CHAPTER SEVEN

Gaara was currently seated in one of the private booths of the newly opened club. The place was packed with the bourgeois and affluent of Suna, the loud thumping music threatened to split his head into two. Spoilt rich adults were making out in every corner, and the prevalence of expensive drugs had him regretting his decision to attend the event. Scenes like this weren't his usual preference.

Taking another sip of the alcohol in his glass, he half-listened to the person in front of him babbling away. His gaze frequently drifted to the entrance of the club. Lately, he had been getting distracted by what he'd call his latest obsession — the only reason he came to this party, even though he'd hate to admit it.

Gaara was an honest person, even with himself. He had to acknowledge that he was somewhat enamoured by the pink-haired girl who had successfully invaded his thoughts from all corners. He couldn't stop thinking about her. So when Temari mentioned that she'd be coming with Sakura, he knew he'd be here but why? He asked himself, was it curiosity or perhaps interest?

He had no reason to be so interested in her. From the vague memories he could remember about her from his dark anger-filled genin days, she was weak, no special bloodline or any profound powers to interest him compared to her teammates in the legendary team 7 but she worked hard, she had to, and it worked in her favor; she was now a renowned medical ninja and one of the strongest he'd say. Of course, anyone with eyes back then could decipher the love triangle between the popular team 7.

Although a lot of things have changed since those dreaded days, for one, Naruto was now in love with Hinata. Gaara wondered what the situation was between the Uchiha and Sakura. It's been a while since he had been accepted back into Konoha, although he heard news that the Uchiha always travelled and never actually stayed in Konoha; surely for Sakura, that would be a hard relationship to maintain.

But then again, even with her undeniable beauty and charm that could attract any guy, she always exuded an aura of unattainability. It seemed as though her heart and attention were exclusively reserved for the Uchiha. But again, a lot has changed now and perhaps her feelings too. Why did the possibility that she could still be in love with him make him uneasy? Why is her love life of any business to him?

The person in front of him seemed to notice he wasn't as invested in the conversation because they stopped talking.

Finally. His head was beginning to hurt from the combination of the loud music and her constant yapping.

"Gaara-san?"

His eyes finally fleeted back from the entrance to look blankly at her face which was flushed probably from having a little too much to drink, she seemed content with his eyes back on her as she just continued on what she was saying.

"I was saying …we should go somewhere more private, don't you think?" she whispered, pressing her chest against the table, giving him a good view of her cleavage in the low-cut dress to emphasize her point. His eyes shifted from her exposed cleavage to her face, his expression seemingly contemplative before shifting back to disinterest.

Gaara sighed; he wasn't drunk enough for this. He thought about just letting her down bluntly; she had been a little clingy as of late and seemed to think that whatever they had was something more than physical. She threw herself at him, and he simply indulged because why not. Initially, she served as a temporary distraction, but now he found himself bored with her.

He'd admit he made a huge mistake mixing business with pleasure, but really there was only so much a warm blooded male could resist. He'd put half the blame in making that decision on his severe boredom, sitting in a desk all day signing and reading though huge piles of papers isn't exactly what you'd call a fulfilling life.

It didn't seem in his best interest to tell her all of that, though. Her bursting out of the club crying would certainly not look good for him, and he wanted to avoid being gossip material in Suna by all means. But he had to let her know their little trysts would have to come to an end; she was getting too attached, and it wasn't good for their professional relationship.

"Matsuri"… he started—before being interrupted by a male voice he recognized immediately.

"Yo, Gaara…" the voice called out. "Hey, Matsuri, mind if I borrow the Kazekage for a minute?"

Matsuri glared in response at being interrupted by Keita but excused them regardless with a childish huff.

"I'll never understand what you see in her," Keita said as he sat in the seat left by Matsuri, not expecting any response.

"There is nothing between us," Gaara responded blithely.

"Maybe you should tell her that, then," Keita murmured to himself. But the twitch in Gaara's eyebrows told him Gaara heard him; Keita only smirked in return.

"You rarely come to these; is there something special happening today?" said Keita as he grabbed Gaara's bottle and poured himself a drink, ignoring the glare Gaara was giving him.

"Maybe."

"Nothing to do with pink hair, I hope," Keita muttered nonchalantly.

Gaara narrowed his eyes dangerously at Keita. Damn him for being so perceptive. Also, what did he mean by that? Did he have something for Sakura? Before he could question Keita about that—

"Yo," another voice blared. Gaara let out a groan at the annoying voice of his brother. Kankuro, and Keita together was not a good combination. His hopes of just sitting and observing had obviously shattered. Maybe he should just leave, but as soon as the thought got into his head, he suddenly heard Kankuro whistle from where he was standing.

"Whew, would you look at that."

Gaara's eyes followed Kankuro's line of vision, and the sight before him almost had him choke on his drink. Gaara's eyes widened; her bubblegum pink hair was in a high ponytail, some were let down in waves that framed her face perfectly. The little satin red dress she wore outlined her perfect curves, and when she turned to whisper something to Temari, if it was possible, his eyes widened further. What the hell is that dress, he thought to himself; her back was bare except for the criss-cross strings. She was flawless. He usually sees her in her ninja wear and regular hairstyle, so this was a big change, one he very much enjoyed seeing.

Gaara looked around and realized he wasn't the only one that noticed her, wouldn't. His fists tightened involuntarily against his glass cup, as a surge of frustration and possessiveness washed over him. He felt that almost violent rage again to crush the eyes of these men looking at her so hungrily. He noticed Keita was also looking in that direction too, and his jaw tightened. It was difficult but he averted his gaze from her and took another swig of his drink to calm down. What the fuck was wrong with his emotions these days, he pondered.

Meanwhile, Keita was busy salivating at the sight of his blonde bombshell that just stepped into the club. He couldn't wait till they would be alone later.

"People are staring so much, Temari," Sakura whispered, her nerves kicking in as the attention became overwhelming. She didn't know how to walk anymore in the midst of all the attention.

Temari guffawed loudly over the music. "That's because we're hot! C'mon, let's get you loosened up." Temari then grabbed her and dragged her toward the bar section.

"Hey bartender, get us the Suna special," Temari ordered with a grin.

"You got it, coming right up!" the cute bartender replied.

Sakura, warily eyeing the concoction, asked, "What is the Suna special?"

"You'll see," Temari replied with a sly smile playing on her lips.

The bartender cheerfully served their orders, and Sakura cautiously eyed the cup before gulping the whole thing down. She was here to have fun, and fun she shall have.

"More!" she called out to the bartender, who gladly filled her cup again and again. She felt positively buzzed already. Looking up at Temari, who watched her with worried eyes, Sakura asked, "What?"

"Nothing, I'm just shocked. One cup of that, and I'm usually down, and you've downed three already."

"Oh," she shrugged. "I hold my liquor pretty well."

"Yeah, but don't drink too much after this... that shit is pretty strong," Temari warned before ordering something for herself.

The drink really did its job because before she knew it, Sakura was the one dragging Temari to the dance floor. After dancing with Temari and a couple of hot guys who asked her to dance, she had three more drinks, completely ignoring Temari's warning. She wasn't a lightweight, so she wasn't bothered. She kind of lost sight of Temari in the middle of everything, which would normally be a warning sign, but she having so much fun to stop now.

She was currently dancing with a cute guy who had bought a drink for her. He was really sweet when they talked a little at the bar, so she let him touch her when they danced and even grinded on him, only shaking her head and stopping his hands when they went too far south. Soon enough, dizziness set in, and she was fairly certain she needed a break. Trying to look for Temari, she couldn't find her through the crowd on the dance floor, her eyes getting blurry. She said a sloppy goodbye to her cute dance partner and attempted to quietly slip off the dance floor. However, that proved to be unsuccessful as well because she was instantly gripped and pulled back roughly.

"What the…"

"Hey, I didn't get a dance yet," a huge, unpleasant-looking man sneered lecherously at her.

"You, Let go of my arm right NOW!" Sakura said in between controlled breaths as she tried to get out of the man's hold, only to feel it tighten around her.

"What's the rush, babe? I just want a dance." The man leaned in close to take a whiff of her. "You're so fucking hot and cute," he whispered. Sakura shivered in disgust at the audacity of this gross man. She was so going to punch a hole in his head if he didn't let her go now, if she could just find her footing first. Okay, maybe she overdid the drinking a little bit. She had already tried boosting her metabolism, but it didn't seem to be working as fast as it usually did. It had to be the fault of whatever that first drink was. Well, a normal punch would do, although her eyes were blurry, and she wasn't sure of her aim. She prepared herself.

"Get lost," she heard a familiar voice behind her interrupt. The man took one look and let go immediately, scurrying off in fright.

"I had that under control…but thanks," Sakura slurred as she turned to face Gaara.

"I'm sure you did."

She didn't know if he was being sarcastic, but before she could retort, the DJ suddenly switched to an upbeat song that made the crowd go crazy and start jumping everywhere. Sakura giggled at the whole debacle. Suddenly everything was funny to her.

Gaara took one look at Sakura and knew then he had to get her home. She was swaying with every push and shove, leaving her here would be making her prey for all these men looking at her hungrily, probably waiting for her to get drunk all night. He cringed in contempt before grabbing her hand.

Gaara attempted to create a path through the pulsating crowd by pushing through, but even this was too much for him without the use of violence. The overwhelming scent of perfume and sweat clung to the air, amplifying the relentless thumping of the music that threatened to engulf his senses. Gaara held on to Sakura tightly as they finally got pushed to a darker corner of the club—a less crowded and dim area that was hard to see in, but people continued to lose themselves in the rhythm, the cacophony of laughter and bass reverberating against the walls.

Gaara heaved deeply to contain his annoyance. Every brush of random against his skin had him clenching his jaws in annoyance, why the hell was it so fucking crowded. He continued to try to navigate a way out of the dance floor, Sakura a few feet behind him. His frustration kept mounting with each step and just as he teetered on the edge of frustration, Sakura yanked him back with unrestrained laughter.

Sakura's laughter resonated in Gaara's ears as she tugged him with such force that even she lost her balance, threatening to lose her steps. In a reflex, Gaara's arm snaked around her waist, pulling her close. The sudden collision of their bodies sent an unexpected jolt through him. For a moment, time seemed to pause, leaving them both momentarily breathless.

Sakura molded herself against Gaara, the rhythmic pulsing of the music echoing through their bodies. The warmth of her proximity sent a cascade of sensations through him—her soft curves fitting perfectly against the hard lines of his frame. After regaining his bearings, he peered down to reprimand her, to assert control over the situation. However, as his eyes locked with hers, her perfect doe eyes hazy from intoxication bore into him with a vulnerability that pierced through his stern resolve. The negative energy that had gripped him moments ago dissipated like smoke. She was undeniably adorable and obviously very drunk. He had to get her home. Where was Temari, anyway? This was supposed to be her job.

He started to pull away when Sakura seized him back into her again. If she kept doing that, he'd start having thoughts that he'd rather not entertain, especially with her inebriated state. As if he wasn't being tortured enough, she started effortlessly swinging her hips from side to side to the pulsating rhythm of the song, much to the disbelief of Gaara.

Her giggles reverberated through the club as she shouted, "C'mon, let's dance! I love this song!"

Dance? Dance?! A concept alien to Gaara, left his face twisted in sheer disbelief. He had never danced in his life and never even thought about trying it. Did this woman know the illegal statement she just made?

A part of him wanted to see more of this carefree, intoxicated version of Sakura. Anytime he saw her, she was always so put together and responsible. Naruto always sang praises about how skilled Sakura in holding her liquor. So, this was quite the surprise. The sensible and gentlemanly side of Gaara urged him to just take her home, to ensure her safety and well-being. The darker side of him, fueled by the dark, shukaku's primal instincts the part he kept hidden and often ignored sought to lose itself entirely in the intoxicating allure of the moment. However, he quickly quashed those impulses. Taking advantage of her in this vulnerable state was not an option.

Gaara's mental gears shifted into overdrive as Sakura suddenly looped her arms around his neck, drawing him into a proximity that left little room for rational thought. The DJ's switch to a more rhythmic tune added to the electrifying atmosphere. Despite the instinct to disentangle himself, Gaara's arms remained ensconced around her waist, and her rhythmic hip movements synchronized with the music.

All he could think of was that if he drifted his hand any lower he could probably get an armful of her soft ass, with her back bare albeit the criss-cross, he could feel her soft skin. Everything about her was soft and delicate, fuck he could feel blood pooling in his groin.

Despite the internal warning sirens, Gaara found himself ensnared in the spell of her supple flesh pressed against him. The rational part of him urged an immediate halt to this escalating situation, but an inexplicable force kept him tethered to her body.

"You're not dancing Gaara" she drawled pouting as she did , the action caused his gaze to descend to her lips momentarily captivated before he forcibly tore his eyes away from her lips to her eyes , for a fleeting moment he could swear he perceived a flicker of desire in her eyes.

Okay, that was it, the girl was a temptress.

"Sakura you're drunk, I have to get you home" he uttered, delicately untangling her hands from where they ensnared his neck, silently urging the blood to leave his groin.

"Ohh" she responded with a confused expression, her eyes dazed and unfocused, and her face painted with a flush that somehow enhanced her beauty. The temptation to pull her back and kiss her senseless threatened his resolve. Yeah for his own sanity they need to leave immediately before he did something stupid. Determinedly seizing her hands, he guided them both outside the club. In a swift motion, he activated his teleportation jutsu, whisking them away to the sanctuary of their home.

He kept it at the back of his mind that Temari was going to get an earful from him later, how could she leave her like that? But for now, he needed a cold shower and a medal for the level of self-control he practiced tonight.