how to be a heartbreaker

Callista Miralni

Disclaimer: nothing. pretty little stutterbug comes from a warrior queen/sasukesass

four: trying

Hinata gaped at her from the stairs.

"How the hell do you do that?" The normally soft-spoken woman exclaimed.

Sakura tiled her head in bewilderment.

"Do what?"

"That!" Hinata pointed at her. "You were completely drunk off your ass last night when you came home and now it's eight am and you're sitting there, drinking tea, like any other day!"

Sakura shrugged. "I have a good metabolism."

Hinata snorted as she poured herself a cup.

"What a load of horse shit."

"Sasuke!" Sakura threw her arms around his neck. "Come dance with me!"

Gently peeling her arms off of him, Sasuke sat her down in their booth and pushed a glass of water towards her.

"Drink," he said instead. "You're dehydrated. God, Sakura, you're a doctor. You should pay attention to these things."

Sakura drank the cup without complaint.

"Haruno-sensei?!" Naruto peered at her. "That is you!"

Sakura blinked.

"Who are you?"

They met at Kurenai's.

"What's the first rule?" Sasuke fired at her after they had received their drinks—a matcha green tea and a caramel macchiato.

"Have fun," Sakura replied promptly. "Though I'm not quite sure how that's a rule."

Sasuke sighed. "What did you drink last night, Sakura?"

"I dunno," the woman shrugged. "A bit of everything, I guess. Except gin. God, that stuff is disgusting."

He smirked. When their little experiment was over, Sasuke considered keeping Sakura around. She was the only person who could keep up with him, aside from Itachi.

"And how much did you spend last night?"

He let the words sink in and his smirk grew when she let out a soft gasp.

"… nothing."

"And who did you talk to last night?"

Sakura had to think about that one. There was the bartender, Sasuke (of course), the table of Sasuke's friends, the people she danced with (both male and female), and the people sitting at the table on their left. She recited the list to him, wondering what point Sasuke was trying to make.

"And do you know any of their names?" The man prompted her.

Sakura reddened. "Not in the slightest," she admitted.

Sasuke took a long sip of his tea.

"Exactly. And tonight, we're going to put a spin on things."

"You're going out again?"

Ino leaned against her doorway.

"Yeah," Sakura sighed as she pulled on the oversized shirt Sasuke instructed her to wear. "Want to come?"

Her best friend shrugged. "Sure, why not? When are you leaving?"

"At seven."

When Sasuke pulled up to the door, he wasn't surprised to see Ino following closely behind.

"I hope it's okay if she comes along," Sakura gave him an apologetic smile.

He shrugged. "Saves me the trouble of asking some other girl to be an example to you."

The two women exchanged bright smiles before slipping inside.

"This is what you're going to do," Sasuke said in a low voice as he guided them through the dancing crowd at the Red Dragon. "Have fun. Dance with everyone. Drink as much as you want. But when someone asks you to hang out with them at their table, walk away. When someone asks for your name and number, never give it. When you get bored, move onto someone new."

Ino glanced at him in surprise. "I thought the entire point of this was to teach Sakura how to flirt."

"Men love nothing more than a challenge and a tease," Sasuke ignored her comment. "So it would be in your best interests to do exactly what I say."

Sakura shrugged her shoulders. "Sounds easy enough. Have fun but be the first to run."

"I don't know…" Ino frowned. "It doesn't sound like it would work."

"Then let's make a game of it," Sasuke's dark eyes danced with amusement. "Yamanaka, you do what you always do to catch people's attention. Sakura, you do what I tell you. Whoever talks to the most people tonight wins."

The two best friends exchanged long glances before Ino grinned.

"You're on."

Ino decided the I'm-all-alone-so-buy-me-a-drink would be her first tactic of the night. Meanwhile, Sakura did what she did best—avoid every stare and head to the dance floor without a care in the world.

An hour later, Ino was chatting up two men and Sakura had danced with five. The two with Ino were determined to find out every last detail about the blonde's life whereas Sakura flitted away every time the conversation ventured beyond "hey, you're a great dancer!"

It was easier than Sakura thought to walk away. At the Red Dragon, no one knew who Haruno Sakura was—the genius pathology resident under Senjuu Tsunade. Here she was simply Sakura, the mysteriously energetic dancer with an alcohol tolerance that put most men to shame.

Having no expectations was a relief.

"Ino!" Sakura called to her best friend from the middle of the floor. "Dance with me, you bitch!"

Her best friend smiled coyly to the gentlemen on either side of her before sliding off the barstool and pushing her way through the dance floor. Soon after they started dancing with each other, the men at the bar joined them, separating her from Ino.

Sakura laughed before twirling away into someone else's arms.

"Having fun?" A low voice said in her ear.

She recognized that voice—there was only one person who could send shivers up her spine from the cadence of his speech.

"Only if you dance with me," Sakura threw back with a mischievous smile before winding Sasuke's arms around her waist and leading him into a sultry sway.

She could feel his lips curve into a knowing smirk against her temple and at once, Sakura realized dancing with Uchiha Sasuke had repercussions she wasn't ready to deal with.

"You win," his lips shaped the words on her skin.