Sorry for the long delay, I swear my computer's broken. It keeps freezing & there's some sort of virus or something! It needs to be fixed. I'm lucky to be able to update this one. I'm trying to earn money to buy myself a new computer, good thing I'm not in school yet. Anyways, I wasn't able to read all your reviews. Like I said, my computer keeps freezing & shuts down every sixty seconds. It took me a few tries to post this one.

Where were we? Oh, yeah! Here's the much awaited chapter. For all those who doesn't enjoy reading a little bit of fluff, feel free to skip it. But it's gonna be good...hehehe!

Chapter Ten: Can't Take It Anymore

Despite everything, Mimi still cared about Michael's feelings. But she never wanted him to leave more in her entire life. It was just that it felt as if he was in the way. If it weren't for a desperate need to save Matt any pain she would have told him to get lost by now. But she still felt that in hurting Michael's feelings, she'd be hurting Matt too. And she just couldn't do that.

For the last couple of days, she & Matt had been sneaking around like two hormonal teenagers. It was only a matter of time before Michael would open his eyes for a moment or two & notice what was happening right under his nose. And then what would they say? Sorry, Michael, but until we spend a couple of weeks in the bedroom, we really can't decide whether or not this is just lust, so we decided to keep it quiet.

But still, she had to admit lust was certainly involved in the whole thing in a big, BIG way. The Mimi she had been a few weeks ago would have been amazed at the effortless manner in which Matt could send her body into waves of longing & frustration. The new Mimi simply wanted more...and soon.

Maybe she should have been spending time considering the repercussions of making love with her best friend, but all she knew was that she wanted him. She never experienced that depth of longing before & it was simply amazing. She thought about the twenty minutes they spent in his office that lunchtime, & she smiled. It was like being two kids discovering each other for the first time. Touching & tasting felt SO good.

Sora watched her for half an hour & then could take no more. "You're like the Cheshire cat. You two did it, didn't you?"

"Sora!"

Sora placed her hands on her hips. "I'm not stupid, Mimi. I've seen that look before...I even wore it a few times. You have the look of a woman who has been well & truly satisfied."

Mimi look affronted. "I have been no such thing."

"Oh, yes, you have."

"Sora, we didn't do it." She stared at her straight in the eye. "I swear."

Sora considered her carefully. Mimi looked away, making herself busy with paperwork.

"Then why are you smiling so much?"

Mimi grinned. "Life, I guess."

"Right, that's it." Sora's tone was full of sarcasm.

A couple of customers appeared, who kept them busy for half an hour.

"So can I assume things are going well with you & Matt?"

"You just don't quit, do you?" Mimi sighed.

"I'm your friend & I care about what's happening in your life."

She looked so hurt, Mimi could only tell the truth. "Things are going very well, thank you." She smiled again.

Sora positively glowed. "I knew it!"

"But don't you go planning the rest of our lives for us. We don't have a clue where it's going yet."

"But you two are together, right?"

Mimi looked around the shop before lowering her voice, "Yes."

Sora looked around the shop too, lowering her voice so only Mimi could hear. "Is it a big secret, then?"

"Uh, well, it's...complicated."

Sora raised her eyebrows. "In what way is it complicated? Matt's got a secret wife hidden away somewhere?"

Mimi tilted her head, sighing. "No."

"I think you should know this kind of suspense could put me into early labor."

Mimi looked around the shop again. "Well, it's like this..." She cleared her trhoat. "Michael kind of doesn't know." Sora stared at her. Mimi waited patiently for a moment before asking, "What?"

"We're whispering like little schoolgirls because you're too scared to tell your ex you're sleeping with his friend?"

Mimi frowned. "I am NOT sleeping with Matt."

"Not yet."

"Besides, when you put it that way it sounds stupid. It's not that simple, you know."

Sora sighed dramatically. "Then try explaining it to me."

Mimi glanced around the shop again. Then, with her back to the counter, she looked at Sora. "I just think it's better if he doesn't know yet, that's all. I mean, who knows if Matt & I will still be together in the next couple of weeks? This could become a really big mess if the whole world knew about it."

Sora studied her face. "What makes you so sure that you two won't work?"

"In the happily-ever-after sense?"

"Yes."

Mimi sighed. "Sora, why is this happening now? I mean, Matt & I have known each other for a long time. Why now?"

Sora shrugged. "Maybe it's just the right time. Maybe you two weren't ready for this until now."

"You mean this is FATE?"

"Something like that."

Mimi shook her head. "I started out like everyone else, believing in that 'meant for each other' crap. But I've BEEN in love, Sora...& trust me, not everyone gets the happily-ever-after ending you got. You & Tai were very lucky."

Another group of customers entered the shop, taking their time to look at everything & allowing Mimi a little time to think. She had never been in a relationship this complicated before. All the relationships she had were simple, clear-cut & in the end...failures. When she was with Michael, their relationship had been easy from the beginning. But it had never been the roller coaster ride she was experiencing now.

"You're a cynic. I can't believe I never knew that about you." Sora studied her as the last customer left. "Matt cares more about you than any other female in the world. Doesn't that mean anything to you?"

"And I care about him too, Sora. That's just the thing...don't you see? It never occurred to me that I'd be this attracted to him...well, you know." She blushed. "Physically."

Sora looked surprised. "Never?"

"Never...well, at least I don't think so."

"You're kidding?"

Mimi laughed wryly. "Just because you had a crush on him when we were teenagers doesn't mean I felt the same way."

"And why not?"

"Aw, come on, Sora." She moved away to fold some clothes the last customer was looking through. "I never looked at him that way. He was just...Matt. And then there was the Michael thing."

"Hmm," Sora pursed her lips. "Well, we both know what I thought of that at the time. I never understood why you hooked up with him in the first place." She sighed. "I guess we never want what's best for us when we're teens, do we?"

Mimi turned around to look at her. "What does that mean? Michael WAS best for me back then? Things just didn't work out, that's all. Even if I wanted Matt then, I couldn't have him for the same reason he couldn't have wanted me."

"I don't think either you or Matt would have been ready for a serious relationship then...but, Mimi, no one could ever quite figure out what it was with you & Michael. In the beginning you were crazy about him like he was a god or something. When he didn't notice you at first, you chased him harder. And then what happened, huh?"

"Chased? You think I chased after him? Doesn't that make me sound desperate? I was in love with Michael, for god's sake. I thought he was gorgeous. Matt was just...well, just an irritating friend who cared about me. I only saw him as a brother figure, that's all."

"If you say so," Sora shook her head. "But if you thought of him in a brotherly way then you wouldn't be where you are right now. You didn't look at him back then because he was right in front of your nose the whole time. There was no chasing involved, no mystery, no challenge. And maybe if you noticed him physically back then, you probably wouldn't be ready. I mean, think about it...would you have been ready for this when you were eighteen? Were things ever this intense with you & Michael? With Matt there were no questions of your love for him. With Michael there was. You should just think about that for a moment, girl."

Mimi stared at Sora with wide eyes. What if Sora was right? Matt was the only person constant in her life. She never thought of him in any other way, had she? When she was down, one phone call from him would pick her up again. Matt was her safety net & her voice of reason. There were even times he was her conscience. She needed him. Analyzing all those feelings, she have to look at their relationship in a new light. Was she really that blind?

And as for the intense nature of the physical compatibility they seemed to have...could she have dealt with it at eighteen? It would probably have frightened her to death. She never really knew what she wanted at eighteen. Well, no, that wasn't entirely true either. She THOUGHT she wanted Michael, & look where that got her...

"Hey," Sora squeezed Mimi's arm. "You okay?"

Mimi blinked at her & then smiled weakly. "This isn't helping, you know."

"Oh, gosh, I'm sorry. I don't mean..."

"I know," she patted her friend's hand. "I know that. It's just that my relationship with Matt has always been...well, rock-solid. And right now we're on shaky grounds. Nothing looks the same anymore."

"That must be quite scary."

"It is, but the truth is I can't stop it. I just have to wait & see where it's going."

Sora nodded. "And having Michael around makes it more difficult, right?"

"He'll try to be the voice of doubt. And it might hurt him to see us together like that, even after all this time." She looked down. "Matt would feel guilty about that."

"I understand."

Sora noticed someone outside. Looking through the shop's large windows, she saw Matt crossing the street towards the small cafe. "Well, whatever it is that's happening with you two, it certainly puts a smile on his face the way it is with you."

Mimi looked out & smiled. "Yeah, I guess it does."

Sora shook her head, laughing. "Oh, boy, you've really got it bad, haven't you? I bet you two will make it."

"Never, EVER bet on anything, Sora. Especially love. Trust me."

"Cynic."

"Realist."

"Whatever fits."

"Tachikawa, has anyone ever told you what a cynic you are?"

Mimi raised her head to look at him. "I, Ishida, am a realist."

Matt laughed. "Is that so?"

"I analyze things carefully, calculate the odds, & then approach the problem realistically." She blinked slowly to emphasize the point & then stuck out her tongue. "So there!"

He laughed harder, his chest vibrating beneath her hand. Since Michael & Kynna went out, they had been making the most of their momentary freedom. Watching a movie together wasn't anything new. But trying to watch a movie while lying across the couch, her head on his chest, her body close to his, & all their newfound sexual awareness surrounding them was definitely a new experience.

In order to take her mind off his wandering hands, she spent the last ten minutes explaining her theory as to why the two leading characters in this thriller movie weren't going to make it to the end without another momentous cliff-hanger. And so the debate had begun...

"Seriously, why shouldn't they make it through to the end & live happily-ever-after?"

Mimi raised her head again. "Life will inevitably conspire to get them." She smiled. "If not, then the scriptwriters sure as heck will."

"Like I said, you're a cynic."

"We are what we are. I just prefer to call it realism." She set her head down against his chest again & snuggled in closer to his side, one leg sprawling over his. "Lying on you is more comfortable than lying on this old sofa, you know. How come you kept that a secret?"

"Ah, now," one hand ran down along her back, sending tingles up her spine. "That's one of those things you didn't know about me."

She lifted her head to look down into his eyes. "Oh, is that so?"

Matt stretched upwards to kiss the end of her nose. "Well, you didn't know I was a good kisser, did you?"

She rolled her eyes as she chuckled. "So you think I don't know you...is that what you're saying?"

He nodded, moving his hand under the edge of her white blouse to touch the soft skin on her back. "Oh, you KNOW me, all right. But there are things about me that you don't know...just like there are things about you I don't know. And I really enjoy discovering it."

Her pulse went faster as his fingertips made small, light circles on her skin. Her body knew where those small touched would eventually lead, & she wanted it to go there...soon. "Like what kind of things, exactly?"

"Well..." his eyes became darker, "knowing a person as a friend is a bit different to knowing them as a lover, don't you think?"

"Yes," her voice became husky., "much different."

He smiled...a slow, lazy, amazingly sexy smile. "You see, it would never have occurred to me that your skin was THIS soft."

"I see," she snuggled closer, placing a light kiss on the edge of his mouth. "Go on."

"Or that your hair smelled this good."

She gave another light kiss. "That shampoo was worth every penny."

"Or that you tasted so good." He rolled over until she was between his body & the couch. "So good that I want to kiss you in places that no friend would ever..."

"Shut up, Ishida." She pulled his head towards hers, her fingers running through his smooth hair. If kissing had been an Olympic sport, they would probably be up for gold.

Warmth spread across her body as his tongue danced with hers. Never before had she been this ready to make love with someone. Mimi moaned deep in her throat. The frustration of their long sessions of heavy foreplay was beginning to take toll on her.

Matt knew he couldn't keep doing this without logical conclusion. The thought of making love with Mimi was one that never completely left his mind at any point of the day or night. It was like being nineteen all over again. His hand shook as he touched her, moving from her back to her stomach. With one finger he lightly touched the skin at the waistband of her sweatpants. He felt her gasp air from his mouth & his body hardened.

"Do you have any idea how much I want you?" He pulled his mouth from hers to ask the question.

She didn't answer. Instead, she licked her lips ever so slowly, & then she smiled.

Matt groaned. "If Michael doesn't go home soon, I swear I'll kill him while he sleeps."

"That's not very nice." She smiled seductively before kissing him again. As she nipped playfully against his bottom lip, she felt another groan deep in his chest. It was just too difficult to fight the temptation now.

Matt managed to open the buttons on the front of her blouse with one hand. His lips formed a smile against hers as he discovered lace. "If I knew you wore this kind of stuff under your clothes, I probably would never have kept my hands off you."

Long fingers brushed against her heated skin at the edge of her lacy bra. "How long did they say they'd be out?"

She gasped, her head arching back as his fingers continued their gentle exploration.

"How long, baby?"

When she looked into his eyes, she was lost. It was filled with desire & all Mimi wanted was to get lost in its depth.

Her voice was a husky whisper, "Long enough…"

AN: Sorry, I'm not sure if I used the right font/size. Please understand my current situation. I'm really sorry. Chapter Eleven will be up soon…hopefully. Don't forget to review.