Chapter Seven
Neji paced around his cabin with his fingers clawing at his lips. His concern for Tenten was becoming too great; she had been gone for an hour and a half, and his nerves had been causing his body to tremble the entire time. He couldn't help but feel like this was his fault, despite the fact that she seemed to want him just as much as he desired her. It felt so wrong to be in love with her, especially after such a short time of knowing her. But she was the embodiment of perfection, and he would never meet another woman like her ever again.
If she wanted to stay with her fiancé, then he would leave her alone with no questions asked; Lee had gotten to her first, and that was something he would have accepted. However, Tenten's feelings for him were faltering, and she wasn't entirely sure what she wanted to do about it.
"I broke up an engaged couple," he said, and Natsumi's eyes flickered to him as she walked out of the bathroom with her brush in her hair. "What kind of monster does that?"
"If the couple was so easily broken up," she said, tossing her lengthy black locks over her shoulder and tugged the brush through the tired strands, "then that means that it would have happened eventually. It's better to break up now before they seal the marriage and end up filing for divorce."
Neji bit his fingertips, worry for the perfection that he had come in contact with. Somebody had already claimed the embodied angel, and he had been too late. However, because he came along, that other guy was going to have to suffer. Tenten, too, was probably feeling like a wreck, herself. This person - whoever he was - had proposed to her and she had agreed to marry him. He took her on this trip in order to celebrate that future marriage. But she was going to break it off with him now. That guy - Lee, was his name? - was going to think that this was all his fault, and believe that he was the reason why he lost his fiancé to another man. He was the one who booked this trip. He was the one who indirectly caused Tenten to meet Neji, and so he was the one at fault for the breakup.
Tenten fell in love with Neji. Neji fell head over heels for Tenten. Neither one of them had expected to find such a deep and passionate affection for another person on this boat. It was just as shocking to them as it will be to Lee.
"Like I told Tenten:" Natsumi's voice spoke up and blocked Neji's thoughts from entering his brain, "the heart wants what the heart wants." Neji blinked and stared at his mother as she set her paddle brush back into her cosmetic bag. She tossed her tresses back over her shoulders and met her son's gaze. "Sweetie, I've never seen you like this."
"Like what?" Neji's eyebrows tugged closer and closer together and he folded his arms. He wasn't acting any differently than normal, right?
"Worried," she said simply. "I've never once seen you so concerned about a girl, especially not a girl you just met. I mean, look at those beautiful women across the hall that are just waiting for you to come over and drop your drawers." Neji blushed and bit his lip. This was like having the talk. "You didn't give them the time of day, no matter what they said, what they did, or how much skin they showed. But instead, you're dropping to your hands and knees for a girl who is practically a man in a woman's body."
"That's not true," Neji retorted snidely. "She's just not an average girl; she's unique."
"But you love her," Natsumi murmured, almost feeling sorry that her son had fallen for a girl that was difficult to get. However, her unavailability would surely test the strength of his feelings for her. If he wanted her so badly, he would stop at no obstacle to have her.
"I know." Neji sighed and slipped on his athletic sneakers and started for the door. The anxiety involving Tenten's safety and emotional stability was killing him, and he had to get out of this room. Hopefully, he would run into her along the way, and the deed would be done; Lee would be out of their hair, and they could fall in love over and over again.
Natsumi didn't say a word as her son dragged the door of their cabin open, allowing sounds in the hallway to penetrate the room. It slammed shut, and he was gone.
Neji shoved his hands into his pockets and began dragging his feet down the wooden boards of the hallway. The tropical breeze invaded the sheltered hall and engulfed him in its serenity, in desperate attempt to calm his nerves down. He didn't know what was going on with his body; he had never once been so worried about someone in his entire life - not even Natsumi. This was strange to him, and the emotions were completely foreign. Somehow, though, he would move past it, and he and Tenten could be together.
It was love at first sight.
Neji chuckled to himself and slapped his hand across his face, trying to regain his mental strength. Somehow, some way, Tenten had dug herself into him and created a massive weak spot. Anybody could hurt him now, if they so wanted to. All they had to do was get to her. It was like wearing his heart on his sleeve for anyone and everyone to see. It was almost terrifying.
Neji's feet touched the top of the wooden stairs, and his eyes caught sight of a beautiful maiden standing in the breeze. Her short, chocolate tresses were bound tight into a single bun at the back of her crown. Her back was covered by a plaid shirt, but the slight wind drew it up around her waist and whipped it around her hips. All of the curves that made up her legs were exposed, due to the short length of her torn charcoal shorts.
His heart skipped a beat as he took his first step towards her, touching his toe down on one of the first stairs. She looked so majestic, leaning on the guardrail. It was almost as if she could leap off and soar through the skies like an eagle. He could see nothing but her; the rest of his senses were cut off, but not deprived. If he could see her for the rest of his life, then he wouldn't need his other senses. But then...he would never get the chance to smell her, or to taste her; to touch her, or to hear her sweet voice.
Neji's feet touched the base of the stairs, but she didn't seem to notice his presence; she didn't turn around to face him, but rather, continued to gaze out into the blue horizon. He kept his hands in his pockets as he made his way over to her, his sneakers tapping the floorboards almost inaudibly.
When he got close enough, she spoke.
"I couldn't do it," she told him, but she didn't turn her body around to face him. Neji continued to come closer to her, but instead of wrapping her in an embrace, he moved to her right side and copied her movements; he leaned on the guardrail and watched the ocean waves ripple along the surface. "He's drunk as hell. I had to pin him down onto the bed just to get him to to stop yelling." She heaved a heavy sigh. "Then he begged me not to leave him. But I have to."
"You don't have to do anything," he said, attempting to give her a choice. She could stay with Lee, and he would leave her alone. Or she had to break it off with her fiancé so that the two of them could be together.
"That's where you're wrong." Tenten's mocha eyes turned to him and scanned his profile, before he allowed his gaze to slip to her face. For a moment, they stood there, staring at one another with such a desire, it was almost impossible to keep their composure. "Because if I stay with Lee, then I'm always going to be thinking about you, Neji. It sounds melodramatic, but you're my knight in shining armor. You're the man that I've been dreaming of my entire life. And here you are, in flesh and blood. How can I let you slip through my fingers, now that I know you exist?"
Neji shrugged; this was certainly a sticky situation that neither of them had planned, and so neither one of them had any thoughts on where to go from here. Thinking about the situation, perhaps Lee purposely intoxicated himself, so that he would gain Tenten's sympathy. He knew that that would prevent her from breaking it off with him.
He was cowardly. He couldn't face the truth of the matter. His lover - his fiancé - was going to leave him, and he was going to guilt her into staying with him. Well he couldn't stay drunk forever, could he? He would have to wake up and smell the coffee.
"What if I talk to him?" he suggested, and Tenten's eyes widened. Her face twisted into a grimace of disagreement towards his idea. It was almost as if she didn't want any contact between himself and her stubborn fiancé.
"I'm not getting you involved," she said sternly, her eyes glued to his and holding him within their captivating rays of beauty. Tenten nibbled on her bottom lip and shook her head, breaking her hold on him by turning her eyes back to the ocean. "The last thing I want is for you to get hurt."
Neji snickered. "Isn't that supposed to be my line?"
"I'm being serious, Neji."
"I can take care of myself, Tenten. I've been in my share of fights throughout my life, and I can take a punch, if he really wants to throw one at me."
Tenten whipped her head back and forth again, the bun on top of her head wobbling back and forth. "Even still. You have to remember: we're on a boat in the middle of the ocean. He could easily push you over the rail and say you leaned over too far."
"That would be a terrible lie," he said, mocking the confrontation between himself and Lee. Really, he didn't know what Tenten was so worried about. If Neji had the chance to talk to Lee, it may take some of the stress off of Tenten.
"I have to give him back the ring," she murmured, her attention becoming attracted to the diamond that sat in place on her left ring finger. Lee wasn't going to take the news of her decision very well, and she knew that, but it had to be done. It wouldn't be fair to him; if every time he kissed her, or every time he touched her, or any single moment when he would have her, she would be thinking of Neji. His presence would always be there, for as long as he was out there and walking the earth, he would be jammed into her mind. If she didn't do it, she would be filled with so many 'what if's.' What if Lee really isn't the one that she is supposed to be with forever? What if there is someone out there looking for her perfect match - and her idea of perfection is Lee? Tenten would be stealing that girl's knight.
There was no getting around it; it had to be done, and the deed had to be done as soon as possible. She couldn't keep stringing Lee along like this - one day was already enough. It wasn't fair to him if she started something with Neji without breaking off their relationship first. Morally, even, it wouldn't be right.
She wanted Neji, and she wanted his lips to caress every inch of her body. But she couldn't allow that to happen while she was still engaged to Lee.
"I just don't know what to tell him," Tenten spun around in a one eighty, her eyes turning to the ocean of clouds above her head. She leaned her tailbone on the rail and clenched it in between her fingers.
"Tell him the truth." Neji bent over the rail, resting his elbows on it and folding his hands together over the edge of the ship.
"Well of course I'm going to tell him the truth," she snickered. "What else was I going to tell him? That I was getting deported to some far-off land that nobody has ever heard of?"
"I'd go with you," Neji murmured, and Tenten blinked twice, turning her gaze towards him. His long tresses flowed freely in the breeze, falling around his face beautifully. No, beautiful would almost be insulting. He hesitated for a moment before turning his majestic moons to face her. "Woman, I will follow you to the ends of the earth."
At that, Tenten melted. She almost lost complete control of herself, and she could have bent over and pressed a loving kiss to his lips. She could have taken his back to his cabin, where she would allow him to unbutton her shirt and see that there was nothing under it. They would have made one another their partner, their lover, their everything.
But that thought, she had to keep bottled up inside of her until she had the chance to properly break things off with Lee.
"Then I hope I would be able to lead you to paradise."
OoO
Tenten stepped into her own cabin, where Lee was still sound asleep on the single bed. She wanted to tell him everything that she needed to tell him before the second night's party, but it looks like that wasn't about to happen. She wanted to spend the evening with Neji, dancing to the music and kissing under the moonlight.
But he was still asleep, so she couldn't do that - kissing, at least.
Tenten sighed and glanced at the clock on the wall, wishing that he wouldn't have gotten himself wasted off of those fruity little drinks that the staff was passing off as alcohol. It was almost immature of him, if her hypothesis had been correct in the fact that he had done it on purpose to postpone her leaving him. Honestly, they were both supposed to be mature adults - they were twenty three, for heaven's sake.
Tenten tore her hair out of its bun and allowed her luscious wig to flow down upon her shoulders. For the party, she wanted to wear a tank top, just so she wouldn't get warm while the carousing raved on and on until the wee hours of the night. Plus, she wanted something that wouldn't hold as much water as the button-down shirt she currently wore would. Just in case she got pushed into the pool again.
Tenten fingered the buttons that lined down the center of her chest, unbuttoning them one by one and tearing the shirt off of her shoulders. Quickly, she bent down and grabbed a white bra and slung it around her deltoids, clipping it tightly in the back. On top of that, she threw on her favorite white beater, tugging it down to her hips. Her shorts and sneakers were fine for tonight.
Tenten made her way back to the door, turning around slightly before allowing herself to move through the barrier. Lee was sound asleep on the bed, snoring up a storm. Her eyes instinctively fell to the floor as she stepped out of the room and pulled the door shut behind her.
Neji was out there, waiting for her, leaning on the wall opposite of her cabin with his arms folded tightly across his chest. His snow white V-neck shirt gripped the contours of his muscles beautifully, exposing his body for the world to see. The forest brown and white plaid shorts he had hung from his hips in a sexy way, she didn't know really how to describe it. The same black and blue athletic shoes that he had worn last night on the bow were bound to his feet tightly by electric blue shoe laces. His hair was silky soft and tied at the back of his abdomen, the single hair band containing the feathery strands.
His miniature, gray moons flickered to her as she pulled the door shut softly, attempting not to make any noise. Tenten turned to him and was caught in his gaze, mystified by the beauty that radiated off of every inch of his body.
"It was awfully quiet in there," he said, taking notice to the fact that there had been no yelling, no arguing with Lee. Because there wasn't. The alcohol had him knocked out cold.
"He's down for the count." She shook her head and merely stood so close to Neji; close enough to hold, close enough to initiate a beautiful happening, but far enough away to where neither he or her reached out to touch the other.
Neji's phone vibrated within his pocket, and he knew that Tenten heard it, but he didn't reach for it. Rather, he completely ignored it, as if it hadn't made a noise in the first place. Knowing the people that he left back on land, it was probably Asuma, Tsunade, or Hinata. All three of them could wait until the moment came when he wasn't giving Tenten his full attention. Of course, that time would only come when they would depart from one another.
Tsunade told him earlier today that Asuma had finally asked Kurenai on a date, and that she had accepted. It was about time; he had been eyeing her up for about six months now, and still hadn't had the courage to say anything to her. It was a good thing that Tsunade had intervened and brought the two of them face to face.
Neji had to smile to himself. If things with Tenten progressed favorably, then he and Asuma could double date - the girls usually liked to do things like that. It was one of those things where girls could make friends with other girls without being concerned that either one of them is going to attempt to steal the other's man.
"What?" Tenten couldn't help but let a warm beam snake up her cheeks. Neji's grin was contagious to her, and he shook his head, never letting his smirk falter.
"Nothing," he said. "I'm just thinking about what's going to happen when we get off this ship on Thursday."
Tenten lifted an eyebrow and was automatically raging inside with curiosity. She wanted to know what he had in mind for her. She already knew that she wanted to go on a romantic and mushy date with him, despite the fact that such a thing used to never interest her. If they went to the lake and stared up at the night sky, holding hands as they called out the constellations, that would be perfect. If they went further, however, and made love under the sea of stars, she didn't think that she would argue.
"A friend of mine just recently went out with a girl that he's had a crush on for months, and, perhaps, if things go well with them, the four of us can go out together."
"Like a double date?" she asked, and he nodded, biting his lip. "Neji, why is it that I feel like I've known you my entire life?"
"Maybe we have known each other forever. Maybe we just had yet to meet."
That was deep. Somehow, Tenten felt moved by his words, and she wondered if maybe it could be true. Perhaps they did know each other, but couldn't put a name and a face to one another. Could that happen? It's almost like the ultimate form of déjà vu.
Tenten chuckled and couldn't help but to grab his hand and grin at him.
"C'mon, Mr. Insightful. Let's go to the party."
