Hey you all! I want to thank for everyone who reviewed last chapter. I hope you like this one just as much. Don't forget to review this chapter as well! See you next month.
Chapter 3: Thinking of You
Mimi and Jyou spent the whole day together. They went jogging in the morning and to the movies in the afternoon. They were now getting ready to meet Sora and Yamato for a double date at one of New York's finest restaurants.
"Well, I'm ready." Jyou announced. "So whenever you're done, I'll be waiting for you in the living room.
"Okay." Mimi replied rather distracted.
"Are you feeling good? I have this sensation you're quieter than usual."
"I'm fine." She lied. "I was just thinking about my collection release."
"Oh. Don't worry, I'm sure it will sell tons."
"I know." She paused for a second, feeling awful for having another man in her mind. "I will be there in a second."
"Alright." The doctor left the bedroom and headed to the large living room.
Mimi looked at herself in the mirror inside her closet and frowned. She thought she looked terrible. She looked tired, even though there weren't any dark circles around her eyes. She mentally told herself to get the red haired man off her mind.
"I'm the girlfriend of an amazing man, so why do you keep thinking of Koushiro?" She said to herself. "You don't even know him! He could be a thief for all you know."
But even that wasn't too convincing. In fact, it only made her think about him even more. She sighed and left her closet.
Mimi headed to her dressing table. It was wooden made with a large round mirror on it. There were two drawers in the left side, in which she kept her lipsticks, eyeliners and mascara. There were other make-up accessories there too, such as blush and eye shadows. Most of her beauty items were gifts from her sponsors; she never really had to spend money on these things since she became famous. She picked one of her best eyeliners and carefully applied in below her eyes. Then she grabbed a pinkish lipstick and put it on her mouth. Mimi blinked and smiled genuinely for the first that day. Her makeup wasn't too eccentric, but it was perfect for the occasion. She put her items back in the drawer and fixed her hair before leaving her bedroom.
Jyou was nearly drooling when she went downstairs. She was wearing a sleeveless red dress that came just before her knees and a white shawl, which matched her white sandals. Mimi had grabbed two locks of her hair, one of each side, and tied them together behind her head, leaving the rest loose. She could tell from Jyou's expression that she was stunning.
"Wow, Mimi." He said as he stood up and walked to her.
"You should stop drooling." She teased with a smile as she wiped the moisture from the corner of his mouth.
"Well, you are beautiful." He replied as he kissed her cheek.
"Sora and Yamato are probably waiting for us. We should get going."
"Oh right."
"Just so you know, you don't look so bad yourself." A smile rose on her lips. "I missed you, Jyou. It sucks you are living in the other side of the world."
"I know. But we're managing to do it, right? I mean, we're still as strong as we were when we both lived in Japan. Right?"
"Right." She tried to sound as sincere as she could, but she wasn't as sure anymore.
Koushiro was sitting on the floor in his living room, with his back leaned against the couch. He was playing videogames with his longtime friend Taichi Yagami, and was about to lose another round of his Street Fighter game.
"Seriously, Taichi." He complained as he threw the control away. "Do you do anything else other than practice these stupid games?"
"Hey, don't be a bitch about it. I'm naturally talented. You, on the other hand, need to start practicing it as fast as you can."
"Should I remind you that I actually have a job?" He snapped. "I barely have time to such things."
"You have time now." Taichi snapped back. "We're in the mid-twenties who have nothing to do on a Saturday night. How losers are we?"
"You can go to a dance club if you want to. I know you are looking for a girlfriend. You won't find any if you continue locked up inside my apartment."
"True." The brunette stretched his arms and stood up. "There are some hot chicks out there just waiting for me."
"Aren't your ego a little too big?" Koushiro asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Well, I'm a famous soccer player."
"Now that's a little way over the line, even for you. You are very well—known, yes, but I doubt people know your name in other states unless they are soccer fans."
"Ouch, that hurt." Taichi dramatically placed his hand over his heart and pretended to be upset. "What happened to Natsuko anyway? I remember you two couldn't keep your hands off each other."
"Ugh, don't remind me. It started off greatly, but then she began to control every step I took and couldn't accept me wanting to do things on my own."
"I hate it when girlfriends don't give you enough space."
"Tell me about it." Koushiro sighed. "Eventually I got fed up with her behavior."
"I don't blame you. I think you resisted more than I would. By the way, you never told me what happened yesterday."
"What about it?"
"Well, you were really late for our soccer game."
"I was on my way when I witnessed a car accident. You would never guess who was involved in it."
"Who?" Taichi asked eager to know the answer.
"Mimi Tachikawa."
"As in the famous model?"
"The one and only."
"You lucky bastard." He nudged Koushiro on his arm. "You asked for her phone number, right?"
"Taichi, she's in a relationship."
"So what? She's not married yet. Anything can happen."
"You have a point. But I think she wouldn't be interested in someone like me. Guys like you are more like her type, I guess."
"Oh, don't put yourself down like that." The soccer player said reassuringly. "Do you know how many guys would do anything to be around her, even if it was just for a moment?"
"A lot, I believe." He shrugged. "I would hate to ruin it for them, but she seemed pretty in love with her boyfriend, even though he lives in Japan."
"What? How do you know all that?"
"I actually got to talk to her. I stopped to help her with her car. And then someone stole her phone."
"God, Koushiro, how can you miss such an opportunity? You should have asked for her phone number."
"Did you ignore the part where I told you she has a boyfriend? And why would she even be interested in me? I have nothing to offer her."
"Oh boy." Taichi shook his head with disbelief and put his arm around Koushiro's shoulder. "You don't know anything about love."
"Eh… I beg your pardon, but when was the last time you had a girlfriend? A real girlfriend?" Koushiro added before his roommate could reply.
He opened his mouth several times to reply, but couldn't come up with anything. So he complained about how Koushiro always found a way to bring him down.
"I'm sorry, but you aren't exactly the best person to give me love advice."
"Well, do you want to be with her or not?"
"Taichi, I've said this over and over. She has a boyfriend." He was starting to lose his patience. "I really don't want to break them up just to become her new boyfriend. Besides, I only talked to her once. Unlike you, I can't know if she will be the love of my life by just one encounter. We didn't even go on a date, we just happened to be at the same place in the same time."
"That's fate working in your favor." Taichi insisted. "You should never give up on it."
"Ugh, I give up." Koushiro threw his hands in the air. "I'm hungry. Do you want something to eat? We can order a pizza."
"I was thinking maybe we could go to a restaurant this time. It's saturday night and I'm bored to death. I need to go out and have some fun."
"Alright, so what do you suggest?"
"How about Dina's? The food there is amazing."
"Alright. Italian food it is."
"Then we can go to a club."
"Now you're really pushing your luck."
"Oh come on." Taichi insisted. "It's been a while since we went out, just the two of us. You really need to get yourself a woman."
"Taichi, I hardly think I need a girlfriend right now."
"Right. Because you want to get Mimi Tachikawa. It's cool, I can totally understand it."
"That's not it. And please stop talking about her. I already said there's no way something can happen between us."
"Are you still into Natsuko?"
"What the hell? Why would I ever dump her if I wanted to be with her? That makes no sense at all."
"Who knows?" He shrugged. "I can never know what's on your mind anyway."
"I'm glad for that." Koushiro said. "So, you do want to go out or not? It's getting late."
"Yeah, sure. I just need to take a shower. It'll be really quick, I promise."
"Alright, I'll just keep practicing Street Fighter while you go clean up."
"Ugh, that's so not fair! Now I want to play."
"Go take shower, Taichi." He demanded. "Soccer makes you stink badly."
"Fine, mom." The soccer player snapped. "And don't ever say 'clean up' again. Girls say that."
"Whatever."
Mimi and Jyou left the car after they arrived at Dina's. Sora and Yamato were already expecting for them. The woman was wearing a dark blue dress just as long as Mimi's. it was also sleeveless and had a very generous neckline. That sole reason was enough for Yamato to be unable to keep his eyes away from Sora's breasts, much to her discomfort.
"Finally!" She said she approached them to get away of Yamato's intense stare. "I thought you weren't going to show up anymore. I'm starving!"
"I'm so sorry! We were busy."
"Okay, I got it." Sora replied with a wink. "Save me the details."
"That's not it!" Mimi felt her face burn with embarrassment. "We were just…"
"It's okay, you don't have to explain to me, Mimi. Should we get in now? They won't hold our reservation for much longer."
"Right." She nodded and followed Jyou and her friends inside.
Mimi couldn't help but notice Jyou was acting a little off since he saw in the clothes she was wearing. She wondered what was going on his mind, but quickly shook it off and almost bumped into Sora.
"I'm sorry." She apologized. "I was distracted."
"That's alright. Are you worried about something?"
"No, not really." She wasn't sure whether to share it with her stylist friend or not. "I'm just thinking about the clothing line, that's all."
"You're worrying about this now?" Sora asked with an eyebrow raised. "I'm sure everything will turn out great. Your line will be a huge success!"
"I hope so too."
"But that's not what's really bothering you, is it?"
"What?"
"Come on, Mimi. I know you better than that. I can tell when something is really bothering you and it sure isn't your clothing line."
"Sometimes I hate you." Mimi said with a smile.
"I love you too." The red haired woman stuck her tongue at her. "But if you need to talk, you know I'm here."
"Thanks Sora, but I'm fine. Really."
"If you say so."
"Hey, you two." Yamato called loudly. "We don't have all the time of the world to wait for you."
"Always so nice." Sora shook her head at her boyfriend's lack of sensitiveness. "You don't have to yell, we're coming."
"I'm starving, Sor. You know I haven't eaten anything since lunch."
"Because you'd rather be hungry enough to embarrass yourself in front of all these people. I told you should have gotten something to eat. The stubborn child in you didn't listen to me."
"Make fun all you want. You can't deny the food here is incredible."
"I didn't say that."
"No, but you…"
"Can we not fight, please?" Mimi interrupted the small argument between the couple. "People are starting to stare."
"I'm sorry." Both of them said at the same time, visibly embarrassed.
"So, Jyou… how are things in Japan?"
"Good, I think." He shrugged. "Nothing much has changed."
"I miss it. I miss my parents."
"I'm sure they miss you too, Sora. You can't get a few days off from work to visit them?"
"Things have been so crazy with Mimi's fashion line and all. I have no idea when I will be able to take a break from it all."
"Excuse me, I need to go the restroom." Mimi pushed her chair away and left in a hurry.
"I'll uh… I'll be right back." Sora followed her friend.
Sora walked in the bathroom and saw her friend leaning against the sink, looking at the mirror with a sad face.
"Alright. Tell me." She crossed her arms and waited for Mimi to start talking.
"Tell you what?"
"You are not yourself since you and Jyou got here. You were quiet, which is something unusual. You can't fool me, Mimi. There's something really bothering you."
"I'm fine, Sora. I already said that." Mimi said rather frustrated.
"Except your expression and the tone of your voice say otherwise. You can tell me."
"Tell you what?" The model yelled and let it all out. She turned around to face her friend. "That I have a boyfriend and keep thinking about another man I met yesterday? Is that what you want me to tell you?"
"Whoa… what?" Sora was taken aback with her outburst. "What are you talking about?"
"When I went to pick up Jyou at the airport, I got involved in a car accident. Koushiro happened to be driving by when he saw me and stopped to help. In the meantime, a cyclist stole my phone. I couldn't even call my car insurance. So he took me to his friend, who happened to fix cars so he could give it a look. And then he took me home."
"Mimi, do you know how danger it is? Why didn't you call me? I would have come to pick you up."
"You and Yamato were at Takeru's book release. I didn't want to disturb you. I don't know, Koushiro didn't seem like a bad guy."
"I see. So you can't stop thinking about him ever since."
"Ugh, I know." Mimi turned her back to Sora and leaned over the sink. "It's so stupid, isn't it? Why would I ever think about him when I have Jyou?"
"That's not where I was going. But I think you can't know for sure whether you have feelings for someone when you only saw them once."
"I know, Sora. But I can't help it."
"It's probably just infatuation. Maybe you'll never see him again and this indecision will end." She smiled. "Can we go now? I'm a little hungry."
"Sure." Mimi smiled back and put her arm around her friend's shoulder. "Thanks for listening to me and I'm sorry for taking my frustration out on you."
"No problem at all. That's what friends are for."
The two women were heading to their tables at the same time Koushiro and Taichi walked in. Koushiro and Mimi exchanged brief looks, but it was long enough for Sora to notice he was the man she was just talking about. The soon-to-be engineer smiled and the model felt her cheeks burn with embarrassment. Sora looked at Jyou and prayer he hadn't figured out what was happening. Luckily for her, he was talking happily with Yamato. The man who was with Koushiro also didn't seem to have a clue of what was going on. Or maybe he just didn't notice them looking at each other.
"So that's the man you were telling me about."
Mimi simply nodded, unable to say something in return.