Thanks for all the reviews! I do hope you keep reading this story. By the way, have you guys read the book "The Vincci Code"? It's a really good book, though most of the stuff written there might shock you. I haven't read it myself, but my dad & brother has and they said it's really good...and shocking. It's out now & you can see it in bookstores including Borders (my favorite bookstore! lol) Anyways, here's chapter two. Don't forget to review!

Chapter Two: The Bet

"Do you mind if I steal Mimi for a dance?" Matt tried not to look too pleased aas he interrupted the dance.

"Of course not, Matt."

Both men knew he lied & they each knew that the other knew.

Matt grinned. "Thanks."

Joe looked at the man with cold eyes which warmed noticeably as he looked at Mimi. "I'll see you later, & maybe we'll go for that midnight swim."

She giggled like a school girl. Matt was forced to look & see where his Mimi had gone.

"I'll keep that in mind."

Side by side they watched as Joe left the dance floor & was accompanied by Jun.

"I'll keep that in mind." Matt mimicked her high-pitched voice before laughing as he swung her into a dance. "What was that all about?"

"Shut up, Ishida! It's none of your business."

He thumped one large fist against his chest. "You hurt me deeply, old pal of mine. You're not honestly going to tell me you like that man?"

"And why shouldn't I? He's a charming, handsome, sophisticated, rich man. So naturally I'm going to find him completely gross!"

"Don't tell me...that would be another of those quaint American sayings, wouldn't it?"

She poked his shoulder before placing her hand there. "You are such a jerk. I don't even know why I like you at all. Can you remind me?"

He leaned down towards her, his voice low & intimate. "Because deep down you truly love me & you know it, that's why."

Mimi shook her head, but her eyes softened & a smile was teasing the corners of her mouth. "Well, if that's what you want to think, you just keep living the dream."

They were silent for a moment as the music slowed & hung on the warm evening air. Matt glanced up at the newly formed curtain of stars above them & sighed. "Jun Motomiya says the man's a well-known womanizer."

"She's the girl that would know, right enough.'

He smiled down at her. "Meow! Seriously, though, wouldn't you rather know that, one way or another?"

Mimi raised one eyebrow & looked at him straight in the eye. "Maybe he's changed. Maybe he wants to settle down & meet someone genuine. Has that ever occurred to you inside that overprotective head of yours?'

If any thought occurred to him it was only the irritating one that recognized that Mimi might have an interest in Mr. Joe "Smarmy" Kido. And he, Yamato Ishida, didn't like that idea at all. But then, that was only because…as Mimi pointed out…he was her protector. It was his job. Yeah, that was it.

"There's one way to find out for sure."

Her chestnut brown eyes narrowed. "Oh, yeah, & what might that be?"

"Jun thinks he'll be more interested in you if he thinks you're involved with someone else." He couldn't look at her in the eye. "And apparently half the town already thinks you're involved with someone else, so that could be why he approached you in the first place."

Mimi noticed that he couldn't meet her gaze & she knew she wasn't going to like where the conversation was headed. "Who do they think I'm involved with?"

Matt cleared his throat & found his eyes focused on her mouth for some unknown reason. "Me."

She burst out laughing. "You're kidding? That is so ridiculous. You & me? As if!"

"Well, that's what happens when you're sharing a house with one of the town's most eligible men." He raised his chin indignantly, his dark eyes sparking with barely hidden irritation. "Not everyone looks at me & sees some elder brother figure, all safe & reliable."

"Safe & reliable…oh, yeah, that's how I see you right enough." She was still laughing.

Matt's anger rose. "Well, maybe if you just took the time to notice you'll see that I'm actually not that damn bad!"

Her eyes widened at the hard edge of his voice. He was angry at that she thought the idea of her being attracted to him was ridiculous? No, that just couldn't be. No way, not her Matt. Not her 'safe & reliable' Matt. She blinked at him.

He glared down at her. Mimi smiled, attempting to ease the sudden tension between them. "Poor baby."

Matt's eyes softened a little bit & she sighed with relief. "Look, Ishida, Joe Kido seems like a perfectly nice guy. I don't see what you have against him."

"I have platy against him if he's chasing after you for some one-night affair."

Mimi frowned up at him. "You don't know that!"

"How do know he's not?"

She shook her head. "You're being really stupid about this."

Matt smiled sarcastically. "You wanna bet?"

"Matt, quit it."

"No, c'mon Mimi." He squeezed his arm tighter against her waist, drawing her body closer to his. "If you're so convinced that he's such a nice guy then you should stand by your beliefs."

She allowed her body to move in time with the music, matching the gentle sway of his hips. "And how exactly do I do that, then?"

Matt's smile was slow, & a challenge was lighting up in the back of his eyes. "By proving me wrong. Go out with me, pretend we're a couple for three months, & we'll see just how nice a guy Mr. Joe Kido is. If he continues chasing you then you'll know exactly what his intentions are, & that'll prove me right about him."

The air was forced out of her lungs. "You're crazy!" She glared at Matt in amazement as he pulled her off the dance floor towards the walkway at the park.

He knew the signs of an impending Tachikawa explosion & decided the further away she was from the crowd, the lass fallout would be. "It's not like you to go chicken on me, Tachikawa."

"Chicken?"

"Yeah, chicken." He stopped & stared down at her. "If you don't think you can handle the fact that I'm right, as usual, than say so."

Snatching her arm away from him, she marched to the darker end of the walkway. Once there she turned to face him so quickly that he almost crashed into her. "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…"

She continued pacing. "It's the most stupid suggestion you've ever made, Ishida, & you should know that, for crying out loud!"

"Tachikawa…"

She stopped again & looked up into his eyes. "I mean, honestly, what makes you think for one second we could fool anyone?"

Matt frowned at her. "I think the girl protests too much."

"And just what does that mean?"

"Maybe you're too scared to kiss me."

Her eyes widened, fire glinting in their depths. "Me? Scared of you? What in the hell is there for me to be scared of?"

He stepped closer, his body almost touching hers. Towering over her smaller frame until any dim light was almost obscured, he leaned down towards her. "Maybe you might just LIKE kissing me."

"You wanna bet?"

"Well, actually, yes, I do." His gaze was steady. "I thought we established that fact."

Her mouth gaped open. "I don't believe this. As if I'd LIKE kissing you, of all people! Like as in enjoy? Like as in, participate…"

He did the only reasonable thing he could think of to shut her up. He pulled her body to his & kissed her.

At first Mimi couldn't believe what he was doing. This was Yamato Ishida. The Matt she had known for over half her life. The Matt, who along with her soulmate Michael, had managed to alternately torture, humor & protect her most of the way through her late teens. They had been the three musketeers back then.

She thought she knew Matt better than anyone else on the planet. It should have felt like kissing a brother, but somehow it didn't. It felt…well, it felt nowhere near as kissing a brother. In fact, it was good.

This just couldn't be right. Matt couldn't believe he was doing what he was doing. He was actually kissing Mimi! Hello, earth calling Matt? What was he doing? Goodness, he as kissing Mimi. And damn, but it felt good…too good. He moved his mouth over hers & felt her sigh against his lips. She was so warm, & sweet-tasting, & soft, and…

"Oops! Sorry Mr. Ishida." There was a childish giggle. "We didn't see you there."

They pulled away from each other, both staring at the two children who appeared by their side. Matt found his voice first. Well, he assumed it was his voice. The sound certainly seemed to come out of his mouth, so it pretty much had to be his. "That's okay, kids. Don't worry about it."

The children looked backed from Mimi & then to Matt & then back at Mimi again. The black-haired girl waved at Mimi before turning back into the party with her brother. "See," her voice was more than the usual whisper, "Mommy said they were going together. Let's tell her she's right."

Her brother's voice got louder as they moved further away. "I'm telling her first!"

"No, you're not! I am!"

Matt stared into the darkness as if he could still see them while Mimi stared at his broad back. "Ishida…"

"Well, I guess that takes care of the kissing part. They seemed fairly convinced." He turned to look at her. "Don't you think?"

"Oh, you…you'll just do anything to prove a point, won't you?" The burst of laughter sounded false, even to her own ears. For the first time in very long time she felt awkward in his company. "But surely you can see this is a really dumb-ass idea?"

With only a moment's hesitation he reached down to frame her face with his large hands, forcing her to at him. "Protest noted, but c'mon Tachikawa." He smiled a lop-sided smile at her, the one most women find so sexy. "It'll be fun, besides; we've done more stupid bets before. Since when have you ever chickened out to one of our bets?" He raised one eyebrow. "Unless you're prepared to admit I'm right about Joe."

They stared at each other for a few seconds. Then, suddenly afraid that he might try to convince her some more, Mimi moved back out of his hold. She had never turned down one of Matt's bets. Never allowed him the upper hand in their long relationship, & she wasn't about to start now.

She liked Joe Kido, for crying out loud. He was the most attractive man she'd met in a long while. And she could think of nothing more that proving Matt that he was wrong about him. So if that meant she'd have to play pretend for a few months then she could manage that. Piece of cake. And once this bet is over, Matt would surely pay.

Raising her chin to look at him, she smiled calmly. "Okay, Ishida, you're on. Let's just hope…" she moved close to him to brush an imaginary speck of dirt from his shirt, "you can take the heat."

Matt stared at her, his throat suddenly dry. What had he started? From all the bets they've done, he knew that his payback would be a nightmare. Mimi would make sure of that.

He grinned. "Bring it on."

AN: Matt & Mimi calling each other by their last name is just part of their very long friendship. I hope you liked this chapter. Don't forget to review! Chapter 3 is coming up next!

PnkSaKuRaSyAoRaNS2 – hey, please check your e-mail because I just sent you a message. Something about you being an extra here, so give me a shout when you get it, okay? Thanks for the review! Janay & riven – I'm so glad to hear from both of you again! You truly kept your word when you said you're going to check this out, & I'm very impressed! Thumbs-up! Koumi – if you find the title cheesy then you better not read it.