Educated Hearts

Chapter Seven           

(Continued... A few hours of fun & merriment later!)

Mimi stood in the corner sipping on a soda observing the other party-goers out on the dance floor. She had already danced many dances with both Jason and Nick, as the two girls switched partners throughout the evening. But, the heels on her boots were starting to ache, so she took a break to lean against the wall. Nick stood beside her and they couldn't help but laugh as they watched the girl in the shower curtain dancing with the male angel.

"That's certainly not something you see every day."

Nick laughed and nodded in agreement. "Or any day, except this one."

Jason caught Mimi's eye from across the dance floor and he winked at her with a grin. Mimi grinned back at him and started shaking her head. She was glad to see that everybody was having fun. They had all been working so hard in their classes this past week, and they really deserved this one night to just let loose.

Mimi sighed softly, suddenly saddened even though she was looking at her friends smiling and laughing on the dance floor. "Geez, Nick... What is wrong with us?"

Nick's eyebrows raised and he looked at her in confusion. "What? What do you mean?"

"Well, I know what's wrong with *me*. But, what's wrong with the three of you?"

"And yet, still... I have to ask... WHAT?"

Mimi frowned and looked towards Nick. "You, Jason, Rory... You're all attractive people, intelligent, funny, interesting, non-smokers. You don't have weird habits, you don't do drugs or have criminal records... You don't have leprosy or some other contagious disease. So, why are you all single?"

Nick nodded in understanding. "I'll tell you why..."

"Please, please do..."

"Well, in Rory's case... She tends to be attracted to guys who have personalities too much like hers. She's loud and funny and a little bit crazy... Guys who are like that too, they tend to want to be the center of attention all the time. They want a girl who's more quiet and subservient. And, Rory could never, in a million years be subservient to anyone."

"So she's just going for the wrong guys? That's her problem?"

Nick looked back out towards the dance floor as Rory was showing Jason her impression of John Travolta in Saturday Night Fever. He laughed softly and continued. "She needs someone quieter, less aggressive. Someone who can let her take the lead sometimes, but still be able to stand toe to toe with her at other times. She's a lot of personality for one person to handle."

Mimi raised her eyebrows suspiciously. "You sure seem to have put a lot of thought in to this."

"I just happen to be good at reading people."

"So is Rory. That's one thing you two definitely have in common."

Nick shook his head slightly. "You are not trying to push us together, are you?"

Mimi shrugged slightly. "Why not? You two get along well, and like you said... you're quiet, not too aggressive or needing for attention, but you still know how to put her in her place when you need to. Are you not attracted to her or something?"

"It's not that, Mimi. Rory is a very beautiful girl... It's just..."

"You're gay?"

Nick laughed loudly and shook his head in denial. "No, I'm not. But, good guess... I had a pretty bad breakup about six months ago. It's taken me this long not to feel bad about it every second of the day. I just didn't want to jump into a new relationship as soon as I got to college, because rebounds never work. Especially after you've been cheated on and dumped."

Mimi nodded in understanding, her expression growing sadder. "I'm sorry. I won't push the subject any more."

"It's okay, Meems. Things are a lot better now than they were. In fact, I found out a few weeks ago from a friend in Chicago that the guy that I caught her in bed with, ended up cheating on her a few months later... Plus, he gave her an STD that he caught from his other whore."

Mimi nearly choked on her soda as she laughed out loud. "Oh geez... Is it bad to laugh at other people's pain?"

Nick shook his head and took a sip out of his cup. "Not when it's her. She deserved everything she got."

"Okay, so I got Rory's problem, and yours. What about Jason? What's his problem?"

Without even a pause, Nick addressed Jason's problem as bluntly as possible. "You."

"Me? What about me?"

"Jason cares about you. Far too much to even think about another girl."

"I... I care about him too. He's one of my best friends."

Nick looked her straight in the eye, completely serious. "Yes, I know. But, what you may not realize is that he cares about you as more than a friend. Jason is crazy for you, Mimi. He may not say it out loud, but he is. You said I know how to read people, and I can read him like a big bright flashing neon sign. He's falling in love with you."

Mimi sighed heavily, leaning on the wall for support. This was the second time in one night someone associated the word love with Jason's name. In all of her eighteen years, Mimi had never been the girl that guys fell in love with. She was the girl that was always a 'friend'. It was girls like Belle or Chloe who could have any guy they wanted. It was never Mimi. If Jason was falling for her, Mimi couldn't figure out what he would ever see in a girl like her?

Nick observed the strange expression on her face and nudged her arm with his elbow. "And you're falling in love with him too."

Mimi's jaw dropped and she immediately closed it. "But... I... Nick... I...."

Mimi sighed and looked downward. Clearly, she would never win an Academy Award for her acting skills. She couldn't hide anything from anybody, nor could she cover anything up when someone called her on her feelings.

But, she wouldn't have to continue searching for the words to deny Nick's claim for much longer because Rory and Jason returned from the dance floor. Rory's brown eyes went back and forth between them as she glared suspiciously at her friends.

"You two look way too deep in thought. What did we miss?"

Mimi shook her head, a nervous smile plastered over her lips. "Nothing... Not a thing."

Jason nodded in agreement with Rory. "Yes, you look far too serious to be at a party."

Rory nodded excitedly and took Nick's cup from him, placing it on a nearby table. She grabbed his hands and started pulling him to the dance floor. "Yeah, get out here and shake a tail feather with me..."

As Rory dragged him away, Mimi and Jason could hear Nick's bemused response. "Shake a tail feather? You sound like my grandmother."

Mimi giggled as she watched them walk away. Before she even had a chance to say anything, Jason wrapped his hand around hers and smiled. Mimi cursed both Rory and Nick with her thoughts, they were too damn perceptive, and it was starting to irk her. If they didn't have to keep pointing out what was going on, or not going on, between her and Jason, then she wouldn't have to think about it.

Jason motioned towards the dance floor. "Are your feet any better? Because, I don't think I've had enough dances with the devil tonight."

Mimi grinned happily at him and chuckled. "I think I can survive another spin on the dance floor."

Jason pulled her by the hand and they slid through the crowd to the middle of the floor. The song playing on the stereo system was up-tempo, and they danced together with enough distance between them to allow another person to stand in the middle. The way Jason looked into her eyes was enough to make Mimi weak in the knees, and the last thing she needed was for him to be holding her closely.

A few minutes passed, and as Mimi tried her hardest not to think about how sexy he was, God decided to pull a little prank on her. The song changed, and someone put on a slower song with a very sensual beat. Jason grinned and put his hands on her waist pulling her closer to him.

"Mimi... come here. You're too far away."

She could already feel her cheeks begin to flush red, and knew that couldn't be a very good sign. He ran his hands up from her waist over the material of her top and then gently let his fingers brush over her bare arms, as they danced closer to each other. He picked up her hands and put them behind his neck, pulling her body so close that she was right up against him. Mimi tried to peel her eyes away from him, but his eyes stayed locked with hers, as their movements moved perfectly in time with each other.

Mimi intertwined her fingers, resting them at the base of his neck as Jason moved his arms back down, wrapping them tightly around her. Had it been someone else, she might have felt awkward, but as crazy as it seemed, she was never uncomfortable when she was in Jason's arms. Flustered -- yes. Woozy -- a little bit. But, never uncomfortable.

She sighed softly, and though she hated to ruin a good dance with words she couldn't help herself. "Jase... Can I ask you something?"

"Anything."

"Why are you single?"

"Because I don't have a girlfriend."

Mimi rolled her eyes in frustration. Now was not the time for sarcasm. "I mean... You could have any girl on this campus, but you don't. Why is that?"

Jason grinned at her and nodded in understanding. "Because... I don't want just *any* girl. I want one special one."

"Well, when you do meet this special girl... woman... whatever. You tell her that she has to go through the very difficult Mimi Lockhart screening process before I allow her to fall in love with you."

"Right, of course. No girl shall pass unless she is given the Mimi stamp of approval."

Mimi nodded proudly. "You got that right. So, what kind of special girl are you looking for?"

Jason paused thoughtfully, and Mimi noticed a distinct change in his demeanor. He was definitely hiding something from her, and heart skipped a beat at the vague possibility that Nick had been correct in his assessment of Jason's feelings. Jason swiftly changed the subject as he had a brilliant habit of doing.

He gently tugged at a strand of her hair and smiled at her. "I like these little red streaks, and the sparkly stuff. It looks good on you, Meems."

"Not too punk rock for you?"

"Not at all."

Jason winked at her and brushed the hair back into place, he let his fingers touch her cheek gently, and they lingered there for a moment. Mimi could feel her heart pounding faster in her chest as Jason seemed to stare right into her soul.

She stammered nervously, trying to distract herself from looking at his lips. "So, you know... You really need to not change subjects on me so often. I'm talking about one thing, and then all of a sudden you change the subject. You do that all the time. It's really not fair..."

"I know... I'm sorry." He ran his fingers down her cheek and brushed his thumb over her lips. She tried to speak again but he stopped her with a shake of his head. "Shhhhhh."

Mimi muttered in confusion through the thumb that was on her lips. "Why?"

"Because, I'm going to change the subject again."

Mimi's eyes widened with curiosity and Jason moved his fingers away from her lips, leaving his hand to rest in her hair. He leaned forward and captured her lips with his, sending a lighting strike that ran from the tip of her head to the bottom of her feet. He was tentative and gentle at first, awaiting her reaction. Mimi could barely function enough to have a reaction, feeling that if she died right now, she'd die with a smile on her face.

She leaned herself into his body, and pushed the kiss further, gently parting her lips to allow him better access. Jason gladly took her cue, and tenderly explored her mouth as he wrapped her in his strong arms. The heat between them grew rapidly, and Mimi began to worry that they were going to burn the frat house down.

They were so caught up in the moment, caught up in each other that neither of them noticed when the power went out. Not until they heard the other party guests sighing in disappointment around them, did they separate from each other. Mimi had to latch her hand on to his arm to catch her breath. The room was quite dark, and she could barely see Jason beside her, lit only by the faint light coming through the windows.

Mimi muttered quietly, mostly to herself, thinking that Jason's kisses were so powerful they could blow a circuit breaker. "Oh my God... Did we knock the power out?"

Jason laughed and grabbed her hand. She hadn't even realized she had said that out loud until he responded. "No, Meems... I don't think the blackout was our fault."

The crowd around them bustled as people tried to get outside and find their friends and dates. She heard Rory's loud voice just a short distance away from them. "MEEMS! JASOOOOON! WHERE ARE YOU!?!?"

Mimi chuckled and shouted back at her. "WE'RE RIGHT HERE!"

"WHERE?"

"I THINK WE'RE IN FRONT OF YOU, RORY!"

Mimi felt something solid smack into her from behind, and the familiar squishing sound of plastic. Rory giggled softly. "Oh, there you are."

She could see Rory clearly when she turned around, her shower curtain reflecting every tiny bit of light in the room. Nick was beside her, and Jason patted his roommate on the shoulder.

"Hey Picasso... Guess what? The blackout was Mimi's fault."

Mimi felt like she was going to curl up and die. She thanked her lucky stars that the room was dark so nobody could see her bright red cheeks and horrified expression. Nick just laughed at Jason and directed his words toward Mimi.

"Well, thank God you turned the lights off, Meems. This party was getting dull."

"You're welcome, Nick. Anything I can do to keep you from having to socialize with the general public."

Mimi's hand was still in Jason's and Rory grabbed her other hand, so they wouldn't lose each other in the dark. "Well, then... I guess we should get out of here. I'm hungry anyway, let's go get food."

Nick grabbed on to Rory's other hand and they began a train through the crowd of people, slowly finding their way to the door. Mimi nudged Rory with her elbow, and had the lights been on, Rory would have seen her roommate rolling her eyes. "Rory... You are ALWAYS hungry."

"That is not at all true. When I'm sleeping, I don't think about food at all."

Jason cleared his throat and corrected her. "Liar. Mimi told me that she's heard you muttering things like 'cupcakes' and 'brownies' in the middle of the night."

Mimi laughed loudly as their group reached the front door. "Oh, and one night, she actually recited the ingredients for homemade chocolate chip cookies in her sleep."

The four of them made it out on to the porch and Rory let go of her roommate's hand, crossing her arms over her chest. "Mimi... Isn't there some sort of roommate code of honor? You're not supposed to tell Jason about what I do in my sleep."

Nick was smirking goofily at her, trying to restrain his laughter. Rory was quite funny when she was mad, and she wasn't even trying to be. "She didn't just tell Jason, you know..."

Rory's eyes widened and she huffed loudly. She turned on her heel and started walking off the porch. She had made it to the second to last step when her shoe caught on a piece of her shower curtain and she tripped, falling forward into the dirt with a thud.

Mimi's eyes widened with concern and she immediately went towards her, helping her sit up. "Oh my God... Rory... Are you okay?"

Rory sat up and tried brushing the dirt off her costume. "Yeah, yeah... I'm fine. Thank you. Embarrassed, but fine."

Mimi looked at Jason and Nick who were standing close by, and the three of them started laughing hysterically. Rory frowned at all of them. "Oh geez, I'm glad you think this is funny."

Jason nodded and spoke through his laughter. "Sorry, Rory... If you had been hurt, we wouldn't have been laughing. But, since you're fine... well, it was pretty funny."

Nick reached out his hand for her and pulled her up and out of the dirt. "You are okay, aren't you?"

"Yesssssss... I'm fine. I feel like an idiot though."

"Well, you should. You look like an idiot."

Rory's mouth opened in surprise, and after a pause she laughed too. "You're right, you're right. I shouldn't be mad at you guys for laughing. You all know I'd totally laugh at you, and I'd do it before I even made sure you were okay."

Nick nodded in agreement. "Yes, we know. Plus, you'd make sure to take every chance in the future to bring it up."

The group began walking away, towards the dorms so Rory could change out of her now dirt-covered costume. Mimi seemed to hang in back of the group a little bit, still dazed by the all too brief kiss that she had shared with Jason inside the party. Whatever had caused it, she was grateful. She had never in her life been kissed like that, and she prayed that it wouldn't be the last time.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

(A while later.)

Jason and Nick returned to their dorm room after sharing pizza and conversation with the girls in their room. Jason had noticed a distinct change in Mimi's personality since they kiss they had shared on the dance floor. She seemed much quieter all through the meal, and she kept averting her eyes from his gaze.

Nick closed the door behind him and watched Jason sit on the edge of his bed with a frown. "Jase... Something wrong?"

"Yes... It's..."

Nick waved a hand to interrupt him and finished his sentence for him. "Mimi."

Jason raised his gaze and looked at him curiously. "How did you know?"

"Because, it's always Mimi. If you're happy, it's because of her. If you're looking the way you look right now, it's because of her. What happened? Did you kiss her or something?"

"Yes..."

Nick put his hands on his hips and nodded. "So, what's the problem? She doesn't kiss like a fish, does she?"

Jason paused, remembering the sweet taste of her lips, and how soft and warm she was in his arms. "Oh... oh no. She was... amazing. I just, I shouldn't have done that."

"And why not?"

"Because, we're friends. You just don't go around smooching your friends carelessly. It could screw everything up... ruin our friendship. I can't kiss her. It's not... not a good idea."

Nick stared him down and shook his head. He didn't voice his thoughts out loud, but he knew that this would not be the last time those two would kiss. Once you have your first taste of real love, you can't live without it.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

(Rory & Mimi's Room)

Mimi slid under her covers and turned the lamp on her nightstand off. She rolled on to her side and watched as Rory did the same, slipping into her own bed. Mimi sighed loudly, running over the events of tonight in her head for the umpteenth time.

He had kissed her, and it had been passionate and magical, sweet and tender. Everything a kiss should be. And, then he had acted like nothing had happened. They had walked back to their dorms together, ordered pizza, sat and chatted with their friends for quite a while, just like nothing was changed. It was as if that one moment in time just disappeared.

It must have a been a mistake. He hadn't meant to do it. They were caught up in the moment, the music, the sexy clothes... And, judging by his attitude, Mimi figured that Jason must have regretted it immediately after it happened.

She sighed again and Rory groaned in frustration. "Meems... Please tell me you aren't going to sigh like that all night long. I would like to sleep eventually."

"I'm sorry... I..."

"What's wrong with you anyway? You were so quiet after we got back from the party. You were being very un-Mimi-like."

Mimi clutched her blankets to her chest and frowned. "Jason... He... he kissed me."

Rory couldn't help herself, she shouted excitedly and clapped her hands together. "YESSSSSS! Finally... FINALLY you two get some action."

"It's not that simple."

"Yes, it is. He kissed you, I assume you kissed back. It was probably mind-blowing and totally hot. Why are you so down in the dumps about it?"

"It's just... It must have been a mistake or something. It was the clothes, and the party... and we got carried away."

Rory leaned up on her elbows and Mimi could tell she was shaking her head. "It was not. It was you, and him. The clothes, the music, the party had NOTHING to do with it. Jason wants you, Mimi."

Mimi looked towards her still frowning, the moonlight giving them enough light to see each other's expressions. "He does not. So evidenced by the way he completely ignored the fact the kiss happened for the entire rest of the night."

"He's probably just scared. Scared of the way he feels about you. Love is a crazy and powerful thing, Meems. It drives people nuts. Which is obvious by your own denial that you totally want Jason too."

"I do not want Jason." Mimi shook her head, but she was lying. She absolutely did want Jason, she just couldn't say it out loud.

"You do too."

"Rory... please... You are not me, you don't know what I want." Mimi couldn't figure herself out, her brain and heart were telling her one thing, but her lips said something else. She knew Rory was right, love can be frightening, and she was scared to death of what she was feeling for Jason.

Rory laughed loudly and clutched her covers to her tightly. "Youuuuu want Jasoooooon."

She just loved teasing Mimi, and she did it without mercy. Rory grabbed one of her pillows and looked up at it like it was another person, mocking like she was Mimi, by raising the pitch of her voice and talking to the pillow like it was Jason. "Oh Jaaaaaaase... I love you, I want you. Please, kiss me, my love."

"Rory... cut it out."

Rory continued hugging the pillow tightly to her chest. "Oh Jason, you're so sexy! I love your toga, stud. I want you so bad, Jase..."

Rory threw herself backwards on the bed, the pillow on top of her and began moaning loudly. "Ohhhhhh yesssss! Jason, you're the best! Show me what's really under that toga! Do it to me, baby!"

Mimi sat up and threw a pillow at Rory, landing it square in the middle of her face. "Aurora Bennett... You are seriously twisted and in need of some professional help."

Rory giggled girlishly and threw Mimi's pillow right back at her. "No way, Miriam Lockhart. You are the one with a serious case of denial. You can lie to me, Nick, Jason, if you want... But don't lie to yourself. You know how you feel, and you need to open your heart and let yourself be loved, Mimi."

Mimi sighed softly and tried to protest again. "But, Rory... I..."

"Shush. I don't want to hear another word about it tonight. I'm tired, I want to sleep. You just think about what I said, please."

Rory rolled over on to her side, turning her back to Mimi. Mimi rolled over too, not wanting to face Rory, or face the feelings that she had in her heart. She wanted to love Jason, but she didn't know if she had his love in return. She didn't even know if she deserved it.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Sorry for the kissus interruptus. But, my Mason stove started out on low, and I'm gradually turning the heat up as time goes by. (Until of course the pan boils over and I have to clean the stove. Alright, I kind of lost my own metaphor there, didn't I?)

Mimi's lack of self-esteem makes me sad. But then again, who hasn't been there before? Sad sad sad... I know, because I've been there too. (Still am there in a way!)

Oh, and if you want to know exactly what kind of beat Mason did their sexy dance to, it was a song called "Never an Easy Way" by Morcheeba. I was just listening to the CD yesterday and thought it had a perfect beat for sexy-dancing.

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