Obligation

Chapter Three

-One Down, Fifty-Four to Go-

Sakura stood on the pier at the beach, looking out over the ocean. She had sent Gaara her schedule a few days ago, and, since today was the first day she had free, he had decided that it would be the day of their first date. She was wearing an Ombre sequined triangle top bikini, with white bottoms that tied in bows at her hips. The sequins on the top started in navy blue, then changed to purple, then lime green, and the bottom two rows were white. The straps to the swim suit were made of a singular string, and so her breasts were just barely covered, leaving only a tantalizing view of her cleavage for the eye to see. Over the swim suit she had on a print cotton caftan cover up, that tied a bit under her breasts, and was nearly see through, and it had light blue flowers sewn into it. Her hair was left down, blowing messily in the wind, and she wore a plain pair of white flip flops on her feet.

When Gaara had scheduled the date, he had told her to meet him here, and to wear her swimsuit. She didn't know what they were doing, but it had been so long since she'd come to the beach, anything would be nice. "Well hello, hello." She heard from behind her. She turned around and saw Gaara standing with his hands on his hips. He had on black swim shorts that stopped just below his knees and a loose black t-shirt with a red kanji on the front. He walked forward, his black flip flops smacking his heels. He pushed up his sunglasses, letting them rest in his tousled red hair. "You ready to go?" he smiled, actually looking just like any other guy.

She pulled down her white rimmed sunglasses to the edge of her nose and raised a brow at him over the top. "Yes. Where are we going?" she asked.

"You'll see." He offered his hand out to her. "I promise, you'll love it."

She pushed her sunglasses up onto her head, holding back some of her pink tresses, and took his hand. "Alright."

He pulled her with him then and headed towards the boardwalk along the edge of the beach. They headed along the walkway towards the docks. "It's just up here." He pointed, leading her towards some of the more expensive looking ones. Finally, they came up to a nice sized yacht, a 44' Cruisers Yachts 447 Sport Sedan. It had an open balcony where the wheel was and looked very Cadillac. "Have you ever been scuba diving before?"

"No, but I always wanted to go." She looked at him. "Is that what we're doing?" she asked excitedly.

"Yup," he nodded, helping her up onto the boat and then following after her. "I know the perfect spot for it, and it will absolutely blow your mind." He said, untying the anchors and pulling the ropes back. Once that was finished he showed her around the boat, the areas where she could relax and then the kitchen and the rooms it had. Finally, he pulled her with him up towards the wheel and stuck the key in the ignition. "You ready?"

"More than ready." She said, looking around at the beautiful view offered her from her vantage point.

He started up the engine and after placing in a few coordinates he took the wheel and pushed the boat forward, slowly moving out of the docks. He flipped his sunglasses back down to shield his eyes from the sun and the water that might splash up once they picked up speed. "You're not afraid of sharks are you?"

She looked at him. "Why? Are there going to be some where we're diving?"

"Well there's always that possibility that we might cross them, but they don't come after you…most of the time." He laughed, and once they were out of the main harbor, he pushed forward more and their speed picked up.

She shrugged. "Well, all you gotta do really is hit them in the snout, right? Doesn't seem too bad."

"Yes, but panic tends to make the task a bit more difficult. I promise there won't be any problems though. Usually there aren't any, and we'll be close to a reef, they don't really like it too much around there…well at least the big ones don't." he shrugged. It took a while to get out on the ocean, but it was nice and fresh, the smell of the salty water and everything about the beautiful cloudy day.

Finally, he started to slow their speed and came to somewhat a stop. He hit a button that lowered the anchor, so the ship wouldn't float off while they were down in the water. "You ready to get suited up?"

"Mhm." She nodded, turning towards him.

They headed down towards the next level. Gaara took off his sunglasses and tossed them inside onto a couch. "Alright." He stretched, grabbing onto his shirt and pulling it off. Sakura took off her sunglasses, squinting at the bright light of the sun before pulling off her cover up and folding it, setting it beside her sunglasses. She looked over at Gaara and had to hide her reaction to his body. He had the most beautifully sculpted chest she had ever seen, right down to the perfect V leading to his pelvis. She glanced away, blushing slightly. Man, she was a sucker for V's.

He walked over and picked up the scuba equipment, seeming to handle it with ease. He handed her one of the tanks and once it was in her grip he let go. She yelped, falling forward a bit as it fell. It didn't look that heavy when he was carrying it. "Agh!"

He turned back around quickly, helping her with it. "Do you need some assistance?"

"Um, no…it's just a lot heavier than I thought it was." She said.

"You sure?" he smirked as she tried to pull it up. But his gaze lingered a bit higher than her hands.

"No?" she looked up at him, smiling slightly.

He walked over and grabbed the tank, helping her get it on and moving his arms around her to fasten it. "Is that too loose?"

"No, I think it's good."

He removed his hands and then grabbed his, fastening it around his waist. He offered her a pair of goggles and then placed his own on, making sure they were secure. She put her goggles on and then waited for further instruction, since she had never done this before. "Ok so what we need to do is put on the flippers and then sit on the edge of the boat and fall back. Do you think you can do that?"

"Yes." She nodded.

He took out a pair of pink flippers and smirked as he handed them to her. "I thought you might appreciate that." He sat down and put on his own black ones.

"Really?" she raised a brow and looked at him, but sat and put them on anyways. "Well, for future reference, my favorite color is red, not pink." She informed him.

He snickered and got up. "But now you match." He walked over to the edge and sat on the boat side, patting the space next to him. "Come on slow poke."

She got up and sat next to him on the edge. "Still." She said, unable to think of anything witty.

He pulled down the mask, and helped her do the same before they fell back into the warm water. They swam down to the reef, and Sakura looked around in awe. It was a myriad of colors, as if a rainbow had been permanently placed in the ocean. There were also a ton of fish, many of which she didn't know the breed. She smiled behind the mask, completely enveloped in this underwater world he was showing her.

They swam for hours, and eventually their air tanks began to run out, so they had to ascend to the surface. Gaara hopped back up onto the boat and helped Sakura out of the water. She pulled off her mask, smiling brightly at him. "That was the most incredible thing I've ever seen in my entire life!" she exclaimed.

"I'm glad." He smiled, shaking out his wet hair so that it wasn't matted to his face. "The first time I went it was pretty amazing."

She ran her finger through her hair, trying to comb it out. "I can't wait to tell everyone at work I did this. They always say I never do anything fun." She commented, pulling off her flippers.

"Well it makes me happy that I can be the cause." He tossed the goggles aside, doing the same as her. "So do you want something to eat? We were down there for a pretty long time."

"I'm starving actually." She said, standing and taking off the air tank, which was a lot lighter now that it was empty. He picked up a towel and tossed it to her, grabbing another and beginning to dry his body as he walked into the yacht.

"I'll make us something then. What are you in the mood for?"

"Anything really. What do you have?" she asked, drying off as well.

"Well I don't mean to brag…but I make a mean sandwich when I put my mind to it." He smirked, glancing back at her, leaving the towel over his head.

"We'll see." She returned his smirk, wrapping the towel around her body and tying it in place.

He opened the fridge and pulled out some meats and cheeses, not really knowing what she liked so he just got a little of everything. "What kind do you like?"

"Ham, turkey, cheddar and Monterey jack with a bit of mayonnaise please." She said, taking a seat.

"A bit on both sides?" he asked, glancing over at her. She nodded, taking the time to relax. He made up her sandwich and then made one for himself to his specifications. Once he was done with both, he pulled out two glasses and popped open a bottle of wine. He walked over and offered her the plate and her glass, going back to grab his own before taking a seat next to her. "So how am I doing?"

She took a bite of her sandwich and swallowed before answering. "Well, you didn't lie about your sandwich making skills." She said, looking over at him as she took a sip of her wine.

He laughed, keeping his eyes on her as he drank himself. "That's not exactly what I meant."

"I know." She took another bite of her sandwich.

"Well…?" he asked.

She smiled slightly, taking her time in chewing and swallowing her food. "How do you think you're doing?" she asked, brining her legs up onto the couch with her.

He sighed, "I'm not sure. Hence why I asked. In my line of business I'm not very used to pleasantries, and I'm not exactly sure how to be…nice and not so overly nice."

"Hm." She took another sip of wine. "As far as first dates go, this was perfect. And, as I said at the restaurant, I'm not really viewing this as anything other than business, but you're doing a good job."

"Yes. Well," he smirked, finishing off his wine. "That will change soon."

"Dare to dream." She smiled, returning to her sandwich.

He just smiled and went back to his own lunch, actually enjoying her presence. The rest of the afternoon went by quickly, as they talked about anything besides Gaara's work. And once the sun began to start its decent they headed back to the mainland. It seemed to take less time to get back than it had to get out there, but Sakura assumed it was just the anxiety that made it so unbearable to wait.

Finally they docked, and once Gaara tied the boat to the wood he helped Sakura down, both dressed back in her cover up and his shirt. "Well, my car is that way." Sakura turned to him and pointed off towards a far area of the parking lot.

"Mine's right up in the V.I.P. parking. I can drive you to yours if you want." He said, with a small shrug.

"That's okay, walking is healthy." She said.

He sighed, hovering over her a bit. "You know, sometime, you're going to have to let me actually drive you somewhere." He smirked.

"We'll see." She returned his smirk and crossed her arms. "But as long as my car is in perfect driving condition, I think I'll be fine."

"Yes well," he said deeply, staring down into her beautiful emerald gaze, resting his hand on her hip. "Don't tempt me."

She stepped forward and placed her hand on his bicep, just barely brushing against him as she raised herself up on her tippy toes. "Consider yourself tempted." She murmured close to his lips before drawing away and beginning to walk towards her car. "See you on our next date!" she called with a wave, smiling at him impishly. He just stared after her, actually at a loss for words. He glanced down and cleared his throat, trying to adjust himself without seeming too obvious.

"See you then."