Okay, I know I've disappointed many of you with that cliffhanger I put in chapter 13. But hey, I think every author's bound to do it at least once in their story. It makes it more interesting, don't you think? Anyways, I've received a handful of great reviews and I'm really happy that most of you like this story. You guys rock!
Oh yeah, before you start reading, I'd like to warn you that there is a part here that's pretty...ehem...you know. So if you want to skip that part, it's fine, but don't forget to review!
Chapter 14: An Old Watch
One look at Mimi was enough to tell Matt there will be no playing happy couple tonight. Tension whipped through him at the obvious evidence that all female features for generating sexual attraction had been abandoned. No makeup, not even a dash of lipstick. And her clothes were more suitable for housework than for greeting a man whose interest she wanted to keep.
The word wipe-out was telegraphed to him loud and clear. Which meant she had been playing him all along to deliver the headest, punch-in-th-heart rejection she could. Anger pumped into a fierce wave of aggression. He didn't deserve this. And he wouldn't stand for it.
"Open the door wider so I can bring these wings in for you," he instructed, determined to catch her off guard long enough to get inside. "We don't want them damaged again."
Apparently stunned by seeing them fixed, she stepped aside and let him in. Matt carried them right through the wall next to the hallway which obviously led to the bedrooms. He was now in the heart of her territory and he wasn't about to give up the ground he made.
Mimi closed the door automatically, standing against it as she watched the unbelievable proff that he cared enough to actually follow through on his declared intention. But when did he have time to fix the broken wings? She felt as confused as she had at seeing them in his office last time.
"How did you do it?" she asked, still seized by a sense of disbelief.
He turned to her with an ironic little smile. "I called a fancy costume-maker last Monday and passed everything to her."
Her confusion flattened out. "Someone else did it?"
"I want them to be perfect again."
"It must have cost a lot," she muttered, remembering Sora's cynical attitude about it. "I guess you've found that money smooths the way to anything you want."
His chin lifted slightly, his eyes narrowing into slits at her unappreciative response to his effort. "I simply wanted to please you."
"You mean, take it," Mimi snapped. "A whole lot of secret pleasure in Mimi Tachikawa up the garden path and seeing how far she would go."
His head jerked in surprise at the accusation. The anger that had been stored up inside her all afternoon finally spilled out, her eyes blazing contempt for his trickery.
"Don't think you can fool me anymore, Matt. I know you know who I am. I can pinpoint precisely when you realized who I am. Your comment about me over dinner..."
"So why didn't you come out with the truth then?" he shot back at her. "Why lie in the first place, and why continue the lie, despite every chance I gave you to admit who you are? Seems to me I was the one being set up as the fool."
She folded her arms protectively, preparing herself to any firepower he thought he had against her. "I didn't want you to connect me to any memories you had about Mimi in the past."
"Why do you say that?"
"Because I know you didn't really like me before. You didn't like me following you around and associating with you."
His mouth thinned, biting back any further denial.
"Maruko Iratoshi let me become me now," she cried, hating the knowledge he kept to pursue his own way with her. "She gave me the chance to meet you without you thinking of me like that. Menow, Matt, and then it stopped being me. You should have told me instead of playing your own secret game."
"It was your game," he retorted, anger blazing into his eyes. "And I didn't know what the hell you were up to."
"If it worried you, why didn't you come straight out with it and confronted me?"
"And have you walk away from me?"
"Like you did from me before? A bit of guilt there, huh, Matt? Did you assume I was out to get you and then dump you?"
His cheeks suddenly felt hot. "It was a possibility."
"So instead of risking that possibility, you made a came where you showed yourself as the good guy, telling me all that bullshit about your life."
"It was the truth!" He shot back, anger rising in him.
She tossed her head. "Well, you certainly weren't standing aside for anything this time. It was straight up to your apartment, into your bedroom..."
"You could have stopped it anytime," he cut in, the air between them sizzling with heat.
"So could you," she replied, and out poured the bitter feelings his deception stirred. "You were getting a kick out of it because you knew I once had a crush on you, and here I was, all grown up enough to whisk off to bed. Did it feel great, getting me admit I wanted you, driving me to the edge, then holding off to make me bed for you..."
"Damn it!" he exploded, his hands whipping up in an emphatic gesture of frustration. "You're twisiting everything around. I just wanted you to admit who you were. I wanted it to be real between us, Mimi."
"How much more flesh-and-blood real can you get?"
"I didn't think you'd go that far and when you did, still without identifying yourself - and I gave you every chance, Mimi - " He started walking towards her, his hands spreading in appeal.
"You stop right there, Ishida!" she commanded, her eyes flaring a fierce warning. "I'm calling the shots now!"
He stopped, his hands falling to his sides, clenching. "You were calling them all along, Mimi. The fairy princess act you played was designed to stir me up, and don't you deny it."
"Yes," her chin went up in pride. "I wanted to get a different reaction from you than what I got at your twenty-first birthday party."
"A sweet slice of revenge." He nodded as though he'd known it all along, his eyes accusing as he read more into it. "Did it give you a kick, doing the walking away after you sang to me this time around?"
Mimi refused to feel guilty. He made her pay for what little vengeance she'd taken on him. "That was my intention," she said frankly. "But when you kissed me..." The memory of her response caused her to blush. "...it messed everything up for me and I wished I hadn't done it."
"Until you had second thoughts and came to my office to see if there was more reaction from me," he bit out grimly. "And when there was, you carried it further...and further...taking me where you wanted it to go. And don't you deny that, either."
"I didn't know you had Mimi Tachikawa in your mind," she shot back at him in a fury of resentment.
"But you had me in your mind." He started walking towards her again. "You were remembering. All this time you were rememebering. Asking me all this questions, putting me on trial. Did you think I didn't notice that?"
"I never meant for you to notice it," she countered, although what he said was true, making her uneasy about he own private agenda and quickly made a defence. "I just wanted to find out where I stood with you."
"Without letting me know where I stood with you," he mocked. "And just how long were you planning to continue this game, Mimi? When will Maruko Iratoshi going to turn into you? When you had enough of me so you could do what you meant to do in the first place? Leaving me wanting you and walk away?"
"I wasn't out for revenge. Not after the fairy princess thing. I just wanted to be sure I wasn't some one-night affair to you before I opened up. I would have told you once I felt safe with you," she defended, stepping and ufolding her arms, ready to fight as he closed in on her.
He came to a stop directly in front of her, using the power of his physique to make her feel she was on the judgement stand. His eyes glittered in challenge as he continued his cross-examintaion.
"So why did you treat my TK and Kari like that...if you really wanted some future with me? You rejected their attempt at reviving an old friendship and their invitation to a family celebration."
"I was in shock. The coincidence...except it wasn't a coincidence," she threw at him bitterly. "Yoou shouldn't have dragged your family in it."
"It was the only way I could think of to make you stop hiding from me. And to get the truth out from you. I needed to know what was in your heart...hope for some future with me or revenge for what you obviously assumed as my rejection to you."
It had been hope, but it was obvious there was no hope of any understanding between them now. The situation was unrepearable and damaged by her lies and his reaction to it, making it impossible to see where the truth lay anymore.
His eyes went down to her clothes. "From the way you're dressed, I think the answer is clear. You're even standing by the door to show me out."
Is this the end of what started so wondefully Monday night? Is what she wanted? Her heart screamed no. Her mind scrambled to find some grace. Before she could say or do anything, he moved towards her. His hands fell on her shoulders, curling around them as though he was going to shake her.
"Not yet, Mimi. Before I leave...I'll give you the sweetest revenge of all."
His face was so close to hers, his eyes were like magnets, drawing her soul. Her mind was torn, wanting to deny she'd ever thought of this pretense.
His grasp loosened and his hands slid along her shoulders, up her throat, cupping her face as he with an intesity that gripped her heard and squeezed it. "I want you, Mimi Tachikawa. Even knowing you're intention on twisting the knife and turning me out of your life, I still want you. Even after all this secrets and lies, I still want you."
His fingers stroked her cheeks slowly, into her hair above her ears. "Is that sweet to hear?" His eyes burned into hers. "Let me make it even sweeter for you. This way it's much better to taste the wanting, feel the wanting."
Her heart was beating so hard she can't think. Can't move, either. His head was beding and she he was going to kiss her. The sizzle of challenge was in his eyes, making her blood boil, the memories of what they shared Monday night came to her like a flash flood.
Then his mouth was covering hers. His warm lips seductive, igniting tingles of excitement. His tongue tantalizing, not forcing an opening but holding out the tempting promise of deep passion surging between them.
Helplessly distracted with the situation, Mimi couldn't resolve what was right and wrong. And her mouth wanted a deeper kiss, a more passionate kiss. Without thinking, her lips parted of their own accord and let Matt's tongue in. Instant sensation filled her. His kiss was so good, so passionately penetrating, resisting it was impossible. It triggered a fierce response.
Her went around his head, fingers through his hair, holding him to her. He dropped his arms, wrapped them around her back and pulled her body into hard-pressed contact with his. There could be no mistaking of his arousal, his desire for her. The wanting was not a lie. She could taste it, feel his hard masculinity, every inch of him straining to satisfy his need to capture and posses her whole body.
She felt his hand move inder her shirt, sliding up her bare back and unclipping her bra. The instant she felt his hand cupping her breast, a shot of alertness came to her. Is this right...this mind-blowing drive for sexual release?
She was aware of his hand gliding under her arm, reaching the soft swell of her flesh, fingers encircling and softly squeezing, his thumb teasing her nipple which was so hard and aroused. The shock of pleasure had her moaning for more. She didn't want to stop it, didn't want to pause to consider anything.
Until he stopped it, dropping his hand to the waist band of her capri, trying to pull it down. The realization that he meant to take her right here up against the door, shook Mimi out of her thought. Is this the only level of wanting Matt felt for her? Is her using sex just to keep her with him...for more sex?
She felt pain in her heart. Her hands slammed against his shoulders as she pulled her mouth from his. "No!" She threw back her head, breathing for air. "No!" It was an anguished cry, hating herself for her actions.
"That was the me and you now, Mimi. You feel it and I feel it. Give us a chance," Matt pleaded, his eyes full of hope and sadness.
His arms wrapped around her again, hands curling around her butt, lifting her so she could fit into his erection, reminding her of what they shared before. "What we have together is very special," he declared, his voice throbbing in her ears. "You know it is. And I won't let you walk away from it just because I did what I thought was best for you seven years ago."
Best for her!
He was lying!
The wanting now was no lie, but he was trying to manipulate her feelings, just as he manipulated them on Monday night, today, and the arrangement he did with his brother and sister-in-law. This was Matt wanting his own way, getting his own way, not thinking about what she felt. Just like seven years ago.
She slammed her hands against his chest and pushed with all her strength. "Let me go! Get away from me!"
He stepped back, releasing her and lifting his hands in appeal, his face angry at her rejection. "Why?" he demanded. "You were going along with me. Just like you were when we made love Monday night. I wasn't forcing myself on you."
"No, but doesn't override everything else. At least, not for me," she cried, her eyes accusing him of taking unfair advantage of her vulnerability.
"It's the one thing honest between us," he claimed.
"Maybe, but I want more honesty than straight-out lust. Best for me," she mocked. "All you've ever cared about is what was best for you. You didn't care about my feelings seven years ago and you don't care about them now...you only cared about yourself."
His face tightened as though she had physically slapped him. He shook his head. When he met her eyes again, his eyes were no longer fired up to fight her. "I didn't think it was best for you, Mimi," he said quietly. "You were a very special person. Too special to let your life be so focused on me. At nineteen, there was more for to you discover, to explore. You were so sweet and innocent, I didn't want you to concentrate on me when you should be concentrating on your studies."
His reasoning opened old wounds. It felt as though he was the wise adult explaining something to a child and she was no longer a child. "If I was so special, why didn't you even try to looking for me, Matt? After the time I should discover what you thought I should discover."
He shrugged. "Life happens. You moved away and I got involved in business."
The flat statement made her even more mad. "The truth is you never really thought of me until that day when I entered your life again."
"No, that's not true." He took a deep breath and grimaced as he sighed. "I can't change the past. I'm sorry you were so hurt by my decision. I know I didn't handle it well."
The memory of that night came back...the need to show him, to see appreciation and understanding in his eyes. Only it wasn't there. She searched his eyes now, wanting evidence fo what he really felt for her. There was not so much as a spark in them...sad, lifeless, defeated.
"After that..." he went on, his voice softer with a sadness in it that took her attention. "Well, I thought your life would have grown a long way away from me. And it has...too far for me to reach you. I wish I was different...but there are no second chances."
He reached into his shirt pocket and brought something out. A watch! An old watch! Mimi's heart came it life when recognition hit her. Could this be the watch she had given him...
"Take it," he commanded gruffly.
She did, turning it over to see. There on the back was the tiny initials of her name inside a small heart. He kept it after all there years...
"I may not have looked for you, Mimi, but I never forgot you."
Before she could even lift her head, or think of a word to say, he stepped around her, opened the door and wlaked out of her life.
AN: Phew! And that's the end people! Hahahah! I'm just kidding! But it's a nice cut-off don't you think? People will surely be wanting more. I am so mean...harharhar! lolz
Don't forget to review!
P.S. Oh yeah, I've been meaning to ask this, how many of you like reading action fics? adventure fics? fantasy fics? mystery fics? or just good old romance fics? You see, I'm thinking of something to write after this story and I'm planning on changing gears for once. But if you guys want me to continue on with my romance fics, just say so in your review and I'd be glad to make another one.