The Barista

Chapter 5 - Machiatto

Boruto fought the urge to ravage his food once the waiter delivered it to them. He was absolutely starving. It was all well and good that he was having dinner with the most beautiful girl he had ever seen but God was he hungry.

He watched Sarada and waited for her to start eating, like a gentleman would (these were obviously his mother's words echoing in his brain).

Sarada picked up her fork and kind of slowly went to get her knife. She watched Boruto follow her slow movements and laughed, "aren't you well trained."

"Sorry, what?" He distractingly asked, tearing his eyes from the food to his muse.

"It's obvious you're starving, but you're still doing very well and waiting like a true gentleman."

He huffed, crossing his arms over his chest as he tried to drown out the noise of his grumbling stomach, "I am a gentleman."

He was about to roll out a speech about how much of a gentleman he was when Sarada started eating. At that point the blond forgot about any previous debates and shoved food in his mouth as if it would disappear if he didn't engulf it fast enough.

Sarada grinned, "I can see that."

"A starving gentleman, but still a gentleman," he offered in between bites.

They continued to eat but were interrupted a couple of times by Sarada's phone. She took it out both times, read something, replied quickly and returned the phone to her bag. The third time Sarada just rolled her eyes and pretended not to hear it.

"Your phone is buzzing," Boruto pointed out, mostly out of curiosity about those messages.

Sarada waved him off, "ignore it."

"It might be another friend in need," he said it in a playful tone, wiggling his eyebrows.

She sighed, taking the phone from her bag, "It's my friend Chocho. She's asking where I am."

He shrugged, "tell her."

"I've told her where I am, she just doesn't believe me."

He tilted his head slightly, "why not?"

Sarada blushed discreetly, "she thinks I'm lying because I couldn't possibly be out with a guy."

She bites her lip timidly and Boruto can't help but want to kiss those lips, to wrap her in his arms and hold her close and- he stopped himself before this line of thinking progressed to anything else.

Either his expression gave away something or it was his intense gaze that made Sarada squirm in her seat.

He tried to lighten the mood, "tell her I'm your super needy new gay friend."

Sarada smiled distractedly as she tapped away on her phone screen, "well, some of that is true."

Boruto looked perplexed, "I'm hoping it's the friend part."

She snorted, "obviously, it is not the super gay part."

"And how do you know that?" Internally, Boruto was sweating. What if she had noticed him staring? I mean, how could she not notice him staring? He did that all the time! Still, no need to point it out so clearly. But, what if she saw him staring at her dress? Or better yet, staring at everything her dress was conveniently not completely covering, such as her-

"Boruto, my eyes are up here."

His blue eyes shot up from her cleavage to her face in less than a second. Her expression was not impressed but still not as angry as Boruto expected to find her.

"I was not staring at those- I mean, that," he tried to defend himself, arms aimlessly flapping around, eventually landing over his face, "you know what I mean."

Sarada laughed; she laughed for about three seconds, which was the most Boruto had ever seen laugh for and he was mesmerized. She was stunning; just making her happy made him feel ridiculously proud of himself.

Her eyes shone as she looked at him, a playful smile on her lips, "that was the weirdest way to prove you are not gay."

The blond stared at the table, feeling shy. This whole 'shy' thing was a full new concept for him and he was not enjoying it at all.

"I need a drink," he mumbled out loud.

She agreed, "let's go."

The longhaired girl stood, Boruto broke his trance and followed, trying his best to regain concentration and act confident instead of whatever his current self was doing. Really, what was wrong with him? How can one girl make him loose his cool and act like a preteen all over again? God knows those years were embarrassing enough by themselves, he surely did not need a reminder.

She suddenly turned back to him, "what are your thoughts on nightclubs?"

He tilted his head slightly "what, in general?"

"I mean, going to one right now."

"Oh, sure," he shrugged.

Sarada explained, "it's Chocho's birthday and she's at the Silver Nightclub. I'm really not into nightclubs but-"

"Hey, I need a drink. You might as well watch me get drunk and laugh when I fall over."

The long haired girl gave him a look that stated clearly that was not exactly what she had in mind.

He smiled, leaning dangerously close to her face, "don't worry, I'll keep you entertained."

Sarada answered with a curt nod, turning back swiftly to hide her warming face.

And just like that, old confident Boruto was back.

From the moment they left the restaurant to about fifteen minutes later when they reached the nightclub, Sarada's phone signaled about twenty new messages. At first, Sarada seemed to find it funny, now she just looked annoyed.

Boruto watched the girl as she took the phone out of her bag, rush read through the messages, rolled her eyes and turned the phone off.

"Chocho?" He asked.

She nodded, "Chocho."

Sarada turned to him with an apologetic look, "Boruto, I'm not sure this will be the greatest idea," she paused with a sigh, "Chocho is my best friend but she does go over the top when it comes to… well, my life in general."

The young man stared at her with a blank expression, hands still in his pockets, but said nothing.

She continued, "it's getting late and there's a huge line and I'm not that keen on clubs anyway so-"

"We are going in," he flat out stated. Sarada opened her mouth to protest but Boruto beat her to it, "I had a shit night, I got over dressed for nothing, dumped by my own father, left starving for ages. You said it yourself, I need a drink."

The longhaired girl stood silently for a few seconds, fighting to find a good reply to all of that. She settled for the worse one, "but- but there's a line."

Boruto smirked, "are you serious? Have you looked at yourself?"

She blinked at him, "what is that supposed to mean?"

He rolled his eyes playfully, "well, that's it. Coat off, off!"

She slapped his hands away weakly as he tried to pry the coat off her shoulders, "but it's cold-"

"Off!"

Sarada narrowed her eyes slightly in suspicion but did as she was told. Boruto took her coat and guided her to the entrance.

"I don't like skipping lines."

He looked back at her, "do you prefer to stand in the cold?"

"I prefer to sit at home."

The blond gave her a confident smile, "big smile, rock that dress and we'll be in there in about a minute."

Sarada tried to glare at him and his stupid wonderful smile but failed miserably, so she gave up and half nodded at his words.

When they reached the bouncer, Boruto lightly tapped his shoulder, then quickly stood behind Sarada as be brought her forward. The bouncer looked her up and down for a second and then moved out of the way for them to pass while Boruto excitedly informed him he was with Sarada, ignoring the groans and complaints of the crowd behind them.

Once they were in, the blond tapped her back, "see? That was easy!"

She rolled her eyes, "oh yes, I love using my body to get away with things."

He blinked, the idiotic Uzumaki gene playing up, "do you?"

"No, idiot."

By the stage they managed to get rid of their coats and actually find Chocho, about twenty minutes had past. Which must have been why the big girl looked so happy to see them because she managed to shout Sarada's name over the sound of the loud music. That girl had quite a set of lungs.

"Sarada!"

Said girl turned immediately towards the voice, trying to adjust her eyes to the darkness and the ever-changing lights,

"Chocho, happy birth-" she started but her words were cut short by Chocho's over enthusiastic hug.

"Finally, Sarada! For once you say yes to going out and-" Chocho stopped abruptly, turning her attention to the blond man standing behind her friend and stepping towards him, "what the- he's real?"

Boruto extended his hand to greet her. Chocho took it, the most surprised look on her face.

"Hi, I'm-" Boruto started but was swiftly stopped.

"Sarada," Chocho interrupted, not letting go of the handshake, "how the fuck did you forget to mention you were dating Adonis?"

It was hard to tell in the darkness who was blushing harder.

Sarada immediately stopped the handshake, "we are not dating," this was exactly the type of conversation she was trying to avoid.

The olive skin girl stared at her friend in outrage, "are you blind?" she then turned to Boruto, "are you gay?"

"No, but that topic has come up a surprising amount of times today." Boruto was beginning to understand why Sarada was hesitant to bring him anywhere near Chocho; talk about filter-free.

Chocho was preparing her next line of questioning when Iwabee ran past her to pick up Sarada and lift her off the floor, followed by a dancing Metal Lee and a quiet Denki.

"My baby!" he shouted excitedly, ignoring Sarada's groans, "you've finally came to a nightclub with us!"

Halfway through his unnecessarily tight hug, Iwabee noticed Boruto giving him a death stare, "do you want to introduce the angry blond man behind you?"

Sarada pried herself off his hug and turned to Boruto, "can you please get us a drink – any drink – while I teach my friends how to act in public?"

It took the blond about three seconds and a 'please' from Sarada for him to actually turn around and stop glaring at that idiotic turban guy that has still standing dangerously close to Sarada.

Denki cleared his throat to interrupt the awkward silence between his friends as Boruto walked away, "he seems nice."

Sarada rubbed her temple, "I should have never brought him here."

Chocho huffed, "I don't know why you are saying that, we make great first impressions."

Her friend blinked, "I know you don't mean that as sarcasm but it sure feels like it."

"Can I ask," Metal Lee started, "have you guys-"

"No!" Sarada interrupted, "whatever the question is the answer is no. We have not done anything and we are not anything and I need you guys to just let us be nothing," she rambled on.

One look at her friends and their fake nods and she was absolutely sure none of them believed her.

"One piece of advice?" Chocho offered with an innocent shrug.

Sarada sighed and she took that as a cue to continue, "you know what's thing with bringing blond cuties to the club?" Chocho smirked, throwing an arm around her friend.

Sarada decided to entertain her, "what?"

The other girl pointed to the bar where Boruto was sitting and a girl had already joined him, "you can't leave them alone anywhere."

Sarada pretended not to be interested, "I'm sure the famous Uzumaki Boruto will find a way to defend himself."

Chocho's smile disappeared instantly, "Uzumaki Boruto?"

Sarada gave her a look, "I'm sorry, I meant to say Adonis."

The other girl grabbed her shoulders, an urgent look on her face, "that guy is Boruto? Do you know who he is?"

Sarada looked at the other three guys for answers. They half shrugged in unison, not quite sure what Chocho was talking about.

The dark hair girl tried ignoring the tug at her chest, "an engineering student who pretends to like coffee?" she paused, her eyes full of questions, "you're freaking me out, Chocho, what's happening?"

Chocho let go of her shoulders, dramatically lifting her arms at the sky, "of all the people in the world that could get your attention you chose him?"

Iwabee crossed his arms, bored at all this drama, "are you going to be more specific or what?"

Sarada smiled at her friend, trying very hard not to rush into dark conclusions, "Chocho, I don't understand what you're on about. He's a nice guy and we get along fine-

The hands were back on her shoulders, "Sarada, you know you are my pride and joy and I would literally - and I mean literally - kill for you to find a guy that would pop your cherry,"

Sarada rubbed her temple for what it felt like that hundredth time that evening, "Chocho, can you please stop framing it like that-"

The bigger girl rambled on, "I mean look at you: you're beautiful, smart, kind and best friends with me! What else can someone wish for? I mean sure you can be bossy and-"

It was Denki's time to interrupt, "can we please get back on topic?"

"This guy-" Chocho pointed at the bar at the distance where Boruto was currently busy edging away from a flirting girl, "-is trouble. He's known for his looks, flirting and rocky relationships all over campus," she paused with a sad sigh, "he's gonna play with your heart and then just dump you like he does with everyone else."

The conclusion was heartbreaking and Sarada's friends had no trouble noticing the disappointment in her eyes. This was how Chocho was, why they were friends; she was real and honest… sometimes too honest. She glanced at the blond sitting at the bar and wondered if he really could be that good of a liar. It was hard to think that guy was anything other than a kind idiot that wastes too much time at a coffee shop for reasons that Sarada understands too well but fights constantly with herself about admitting it. His smiles flashed before her eyes many times and it was hard to deny how much better her days had become since he had come into her life.

She smiled sadly at Chocho, "there is nothing to worry about. He's never said or done anything to make me think he's interested on nothing else but friendship. I guess I should be thankful for that."

The other girl nodded, feeling like she should have waited and considered her friend's own feelings before bombarding her with details about Boruto's life. It seemed like Sarada was more hurt about him not seeming interested than by the possibility he could break her heart.

They watched as the unknown girl edged closer and closer to him; Boruto was holding the prepared drinks and saying something they could not quite make out, looking as uncomfortable as a human being could possibly look.

Sarada sighed, "well, player or not he sure looks like he needs saving right now," she turned back to Chocho, "I'll keep everything you said in mind, but I'm sorry," she paused with a sad smile, "I just can't hate him."

Chocho smirked as her friend walked off, confident as if their conversation had never taken place; if there was anyone that could turn a player into a saint, it would definitely be Sarada.

Boruto had had better nights. This girl was persistent and he was running out of ways to politely send her away.

"Hey stranger," a familiar voice called, much more huskier than he knew it to be, "want to dance?"

Boruto turned to find Sarada leaning slightly over the bar. Her dress sparkled at is it reflected the lights in the club, her hair was neatly to one side, exposing her delicate neck on the other, her cleavage revealed just enough to keep him distracted from anything else.

She was smiling sweetly but at the same confidently; it's like she knew perfectly well what she was doing to his mind and body. Still, something felt different, sadder maybe.

Boruto cleared his throat to end his staring, "sure, let's dance."

To be continued...

A.N: Thank you guys for voting! Option 2 it is. We will ease into it, don't worry ^^