A/N : Hello guys. Thank you for taking time to read my late update... I actually was transferred to a different team for work. Sadly, we do not have access to open our personal e-mail addresses at work. So everything I wrote at work cannot be sent outside. Super strict IT personnel ( ?#$%!)... so I ended writing this down and retyping it so that I can publish it. Took me some time to accomplish this. Aside from that, the summer heat in our country is at it's extremities. Taking a full bath and several cools showers in a day is not enough. I am shriveling... like a plant drying up... I hope it would rain the soonest. I have not seen real rain in weeks, only light drizzles that are not enough to wet the ground.
PS : The personality of the characters will differ from the anime/manga so please don't compare them from the original. They are normal people in love in my FFN world - in other words, they will be OOC every now and then.
A/N : My Disclaimer : I own nothing but the plot. The characters belong to Masashi Kishimoto. UnBeta-ed... This was made purely for enjoyment purposes.
If you don't know who Naruto Uzumaki, Itachi Uchiha and Sasuke Uchiha is, don't read. If Yaoi disturbs you, don't read either. Slight SasuNaru at first, but this is purely SasuIta and not the other way around.
INTOXICATED
CHAPTER 14
Itachi reached home in record time. He silently thanked the heavens that the traffic jam was kind to him.
After parking and locking the gate, he opened the door to his bachelor's pad. He carelessly tossed his shoes and trotted slowly towards his room.
He dropped his tired body into the softness of his bed. He closed his eyes and slowly massaged the bridge of his nose.
It was really an exhausting day. It was not because of the amount of work that he had, but it was because his mind was extremely troubled.
A lot of things happened that day. But what embedded on his mind was his meeting with Sasuke.
He could not find an explanation why that man affected him so much. The very presence of the raven led him speechless.
And Itachi Uchiha was never intimidated.
Frustrated, he sighed loudly and rolled over. He stayed face-down and immobile for a few minutes. He had to find the reason why all of these foreign emotions came about. What did that man have that wrecked his composed state.
He got up and decided to take a shower. He quickly undressed and turned the shower on to full blast. He didn't bother with the heater and allowed the icy blast to awaken his senses. The cold water felt good on his skin. He closed his eyes and savored the sensation. He rarely had time to stop and appreciate small things like this anymore. He knew that he was slowly turning into the workaholic man his father used to be.
Itachi loved his work. But it seemed like he already reached the point where he forgot about himself. He had forgotten how to have fun. He had forgotten what it felt like to be in love.
Love... that thought lingered a wee bit longer than expected. Frowning under the pouring water, Itachi opened his eyes. Where did that come from?
He grabbed the bottle of shampoo and poured a generous amount unto his palm. He quickly lathered it to his hair and rinsed it off just as fast. He did the same process with the soap. His movements were robotic. The next thing he knew, he was done.
He left the bathroom and trotted about naked, leaving wet footprints on his immaculate floor. He went to the cabinet and pulled a towel out. He briskly rubbed the cloth to his wet skin. When he was satisfied, he wrapped the towel around his waist.
Itachi grabbed the remote and turned the television on. He changed channels and sighed, nothing was interesting enough to watch. He turned it off and went back to the bathroom to brush his teeth. He decided to go to bed early.
Finally, Itachi was done with his rituals, he even had time to blow dry his long hair. Sporting nothing but silk boxers, he climbed back into bed. He knew he was supposed to feel refreshed and relaxed, but the latter never came.
He stared at the ceiling. Itachi didn't know how long he stayed like that. He then grabbed his blankets and hid under it. He closed his eyes and tried to concentrate on sleeping. But sadly, his mind was not cooperating with him.
He reached for his mobile phone, searched for Naruto's number and called the blond. He frowned at what he heard. He was currently listening to Naruto's greeting message for his voice mail. It was a first, the blond never used his voice mail as far as Itachi could remember.
He dialed a few more times and got the same message. He placed his phone back to the nightstand. He had to try reaching Naruto again tomorrow.
He went back to stare at the ceiling. For over two hours, he continued to toss and turn. But sleep would not visit him.
He kicked the covers away and stood up. He felt suffocated in his room. He felt the need to get out from the confines of his pad. He needed a distraction.
Glancing at the metallic clock on the wall, he realized that the night was still young. So he decided to go out.
He quickly dressed, then grabbed his phone, car keys and wallet. He started his car and in a few minutes, was already out on the road.
He drove without direction. He had no idea where he was going to. After a few minutes, he realized that he drove to an area that he rarely passed by.
Itachi knew that he reached the red-light district of the city. There were bars and disco clubs everywhere. It was more crowded now than his memory could recall.
He only visited this place once, when he was young and curious. He accompanied some classmates the night before they graduated from high school.
He noticed an establishment that he didn't remember seeing before. Well, that was understandable. He rarely visited this part of the city. The flashing lights and the loud music called to him like a siren.
Luckily, he found a parking space. He was glad he grabbed a hooded sweater. He needed all the privacy he can get. He was confident that no one in that club knew him. He paid the entrance fee and went in.
After the glass doors, Itachi found himself facing a sea of people moving in time with the music. The flashing lights were blinding and the loud disco music echoed throughout.
He walked about and was glad to spot an empty table at the far end corner of the dance floor. He sat down and looked around. The place was packed with young adults. If they were not dancing, they were seated and drinking.
He got his phone and checked the place out. The place was quiet popular as the surveys convey. It just opened two months ago and based on the rave reviews, business was really doing good for the said club. 'Red'... it was a peculiar name for a club. Well, maybe the owner loved the said color.
A shadow fell before him and long crimson nails gently tapped on the table. Itachi looked up and saw a woman clad in red bodysuit..
Armed with her pretty face and smile, she asked Itachi, "Good evening, I noticed that you haven't ordered anything yet. I will be glad to get you your drink." she said sweetly.
Itachi smiled. The club had attractive and attentive staff members, that was another reason why people flock there.
"Yes, I could not make up my mind. Any suggestions?" he asked.
"We have a variety of choices. Are you looking for something strong?" she asked and Itachi nodded.
"Just stay here handsome, I'll bring you your drink." she winked at him and left.
Itachi smirked. The waitress was friendly, he thought. He hoped that she will really get him a strong drink. He needed it.
A few minutes later, the waitress came back carrying a fancy looking glass filled with red liquid. She placed it before Itachi.
"This is the house specialty. It is fondly called 'Lava Kiss'. I hope it will be to your liking." she said.
Itachi nodded and the girl left. He took the drink and tasted it. He closed his eyes as the cold liquid burned his throat. He could not distinguish what is was made off. It was like a combination of spirits and he actually liked it.
After an hour and several glasses of Lava Kisses, Itachi could feel the effect of the drink. His eyes roamed around, watching the dancers move. He missed this feeling... feeling light-headed and carefree. For a few minutes in his busy life, he felt free.
Itachi knew that he was getting really tipsy. He was not used to drinking anymore. Though he was still able to think, he knew that he should stop from drinking... he still needed to drive home.
Itachi started to look around some more. He came her to be distracted, not to feel down and go sober. He was envious of the people around him. They were enjoying their young lives like there was no tomorrow. He never had a chance to try that. Indeed, he was very successful with his career. But he can feel something was missing.
His attention was caught when he heard the crowd cheer. The DJ played a new song that got everyone moving. Itachi's dark eyes caught a couple dancing. The crowd continued to cheer for the sultry couple. They were humping and grinding against each other, their bodies glistened with sweat under the disco lights. The girl was petite. He could not really distinguish her hair color, but it seemed red to him. Her slashed hairdo blended well against the dancing lights. She had a pair of metallic stilettos that went well with her flimsy skirt.
Itachi then studied her partner. He started looking away from the killer heels and towards the man. The man was clad in ripped jeans and leather boots. His slender fingers played against the woman's hips. The man was lean and mean... an athlete's body minus the bulging muscles. Itachi noticed a silver necklace adorning the slender neck. As he looked up, he expected to see someone with mixed ethnicity for the man was tall... that was expected... but his eyes could not believe what he was seeing... or rather, he could not believe who he was looking at.
As if fate was in the mood to tease Itachi. The man looked up and their eyes met. Itachi felt a bead of sweat roll down from his forehead to his left brow. His throat grew suddenly dry and all the tipsiness he had earlier vanished into thin air. The man grinned, leaned over to his partner and whispered something to her ear. She nodded and smiled, looking at Itachi's direction.
The man left his partner and started to walk towards Itachi's table. Itachi could hear the frantic beating of his heart despite the music. The man was now standing in front of Itachi, his dark eyes smiling identically as his lips.
"Hello, Itachi..." he said as he leaned over, his voice was low and husky. Itachi could smell the liquor-stained breath fan against his face.
"Sasuke..." was all he could come up with as he inhaled deeply.
He heard Sasuke chuckle and silently watched as Sasuke's lids slightly droop. Heavens, this man was so damn attractive that it was quiet distracting... well, he did wish for a distraction.
"Why are you drinking alone? Got a fight with your girlfriend?" Sasuke asked as he sat down beside Itachi. Itachi shook his head, being very aware of Sasuke's closeness to him.
"I came here... I wanted to think..." he explained poorly.
"You came here to think? I believe you mean, you came here to forget..." Sasuke offered, slightly chuckling. Itachi took a deep breath and looked at Sasuke. Here he was again... speechless and at the verge of hyperventilating.
Sasuke stood up and went towards the DJ's box. He started talking to the bearded man. Itachi could not hear them, but he saw the other man nod. It seemed to him that the DJ agreed to whatever Sasuke asked him to do.
As if their meeting was not enough, fate had another surprise waiting for Itachi.
"Sasuke... w-what are you doing?" he asked slightly bewildered.
"Dance with me Itachi..." Sasuke asked. Itachi shivered as Sasuke's hot breath caressed his earlobe.
"I... I do not... dance..." Itachi stated, making the sultry raven laugh.
"Come on, Itachi... let me help you forget..." Sasuke purred over Itachi's ear.
~tbc~
On my next update, I will do my very best to start the flame. Stay tuned.
Thank you for your time. Your reviews are truly appreciated from the bottom of my heart.