The Heat of Summer Sunshine

By: Sweet Bliss

Chapter Four

"Who do you think got sexiest man alive?"

"Naruto, what the hell kind of question is that?"

The blonde haired teen pouted and answered, "A good one."

Sasuke sighed as he flipped through one of the gamer magazines in Naruto's home.

"Why do you have to ask me?"

"Sakura's not here, and you are basically a girl," he stated simply as he twirled in his computer chair, ignoring the glare Sasuke gave him. "Well, I personally think Byakuya Kuchiki is going to have a run for his money this year what with the arrival of Gin Ichimaru."

Sasuke raised a brow at the boy, who in return just shrugged. He didn't even know how he even became friends with the blonde haired boy. They were complete opposite. He liked quiet, Naruto liked loud. He preferred coffee, the blonde liked ramen. Sasuke didn't look at other men, Naruto fancied rating them. Yep, they didn't mix. Yet…

"I'll have to agree with you there, Naruto," a new, more feminine voice, said.

They all benefited the other.

Naruto was the first to greet her, even crushing her in a bear hug.

"Sakura-aaaaaaaaaaa! You made it! Sasuke was being the biggest party pooper ev-er!" Naruto whined dramatically, clutching Sakura as if she were a lifeline.

Sasuke was the one that physically removed the boy from the oxygen-deprived girl. She thanked him, her lungs adequately refilled with air. She plopped on the bed that Sasuke was leaning on, stealing away the magazine Naruto had been reading. She flipped through a few pages and then dropped it disgusted.

"Oh, no. They voted Yumichika Ayasegawa for the fifth sexiest man alive!" Sakura shrieked in horror, scaring the two boys in the room by the sudden outburst. Well, freaking out Naruto but disturbing Sasuke.

Naruto quickly recovered, snatched back the magazine and cried, "Who the hell was voting for this year?! Ayasegawa… What has the world come to?"

Sasuke watched bemused as his two friends squabbled about the fifth place winner. You'd think they'd be more interested in seeing who won first. He shook his head with a smirk on his face. No, that would be almost too normal for them.

Sakura dropped the topic as she merely brushed it off as an accident—she vowed to write them about their little error later. She opted for pulling out her carrier bag and grinned.

"Guess what I have!"

The two others raised their brows, confusion written across their faces.

She dug around in her bag for a second or two, but gave up halfway. It was much more efficient to turn the bag upside down and empty it.

Right on top of Sasuke's head…

"Why do you carry all this around?" he asked, picking grapes that had spilled from their container out of his dark locks.

Sakura just shrugged her shoulders stating, "I'm a food junkie."

Sasuke looked up at her from his seat on the floor, stems from the food still sticking out here and there. Sakura, giggling, plucked them out for him. And realizing how soft his dark tresses was she grew curious.

"Sasuke, how do you get your hair all soft and shiny?"

"Unlike some people I value hygiene." And then as an after thought, "I also don't go around dumping food on people's heads, either."

Sakura simply glared at the back of his head.

"What does that have to do with anything?"

Sasuke smirked to himself and replied, "It shows I'm more considerate."

Scoff. "Uh-huh, sure. Of course you are."

Naruto watched the display in relative humor, finding his best friends' playful banter way more interesting than that stupid magazine. And definitely a source of blackmail later. He grinned, rubbing his hands together in the clichéd evil guy way.

But the rumbling of his stomach drowned his plans out. It was enough to even stop the flirting of the other two.

He smiled sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head. "Heh, I guess I am a little hungry…" He eyed the containers of food that littered his floor.

"Well, I'm going to get something to eat with," the blonde haired boy said. He paused at his bedroom door and eyed the other two. "I really would prefer you not to have sudden urges on my bed. But just in case you do, use protection. I don't want to deal with a kid just yet."

He dodged the pillow Sakura threw at him just in time, stuck his tongue out, and hurried out the door.

Sakura huffed, sitting beside the dark haired male who now propped himself against the headboard. "I'm going to kill him. I'm going to kill him slowly. I'm going to make it very painful," she mumbled to herself causing Sasuke to quirk a brow.

"Maybe we should have those 'sudden urges' he was talking about," he stated, a smirk teasing the corners of his lips.

The seventeen-year-old girl turned pink and nodded in agreement with a smile. She crawled across the light orange comforter, placing her hands on either side of Sasuke's hips. It was just a joke after all. But somewhere, deep down—meaning the very first thing that was on her mind—she wanted it to be true.

Then again, who wouldn't?

However, his smirk fell and his dark orbs locked with hers. She did not attempt to move, nor did he say anything. Somehow, this wasn't just a joke between two friends anymore.

He was the first to initiate it, his hand on the back of her neck, bringing her face closer to his. They were so close that she could feel his breath tickling the corner of her mouth, the scent of maple syrup filling her senses. A small smile graced her features when she felt his hand trail from the back of her neck to rest on her cheek.

Sakura lowered her forehead onto his, giving him permission to kiss her. She'd probably never get used to feeling like this even if it were the third time.

"You know," he started after he pulled his head away, "it'd probably be better if Naruto wasn't in the next room."

Sakura sat up quickly, embarrassed beyond imagination. Somewhere amidst all of the sexual tension in the room, she forgot about her best guy friend.

"Do you think he…?" she began to voice out, looking at the male across from her.

Sasuke shook his head no and answered, "He's clueless."

And then a crash came from the room next door and a loud groan.

Sakura let out a sigh of relief, brushing back her light pink locks. Maybe Naruto being their friend wasn't a curse after all… But then again…

"OW! My ass," they heard their mutual friend say as he twisted the doorknob to the other room.

Sakura immediately jumped away from Sasuke at the sound of it turning. Except that she moved away too far and ended up tumbling off the bed just as Naruto entered.

His sapphire blue eyes blinked, obviously confused as to the others' positions. His dark haired friend was against the bed's headboard, his eyes closed and a smirk splayed across his lips. Sakura on the other hand was on her back in the floor, her legs sticking straight up, and her face similar to a cherry.

"Did I miss something? And if I did, do I want to know?" he questioned slowly, eyes darting back and forth between the two.

If possible, Sasuke's smirk only grew at his inquiries. So, something did happen. But before he could say anything more to the boy, Sasuke was up and at the bedroom door. With his hand on the handle he turned.

"Just following your advice," he stated slyly, and then he was gone.

It took a few minutes to get over the initial shock of Sasuke's words. Sakura, flushing red, had managed to even seat herself in an upright position. But Naruto's mouth was still agape and his bright blue eyes widened. Sakura began to worry about her ramen loving friend.

"Did… did he just say what I think he said…?" he asked overcoming his surprise.

The pink haired girl just laughed it off, a nervous grin on her face as she tried to convince her friend he was hearing things.

"You know how Sasuke is and all. Quite the kidder, don't you think?"

"Sakura, Sasuke doesn't have a sense of humor. Well, one that nobody would consider funny," Naruto said as he eyed his best female friend. "Oh, well, it's hard to tell his serious face between his funny face. They are very similar. And do you know what he did earlier? Burned all of the por—educational videos in my room. That wasn't very funny at all."

He might've said more, but Sakura tuned him out, nodding in agreement when he'd pause every so often. She propped her chin in her palm, elbow on her knee, as she smiled slightly, her thoughts trailing to a certain raven-haired coworker of hers.


Work the next day was fairly… interesting.

Sakura was feeling good that day. After all, today was one of the few times she got to leave work early. That and the fact that Yamanaka Ino, the only person she could discuss girl-talk with, was arriving that very evening. She had even decided that since the next day was her day off, she'd spend it with her best friend.

And her day just seemed to be getting better. Especially when Sasuke had tugged her into the hallway connecting the storage room to the front of the building. He gave her enough room to leave if she wanted to, but it wasn't like she was going to. She smiled up at him, anticipating what he was going to say or better, do.

"My, my, my. Sasuke, whatever are you going to do?" she asked innocently, her eyes half-lidded.

He smirked.

"Finish what we started yesterday," he murmured into her ear sending shivers down her spine.

His fingertips lightly danced across her face, trailing a line from down her jaw to her chin, tilting it so she looked up at him. She could have sworn there was a tiny smile playing at the corner of his lips. Their foreheads were against each other, his black tresses tickling her as she closed her own eyes, smiling at the feel of his caresses.

His hands trailed down her arms and to her waist, pulling her closer to his body. She could feel her pulse quicken, the thumping sound her heart made loud in her ears, and her knees felt like giving way. It was amazing how he could make her feel this way.

But no matter how good it felt someone always wanted to but in…

Their lips had just met when the bell above the entrance chimed. Sakura—masking her displeasure—gave him a small smile and broke away from him. There had been a lot of interruptions lately. Too many.

He watched her leave, enjoying the view he received when she walked back to the counter—it was almost as if she was swinging her hips like that on purpose. And when she turned to face him while working on the customer's order, a shy grin on her face, he couldn't help but cock his head to the side and smirk.

They'd have to make up for those two interruptions later.


"Sakura, is Ino really arriving today?" Naruto asked, seating himself down on the counter, much to Sakura's annoyance.

"Yes, now get off! You're scaring away all of the customers."

He feigned a look of hurt.

"It pains me so to have you say that."

Sakura smiled at him, the disappointment from earlier washing away slightly. She pinched his cheek, grinning widely when she earned a soft yelp of "ow".

"You know I just love you!"

Naruto looked at her incredulously, rubbing the red spot on his face.

He scoffed saying, "Yeah, you just love to hurt me. Sometimes I wonder how I can live with all of this abuse. Between you and Sasuke, I don't know who's worse!"

Laughing, she looked down at her watch noticing her shift had been over for five minutes already. She hastily grabbed her bag from the closet colliding into a very bewildered Sasuke who had just finished his shift as well.

"What's with her?" he asked Naruto, eyeing the pink haired girl that waved bye and then disappeared out the door.

The blonde blinked a couple of times and then answered, "Uh, I have no idea. It might have something to do with this really loud pig she calls her best female friend."

"Her only friends are you and a pig?"

This was amusing.

The blue-eyed boy laughed at the other teen and answered, "No, but extremely close, especially when she does this thing with her nose. And she can be a bit of a bitch some times. Her name's Ino, though, and her and Sakura are the best of friends." He then grinned slyly at his friend and continued. "So, if you ever want to be with 'Kura, then you better get on Ino's good side. And just so you know…there isn't one."

Sasuke rolled his eyes, annoyed by the boy on the countertop.

"Whatever, get off. I've got to close up."


Sakura hadn't meant to leave like that, but she was extremely excited to see her best friend again.

She had the whole day planned out. First, they'd swing by the beach, catch a few waves and then bask in the sunlight. Then she'd introduce her to Sasuke, and maybe (or at least she hoped) they would get along well enough for Ino to not worry about her being with the wrong person. After that, they'd go to the mall and catch up. And when it was all over, she'd be able to spend some of her time with Sasuke. Yep, it was simply perfect.

But sometimes the best-laid plans go awry…

So, here she was at the airport eagerly awaiting the Yamanaka family's arrival. She had changed out of her work uniform, now wearing a yellow t-shirt and khaki shorts over her green two-piece swimsuit. Her duffel bag was slung over one shoulder and sunglasses perched atop her rosy locks.

"FOREHEAD!" She heard someone scream and her smile grew wider.

Standing five feet in front of her was a gorgeous blond teenaged girl, sky blue eyes shining happily. Yamanaka Ino. A brown skirt and orange t-shirt was covering her curvaceous figure, and a perfect smile across her face.

Sakura waved at the girl, self conscious about her own looks when Ino came up to her. Not that she thought she was ugly, but it seemed that no matter what, she was always outshined by Ino. And it didn't help that all of those good-looking boys twenty feet away were either eyeing or whistling at her best female friend.

"Hey, I missed you so much!" Ino squealed embracing Sakura tightly.

Sakura smiled, patting the other's back, and said, "Ditto."

The blonde haired girl flipped her golden locks back and grabbed the shorter one's hand. "C'mon, you promised we'd go meet that guy you were talking about!"

And without even bothering to tell her parents (or grab her luggage and get it taken home) Ino dragged Sakura out of the airport.

Once they arrived, it didn't take long for Ino to start scouting out some "hot guys" as she said. She barely let Sakura have a word in, which she was completely used to. And it was a good thing, too, because Sakura had no way how to start the conversation with Sasuke.

But Ino gave up after a while stating, "They're all those losers I see at school." And then the spotlight was placed back upon her green-eyed friend.

"Is your mysterious lover like those jerks over there?" she asked pointing to a group of players she knew from school.

Shaking her head no, she answered, "He's not my lover, Ino. We're just really good friends who just so happened to have kissed three times already a-" She cut herself off when she saw Ino's eyes widen.

"Three!"

The girl nodded meekly as Ino grabbed her in a giant hug for the second time that day.

"Ino, I… can't…. breeeeeeeeeeeeath!"

"Oops, sorry?"

Sakura, free from the vice-like grip of the fair-haired girl, practically kissed the sand she had dropped onto. The other just laughed and punched her friend's shoulder lightly.

Then she stopped to ponder on things.

"Sakura, where is that little lapdog that follows you around?"

"Naruto? I dunno, I kind of left work in a rush."

Ino chuckled out, "That's probably a good thing. It's too beautiful a day to be ruined by that-"

She was cut off by a loud, piercing yell that sounded quite similar to her pink haired best friend's name. But it couldn't be…

"Hey, look it's a freak," she greeted him.

He countered her insult with one of his own, "Hey, look it's a bitch."

Sakura grinned at their display. Even if they didn't act like it, Naruto and Ino were actually on good terms with each other. She just assumed they acted they way they did was because they were so similar.

He sat down beside them, giving Ino a quick hug, muttering, "Missed you, Pig." And Ino just smiled softly and said, "Missed you, too… dork!"

Then Ino turned to her friend, prompting her to continue about her secret lover 9which Sakura whole-heartedly denied to having such a thing). But Sakura stopped short on her explanation when Ino's attention was caught by "a total cutie" as she had said. And when Sakura saw who had caught Ino's eye, her smile drooped.

It was Sasuke.

Naruto, somehow knowing about the whole Sasuke-Sakura relationship, was also quite disappointed. He turned to see the expression on the less popular girl's face, and his face immediately softened.

"I think I should talk to him. Sakura, do you know him?"

There was a pause and then a slight nod. Ino failed to notice the quiver of Sakura's lower lip.

"So, you'll introduce me then," the bubbly girl said excitedly, winking at her best girl friend.

Sakura forced a fake smile on her face, not bothering to look at Naruto's sympathetic appearance. "Sure. Of course I will!" Ino just smiled, hugged the girl, and focused her attention back onto Sakura.

"So, Sakura, what were you saying?" the blond female asked, placing her light blue sunglasses on top of her golden locks.

Sakura felt her own green eyes water. She was too late and now her best friend liked Sasuke. But how could she have kept him from Ino anyway? Eventually, he would have fallen for those big blue eyes and her charming smile. She was an aspiring model for heaven's sake! What did she have? Nothing. Flat chest, feisty personality, and hair the color of a sticky substance you scrape off the bottom of your shoe.

"Oh, nothing, Ino. I'm just glad your back. I missed you."

Ino just smiled at her. "I missed you, too, Forehead."

End Chapter Four

A/N: First, before you all start threatening to kill me, I must inform you this now: Just because Ino is now introduced and Neji will come in the next chapter does not mean that Sasuke and Sakura will not have their moments. I have already plans for a few (much of them matching my own problems at the moment)

Secondly, none of the characters will be bashed and I will absolutely try to keep them in character. And the other preview from last chapter will be included next time (I felt like ending this chapter here was a good idea so it's moved till the next chapter, and if the next one is too long it will be moved to chapter 6) And the three guys in the magazine are from Bleach (look 'em up on wikipedia for reference material as to why they are so outraged by the fifth place winner)

Third, ideas that you may be willing to share are very helpful as well as any comments on how this could be better (I'm kind of out of the mood because my inspiration and I haven't talked in a month) And I am extremely sorry for any grammatical errors—I was editing at two in the morning.

Fourth, I am extremely happy to see that this story has been greatly enjoyed by you all (as well my descriptions of kisses—I'll be sure to do them justice in the future hint). Anyways, since I am so happy, I will give you a sneak into some of what's to come

NOTE: These are not definite previews (I have a tendency to change my mind about things) the first might appear in the next chapter. The second is too, but is more subject to change.

"Sasuke, you bastard!" Naruto exclaimed, slamming his supposed best friend's back into the wall.

Sasuke looked at him coldly. "What the hell are you talking about?"

This only seemed to anger the shorter boy more as he growled. His fists were clenched like a tightly wound spring, itching to connect with pretty-boy's flesh. But he didn't want to upset Sakura anymore than she already was.

"What's with you getting with Ino? Huh? Whatever happened to Sakura?"

The Uchiha's eyes narrowed on the male that had him pinned. He knew that if he had tried he could push him away, but he wanted to see what had gotten him so riled up. But then Naruto shoved him roughly again, his blue eyes flashing with fury, when Sasuke had yet to answer the questions.

"She really liked you, you know. She was happy with you, and you have to go and do something like this." His voice was soft now, head lowered t the ground.

Sasuke let out a huff of air, eyes heavenward, stating calmly, "I know." But he didn't know if the blond-haired boy heard him or not, but he didn't care. His mind was drifting to the pink-haired girl that had somehow managed to reside in his mind, whether or not he wanted her to or not.

But he knew he did.

Sakura entered the little café, the one where she and Sasuke had gotten to know each other that one day—well, rather violently in her terms, but they did nonetheless. Not even the smell of the coffee in front of her calmed her down. But how could it? It was the same flavor that Sasuke had "shared" with her in their second kiss.

But she refused to sit at their table, the one in which he had mocked "walls" and she kicked him in the shin. She had opted for the countertop, receiving several worried glances from the elderly man behind it.

"What's the matter?" he asked gently, taking her eyes away from her still-full cup.

He recognized this one, which wasn't hard because of her unusual hair color, but she was the one that always had a smile on her face and usually ordered five cups by now. He touched her shoulder, a tender smile on his face.

"I wish I knew," she answered truthfully, her gaze on her dainty hands

His brows furrowed as to why she could be this depressed. Then he remembered that guy she had sat with a couple of weeks ago.

"Is it about that one boy?"

"Maybe. I want to hate him… But I think… I'm in love with him."

Well, hope those will satisfy you till next time! Thanks for reading and please review!

Love, Sweet Bliss