I didn't hear from her until two weeks later. I never grabbed her number, didn't plan on speaking to her again, and figured she was just another good story I could tell the guys if they ever caught me in a good mood when I was drunk enough. Karin and Kagura bugged the hell out of me about what happened, and once I told them they seemed satisfied with the short story.

Just another good night, a chapter two a many paged book.

But one night she had came through, jeans, sweater, and scarf on with that white knitted beanie tugged low. It was cold that night, a snow storm had just blew through the day before, but the bar was packed with everyone attempting to get warm with a short or two.

I noticed her the second the door opened.

But she didn't seem to notice me as she went straight to her usual bar table.

I was handing a guy a drink when Kagura wandered over, her eyes shifting to where mine were already set. She gave me a glance with a raise of her eyebrow, commenting with mild interest, "She came back. Didn't see that coming."

"Especially since she has a boyfriend," Karin chimed with a small frown on her face as she passed by, "You think she's here for you?"

"Doubt it," I answered as I watched Ino from the other side of the bar, gripping the edge with a shake of my head, "We haven't talked since. She's probably meeting her boyfriend here."

"Or she came to see you," Kagura suggested with a shrug, patting my shoulder as she moved to take an order, "Either way, it'd be rude not to say hello. Just give her a drink on the house and call it a day. Just because you had a quick fuck doesn't mean you have to pretend she doesn't exist."

Pretending someone didn't exist was easier when the person you were attempting to forget didn't make some sort of ghost appearance. And while I would never mention it to them, since the night she walked out of my door I was trying to get her out of my head. It wasn't the sex that was on my mind, though it was good. No it was the joke she made after the sex, the smile she pulled when we had finished, the cute way she pouted when she was asking for my shirt that had been on my mind.

And every single part of it yelled trouble.

That's why I didn't bother asking for her number before she left, why I didn't bother seeking her out after that night. Something like that shouldn't be the aftermath of a one night stand, I knew better. Those were signs you got when meeting a cute girl at a diner or catching the smile of a girl you just so happened to bump into at the store.

Not from a quick fuck you had with a girl who blatantly mentioned she had a boyfriend.

Who made it clear it was a one time thing before we both forgot about it with one simple comment.

So I kept my side of the agreement thinking she'd keep hers.

So... why was it that she was here tonight?

Old Joe hobbled by, giving me a look before glancing what I was staring at. With a shift of his eyes, he guessed, "Taking five?"

"Twenty," I replied with a bit of a smile, reversing our usual banter, "Have to have some time to roll you your blunt."

"Good," he nodded with a crooked grin, "And tell that girl if she's working her way through the litter, I still know what I'm doing in bed."

If I hadn't known the old man for as long as I did, I would have snorted so hard it hurt. Instead I gave him a pat on the back before leaving, "I'll be sure to let her know what she's missing out on."

He chuckled as I left, and when I swung back around from the other side of the bar, handed me two platinums with a wink. Shaking my head, I took them before taking my time making my way over to Ino. She was watching the band again, pulling her scarf closer as she attempted to fight off the bite of the cold.

When I sat in front of her, placing her beer on the table, she didn't look surprised. She only gave me a small smile as she caught my eyes, moving to grab her bottle.

"Hey," she greeted softly just before taking a sip.

"Hey," I replied simply while opening my bottle, "What's up?"

"Nothing much," she answered while placing her beer down, brushing her bang behind her ear, "I just stopped by to watch the band."

"The band?" I asked with a raise of my eyebrow, glancing behind me to see the group that were playing tonight. I didn't know much about them, only that every so often Old Joe would pay them for the gigs they did at night. Turning back to her, I commented, "Well they are a pretty good bunch. Got a good sound to them."

She brightened at the statement, "They do, don't they? The guy on the guitar is my friend from college. He makes me show up every once and awhile."

At first I thought she was bull shitting when she mentioned she was here for the band, but it suddenly made sense. When I put a bit of thought into it, every time she appeared the band was playing. Smiling, I gave another glance to the group, this time paying close attention to the guitarist that was playing with a foolish grin and spiked hair.

With a nod of approval, I added, "The guy can shred, I'll give him that."

"Kankuro has been playing since we were small," she smiled at the compliment, "I'm sure he'll be ecstatic to hear that someone else appreciates his skills."

Taking another sip of my beer, I laughed without meaning to. When she gave me a questioning look, I only shook my head, "Sorry, it's just. At first I thought you came to see me again."

Her smile pulled a bit higher as she gave a little shrug, "I didn't plan on it. But... when he mentioned he'd be playing here again, I thought it would be nice to stop by."

"You almost gave me a heart attack when you walked through that door," I admitted as I watched her eyes, good natured smile tugging my lips, "For a split second, I thought... Well I don't know what I thought. A lot of things were going through my mind."

"Oh?" She asked with interest, leaning forward slightly as she teased, "Like what?"

Taking another sip, I shrugged while admitting, "First thought was that you were here to tell me to fuck off, thought maybe I fucked up something between you and your guy. I tend to fuck up when I leave the other side of that bar."

Her eyes were amused as she watched me, "Jeez, I would not come all the way here to state that you ruined my relationship when it would have been my fault."

I shrugged, "Some girls don't know the difference."

"I'm not some girl." She replied, leaning back with a sip of her bottle, "What was the second thing that went through your mind?"

"That you looked as gorgeous as you did the first time that I saw you," I muttered, leaning back in my own chair and slipping my hand in my pocket casually, though I felt like an idiot for slipping such a lame line out. Shifting my eyes away from her, I went on, "Third thought was that you were still out of my league, because you didn't give me a glance as you were walking by."

"Out of your league..." She repeated quietly, causing my eyes to shift back. That small smile was still at her lips as she went on, "I'd like to think that I don't fool around with anyone that isn't up to par."

"So I made the cut, huh?" I joked as I watched her, "Was that after or before the amazing sex?"

"Just before you tossed me that little smirk of yours," she answered with an amused smile, "And right after the amazing sex."

"Glad to see that I still have a bit of game in my corner," I replied with a laugh, "But why the cold shoulder when you walked in?"

She bit her lip before looking away, picking at the plastic of her beer bottle as she shrugged, "Don't know. Maybe I thought that I was just another good fuck and you didn't care whether or not I said hi."

It was painful how much I wanted her to be right, even more painful to see her shift with that embarrassed looking smile at her lips. It would have been easy to let her think so, making it effortless to cut whatever chances I had with silent shrug.

But of course, I couldn't bring myself to do it.

Shaking my head, I polished off the rest of my beer before admitting against my better judgment, "As much as I'd like to think that I'm a coldhearted asshole that can run through girls like water, I have to admit... I was really hoping for a hi when you walked through that door."

Her eyes flicked up to mine, but I avoided them with a short smile, "Anyway, I need to get out of here. Break is over soon and I have to roll Old Joe a blunt."

"Old Joe smokes weed?" She asked with amusement.

"He can smoke me under the table any day," I nodded with a pulling smile, "But it was good seeing you Ino. I'll catch you later?"

"Hopefully sooner," she replied, giving me a glance as I stood up, "Maybe after your shift is over?"

Shit. That wasn't a good idea. "I've got another three hours until I'm out of here."

"That's enough to have a few drinks," she answered with a shrug, "Finish watching my friend play."

I watched her, wondering what game she was playing at. Her boyfriend came to mind, and I tried to recount our conversation to see if she ever mentioned he was out of the picture. But I couldn't shake the yearn I had.

To see that smile she gave me after we fucked.

The joke she made as we were coming down from just finishing.

Shrugging, I replied, "If you don't mind waiting, then sure. Maybe we can grab a cup of coffee."

She smiled, admitting softly, "I'd like that."

Nodding, because I couldn't bring myself to say anything, I left it at that and went to the back to roll Old Joe his choice of poison for tonight. He seemed happy when I presented it to him, but his smile seemed too knowing when I handed off his blunt.

X

I'm pretty sure there were rules. A guideline on how one night stands worked.

I'm pretty sure one rule would be that one night stands never turned into two. It seemed reasonable. Twice in a row made it that much closer to a habit, and a quick fuck wasn't supposed to happen more than once.

So why was she in my bed again, whimpering out my name as she just finished cumming. Tugging at my waist as we both slowly caught our breaths. Nails gently running down my back as I shivered and hid at her neck with my nipping teeth.

Once is a weakness, but twice is the start of a problem.

I didn't want to be around for the third.

"Do I get another shirt?" She whispered in my ear, causing me to smile.

"This isn't a carnival, you don't win a prize for every game we play," I muttered as I hovered over her, regaining my strength slowly.

"If carnivals have rides like that, I definitely need to go to one," she continued to tease, nails continuing to trace shapes into my skin.

"Rides aren't free there," I pointed out, shifting to catch her eyes as I continued with a careful mutter, "Freeloader like yourself should probably stick with a boy willing to give out a few rides of his own."

Her blue eyes were practically glowing as she glanced at me, asking quietly, "Is that your way of asking if he's still around?"

"I'm not good a riddles, never have been," I replied while watching her, pulling away slightly while continuing, "Yet here I am fooling around with one. Yeah, it's my way of asking."

"We're still together," she admitted while pulling her eyes away.

Maybe she was worried I would give her shit about it, but to me it didn't matter. I wasn't going to chastise her about what she did with her life, but I was going to stop being the potential of what could be a messy break up.

Smile pulling my lips, I shook my head and sat up completely, asking, "Want a smoke?" She gave me a look, but I continued in warning, "It isn't a cigarette, so I'm in no way like your boyfriend."

Smiling, she rolled her eyes, staring at the ceiling as she mumbled, "No I think I'll pass."

Shrugging, I moved to the edge of the bed, grabbing my shorts, bra, and beanie. It was chilly, but I prefered being cold with wearing less. As Ino tugged the blankets closer to her naked skin, I asked carefully, "Can I ask you a question?"

"If you want my body again, I'm ready." She replied without hesitation.

A laugh slipped my lips without meaning to. Shaking my head, I answered, "No, that isn't what this is about, but I might want to swing back to that later. What I want to ask is... well. If you're happy with the dude, why go around having 'adventures'?"

"For some girls, high school sweet hearts are a dream come true..." she muttered in reply, still watching the ceiling as I pulled on my beanie and dug out my joint.

I gave her a glance, watching at the distant way she mumbled and eyes started to fade. Slipping my hands into my pocket, I finished quietly, "But you aren't some girl... right?"

Her eyes came to mine and I gave her a short pulling smile. Her lips tugged slightly, and I was glad that I managed to pull her out of her head, if only for a moment. I didn't bring her here to make her feel guilty, honestly I didn't know the real reason I brought here to my place at all. But, if it was a get away she wanted, the least I could do was provide her with that much.

Nodding towards my balcony with the mountain looming in the distance, I stated, "After I smoke this, I'll be hungry. Want to order some pizza or something before you leave?"

"Mm that sounds good actually," she replied with a smile, "But who said I'm leaving?"

The corner of my lip twitched high as I shrugged and turned, "It's up to you, not like I'm kicking you out. Stay as long as you like."

"Sounds like a plan," she answered after me as I moved for the balcony, "Your bed is so much more comfy than the ones at the university."

"I'm glad it's to your liking," I joked while lighting up my drug, taking a drag before giving her a glance.

But just like that, she was drifting again, staring at the ceiling with deep thinking eyes.