Lust Addiction: Chapter 2
"You look different." Chouji observed, munching hungrily on his daily bag of potato chips.
"Do I?" Shikamaru asked in a slightly different tone than his usual blatant monotone as he rocked back and forth in the hammock.
Shikamaru couldn't stop thinking about today's events as they unraveled over and over in his head. How could he forget it? Her taste, her warmth, her fierce determination and seemingly unwavering confidence? The way she pulled him closer, making his stomach churn with a strange mix of feelings and the wave of heat he felt flustering in his blood and across his flesh and the feeling that he needed her closer to him? How could he possibly explain the delightfully nauseating rush of emotion he felt from something that had happened in less than a minute? He couldn't.
He had kissed other girls before but this was somehow different. The reason lay somewhere in the deep, crazed confines of his complex mind and he thirsted for an answer but felt too lazy to pursue it further.
Chouji looked at Shikamaru curiously as he chomped down on a bowl of Sushi. Something about the usually bore was off. Maybe he shaved or maybe he became the world champion at Shogi. 'Whatever', he thought; he liked this new Shikamaru better.
"Hey Shikamaru, wanna play––?" Chouji asked, cut off by Shikamaru's fake snore.
Dimwitted Chouji scowled at "sleeping" Shikamaru and muttered, "Lazy ass only knows how to sleep."
As Chouji began walking out, Ino came charging in, her palms caked with dirt resting on her hips and a countenance that could not unfrown itself. She glared at Chouji accusingly and asked in a calm and slow but very scary voice, "Chouji…where are my tomatoes?"
Chouji gulped loudly and began to stammer, "Ino-chan, you see, well, um, I… I…, they make great sandwiches!"
Ino slapped the back of his head. "You idiot! I've been trying to grow these tomatoes for nearly two months now! Ugh! Baka! Sasuke is very particular about his tomatoes…"
This last sentence made Shikamaru frown in distaste. "Stop chasing the Uchiha boy," he said flatly.
"Hey! I thought you were sleeping!" Chouji said accusingly. Ino glared at him in a way that said, 'If you don't want another backhand from me, I suggest you shut the hell up.'
"How can I sleep with the buffoon's annoying munching and the screeching berating voice that swallows up the entire room?"
Ino stuck her tongue out at Shikamaru, a signal to him of her unwillingness to care. "Still," Ino began, "I thought that if I can bring flowers to life, that I should be able to do the same thing for tomatoes. But the fatass over there just keeps eating everything!"
"Why the hell would you grow tomatoes for a guy?" Shikamaru inquired.
"Well, he's not just any guy! He's SASUKE! Besides, Sakura has him all to herself every day. I need to do something if I'm gonna have a chance," Ino justified. "And anyways, why do you care?"
"I don't. He's just not right for you." Shikamaru said passively, then shrugged and shut his eyes once more.
"Hah!" Ino threw her head back dramatically and burst into laughter. "And you are?" she asked him dubiously, arching an eyebrow.
"Honestly, I really don't care. All I'm saying is that he loves no one but himself but if you want you can plant your little tomatoes or whatever and hope he falls in love with you…"
"I can try," Ino defended.
"You know, the only person I could possibly see with him is that pink-haired chic; What was her name? Oh yes, Sakura. Her or some whore."
Awkward silence filled the room as Ino's face twisted in disgust.
"How come he doesn't get smacked in the back of his head?" Chouji complained.
Ino pulled out one of her trowels and pelted it at Chouji.
"Ow! That hurt, Ino-chan!" Chouji shouted in pain, scared to say anything else.
Shikamaru laughed and Ino kicked the side of his hammock.
"Don't worry. You watch and see… I will be Sasuke's woman in less time than you think." Ino affirmed.
"Hehe. Yeah right!" snickered Shikamaru self-righteously.
"Is that a challenge?" Ino asked, exuberance bubbling through her body.
"I don't care." Shikamaru said and turned around in his hammock.
"I love challenges! Before you know it, I'll be in the arms of Sasuke Uchiha, the man of my dreams!" Ino sighed dreamily, the fan girl in her emerging.
"How pitiful," Shikamaru observed apathetically. "Alright guys. I'm heading home. Too tired to be in such exciting company…" Shikamaru said sarcastically, getting up from the hammock and waving goodbye to his comrades.
Ino, whose thoughts were still ensnared by dreamy Sasuke, looked at Shikamaru and snapped back into reality. Running after him, she called, "Hey Sleepyhead!"
"What now?" Shikamaru asked, annoyed by her presence.
"Remember our plan. Nosmoking. If I catch you, you're dead. Understand? I'm not kidding. Dead." Ino warned.
"Ok, yeah, whatever." Shikamaru said uncaringly.
Ino reached up to kiss him but Shikamaru's hands restrained her.
"Ino," he said sternly, "I'm fine. I don't need anything from you."
Ino's face was covered in bewilderment. Wasn't this part of the deal?
Shikamaru left her standing confused and began to walk away, lost in his own thoughts.
Ino called out one last time, "Are you sure?" but he did not answer her.
Shikamaru did not want to admit it, but he felt a little bit jealous. While Sasuke could simply reject her every attempt at a relationship, Shikamaru knew Ino for years. He knew that she loved challenges and would do almost anything to accomplish them. He knew that his objections and rationales would not stop her, especially if it was against something she wanted. Furthermore, there was no way to assume that that Sasuke would think twice about taking away what he could from Ino if she offered it, and he knew she would. It just was not right. 'Whatever', he thought, 'it's not my problem, she can do whatever she wants.'
Shikamaru reached his porch, which stood empty and quiet. Shikamaru sat down on the wooden swing and took the cigarette box out of his pocket. He opened the box and lo and behold, every single cigarette had a lipstick mark on it.
"Heh," Shikamaru smiled as he put the box back in his pocket.
He went in his room to find it just as he had it before––clothes strewn about, books and scrolls loitering his bedroom floor and note from his mom and dad about their weeklong vacation on his dresser. Not wanting to deal with anything else, Shikamaru emptied his pockets and put them on the dresser and plopped down on his futon and closed his eyes, breathing deeply as he drifted off into restless sleep.