It was a Friday night and you and your friends had a few days off to spend some time in the living world. Rangiku was already drunk and giggling a lot as you all went out, Yumichika had spent the longest getting ready while Ikkaku tried to hurry him up. Orihime chatted to you, Chad and Rukia as you walked to the bar, about the new recipes she wanted to try out and Renji and Ichigo argued in the background.
Everyone sat around the table with drinks while you looked around happily at the group. Earlier that day you had been talking with Rukia who had admitted she had feelings for Ichigo, but was worried he didn't feel the same way. Ichigo probably couldn't tell Rukia liked him as anything more than a friend, he seemed completely oblivious to how women felt about other people. You and Orihime had hatched a plan to get them to spend some time closer together without everyone else being around. Orihime pulled Rukia up to dance with her away from the table, she had the easy job.
"Come dance with us" you tugged at Ichigo's hand attempting to get him to stand up.
"Do I have to? You know dancing isn't really my thing"
Renji laughed "Yeah he couldn't dance even if he wanted to"
"Could too" Ichigo retorted. You shot a glare at Renji and yanked on Ichigo's hand again.
"C'mon, pleeeease, it'll be fun" you begged.
"Fine but only one" He begrudgingly replied.
You brought Ichigo over to where Rukia and Orihime were and winked at Orihime. You moved out from in between Ichigo and Rukia so that they were closer. Then as they became more focused on each other, you and Orihime slipped away. She went off to talk with Chad and you leaned against the bar watching Ichigo and Rukia dance with a smile on your face.
"Sneaky" grinned a handsome readhead.
"Whatever do you mean?" you ask with a raised eyebrow, a small twinkle in your eyes
"I just see what you're doing is all" he replied easily
"Oh, and what would that be?"
"You know Ichigo is helpless at this stuff, probably a good thing you gave him a little nudge in the right direction"
"You saying you don't need any help?" you tease. He flicks you lightly on the arm and pulls you onto the dance floor and spins you around. As you turn to face him again his expression changes. "I don't need help, I know what I want". His eyes find yours and you blush slightly, not knowing what to say. Renji had never looked at you that way before, or maybe he had and you hadn't noticed. It felt a little awkward but you were more intrigued that anything else. You wondered what he meant exactly, was this him teasing you or not? It was hard to tell, as your relationship so far had been friendly with light hearted banter thrown back and forth. But now as the music became more intense and the lights flashed around you, you felt drawn to him and the two of you got closer and closer until you could feel his breath on your neck and face as you danced together.
Until now you hadn't thought much about how you felt about Abarai Renji, but looking at him now you were struck by how… sexy he was, the way some of his hair had fallen out of his topknot and tumbled over his face, the way his eyes sparked and the spice laden scent you hadn't noticed before.
You suddenly became conscious of how much you were staring and dropped your eyes. You wondered if he had noticed. Of course he had, you were almost bumping into him, your breath hitched as his hand brushed against your hip. You felt as if where he had touched was burning, was that an accident? You started to become flustered and tried to hide it by babbling something about needing some air and practically running away, leaving behind a bewildered and somewhat disappointed Renji to stare after you.
You took a deep breath as you stepped outside and tried to calm your shaking hands. What were you so embarrassed about? It was just a dance, you sighed and thought about how it must have looked you running off like that. You were no good at reading people, and even if Renji had been enjoying looking at you as much as you had been looking at him, it didn't mean he was really that interested.
"I'm just as helpless as Ichigo" you huffed in annoyance.
"Who's helpless?" Ichigo sauntered over to you. "You ok? Rukia saw you leave in a hurry and wondered if something was wrong?"
"Ah – n-no not really" You stuttered "I just needed some air."
"You sure?" Ichigo looked concerned.
"Yeah, hey did you have fun with Rukia?" you said changing the subject hurriedly.
"Umm sure, it was fun I guess"
"I said you were helpless" you smirked.
"What do you mean?" He looked confused.
"Never mind , I'm gonna head home now anyway"
"Do you want someone to walk you home? It's late"
"No i'll be fine, it's not that far" you reply and turn to go before he could insist. You wanted to be alone to think about how you had felt in the bar dancing with Renji, and how you were going to make the next time you met not feel incredibly uncomfortable.