Chapter Three
Enjoy!!
Yawning behind his hand, Sasuke looked around the crowded room. He
hated stuffy society parties. The only reason he'd even agreed to come was Naru.s
promise to keep him from getting bored, yet he'd been here an hour without a sign
of his friend. There were a hundred other things he could be doing right now,
including finishing the designs he had promised his boss. Even laundry would be
more entertaining than this party, with its pretentious conversations and dull
company.
Just as he was about to give up and leave, he spotted a familiar blond head
across the room. Their eyes met, and his friend grinned brightly. About halfway
across the room, however, a cute young woman in a black cocktail dress stepped
into Naru's path. Instantly, Naru's face changed. Sasuke recognized the
expression immediately, even if no one else would have. His friend's normally open
expression became closed off, eyes flat and smile fake. Despite his irritation with
Naru for being so late, Sasuke started across the room to come to the rescue.
By the time he reached them, the little red-head had wrapped her hands
around Naru's bicep. "I was hoping you'd be here so we could talk. I feel like I
haven't seen you in forever, Ruto!"
Ruto? Sasuke stopped in his tracks. No one ever called Naru "Ruto," not
even his parents. The nickname and the cooing tone seemed to insinuate closeness
between the red-head and his friend, but Naru's trapped expression told a different
story. This must be the girl he'd been trying to get rid of.
"I've, uh, been really busy, Sakura. Working and stuff, you know?" Edging
away from her, Naru gave Sasuke a look that screamed save me.
He tried not to laugh.
"Ooh, you poor thing!" She gave him a sympathetic look. "You work too
hard. Why don't you come sit with me and relax? I could go get you a plate of
food?"
Naru suddenly seemed unable to string a sentence together. "Um—"
An evil little voice in Sasuke.s head suggested leaving his buddy to deal with
his own problems. For a long moment, he considered the idea. Would his friend be
able to talk his way out of his predicament? No, that would be too mean.
Before Naru could say anything more, Sasuke approached them. "There you
are, Naru. It.s about time you got here."
Sakura bit her bottom lip. "Who's this, Ruto?"
"This is Sasuke. I promised to meet him here an hour ago. got some
business to discuss. Sorry, Sakura." The grateful look he gave Sasuke was
anything but apologetic.
"Sorry to steal him away, Sakura. It was nice to meet you, though." Giving
Sakura a big smile, he grabbed Naru's arm and steered his friend away while the
girl stood there pouting.
The second they were far enough away not to be overheard, Sasuke released
Naru's arm, his earlier annoyance returning. "I thought about leaving you there
with her. You know the only reason I came tonight was because you asked me to."
His friend gave him a sidelong glance. "I know. I'm sorry. I got stuck doing a
bunch of paperwork, and you know how much I suck at it. Took me forever."
Rolling his eyes, he let go of his irritation. "Well, you should have called me.
I would've rather been doing paperwork than hanging out here by myself. Kiba
still acts like my gayness will rub off on him or something, and Regina nearly
talked my ear off about some hideously dull society fundraiser."
"Thanks for staying, man. Really. I don't know how I would have escaped
Sakura if you hadn't been here. One night I couldn't get away and had to listen to
her for like forty-five minutes. I owe you big time."
Sasuke laughed, amused as always by his friend's theatrics. "You just wait.
When I call in all the favors you owe me, you're going to be sorry."
"Nah, never. If you ever need anything you know I'll be there, right?"
Meeting Naru's sincere, mismatched eyes, he felt oddly touched. "Sure."
"Good. Now let's go find some food. I'm starving!" Naru bumped their
shoulders together playfully, grinning, the serious moment over.
Smiling, Sasuke followed.
A few weeks later, Sasuke was putting the finishing touches on the design
for an office building when his cell phone rang.
Very few people called him at work, especially on his cell. Anything work
related should have gone through the land-line.
Checking the caller ID, he saw Naru's name. Since he'd be off in a few
minutes anyway, he went ahead and answered. "This had better be good,
Uzumaki. I'm at work, and I'm busy."
"You're always busy," Naru lamented. "Aren't you on vacation?"
"Yeah, starting tomorrow. Today I have to finish up my work."
"You don't have anything planned, do you?" His friend's excitement came
through clearly. Something was up.
Sasuke frowned suspiciously. "No. Not really. Why?"
"How would you like to go down to the Caribbean for a week, all expenses
paid?"
Recognizing Naru's cajoling tone, he became even more suspicious.
"What's the catch?"
"No catch. My dad asked me to go scout out this resort down there. The
place is on its own little island, and it's for sale. Dad wants me to see if we should
buy it."
"So why do I need to be there?" He tapped his pencil against the table
impatiently, waiting to see what bizarre plan his old buddy had hatched this time.
"Well, there are a couple of reasons. Number one, I might be bored if you
didn't come."
"Yeah, right. Invite one of your little supermodel girlfriends."
Naru sighed. "I'm serious. I'm tired of them. I can't have a simple
conversation with any of them."
Snickering, Sasuke doodled a picture of a deserted island surrounded by
sharks on a piece of scrap paper. "Whose fault is that? You're the one who always
picks girls with the IQ of pocket lint."
That got him another sigh, this one heavier. "There's another reason, too.
Dad's considering making the place a specialty location, like maybe couples-only,
or a gay resort. You need a good vacation, I need a buddy to hang out with and
another pair of eyes to check out the island—it's win-win. Plus, it's been cold as
hell. Wouldn't you like some warm weather?"
Sasuke drew a caricature of Naru on the island, screaming for help, and
himself in a boat off shore, pointing and laughing. Still, despite his exasperation at
his friend's manipulation, the idea did have some merit. The October weather
hadn't been particularly pleasant, and so far November wasn't shaping up to be
any better. And it wasn't as if he had any plans for his time off.
Besides, he did need a good vacation. Sun, sand, fun, and all on Naru's
dime? Not such a terrible idea. And there might even be some hot guys there.
Not one to tolerate silence, especially on the phone, Naru quickly broke in.
"Come on, Sasuke. I seriously wanted to invite you because you're my friend. I'm
not going to be picking your brain the whole time or making you do my work for
me, I promise."
Making his decision, he said, "I know, Naru. I'll come with you."
"Thanks, Sasuke. going to have so much fun! You won't regret this, I
promise."
How many times had he heard that before? He sighed. Maybe this time
would be different.