.

"Motoki!"

"He stepped out for a minute."

Usagi jumped at the voice. She turned around in her stool and faced the one person that has been on her mind the most for almost two weeks now. "Hi," she said incredulously. She could barely believe that standing before her was the one person she had been waiting for.

He chuckled, "Hi."

They took in each other with their eyes, words at the moment just seemed like too much work. The days that had passed between the time Usagi had seem him last felt like a small eternity and her memory of him did not do him justice. She had forgotten the sharp angle of his jaw and just how rich his eyes were.

"Last time we talked about going for coffee?"

Usagi nodded, "Yeah."

"If I ask again, are you going to run off?" He asked.

Usagi shook her head.

He turned around and walked across the room with deep strides. He looked back at her, "You coming?"

The blond hopped off the stool she was sitting in and rushed to his side. She smiled at him, "You bet."

The two walked in silence for a while. They were so close together that their arms brushed against each other and though both Usagi and he were wearing jackets the electric jolt that passed through them every time they touched was undeniable. She swore she knew him from another time, at least that's how it felt, even though she didn't know his name.

"What's your name?" Usagi spoke up this time as the thought once again returned to her.

He laughed, "Mamoru."

"Mamoru…" Usagi let his name travel off her tongue. It felt wonderful to know his name and to be able to speak it. After all this time and all the stupid names she came up with for him, Mamoru fit. She felt his eyes on her and she didn't even have to look at him to know he was smiling, even though she did just so she could look at him again. "What?"

"Are you going to tell me your name or am I going to have to guess?"

"Oh, it's Usagi."

"Well, Usagi," Mamoru stated as an excuse to say her name. "I'm sorry I didn't let you know sooner."

"I'm sorry I ran off as fast as I did the other day."

Mamoru led them to a quaint place on The Strip. The Strip was the main street with independently owned shops and restaurants. It was a great place to come and eat and spend a whole day with friends or family. There was even a grassy knoll at the end of the strip with swings, slides and jungle gyms for kids to play. On The Strip there were plenty of things for just about anyone to enjoy. Inside the restaurant took Usagi by surprise. The place was gorgeous with wood floors and dark drapery. She looked up at Mamoru who just smiled back at her.

"I thought we were just getting coffee?"

"I changed my mind." His devious smile was making Usagi's head spin. "How about dessert and coffee?"

"At a place like this?" Usagi asked raising her eyebrows.

Just then a hostess came up and greeted the couple before leading them to the back of the restaurant and seated them. Once settled in her seat, Usagi opened the menu and looked it over. Her eyes widened as she read the title of one dessert after another. She glanced up at Mamoru who, once again, was just watching her reaction to everything. For some reason however, it did not bother her in the least bit that this man took in every single detail about her. Maybe it was because she wanted to do the same to him. Usagi wanted to know everything about this man. She wanted to feel him inside and out forever.

Usagi blushed at her own thoughts and bent her head back towards the menu. The words blurred together under her embarrassment but she managed to figure out what she wanted by the time the waiter even showed up at their table. After they ordered their desserts and coffee a quiet settled over them. Mamoru pulled out a cell phone from his pocket and pressed at the buttons. Usagi thought he was about to call someone and started to get extremely offended before he asked her for her number.

Calming her raging emotions, Usagi told him. Seconds later she heard her own phone ring and jumped. However, her phone did not ring long before it stopped and before she reached down to see who had called her Mamoru snapped his shut adverting her attention once again. She took a deep breath trying to calm her jumping nerves.

"Now you have my number," Mamoru stated. "Don't hesitate to call me because I'm not going to hesitate to call you."

"Okay," Usagi said. She meant it too.

Soon their coffees and sugary goodness was placed in front of them. Mamoru and Usagi talked well after they finished their desserts. After three rounds off sipping coffee, they finally decided to leave. Usagi glanced at her watch and noted that it was nearly two-thirty.

"I'm sorry but I really have to get to work," she said facing him outside the dessert house.

Mamoru nodded, "I'll be calling you."

"Okay." Usagi replied. She took a few steps away before turning back to him, "I'll be waiting."

Mamoru waved. Usagi turned back to face the oncoming herd of people as she made her way down the sidewalk. She smiled to herself as she thought about the phone call he would make later, hopefully, this evening. Her steps revealed her pep, her delight seeped through every pore. Maybe it was just her sugar and caffeine intake but Usagi was very doubtful of that theory. She was floating and falling at the same time. There was something about that man – about Mamoru – that just made her fatuous.

The hours she spent in the bookstore where Usagi worked went by at a moderate pace. She helped the customers and filed the books and put the new shipment out. Her mind was reeling over Mamoru as the rest of her continued to do what it was supposed to. After hours, when she was doing the last bit of cleaning up her phone rang. Usagi ran to her bag behind the desk and pressed send.

"Hello?"

"Hey babe, who're you thinking about?" a gruff voice whispered into the earpiece.

"Minako that isn't funny!" Usagi exclaimed with a sigh.

"No, no, I guess not," Minako said with a playful tinge to her words. "But we all know you were still thinking about that guy you've only seen once."

"Twice," Usagi corrected popping her gum.

"What?" Minako exclaimed so loud Usagi had to move the phone from her ear.

"I saw him again today," Usagi explained, "but I'll talk about it later. I don't want to have to repeat myself four times."

"Oh," Minako said in a tone Usagi recognized and could picture her friend waving her arm in the air. "Don't worry about that. You're on speaker phone."

Usagi laughed as she heard a chorus of 'hellos' through her line. The blond then pressed the phone between her shoulder and her ear to free up her hands so she could work as she informed her friends of the day's events. By the time Usagi was locking the shop up for the night she had finished her story and was answering her friends' questions.

"So, is he going to call you?" Ami inquired.

"I hope," Usagi replied. About that moment her phone beeped once indicating there was someone on the other line. Usagi looked at the screen and smiled when she saw Mamoru's name flashing. Her friends could hear her smile as she told them she would have to call them back. "Hey there," she said once she switched over.

"I was thinking Saturday evening we could go to the boardwalk."

Usagi's smile grew once she heard Mamoru's voice. "As long as it's a date."

"Oh, don't worry about that," Mamoru replied. "If I'm doing something with you it's a date."

They talked for a few more minutes as they settled for a time and she gave him her address. When they finally hung up Usagi was walking up the pathway to Rei's house where all of the girls were hanging out. She let herself in without a knock and found her friends lounging in the living room in front of the television.

"Guys," Usagi called and waited until she had their attention before she exclaimed, "I have a date!"