Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.

Thanks for your reviews. They mean a lot, even the criticism. Haha. I'll try to work on the things that some have pointed out. Anyway, here's chapter thirteen of Sketches. Please enjoy!

Sketches
Chapter Thirteen: Sketch Me Splendid

She sighed.

Sakura didn't really know what to do. She walked from corner to corner, hands on her hips, pink hair flailing behind her as if it were a cloud of cotton candy. Her feet made soft, dull, padding noises as she walked. She ran a hand through her hair before she finally stopped, staring at the phone, willing it to ring.

It didn't.

So Sakura plopped down on the couch and turned on the television. It had been several days since her cold, and she hadn't heard much from Neji ever since he had asked her to pose - nude, mind you - for his latest painting. One that was going to Paris, of all places. She just knew that today was the day she was supposed to go down to his apartment and pose. After she got a call from Neji.

He hadn't called yet.

And it was driving Sakura crazy.

She realized she couldn't sit still, so she moved into the kitchen to fix herself a glass of water. "Come on…" She muttered as she took a swig of the icy liquid.

"Sakura…"

"Hm? Yeah, Ino?"

Ino, who had been away from her apartment more than she had been at it, was standing at her doorway, looking cross and amused all at the same time, "You need to calm down, sweetie."

Sakura blinked, feigning innocence, "Calm down? Why, Ino, whatever do you mean?"

Ino laughed as she walked over to the kitchen. She wrapped an arm around her and smiled, saying, "Nude, really? I didn't think you would be so nervous about it."

"Not just that…"

"Oh, right," Ino said, rolling her eyes as if it were the most obvious thing in the world, "You like him - "

"Shut up, Ino!"

"Oh, yeah, like everyone in the world can hear me."

Sakura laughed at that. She really did need to chill out. Being nervous wasn't settling well with her stomach, and she knew if she worried long enough it would wreak havoc on her pores. Heaven forbid that would happen! She laughed again and then…

Ring, ring, ring!

"See? I told you he'd call."

"No, you didn't!"

Sakura was still laughing as she picked the phone up and said, "Hello?"

"Hey, Sakura."

Her heart fluttered at the sound of his voice immediately, "Hello, Neji." She said with a large grin on her face, while Ino made kissy-kissy noises behind her. "Shut up, pig!" She waved her hand at the blonde, who only laughed and then snorted, like a pig, which made Sakura laugh so hard she almost forgot the handsome man on the other end of the phone line.

"Do I need to call back?" Neji asked, starting to chuckle as well.

"N-No, it's…" Sakura couldn't finish because she started laughing again at Ino, who this time had tripped over a rug at the foot of the couch. It took a while, but Sakura finally collected herself, "It's fine."

"Okay, good." Neji said, but with some hesitance, added, "You ready?"

"Yeah. You ready?"

"Of course."

"We sound like we're about to make a drug bust." Sakura chuckled to herself, and Neji joined with her. She was in a surprisingly giddy mood today.

"Alright, I'll be there in a little bit."

"Fine with me." He replied, "See you when you get here."

"Back at cha!"

With that, they both hung up.

Neji put the phone on the receiver and sighed. It took more out of him to be happy then he thought it would be. In the few days he had not contacted Sakura, he had almost gone crazy. But he had good reason to not contact her. Even thinking about it now, he realized he had done the right thing by not talking to her.

Tenten had found the picture Neji had drawn of Sakura.

They had went through a big fight after that. She had accused him of cheating. He had brought up those strange hickeys that adorned her body. She had looked at him with hurt, caramel eyes and began to cry. The fight dissolved after that. Neji assured her that he hadn't cheated on her at all. He just met the girl at a coffee shop, they had talked a few times, and then he asked her to pose for him. They were good friends. That was all.

Tenten believed him, with good reason. Neji was completely truthful with what he told her. He didn't mention today's session, however. This one would be the last straw with Tenten if she found out about it. So he would keep this one as secret as he could, no matter how much guilt he felt for it.

He sighed and came to rest on the chair he had brought out for Sakura to pose on. He felt the heat pool in his stomach and make its way down as he thought about the pink haired beauty simply sitting here…

Neji sighed and ran a hand through his messy hair, that sense of guilt he felt before started to mix itself with a thrill of excitement. She would be here any minute, and Neji could hardly keep still.

He hadn't realized how long he sat there until the doorbell rang and he was jolted out of his reverie. Scurrying out of his seat, he hope to find Sakura at his door, and knew that if he didn't…well, he'd be disappointed. Beyond disappointed, actually.

Neji's hand wrapped around the doorknob and opened it. He grinned brightly when he was met with a pair of cautious, yet excited emerald orbs.

"Sakura." He acknowledged professionally.

"Neji." She playfully replied.

She entered the room, looking around carefully at her surroundings. Nothing had changed much. She looked slightly nervous and Neji reached out and touched her shoulder gently, "Sakura, if you're nervous and don't want to do this…then you don't have to."

"Nah," Sakura shook her head rapidly, causing her pink locks to fly around her face, "I'm okay. I've just never done this before. I want to do this…it's just new to me."

Neji nodded understandingly as he led her over to where she'd be posing. It was a rather large, fancy chair. It doubled Sakura's size easily. It was made of plush white fabric with etchings of roses in the material. The pillows were large and plump, and Sakura thought they looked very comfortable. He motioned over to the area and said, "Here's where you're going to be sitting."

Sakura nodded, and she felt a tinge of warmth tickle her stomach and make its way down.

"Now…" Neji continued, "Would you rather strip down in the bathroom? I have a robe in there, if that's okay. I understand if you wouldn't want to - "

"Yeah, that sounds fine," She interrupted, smiling and making her way to the bathroom. Neji was surprised she remembered where it was. She opened the door and shut it gently while Neji sank down into his own wooden chair with an easel placed in front of it.

He ran a hand through his hair as another feeling of excitement raced through him. He felt wrong for feeling that way, but…it was the truth. He was excited to paint her. It didn't even matter if she was nude - though a part of him actually wanted to see that. All that mattered was that he was painting her. It was like the excitement he felt when he first saw her in the restaurant.

He heard the bathroom door open and his heart started to race. Again, he ran a nervous hand through his hair.

He turned and inhaled shakily. She was standing there, looking at him with those irresistible green eyes, those plump lips slightly opened as she took in breaths. The soft white of the robe contrasted beautifully with the pale pink color of her hair. She had left it slightly open at the front, so he could see a bit of the small cleavage she had.

"Uh…" Neji stuttered slightly and then continued, "Okay, just come sit on the chair and I'll tell you what to do."

Wow, hopefully she didn't noticed that double entendre.

Sakura said nothing about it, and just moved over to the chair. Standing in front of it, with her back facing him, she undid the sash on the robe and let it slither off her creamy white shoulders. Neji gulped at the exposed planes of skin and felt warmth pooling in his stomach.

Slowly, painfully slowly, she let the robe drop from her shoulders to her waist, each inch of skin appeared in a tantalizingly slow way. And he could feel his arousal starting to react to her body. Finally, she let the robe drop around her ankles and he drank her in, taut limbs, long legs, firm buttocks. He exhaled just as shakily as he had been inhaling and licked his lips.

Sakura turned her head to look at him over her shoulder, her eyes meeting Neji's and the spark between them was palpable. "So…where do you want me to sit?"

"On that chair." Neji said, and then almost slapped himself. Duh.

Sakura moved towards the chair, her hips swaying attractively. Neji couldn't look away, he found himself drawn to her subtle sexiness in the way she walked. She sat down and turned to face him, her small breasts bouncing slightly. The flat plane of her stomach was flat and somewhat toned, just like her arms and legs. He followed her stomach down to her womanhood…

Neji looked back at his easel, breaths starting to come more forced. He ventured a look back to her and saw the she was looking at him intently, her legs dangling and swinging childishly from the edge of the chair.

"Lay down," Neji directed, and she did so. "so that your legs are hanging off of the arm of the chair." She positioned herself like she was told.

"Put one foot on the arm and bend your leg slightly…yeah, like that." Neji watched as she did was she was told.

In the end of all his directions, she was positioned laying down on the couch, one foot on the couch, bending her leg slightly, while the other hung limply off the side of the arm of the chair. Her body, from her torso up, was turned to face Neji. Her left arm was resting on the back of the chair, curling on the red blanket Neji had thrown over the chair before Sakura had come. Her eyes stared forward at him - he told her to give him a look of innocence and she had complied. Really, without even trying, she was capable of giving him that look of utter innocence and childlike wonder. Her free hand tangled itself in her hair, pink strands weaving between long white fingers. Her lips were slightly parted, and looked irresistibly plump. So much so that Neji wanted to through the absurd easel across the room and jump her.

He felt his pants grow smaller as he imagined that. It was a good thing he wore loose pants, and he knew it. He almost laughed out loud.

"Okay," Neji said, "Now try not to move."

She nodded infinitesimally.

It was a quiet session, only the sound of Neji dipping his paint brush in the many different colors he had prepared and stroking the paper with it gently, carefully.

He got tried to get everything he needed in the picture. He tenderly painted her picture as Sakura watched him intently, amazed at his skill and talent. If just the pencil sketch he had first done of her was that good, then she could only imagine what a full color picture done in his skilled hands would look like.

His eyes drank her in, committing everything about her to memory. Sakura felt the heat grow in her stomach as his eyes washed over her.

Neji took his time, picking out the right colors for her, choosing the correct shad of pink for her hair, the right crème color for her skin. The white for the couch, the red that was a part of the roses on the chair, as well as the blanket that was draped over the back of it. His brow furrowed as he started to outline the features of her lightly with a pencil before taking out the white paint and coating it on his paintbrush.

"Can I ask you something?"

Neji looked over the easel at her body and inhaled deeply, trying to be professional. "Yeah, just try not to move…" He requested politely.

"Are you alright, Neji?" She asked, trying her best not to move anything out of place, "You look…kind of…I dunno. Not yourself."

Neji chuckled, "You're too kind." He stated before he started tracing the curve of her slight breasts. "But…I guess. Well, it's my girlfriend."

"Tenten?" Sakura's heart leapt in her chest with nervousness, "What happened?"

Neji felt like he should tell her, so he did, "She found that picture I drew of you."

The pink haired girl's breath caught in her throat, and she tried to stay relaxed for the painting. Otherwise, her joints would be tensed and coiled so tightly, she would be like a gazelle waiting to spring away from a lion. "Oh." She said, as if indifferent to the situation. A part of her screamed - "Why would she care?! She's cheating on you too! Actually cheating! Not just 'hanging out' and shit like this!" She felt her anger boil, but kept her comments to herself. If she had said anything to Neji about this…

"Yeah, we had a big fight. She threatened to break up with me." Neji admitted, looking back over the easel at Sakura's perfect form.

"Well, that seems awfully hypocritical." She scoffed, her eyes narrowing for a moment before she settled back into the look for the painting.

Neji looked up, eyes widening, but didn't say anything.

Maybe that would've been for the best. Sakura thought bitterly. Her breaking up with him. But not for me, for Neji. He doesn't deserve this…he doesn't deserve her cheating on him like this.

She thought for one brief moment that she should tell him. About everything. Tenten's infidelity, and Sakura's own feelings toward the artist. But, then a smaller part of her consciousness stopped her, stalling her, telling her that it shouldn't be that way. Sakura shouldn't interfere with things. Besides, she'd given him enough hints - she could see the way his eyes widened when she said "brown haired girl" in that tone during there day at the park. And the words she just spat out unintentionally. Maybe he could put the pieces together without Sakura being a total bitch about it.

For a while the only sounds were of the brush stroking the paper, bristles going back and forth across the sheet, dabbling at little spots, the sounds of breathing… It was peaceful, but Sakura couldn't stop her mind from racing, and neither could Neji.

Hypocritical? What does she mean? That question repeated itself over and over inside the Hyuuga man's head.

He tried to break the ice again, "So, what are you going to do? I mean, are you going to waitress forever?"

Sakura laughed at this, but saw the playful scorn in his face and stopped before answering, "No. I'm not." She said, the smile all too apparent in her eyes, "I'm actually taking this year off before I start college."

"Oh, really?" He imagined Sakura as a college student. With sexy glasses and a low cut shirt and a pile of books in her hands and a short skirt. He felt the confines of his pants grow tighter, if that were possible.

"Yep," Sakura said brightly, "Headed to med school."

"Locally?"

The pink haired girl smiled at the inflections of Neji's tone, "Yeah. Just thirty minutes from here, actually."

"Ah, that's cool."

Sakura nodded slightly, but then moved her head back into position, while Neji thought of her as a nurse, clipboard in hand, cute little nurse's hat on her head, and a short skirt. It seemed that's all that was on his mind now - Sakura and a short skirt. He groaned involuntarily.

"You okay?" Her plump lips caressed the words and Neji felt his manhood twitch.

"Y-Yeah, I'm fine." His eyes grazed across her nude body longer than was necessary and he could see Sakura squirm slightly underneath his gaze. Ivory orbs raked across her form with a hunger that he could feel building in his body, making his lower body ache with need.

His tore his eyes from her body, and could hear Sakura's quickening of breath across the room from him. He wondered idly if his own breaths sounded like that. Was she as aroused by this as he was?

He tried to paint faster, up until this moment, he was taking it slow, relishing the fact that he was around Sakura, but now, with what just happened, he was feeling himself wanting to lose himself in her. Wanting to make love to her, to take her and make her his, right now. The image of him throwing the easel across the room and ravishing her was so strong now, stronger than when he first imaged it, that he was having a hard time containing himself.

He looked up again, over the easel, and drank in her form, eyes greedily taking in every inch of her body as his brush worked in his hand.

The moment seemed like an eternity for Sakura. Every time he would look up at her, she would catch his eyes on purpose, and try to hold them with her own. She succeeded most times, but he would jerk his head down and focus on the painting. She wondered if he was like this now too? She could feel the tightness of her body, needing and wanting release. And not from just anyone. From Neji.

The seconds that passed seemed like minutes, the minutes like hours, and the hours like days. It was an endless dance between the two. To see who would break first, if anyone would at all.

Several long, grueling hours later, Neji stood up from his easel, taking great care to hide his arousal from her. He grinned as he started to imagine horrible things, and to bite the inside of his cheek. Anything to dissipate the aching arousal pressing against his loose shorts. Anything to dissipate the want he had for this girl. The desire bit at him like a bug, over and over, waiting for him to break. But he wouldn't. As much as he wanted to, he wouldn't.

Couldn't.

Sakura quirked a brow, her eyes glowing with suppressed desire, even Neji could see that, "What?" There was an edge of hope to her voice, as if she hoped he would kiss her at that moment.

"I'm done."

Blinking, Sakura moved for the first time in what seemed like ages. She cocked her head from side to side, stretching the bunched muscles there. She stretched her arms above her head, and Neji noticed the way her breasts moved as she did so. She moved her legs out in front of her body, pointing her toes and groaning as her limbs cracked from not moving for so long.

She rose from the couch and stood, before bending over timidly to retrieve the bundled up robe from he floor. She put it on as Neji watched. Grinning, she tightened the sash around her waist, keeping the white terry cloth in place, "Can I see?"

Neji smiled at her. Now that she was fully clothed - well, almost - it was somewhat easier to focus. "Sure."

He placed a hand on the small of her back and lead her over to the easel. She walked gently on the hardwood floor, her feet padding softly. Sakura's head peaked around the corner of the easel and she gasped.

On it was a perfect rendering of her - pale pink locks, light colored skin, slight breasts, long legs, the slight curving of her buttocks as it sat against the chair. It was…

"Beautiful." Sakura said in awe. "This is so good." Her voice was a mere whisper, as if it were a crime to speak loudly.

"Thank you," Neji said, not even looking at the painting. His eyes rested solely on her. She was so close. All he had to do was close the distance between them with a kiss…

His nails bit into the palm of his hand. No, no. You're not going to do that, Hyuuga. He thought gruffly to himself.

"You…" Sakura ventured, looking at him. Their eyes met and there was a palpable tension, as well as a spark that connected them, "You're amazing, Neji."

Neji scoffed, "Ha, thanks. You are too. Seriously, not many girls would do this."

"You're my friend," Sakura said, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. But even then, the word friend didn't seem to accurately describe their relationship, though that was what they were. Nothing more. Sakura had to remind herself that. "Of course I would."

Neji smiled and ran a hand over her pink locks, "Thanks."

"You're welcome." Sakura beamed up at him. And he found that all trace of arousal was gone, replaced by the yearning to just be around her. "Well," She glanced at the clock on the wall, "Oh, are you serious! Seven o'clock!" She jolted into a rigid position.

"What's wrong?"

"I was supposed to help my friend with her wedding plans!" Sakura exclaimed, making her way to the bathroom.

"Wedding?"

"Yeah, I told you before, Ino's getting married to Naruto. I gotta help. Maid of honor here." She said in a joking manner as she shut the door. "Not to mention that she wants everyone to have a date. I don't even know why." He could hear the scuffling around the bathroom as Sakura found her clothes. "It's stupid. I guess she just doesn't want anyone to be alone…"

"I'll be your date."

The door cracked open, and Sakura peaked out, hiding the fact that she was only in her bra and panties, though she had nothing to be shy about, "What?"

"Yeah," Neji said, smiling gently, "I mean, you did this for me. Being your date is the least I can do to repay you."

"Oh, Neji," Sakura groaned slightly, "I don't want you to feel like you have to do this just because I posed nude for you. I wanted to do that."

"And who said I didn't want to be your date to the wedding?"

She blinked, her heart accelerating in her chest like a racecar driver stomping on the gas pedal. "You do?"

Neji nodded simply.

The door shut and then a few seconds later, she emerged, wearing the clothes she had on when she arrived. A small red handbag was dangling from her thin shoulder. She twisted herself to get a better look at him. "So…"

"So."

"I'll call you? I really have to get going. Ino's gonna be majorly pissed." Sakura said, laughing. "Stupid pig."

"That's fine. Just tell me the date and the time and the place and when to pick you up."

Sakura blushed, looking down for a moment and then moving her eyes to meet his own creamy white ones, "Alright. I'll do that." She headed for the door, when Neji suddenly grasped her wrist. A tingling sensation passed between the two, like an electric current, searing and making its way through their bodies from the point they touched.

"Thank you again." Neji said, his eyes burning holes into her, "You'll never know how much this means to me."

"I can take a wild guess." Sakura smiled, placing her free hand on top of the fist that was enclosed around her wrist. "I'm glad to help."

Neji smiled, and they stood there for a moment, relishing the contact caused by their hands softly touching. It was Sakura who finally broke the silence when she said, "I have to go, Neji. I've had a good time today. It was nice spending time with you."

The brunette Hyuuga stroked her hand with his thumbs, making soothing circles on the flesh. He smiled before they let go of their grip on one another and she walked the last few steps to the door.

"I'll call you." Sakura said, opening the door.

"I'll be waiting." Neji replied smoothly, causing a whole army of butterflies to begin to flutter in the pink haired girl's stomach.

Her slender fingers closed over the doorknob. She opened it and stepped out into the hall, but before she closed it, she could've sworn she heard Neji release a breath he had been holding for a while.

She closed the door behind her and made her way down the stairs, deciding that after being cramped in that chair for so long, she needed to stretch out the kinks and knots in her muscles by a little walking. She had all the way home to walk, too.

Sakura made her way out the front door, past the receptionist in the lobby before checking her phone. As she made her way out of the rotating doors, she looked to see that she had several new voicemails.

She turned onto the street, holding the phone to her ear as the streetlights flickered on above her, and listening to Ino's rant - "Sakura, where are you! Hello, I need help! Roses or lilies? Chocolate cake or regular? Outside or inside? Help me!"

Then another one from her beloved blonde friend, "Haruno Sakura. If you don't come home right now, I swear I'll…Ugh! I don't care if you're getting it on with that hot artist. You stop whatever you're doing and come home!"

She laughed to herself, expecting a huge ass-chewing when she finally arrived home, and then listened to the last of the voice mails.

What she heard shocked her to the core.

"Sakura? Hey, this is Tenten. Remember? We met on the street. I need to talk to you. It's important. Call me as soon as you can. Please."

She felt her fingers loosen from around the electronic device, and she almost dropped it, but caught herself before it fell to the hard concrete of the sidewalk. She looked at the number left by the caller ID. Her heart was beating furiously in her chest and she felt a familiar surge of anger go throughout her. If she planned on telling her to leave Neji alone…she didn't know what she would do.

But she knew it wouldn't be pretty.

Steeling herself, she felt her resolve toughen as she dialed the number of the brunette woman's cell phone.

End Chapter Thirteen.

Well, there ya go! Chapter thirteen is done! It seemed like forever for me to write this. So yeah. I hope everyone enjoyed this! Like, I want everyone to enjoy this story, and even when I get negative reviews…I dunno. It kills the excitement I feel for this fic. But whatever. I'm gonna write what I'm gonna write. People have their opinions and yeah. Hopefully someone liked this! I appreciate all the reviews - even the criticizing ones.

So yeah, thank you to everyone who read this new chapter! I hope y'all enjoyed it! Please review!