Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.
Chapter III
Unable to do much except stare, Sakura obediently stepped aside and let him into the foyer of her house.
"Nice place," Naruto said, peering into the living room. "Why don't you close the door? You're letting the warm air out."
Sakura shut the door, for although the sun was shining brightly, the January day had dawned cool and seemed destined to remain so. Recovering from the shock of seeing Naruto on her doorstep, she asked, "What are you doing in Miami? I thought you were in Colorado."
"I transferred to the University of Miami for winter term. It has a top-notch program for my major – architecture. If you'd written me back instead of ignoring my Christmas card, I'd have told you."
She ignored his barb. "Are you here just for this term?"
"For my final two years of undergraduate work, actually. I've rented an apartment near the campus. I'll show it to you sometime."
"How long have you been in town?"
"Three days. I drove. Hauled all my junk in a trailer across half the United States. But I'm settled in now. Classes start Monday, so since I have a weekend to kill, I thought I'd look you up."
Sakura heard the sound of her heart thudding and wasn't sure if it was thumping in joy over seeing him again, or in fear, because he was part of a world she didn't want to be reminded of. "I didn't know you wanted to be an architect."
"There's lost you don't know about me. Lots I want you to know."
The way his blue eyes bore into her made color creep up her neck. She recalled the explosions of heat she'd felt when he'd kissed her in the woods near Jenny House on the Fourth of July, and suddenly realized that she was still in her nightgown and robe. She clutched the top of the robe closer to her throat. "It was nice of you to drop by but you really should have called me first," she said in her frostiest voice. "I'm sure you'll be happy at U of M. I've – uh – got a date, so I can't talk now."
His eyebrow arched. "A date in the middle of the day?"
Flustered, she realized that she'd wanted him to think the date was more than it was, but at the last moment she chickened out. "My dad's taking me to lunch and a play. My parents split up over the holidays."
"I'm sorry."
She shrugged. "No big deal. It's been coming for months. iving here for the past few years was like living in a war zone. Now that Dad's moved out, things are much more peaceful."
"You might have said something about it this summer."
"It wasn't anyone's business." She tossed her long pink hair to make her point. She didn't want his pity, and she didn't want him knowing too much about her. "And Jenny House was far away, so I didn't have to think about it during the summer. Once I got home, school started. I kept busy."
"You wrote me one letter last September," Naruto said. "A kissoff, if I recall. You didn't mention it then either."
"I don't owe you any explanations about my personal life, Naruto. And since you brought up the letter, I did intend it to end contact between us."
"No joke," he said with humor. "It would have worked, except I knew I was transferring colleges and since we'll be in the same city –"
"Miami's a huge city. No reason for us to run into each other."
"You're the only person I know here."
He looked lonely and maybe even homesick. "Naruto, I didn't mean to say you're unwelcome. It's just that I have a life."
"Hey – so do I. I'm not out to crowd you. It's just that we were friends at Jenny House. We shared a pretty deep experience with Hinata, and I guess I'm feeling that still connects us someway."
Hinata had been everybody's friend, and when her leukemia had returned and she'd been hospitalized, Sakura and her friends had visited her faithfully. Sakura found it difficult to think about her. "Hinata loved you," Sakura said, feeling a lump of loss and regret lodge in her throat.
"And I did everything I could to make her think I loved her too. And I didl ove you," Naruto added with conviction.
"But not in the way she thought you did."
"She was like a sister to me. And don't forget, she was just thirteen. I'm almost nineteen. In the best of circumstances, it would have been a bad case of puppy love."
"Except that the puppy died."
"Low blow, Sakura." Naruto's expression looked wounded.
"Sorry," she said.
"Can we call a truce?"
"Truce," she said.
He caught her hand. "Can we seal the treaty with a date? I'd like to thin I had a friend in this town."
His touch sent a jolt through her, but she was careful not to react. She understood his feelings of loneliness, of needing company. She felt torn, but said, "I guess so. Just for old times' sake."
"What else?"
"I don't know what I can give you, Naruto. I'm pretty busy with school and all."
"Don't be afraid of me. I won't be a bother."
She was afraid of falling for him again but didn't dare let him know. "You'll be busy with college and I'll be busy with my life. No problem."
Naruto gave her a speculative look. "Then what's the harm of spending a little time together?"
"No harm," she conceded. If she attempted to tell him otherwise, she'd be impossibly late.
"Then I'll call you later." He grinned and reached behind him for the doorknob. "But first –" with a quick movement he pulled her into his arms, kissed her longingly, and slipped out of the house.
It happened too fast for her to push him away. The only sensation she felt as she watched him jog toward his car was surprise. Surprise over how the warmth of his lips lingered on her mouth like sunshine. Surprise over how much she wanted to kiss him again.