If Itachi had not been made tense by the hug, he was now. He was sure that she had forgotten about that night. He was sure that he had been a stranger to him, totally unknown. "Ino that was something else, it's not that I feel that you need to return this favor in any way." Ino shot up. She could not believe what he just had suggested. She looked down at him with narrow eyes. She could not believe this. She threw the keys in the couch and stormed out. Did he really believe that she used her body to gain favors that she would give him a private dance for him in his living room for a car? She would never. She would not even think about it. She would gladly take bus home. She would never.
Ino was not sure what to do when she came home. Hers was not as classy as Itachi's. Her home was much smaller, it had been an upgrade from how she had been living. She had a bedroom now. Her neighbor made and sold drugs, the woman living under her used it. Who lived about her she did not know, but they use to argue and fight. Ino was quiet. She never had any friends to invite over. She was alone. She liked it that way, but talking with others like Tenten and Shikamaru had been nice. She was confused. She did not know what she wanted any more. She had taken the job to earn money, nothing more. She had ended up enjoying herself. Breaks in the kitchen with Shikamaru, having small arguments and power battles with Itachi, all he expected from her with no education or teaching. She could not think about him without feeling warm with anger. She would quit the next day. She could not work with him now. Not now that he had insinuated that she sold herself if he offered her something that made it worth it. She could not work like that. She demanded the respect she felt that she deserved. She had for once in her life tried getting it with kindness and not fear. It had not worked out.
Ino had packed her work clothes. She would not keep them. Most of them still had the tag on. She did not care what Itachi would do with them. She could not keep them, it felt wrong. She folded them neatly and put them in a bag. She wore her own clothes that that. Black thermal sweater and mid-thigh, tight aubergine colored skirt. Wearing her own clothes outside felt odd even though it had just been a week since the last time. She had to admit that wearing her high end designer clothes had made her feel somewhat special. Back to wearing her old clothes she felt plain. Quitting her new job was the right decision. She had changed being around those rich snobs. She did not want to become spoilt and ungrateful, never satisfied like them.
Someone ran to catch the elevator; Ino did nothing to stop the door. She felt like her old self again, you missed the elevator? Too bad for you. This person did not catch it however. "Wow, moving in to the office?" It was Shikamaru. "I'm quitting, Itachi insinuated that I would strip for the car he offered me." Shikamaru seemed stunned. "No way! Itachi? Itachi is a dirty boy?! He wanted you to strip for him? That's some serious sexual harassment, you should sue." Ino shook her. "He did not want me to strip; he said that I did not have to." Shikamaru narrowed his eyes. "I still think you have a pretty strong case on him. He's rich, meaning you could be rich." Ino would never sue him; she just wanted to be done with Itachi. "I'm not interested in money!" She yelled and walked out of the elevator.
She dropped her bag inside her office. She became more enraged when she saw the car keys on her desk. He thought he could dangle the car in front of her again and it would all go away? No, it would nit but she would go away. She barged in his office. "I quit!" She had wanted to scream, but she had not. Itachi looked at her in disbelief. "Could it wait? I'm in a meeting." That's when she noticed that he had company, the blond from earlier. "Thank you for the flowers Itachi threw away, and yes. Yes, I'll go on a date with you. I'll date you so hard that you'll be sore for weeks!" She went out of the office. She had never done anything so dramatic in her life. She was shaking when she closed the door. It felt good. It felt so good. She had definitely made her point.
She was about to leave her office when Itachi came storming. He did not even look mad, that made Ino mad. She just looked at him, and he looked at her. "I knew I should have addressed the issue earlier. I did not want to scare you or make you feel uncomfortable. I did not say anything because I did not want to scare you off. I don't believe in faith, but having you here… It had to mean something. I cannot explain fully what I feel about you because I've never felt this before; I do not know if what I feel is love." Ino was not sure if she was scared or put off. She had have stalkers before, men that would not leave her alone. People would boil her down to being just some sexual being just because Ino was a stripper. This was different, she believed. To him she was the only one he had ever met that felt like another human. He had only eyes for her. "How can you love me when you haven't even held my hand?" They locked eyes. Hers were glossy, his were intense. He walked over to her, killing the distance between them. He put his hand on her shoulder. He had never really done this, kissed a girl. He never met with girls outside professional relations. This was strictly speaking also a professional relationship. Ino tried to step away first. He had put his other hand on her back. She had followed up and put her arms around him dragging him closer. They hit the wall. Ino let her fingers run through his silky hair. Things were getting steamy when Deidara interrupted them. "Not cool dude, I had that bird hooked and locked!" Ino had to laugh at his awkward slang. "I… I have a meeting, but why don't we talk after?"
Ino did not want to talk about their kiss later. She wanted to have a meltdown, she wished he would allow her to rage and walk out of her life. Why did he have to have feelings for her? They would never work out together. It was doomed from the start. Poor and rich never worked out. Sure it did in fairytales and chick flicks. It had not in her life. Her old best friend, Sakura, had dropped her as soon as Ino had told her she would not attend medical school with her. Ino had become poor when it came to cash and friends. Sakura had rich parents and had shipped her off to the school of her choice. Sakura had stopped calling and Ino had become Sakura the stripper. Things had ended badly between us. She had learned that I was a stripper. She had accused me for doing it for attention, because I liked it when the boys looked at me. Last thing she had said to me was that old men were going to touch themselves thinking about me.
Ino went to get some coffee. "Do you do anything around here beside hang at the office?" I had found Shikamaru. "Not really. They just need me to find loop holes in the human rights. I don't work that hard," Ino laughed. "Sorry I snapped at you this morning." He shook his head. "It was wrong of me to push the matter." Yes, he should not have. Ino made herself a cup of coffee. "I don't know why he would even assume that. It doesn't even look like you could put on a good show." Ino put down her coffee and pulled up her skirt looking to see if they were alone. She slid down in a split arched her back and grabbed her heel. "I put on hell of a show." She had been for years. She had been the best. She missed being the best. Shikamaru looked like he had to sit down. Ino giggled leaving him stunned. Ino still worked out and practiced. She was sure she would eventually fail in this job. So sure she would eventually go back to her old job.
Itachi's door was open when she came back. He never left his door open, but then he had never kissed his assistant before either. He had never done anything like that. He saw Ino enter the office. He noticed just how long her legs were and how her face that had softened working her was once again cold. Cold like it had been when she was on the stage. Oh how he desperately had wanted to repair her, make her smile. Ino did not need to be repaired. She was not broken. She was frozen. He had seen the fire and the passion she had in her eyes, he produced those emotions. He made her feel something and he loved that. Just like he loved the way she moved her hips walking, it was like she was dancing. She looked like a ballerina. Itachi got out of his chair. He had to talk; he did not know what to say. He was scared of saying the wrong things. Ino was a delicate flower. Ino was behind her desk, she flipped her hair over her shoulder to get it out of the way. She had no idea how delicate and sensual her movements were. Ino was a girl to get drunk off. He felt intoxicated around her. She had that effect on men.
"Do you still want to quit your job?" Ino looked up at him. She was not sure. She had not reflected on how their kiss had affected things. "It will never work out between us." She did not beat around the bush. Life was too short to waste on mindless chatter. "How can you say that without trying?" She had tried. "Experience." Itachi narrowed his eyes, he had never thought about who Ino might have been with before him. He had never been with a girl. Not like that. His father had paid a prostitute to give him a blow job for his sixteenth birthday and then two years later paid another prostitute to sleep with him. He had not. He had worked on a paper. She had lain in his bed eventually falling asleep. Itachi had let her sleep, he had taken the couch. Ino was nothing like him, yet they were so much alike. They had different experiences. She must have had a well off boyfriend before. He was not the only business man who went to the club. Many others like him went there because of the lack of rules. They could scream and suggested whatever they wanted the girls without being thrown out. He had heard the wildest stories from the private back rooms. There would always be a girl who let you do the wildest things to them for enough cash. Ino had never worked the backroom. Itachi still heard lies about her. She was the dream girl of everybody. Itachi was not alone about picking Ino as his favorite, but he had different intentions. Itachi had never over sexualized Ino. It was not like that. He had wanted to save her, to give her the love she deserved. Ino deserved so much more than she had gotten. He could not argue against her experience, just that he was nothing like anything she had experienced.
"Give me a week and I'll be the best boyfriend you ever had."
