I was so excited for this chapter, I decided to post it anyway! I've been planning this since the beginning. :)

Thanks to generaltay, Feather-Crowned Queen, and Guest Gabi for the reviews!

If you wanted to scream, punch, kick, or shake me after last chapter, best of luck with this one. ;) We'll be getting some amazing moments but also some not-so-amazing ones that are important! I swear I'm not just being cruel.

Chapter 9

"Sakura, do you enjoy bondage?"

"Sai!"

"I'm sorry, I just found this book. It seems to be about a rich man coaxing a young woman into his bed, bondage being his preferred sexual-"

"Sai, I know what Fifty Shades of Gray is, OK?"

Sakura and Sai were at the bookstore down the street from her house browsing through the discount bin. Sai loved looking at the books with Sakura the previous weekend, so he asked her to join him this Friday afternoon.

Sakura needed the distraction. Since Kakashi began his odd behavior—Sai had her convinced it was due to jealousy—Kakashi had been in the coffee shop every day to see her. Though he always came in every day, she was on high alert for suspicious behaviors. She'd convinced herself even him visiting was proof of his interest in her.

"I'm going to the new releases," Sakura told Sai. "I think the last book in this trilogy I've been reading comes out today."

Sakura walked across the store to the new releases. When she rounded the final corner, she gasped when she saw Kakashi standing there, reading the very book she was looking for.

"I quite like Dante," he said. "You, however, seem more like a Scarlet girl."

Sakura had always used nicknames for Kakashi before she knew who he was, and Tella and Dante were the most recent names she used, days before she knew who he truly was. Tella and Dante were from the same book, as well as Scarlet. He was teasing her. Again.

"Can you move? I'd like to grab a copy for myself," she said. She knew he'd be standing in front of all the copies. It was the best way to ensure she interacted with him.

"Sorry, doll." He stepped aside and showed her the empty section of the shelf. "Looks like this is the last one."

She reached for the book in his hands, but he moved back. "Give me it. You don't even read."

She reached for it again, and he held it above his head. "I actually do read, just not this trash."

"This...is...not...trash!" She jumped between her words, trying to get the book. If she didn't love the series so much, she wouldn't have put her pride aside to beg and jump.

On her last jump, he grabbed her wrist, keeping her close. "How about we make a trade? It's only fair."

"What…"

Her nose bumped into his chest and she was drowning in his cologne. It was something spicy and warm and very distracting. She looked up at him and saw the outline of his jaw through his turtleneck. She hadn't wondered before, but now she was dying to know what was underneath.

He must have realized she didn't care about the book anymore. The arm holding it fell to his side and his other hand went on the back of her head, holding her close. This snapped Sakura out of her daze. She pushed him back and ran off to find Sai, leaving him dumbfounded in his spot.

X

Later that night, Sakura was watching TV alone in her living room. Ino was at the bar again with that guy—Shikamaru, if she remembered correctly—and Sai was out somewhere drawing random people.

She didn't mind. She was used to being alone. A week ago she only had Ino, and spending the week with Sai didn't make her forget what it was like to be by herself. She had her alone-routine down-pat: order a pizza and open a bottle of wine.

She drank two glasses before she heard a knock on her door. She assumed it was the pizza guy, so she was surprised to see Kakashi there, a wrapped gift in his hands. "Can I come in?" he asked.

If it wasn't for the present, she would have said no. Okay, she wouldn't have.. She didn't have it in her to let him stand outside when he journeyed to her house, though she wasn't sure how long the journey was. Where did he live? She hadn't wondered before. "Fine, but I'm opening this now," she said.

They stood in her kitchen as she opened the present, which was the book he was teasing her with earlier. It may have been cheesy, but she was so happy she jumped at him and hugged him so close her cheek touched his.

Kakashi held his surprise well and hugged her waist as soon as she was in his arms. "If I had known that was all it took…"

With that, Sakura was rolling her eyes and walking to her living room. Kakashi followed after a moment and watched her drink from a full glass of wine. He smirked at that, only mildly surprised. "Are you even old enough to drink?" he asked.

Sakura flinched as if she was surprised he was there. "I'm 23," she said. "I graduated from college a year ago."

Kakashi helped himself to her couch, and she sat beside him. "What did you major in? Barista-ing?"

Sakura laughed at his made-up word. The wine was definitely making her relaxed. "English, actually."

"Ah, my second guess," he said. She swatted at his arm, and he caught her hand. It slipped into his and fell onto his leg. Neither of them moved. "That seems oddly...impractical of you. I imagined you doing something with security, like Ino with nursing."

Sakura felt something in the pit of her stomach, almost like jealousy. Of course he talked to other employees at the coffee shop, but how did he get so close to Ino? Ino must not have spent her time being sassy with him and actually had real conversations. What else does he know about her? she wondered.

"I always wanted to be a doctor." She sighed. "For a girl like me, English is safe."

Kakashi's eyes narrowed fractionally. He said secure, not safe. What did she mean? He dropped it for the moment and said, "do you have career goals, or do you plan to be at the coffee shop forever?"

Sakura knew he wasn't being obnoxious with his question, only curious. "I'd like to write someday, but for now I'm happy there. It's a good job, pays the bills."

"I'll be sad to see a beautiful girl like you go someday," he said.

Her eyes snapped to him. He didn't say the coffee shop would be sad if she left. He would be sad. Her cheeks heated up as she tried to decipher his meaning. Then, of all the things she could have said, she blurted, "Would I be missing a beautiful boss?" her curiosity over his face still present.

She expected him to tell her she was being inappropriate or simply answer her question, but instead he reached his fingers out and pushed her eyelids down. She felt him shift beside her then his breath tickling her lips.

Slowly, she brought her hands up to his face. His turtleneck was pulled completing down. Her fingertips brushed from his ear to his chin. His lips brushed against hers. She sucked in a breath of air. He chuckled.

She moved both of her hands to the back of his head, weaving her fingers into his hair. He did the same with one of his hands and used the other to bring her closer, practically on his lap. Then he really kissed her. His lips moved against hers as if he had years of experience, which she realized he had. He had probably kissed dozens of women, while she's never been kissed before.

He moved his hands, rubbing her one side. She tingled everywhere he touched. His other hand pulled at her hair before sliding down to her neck, pulling her impossibly closer. She could barely feel his heartbeat against hers.

Her pulse starting quickening. Fast. Faster than it should have been. Instead of thinking of his lips, she started thinking about his hands and what they could do. They could claw and squeeze and yank and hit and...

The fingers on her neck found her scars there, the many crescent moons peppering her skin.

Choke. His hands could choke her.

She moved her neck back as far away from his at she could and sucked in a huge gasp of air, as if he really had choked her. She kept her eyes squeezed shut, scared of what she would see when she opened her eyes.

"Sakura?" he asked, his voice hoarse.

"Let me go!" She had shouted at him, even though his hands were already untangling from her. She easily got off of him and the couch. She still felt his hands, though, tight around her throat.

Kakashi could see the panic in her wide eyes. Pure panic, far greater than he could have caused. She looked terrified of him. But what did I do? he wondered.

"I'm sorry," he said, because what else would he say? "Do you want me to leave?"

Sakura finally opened her eyes. He had slipped his turtleneck back over his face. She could only see his eyes, boring into her. No malicious intent, only raw concern. His slouched body wasn't going to lunge at her, his hands weren't going to grab her.

She was safe.

"No," she said, shaking her head. She let out a laugh to try to lighten the air around them, but it only made it heavier with how strangled and forced it sounded. "I just… I've never…"

He let out a breath of air, relieved nothing was wrong. She was just scared, probably due to inexperience. He could work with that. "Come 'ere," he said.

She ran towards him and hugged him tightly around the waist. He chuckled and put one arm around her. She noticed how realized he was. She knew he saw her as a shy girl who freaked out about him kissing her. He had no idea of the turmoil that went on in her head. That was fine.

They both heard a knock at the door. He slowly let her go as she said, "pizza guy." They walked to the kitchen together. He learned against the counter while she opened the door. The pizza was there but not in the hands of the pizza guy.

"Hey girl," Ino said, smiling.

This story is definitely underway, so I'm going to start holding chapters for ransom! Seven reviews before the next chapter is published. (I see you, my 17 followers.)

Brownie points for anyone who knows what series Sakura has been reading!

Also, let me know what you guys think of a Gaara x Sakura story, an AU. I've recently fell in love with the pairing, so I might write one next. If not I'll just use my idea for Kakashi x Sakura :)