What's up? What's up? I hope you all had agreat holiday. Back to school again...sucks, huh? hehehe...jk! I don't know if people still do this, but I made a New Year's Resolution list (I bet not even half of my list will come true...hahaha!) and acouple of the things I wrote down is to update quicker and think of more cool ideas for my stories. So I'll start my New Years Resolution list by updating this story. We're on chapter 13 people and we're almost done! Yay!

Thank you for all the people who gave me reviews and greeted during the holidays. I really appreciate you taking time to sit in front of your computer and read my stories. Your reviews and support mean a lot to me. Thank you, thank you, thank you! Much Love!

Chapter 13: Mimi's Wings

Matt held his impatience in check until three o'clock to call his sister-in-law, knowing the children would need time to wind down from the excitement of the party and settle into their afternoon nap. He didn't want Kari, or TK, distracted.

He dialed their number and waited for it to be answered. Finally someone picked up and a breathless Kari said, "Hi!"

"It's Matt. Where were you?"

"Cleaning up downstairs."

"How did the party go?"

"Oh, Matt! You'll never guess..."

"Guess what?" His skin prickled with anticipation. It had to have happened... Mimi's deception couldn't work any longer.

"The party went fine.And your suggestion to hire an act was brilliant. The children loved it..."

Get to the main point, Matt silently urged.

"But when the two performers arrived...Matt, one of them was Mimi Tachikawa! Remember her? The girl TK used to have alittle crush on when we were in junior high? She used to have pink hair..."

"Yes, I do remember." Matt didn't need anymore descriptions. He remembers her very well indeed. Game over, Mimi.

"TK and I were so surprised. We had no idea about her singing career. And she's good at it, Matt...really good. I wanted to have a chat with her but..."

"But what?" Matt almost jumped out of his seat.

"I don't think she was happy to see us."

"Why do you think that?"

"Well, we didn't really go back to memory lane. You know how people do when they meet again after so many years, but for her it was all strictly business, cutting off any personal stuff."

She was probably shocked, Matt thought.

"But I didn't mind," Kari continued, "because I could see they were all focused on their performance. And they certainly did an awesome job."

"I'm glad to hear that," he encouraged.

"Anyway, TK told me he tried to invite Mimi to Mom's party.He thought it would be fun tohave her there...you know, sharing old times and new...and he really put his foot forward, Matt."

A nasty feeling crawled down his spine. "Want to tell me about it?"

"Well, first she said frankly that she won't be able to come 'cause she's not free. It's pretty fair since it's a late invitation. But the thing that upset me was she didn't even pause to consider if she could drop by for a while. TK said he didn't noticethe lack of ineterest in her when they were talking about it."

Matt frowned. There should have been interest if Mimi was seriously interested in him. Maybe she was just thrown at the prospect of having to confess to him beforehand. And he didn't mention his mother's upcoming birthday when they've been talking about his family. His mind was mostly into trying to figure her out.

Kari took a deep breath and continued. "I was wishing she could come and TK made the mistake of saying how lovely it would be if she could sing for Mom, like she did for you on your twenty-first birthday."

Matt barely stifled a groan. Talk about triggering a bad memory!

"I was watching from the front window and I saw her give TK this look...if looks could kill, my husband would be dead now. And then she said she was paid for doing that now. She probably thought we're going to take advantage of her. It was so bad."

"That was...very unfortunate, Kari."

"She was so cold, and yet polite about everything. TK and I would have liked to get to know her again."

"Perhaps you'll get another chance." Matt hoped. Was the power of attraction strong enough to override the damage done?

"No," Kari answered derisively. "She couldn't get away fast enough. It's kind of sad 'cause we were all close once. We didn't want to make her feel like we were just using her...like her friendship didn't haveany value except for how well she can sing."

Using her... No, Mimi wouldn't think he'd been using her for sex. She asked for it...wanted it. Maybe she's the one using him? A dream come true...

Matt shook his head, realizing he was veering of Kari's line of thought. "TK might've hit a nerve," he said. "Like with doctors being asked for medical advice when it's supposed to be a social occasion."

"You may be right. I guess people do get exploited in the entertainment world. And who knows what her life has been like since the Tachikawa family left Odaiba? It's been a long time. Maybe for her there's no going back."

"No, we can't really go back." Can't change anything we've done, either, Matt thought grimly.

"I've never felt so...embarrased...so upset..."

The nasty feeling increased. "I'm sorry you felt that, Kari."

"Just think what TK's feeling right now since he's the one whoconfronted her about that."

Matt never thought it would go like this. He wanted Mimi to come clean with him. The confrontation with his sister-in-law was telling him that any future with Mimi Tachikawa will be hard, if it wasn't a complete fantasy.

"It's reallt my fault because I was the one who told TK to invite her," Kari said glumly.

"There may be more to it than that," he soothed, feeling guilty in creating this situation.

"Like what? She just doesn't want us in her life?"

"Maybe."

"But that's just terrible!"

"I know."

Now he realized how deeply his actions had hurt Mimi Tachikawa seven years ago. Deliberate actions...like her deliberate action of provocatively inviting him to join her in his own bed. The sweetest revenge of all? Matt finding her irresistible, wanting her...wanting her beyond any doubt...was that her dream come true?

Kari chuckled. "Not that you'd know much about rejection since you're such an eligible bachelor."

Matt had a gut-wrenching feeling he was about to know. "My life isn't all a bed of roses," he said with irony. It was more a bed of thorns.

"Things not going so well with Katya?" Kari teased.

"That's history."

"Oh! Are you bringing someone new to Mom's party?"

"My love-life is somewhat up in the air at the moment. Not a subject for discussion."

"Okay. Well, thanks for calling, Matt. The entertainment was a wonderful suggestion."

"I'm glad the children enjoyed it. Give the kids a hug from me, will ya? Gotta go now."

"No problem. It was good talkin to you."

"Bye."

Good... Nothing was fucking good! Matt put down the reciever, fighting the sense that at seven o'clock tonight, the woman who could have been everything he wanted, would continue to deliver her ultimate revenge...wiping him out of her life.

But could she?

No, it was time she started seeing straight. And tonight he'd set her straight. The past was past and she had to let it go. For her own sake, as well as his. Revenge didn't lead anywhere! Not anywhere good. And Matt wanted goodfor both of them.

"I'm out of here!"

Sora's announcement went through Mimi's thoughts. She lifted her head from the pillow where it had been nuried for some time and tried to focus on her friend. "Where are you going?"

"To a movie." Her eyes flicked over to Mimi's dishevelled state. "It's obvious you don't plan on going out wiht Matt, and I'm not sticking around to be in the middle of a showdown. The Maruko Iratoshi thing was your idea, not mine."

"I can't go out with him. Not with this between us."

"He's coming here," Sora reminded her. "What are you going to do? Shut the door in his face?"

"I don't know. I don't know what I'm going to do," she cried in anguish.

"Well, Yamato Ishida didn't strike me as the kind of guy who accepted having doors shut in his face so I'm out of here. It's almost quarter to seven, Meems. You better start shaping up."

With this last statement, Sora was on her way, leaving Mimi to conduct her private business strictly on her own.

Fifteen minutes to go... Pride forced her off the bed to fix her appearance. She changed her crumpled clothes and picked a white capri pants and loose blue shirt. She didn't want to emphasize her curvy figure, didn't want to look sexy to Matt's eyes.

She brushed her hair but didn't any makeup. Mimi Tachikawa, au naturel, she thought mockingly, staring at her reflection in the mirror. Matt couldn't say she was coming to him in different disguises and playing roles tonight. Nothing fake about a bare face.

The doorbell rang.

Her heart, which had been dead all afternoon, leapt to painful life, catapulting around her chest. That jerk! He knew, even before he swept her into his bedroom, that she was Mimi Tachikawa. Nothing that happened there had anything to do with Maruko Iratoshi - a woman he just met and strongly desired. The truth he ripped from her in the heat of intimacy had been cold-bloodedly calculated to give him the upper hand in any further encounter with him.

She wanted him.

She begged for him.

She made love to him.

Burning witht these embarrassing memories, Mimi forced her legs to carry her through the appartment to the front door where Matt was standing behind. She didn't want to open the door, but Sora was right. He wasn't going away. And she was curious to know how he would explain his behavior this time around. Why he brought TK and Kari into it today made no sense at all. He didn't need their confirmation of her identity. It was a cruel plot, like a cat playing with a mouse before he pounced. Just like he did on Monday night.

On a burst of anger at his duplicity, Mimi unlocked the door and pulled it open, determined on facing Matt's confidence in manipulating what he wanted. Her honey brown eyes were as hard and as lethal as bullets, but the bullets hit a totally unexpected shield before they reached their target.

Her wings!

He was holding out her fairy princess wings...and they were fully restored to their former glory...no trace of damage at all!

AN: I guess it's about time we stop here. I was thinking of continuing it, but I thought it won't do harm to put a lil' cliffhanger every now and then (hahahaha!)...What do you think will happen now?

Don't forget to review! lolz