I sit on an upended milk crate behind the diner on my break. There's a cigarette in one hand and my cell phone in the other.

Sasuke's texting me. He's done with his daily workout.

From: Sasuke

Practice is over. Let's get dinner tonight.

I roll my eyes, can't stop the smile that teases at my lips, compelling them upwards. Sasuke never really asks for anything. He demands things, and what's more is he almost always gets them.

Remembering the brief but crazy hot kiss we'd shared last night makes me flush all over again, like I caught fire but the flames still aren't completely extinguished.

I don't think I've ever felt so much before just from a kiss. I've done a lot more than that with a lot of other guys besides Sasuke, but just those few seconds made me burn hotter than I've ever burned before.

Being around Sasuke is like having a fever. Chills and heat all at once.

From: Sakura

I work until eight. Come by my place around nine?

I decide I'm going to take him to one of my spots, now that I've seen one of his. I think he'll fit in with the crowd down at the Rum'n'coke better than I ever could at the fancy restaurant he took me to last night. I close my eyes, inhale on my cigarette, and imagine what Sasuke would look like in the dim light of my favorite bar, the air around him all hazy with smoke and that dark, dark look in his eyes he had last night right before he kissed me.

What am I doing? Really, Sakura Haruno, what game are you playing here?

He's gonna hurt you in the end, stupid girl.

I know that, I swear I do. Sasuke's the only boy I've ever let myself fall in love with. I guess it's kind of poetic justice that he's the only boy who could ever really hurt me.

He responds quicker than I thought he might.

From: Sasuke

Yeah.

And the conversation's over, and it didn't last long, but there's butterflies, butterflies in my stomach. Like it's high school all over again.

I finish my cigarette, stamp it out and toss it in the dumpster out back before my boss grabs me by my "stupid pink hair" and drags me back to work. Shifts at the diner are long and the tips aren't always great, but you have to pay the bills with something, don't you?

That little shitty apartment I love isn't going to pay its own rent.

I walk home because I live pretty close to work. It's a nice night, too, and I think about Sasuke because I want to, because it feels like an innocent crush the way I haven't felt in so long. Nights spent wide awake changing the sheets on my bed because I don't want to fall asleep with the scent of Kiba or Shikamaru or Sai wrapped around me, nights spent pretending like I'm okay when the boys leave me and there's no one in this tiny apartment but me, nights spent pretending like any of them stack up even close to the one boy I gave my heart to years and years ago.

But one night with Sasuke changes my whole perception. It's dangerous, scary even that he has that much power over me, and I've only spent a few hours with him.

Whatever. I look up at the sky as I head home, getting darker and darker because it's the end of summer and the days aren't as long, and I think to myself that maybe this is one boy worth pursuing seriously. One boy I won't fuck and leave.

I'm going to ride this high until he leaves me like he always does.

And after that?

I don't know. Not a clue.

I'm giddy as I shower the diner grime off of me, wash my hair with my favorite shampoo and conditioner, run a razor over my legs that don't really require shaving (a lucky quirk from my mom) just because Sasuke's the kind of boy you look pretty for.

I hurry out of the shower because he's gonna be here in like a half hour, and I race through my closet to find something suitable to wear. Nothing too revealing, because Sasuke's a boy I want to take things slower with than I would with someone like Kiba, but nothing too conservative because, frankly, that's not my style. I like short shorts and skirts, and long sweaters and heels and boots and layers and most especially, I love black tights with almost everything.

Black tights can make an outfit classy, or cold weather appropriate, or sexy depending on what you wear them with. I decide I'm gonna wear a pair tonight with some ripped-up denim shorts and these little brown loafers I found at a secondhand store, and a cream-colored loose-fitting shirt that makes it look like I'm not trying too hard. (Even if I am.)

But the Rum'n'Coke isn't a place you dress up too nicely for. It's casual, and that's one of the reasons I like it so much.

I felt like I was under a microscope last night at the restaurant with Sasuke. Like if I didn't pull out all the stops with my appearance, that people would look at me weird. Like what's that trashy poor girl doing with Sasuke Uchiha?

And that's not me. Not at all.

There's a reason that I want to go out tonight, though. I think about it as I shake some scrunching mousse into my hair, comb it through with my fingers, shake it out and spray it to give the curls some volume.

I don't trust myself alone with Sasuke.

It's safer in groups, than it is to just invite him over to watch a movie or something. Hell, we hadn't lasted five minutes in my living room last night before I'd kissed him…and to my shock, he'd kissed me back.

Sasuke's attracted to me.

This is a phenomenon I can't really wrap my head around.

Granted, maybe I'm just another potential notch in his bedpost. Sasuke's got a reputation for meeting a girl, sleeping with her, and never calling her again.

I don't want to be that girl for Sasuke.

Even if it's irrational to expect him to change everything he is for me, I don't care. I want to be different. I want to be special to him, just a fraction of how special he is to me. And if that means we stay friends, and never go past that?

That's fine with me.

Better to be a friend of Sasuke Uchiha than a regret.

I decide I look decent, casual, as I appraise my reflection in the mirror, turn a little because I'm an insecure 18-year-old girl with body image issues like every other 18-year-old girl on the planet. If it's to Sasuke's taste or not, I don't care, because at the very least, the girl in the mirror is me.

Then there's a knock at the door, and the butterflies are back in a swarm.

I check to make sure it's him, because you can never be too careful these days. And even if I love my apartment, that doesn't mean it isn't in a pretty rough area of town. A little extra caution never hurt anybody.

Through the peephole, I make out six feet of lean, impossibly hard muscle beneath a leather jacket and jeans. My stomach flips. It's him.

I unlock the door and open it and the smile's on my face before I can even think, because my body betrays me when Sasuke's around and I can't pretend like I'm not thrilled to see him standing in my doorway.

"Hey," I say, hoping he doesn't notice how breathless I sound.

One corner of his mouth tilts up in this sexy smirk that makes my knees weak. I don't miss the way his dark eyes look me up and down before settling on my face, and I have to suppress a shudder at how impossibly good it feels just to have him look at me. It's hard to remember it properly since I was drunk last night, but I mentally try to recall the feeling of his hands on me as he kissed me, and just the thought of it is better than the best sex I've ever had.

"Hey," he replies, and his voice is low and deep and soft, but it sets me on fire.

"How was practice?" I ask him, inviting him inside, but I don't join him when he sits down at the dining room table; I pretend to be busy looking for my wallet, because I know if I sit with him, it's gonna be impossible to keep my hands to myself. And I really mean it: I would much rather stay just friends with Sasuke Uchiha than succumb to this crazy sexual desire that will inevitably fizzle into something meaningless and forgettable. If that means keeping my distance, so be it.

If Sasuke notices, he doesn't say anything.

"Long," he replies. "And hot," he adds, his lip curling in distaste, and I can't help but giggle. Sasuke's funny without meaning to be. The best kind of funny.

"I bet," I chime in as I locate my wallet and shove it into the little leather purse slung over my shoulder. "You've gotta be starving by now."

"You cook?" he asks with a skeptical smirk.

I glare at him.

"Yes I do. But not tonight. You took me out last night…I'll take you out tonight."

He gives me this long, probing look like I just said something sexy. I feel hot all over, like my blood's boiling and I'm going to erupt. I need to get out of this apartment, away from Sasuke just the two of us. I need people around us to help remind me that we need to be friends first. Maybe even friends only.

I have to ignore this heat in my stomach that's spreading to my thighs. I slide into my coat and smile up at him like I'm not thinking these crazy things. "Ready?"

"Hn. Where we going."

It's not a question with Sasuke. He doesn't ask questions. It's always ambiguous statements that demand you answer them.

"My favorite bar," I reply, and I lead him out of the apartment. Lock the door behind me. Slide my arm through his because I want to touch him, and this is the only touching I can get away with right now. His arm muscle flexes under my hand and I burn a little hotter for him. "It's a few blocks away. Do you mind walking? I know you must be tired after practice today."

"Tch," he scoffs, like it's the most ridiculous thing to assume he's too tired to walk around. Such an ego. "Shut up and let's go."

So we leave, and it's cold outside and it cools some of this ache I have for him, but none of the longing. I wonder if this is how the other girls feel when they're with him. Like they're the only girl in the world. I wonder if he talks to them the way he does to me. Brief answers, but he always answers.

I wonder if he talks to them at all.

The spiteful, selfish part of me wants that part all to myself.

"How was practice?" I ask him, the wind bitingly cold on my bare face as we head towards the Rum'n'Coke. "You guys had to be freezing."

"Hn. Nah. It was indoors. We're getting ready to go south for spring training, though."

The thought of being separated from him again is daunting, but I'm just so grateful he's in my life right now that I tamp down that old fear of being left behind. I don't know how long he'll stay this time. I don't know if I'm just a conquest to him, or just a friend, or maybe the potential for something more. I don't know much of anything.

All I know is my arm's wound through Sasuke's and he's not shaking me away.

The Rum'n'Coke is hopping on a Sunday night, surprisingly enough.

But it's the only place around that doesn't card for minors, so needless to say, there are tons and tons of minors. And it's full of the acrid smell of cigarette smoke and there's top shelf vodka spilled all over the floor and the dance floor's packed, and I'm in love.

Even more so, because the boy I'm in love with is with me in the bar I'm in love with.

Music's blaring especially loudly tonight. With school starting this week, all the college kids are fighting to cram in one last big party and it looks like they picked the Rum'n'Coke to do it in. It's hard work to fight my way through the throng of people to the bar, Sasuke's hand wrapped loosely around mine so we're not separated.

"Well hey there, beautiful!" Genma, my favorite bartender, says from behind the bar, smiling at me with his elbows on the counter. "And who's the lucky guy this time?" he asks with a sly wink in Sasuke's direction.

I don't like that he said that.

I don't think I want Sasuke to know that I'm such a slutty mess. As far as he knows, I'm still innocent, naïve Sakura Haruno from high school. I don't know if I want him to think I'm anything but that.

I hope he didn't hear Genma over the roar of the music.

"This is my friend, Sasuke," I introduce him instead.

Genma's eyes go wide as he finally sees Sasuke under the dim, dark lights.

"Sasuke?" he exclaims. "Sasuke Uchiha?! Geez, man, pleasure to meet you, you're the new starting pitcher for the Heat, ain't ya? Holy Christ, Sakura, why didn't you tell me you were seeing Sasuke Uchiha?!"

"We're not dating," I say, blushing. "He's a friend from school."

I hope Sasuke's not uncomfortable. I know he doesn't like being the center of attention, which is so ironic, considering no matter what he does, that's exactly what he is. People can't help but notice him. Even if they don't know who he is, he has the kind of face you look twice at. The kind of imposing presence you can't ignore.

I feel it choking me right now. His hand's still wrapped around my wrist, and it tingles through the wool fabric of my peacoat like electricity.

"Drinks are on the house!" Genma says, looking starstruck and shellshocked and all kinds of embarrassing. "You guys both! Sasuke Uchiha in my bar, THE Sasuke Uchiha! What'll it be, man?"

"Whiskey sour," Sasuke replies, his voice soft but not irritated. Maybe he's used to this star treatment everywhere he goes. Must be nice; Genma only gives me free drinks when I'm wearing something low cut. "Thanks," he adds, like an afterthought.

"And the usual rum and coke for you, gorgeous?" Genma asks me as he mixes Sasuke's drink for him in a spotty glass.

"No," I say, deciding maybe a change is in order. Rum and coke is slutty Sakura's signature drink. And I don't think I want to be slutty Sakura anymore. "Vodka cranberry, please. Mostly vodka, though. You know how I like it."

"Coming right up, doll!" he chuckles, and in five seconds I have a drink in one hand and Sasuke's palm on the small of my back, guiding me towards a table by the speakers, the most isolated spot in the place since no one wants to be near the speakers when the music is this loud.

"You come here a lot," Sasuke remarks, and I notice that he's almost done with his whiskey sour. I don't like to be outdone, so I knock back half of my drink, too, and relish the way it scorches my throat.

"It's close by, and they don't ever ask for ID," I reply with a shrug. "You like it? Probably not your scene."

"It's fine." And Sasuke doesn't lie about anything, so that must mean he likes it. Or at least likes the drinks, because his is gone in the next few moments. He glances down at the half-empty in my hands and says, "I'll get you another. Hang on."

I smile at him and he leaves and I'm by myself, watching the way he moves through the crowd. He's never jostled, never bumped into, because he's got that presence. People move out of his way for him without him needing to ask. Girls everywhere stare at him like he's God's gift to mankind and maybe he is; jealousy flares in my stomach before I remind myself that at least for this very moment, he's here with me and only me. He doesn't look twice at anybody else.

I finish off my drink and reach into my purse to find a cigarette, since tonight's a night to relax and have a good time. When I find one and pull it out, there's a guy sitting at the two-man table with me and he isn't Sasuke.

"Can I help you?" I ask him coldly, because I don't want anyone sitting in Sasuke's seat, and the Rum'n'Coke isn't a place you play coy at with creeps. "There's someone sitting there."

"I know," he replies with an oily smirk that makes my stomach turn. He's got light hair, the color isn't easy to distinguish with all the flashing lights, and his glasses are thick-lensed and need to be pushed up his nose."I'm Kabuto. What's your name, gorgeous?"

"Don't worry about it," I tell him, my eyes narrowing because I don't want to talk to him.

"I already know. You're Sakura, right? Yeah, Suigetsu told me about you."

I haven't seen Suigetsu in awhile. I haven't missed him either. This is why.

"He says you're a good time," Kabuto goes on, and my jaw drops because is he REALLY talking to me like this? "Easy to get and easy to please. Well I'm easy to please, too, Sakura baby. You want to get out of here and let me show you?"

"Get lost, you dick," I snap, jumping out of my seat. "Fuck outta here I want to please you, you're disgusting!"

"What the hell's going on."

I look up and there's Sasuke, two drinks in his hand and an expression on his face I don't think I've ever seen him wear before. Anger, because there's no mistaking what's going on here, and something that looks like jealousy, but that's way too good to be true so I stamp out that thought before I get carried away.

"This creep was just leaving," I say haughtily, and watch as Kabuto gets down off the stool and spares me a smirk that makes my skin crawl.

"Yeah, guess so," he says. "Just thought I'd try my luck at the Rum'n'Coke's easiest fuck."

Sasuke slams the drinks on the table and has Kabuto by the collar of his shirt in the span of three seconds. My jaw drops for the second time in thirty seconds.

"The hell you just say?" he demands, angrier than I've ever seen him, his muscles tense and ready for anything. Around us, a crowd gathers because nothing beats the prospect of a good late night fist fight. My heart races and I grab Sasuke's elbow in panic to stop him.

"Sasuke just let it go," I say quickly, wishing everyone gathering around us would just go the hell back to their drinks and leave us alone. "It's fine."

But there's no reasoning with him when he's like this, and Kabuto smirks at the challenge.

"Don't worry," he tells Sasuke, who's getting angrier with every word he says. "I guess I didn't realize that Sakura had made an honest woman outta herself. I'll just be going now."

With that, he tugs himself out of Sasuke's grip and I keep hold of Sasuke's arm, so he doesn't chase him down. I watch in relief and dread as Kabuto disappears into the crowd, his friends going with him, and now that the threat's been diffused, people lose interest in us and turn around.

Sasuke doesn't look at me. He's still staring after Kabuto, he's breathing hard like he's trying to calm himself down, and I can feel his accelerated pulse in the crook of his arm where I'm still holding.

Would you be this upset on my behalf if you knew why Kabuto said those things? I wonder, terrified of the answer, because for as much as I don't want Sasuke to get himself into trouble over me, part of me thrills at the idea that he came to my defense so quickly. It's like we're still in high school, and instead of coldly rebuffing a football player interrupting my cheerleading practice to ask for my number, he's doing the same thing in a seedy bar in the South Side. It feels like it used to, back then, when I was sure where I stood with this mysterious boy who's become a stranger.

But Kabuto's right to say those things about me, something Sasuke doesn't know yet. I haven't been the innocent girl Sasuke grew up with, not for a long, long time. It's not outlandish to accuse me of the things he said.

But Sasuke doesn't know that.

In his eyes, I'm still innocent, virginal Sakura from the cheerleading squad and softball team, the girl he used to study with after baseball practice and hang out with on weekends doing everything and nothing. In his eyes, I don't soak myself in vodka and bad decisions just to feel something besides regret, and stress, and fear.

For some reason, I wish I still was the naïve little idiot Sasuke thinks I am.

"Are you okay?" I ask him, my voice raised over the din of the music.

If he's suspicious about what Kabuto said to me, he doesn't say anything. Instead, he grabs his whiskey off the table and drains it in one go, slamming the empty glass back down before turning to face me.

"Are you okay?" I repeat.

"Aa," he says coolly, and he looks a bit calmer, if not still pissed. His jaw is clenched tightly and to my absolute shame, all I can focus on is how amazing he looks in the dim lighting of the bar, tall and lean and handsome and I can't shake this fucking heat inside me.

He's like a disease. Better yet, a hit of coke, and I'm the junkie that can't leave him alone.

"Sorry about that," I tell him, and he rolls his eyes because he hates when I apologize to him for things. "Let's just…not let it ruin tonight. Okay?"

I'm worried because I only have so much time left with Sasuke, before his season starts and then I might only ever see him around his home games. The idea makes me sick to my stomach that something like this could ruin these precious few moments with him.

His shoulders relax, and he sighs before smirking.

"Still getting yourself into trouble like that, huh," he remarks, and it's less a scold than a tease, and it makes me giggle.

"Don't even start," I tell him, lowering my voice and fluttering my eyelashes, because now that I'm reminded of this sickening time constraint, I want to flirt with him. My opportunities to are running out, and there's vodka in my blood that makes me brave and I say, "Every girl in this bar's looking at you. You're lucky I'm not the jealous type."

Sasuke's eyes darken, smolder, and his smirk widens. I think he likes it when I tease him back.

"Dance with me," I say breathlessly.

Of course I expect him to back out of it. Sasuke and I have only ever danced one time before, and that was out of obligation; in high school, he was named Prom King and I was named Prom Queen, and it's customary to share the spotlight dance after crowning. It was stiff and over quickly, and we never spoke of it again.

But bar dancing isn't the same thing as Prom dancing. I know that and so does Sasuke. So I fully expect him to scoff at me, sit down at our table, order another drink, and tune me out completely.

And he stuns me, because he tugs off his leather jacket, his shirt riding up and giving me an up-close view of his rippling ab muscles that makes me want to fall over. He rests it on the back of his chair, and to my shock, he reaches for the buttons on my coat.

Nimbly, one by one, his fingers flick open each button and he keeps his eyes on my face, like he wants to see my reaction. I feel my cheeks burn and my mouth's open, and every time his fingers brush against the fabric of my shirt, a pang of desire shoots directly through my body hard enough to make my knees shake.

He slides the coat off my shoulders easily, slowly, purposefully, and I'm visited with a thousand images of Sasuke taking my clothes off the way he's doing now, all of them. I want it, I want to feel his hands on me and I want to touch him, feel his smooth skin, get as close to him as possible. I want him. And he knows it. He's making me want him on purpose.

"All right," he replies, his voice deep and it promises something dark and sinful. His hand slides around to my back and he leads me onto the dance floor.

The song that's playing is slow and dirty. I can't believe he's gonna do this, I can't believe he's gonna dance with me, I didn't even know he COULD dance, but here we are, in my favorite spot and he stops when we're near one of the darker corners before putting both his hands to my waist. My back against his chest, my ass against his…God, I'm breathless.

It's the sexiest thing I've ever done. Nothing has ever remotely made me feel as alive as this does, this closeness to Sasuke, and we're both fully dressed.

I move first and he follows. His body is so hard and strong behind mine, like he's made of steel with soft, smooth skin laid on top. His hands are tight on my waist but they don't stay still very long; as we move slower, grind rougher, they slide up my sides, featherlight against my ribs, and back down my thighs. I suddenly regret wearing the black tights I like so much, because I want to feel Sasuke's bare skin against mine.

Braver than maybe I ought to be in this situation, I slide my hand behind me, through his black hair that's so much silkier, finer, than I thought it would be. I slow my pace down because I'm fucking aching for him now, and I want him to do the same thing for me.

His head turns so his nose is buried in my hair, and I nearly lose control of myself when I feel his mouth press hot, steamy kisses along my neck. I pull on his hair and try to swallow the moan that threatens in my throat. It comes out as a breathy, needy little whimper and Sasuke growls in my ear something like approval.

I'm dizzy. Completely lost in this sexy game we're playing. The lines that exist between us, the lines that keep us isolated in the friend zone where it's safe, are blurry now, fuzzy along the edges because I'm drinking and high off Sasuke Uchiha. It's easy to trip over the lines right now, and think about consequences later.

It's so dangerous, getting involved with him. He's proven time and time again, with his endless string of girlfriends (conquests) that he's not interested in me, or what I want, which is a monogamous relationship with someone I love. Someone who loves me back. I'm never gonna get that with Sasuke Uchiha because it's not what he wants from me.

But I'll take this. Whatever this is, whatever this torrent of emotion and energy is trembling between us like a monsoon, I'll take it a thousand times.

His fingers grip my thighs and pull me back, harder, against his front. There's no space between us, and except for the harsh breathing and my ill-suppressed moans of delight, there's no sound either. The music fades away, the bass echoing in my ears vanishes into nothing. All the other patrons disappear and it's only me and Sasuke in the entire world. Only us and this scary, scary connection between us and do you feel it, Sasuke? Do you feel it like I do, this energy, this heat?

Will you burn for me someday? Are you burning for me right now? Because I'm burning for you and I never want to cool down.

The flirty, barely-there kisses on my neck are hot and open-mouthed now. His teeth nip at my skin and I know there's gonna be a mark, but I don't care. I never let any of the guys I mess around with leave marks on me because I don't want to remember them in the morning, but I want to have proof, however fleeting, that this connection did exist at one point. That Sasuke wanted me enough to leave evidence.

Still behind me, he tilts my face to the side to meet his. His eyes are wild, almost red, and he looks starving; I wonder if my expression mirrors his, that crazed desire that makes me want to lose my mind. He growls something unintelligible before he kisses me for the second time in my life.

White-hot, raging desire explodes inside me. I've never wanted anything like I want him, not in my entire life. My knees buckle beneath me and I spin around to face him, so I can kiss him back properly.

I know now why he picked the corner. Once I respond to him, give him the go-ahead, he pushes me back a few feet until my back hits the wall, his body flush against mine and the fire burns hotter and hotter. It's more isolated than the rest of the bar, dark and out of the way, and he closes the distance between us by sliding his knee between my legs, grinding against me and I can't help the shrieky moan that comes out of my mouth at the motion.

I want friction. I want contact. I want heat. I want to tear off my tights and his jeans and I don't care if anyone's looking, I want him to fuck me like an animal, I want him to go hard and fast and leave his marks and let me mark him.

He's kissing me again, harder, his mouth feverish. I kiss him back just as hard, my arms tight around his neck so he can't get away, so he can't leave again. He's touching me absolutely everywhere, bolder now that his body blocks mine from everyone elses' view. His fingers run delicious trails up and down my thighs, between my legs, flirting with the button on my shorts; his palm slides up my stomach, over my breasts and I cannot believe I haven't had a stroke yet, this feels too good for my brain to handle.

"Sasuke!" I gasp, when he kisses my jaw and takes my earlobe between his teeth. "Sasuke please!"

I have no clue what I'm begging him for. None at all. To stop maybe, so I can tamp down these flames and restore some sense of normalcy between us? Or to keep going, even if we're in the middle of a crowded bar, in public, and people can see us?

No idea. No idea what I want from him, except friction.

"I can't stay away from you," he growls in my ear, his breath hot, his voice deep, his hands sure where they move along my hips. His thumb dips beneath the hemline of my shorts and I want it to be his fucking tongue, I want to get out of here and let him kiss me like this at home, where no one and nothing can stop us.

"Then don't, you idiot," I growl, because enough is enough. I grab his collar and pull him in to kiss me again.

We party and drink and make out late into the night. It's only when I remember that he's got practice in the morning and I have to meet my academic advisor that I pull myself back from this dangerous high. At last call, we leave, and I'm not drunk enough to forget the shocked, delighted look on Genma's face when he sees me go with Sasuke Uchiha's arm around my waist.

The chilly night air restores some sense to what's happening between us. Without the feeling of complete abandonment that had me so enraptured back at the bar, without the agonizing friction that made me want him so badly I couldn't even think, I remember my promise to myself.

To never let myself be just-another-girl to Sasuke Uchiha.

I'll be his friend and I'll be his girlfriend, but I'll never be his one night stand. Even if it feels like I'm choking on this vibe and I know he's got to feel it, too, I want everything from him or nothing.

I won't budge on that. I can't.

I don't want be the girl Kabuto told me I was. I don't want to give assholes like him a reason to say I'm the fast chick at a dive bar. I want to be the girl Sasuke defends because she deserves it.

Right now, I don't deserve it.

I will, though, I decide.

"Whatsamatter," Sasuke murmurs in my ear, as we head quickly for my apartment. I look up at him and I see my face reflected in his shiny black eyes; I look worried. Sad.

Maybe it's because I already know where Sasuke's gonna draw the line. A serious girlfriend has never been on his list of priorities, and to even entertain the idea that he might change his mind is only setting myself up for heartache. I think part of me knows that already.

I stop walking. So does he. His arm slides from my waist and we turn to face each other, and it's never been more important in my life that I be honest than at this moment.

"I don't want to be just another girl to you," I tell him softly.

It isn't a confession of love. It isn't a threat or an ultimatum. It's just the truth and nothing but.

Sasuke sighs. He rolls his shiny eyes and I can tell he's trying not to smirk.

"You've never been just another girl to me," he says quietly.

It isn't a confession of love. It isn't an appeasement or him telling me what I want to hear so I give him what he wants. It's just the truth and nothing but.

I trust him. I trust that we'll move this scary whatever-it-is at our own pace and it'll grow the way we let it. I trust that I'm more than the others to Sasuke Uchiha, and in return, I'll let him be more than my others.

I'll let him be my everything, if he wants it.

So I smile because this thinking makes me happy. Even if there's no guarantee that this won't end in the morning, I vow to ride this wave until it crashes against the shore. And I kiss him on the corner of his mouth, and it's a sweet kiss, it's slow and innocent and Sasuke tilts his head to meet my lips fully.

We kiss on the street, two drunk idiots at 2 in the morning, and there's the promise of more now. It ignites between us like electric and I hopehopehope it never burns out.

note.. Phillies. That is all.

xoxo Daisy