Chapter 15

"So…you're telling me that while I was schmoozing creepy men in suits, you were getting fucked against a wall by Seto Kaiba."

"I would hardly call Mokuba creepy."

Mary criss crossed her legs on Téa's sofa. "Still. You two got busy. You're lucky no one walked in on you."

Téa flushed a little. "I really hope Roland wasn't there for the whole thing, but if he was, I bet he's the reason no one did."

"At least he got a show," Mary quipped, sipping from her wine.

Téa threw a couch pillow at her making Mary hiss "Watch it!" her wine glass tipping precariously over the rug.

Téa let out a long sigh. "What do I do? I'm going to see him all the time now with the dance team. Mokuba is bound to pick up on something eventually, if he hasn't already," Téa whined, slouching against the couch. "This is a disaster."

Mary reached out a nudged Téa with her foot. "It's not that bad."

Téa gave her an unbelieving look.

"Ok," she amended, "it's bad. But, it's not the end of the world. Is it really so bad to have Seto Kaiba be interested in you?"

"No," Téa admitted after a beat. "But since when was he? I mean, I thought we were getting to be friends, if not friendly. And then he tells me we're not friends. Then, I'm pinned against a wall with him kissing me!"

Mary shrugged, snatching from the cheese platter Téa had laid out. "You know him better than me."

"Apparently not."

"What I can tell you," Mary said, regarding her seriously, "is that he's been interested long before the dinner."

Téa scoffed. "Don't be ridiculous."

Mary nudged her again. "I'm serious! I saw you two together. He looked at you all the time."

"In annoyance."

"In interest. He hides it better than most people, I'll give him that. But, Téa, he looked at you…he looked at you like you were the only person in the room sometimes. And if that wasn't enough, Mokuba non-so-subtly asking about if you were seeing anyone and if you ever said anything about Kaiba was a giant hint."

Téa sat for a minute, thinking about Mary's words. "Then…then what was with him at the dinner? And the opening?" she wondered aloud.

"I don't know. Maybe you should ask him."

"Are you serious?" Téa chuckled humorlessly. "I am not asking him. Hell, I don't even want to see him."

"You said yourself, you don't have much choice," Mary reminded her, waving her wine glass. "You're going to have to see him."

Téa closed her eyes and loudly groaned, hugging the couch pillow to her chest.

"Look, just go to his office and ask to see him." Mary suggested. "And please keep your temper in check."

Téa's face crumpled in confusion. "I don't have a temper."

Mary made a disbelieving sound and gave her a pointed look. "Amy Stettenborough."

"That was one time. And she was asking for it!"

"You dumped a drink down her dress. And then shoved her off her chair."

"She said the only dance move you could do was to open your legs! I was defending you!"

"And got us kicked out of the club!"

"Whatever, she still deserved it."

Téa's phone chimed and she reached for it. When she read the message she let out a long sigh.

"What is it?" Mary asked.

"Joey," Téa grunted. "He wants to come over to talk."

"Yugi did say he wanted to talk to you."

Téa sighed again and leaned back against the couch. Of course, she knew this was going to happen at some point. She just hadn't wanted to deal with it. She still wasn't sure what to say to him.

"I was supposed to meet Mokuba for a drink, but I can stay if you want," Mary offered, looking concerned.

Téa waved her off. "No, it's fine. I have to deal with this. Besides," Téa smirked suggestively, "I would hate to be a third wheel."

Mary rolled her eyes, setting her wine glass on the coffee table. "It's not a date."

Téa hummed, wiggling her eyebrows.

"Stop!" Mary laughed. "We're friends."

Téa let out an unladylike snort. "Oh, please. You two have so much tension, it's amazing that you haven't combusted."

"Fine, there's an attraction there," Mary admitted. "But, nothing's happened. He seems determined to keep things platonic."

"It's unlike you to be cautious about making a move yourself," Téa observed.

Mary stood, heading towards her coat tossed carelessly on the counter. "I don't want to mess things up." she said, finally. "If he wants to stay just friends and ignore our…chemistry, then I'm ok with that."

"Are you?"

"Yes," she said firmly. "So," she propped herself on the armchair of the couch, "if you want to join us feel free."

"I'll let you know. But, don't tell him I might come. He may get it in his head to invite Kaiba and that would just be a whole other mess."

Mary laughed, leaning down to hug Téa. "I promise, I won't. Good luck with Joey."

Mary left with a wave and a reassuring smile. Téa reluctantly picked up her phone and texted Joey he was welcome to stop by. He texted that he would be by in 30 minutes so Téa busied herself with picking up the discarded wine glasses and cheese. She had just finished wiping down the kitchen counter when a knock echoed in the apartment. Téa took a deep breath as she reached for the knob.

She attempted a tight smile which Joey Wheeler returned. She gestured for him to come in, and he took hesitant steps into the apartment. She didn't show him to sit down, instead walking into the kitchen and leaning against the counter, arms crossed.

"Been a while," she said, voice clipped.

"Yea, it has," he responded voice low. His blonde hair swished across his eyes as he placed his hands in his back pockets of his blue jeans.

She didn't say anything, simply watching him rock back and forth on his heels.

"I, uh," Joey cleared his throat loudly, "I'm here to say…that I'm sorry."

"For?"

"For going off on you after…you and Yugi."

"And?" she snarled.

"And…for what I said. At the tournament."

Her eyes didn't waver from his brown ones.

"It was uncalled for. And wrong. And…just really bad of me to say."

"Yes, it was."

"Téa," Joey pleaded, "I'm sorry. I…I lost my cool. And that's not an excuse. I shouldn't have treated you like that."

Téa brushed her hair behind her ear. It hurt to be so at odds with him. To ache at just hearing his voice again.

But she didn't allow those feelings to allow her spine to bend. "I don't understand how you could treat me like that. After all the years of friendship, everything we've been through together."

"I know," he replied, face crumpling.

"I just…don't know how to trust you again. Is this only because Yugi told you to apologize?"

"No," he replied forcefully. "No, I've felt terrible for weeks about what I said to you. Once I cooled down…I regret it, Téa. So much."

"I could understand Yugi's reaction," she thought aloud. "He was hurt. And angry. And disappointed. But…" she tightened her grip on her biceps. "He wasn't cruel. Not like you were."

Joey's frown deepened. "I know. I had no right to say those things to you."

She could tell he was genuinely sorry for what he said to her. Did she really want to throw away years of friendships because of a few harsh words? If she was going to keep her relationships with Yugi and Tristan, she was going to have to accept Joey back into the fold as well.

"I'm…willing to move forward. And try to be friends again."

Joey released an audible breath of relief. "Good…thank you. I'm not sure I deserve it, but I want to do better."

"I'm still mad," her voice hard. "But, I don't want angry words to ruin our friendship."

"I don't either," he said with a hesitant smile, but it dropped again."Um, but there is…I mean…about…about Kaiba."

Téa's muscles locked, bile rising in her throat.

"Is there…anything going on between you two?"

"Are you being serious right now?" she snapped.

Joey held up his hands in defeat, clearly not willing to risk his luck further."Look, just be careful with him. I don't want him to hurt you. I won't…I won't tell you what to do, but…he said some things. And I just want you to be careful," he reiterated.

"What did he say?" she asked, a little too sharply.

"We were trying to protect you," Joey said, hesitantly. "And we got into it with him. At the tournament."

"What did he say?" Téa asked again.

"Well, we told him to back off. And he told us to stay out of it," Joey gestured with his hands as he explained. "And we told him that we were your friends, we were protecting you. And he said something about…about us trying to keep you from his bed. And that you might be cheering for him in the next duel."

Téa took in a sharp breath, swallowing down the lump in her throat. This was all some kind of game to him. Some kind of ploy. Maybe they had been right and this was all just to get back at Yugi.

"Thank you for trying to stand up for me. But, I can handle Kaiba," she managed to force out.

Joey looked at her quizzically. "You ok? Did I…did I overstep again?" anguish tinging his voice.

"No, it's fine. I'm just tired from all the rehearsals."

She didn't mention the aching feeling inside her chest.