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Chapter 3
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"Sorry, out of habit." Hidan said unapologetically.
Ino gave him a look before stepping aside and proceeding towards the lobby. He stopped and held her by the elbow.
"We need to talk." He said.
She shrugged him off. "Talk my ass."
"You can't avoid me forever." He said in his smooth voice.
"I'm working. I didn't come here to talk to you." Ino stated plainly.
Hidan heaved a sigh and brushed the side of his face with the back of his hand. "It's been a long time. Don't you think it's about time we forget about it and start over?"
Ino faced him. "It is a long time. And I don't want to be associated with you in any way."
She turned around to head to the lobby, only to see three reporters approaching them with a number of cameras tagging along behind them. Ino stopped on her tracks.
"Ohayou! Hidan-san, I'm Ayumi from DM Channel News." One of them spoke when they came to their side, cornering Ino and Hidan.
The cameras focused on them at once. It was like an ambush. The crew blocked Ino's way and she was left standing there with Hidan as they swarmed around.
"How's the event and program of the Chouji-Karui engagement?"
"Is it true the wedding is going to have 800 guests from all over the world?"
"Did you come here with a special someone?"
The questions fired out and Ino felt like a mouse trapped in a corner. Hidan pulled his ready-for-camera grin and stood straight beside her. He was used to the attention.
"I'm afraid I can't divulge any details about the wedding, but I'm sure it's going to be an enjoyable day. The pre-nup program is still on-going and I just stepped out to take a breather for a while." He responded to them.
"I see you have company. Is she your date today?" One of the reporters asked.
"No." Ino said flatly to her.
"Oh, aren't you two dating before? You're the girl that he brought with him at the Annual Entrepreneur Summit the other year, right? The Yamanaka girl. I remember now!" Another reporter spoke with enthusiasm.
Ino flinched. She was in no way popular and she was not enjoying this in any way. And she just referred to her as the Yamanaka girl. The nosy reporter just had to remind her about that stupid event.
The other reporters suddenly became excited. They love intrigues.
"Are you two dating again? Does this mean you might be following Chouji-san's footsteps anytime soon?" The other asked agitatedly.
"Are you seriously asking that moronic question and—"
"As much as I'd like to say we are, we're not." Hidan cut off Ino calmly, making the reporters face him mainly instead. "Yes, we've been together in the past, but as an imperfect man, I've made mistakes which resulted for us to have grown apart. In truth, I'm with her to discuss about the possibility of getting her services for my company's events for the whole year."
One of Ino's eyebrows arched as she gawked at him beside her. What the hell is this dope talking about.
"Oh, that is sweet." A female reporter crooned.
"Sweet?" Ino eyed her with a distorted face. She could not believe how dumb and gullible they can be.
"I've always been impressed by her services for years and it took me a while to gather up the courage to approach her again. I may not have her heart right now, but I would want to start having a professional relationship with her first. And maybe through this, she could see me for who I truly am again and make her fall in love with me once more." Hidan's brown eyes stared down at her and all Ino could do was watch.
Ino sometimes finds it hard to guess what was really going on in his mind.
The females around them squeaked in delight and started giving him encouragements. Ino was left standing there wordless, aware that hundreds or thousands of viewers were probably watching them on air as of the precise moment.
"So, did she accept the business deal?" A female reporter asked in eagerness.
"That answer relies on her." Hidan said, he turned to face her, maintaing his gentle demeanor.
Then all of the cameras did the same thing. They zoomed towards her and all the heads shifted to her direction, anticipating for her answer.
Ino felt cornered.
She did not know how to react or what to say. She wanted to get out of there. What was he trying to pull off? What if she said no and deny any of his business talks? Will the viewers and his fangirls hate her? Would her shop crumble into bits if she said no? Where is this suddenly going?
"It's just a business deal." She told them.
She noticed a smile spread on Hidan's face from the corner of her eyes. He knew where it was going.
"So you do agree with him? We'll be seeing more of you together?"
"This would be a start for Hidan-san!"
The comments and questions shot out once again.
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At the 25th floor of the same hotel, Sasuke grabbed his black shirt from under the bed and slid it on after fastening back his belt. Samui went to the shower and he finally saw the opportunity to leave. He had satisfied her and was done with the job, and he was not planning to stay for the night like what she wanted.
He knew she was a married woman even if he did not ask during the first time they spent a hot time together. Sometimes it was easy to tell if they are married whenever he sleeps with them.
Samui was not happily married, and he knew he was the one who was filling that missing hole she was searching for. He could feel the passion she was longing from her husband whenever he screws her. She likes getting physical with him and likes them rough. She likes nipping and biting his skin and she likes it when he's not being gentle. It was like a way for her to put up with her marriage.
As much as Sasuke enjoys being in her company, he doesn't normally stay longer than necessary.
He took his jacket, stepped out of the room and headed for the elevator.
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Ino marched along the hallway after the media crew finally got their share of interviews and left to hunt for other popular moguls at the event hall. She was finally freed once again to get back to what she was doing.
Hidan jogged behind and caught up with her. He gripped her arm for the second time.
"I'm serious about what I said." He told her. They were alone now.
"Then you should've just send a business email." Ino hissed.
"Would you have looked at it?"
"Then you should send it to my assistant."
"I wanted to see you personally. I haven't seen you for a long time." Hidan said.
Ino shook her head and sneered. "You're really good at pretending in front of the camera, aren't you?"
"I wasn't pretending. I really want to give us another shot." He said to her in a serious face. "The past is the past. You are meant for me."
Ino looked at him for a long while. A lot of memories ran through her mind by just looking at his devilishly enticing face. She tried to keep a straight demeanor. "Well. You're too late. I've moved on."
She turned around and continued her way down the hall. It took Hidan a minute to absorb her words.
"What?" His face coiled.
Ino did not pay attention anymore but he continued to follow her to the lobby.
"What do you mean moved on?" There was annoyance in his voice now. "Are you seeing some bastard now?"
"I told you I don't want to be associated with you in any way." Ino said without looking back. "Just email me your list of events. We don't have too see each other to work."
"You can't be serious. Who are you seeing? What've you been doing?"
He was getting hard to get rid of. Ino was trying to keep her distance because she knows it would be difficult to be attached to him. She might not be able to recover like before.
If only he would stop following her in that damn event.
One of the elevators at the lobby opened as she was passing by, and she saw a handsome guy with tousled hair in casual clothes stepped out. He looked familiar. And she immediately recognized him from one of the deliveries she did before. His attractive face was kind of hard to forget. He was the only person she had seen with a perfect straight nose, small curved lips and deep grayish brown eyes. Her most attractive customer.
It's that number five boy.
Her head thought fast.
Then, she hurriedly strode up to him from behind, grabbed him on one shoulder and planted a kiss on his cheek before he could come near the entrance and exit of the hotel.
It happened quick and Sasuke did not realize he had stopped in the middle of the lobby. He felt her lips on his cheek and he turned his head and met a pair of bright, blue-green eyes.
He stared at her face, trying to recall if he had bedded her before. He was good at remembering faces, but sometimes he would meet too many people at the same time he would still get lost. Maybe because she was not extremely pretty nor ugly. Just average. Sometimes average can be easily forgotten.
"Hi, honey! I've been waiting for you for half an hour. What took you so long?" She was breathing a bit heavily and there was a tiny, hesitant smile on her face. One of her arms encircled around the crook of his.
Before he could respond, she started yanking him out of the door.
"Let's grab some pizza. I'm getting hungry!" She said.
Ino knew Hidan had frozen on the spot a few meters behind them after seeing the guy she was with. Perhaps his mouth was left open, too. Oh, she enjoyed that feeling. She wanted to slap that moment right on his expensive face even if she just kidnapped the poor, handsome guy.
Hidan did not follow them anymore until they got out of the hotel and arrived at the corner, away from his view. She did not look at the guy she was dragging until they got there.
"Lady, as much as I'd like to say thanks for the kiss, I think you got the wrong dude." He spoke, turning to her when they stopped.
They looked and scanned each other for a moment when their eyes met again. From head to foot.
Then, a sheepish grin formed on Sasuke's face upon getting a good look on her face. "Oh, hi, granny."
"Granny?" Ino's face contorted, brows raised.
"You didn't have to come here for a kiss just to say thanks the other day." He was still grinning.
He remembered her. The gorgeous playboy had actually remembered her. He must have a good memory considering how many girls he is seeing.
Ino dropped her face down and pressed the middle of her forehead with her fist.
"Oh, Jesus. Another airhead." She muttered to herself. She looked up and rested one of her arms against the back of her waist. "Listen, sorry I just did that in the lobby. I just had to get rid of someone for a moment. You seemed passable for a boyfriend so I grabbed you like a luxury bag in a flea market. It did work, though. So, thanks, anyway."
"Why, I'm honored." He was still teasing.
Compared to the fancy attendees in the hotel, he looked rugged.
"What're you doing here, anyway?" Ino asked curiously. Then, stopped and looked away. She remembered the first and last time she met him. She instantly have a good guess. "Oh, never mind."
Sasuke could read it in her face easily. "You look like a smart girl."
He glanced at the hotel entrance, trying to peer through the glass walls.
"I don't think your stalker's gonna bother you for the moment." He said to her in an entertained voice.
"He's not a stalker." Ino said, unable to look back at the lobby.
"Your ex, then."
Ino's head turned to him.
"The guy with silver hair in an expensive suit that looks like a polished trophy, right?" Sasuke recited.
Ino's eyes squinted. "How do you—"
"I saw him looking at us when you pretended I was a luxury bag in a flea market." He said with a shrug. "Girls would either do that to avoid either homicidal stalkers or obsessed exes."
Ino made a weird gushing sound as she tried not to chortle. "Well, I won't exactly label him as obsessed, but…"
He ran a hand through his spiky hair to hide a modest smile. Ino could not help ogling at his flawless face up close. It was the second time she saw him and still could not believe a stunning guy like him was not a celebrity nor a model.
"Thanks for going along." She said, giving a slight bow.
"Hn. Take care, granny—er, honey." He gave her the same purring tone she used before waving a hand as he turned to the avenue and crossed.
Ino was left there alone at the side of the hotel and watched his back as he moved away. She wondered if it was the last time she would see that smart-ass pretty boy. She realized she didn't know his name at all. She also wondered if he had taken a shower before she kissed him on the cheek after he just had another woman. Ech.
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By Monday, a delivery boy came to the Yamanaka Flower Shop to hand a box of chocolates and a bouquet of red roses to Ino.
"As if we don't have enough flowers already." Ino scowled down at them on the counter.
"The public seems to believe you two are together again." Hinata said from the registry, reading a newspaper where a photo of her and Hidan from Chouji's pre-nup party was printed.
Ino dislikes media and popularity. She had to put up with it during the time she was seeing Hidan years ago.
"I think he likes to make them believe we are." Ino guessed.
"Why is that?" Hinata asked.
There was no answer and Ino quietly tapped the pencil she was holding against the counter, pondering. She knows Hidan. He has a lot of women around him, yet why was he still attaching himself to her? It's not love. It can't be.
It has been a few days since she last saw him and he kept on sending her gifts or emails after that. She told him she was seeing someone but he seems to be ignoring it. She had a feeling he was not buying it or believing her. It won't be long and he would be showing himself up in the shop and claimed it was a 'business meeting'.
They have not seen nor talk to each other for two years, and now he pops back up in the city and tries to talk to her. She had been successful in shutting him out of her life for that long. She was not sure if she can keep this up. There was a feeling of hate, lost love and longing inside her towards him for a long time. She was afraid it would come back and her progress would go to waste.
True, she accepted the job to provide him with all the flowers he would need on his company's events for the rest of the year. As much as she hates to admit it, the transactions would be of good help to the current situation of her shop. She just have to keep a good distance from him and keep everything at bay.
She needs to keep him out of her personal affairs.
Ino folded the magazines on the counter and a tiny piece of paper slid down from one of the pages. She picked it up and saw it was the business card of that number five guy which he handed out to her after attacking him with some of her frustrations. She had actually been using his card as a bookmark.
She found herself staring at it for a minute and looking at the letters between her fingers.
Gamabunta's Bar and Café.
Escort service with coffee? It's a little intriguing.
And come to think of it…
It is not a bad idea.
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Ino read the bright orange logo of the café and the one printed on the card for the third time.
Yep, it was the right place. The café was better looking than she had in mind. It appeared more classy and it indeed looked like a coffee shop merged with a bar. She could have just called, but she wanted to see it for herself first.
She held her brown coat more securely around her body before crossing the street and entering.
The chilled house music met her ears as she stepped in once the door was opened by a young man with short, messy hair and red tattoos on his cheeks.
"Konbanwa! Welcome to Gam's, pretty lady." Kiba greeted cheerfully, his fangs showing as he smiled.
There were three round tables occupied and the lighting of the room was dim, with several round yellow and white lights revolving around the walls sluggishly to create a relaxed atmosphere. There were abstract paintings mounted in glass frames on the walls, and there were arrays of liquors, pastries, and coffee beans displayed on the rest of the walls and counters.
Ino was not much of a drinker nor a party-goer and it was her first time to come to a bar by herself. It felt a bit awkward.
She walked up to the bar counter, were two girls were chatting with a blonde bartender as he was mixing some drinks.
"Hi there, cutie. What can I get ya?" He beamed at her after she sat on one of the high chairs.
"Um. I'm actually looking for someone." Ino spoke uncomfortably.
"Hm?"
"Tall, black spiky hair, dark eyes, kinda looks like he came from a japanese rock band?" Ino asked. She paused. "I think he goes by the name… Five?"
The blonde grinned. Of course, he only knows one guy who fits that description. He turned his head and called to the slightly opened door at the back of the counter. "OI, BASTARD! You have a guest!"
Sasuke was buttoning the top of his white uniform as he came out. He looked fresh from the shower and just got in. He paused when he saw her sitting over the counter, then smiled and settled himself in front of her. His elbows resting against the surface.
"Came for another kiss, granny?" He smiled in a lopsided way.
Ino rolled her eyes. She expected he would be acting this way. "I'm not your granny. I came to ask you something."
"No surprise. You did have a lot of comments before..." Sasuke said casually.
"It's not that." Ino said, leaning against the counter for him to hear. She could smell his fresh fragrance from there. "You told me you work as an escort, right? I think I'll be needing you to accompany me for a while."
Sasuke's eyebrows furrowed. "Accompany you where?"
"Just… I don't know. I just need to you to do something for me."
"Oh, so the lady who likes to do everything her way is asking for help?"
"Not help. I'm asking for your service." Ino clarified with pursed lips.
"What's your type? You can pick other guys here if you want." His head gave a slight nod, motioning for the other boys around them.
"I don't think that matters. He already saw you." Ino told him after taking a brief look around.
She also noticed that his blonde companion kept on taking glimpses at them over his shoulder while he tried to keep a conversation with the two ladies at the other end of the bar counter. He looked curious and could not seem to keep himself still. Probably because he have not seen her in that place before.
"Well, are you sure you can afford me?" Sasuke asked lightheartedly.
"Well, how much are you?" Ino replied in a snooty tone.
"That depends. What kind of service do you want? Intimate company, hard fuck, casual—"
"No, I just want you to pretend to be my boyfriend so I could get rid of someone."
"Ohh." Sasuke's interest was piqued. "Because of that golden boy, huh?"
Ino nodded, looking down at her entangled hands on the bar surface. "Yeah… I don't want him to come close. I figured if I pretend to be with someone else he would eventually go away and move along."
"What's with you and him, anyway? Why don't you just dump him straight up? You seem highly capable of it." Sasuke implied.
"It's a bit more complicated than that." Ino glanced away.
Sasuke understood automatically after seeing her response. She still have feelings for him. Having spent many years in a woman's company somehow made him understand the entangled mind of the opposite sex.
He grabbed a bottle of vodka and orange juice from the side and poured them in a glass with ice. He took a slice of orange from the tray, dropped it on top, and placed the glass in front of her.
She looked down at it.
"It's on the house." He spoke. "Since it's your first time around."
"Thanks." Ino played with the glass first before taking a sip. It was actually good.
"What do you have in mind?"
"I just need you to be there from time to time. Just act like a territorial lover and that you'll punch him in the face if he ever gets too close. You know, the usual things partners do."
"You want him to get jealous." He leaned closer to her as his elbows positioned on the counter. It was not a question.
"Well, that too would be gratifying."
"Are we gonna kiss and have sex?"
Ino coughed on her drink.
Sasuke may have a lot of experiences with women, but actually, he hasn't had a serious girlfriend since he was born. He is a bit lost in terms of what normal couples do.
"You don't have to act if it's just the two of us. Only if he's there. Don't go overboard." Ino explained, wiping her lips as she felt herself reddened.
"Just asking." He spoke as if it was normal. "Some people like to have the total package. You can just ask if you want."
"It's not the purpose." Ino shook her head, yet she couldn't help snorting a bit with his frankness. She likes how he gets to the point fast.
He was distracted for a minute when a cute girl passed by and caressed his cheek before leaving and humming "See you, baby." to him.
Ino took another drink as the girl left. "What's your name, by the way? I can't just tell him your number Five like some sort of cyborg."
Sasuke chuckled at the idea. She may act like an old grandma, but he was liking her humor. "It's Sasuke, sweetheart."
She nodded. "I'm Ino."
"Hiya, Ino-chan! I'm Naruto." The blonde bartender encircled an arm around Sasuke's neck as he swung there by his side and beamed at her. He looked at Sasuke. "What're you two talking about?"
"Just work." Sasuke dismissed.
"You're new here, aren't you?" Naruto turned back to Ino. "It's the first time I've seen you come by. Are you liking this bad boy? I can do better than him."
He was pinching Sasuke's jaw, who was trying to shove him away. The blonde sort of reminded her of a playful blue-eyed cat.
This got her smiling. "Konnichiwa."
The two boys started bantering as Ino looked down her watch and saw the time.
"Anyway, I gotta go. Thanks for the drink." She slid off the chair.
"So soon?" Naruto cried.
"Hai. Nice meeting you." She bowed to them before turning around and heading to the door.
At the same time, Sakura marched in wearing a scarlet coat and saw her moving away from the counter were the two young men stood. Ino walked passed her and out of the door, all the while Sakura surveyed her until she was out of sight.
Sakura gazed at the direction where she just came from, particularly at Sasuke. She was clearly talking to the boys. It was a bit odd, because judging by her outfit, she did not look like the type to be going in an establishment like this.
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