She took several steps back to avoid his consoling touch, knowing it will only burn through her skin. "Don't you dare come closer," she lowly warned with narrowed eyes. She scanned through the evidence of Jiraiya's deceit once more, feeling her senses start to roil as molten lava of rage spread through the extremity of her fibres. It built up at her seams and she felt she was going to explode.
Jiraiya's face was noticeably pale as if he wasn't sure what to expect.
The dangerous thing was, neither did Tsunade.
Slowly and with emphasis, she asked, "Where is she, Jiraiya?"
"Please –"
"Where the fuck is she?!"
It may have been surreptitiously done, but his gaze told her everything she needed to know. Her eyes darted over to the ensuite bathroom, and given how frantic Jiraiya's face became, she knew that the whore was hiding in there. Just as she was about to sprint to the door, Jiraiya apprehended her and placed his hand over the doorknob.
"Get out of the way, Jiraiya!"
He planted his feet firmly on the ground and resisted her immense strength. "Please, Tsunade, let's talk about this downstairs."
"Talk?! Talk about what, you bastard?! Talk about how you just fucked another woman in our bed?" She aggressively rapped on the door and demanded that the homewrecker show her face. "I know you're in there! How does it feel ruining a relationship apart, you whore?!"
"Tsunade!" Jiraiya took her by her hips and pulled her away from the door. "Stop being like this."
"Stop being like what?!" she snapped. "How do you expect me to act, huh? Should I offer her a cup of coffee for fucking you behind my back?! I'm sorry, I should buy her roses and a diamond necklace for sucking your dick – Oh, wait, you already have!"
"Tsuna…"
"Get out of my way." Tsunade stormed past him and slipped her coat back on.
"Tsunade, don't go. No, wait! Princess!" He chased her down the stairs and pulled her back as he intercepted her in the living room. His arms – those fucking arms she thought protected her from anything in this world – now imprisoned her. "I'm sorry. I made a mistake. I'm sorry. I'm sorry."
Tsunade blinked the hot tears away. There was time for that later. She refused to let this bastard see her cry. "This wasn't a one-off deal, Jiraiya. You bought her gifts and fucked her on our bed. How long has this been happening?"
"It's been…"
Impatient, she spun around and shoved him back. "How long?!"
"Six months… during my book tour."
Tsunade gasped in disbelief as she clawed her fingers into her head. "Six months?!" she vociferated as she paced around in their living room. She stifled back the urge to sob.
How could I not have noticed this?
"Princess, I swear, what I have with her is not meaningful."
She snorted in disbelief. "Stop spewing bullshit, Jiraiya."
"Tsunade, don't leave. Please. Let's talk." He began to approach her again.
"Talk? Okay, let's talk!" She swiftly evaded his touch and leaned against the wall. "Let's talk about how you villainised me as the person who's ripping our relationship apart. Let's talk about how I spent the entire day thinking about you whilst you were here fucking another woman! And let's not forget how you were willing to fuck me right after her."
"I…"
"What were you going to do, Jiraiya, hm? Were you going to sneak her out while I was in your office, or were you going to take turns between her and me?" She cocked an eyebrow up, provoking a response from him. "Cat got your tongue? You said you wanted to talk, so let's talk about it, Jiraiya!"
"I love you." His voice was strained but deliberate. He said it slowly to make sure she heard how genuine he was.
Tsunade's lips pursed and her eyes tightened when unsuspecting tears clouded her vision again. Her heart felt heavy with pain; it felt like it was going to burst at any moment. Every inch of her body grew unsteady with untamed emotions. She didn't know what to do without the fear of falling apart. She shook her head when her emotions overcame her mulishness, and she quietly began to sob.
Jiraiya wiped her tears for her and kissed her on her forehead. "I'm sorry I hurt you." He kissed her reddened cheeks. "I won't do it again. I promise." He angled her face towards him, and he leaned in for her lips. In her moment of weakness, she allowed him to kiss her, to disillusion herself for a second. His lips were tender, and they were warm enough to melt her defences away. He cupped her cheeks so delicately as he deepened his kiss on her lips, so longingly, so desperately in need to rectify his sins.
This was all she wanted. But he has forever ruined his chances.
"No!" She yelled, slapping him away. "You can't just kiss me and tell me you love me, to make things all better again! If you truly loved me, Jira, you wouldn't have sought out another woman to make you happy." She wiped the lingering sensation of his affection with the back of her hand. Fondness was now replaced with repugnant disdain.
"I was lonely, Tsunade! You were barely here, and when you were, your mind was always somewhere else. I…. needed someone – and you weren't there."
"Oh, so it's my fault that you became a filthy cheater?! It's my fault?!"
She grabbed the wine bottle on the coffee table and threw it at the wall Jiraiya had his back on, purposefully missing him by a margin. Upon impact, the bottle crashed into a myriad of fragments, and rivulets of vinaccia splayed all across the floor and stained the cream wallpaper. Jiraiya managed to avoid the glass shards by ducking to the side. When he snapped his head up to Tsunade, the iota of weakness she previously displayed had already been engulfed by the fury she felt in the depths of her heart.
"Don't you fucking turn this on me!" She screamed, jabbing her finger at him. "I stayed loyal to you, I didn't cheat on you! I loved you! God, you were everything to me! So, you don't get to make me into the villain, you bastard!"
Jiraiya got onto his knees and hugged her legs. "Please, please, please, Tsunade, give me a second chance. I'll change and this will never, ever happen again. I can't imagine my life without you, my love."
Tsunade shook her head as she forcibly peeled his hands away from her. "You should have thought about that before you broke my trust." She pushed him away before she sank down on the couch. "Out of all the people I have met, I thought you were the only person who could never hurt me. How stupid of me."
"No, no. It's not stupid." He continued to grovel in front of her on his knees, and he enveloped her hands with his. "We're meant to be together, Tsunade."
"You're delusional if you still think that's true!" Her lips trembled as she felt the second wave of tears threatening to break through her barrier. She hated seeing him like this, pleading at her feet, begging for her to stay. "You… hurt me," she lowly whispered as a set of tears streamed down her porcelain face.
"I know, I know." He kissed her hands as he began to sob too. "I made a mistake, Tsuna. I'm sorry."
"A mistake?" she repeated in disgust. "Jiraiya, having sex with another woman isn't a mistake. You could have stopped it when you kissed, when you took off each other's clothes, and before you put your penis inside her. But you didn't stop it at all; you continued to fuck her multiple times in the period of six months." She leaned close to him. "Now, tell me, how was all this a mistake when the intent is right there?"
"I…."
Tsunade could see it in his eyes: he was trying to concoct another lame excuse to divest himself of blame. "I've got to get out of this place. I can't even look at you right now." She shifted off the sofa and grabbed her purse.
"No, don't go!" Jiraiya scrambled back on his feet and pulled her back by her wrist. "I'll tell her to leave and then we can talk about this."
As if on cue Tsunade heard faint footsteps coming from the stairwell. Fuelled by bloodlust, she hurried to the landing to meet the woman she has been dreading to see. But upon eye contact, the fiery indignation she nurtured in her chest was doused by complete disbelief. "What…" She looked back at Jiraiya and then back at her. "Your student?! You had sex with your student?!"
To be exact, the student who outwardly expressed her love for Jiraiya's works, the same student who had dinner with them a couple of months ago, and the same student Jiraiya reassured Tsunade not to be worried about. She's not my type, he would say. How naïve of her to believe him.
She was slender like Tsunade envisioned her to be, but she was more beautiful than she ever thought. Her hair was red like the autumn leaves, and her eyes were as blue as the ocean during summer. Tsunade had always thought of her as a perfectly sculpted doll but with Jiraiya's betrayal, that fact now felt more bitter. No wonder Jiraiya couldn't keep his fidelity. A beautifully wicked girl like her was enough to have Jiraiya wrapped around her finger.
"Tsunade –" was all she managed to say before her throat constricted under her fearsome eyes, glowering into a molten hue of anger. After taking a small breath, she attempted to step down the stairs. "Please listen –"
She was tired of being told to listen as if listening to the reasoning of their infidelity will make it less severe. "Take one more step towards me and I will do something I'll undoubtedly regret." Her voice was as cold as ice, but her glare was as ferocious as wildfire. "I'm not about to waste my time on someone as low as you."
She turned around and barged past Jiraiya, who failed to stop her this time.
"Tsunade, wait!"
"I want you gone by tomorrow morning, Jiraiya," she ordered. "If I see any of your belongings here by tomorrow, I will throw it all out of the window."
"Don't be unreasonable. You know I don't have a place to stay. Besides, we own—"
"We don't own anything. I own this apartment as it's under my name," she sharply interjected. "Here's a thought, stay at her place. I bet her parents will be thrilled to have her ex-professor at their house. I doubt you'll be able to fuck her there though. But that's not my problem, Jiraiya. You have stopped being my problem since you made a big fool out of me."
"You can't leave just wearing a coat, Tsunade! Just stay here and we can talk."
"I'd rather freeze to death than have to look at your despicable face for another second. And why should you care that I'm going out like this? Maybe somebody else can appreciate me."
"Don't do this to me, Tsunade."
"What I do is no longer your business." She dried her tears after composing herself. "I want you gone, you hear?" she said, refusing to look back at the man she once declared her love.
With the remaining strength that she had, she fumbled for the keys to her car and crashed into the driver's seat. Her vision shifted and tilted from the adrenaline she had pumping through her veins. "This can't be happening…. This can't be happening…." she mumbled, burying her face in her hands in disbelief.
Her brain hurt as it tried to process the new reality she was forced to live in. Everything felt like it was falling apart into the dark abyss at the bottom of her feet. She felt the gravity of its pull gnawing at her, forcing her into the truth she still refused to believe in. I'm going to wake up in a second. I know it. She closed her eyes and welcomed the darkness.
But thoughts of Jiraiya with that student gambolled in her brain, as if they were mocking her stupidity and gullibility for blindly believing his lies. She didn't know what to do. What could she do? Didn't she say that they were over? But she didn't want them to be over. She didn't want to let go of Jiraiya despite knowing that she couldn't forgive him for betraying her trust. So, how was this going to pan out? Was she going to pretend to forgive and forget, but never trust again?
Her brain then flitted through images of Jiraiya and that girl, seeing her clawing her nails into his broad back as he violently fucked her on their bed. She could imagine her screaming in ecstasy and staring directly at her, taunting her. Tsunade whimpered weakly as she was flooded with more images in her mind. Images of Jiraiya kissing her, intertwining his fingers into her auburn hair, of his tongue tracing every speck of her skin, tasting every inch of her.
A searing pain weltered itself into the depths of her heart as she imagined them fucking again. She thought of her riding her lover, of him taking her into his arms as he pounded up into her tight pussy. Their sweat-covered bodies melded together so perfectly together as if they were made for each other.
Her chest tightened.
One after the other, she was mentally attacked by the images her mind concocted so intricately, down to the last particle of their bodies, until she released her pent-up emotions and screamed into the steering wheel. She grabbed her steering wheel, knuckles white, and carefully dictated the constriction and expansion of her chest. Breathe. She told herself as she gathered her composure. Just breathe. The thoughts will go away soon. Breathe.
She wiped her tears away and look into the rear-view mirror, seeing the pitiful state she was now in, a complete contrast to how she looked 40 minutes ago. It's funny how the life she has carefully built over the past 5 years has easily been dismantled within a few minutes. She would laugh hysterically but she didn't have the energy to humour herself.
Instead, she bent over to the glove compartment and grabbed her emergency makeup bag. With a few touch-ups to her eyes and her foundation, she looked half-complete again. She took off her smeared lipstick and coated her lips with the mauve shade she had in her bag.
She pulled out her phone and dialled the only person she could trust. After a few beeps over the phone, the call was picked up. "Orochimaru," she said with a crack in her voice, "hi…"
"Tsunade, if you're going to ask about the lingerie set again, I'm going to hang up. I've already told you a million times, it accentuates your breasts well!"
"No, no. It's not that…"
"Oh? Then, what is it about?"
"Can I drop by for a second?"
Please.
"But I'm preparing for my proposal…."
That's right. She had forgotten about his plan to propose to Kabuto. She massaged her temple and sighed. Where could she go? "I'm sorry, Oro. I forgot. Sorry."
"Aren't you supposed to be seducing Jiraiya out of his pants? Why would you want to come here?"
"I….." The sudden recollection of her recent interaction with Jiraiya made her teary again, and her voice broke pitifully.
"What's wrong?" Orochimaru's voice sounded alarmed. As usual, small details failed to escape him. The slight hiccup in her voice has always made Orochimaru suspicious even when they were little.
"N-Nothing…" she murmured, half-heartedly. A part of her selfishly wanted to take Orochimaru away from his plans so he could be by her side, but she knew it was wrong for her to do. One of them deserved to be happy today.
"I'm coming over."
"No. Don't. Just… leave it." She sighed. "Propose to him, Orochimaru, and spend the night as one of those shitty lovebirds. God knows one of us must."
"Can you explain to me what happened?"
"Well, it turns out Jiraiya had a surprise of his own today."
"Which was….?"
"A whore hiding in our bathroom."
"What?! Tsunade, are you okay?"
"No," she said with a heavy heart, "but I will be."
"Let me come over."
"No! Besides, I'm not at my apartment. You'll only find Jiraiya there."
"More reason for me to come over."
"It's futile. There's no point ruining the best thing you're about to do in your life with my misery. Seriously, don't do anything on my behalf."
There was hesitation in the other line. "Alright…."
"I'll see you soon, okay?"
"Yeah… Hey, Tsuna…"
"Hm?"
"I love you."
She smiled. "I love you, too. Now go get yourself a fiancé."
He chuckled. "I will."
Tsunade threw her phone back into her purse when their conversation ended. She didn't have anywhere else to go for the night except for that place. She frequented the hotel bar on Fridays with her colleagues whenever she could because of their TGIF deals. Seeing that she needed a place to sleep and drink her heart out, she didn't have a better second option to kill two birds with one stone.
After everything that has transpired, she needed more than a glass of wine. She was going to need a bottle…. or two.
Tsunade settled into a comfy stool and placed her purse on the polished countertop. She leaned over, exerted, as the sharply dressed and attentive barman stepped up. At first, she was surprised to see that he wasn't the regular barman she was used to seeing, but she remembered that it wasn't Friday – and that she shouldn't care.
"Good evening, ma'am," he greeted with a small smile.
Is it really a good evening? she wanted to say but she bit her tongue back. There was no point in wallowing in something she couldn't control, and telling this bartender her fucked up love life wasn't going to magically mend her problems. The best thing she could do is live with the consequences Jiraiya caused. And the best medication to numb her pain was alcohol.
It was always alcohol.
"I'll have a glass of Pinot Noir."
"Certainly," he dipped his head slightly and excused himself.
Tsunade rested her cheek on the palm of her hand and sighed exasperatedly. Being in a bar under an opulent building, lavished with decorations, made her feel conspicuous, especially when she was surrounded by people in dresses and suits. Meanwhile, here she was, dressed in nothing but a trench coat to cover her dignity. Thankfully the hem of her coat just cut above her knees – that was enough to cover up the lingerie she had underneath.
She looked over her shoulder to see if she has caught anyone's attention. Surely enough, she saw an older man practically leering at her, five tables down. By the way his chair was intimately positioned next to his female companion, Tsunade could tell that he was with his signification other. And yet, there he was, openly directing his attention at her as he mentally undressed her. He was probably curious if she had a tiny black number under her coat or if she was scandalous enough to be wearing lingerie. He'll have to keep wondering because she was not interested in indulging him.
Her eyes wandered up to the excessively expensive crystal chandeliers which hung from the ceiling of the bar. Each crystal embodied a hexagonal prism cut which perfectly captured and reflected the soft, warm glow of the ambience of the room. Vintage red leather chairs complemented the deep, mahogany tables that housed a small antique lamp which amplified the sumptuous environment. The slow burn of autumnal-scented candles that were sparsely dispersed throughout the bar infused the air with a wealthy extravagance that felt like a warm embrace to her fatigued body.
"Here you are, ma'am." He slid her drink over to her on a napkin. "The gentleman over there paid for your drink."
Tsunade followed the direction of the blond bartender's finger and made eyes with a young man with dark features. Reciprocating his kind gesture, she raised her drink at him with a small smile of gratitude. Hopefully he wouldn't interpret this as an opportunity to slide over to the vacant seat next to her because he wasn't her type. Thankfully he made no indication of moving from his seat, but his stare was filled with intent and his mischievous smirk was disgustingly transparent. If he was trying to eye-fuck her then he would have to do better than buying her a glass of wine.
She swirled her drink around in its glass, watching the deep red liquid slosh from rim to rim as she wondered how she could relieve herself from the frustration she was currently burdened with. She was a single woman now and she was free to do whatever she wanted without having to ask for Jiraiya's approval.
But what did she want to do?
She paused as soon as her lips touched the edge of the glass when she saw his reflection in the bevelled mirror at the back of the bar. The soft glow of the table lamps created shadows around his perfect bone structure, creating an alluring and mysterious aura around him as he approached closer to the bar. His hair was parted slightly in the middle and long strands of silver hair fell on his face, obscuring his beauty under the golden light. Tsunade spotted the beauty mark just under his lips as he smiled softly.
"Hey, Shī," he casually greeted. His voice was deeper and richer than she envisioned. "What time is my gig?"
Shī, the bartender who served her earlier, broke out of his stoic persona and palmed his face in exasperation. "You're always so forgetful about your gigs." He pulled out a tablet from underneath the bar and skimmed through their schedule until he saw his name. "You're on in five minutes, Kakashi."
Tsunade perked up. Kakashi? That was an interesting name. Although, she wouldn't pen someone with such refined features as him to be a scarecrow. He was nothing like his namesake. She bit her lower lip as she tried to surreptitiously look at him without arousing notice. He was donned in a tailored black and white suit with a complementary waistcoat underneath.
As her eyes moved up from his shoes – she doesn't know what possessed her to look down that low – she realised that she had blown her cover of looking uninterested. By the time she gazed back up, she found him looking at her. His lips curled into a playful smirk before he broke eye contact, and he downed a shot of tequila the bartender passed over.
Her eyes followed his movements until he stopped at the piano in the corner of the room. Despite being in the dimmest part of the room, the moment he opened the fallboard of the piano and ran his delicate fingers along the ivory keys, he had everyone's attention. Those who couldn't see him quite as well shifted in their seats to bathe in his presence. A soft spotlight centred on him and the piano as he proceeded to sit down in an upright position. After flexing his fingers, they glided from note to note, filling the room with music that was gentle and sensual it almost moved Tsunade's heart.
The light bounced from the polished black canvas of his piano, creating an ethereal glow around him. The piano shimmered like the stars in the night sky, and he was the moon amidst it all. His silver hair cloaked his face, protecting his identity from those who dare pry. He looked saintly under the soft light, but the sharpness of his smirk was anything but. He could have been an archetype for a wolf in sheep's clothing and she wouldn't mind.
She wanted to be devoured.
Each movement he made was calculated and precise. Nothing was wasted. He skillfully navigated the crowd with his music, playing with deliberation and passion. Gentle strokes of his fingers caused the bass strings to vibrate and meld together to form the smoothest sound she has ever heard. The melancholic nature of his music made her wistful of her lover, but she was quick to push those desires down with her wine.
She watched the pianist along with a dozen other people. But his gaze only met one person in the entire room. Her. Every now and then, she would catch him looking her way, scanning her from head to toe. The thrill of lust ebbed and dared her to swivel her chair towards him so he could get a better look at her silhouette. Her left leg was crossed over her right, causing the hem of her coat to rise a little higher so he could see the lace detail of her stocking. As expected, his eyes lingered exactly where she wanted – and she shuddered.
"Is everybody having a good evening?" he asked through the microphone. His low, husky voice sounded like liquid gold to her ears. He oozed seduction, confidence, and masculinity unlike she's seen in a man. He was like a panther – smooth and cunning. "Good," he said after receiving a few cheers. "Tonight is still young. Enjoy it and let the night take you where you least expect it to."
His eyes were staring straight into hers. Cold onyx to molten gold. A juxtaposition with a perfect fit.
Knowing that those words were meant for her sent shivers down her spine.
She hadn't realised how late it was and by the time she did, it was too late to do anything about it. Her fourth glass of wine was half empty when he finished his stellar performance. After soaking in the polite praises from the crowd, he stepped out of the spotlight and melded in with the low-lit ambience the room was enshrouded with. Their eyes met again in another round of stalemate. This time, she didn't think of yielding. She wanted to watch him melt under her gaze, though he wasn't that easy.
But it was enough to captivate him – and that was a win in her books. He leaned one elbow on the bar and bent closer to her. "Mind if I buy you a drink?"
She smiled. "After your performance, I think I should be the one buying you a drink."
"Did you enjoy it?"
"Mhm, very much so." She took her card out of her purse. "So let me buy you a drink as a thank you."
"As much as I'd love to have a beautiful woman buy me a drink, I'll have to refuse. It's terrible etiquette for the host to be served by their guest."
"That's a bunch of bullshit you just pulled out of your charismatic ass, isn't it?"
Kakashi smiled a boyish smile that showed his perfectly aligned teeth as he laughed. Tsunade had never been so enamoured with a man at first sight before, but it was hard not to feel infatuated with a man who sported a charming allure as well as he did.
Tsunade caught him gazing a little too long at the exposed slither of her thigh again. His eyes slowly raked up her body, almost appraisingly, and he did it in such an open manner that she felt her cheeks burn red. The hem of her coat had ridden up even more since she tried to entice him from afar, now revealing her suspenders. With a casual wiggle of her bottom, she shimmied her coat back down to prevent him from staring even more. It wasn't that she didn't like gaining his attention, but it has been too easy for him. And she wanted to tease him.
"You like to stare, don't you?" she said, taking a sip of her wine.
"Just as much as you like me staring at you." He had said it so matter-of-fact that she didn't think she could refute the statement without sounding like a liar. Smoothly, he settled on the seat beside her and brushed her kneecaps with his as he turned his chair slightly to face her. "Kakashi Hatake," he introduced, extending his hand out to her.
"Tsunade," she replied, returning his gesture in kind as she loosely shook his equally delicate hand.
His thumb smoothly stroked over the back of her hand before pulling away after their brief exchange. Normally, such an exchange would go unnoticed by her but with the combination of a tumultuous breakup episode and four – soon five – glasses of wine, the skin he had touched tingled. The prerequisite elements of having a one-night stand have now coalesced before her, and the mixture of chemicals in her body only made it harder to conceal the flutter she was feeling in her stomach.
"Alright, Tsunade-with-no-surname, what is a beautiful woman like you doing in a hotel bar like this without a lover? You're supposed to be in one of those lush seats enjoying the night, not here drinking your woes away."
She chuckled as the delicate flush of her cheeks deepened. "Do these pickup lines work for you?"
A small quirk in the corner of his mouth surfaced. "It's not a pick-up line, but an observation."
"And do you make a lot of that?" she drawled before clarifying. "Observations, I mean."
"I make a few."
"Do you have any more of me?"
"A couple." Kakashi was intentionally vague to lure her in, she knew that. "The first observation I made when I entered this room was with the way you're dressed – or underdressed. You must have been on your way to surprise someone, but you were met with disappointing news."
"Bingo," she confirmed, swigging the last few centimetres of wine she had left. "My boyfriend of five years was screwing his college student in our bed."
The look on his face told her that that wasn't in his observations at all. It gave her an ounce of satisfaction to see a dumbfounded look on his face because that's what her expression must have been like at first before it crumpled into an unbridled rage.
"I'm –"
"Don't say you're sorry," Tsunade sharply interjected. "I've heard enough half-hearted apologies for one day. You're not sorry because if that hadn't happened then I wouldn't be here, and you wouldn't have the chance to woo me."
"You're right, I'm not sorry about me meeting you. But I am about how you got here; no one deserves to be cheated on."
Tsunade detected enough emotion in his voice to deem it genuine. "Thank you," she whispered, half-smiling.
Before she could order another glass, Kakashi waved Shī over. "Manhattan with a twist. My friend will have a –" he looked back at her, waiting.
"Just another glass."
In a lithe set of motions, the blonde bartender collected her glass and began executing their order. As they watched the man being to pour the whiskey, sweet vermouth, and bitters into the cocktail shaker in comfortable silence, her phone started vibrating on her lap. After confirming that the caller was Jiraiya, she rejected it with a deflated sigh. Her companion looked at her in silent inquiry.
"It's my boy– ex-boyfriend. He's been blowing up my phone since I left the apartment."
"Is he the type to dote?"
"He's protective over me, yes." Tsunade took a sip of her wine, relishing the dull ache that came with the smooth liquor. "He's not the type to start fights whenever somebody hit on me, but he does mark his territory in covert ways. It's not enough to scream 'jealous boyfriend' but it's enough to deter other men."
"In what way would he mark you?"
"Love bites. Jewellery – like this one I'm wearing right now." She gestured to her chest and touched the fine set of diamonds that shimmered under the golden light. "He loved adorning me with lavish items because it nursed his ego. Jiraiya always wants the best in everything – his clothes, his car, his watches, and me. He wanted the best version of me and spoiling me was one of his methods of gaining a fraction of his imagination."
"Sounds like a narcissist."
"He takes pride in a lot of things," Tsunade corrected, far too quickly and naturally that she hated herself. She couldn't swallow her grimace fast enough for it to go unnoticed by her companion. "It's a force of habit."
"It gets easier when you stop fighting yourself. Because right now, your love for him is fighting the growing disdain festering in your wounded heart."
Curious, Tsunade leaned in close until their elbows were touching. He gazed at her upon contact, and his eyes twinkled at their new proximity. "Have you ever been cheated on?"
"Once."
"How did you cope?"
With a saddened smile, he answered pitifully, "I didn't."
Tsunade frowned. "What do you mean?"
"I let it consume me until there was nothing left. Until I could look at her as if she were a stranger on the street – complete detachment."
"Did you not wish to inflict the same pain on her?"
He shook his head. "My method was death by a thousand cuts. It's far crueller to feel nothing for a person you once felt everything for." Kakashi then added, "It's not easy to kill a part of yourself so don't burden yourself with this."
"I have no intention of doing so, don't worry," Tsunade reassured. "That's your catharsis but it isn't mine."
"And what is yours?"
Tsunade smirked. "Getting even. I want to hurt him the same way he hurt me, so I don't walk away from this relationship feeling like the loser."
"Sounds like a risky gamble," he noted.
"I like taking my chances." In a lithe motion, as if she has practised it a thousand times, Tsunade fluttered her eyelashes up at him as her lips formed a playful smirk. "Do you like gambling, Kakashi?"
"It depends on what I'm gambling for," he replied. "I only take calculated risks."
She nodded, agreeing. "A shrewd man who only cares about the bigger picture."
"It keeps me from acting recklessly."
"Don't you tire from sticking to the dotted lines constantly?" she asked, finishing her final glass of wine.
Slowly, she tested the waters and playfully skimmed the pointed edge of her designer heel along his calf. As expected, his composure remained unchanged but she knew she was untangling his persona, little by little. A tiny, wicked smile surfaced on the edge of his lips.
Kakashi slid his hand over hers on the bar and encircled his fingers around her wrist. He leaned in close until their lips were mere centimetres away. Her eyes followed the trail of his gaze, knowing his eyes had flicked down to her lips. Her breath was unsteady, and the beat of her heart thumped wildly. Quietly he asked, "Am I part of your gamble?"
Feigning meekness, she tilted her face slightly to the side. "Do you want to be?"
"What's in it for me?"
Instead of replying with words, she decided to provoke a more visceral response from him. She took his spare hand and guided it on her inner thigh. She felt him shudder at the feeling of her soft skin, and she saw the final seams of his composure come undone as he sensually stroked upwards until his hand disappeared under her coat. She bit her lower lip when he grabbed her thigh, fingers sinking into her supple skin.
"Your pulse is extraordinary," he remarked, gazing back at her dainty wrist that was cradled by his hand. "Have you ever had a one-night stand before?"
Tsunade wetted her lips before she spoke. "Never before."
"And you're sure about—"
"If I didn't have an iota of desire to fuck you, Kakashi, we wouldn't be having this discussion right now. Similarly, if you didn't want to bed me, you wouldn't have approached me. You have a handful of admirers in the crowd, surely you could have your selection tonight. Yet here you are. With me. And me with you. Isn't it only natural for two attractive individuals to want to fuck each other?"
"You make it sound so crass."
"Then what would you call it – 'lovemaking'?" she sneered. "We don't need to kid ourselves into thinking this is more than a physical transaction."
He laughed. "I suppose not."
Tsunade sealed the gap between them and kissed him on his beauty mark, alluring him to tilt his head her way to kiss her back. But she pulled away when he was close enough. "I'm staying on the 20th floor, the corner penthouse suite. If you're interested, knock on my door twice. But don't keep me waiting for too long, because I'm not a patient woman."
After paying her bill, she slipped off the chair and sauntered out of the bar, causing a handful of individuals to turn their heads to catch a glimpse of her before she disappeared.
As Tsunade waited for the elevator to take her up to the private floor, she concentrated on the warmth that emanated from where Kakashi touched her. The sensation lingered and caused longing. As much as she wanted to ignore it, she began to crave for those fingers to run along her body and sink into her flesh. She wanted Kakashi to grip her thighs as he pushed them apart. She wanted to feel him inside her –
Ding!
Tsunade stepped into the empty elevator. If worse comes to worst, she'll have to satisfy her own cravings tonight. She knew her body well enough to know that the night won't end in disappointment, but despondency hung over her at the thought of being alone tonight. Her phone buzzed in her pocket.
It was Orochimaru.
Orochi: He said yes!
Tsunade smiled as she congratulated the couple. Upon sending her message, the elevator doors opened to the penthouse floor. She reached for her keycard and hurried over to her room. As she approached the bend in the corridor, she saw a familiar silhouette waiting for her.
He smiled. "I was beginning to wonder when you'll come up."
"How did you…?"
"There's an elevator in the corner reserved for individuals who have booked a penthouse suite." He revealed his card before he slowly approached her. "I also don't like waiting, Tsunade. But you left too soon for me to tell you that."
"You didn't seem decided on what you wanted."
Kakashi pushed himself off the wall and approached her, placing his hands on her waist to pull her in. "I knew what I wanted the moment I saw you. I wanted to make sure you also desired me." He leaned down slowly and ghostly skimmed his lips against hers, testing.
"You really know what to say. Do you do this often?"
"You're the first."
Bullshit. And yet, it didn't deter Tsunade from tracing the contours of his lithe muscles through his dress shirt.
"Tell me what you want," she whispered.
Tell me you desire me. That you want nothing more but to fuck me right now.
"You," he answered with conviction. "Your body. Your skin. I want all of you." The words rolled off his tongue like sweet droplets from a forbidden fruit. His voice was so deep, so sensual, so smooth, it reminded her of the finest silk she has draped over her body.
Their lips finally found each other, and Tsunade sighed at the softness of his against her own. He kissed slowly, sensually, and he allowed her to dictate the direction of their passion. Tsunade's hands found the lapels of his glazer and pulled him closer, as she opened her mouth to allow him to slide his tongue in. Teasingly, she sucked on his tongue and pulled him into a deeper kiss. His playful grin tempered her lust and made her chuckle.
"Yours or mine?" Kakashi asked, breathlessly.
"Mine."
There was nothing sweeter than buying the most luxurious room in the hotel with her boyfriend's credit card to fuck a handsome stranger in it.