Faceless Desire

Chapter 13- For The First Time

"Sir! Good morning!" Sakura flounces breathlessly into Sasuke's office. She intended to come in half an hour early to avoid running into Karin before she has a chance to speak to their boss, but she slept past her alarm and arrived just minutes before six.

He looks irritated with her, as he often does, "Good morning." He accepts his coffee with a short glance that Sakura understands is his own way of saying thank you.

The woman glances behind her to ensure the office door is still closed before leaning forward with her palms on the desk. She whispers, "About Friday night, can we-!" The door opens, and Sakura raises her voice in a panic, "-talk about your expectations?" Karin will surely believe they've been talking about work the whole time, right?

Sasuke's brow furrows, his eyes narrowing before dancing between his two assistants. He opens his mouth to respond, only for Sakura to cut him off with a face that begs for him to shut up, "Now's probably not the time to discuss my performance, is it? I'm sorry! Let's talk later!"

Karin smirks at the pinkette as she approaches, "I heard you two got into an accident. Things just fall apart when I'm gone, huh?"

Sakura scoffs, rolling her eyes while situating herself at her desk to check their emails for tasks that may need to be done first thing, "Of course. Thank you for gracing us with your presence. How was the trip?"

"Very educational! I met this woman who-" "I need to visit every worksite today. We need to leave immediately," their boss interrupts.

Karin nods, gathering her purse.

Sakura shoots to her feet. If she allows those two to be alone, they might talk about the weekend, and then Karin will find out Sakura slept over at Mr. Uchiha's house, and it'll be a huge deal. "Actually, can I go this time?" She wants to slap her forehead and sigh defeatedly when the others look at her like she's grown a second head.

"Uh, sure. Since you're so eager, I'll hold down the fort here today," Karin looks as confused as she probably is.

Sakura forces a bright smile, "Awesome. Thanks! I'll stay here tomorrow."

She follows Sasuke out of the office and into the elevator. They remain quiet until they're in his car, where she deems it safe to speak, "I needed to make sure you don't say anything to Karin about what happened."

The Uchiha man's gaze remains on the road. His voice is low and serious as it always is at work, "Are those the type of conversations you assume she and I have in your absence?"

This is exactly why Sakura is annoyed at herself for having a crush on him. He's just so cold and blunt. It gets on her last nerve.

She sighs, "Right," she averts her eyes out the window and watches the tall buildings as they drive by, "I'm sorry about this. I'm sure you'd rather not have me with you all day. I just wanted to make sure things aren't misunderstood."

Normally, she wouldn't expect Sasuke to respond because holding a conversation with him can sometimes be like pulling teeth, but today's different for some reason. He says, "Even if my weekend somehow came up, I doubt she'd see your spending the night as anything other than the convenience that it was."

"...What's that supposed to mean?" She mumbles, half-hoping he won't respond. Is he saying what she thinks he's saying? If so, that'll be like shooting her in the heart with an arrow, and not the cupid kind.

Things become business and only business once they arrive at the first worksite, and Sakura does her best not to dwell on the fact that Sasuke pretty much confirmed her theory that he could never see her as a woman.