You know that new story I was talking about? Well, I decided to post it on this chapter, & probably on the last chapter, so you guys can see what's in store for you on my next Mimato fic. I got it on this book I've read. (If ever you're wondering, I've read a lot of books & novels. I love to read, but I don't consider myself a bookworm. Reading is just one of my hobbies.)
Janay – yup, shocking huh? But it's true, Matt was the one who did it. mystic – that's good to hear, & yes, I do have some flamers, but I'm pretty used to it by now. Pink-writer – glad to know you like it. Keep R&R! just4reviews – I told you I got some stuff left up my sleeves. Anyways, Joe knew Tai because Mimi introduced them…oh, you'll find out in this chapter. I do hope to see you in my next story, actually I placed a small scene at the bottom for you to see if you like it. Riven, BetterDeadThanAlone – thanks! You'll find out how Matt reacts to this one. Will he deny the accusations? Read & find out!
Chapter Seventeen
He was mistaken, Mimi told herself. That was the only possible answer. Joe certainly had not witnessed the confrontation, or hear Michael's feeble explanations. But Mimi had been there, & she knew exactly what did...or didn't...happen.
Yet Joe seemed so sure of himself that she almost doubted her own perceptions. Was it logical to think that this entire tale could have risen out of nothing more than his own jealous feelings? He surely must have had some cause.
Tai told me…
That much was possible, Mimi admitted, because Joe indeed knew Tai. Mimi introduced the two of them not long after the double-wedding-that-wasn't, when Tai & Sora first started looking for financing to buy a house.
…He thought it was a great practical joke.
And she had to concede that was possible, too. Tai was reliable & steady now that he settled down with Sora. There had been a point in his life when he might well have thought that sending a gift package of exotic dancers to a bachelor party was a hilarious trick. Mimi didn't get the humor, but perhaps it was one of those guy things that no woman could ever fully understand.
But to tell another man about it…how well did Tai know Joe, anyway? Well enough to share that kind of back-slapping tale about his best friend? Surely not, unless perhaps Tai himself had been involved, & he was bragging about his own idea rather than Matt's. Maybe Tai only dragged Matt into it to keep Sora from finding out…
This, she thought, was getting much too complicated. The room felt hot, crowded, & noisy. Mimi looked around, hoping to see a path to an open window or a door where she could get a breath of fresh air, & abruptly realized that while she'd been absorbed in Joe's story, Willis vanished.
She wondered for an instant if Jun discovered why he was there & thrown him out. Unlikely, Mimi decided, because if she suspected, Mimi herself would have probably gotten the kick-out right along with him. That should have been a relief, but it left her wondering where he'd gone instead. There were ten rooms in Jun Motomiya's house & Mimi had no idea which direction he'd gone or where to start looking.
Matt appeared beside her. "Sorry that discussion took so long. They like Jun's house so well they're thinking of building one themselves. Where's Willis?"
"I lost him," she admitted.
"How did you lose him? He was right behind us."
"I got so incredibly involved in this story Joe was telling me that I forgot to keep an eye on Willis."
"If it was good enough to take your mind off your client, you'll have to share it sometime."
"If I can remember all the details." She faced Matt squarely. "But perhaps you've already heart it. it was about a bachelor party & a bunch of exotic dancers."
"I hope it had a good punch line." He sounded almost absentminded, & he was looking around as if searching for Willis.
"I was more interested in the cast," Mimi said. "You see, Joe told me you & Tai are the ones who sent the dancers to Michael's bachelor party."
"I wonder what would make him say that."
So it wasn't true after all. But not until relief oozed through Mimi's muscles did she realized how tense the whole thing had made her. How stupid it was for her to get so upset over something Joe told her, something that he so obviously misunderstood. After the way he assumed that a few dates gave him the right to know where she was all the time, she should have known better than to credit anything he said.
And yet…there had been something in matt's voice which set off warning chimes in her head. Surely he should have been shocked by the accusation, not just mildly surprised…
"Because," Matt said levelly, "Tai didn't have anything to do with it."
The words struck her with the force of an explosion. Mimi could feel the carpeted floor rocking under her feet. "Meaning, you…did it?"
He looked her straight in the eye. "Yes, I did."
Joe was right then. He was absolutely right…for he had not accused Tai at all, only Matt. that extra part of the story had come from her own analysis, her own reasoning. Your own attempt to dilute the responsibility & make excuses for Matt. If his best friend was in it, too, then he didn't seem as guilty.
She took a breath, preparing to slice him with the edge of her tongue, but instead she heard herself asking what must be the stupidest question of all time. "Why didn't you ever tell me?"
Matt's voice was very low. "You never asked me till now."
"Oh, sure…like I went around asking everyone I knew about who did it!"
"Mimi, come one, I did you a favor."
She pounced. "Then why weren't you eager to stand up & take credit for it? Don't be a hypocrite, Matt."
"Would you have gone ahead & married him if you'd known he didn't hire the call girls himself?"
"I never thought he hired them."
"Then what difference does it make who paid the bill?"
Mimi bit her lip, trying to get it clear in her own mind. However the dancers had gotten to the party, the fact was that Michael had thoroughly enjoyed them. That was the reason she called off the wedding. But that fact didn't make Matt's action innocent & squeaky clean. "Because it was a dirty trick, Ishida."
"No, it wasn't. I provided the temptation, yes. But he's the one who decided to surrender to it."
"Obviously we'll have to agree to disagree on that one. Why did you do it, anyway? You weren't even there to watch the fun."
"You think I'd want to watch him make a fool of himself?"
"Then why bother? Because you were curious? Because it gave you some kind of cheap thrill?"
"Well, I wouldn't call it cheap." He obviously saw her eyes narrow, for he added hastily, "I'm sorry, Mimi. I shouldn't have said that."
"You know precisely what I mean. Having power & playing with people's lives…"
"I didn't make him do anything. I don't know why you're getting so upset about something that's…"
"Don't you dare tell me this is none of my business."
"I was going to say, something that's over & done with. You told me yourself you'd put it all behind you & you didn't want to talk about Michael…or even think about him…any more."
"That was when I thought it was only me we were talking about. Before I knew you were involved." She squeezed her eyes shut, trying to stop the hot prickle of tears. "It was just a joke to you, wasn't it? Like a beer chugging contest. 'Let's see if we can make Michael act like a jackass.' Did you place bets on it? Start a pool about how long he'd hold out?"
"Mimi, come on, you're upset…" He reached out for her arm.
"You bet I am!" She pulled away from him. "When you see Willis again, tell him to take a cab back to the hotel & send me the bill."
She never before realized how much of an advantage it was to be slim, but she could slide through gaps in the crowd that Matt could never fit through. She was out of the front door before he was able to cross the room. She left her jacket in Jun's guest room, & her car felt frigid…or was that just the aftereffect of the shock she had? She was trembling so hard it was difficult to even start the car. But she had to get away from Warrington…get away from Matt.
It would be awful if Matt came after her & found her crying. And it would be even worse if he didn't bother to follow her at all. She drove past the art museum, past the Train station, & past the stark column of the Odaiba Memorial. Finally she parked her car on the plaza beyond the memorial, where she could look at the lights of the city, each turned into a starburst by the tears in her eyes.
So this was the answer. After two years, endless self-questioning, & hundreds of crumpled tissues, she finally knew exactly why she & Michael didn't make it to the altar.
But deep down, it wasn't regret over her failed engagement that was gnawing at her. No matter what the source of his excuse had been, Michael had shown his true colors at the bachelor party. She made the right decision…the only one she could have lived with. Better a short-term embarrassment than a long-term disaster.
What was bothering Mimi was the reason Matt did it. It hadn't been because he cared about her, but because he'd been mildly curious about what would happen if he pulled a few strings. She had fallen in love with a man who looked at her as if she were some sort of laboratory animal. Someone who thought her life was merely an interesting kind of experiment.
It took effort, but Mimi kept a smile on her face as she helped Sora with the final preparations for the twins' birthday party. There were two cakes to set out, two piles of packages to arrange, two bunches of party hats to assemble, & a limited time to do it all before the babies woke from their nap & the guests started to arrive.
She was standing on a stepladder hanging crepe paper streamers over the dining room table when Sora said casually, "Did Matt tell you he's going to bring over a helium tank to do the balloons?"
It was almost a relief to have it out in the open, because Mimi had been waiting for the mention of his name ever since she arrived. Frankly, she was surprised that Sora was patient for to two hours before indulging her curiosity.
Not that Mimi was going to rise to feeble bait. "He didn't mention it. But then I haven't seen him for a couple of weeks."
She also wanted to say that on the last occasion she had seen Matt, he did not see her. When he came by the real-estate office to drop off the jacket she left at Jun's party, she was standing beside Yolei's desk & spotted his SUV in the parking lot. So she pleaded with Yolei to cover for her, & Mimi went for the ladies room…
"He hasn't been hanging around here much," Sora said. "And when you said you weren't bringing Joe to the party, I thought maybe…"
"You mean you added two & two and got sixteen, right?"
Sora shot a sideways look at Mimi. "You can't blame me for hoping."
Mimi told herself to keep everything casual, to appear relaxed, to react just as she would have a few weeks ago…back when she & Matt were still acquaintances. If she could only remember how things had been back then…
Just acquaintances. But she realized that wasn't quite true. Even in the early days, when she hadn't been paying conscious attention to Yamato Ishida, he'd still drawn her like a magnet. Why should she have cared how he looked at her? Why would she even notice the expression on his face whenever he spotted her?
Because you were already painfully aware of him, she admitted. Because you already wanted him to look at you very differently. Without wariness, without bemusement…and with love.
She kept her voice light, but it took effort. "Cut it out, Sora, or I'll tell Matt you're a Machiavellian matchmaker…that you arranged for that virus to hit the cruise ship, & that you broke the dishwasher on purpose so he'd come over here & spend time with me."
"If I thought it would work," Sora said comfortably, "I might have done exactly that. You'd make a great couple, you know."
I thought so too…for a while. Mimi climbed down off the stepladder & inspected her work. "I think that'll do. If we're finished with the ladder, I'll take it back to the garage."
"Yes…& would you bring in the ice cream from the freezer? I told Tai to leave it out there."
Mimi was halfway out the door when she saw that Matt's SUV was in the driveway. He must have arrived while she was decorating. The garage door was open, and he & Tai were inside, filling balloons from a tall tank of helium. Apparently he'd been there for a while because there were already a bunch of balloons piled in a huge box.
And he'd obviously seen her. It was too late to retreat, for it would create far too much interest if she tried to dodge him. So she pasted a smile on her face & went on to the garage.
AN: Sorry, guys, but I have to cut this chapter short. Don't worry, though, coz the last chapter will be longer. Anyways, there's tension between our favorite couple. You'll find out the real reason why Matt did what he did. Is there a chance that these two could get together? See for yourself on the last chapter. Thanks again for all the support. Love you guys! (FYI: My 18th birhtday's on Saturday! Yay!)
Here's the NEW story I was telling you about. I'm gonns give you a sneak peak on one of the scenes in the Bet Gone Wrong (that's the title!). I hope you like it!...
"You've had a lot of crazy ideas in your time, but this one definitely gets the award."
He folded his arms across his chest & waited.
"I mean, you & me…a couple? Who's gonna believe that?"
He sighed. "Mimi…"
"And to suggest that we'd ever be able to fool anyone…I mean, there are days we have difficulty just getting on well enough to still like each other as friends!" She started pacing in front of him.
He sighed again. "If you'd just…"
"We'd have to be able to look at each other without sniggering every two minutes. And as for the kissing thing…" She stopped pacing long enough to waggle a finger at him. "You do realize if we were actually dating we'd be expected to kiss &…well, other stuff like that…"
There was a deadly silence as they stared at each other in shock. Matt swallowed hard. "I know that…"
