The One That Got Away, Chapter 9: Wanted
I awoke the next morning to an unusually bright November sun peeking through the window and piercing my closed lids, dying the blackness behind them red. I absent-mindedly ran my hand over the space to my right where Sasuke was lying last night; all I gathered were sheets. A wave of panic washed over me as I threw my body up on my elbows and scanned the room for Sasuke. Through the haze of panic, I could hear what sounded like rain coming from down the hall.
Shower, I sighed silently. He's in the shower. The panic ebbed away and an overwhelming sense of stupidity took its place; where did I think he was going to go?
Images of Sasuke standing under the steaming water filled my thoughts, thin streams gliding down his chest, torso, abdomen, lower…
I swallowed hard and put my hand on my forehead; it felt like I broke out in a fever.
"Morning, sunshine," Sasuke greeted me from the door frame. He wore nothing but a fluffy white towel and a grin that grew infinitely wider as he watched me look him over. "Like what you see?"
God, yes, I groaned to myself as a scarlet flush crept across my cheeks and extended to my hairline. "Um, couldn't you get dressed in the bathroom?"
"I left my clothes in here," he motioned to the pile on the dresser. "and I expected you to still be asleep."
I nodded and gulped around the lump in my throat, wishing I'd feigned sleep a few minutes longer. "Okay, I'll let you get dressed then," I stammered, hurrying past him. I strained to resist the impulse to run my hands over his muscular frame and crash my mouth onto his, push him back onto my bed and shed my clothing like a Velcro suit.
"Cold water helps," Sasuke called after me as I made my way to the bathroom. He sent me a wink as if he could read my mind before he disappeared into my bedroom.
"So, what are your plans today?" I asked as I skipped downstairs to Sasuke who was shoveling cereal into his mouth.
"Dunno," he replied, his speech jumbled from a mouthful of Captain Crunch. "What are yours?"
"I have work until five," I grabbed my coat and glanced at the clock. "You have eight hours to yourself."
"Oh," he nodded. He gulped down the excess milk and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. "Well, do you want to maybe do something when you get off?"
"Like a date?" I raised my brow.
He shrugged. "Whatever you want to call it,"
I couldn't even attempt to force back the huge smile that spread across my face, my cheeks were beginning to ache from the strain. "Yeah, sure, sounds fun."
Sasuke returned the idiotic smile and chuckled. "I'll try not to get into too much trouble before then,"
"Just don't get beaten up," I teased playfully. "or arrested and I'll be happy."
"I'll try," he promised with the sweetest smile I'd ever seen.
I sucked in a shallow breath and smiled and I reluctantly left for work, wondering how he can alternate between bordering-on-over-confident and sexy to shy and sweet.
"He's still at your house?" Ayame squealed as she practiced mixing the newest addition to the cocktail menu.
"I told him he could stay until he gets back on his feet," I explained simply.
"What happens if he doesn't?" she challenged with a raised brow. She examined my expression. "Do you even want him to?"
"Of course I do," I sighed. It was something I hoped for Sasuke to achieve - a job, a house, a life of his own - but I couldn't ignore the part of me that wanted him to need me forever. It felt great to be needed - really needed.
Ayame shot me a doubtful look. "Really?"
"Since when did you become Dr. Phil?" I retorted sharply, quickly getting annoyed with her judgments. Who was she to judge me, anyway? She's the one who can't go a single night without a bedmate, why should I feel bad for wanting to be needed?
"I was just saying,"
"I never asked for your opinion," I snapped.
"Okay, okay," she rolled her eyes. "What crawled up your ass?"
I took a deep breath. "I'm sorry, okay? I just don't need to be judged by you,"
"What's that supposed to mean?" Ayame pushed, dropping what she was doing and turning to face me. She arched an inky black eyebrow and put her hand on her hip; she was ready for a battle.
I was never the type to fight - with words or with fists - but her stance made me bristle as I formulated the first blow; I was ready for a war. "I just don't think you have a right to talk considering your less-than-flattering reputation, you practically throw yourself at anything with a penis." I flicked my hair behind my shoulder. "It's so sad that you have to resort to sex to get male attention."
It was obvious my words stung by the expression plastered on her overly made-up face, her turquoise eyes filling with what I suspected were angry tears. "At least I get male attention! It's so sad that I get the attention you wish you got!"
I didn't even blink. "That's because they know you won't put up a fight. You might as well start charging, at least then you'll be getting something in return."
"That's what you really think, huh?" she choked out as the tears fell down her face, dragging her make up with them.
"Since the day we met," I admitted.
I should've felt bad - would've felt bad - if they were thoughtless words spouting from my mouth in the heat of the moment, but it was the truth. I was just telling her what everyone thought of her; did that make me a bitch? Somehow, I didn't care either way, it felt great to finally tell Ayame what I've thought of her every day for two years. What felt even better was seeing her cry at the realization that she was a total whore; did it actually come as a surprise or betrayal to her? She can't be that dense … can she?
"What happened to you?" she sobbed, tears staining her cheeks and turning her eyes red. "I feel like I don't even know you anymore."
I chewed on that for a minute and silently thanked God that it was the slowest day we've had in over a month. This already wasn't pretty, I didn't want anyone to see it get ugly. "How could you? All you've ever cared about was yourself."
That was the final straw. Ayame completely crumbled into a sobbing mess and ran to the refuge of the back room to cry off all of her make up. I sighed heavily in an attempt to exhale all of the negative energy that possessed me for those few brief moments as two girls took seats a few feet down the bar.
"So, who was that guy you were talking about?" a pink haired girl asked the girl next to her. I tried not to stare at her cherry blossom hair; it was obviously dyed and yet somehow still managed not to look entirely horrible on her.
"I met him a few nights ago," her blonde friend replied. I started mixing a tray of drinks just to look busy as I immediately thought back to what the man said in the basement yesterday. "What happened to your blonde bimbo?"
I shoved that thought out of my head. There are tons of blonde chicks, what are the chances that that one wandered back here?
"He was pretty wasted by the time I went over to talk to him, but man was he hot," she giggled. Her bleach blonde ponytail swayed as she spoke and her tight-fitted and low-cut top left nothing to the imagination; she was definitely a bimbo. I bet she and Ayame would get along great.
"What'd he look like?"
"Jet black hair and eyes to match," she sighed dreamily. "I've never seen anyone with such dark eyes before, he looked like a real bad boy."
A pang shot straight through me like a lightning bolt at her words; she was the blonde bimbo.
"So what else happened?" her pink haired friend urged a little too excitedly.
"Well, we had a few drinks and I asked if I could come back to his place-"
That bitch was in my house?
"-but he said he was staying with a friend, so we went back to my house."
Oh, God.
"We made out for a while and got pretty handsy, but he said some other chick's name so that was the end of that."
Another girl's name…?
"Whose name?"
"I don't know, something with an S," she waved carelessly. "All I know is that it wasn't Ino."
"Um, excuse me?" the pink haired girl motioned me over. "Two margaritas, please,"
I forced myself to smile as I mixed their drinks and placed the glasses in front of them. "Anything else?"
"Mine doesn't have enough salt," Ino looked at her drink like it was poisoned. "I'm not drinking it without more salt."
"Fine," I gritted my teeth and put more salt on the rim of her glass. "There. That'll be six seventy-five,"
"Damn, I forgot my wallet," Ino sighed dramatically. "Sakura, will you be a doll?"
Sakura smiled sheepishly and paid for the drinks. I looked at the clock. Two more hours until Sasuke gets here. I prayed they wouldn't be here when Sasuke came for me, but I wasn't anywhere near that lucky.
