Author Note:

Okay, I went back and looked at this story. I realized . . . I was a horrible writer. When I started, that is. I do pray I have gotten better.

2nd Note | I went back for a third time. I realized . . . I wasn't as horrible as last time but it still needed some serious RnR so here I am, give me love (pwease?) and don't forget Book Two: The Engagement Date

Info

Summary | Sakura Haruno had a big problem. A problem that involved fancy invitation cards, white doves, and wedding bells. And it was all her little sister's fault. How could Hinata be marrying before her? And worse. What could possibly be worse? A mother that would never let her live her single or common life down.

Original Cast Ryuu Kino | Akio Takahashi | Akira Tanaka | James Tanaka | Leigh Tanaka

Note | It takes place in the "World of Naruto" but it is modernized.

Warning | Suggestive Material | Brief Violence | Brief Language [ Rated T ]

Chapters: 19

Third Date | Chapter Three | Foreboding Affairs

Sakura had laid in bed after that, his voice running over her body and through her mind. She had yet to meet him. Yet to see his face but he was already plaguing her. At some point of this, Gaara had turned her daydreaming into sleepdreaming.

One moment she was staring at the ceiling wondering what the feel of Gaara's hands would be like . . . The next? Sakura was glaring at her cell phone as it rang incessantly. When exactly had she fell asleep?

Sakura yawned and stretched softly before reaching for her phone once more. "Hello?" Her voice was groggy and rough from lack of use. Her nose scrunched as she wiggled her toes, trying to wake up completely.

"Hey!"

A smile slipped across her lips as she sat up in bed. "I was going to call you later." She stood from the bed and made her way towards the bathroom. "Let me grab a shower and then we can meet for a late breakfast?"

"Sure," Naruto smiled. "You liked him didn't you?"

Sakura bit her lower lip and didn't bother to adorn him with an answer. "I'll see you at Starbucks, you owe me a coffee." Her eyes narrowed. "I cannot wait to tell you how early he got me up." She let her phone drop onto the mattress with a slight bounce. She glared at the hideous annoyance most people called an alarm clock. Ten-twenty six.

She heaved a soft sigh. Sakura could feel the oncoming headache. It was going to be a long day and that was so not fair. She grabbed her iPhone and placed it on the iHome and pressed play. A soft smile covered her lips as Driven Under by Seether began to fill the speakers. " I guess you know I'm faking . . ." She sang along as she waited for the shower to heat up.

Sakura closed her eyes as she let the hot water run over her body. She had always been a fan of morning showers. They helped to wake her up in the morning, in a way coffee had never been able to do. Now, don't get her wrong. Coffee was always going to be her crutch as her friends called it. And she was totally happy to let it be a crutch in her life. It was amazing, and the caffeine high was a definite plus when she had a deadline to meet.

Being a writer was difficult. But thanks to her English teacher – she was damn good at it. A slow smile worked across her lips. She had three Pushcart awards and one Pulitzer award. And according to her Editor and Agent – Lydia Rae – she was damn good at it too. And after much haggling – on Lydia's part – Sakura even designed the covers for each novel herself.

A chill tingled down her spine as she cut the water off and yanked the curtain back. Sakura had long ago learned to just force it, like taking a band-aid off. Don't do it slowly or gently. Just made it cold for that much longer. Her head bobbed along to the new song that was playing. You can hate her if you want to. . . But she was a fan of One Direction.

Sakura wrapped the fluffy royal blue towel around her body and moved towards the bathroom sink. She picked up the small black face towel and wiped at the steamed-up mirror. A slight smile covered her lips as she looked at herself. She secured her towel in place and grabbed her hair dryer. After drying her shoulder-length pink hair, Sakura put it into a tight bun on top of her head.

She grabbed the pink lace bra and matching underwear after drying off her skin. Sakura moved towards her closet and proceeded to pick out her clothes for the day. A pair of black capris that had white ties on the outside of the leg. She paired it with a soft white shirt that had black stitching, a black collar, and a little scrunched side on the left at the bottom with a tie. She grabbed a pair of black woven sandals from her closet and set them by the bed.

Sakura smiled at herself in the full-length mirror. Not bad. Considering she had yet to have coffee, she had to say she looked good. She cackled as she twisted around and proceeded to over-model walk towards her vanity. She would like to say it ended well. But Sakura forgot to look at her feet. She missed the blankets she had kicked around. And she personally met the ground. At least the carpet was fluffy.

She sat down on the plush pink cushion with silver trim that covered the seat of the cherry wooden bench. The desk was the same deep cherry wood, with a drawer on each side of the chair. The drawers had silver knobs. On the desk was a tall oval-shaped mirror with a silver trim design at the edges.

She opened the drawer on her left and pulled out her eye-shadow and eyeliner. After applying a sheer white eye-shadow with black eyeliner, she replaced both items in the jar. She grabbed the second of five tubes of her favorite lip gloss. Sakura applied the pink shimmery gloss. With a smack, Sakura winked at herself and stood from the bench.

Sakura turned her iHome off before going into the kitchen and grabbing her purse from the table. Her keys and phone lay inside the small shoulder bag. Sakura locked the door to her apartment behind her. She had a busy day ahead of her At twelve – she needed to kill Naruto. And then she would need to find new friends – she was penciling that in for one-fifteen. And depending on how long that took she had a late meeting with Lydia.

Starbucks beamed back at her in bright letters. I missed you. She heaved a soft sigh as she pushed on the doors and breathed in the scent of fresh coffee beans. Sweet, sweet coffee here I come. Sakura smiled brightly at the young blonde behind the counter. "Hey Jan!"

"Your regular?"

Sakura nodded. "And Naruto will be paying for this one." She grinned cheekily. Her dark emerald green eyes flashed with mischief as the older lady smiled. "He owes me."

"I do Jan." Naruto grumbled as he trudged in through the door. "She had to get up at a cruel hour." He rolled his eyes but didn't fight the smile that covered his lips.

Sakura giggled and nodded. "He did!" She smiled sweetly and moved in to hug Naruto as they waited for her Iced Caramel Macchiato. She heaved a soft sigh as she grasped her choice of drug for today. She sipped at the drink and let Naruto direct her towards a booth seat.

"Okay, you have at least five sips of Macchiato in your system." Naruto grinned at the look Sakura sent his way. "And I believe Jan will be done with your Blueberry Scone and your Cheese Danish." He chuckled softly and snagged a sip of her Macchiato. "So talk to me?"

Sakura shook her head. "You should have warned me that I was going to get a call!" She hissed in return. Sakura shook her head and beamed brightly as her favorite choices for snacks were placed in front of her. "He was unbelievable and rude! But . . ." her lips pursed. "I wasn't much help. I wasn't expecting the call."

"What time did he call?" Naruto questioned as he stole a piece of her blueberry scone.

Sakura snatched the plate from his reach and glared. "Five in the morning!" Her glare intensified as she stared at her blonde comrade. "Five," she hissed while leaning closer to him. "I cannot believe you!"

"Five?" Naruto cringed. "Sorry, I didn't think he would do that to you."

She shrugged. "He somewhat apologized after I hung up on him."

"You what?" He blinked repeatedly. He laughed at the thought of someone hanging up on Gaara Sabaku. Now that was an entertaining thought.

Sakura nodded. "I also accused Tenten of giving out my number." She groaned and sipped at her drink. A blush rode high on her cheeks. "Don't even! It would not be the first time she just gave out my number." Sakura waved him off as he opened his mouth. "He was beyond rude when we spoke first!" She groaned as she took another sip. "But it got better. We have a meeting for tomorrow."

"Good." Naruto commented. "Try not to blow it." He chuckled at the squawk she let loose. "This is my only option – and it is a really good option." He smiled widely.

Sakura waved her hand. "None of your cheek." She giggled at the look she received. "We have a med-afternoon lunch." Sakura's lips pursed as she went quiet for a moment. "What is he like?" She chewed on her lower lip.

"He can handle whatever your family tries to throw at him." He lost his entire playful attitude as Naruto looked at her. "All of it."

Sakura cleared her throat. "Yeah?" She bit at her lower lip and chipped away at the rest of her scone. She always lost her appetite when it surfaced.

It wasn't something they spoke of. Not out loud. They had passing glances when she seemed to have a flashback. They spoke with their eyes or their tone. But never out loud. Never where someone else could hear. It was something that she wanted swept under the rug. Something no one spoke of. She did her best to ignore it. And she was sure the other would agree with her.

"Good," she whispered before sipping her drink.

Naruto smiled encouragingly. "You need to tell him. Or at least give him some idea." His voice was low, rose petal soft as he looked at his long time friend. "I know it isn't something that you like to talk or think about. . . " he trailed off for a moment. "But he needs to understand what is going on so that he is ready in case." He went silent and held back a wince. The it happens again was loud as it settled between the two of them.

"I know." She whispered out once more. Sakura chewed at her lower lip. He needed to be prepared for when it happened. She swallowed hard, shoving the lump in her throat down once more.

Naruto smiled and snatched the last bite for the Cheese Danish. He grinned evilly as he moaned around the bite. Damn good. "Well, I think it will be good. And who knows," He wiggled his eyebrows suggestively. "It could turn out to be a wonderful pairing."

"Yeah yeah," She rolled her eyes. "Stop trying to match me up." She shook her head and finished off her Macchiato. Sakura looked down at her thin silver watch. "Okay, I have to meet Lydia." She made a face at Naruto laughed. "You know how much of tyrant she can be! Especially if I'm late."

. . .

Sakura heaved a soft sigh as the elevator doors let out a ding before opening. She looked down at the watch on her wrist once more. She would love to say that her Agent was a go with the flow easy woman. Someone she could call and say hey, running a few behind but I will see you soon. You couldn't do that with Lydia Rae. That would have been a death wish.

Her sandal covered feet whispered over the plush white carpet on the third floor of the Publishing Agency that her agent and editor worked with and for. Lydia had been there for over ten years. Seven of those years had been as Sakura's agent and editor.

Sakura pulled on a bright smile as she nodded to the secretary that worked for Lydia. "I'm early!" Her eyes sparkled as the other laughed and clapped her hands. "She busy?" Sakura nodded as the other waved her in. "Hey Lydia!"

"You're ahead of schedule." Lydia smirked a she glanced up from the computer off to the right side. There was two open manuscripts in front of her and an array of highlighters and sticky notes. She was in Editor Mode. "Good. Sit." The smirk stayed in place as she glanced at the pink haired woman once more. "No worries. I finished your manuscript – this is someone else's."

And for that Sakura was very thankful. If only one page had that much yellow highlighter on it . . . It was not going to be a good day for the writer. "That would have been the only question I would have asked." Sakura grinned easily.

Lydia Rae. She was a force to be reckoned with. You didn't stand in her way and you didn't ask questions unless she told you too. She had bright fiery curly strawberry blonde hair. She stood at 5'5" in her four inch high heels. No, she wasn't tall. But her personality helped her reach a staggering seven feet tall. You would hear her before you saw her. But there would be no mistaking Lydia Rae.

"Okay Sakura." Lydia snapped the other woman from her musings as she shut the manuscript with a shake of her head. She rolled back in her leather chair and reached for the manuscript on top of the completed ones. "Not bad. I like how Loveless' story is progressing." She handed the second rendition of chapters 1-25 in Love-less. "Much better this time." Lydia gave the other a sharp smile.

Sakura took the script. "How . . ." She trailed off instead of completing the question.

"Yes," Lydia smirked. "I do like the idea of the shape shifters being real wolves." Her lips pursed for a moment "And the idea of a phoenix shape shifter." A smirk covered her lips. "Well done." Lydia smiled, her coral colored lips shimmering under the artificial lighting. "I want chapters 26-35 in two weeks."

Sakura nodded slowly. Her smile was pleasant but not really giving leeway to bargaining.

"If something comes up you call."

A flush broke out across her cheeks. "About that . . ." She licked her dry lips. "My sister is getting married." She held in a wince. "I have to go down there for a little bit."

"Define a little bit." Lydia's eyes narrowed as she stared at the pink haired woman. She glanced off to the calendar on her computer – each color stood for one of her authors. Sakura's was pink.

Sakura shrugged. "I am not entirely sure." She bit her lower lip. "Most likely close to a couple of weeks, hopefully not . . ." She groaned and sagged back against the cushioned chair. "I will not allow myself to stay there longer." Sakura shook her head. There was no way she would last if she stayed longer than that. Even if this Gaara was with her.

"Are you going alone?" Lydia frowned. She had heard about the infamous family when she had started publicizing Sakura Haruno. Then again, she had made sure the pink haired woman had gone by a different name – Sara H – there was an air of mystery without a full last name.

Sakura shook her head. "Naruto is helping me find a date." She grimaced out a smile. "I have a lunch with him tomorrow."

"Okay, none of that should result in a problem." Lydia nodded as she opened the manuscript in front of her once more. "Keep me in touch."

She stood and said her goodbye. She knew an out when she saw one. Sakura moved easily out of the office – she waved at the secretary once more as she headed for the elevator. She glanced down at her slim silver watch. Maybe a short shopping trip. She had some time to kill before dinner with Tenten at the Hospital.