#15: Mistake
Mamoru sighed as he walked out of the men's bathroom of Kaedo's, the scene of Juuban's "most romantic eating experience" (according to Frommer's). Motoki's brain must have taken the day off—why else would he invite Mamoru along with him on his date with Reika?
Okay, so Mamoru had no life, so what? He was perfectly happy with that, thank you.
He didn't enjoy being the tag-a-long. Tag-A-Longs were peanut butter cookies manufactured solely for Girl Scout fundraising activities.
He wound his way through the moony-eyed couples and his eyes lit upon the table which Motoki and Reika sat at. Watching them talk eagerly, Mamoru felt an inexplicable suspicion that they were discussing him. He moved within earshot and hit upon the brilliant notion of tying his shoe behind an artificial tree.
"Yeah," Motoki agreed with his girlfriend, "Mamoru doesn't know what he's missing."
And Mamoru is one smart cookie, thought the man behind the artificial tree.
"Really," said Reika, "she's a gorgeous girl. So she's younger—so what? That's what makes her so…vivacious."
"Any other guy would kill to have her look at him like she does," added Motoki.
Mamoru vaguely heard the sound of his heartbeat quickening. How does she look at me? he wondered.
"They would make the perfect couple."
He couldn't stop himself—he bolted over to the table before they could change the topic.
Coolly, he said, "Me and Odango Atama make the perfect couple? Ha!" Mamoru applauded himself for holding back a toothy smile.
"Uh…actually we were talking about you and Rei," Motoki said.
Reika narrowed her eyes at Mamoru. "What made you think it was Usagi? All we described was a gorgeous, vivacious, young girl who would be ideal for you…"
"Wow, Mamoru," Motoki said with wide grin, "I've never seen you blush so hard."