AN: It's my first day of classes, so I thought we'd all celebrate with a double dose :)
Chapter 10:
"Okay, so how about that one?"
All the girls turned to look at the man Makoto was pointing at. Minako scrunched up her nose in response.
"How old is that guy?"
"Old?" Makoto sounded wounded, "He's not old he's...oh wait...nevermind."
The girls all laughed at her disgruntled expression.
"The lights make it so hard to tell," she whined and Usagi patted her consolingly on the shoulder.
"It's okay, Mako-chan," she said soothingly, "I'm sure he was very good looking when he was younger."
"Yeah, like twenty years ago," Rei added, sarcastically.
Makoto simply huffed and stole some of Rei's drink.
"Oooo, what about that hottie?" Minako asked, shrewdly.
"Where?" Usagi asked, seeing as Minako wasn't even pointing.
"Over at the bar."
"At the bar?" Usagi squinted towards the other side of the room, but couldn't see anyone Minako might be talking about. "The only guy remotely attractive over there is Mamoru. Who are you – "
She turned to see Minako and Makoto grinning madly as Ami giggled behind her hand. Rei simply raised an eyebrow at her.
"Oh, very funny." She growled. "I've already admitted I find him attractive. What more do you guys want?"
"Attractive?" Minako put her drink down in exasperation, "Usagi, that guy is like god's gift to women everywhere!"
"They why don't you go after him?"
Minako rolled her eyes, "Because I'm not the one he's been staring at all night!"
"He has not been staring at me!"
"Usagi," Rei snapped, "you are either blind or completely in denial. Either way, it's really starting to get on my nerves."
Usagi huffed and crossed her arms with a pout. She had been doing a pretty good job of ignoring what had happened earlier with Mamoru, but it seemed being back with the girls meant everything was back to normal – including their ability to sniff out and dive into the exact topics she wanted to avoid.
She had wanted him to look at her, yes, to realize she was no longer the klutzy, crybaby she had been before, but she hadn't expected to be so affected by him. Oh he had noticed her, that was for sure – she had practically thrown herself at him! What had she been thinking?! Pushing her boobs up like that, trailing her fingers down his arm like a...like a hussy! Like Minako! What must he think of her now? She had given him so much ammunition! He must have thought she was desperate or crazy or easy or...
But he had responded, hadn't he? She had seen how he stared at her, watched her with heavy lids and a heated gaze that even now made her skin feel hot just by thinking about it. He certainly had what Minako would call a nice pair of bedroom eyes, that was for sure. She shuddered. It was all so…odd. She had never really been attracted to someone like this before, though she couldn't be completely surprised that she was reacting to Mamoru – he had always made her...uneasy. But that didn't mean she liked it. Or liked him!
But she couldn't deny the shiver that had coursed through her body, the heat that had coiled low in her belly, shooting straight down between her legs when he had pressed himself so intimately against her back. And when he said "Odango," that hated nickname, it had almost sounded like an endearment! A very sensual, very sexual endearment.
Oh dear lord, she was going insane! This was the very last thing she needed happening right now. Why did he have to come back and bring all those confusing feelings back with him? And what was she supposed to do with them?
"Don't look now," Makoto murmured, "but he's staring again."
Of course, this meant that, as one, they all turned to see Mamoru leaning against the bar and gazing in their direction. Usagi's stomach gave a traitorous flip and she surreptitiously wiped her palms on her thighs under the table. She could tell, even from this distance, that his eyes were on her. And god, they burned.
"He does seem...interested," Ami said.
Usagi snorted, "Nonsense – he's just trying to get under my skin."
"And is he?" Rei asked, sipping at her drink casually, but her eyes were sharp as she watched her friend.
Usagi flipped her hair, desperately trying to think of a witty retort, but ended up taking a large gulp of her drink instead, the burn down her throat matching the burning of her skin as her friends giggled at her.
She couldn't deny to them that she found Mamoru...alluring, but that didn't mean she wanted to admit it either. And his staring was definitely doing weird things to her ability to think straight. Or was that just the alcohol?
Did it bother her that he was blatantly watching her? Not exactly – part of her was quite proud actually. But another part of her couldn't help but whisper that he was only interested in her because of the dress Minako had forced her into, because with her hair up and the flashing lights she didn't look like herself. She certainly didn't feel like herself.
Of course, it wasn't like she wanted him to like her anyways! But then why did the it bother her so much that he wasn't really seeing her right now? Wasn't attracted to her, but to the sensual, confident woman she was pretending to be? It shouldn't have bothered her, but it did. A lot.
"Oh, shit."
Usagi was snapped out of her thoughts by Minako's voice with the horrible realization that she had been staring right back at Mamoru this entire time. And now, he was walking towards them.
She turned towards her friends for help, but the traitors were all either smiling or, in Minako's case, positively glowing with malicious glee.
"Usagi," she whispered harshly, as he moved ever closer through the dancers with a catlike grace, "if he asks you to dance you have to say yes!"
"What?" Usagi squeaked. Dance with him? Apparently she could barely talk to him without turning into a completely different person! This was not good, this was not good, this was not –
"Ladies."
Usagi closed her eyes as his voice, smooth and rich and deep, sounded from beside her and she unconsciously flushed in response. Oh, shit.
Mamoru had been standing with them, chatting about this and that for about five minutes now, and Usagi still had not able to make herself look him in the eyes. She had made it as far as his top button a couple times, and had even gotten as far as his chin once, but then she would chicken out and look away.
And while Minako had tried to drag her into the conversation multiple times, she had been able to, rather brilliantly she thought, deflect the discussion back towards one of her friends every time instead.
She just couldn't trust herself to speak very well right now, not when the heat of Mamoru's body was currently scrambling her brain. Why did have to stand so goddamn close to me?!
After sauntering over to them, he had leaned rather casually against Usagi's end of the booth, and she had already made the mistake once of leaning back and into the arm he had apparently draped behind her. The strangled yelp she had released upon making contact with his skin – leaping forward as if burned – had earned her a few raised eyebrows from her friends, so she had quickly started coughing to cover her mistake. Of course, being the gentleman that he was (even in her mind, this word was dripping with sarcasm), this meant that Mamoru decided to pat her on the back a few times and she swore his hand lingered a little longer and a little lower than it should have.
She then spent a good minute cursing Minako, her dress, Mamoru, his hands, and her apparently raging hormones before she could even pay attention to the conversation again.
If he didn't leave soon, she was pretty sure she was going to have an aneurism – either from nerves, stress, or coughing. Either way, death was coming soon and she thought she might welcome it with open arms when it did.
"So Mamoru," Minako's voice wormed its way into the haze of Usagi's thoughts and she glanced up, "have you been on the dance floor yet?"
Usagi stared in horror as her former friend slanted her eyes at her slyly. Yep, death would be a good option right now. Maybe she could take Minako down with her.
Mamoru chuckled from beside her and she fought back a delicious shiver.
"No, but that's not a bad idea."
She felt her eyes widen until she thought they would pop out of her head as his hand made its way to her back again, her breath catching in her throat as he leaned closer to her ear.
"Usagi, would you – "
"Usagi-chan!"
Everyone glanced up to find a young man about their own age walking toward their table with a grin. With only a hint of smoke, Usagi's synapses sparked back to life and she was able to recognize one of her co-workers.
"Oh, Seijuro," Usagi blinked in surprise and then quickly flashed a grin, "hi!"
"I saw you and thought I'd come over." The young man said as he arrived in front of her. Turning, he acknowledged the others at the table with a small smile. "Are these your friends?"
"Oh, yes!" Usagi shook her head – how did Mamoru manage to muddle her thoughts so easily? – and gestured towards them, "This is Aino Minako, Mizuno Ami, Hino Rei, and Kino Makoto, and this is Chiba Mamoru. Guys, this is my co-worker Ginga Seijuro."
She tried to ignore the way Mamoru's name tasted on her tongue as Seijuro greeted her friends. Had she imagined it, or had his gaze hardened a bit when it landed on Mamoru? And had Mamoru just inched closer to her?
She shook her head again; she must be imagining things. How many drinks had she had already? She had lost track somewhere after their third round which had included shots. Perhaps Makoto had gotten a little too enthusiastic.
"So have you been here before?"
Usagi smiled at Seijuro and shook her head. She had always gotten along well with the young brunette man, but that had been it. She had heard some of the women in the office swooning over him, but while she found him attractive, she didn't feel drawn to him at all. She had worried at times that he might have been interested in her, but he had never done or said anything she could react to in a way to show that she didn't return the feeling. And, overall, he was a nice guy. Still, sometimes it felt like his eyes followed her in a way she didn't really like. When Mamoru did it, it made her uneasy, but in an oddly pleasurable way. When Seijuro did it, it just made her feel...dirty.
"I heard a couple people mention the club and we thought we'd try it out." She replied, waving towards her friends. "What about you?"
"I've been here a few times and I didn't think I had seen you here before. It's nice though, right?"
Usagi nodded politely. She was about to tell him she hoped he had a good time and that she'd see him on Monday – always the easiest way to end an unwanted conversation – but before she could do so, he placed his hands on the table and leaned towards her.
"Would you like to dance?"
Usagi's mouth popped open in surprise and she thought she saw the line of Mamoru's chest stiffen, but when she glanced up at his face it was expressionless.
"Umm…"
"C'mon, it's only one dance. It'll be fun, I promise!"
Usagi nodded, not knowing what else to do, and was promptly pulled from her seat by the enthusiastic man. "Awesome! Let's go!"
She glanced back once at her friends, catching a slight frown on Minako's face, before she was swallowed up by the crowd.
AN: There is no Sailor Scout past here, so Seijuro is not an evil alien. But that doesn't mean we can't dislike him anyway :)
Please review!