"Let me buy you a drink," the very aggressive woman slurred—she was clearly already quite intoxicated. I was not in the mood for this. The only reason I was at this club was because Lee had forcibly dragged me here. And it only took about three seconds after we'd arrived for him to become way too intoxicated and disappear onto the dance floor.
Why did I let him drive? I sighed, completely ignoring the other people at the bar—including the very aggressive woman trying to buy me repeated alcoholic beverages.
"C'mon, stop playing hard to get and just let me get you something."
"No, I'm fine." I didn't make eye contact, I just sat there. Man, I'm so good at this.
"Don't be like that." And that's when she draped her very inebriated self along my right shoulder and I froze. Didn't she realize I wasn't interested?
"Hey, there you are!" a new voice spoke up. I turned to identify the source and was completely blind-sided. Sitting on the seat to my left was a very, very attractive young woman. And she appeared to know me even though I had no idea who she was. "You should go now." She quickly shooed the drunken lady—who finally left after much mumbling—and I was left on my own with the new-comer.
"I'm Tenten," she introduced herself, holding out a hand. I shook it slowly, using that brief moment to truly take her in. Her long brown hair pulled up in a high ponytail and her sleeveless top left her neck and shoulders completely exposed which was very distracting. Add in her beautiful face and long legs….What was I saying?
That's when I realized her staring at me, a very weird look on that beautiful face. Oh no. I've been shaking her hand this entire time…Oh crap, she probably thinks I'm crazy. How do I save this? I quickly let go of her hand and ordered a couple drinks for us. Nailed it.
"Thanks," she said, taking the drink from the bartender. "You still haven't given me your name."
"Oh right," also taking the drink, but not drinking any of it. Lee was way too drunk to drive home, so I had dubbed myself the designated driver. "It's Neji."
"Well, nice to meet you, Neji. Do you always have girls hanging all over you, or was that the first time?"
What's the right response here? "I could've dealt with that without your help, by the way." Crap. That was not the right response. And I could tell by the look on her face.
"Sure you could've." She didn't sound serious. But I was just glad that she didn't leave right away. I'm such an idiot. "But I was feeling generous tonight, wanted to help out a poor soul."
"Oh, well thanks," I said, somewhat sarcastically since I didn't exactly feel complimented. An awkward silence ensued. Should I say something? But what? Compliment her. "I like your…" Hair? Shoes? Face? "Skin." I mentally smacked myself. Idiot.
"Haha, thanks. Your skin's not so bad either."
She's so cool and I'm such an idiot. She cut off my train of thought with, "So why are you here? You don't seem like the partying type, and you're definitely not here for the drinking." She motioned to my untouched beer at that point.
"Yeah, not really. My friend dragged me here."
"Oh, I get that feel. My friends somehow convinced me coming was a good idea."
"Guess we're both suckers then."
"I guess so," she laughed. She had such a gorgeous laugh. So distracting. Wait, did she just say something? What should I say?
"Yeah, totally."
She looked a little taken aback. Oh no. "I didn't take you for the dancing type to be honest, but awesome." And before I knew what was happening we were dancing. I'm a pretty sucky dancer. But she didn't seem to mind, and I certainly didn't mind watching her dance.
After what seemed like hours of laughing and dancing—more her than me—we were finally exhausted enough to stop. I located Lee quickly and dragged his inebriated butt off the dance floor to head home. "Well, it was nice meeting you." Ask for her number. Do it. Do it.
But before I could, she had slipped something into my pocket and whispered, "Call me." And as I drove home after I had one thought on my mind, Is it too soon to call her?
TENTEN:"Whoot! Clubbing!" I yelled the moment we got inside. Something about the air in a nightclub just got my blood boiling. Sakura and Ino just laughed at me. They had only come along after my insisting that nightclubs weren't near as fun alone. And I was right, knowing I had some friends with me made everything better. Of course about five minutes in I spotted a very attractive man being harassed at the bar and I knew I had to go to the rescue. Yelling to Sakura and Ino that I was going for a drink, I approached the man—who, did I mention, was very attractive.
"Hey, there you are!" I plopped myself down next to him and stared down the drunk woman making moves on him. "You should go now." Before I beat that little phase of yours, biatch. She finally left after a couple seconds of my death glare. Yeah, you better run.
Then the guy turned his attention to me. "I'm Tenten," I said, holding my hand out. He took it and while we shook I took a closer look at his exterior. His hair was long and brown—which I'd always been a sucker for—tied back loosely and he was really working that black V-neck. Damn, this boy is fine. Wait, why is he staring at me. Is there something on my face?
He ordered us drinks and as I thanked the waiter I was still sincerely hoping there wasn't anything on my face. Or was it in my teeth? Whatever. Wait…did he tell me his name. No I don't think he did. "You still haven't given me your name."
"Oh right. It's Neji."
"Well, nice to meet you, Neji. Do you always have girls hanging all over you, or was that the first time?"
"I could've dealt with that without your help, by the way."
I'm sorry, what? It's a good thing you're pretty, with responses like that. "Sure you could've." I finally decided that his face outweighed his last response, so I let him off the hook. "But I was feeling generous tonight, wanted to help out a poor soul."
"Oh, well thanks." Cue awkward silence. He spoke up first. "I like your…" He paused and I instantly thought, Oh my gosh. I'm hideous, he can't even think of something to compliment. "Skin." Heck yeah. I'm gorgeous. Nightly skin treatments are so paying off.
"Haha, thanks. Your skin's not so bad either." Man, I'm good. That's when I noticed he hadn't even touched his beer. Why did you order it then, bro?
"So why are you here? You don't seem like the partying type, and you're definitely not here for the drinking." I motioned to said drink. I was getting to the bottom of this.
"Yeah, not really. My friend dragged me here."
I instantly responded with, "Oh, I get that feel. My friends somehow convinced me coming was a good idea." I'm such a liar. Whatever, play it cool. Play it cool.
"Guess we're both suckers then."
"I guess so," I laughed, trying to make it natural. Quick, distract him. "So, do you want to go dance?" Idiot. There's no way he wants to dance.
After an awkward second he said, "Yeah, totally."
Hold up. We can still save this. "I didn't take you for the dancing type to be honest, but awesome." And then before he could change his mind, I dragged him onto the dance floor and started rocking out. He joined in—kind of—but he seemed to be enjoying himself, so I didn't stop. Plus, I just love dancing at clubs. It doesn't hurt to dance with a hot guy though. After about an hour, he looked pretty tired, so I led him off the dance floor. He quickly grabbed his friend—who was super drunk—and said, "Well, it was nice meeting you." No problem, any time. After a second, a very long second, of him not asking for my number I decided to make the move.
I slipped my number—luckily I'd had the foresight to write it down earlier—into his pocket and whispered, "Call me."
And as I danced the rest of the night away, I couldn't help but check my phone to see if he'd called.