•••
Sakura woke up the next morning, not wanting to get up. Her body felt tired. She wanted to sleep again until she remembered everything last night, plus, Sasuke was not beside her anymore. Was it all a dream? Of course not, dummy. She was still naked, with only sheets covering her chest all the way down. She felt sore. Her lips, her everything, and down below was probably the most sore of them all. They did it more than once last night as far as she could remember. Sakura blushed at the memory last night. Naked Sasuke. She wants more of that. She bit her lip at the thought.
"Penny for your thoughts?" Sasuke grinned. He just came out of the shower, his hair was damp and down so he looked different, he smells like shower fresh and he looked too beautiful for a man.
"Nothing." Sakura tried not to look at him from head to toe. The raven sat on the bed in front of her as if examining her face. He didn't say a thing but he only tucked the hair on her face at the back of her ear.
A single knock on the door was heard before it immediately flew open.
"Mom!" Sasuke shouted.
"Oh my!" She immediately closed the door and shouted back, "I'm sorry, honey! I swear I didn't see someone naked at all-oh shoot" Mikoto laughed behind the door. "I brought Sakura some clothes she can wear. Come down soon. Breakfast is almost ready!"
"You should.. take a shower." Sasuke shrugged. Remembering how much he shot at her. I better buy some condoms if this keeps up.... Would it, though?
It didn't take so much time for Sakura to finish. Mikoto gave her a plain pastel lavender dress to wear. It looked beautiful, she could only assume this was one of her celebrity casual dresses. Sakura wasn't very fond of so many dresses but this looked cute like her favorite teal dress. They came down to the dining table shorfly after Itachi and Izumi who looked well rested.
"Good morning, everyone." Izumi greeted brightly.
"Ah finally. Everyone's here." Mikoto smiled, holding a pan and a spatula and putting the pancakes in order.
"I thought you have a photoshoot today, mom? You shouldn't tire yourself up." Itachi scolded.
"Nonsense. This'll be the first time this year for us to have breakfast together."
Indeed, everyone of their family was there. Sasuke's dad Fugaku was silently sipping his morning coffee while reading today's papers. The newly wed couple were beside each other, and Sasuke's mom was the happiest of them all. She had cooked several dishes for breakfast. Pancakes, eggs, bacons, sliced mixed fruits and some other dishes that looked delicious but Sakura had no idea what it was called. After last night, she might be able to finish all of it.
"So Sakura, were you able to sleep well?" Mikoto finally sat after her finishing touch at the dining table. Sakura blushed at this and shooed the inappropriate thoughts. "Yes, I didn't want to get up with that comfy bed you guys have," She laughed. "Ah. Figured. I know the two of you are cramped in that small apartment. It was as small as our kitchen. I keep telling Sasuke we have a better apartment nearby."
"Nope," Sasuke simply added.
"Mom, stop treating Sasuke like a child. He can live on his own unsupervised." Itachi chuckled, earning an eyeroll from their irritated mom.
"So Sakura, how long have you been with Sasuke?" Itachi suddenly asked, catching Sakura off guard.
"Uhm, I knew Sasuke at work, and uhh we started dating a couple of months ago," Sakura coughed.
"How'd you get along?" Itachi asked with a hint of humor in his question.
"Shut up, Itachi." Sasuke hissed.
"Where does your parents live?" Izumi asked, before sipping her cup of tea.
"They live in Hachijojima. I usually pay a visit one weekend in a month, but my schedule hasn't been cooperating."
"Oh! Wow. Believe it or not, we haven't had the chance to visit that place. If we get the chance, let's all go there together."
"Good idea, Izumi. I would love that." Mikoto added.
Over breakfast, they had more personal questions to Sakura, and she felt comfortable with them as the minutes go by. She wished she had more moments like this in her life, then maybe she won't be so afraid of growing old alone. Before breakfast ended, Izumi took the moment with a picture on her phone, which she immediately shared with Sakura as a remembrance for this day.
When breakfast was over, the newlyweds went home first, followed by Fugaku who was headed to the U-Corp main for a Saturday meeting and Mikoto was on her way to a magazine photoshoot.
Sakura and Sasuke were headed home too. On their way, silence was all over the car as Sasuke drove. They were alone again. Sakura swallowed and tried not to look obviously nervous.
"Hey," the raven finally said.
"Oh, sorry." Sakura was startled.
"You're totally spaced out."
"Yea, I-I know." the pinkette facepalmed.
"There's no avoiding what happened between us last night, Sakura. You can't ignore me for it."
"Who said I was ignoring you?"
"You kinda are."
"Whatever, Sasuke. I was just being.. professional."
"Professional, huh?" Sasuke smiled, it didn't show on his eyes though.
"No strings attached, right? I mean- that's okay. Really. We just- just had sex, that's all. We were in the heat of the moment. So no need to ignore each other." Who am I trying to convince here? Sakura bit her lip.
"If you say so." Sasuke said. After that, no more conversation was added, and the atmosphere seemed a bit heavier than usual.
They arrived at the apartment and Sakura was first to get out of the car. Sasuke rolled his windows down, "I'm going out. Do you have plans tonight?"
"Yes, I do." No, I don't. "I'll be meeting up with my friends later tonight. How about you?"
"I'll be meeting a friend. I might be home late."
Another friend with benefits?
"Alright, I won't hold you back."
"See you later."
Sakura watched Sasuke's car drive away until it was no longer visible before she headed back to the apartment. She took her phone and sent an SOS message to her three best friends. It was unusual for her to send an SOS so the three immediately agreed to meet up. The SOS was Ino's favorite when she's brokenhearted.
They all agreed to meet up at Ino's place. Sakura refused to use their apartment. It seems so gloomy to her. And what's up with her getting worked up when Sasuke said he was meeting up with someone? It's not like I care!
Sakura, Tenten and Hinata arrived at Ino's place before dusk. They all came with emergency chips and boba milkteas. The pinkette guaranteed them a very enjoyable story, which in fact, had been true as she told them every detail about the gathering last Friday night with supporting pictures in her phone. Like how Sakura was that night, the three were the same. They couldn't believe how they were ignorant of Sasuke's real status. He's deadly rich, his father owns the company they all work for and his mom is a super famous celebrity. Sakura promised Sasuke not to reveal these stuff to anyone, not even to her friends, but joke's on him because she promised her friends to tell everything first.
Sakura wasn't ready to tell them about the incident that night though.
"This is a total upgrade." Tenten was in awe. She loved buffets. "Who would've known, right? Sasuke looked like a typical sales guy who lives in a simple apartment living a simple and average life." Ino was surprised and Hinata was still speechless.
Sakura agreed. The three of them swore to keep it a secret and act normal around Sasuke if they get to encounter him again.
"By the way," Tenten said, "Sasori had been sending us messages."
"Same." Ino mentioned and Hinata just nodded.
"What did he say?" Sakura's heart skipped a beat.
"He's asking us how you were doing." Hinata recalled.
"Aside from that, he told me to tell you he'll be back to get you again. That asshole." Ino wasn't very fond of Sasori and she was very open about it even when Sakura and Sasori were still together.
"What did you all say?"
"I told him to get lost because you were already dating someone else." Tenten grinned.
It was true that Sakura broke up with Sasori. It was true that Sasori wasn't the best man for her, but knowing that Sasori had been trying to get her again, it makes Sakura remember all the good things they've been through and the good things he had done for her.
Sakura no longer spoke about the issue because she knows she'll be scolded again by her friends, reminding her about all the nasty things Sasori made her go through. But deep down, she knows she still miss him and the thought of getting back together with him was still kept as an option.
But she won't tell that to her friends. They wouldn't understand because they aren't stupid like her. She was always stupid when it comes to Sasori, after all.
There was no denying that she still loved Sasori, but for the mean time, she will set that aside. She will try not to be stupid this time.
Although it was still pretty early, Tenten and Hinata had to leave. Tenten has her karate lessons and Hinata was going to meet up with her boyfriend, Naruto. It was, after all, a girl code that one must always be present on an SOS.
Ino and Sakura were alone now in the blondie's room, eating chips and finishing their milkteas while some tv series run on their background but neither were paying attention to it. Sakura was still a bit frustrated, but she didn't know specifically why. Was it because Sasuke was meeting someone tonight? Hold your horses, Sakura. You don't even know if he'll be meeting up with a woman. So what if it was with a woman, though? Why would that matter? He could do whatever he wants. I am out of it.
Ino was a very observant person, it's hard for her to not miss a thing. She had noticed that Sakura had been distracted. "Why do I have this feeling that you're not telling something?" she said outloud with her intrusive and curious face, earning a nervous and guilty look on the pinkette's face.
"What? Nothing." Sakura lied. Ino was her first best friend. They were best friends for a year before they met Tenten and Hinata when they got hired at the U-Corp. Naturally, Ino had known her better.
"Stop lying and spill it." Her blonde friend crossed her arms. Sakura couldn't help it. It's as if she needs to spill the beans or else. So she did. She told Ino about the kiss in the garden, the conversation they had, and the hot mess they did last night.
Ino's jaw dropped when she was telling all of it. Then she had this stupid big grin after Sakura told her everything. "My, my." Ino fanned herself with her hand, as if it was hot. Sakura blushed. It was unlikely of her.
"To be honest, Sakura, I'm proud of you." The slutty Ino spoke. "Listen, you seemed sooo dedicated to Sasori before that we thought you worshipped him. I would've never thought you would be intimate with someone else at that point. But here you are, blooming from the remains of your hot sex with a hot guy who pretends to be your boyfriend." Ino laughed. "But Sakura, if you were serious about having no strings attached with him, then guard your heart. Sex is a great feeling, but it's not for the faint-hearted. Some do it purely for physical pleasure, but most would do it for both emotional stability and physical pleasure. If Sasuke does it for purely physical, I suggest you do the same."
"Ino, I'm not even sure if it'll happen again."
"Sakura, you live under the same roof, you lost control once, I'm sure you will lose it again. I'm just saying that if you happen to do it again - don't let your emotions go through. I don't want you hurt again."
"I won't."
After all, the sex they had was purely physical to her.
Or was it?
•••
It's been more than a month or two after Sakura had met Sasuke's parents. After that day, the pinkette had constant contact with both Izumi and Sasuke's mom, Mikoto. Mikoto is an actress with the screen name of Mikari. She also owns the "Miku's Ice cream" parlor where she had another branch near their apartment and where Sakura had first met her. Despite her business and career, she had always made time to talk to Sakura, they would usually talk how their day went and she would always ask Sakura how Sasuke was doing. Mikoto would tell her Sasuke's pet peeves, his favorite food, and more details about her son that could possibly help Sakura in the future or where Mikoto calls it "when you two get married-" stuff. The pinkette appreciated the gesture, but the more she gets close to Mikoto, the more guilty she felt. She doesn't have the heart to say the two of them weren't for each other because they were only pretending from the start.
When the days pass by, Sakura grew more and more comfortable with Sasuke. They would go home together now, they did groceries (Sasuke got better at it and he is now even more careful than Sakura was), they had been splitting the bill accordingly for the house and she was in charge of collecting the money, as if she was the wife. And even in the normal household, the two would sometimes get into disagreements. Sasuke doesn't like Sakura getting home late whenever she's out with her friends, which was reasonable because she's too drunk when she gets home. But despite all the misunderstanding and the disagreements, they would often make out as a sign of peace from both parties. It was all professional as Sakura would describe it. Yes, they sometimes make out - but sex was a different case. They never did it again. Sasuke had a better control, and it honestly frustrates Sakura, but she won't ever admit that. Again, they are professional actors and actresses of this so called relationship.
"Sakura? Sakura? Hello? Earth calling Sakura!" Tenten waved her hand in front of the pinkette's face. That's right, she was at work now at lunch time with her best friends.
"You seem so spaced out, Sakura. Are you okay?" Hinata was worried.
"Sorry. I was just thinking about.. things."
"Like what?" Hinata added.
"To be honest, I feel so guilty. I think Ms. Mikoto is growing fond of me and I just don't have the heart to tell her about me and her son." She sighed.
"Then stop it immediately, dummy." Ino crossed her arms. She had been worried too, but she would rather scold her friend than to whine about it. "Besides, wasn't the whole point of this pretend relationship was to shake Sasori off? He doesn't seem to be bothering you anymore, does he?"
Ino was right. That was the whole point of this. It was so Sasori can let Sakura go. Besides, the whole plan was somehow senseless because Sasori didn't even bother her that much. The last time they spoke was already months ago, saying he wouldn't let her go easily, but turns out that it was just one of his "phrases" to sweep off a girl's feet in an instant again. Sakura guessed Sasori didn't love her that much. It hurts to know it because she loved him a lot. His crazy side, his everything.
So why?
Why is she still playing pretend with Sasuke now? What was the whole point of this?
"Sakura, there's no point in continuing what you two are doing." Ino said. "and it scares me,"
"What scares you?"
"It scares me that you have this smitten look on your face." Ino bit her lip, Ino was the type of person that's barely serious, but this was one of those rare moments, "I just want to remind you again that this is just pretend."
"Could you be possibly be in love with him already?" Tenten asked.
Am I?
Sakura doesn't know. Sasori would light up in her mind, as if she wants to clarify things with him, but Sauke would also appear, not wanting him to go away. What does she really feel?
"I- I'll just talk to Sasuke first." Sakura dodged the question. "It might be a shock to him if I'd leave just like that, plus, I have... I already have plans with his family. Maybe after that family vacation, I could talk to him and make up a break up story with him that he can tell to his family when I leave."
Sakura was convinced with her plan. Go with the vacation and end the pretend relationship afterwards.
Yet deep down, something inside her doesn't want to let it all go.
Deep deep down, something inside her just doesn't want to let go of Sasuke.