DISCLAIMER: This is a work of fanfiction produced for entertainment purposes only. Yu-Gi-Oh! and all related characters are the creations of Kazuki Takahashi.
AUTHOR'S NOTE: This part is dedicated to my good friend Cheryl, for without her it would never have happened. This part revolves around two suggestions that she made and that I thought were so hilarious that I just had to add them in somewhere along the way.
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Part 14: Mai and Joey
By Shadow's Mirror
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"Joey! Joey! Over here!" Mai waved and the blonde boy quickly headed over to her.
"Hey Mai! I'm glad I ran into you. Um… about before..." Joey grinned nervously but Mai wasn't listening.
"Joey, you're just the guy I wanted to see." Grabbing his arm, Mai started leading Joey through the department store.
"So… does that mean you believe me about what happened earlier?" Joey hurried to keep up.
"Oh, I believe you." Mai kept pulling him along, never veering off course.
"Great!" Joey grinned. Mai was distracted, but at least she wasn't smirking at him like she had been right after finding him and Téa together in the park an hour earlier.
"Yeah. Téa has much better taste." Mai turned her head and smirked at him.
"That's right… Hey!" Joey protested at the insult but he didn't really mind it. If Mai was joking with him, then maybe he hadn't totally wrecked his chances with her after all!
"So anyway, Joey, I'm glad you agreed to help me. I really need you." There was a flirtatious tone to Mai's voice that caught Joey's attention. It was even more obvious than usual. Joey perked up.
"Well, you came to the right guy!" He grinned, puffing his chest out proudly. Maybe that little incident with Téa had made Mai realise that he was more than just a boy. The more he thought about it, the surer he was. Hey, the way his luck was going, this could turn out to be a lot of fun!
"It's right over here." Mai pulled Joey to a stop behind a rack of dresses, out of view of passers-by.
"Huh? Here? You wanna do it in the middle of a department store? Man… and I thought some of my fantasies were weird… Still, if that's what you want…" Joey shrugged. He had it all figured out. Mai wanted him. Bad. Either that, or she was really overdoing it with her 'flirt and tease' routine.
"Fantasies? What are you talking about?" Mai stared at him in surprise and Joey sighed. She really needed to tone down her routine. Still… maybe her surprise was her way of acting coy? There was only one way to find out… Joey took a deep breath and dived in.
"Isn't that why you needed me? So you and I could… you know…" He inwardly winced as he chickened out at the end. But he just couldn't bring himself to say it out loud. It was one thing to say things like that to her in his dreams… but she wasn't actually there then!
"What?" Mai blinked. It took her a moment to work out what he was talking about. It would have taken her longer, but she knew Joey well enough to go straight to the most probable explanation. "Oh please! As if! What, just because you're currently two-for-two you think you're suddenly a kiss-magnet or something? You wish!" She gave him her patented 'hon, you're way out of your league' look. That look had quelled many a man's interest in her. Usually it left them crying. But she knew it wouldn't have that reaction on Joey. She'd used it on him a few times before.
"Hey! There's no need to get insulting." Joey frowned at her for a moment and then shrugged, brushing off the look without a moment's thought. It was Mai, she was always insulting people. That was just how she was. Besides… she'd just summed up his thoughts exactly. "So what do you need me for then?" He filed his fantasy away for later consideration and gave Mai his full attention.
"I just wanted a guy's opinion on a skirt I'm thinking of getting…" Joey looked smug. "But since Tristan's busy right now I guess you'll just have to do instead," Mai finished with a smirk.
"Hey!" Joey scowled at her. His irritation was quickly forgotten though, as Mai picked something off a nearby table and turned to face him.
"So… how about it, Joey?" She held the skirt up against her. It was bright purple denim with a chunky silver buckle that was almost as wide as the material. "Do you think it will suit me?"
"Uh…" Joey's eyes were riveted to the skirt. The incredibly short skirt. His mind immediately filled with visions of Mai in it. The mental image had the rare effect of rendering him speechless. "Uh…"
"I'll take that as a yes. Thanks Joey!" Mai gave him a smug smile and blew him a kiss. She started to walk away. Joey blinked and shook his head, the sight of Mai leaving bringing him out of his mental overload. Suddenly feeling a little dizzy, he put his hand out to steady himself and felt smooth paper under his palm. The sign on the table must have come unstuck at some point and someone had picked it up and lain it face down. Joey idly looked at it. His eyes widened in shock.
"Um… Mai… I think you might want to have a look at this." The shakiness in Joey's voice made Mai turn around. The look on his face persuaded her to look at the sign in his hands.
The sign read, 'This table only! All designer belts 50% off.'
Mai blinked and looked thoughtfully at the item in her hands. It was true, her potential new 'skirt' was indeed a very wide belt. One of the new zippered ones where the buckle was just for show.
"Huh. Well what do you know? It's half price! I guess this must be my lucky day. Now I can get my skirt and that new pair of boots I was looking at!"
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