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CHAPTER 4 ~ Birthday Boy
Sorry for any typos you might come across while reading the ffic. I try to keep at a minimum or none at all, but sometimes they slip…
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The next few days were busy days for Sakura, Ino and Sai. They met up everyday in their free time to made plans for Naruto's upcoming birthday. Since then, everyone of their friends knew about the party, except for Naruto. He was as clueless as he ever appeared. Sometimes, they even wondered if he even knew his birthday was coming. But either way, Sakura and co wanted it to be a special surprise, especially now that Sasuke was there Naruto had no other reason to be sad.
Ino and Sakura sat in Ino's living room, while Sai was out gathering some party supplies with Shikamaru. It was Friday, only a day away from the birthday. So far, they only need a few more things before they could prepare and invade Sasuke's place at sunrise. They thought it was probably best to use his place, which thankfully he agreed to, than Naruto's house. The less cleaning and tidying up the more time it would them to have everything ready. Besides, having Sasuke's place gave everyone so much more space and less likelihood for Naruto to find out..
"I am so excited for tomorrow!" Ino began, a hand full of tiny paper cups. They were about to make cupcakes for the lucky boy and everyone that will be attending.
"Yeah, me too. I'm sure Naruto will be thrilled when he walks in the room," said Sakura, scooping a spoonful of batter into the paper cups, which sat neatly inside the cupcake holder.
"Oh yes, he wil . . . Mmm, these cupcakes will turn out to be delicious," said Ino,giving Sakura a hand with the batter.
"So we have chocolate, red velvet, and vanilla. These will turn out just great."
"Do you think Sai and Shikamaru will be ok with the shopping errands?"
"I'm sure they can handle it. Are you sure that is the only concern of yours?" Sakura asked, knowingly.
"Well, you know Sai and Shikamaru don't always hang out just the two of them…" Ino began.
"You mean you're worried if they'll get along just fine," Sakura read her friend's thought. Ino had been seeing Sai for a while now, but before that she was dating Shikamaru. Before Sai came into the picture, Ino and Shika had somewhat of a rocky relationship, especially with Shikamaru's history with Temari, the princess from Suna. They argued all the times, but then they would make up right after. Ino could never hold a grudge on Shikamaru. Perhaps, except for one thing that concerned another blonde lady that would visit Konoha ever so often. Eventually it became too much that Ino broke it off. Sai was there to help her through her break-up, which gradually ignited something between the two. They had begun to date for three months now, and from what Sakura knew, it was going just great. Oh, the stories Sakura had to hear from Ino. But overall, she had no objections about the couple.
Ino sighed. "I shouldn't worry about that. Shika and I were long over before Sai and I started to date anyway. And it's been lovely – less fighting, more loving, if you know what I mean," said Ino, with a wink.
"At least you have a love life," said Sakura, putting the tray of cupcakes aside to start on a new one.
"And you can't really complain, Sakura. You haven't even been out with a guy since…you know, forever. You got to loosen up a little, hun."
"Well, there isn't anyone here that I'm interested of, you know that," said Sakura, to her own defense.
"Because of Sasuke?" Sakura didn't answer, looking down at the to-be cupcakes. "Well, at least on the bright side, he is in town…And single, may I say. So maybe now it's your chance. Beside, you have me out of the picture, so you wouldn't have much of a competition," the blond teased with a laugh, which granted her a funny face from the pink head.
"Sasuke-kun isn't interested in me. Otherwise, he would have shown that," said Sakura, knowing her fact.
"Don't count the time when he was crazy obsessive about revenge. That period is long gone. Who knows, you might be wrong."
"Aha, I wouldn't count on that."
"You can't give up before you even started, Forehead. Besides, you've never even been with a man before. Therefore, my point is valid. You got to looooosen up a bit," said Ino with the emphasis at the end.
Sakura blushed at her statement. She hadn't told Ino about her and Sasuke. It was true, she had never been physically intimate or close with a man before. Sakura just never felt the connection with anyone. She often thought any trace of romantic sparks had died along with Sasuke's absence after the great war.
Ino noticed Sakura's red cheeks and gasped. "Oh no, something happened, didn't it, Sakura? What is it? Tell me!" Now Ino was all ears.
Crap! Was Sakura's thought. She was horrible at keeping certain things from Ino, especially this kind of this. Men and relationships were one of Ino's favorite subjects, and her intuitions were just too strong. "Well,…Nothing really happened," Sakura tried to hide.
"Sakura, I doubt that. Your face is beet red right now. Is it someone that we know?" Ino asked, excitedly.
"Ino. I really don't want to talk about it now. I still don't know if there is going to be anything. It wasn't anything … special anyway," she said shyly.
Ino pondered for a moment before saying, "alright, fine. But just give me a itty bitty detail." When Sakura didn't give in, she added, "Pleeaaaaaase?"
Sakura finally sighed. "Ok, ok! Stop with the questions, jeez. It was a one-night stand about two weeks ago. That's it. No more questions!" Sakura put down her spoon, and carried the trays of cupcakes to the oven, ready to be baked.
"Mhmmm," Ino happily licked her spoon of batter before putting it in the now empty bowl, an ever curious look on a face.
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The next day, Sasuke handed Sakura and Ino his living room. They arrived pretty early for the day, both with bags of items to decorate the house. Sai and Shikamaru showed up shortly with the cupcake goodies from Ino's place. Sasuke cleaned up the place pretty good and he slid the back door open that displayed a colorful garden of flowers, with a tiny stream of water running through it. There was a cherry blossom tree growing by the fence, and another one on the opposite side. Ino and Sakura looked out in awe at the lovely nature display.
"Wow, your backyard is so beautiful, Sasuke. Sakura never told me your house had this," Ino said, amazed, walking out into the wooden pranks outside the door to take in the full view. It was going to be sunny day today, just perfect to be the birthday for the ever cheerful sunshine of Konoha. Sasuke threw some leftover bread onto the green grass, where several birds flew down to peck on them.
"A perfect place for a party," Sai said, wrapping an arm around Ino's shoulders. Shikamaru looked at the couple in silence before he turned back to the kitchen. A moment later, everyone went in to join the man with the high pony tail. Ino went to turn up the music to get some beats going on in the house, and starting up the party mood. The boys went to set up the tables for the food and drinks in the living room while Sakura put everything out from the bags they brought in.
Shikamaru came by Sakura to look at the items they girls brought over. They were some lighting equipment and decorations for the place. "You two really worked it up, huh. So many things. You sure we'll need all of this?" he asked, a troublesome look on his face.
"Of course, Shika. Don't be a lazy bum," Ino came over to stand next to him. She knelt down to pick up a banner than said "HAPPY BIRTHDAY!" and handed it to the man next to her. "Here you go, you can start by putting this up," she smiled at him.
"Ah, and today starts," he said with a sigh, the huge gold banner in his hands. "What a troublesome woman," he murmured and Ino gave him a look. Shika then walked away and called for Sasuke, "Hey Sasuke, mind giving a boost with a chair?"
The five of them continued to set up the place before the party. All were busy, trying to get as much done as possible before it was time for Naruto to get up. It was only about eight in the morning, and knowing Naruto, he was most likely still in bed, dreaming about God knew what. In Sakura's point of view, her experience didn't allow her to ask that question. Too many times had she walked in on the blond, deep in sleep, mumbling something from his dreams, things that she wished she did not hear.
Half an hour later, Hinata showed up at the doorstep with TenTen. Sakura ran up to peek outside to make sure that it wasn't Naruto. Upon seeing the sight of her friends, she widely opened the door and welcomed them inside. Hinata was holding a white paper box which its inside hid a lovely cake to be exposed at the time of the party. Tenten was beside her, with more bags at her side. The girls looked happy and awake, especially for Hinata. Sakura greeted them and they entered the house, seeing the inside of Sasuke's place for the first time.
"Wow, this is a big house you have here, Sasuke. I wonder how you manage to live here all by yourself," Tenten said, before realizing what she had just stated. Opps? Sakura noticed that and interrupted.
"It sure is spacious. But a lovely place nonetheless. Here, let me help you with the cake, Hinata. Your hands must be tired for carrying the cake all the way here." Sakura held out her hands for the cake.
"Oh...Uh, thanks, Sakura," said Hinata, sweetly, sliding the paper box over to Sakura's open palms ever so carefully. Sakura then went to put it inside the refrigerator inside the kitchen.
"You have already done so much. What can we do here?" Hinata asked, eagerly to help.
"There's a little more decorating to do, food preps and then it's all set!" Ino said somewhere from the living room.
They all continued to work like this, while occasionally they would sing and dance when someone's favorite song came on. Although at the same time, they tried to conserve their energy as much as possible for the event. At about nine thirty, it was time to start Naruto's day. The plan was to have Sasuke and Sai stop by Naruto's place to drag him out for training, a hike or whatever crazy adventures they wanted to explore on this warm sunny morning. They were to keep the blond busy the entire morning and to intentionally starve him for the party, with the exception for breakfast. It would have been too cruel not the let the birthday boy eat at all. Although on the contrary, technically, none of them are really boys anymore by their age, but their interactions and behaviors sometimes still depicted otherwise.
Later in the evening, they all went up to have a wash at Naruto's place and to have Naruto ready for the event. Then, they'd bring him over by Sasuke's place when it was time. After Sasuke and Sai left the building, Shikamaru retreated for the morning. The ladies stayed in the kitchen to cook and finished up the preparation. It was their free time inside Sasuke Uchiha's empty house and they all felt funny to be left alone here. They could practically roam around the mysterious compound if they wanted to, though they decided against it. It was only a thought of what funny things could be hidden there.
"So…Hinata, did you get Naruto anything?" Ino asked, looking up at the dark blue-haired hair girl, whose hair shone a pretty mix of purple and blue colors in the light.
"There is the birthday cake that Hinata spent literally all day on yesterday," stated TenTen.
"That is such dedication. I'm sure Naruto will love it!" said Sakura, smiling at Hinata.
"Well, it is a special day, so it has to be made special," Hinata said, a blush creeping up on her face. All of them came to be good friends after the academy and spent a lot of time together. They knew Hinata's unwavering feelings for Naruto, although sometimes Naruto was just too oblivious to notice the small hints Hinata would occasionally drop. None of them knew, however, of Hinata's confession years ago. And five years later, her feelings still held strong. Only if one of them would just make the first move. Hinata had always too shy around Naruto to say anything of her feelings openly, while Naruto was just too energertic and friendly to do anything regarding the matter. Ino, TenTen and Sakura believed they would make such a cute couple.
"Hinata, I don't know what you are waiting for. You and Sakura are about the same in this," Ino said with an exaggerated sigh. When it came to men, Ino had always been the flirtatious and assertive one. She never really had much problem when it came to men in general. TenTen, on the other hand, had been dating Neji for a total of three long years. He was her first love and her first relationship, thus, essentially, TenTen never really had to worry about men at all, except for her boyfriend, of course. Ino had been in a few relationships and many dates to know much about the dating games, so she was the one they'd come to about men. Though, this also didn't give Ino an easy pass in her relationships in the past.
"Maybe we are just waiting for the right moment," Sakura said in their defense.
"That's why you're both twenty-two and still haven't gone out on a single date with a man," said Ino, matter-of-factly.
"I agree with Sakura…I don't think Naruto is ready yet…" Hinata mentioned.
"Well, what about tonight? It's his birthday, so he'll be pretty happy. I think it's the perfect time to sweep him off his feet. Or armor, or whatever," suggested Ino, with a bright smile. Sakura and TenTen agreed. For all they knew, Naruto had a soft spot for Hinata. He would compliment her when he could and support her when she was ever in doubts. They just couldn't see the blond ever turning down the lovely Hinata, if she ever asked him out.
"Maybe. Maybe I'll do that," said Hinata, uncertain of her own statement.
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At around three in the afternoon, Naruto came home exhausted. He had just had a series of long spar with his two teammates and now ready for a nice warm shower. They arrived to Naruto's place, all sweaty from their all-day training session. A nap might have to ensue afterward to regain their energy. Once inside the house, Naruto called for a shower, while Sasuke and Sai set their bags and sat inside Naruto's room. Both had their evening clothes folded neatly in their travel bags, ready to be worn at any given moment. After Naruto was done, Sai and Sasuke took turns at the bathroom. They boy had to literally stopped and wrestled Naruto when the blond tried to make himself ramen after training. He didn't understand why they wouldn't just let him eat. Because it was two against one, Naruto gave in unwillingly. The boys then decided to hang out in the bedroom before falling asleep.
It was five in the evening when Sasuke woke up from his nap. He looked around to see Naruto and Sai still deep asleep. He got himself up and walked towards Sai and Naruto, waking them. When they were up, he insisted they go have dinner at his house, just as according to the plan.
"Your place, Sasuke? Teme, you never invited us to go to your house like this before…" Naruto said, his eyes narrowed in suspicion.
"Hey, if you don't want to come, fine by me but, Dobe, don't complain later on," said Sasuke, crossing his arms.
"What is Naruto saying? Of course we'd come over!" Sai said, faking a laugh. He didn't want to become fish food if somehow Naruto and Sasuke bickered and it resulted in Naruto not coming to his own birthday party. He wasn't exactly sure if he was more scared of being fish food, or whether he was more afraid of Ino's or Sakura's wrath. Either way, he didn't want to find out. And there he was, playing a good teammate to ensure Naruto was coming.
"Alright, alright, we'd go. I'm starving anyway," said Naruto, a growl heard from his stomach. True, all of them were pretty hungry.
Inside Sasuke's house, everything was set to go. Music volume was turned down, so it wouldn't give the surprise away when Naruto arrived. Hinata, Ino and Sakura had already arrived and they were setting out food into the living room. Little by little, their friends arrived. It was TenTen and Neji first. TenTen was dressed up in a green dress that came down to her knee and Neji had a dress shirt on and a pair of black pants. Lee, Kiba, and Shina showed up later with a few bottles of champagne in their hands. Then came Chouji, Shikamaru, Karin, Iruka-Sensei and Kakashi. They all came handy with gifts for the twenty-two year old man who would soon arrive.
Around six-thirty, a door bell rang. Sakura went to look at the side window to see that it was Sasuke, Naruto and Sai. She tiptoed back to whisper to everyone of their arrival. The lights in the living room were turned off, and Sakura slowly opened the door to her awaiting guests.
"Hello, Naruto," greeted Sakura, a smile on her face. Naruto was wearing a light blue shirt, Sasuke in white shirt with dark blue pattern, and Sai was in a yellw and green shirt. Naruto saw Sakura and became confused.
"Sakura-chan, what are you doing here? And why do you look so nice?" The blond asked, oblivious and confused at her pink and red dress.
Sakura shrugged innocently. "Just having to stop by today. Come on inside!" Naruto took the step inside along with Sai and Sasuke behind him. Sakura then closed the door behind him and flicked the light on to reveal a big gold Happy Birthday banner and everyone inside.
"HAPPY BIRTHDAY, NARUTO!" shouted everyone as they came around to give him a hug. The men tried to stay behind while the ladies didn't mind giving a birthday hug. Naruto was literally stunned by all of it that he didn't have time to react before he was attacked and glomped, only to be supported by Sasuke and Sakura in the back.
"Oh wow, everyone, thank you. Umm, so this was a set-up, huh?" Naruto grinned, a hand in his hair.
Sakura led him to the living room and invited everyone to eat. Everyone was having a good time. Then Lee popped a bottle of wine open and served it to the birthday man. Kiba followed suit and pretty soon everyone had a drink in their hand. Even Tsunade heard of the party and arrived just in time to have some sake. She was nothing more than delighted. Later, Hinata carried out the cake she baked from the kitchen, topped with twenty two brightly lit candles. Everyone sang a happy birthday and Naruto almost cried.
"This is…This is just beautiful. Did you make this, Hinata?" Naruto asked, his eyes widened. He lookied at the colorful chocolate and vanilla cake in front of him.
"Yes. I hope you like it, Naruto," said Hinata with a blush. Of course Naruto didn't just like it. He loved it! He gave her a tight bear hug and she felt her blood rushing up to her face. Ino and Sakura wouldn't help giggling at the cute sight and Sai took a picture with his camera. Later, they started to entertain themselves with some games and music.
The karaoke machine was hooked up and ready in the room. Karin called first and took the liberty to be first on the floor. She grabbed the mic from Kiba and sang her song all the way through without a flaw. Sakura watched her eye Sasuke the entire song. Sakura could tell she was deliberately being seductive by the way her red smokey eyes looked at Sasuke while he comfortably sat on the couch next to Shikamaru and Kiba, who were obviously enticed by either her ability to sing or her ability to dance while singing. Sakura looked for Sasuke's reaction. He didn't have much really, as he quietly sat, sipping his drink in his hand as there wasn't anything much for Sasuke to look at. Chouji was sitting by Shikamaru and munching down his food while trying to talk, and Lee on Sasuke's other side, who were watching Karin sing and swing her lips with every rhythm. Sasuke tried to look away but occasionally his gaze fell back on the red-headed lady. It was annoying for him to sit there and watch Karin trying to seduce him with the swaying of her hips with the rhythm.
"You have to admit. She got skills," Ino came up beside Sakura, crossing her arms.
"She sure does, doesn't she. You can obviously see her trying to get a reaction from Sasuke-kun," said Sakura, her eyes still on the two.
"Jealous? Don't tell me the one-night stand was with Sasuke?" Ino said, excitement literally gleamed off the baby blue irises as the blonde girl suddenly turned around to look at her best friend.
"What? Ino, how could you say that? And here? And for your information, no, I am not jealous!" Sakura said, trying to remain composed.
"So it was Sasuke?"
"Look, Ino, you're talking about Sasuke-kun here. We've already talked about this."
"But you're not denying it." Ino said, still beaming.
"Think whatever you want, Ino. I'm going to get some more drink," said Sakura. She then walked away to the drink table, where Sai and Tsunade were betting money how many drinks it would take for Naruto to get drunk. Naruto, on the other hand, were already drowning himself with alcohol, and motioned with his hands wildly that the great Naruto Uzumaki would never get drunk so easily! Apparently, he was already on the verge of doing so.
When Karin was done with her turn, Tsunade got up from where she was sitting with Sai and went to take over the mic. "Let me show you all how this is done!" she said loudly. Halfway into the song, the blonde woman with golden eyes started slurping more drink while trying to keep up with the song. Shikamaru saw that, shook his head, and said, "and there she goes again." Before she could embarrass herself further, Shizune ran up to the woman and snatched the microphone away from the Slug Princess and gave it to Kakashi, who happened to idly stood by. Then Shizune tugged her away while Tsunade shot her an evil eye, and tried to get back in the party.
"No my lady, you ARE drunk! We're leaving now!" Shizune wrapped her petite arms around the strong woman. With the help of Iruka-Sensei, Tsunade was assisted out of the building.
Now, Kakashi was left with the mic in his hand. "KAKASHI! KAKASHI! KAKASHI!" the crowd cheered and urged the man with a mask to sing. He sweatdropped. It was futile to escape now as every eye in the room turned to look at him, as though they were ready to tackle the man if he was to make even a move for flight. Sometimes he wished they hadn't grown so quick. At least then, they wouldn't have much of a chance to chase him down by force. Ah, well, just my luck tonight Kakashi mused to himself,.
Kakashi clicked on a song title. Hidden under his dark gray mask, he opened his lips. All eyes and ears were fixated by the smooth and deep voice that resonated the room. Kakashi raised his free arm dramatically, and acted out the lyrics while his other hand held the mic close to his obscured lips.
"Man, I never knew Kakashi-sensei could sing," Lee mentioned to Hinata. She shyly nodded. Karin came by and tried to steal a seat next to Sasuke on the couch. Shikamaru noticed as her movement was squeezing him closer to Chouji. Suddenly, it became just too many people on the sofa. Sasuke tried to stand up, but Karin skillfully wrapped an arm around Sasuke's upper limb to prevent him from getting up.
"Sasuke…," she said. Her eye glittered through her lashes.
"It's getting kind of hot in here," Sasuke said.
"All I see that's hot here is you," flirted Karin. She tried to get closer but Sasuke just leaned backwards against Lee. Karin was obviously high and Sasuke was trying to wedge off any advancement.
Later in the night, Naruto and a few others came to sit down on the floor. Someone saw a deck of cards on the shelf and brought it down. Naruto, Ino, Sai, Hinata, Sakura and Neji formed a circle and started to play a game of cards. Tenten was leaning gently against Neji's back as she watched over.
"Since it is my birthday, you know I'm going to win," Naruto chattered on, a drink close to his knee.
"Oh, I wouldn't count your chicken before they're hatched, Birthday Boy," said Ino, looking happily on the lucky cards in her hands. As the game went on, there were only Ino, Hinata and Naruto left in the game. "Aww, man, I almost had that," Ino fumed when she lost. Sai calmed her down with a pat in the back and they started to make out.
"Ah, get a room Ino," groaned Sakura and Naruto. Sometimes, the blondie and the black hair really had no sense of public display of affection.
"Well, just you and Hinata now," TenTen said. She took a quick peek at Hinata's and Naruto's hands and smiled. "I say the winner gets to choose something for the loser."
"Hey, that's not fair, you looked TenTen!" Naruto said, holding his cards close to his chest, protruding his lips like a stubborn child. Tenten shrugged and looked at Neji, innocently. Sakura thought up of something, "I say you are scared to lose, Naruto!"
"Naruto-kun. Don't worry,…I think you might actually win," said Hinata, giving him a boost of confidence.
"Hinata, now the game isn't over yet," said Tenten. Neji smirked at the situation in front of him. He knew his cousin had her eyes set on the blond male for years but he wasn't sure why she never took the initiative. Eventually, Naruto and Hinata took their final round. Hinata smiled when Naruto swung his arms up in excitement.
"And that's how you win!" He boasted.
"Congratulations, Naruto-kun. You won," Hinata said.
"Thank you, Hinata. You were amazing!," Naruto said, which granted a bright blush on Hinata's face.
"Now, you get to wish something from Hinata," said Sakura, a hint in her eyes. Naruto looked up at her, then Hinata, musing over what funny things he could ask of her. No, no that is too funny. I can't do that to Hinata, it might embarrass her. Hmmmm…
Sakura saw Naruto didn't get the hint and she sighed to herself. Idiot, now is your chance and you're not even getting the clue! Sakura silently swore to herself. Her blond friend was really such an idiot.
"A kiss!" someone shouted in the room. Ino and Sai stopped their make out session to look at what was going on.
"A kiss! A kiss!" another chanted. Naruto turned red, Hinata even redder at the repeated proposal from their group friends. "We want a kiss!" They could really act like children sometimes.
Naruto didn't know what to do as he succumbed to be victimized by the prompt. His heart started to race as he scooted closer to the girl with long dark hair, her eyes widened as she looked on to him with her beautiful white orbs. As he neared, he saw how she slowly closed her eyes and her lips slightly parted. Suddenly, all the noise in the room became inaudible as he, too, closed his eyes and leaned in to touch Hinata's pink lips gently with his own. He felt a warm sensation at the tips of his lips and he pushed on a little further.
For Hinata, it felt like an eternity. Her inside was trembling as though it would explode of butterflies. She opened her eyes slowly when their lips separated to see only a pair of ocean blue eyes in front of her, watching for her reaction. Naruto was smiling at her and she smiled back. And the world came flooded back to them, as the crowd cheered on merrily. Hinata thought she would pass out any moment from the lack of oxygen, but her body was too high in spirits to do so. Mission accomplished! Thought Sakura as she looked at TenTen and Ino, knowledgeably.
They rest of the evening went by nicely. Since Sasuke didn't want anyone to slumber over at his place like at his welcome home party, he made sure no one was reckless drinking to their drunken state. By midnight, everyone was out of his place. Naruto, the only one too drunk, was being carried home by Shikamaru and Chouji. Ino, Sakura and Hinata stayed home for a little while to clean and wrap up the place. Everyone seemed to have a wonderful time. As for Karin, Sasuke had to get her off him with the help of Sai, who, with Lee, took her home to Sakura's place. After, he shut his front door to the last guest, he staggered his feet over upstairs to his inviting bed and dropped his body onto it, leaving the night behind him.
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Sorry for the long delay from the last chapter. I'm finally back to school again, and it might not be as regular/frequent as before when I update new chapters. My apologies.
As for typos and certain idioms/phrases, I'll try to do the best I can with English being my 3rd language. Still improving!
For those who are concerned about multi Sasuke pairings. The ONE main pairing is SasuSaku, as the description said. SasuKarin is almost a side pairing, but since I like Karin I'm going to write some more about her in the future that hopefully no one will find it too distasteful. I can't promise though that everyone will like it…
So until next time…!