You Kept Your Promise (Sequel to Jade And Onyx)

Chapter Twenty-Nine: The Girls

"Right," I nodded and filled in the gaps. "Basically he and this girl agreed to marry each other to benefit their parents's businesses. This arrangement would not only benefit the Uchiha family business, but also your family's, Hinata."

"My family?" She looked puzzled. "Is it because our ties to the Uchiha's business are close?"

I nodded. "Right. Keep going, Ino."

"So what Sakura told me is that Sasuke is planning on annulling the engagement," she said.

"How is he going to do that?" Tenten asked.

"Maybe because it's just an engagement," Carolyn interjected. "Since they haven't gotten married, there shouldn't be any contract between the businesses yet."

"He did mention something about that," I agreed.

"He's going to talk to the girl tomorrow over dinner or something like that. They don't have any romantic feelings for each other, so if she isn't a dumbass, she'll agree to break it off," Ino finished.

"What happens if she doesn't?" Hinata asked.

"Why wouldn't she?" Carolyn took a swig of her water.

"Well, it's her family's business too, it might put it in jeopardy."

"Sasuke's thought about that," I cut in before I could get too anxious. "There's other less antiquated ways besides an arranged marriage to join businesses. And anyway, her being married to him wouldn't really do much good since he doesn't plan on taking part in the business."

"He doesn't?" Ino asked me.

I shook my head. "His family is gone all the time, it's really time consuming. He wants to have a normal life."

Everyone suddenly looked put out at that. I guess they realized that even with all the perks Sasuke seemed to have, there were still bad sides to the situation. Everyone has that though, so this is a PSA to check on all of your friends, even the ones that look fine. If our friends hadn't done that for Sasuke and each other then who knows where we'd be by now. The amount of love we have for each other keeps us tightly knit. I'd compare it to a family, but I don't really care much for incest since we all ended up dating each other.

"Anyway," I continued. "There really isn't much to the story so sorry if you expected more juicy details."

"Well what about the time Ino caught you and Sasuke leaving your house in the morning?" Tenten asked. "Did you...you know..."

"For the last time," I whined. "We didn't sleep with each other! I may be tearing an engagement apart but at least I don't give into carnal pleasures!"

"Wow, did you eat a dictionary for breakfast?" Tenten asked.

Before I could come up with a lame rebuttal, Carolyn interrupted us.

"Do you want to do that? I mean... sleep with him?"

I paused, trying to control the embarrassment of talking about such a personal subject. And of thinking of him in that way.

I laughed nervously. "Well, when we dated in high school we didn't have enough time to get there. And when I finished my education in Atlanta... I don't know. I dated some people, but I could never go there with them. The emotional connection wasn't there for me and I didn't want to go that far with someone I didn't feel anything strong for."

"So you've never had casual sex?" Ino asked.

"No," I blushed. "Have you?"

To my surprise, she nodded.

"No one really knows this, but most of our friend group separated to different colleges in different cities before we found each other again. Shikamaru and I were far away, and broke up for a while," she told us.

"I think it was around a year or two we weren't together. I met some guys in college at parties or through dating apps, and we'd have a one night stand. It was only maybe 3 or 4 times, but it wasn't too bad. It just wasn't the same, so I understand you a bit."

"Wow," I said.

"Well," Tenten leaned back. "Can't say I'm not surprised."

"Hey!" Ino protested causing everyone to giggle.

"What did Shikamaru do during that time?" Hinata asked her.

Ino shrugged. "He dated someone else for a while, obviously it didn't work out."

"You're so cute when you're jealous," I teased her.

"I'm not jealous," she huffed. "Anyway, doesn't anyone else have any scandalous stories?"

"I think we're missing the point here," Carolyn interjected. "Sakura never answered my question."

"Huh?"

"Do you want to do that with Sasuke?" She asked again.

Everyone turned to look at me.

I didn't know what was more embarrassing. The fact that I was being asked such a personal question or the fact that I didn't even have to deliberate. I knew the answer already without having to think about it.

"No one ever felt right for me except him. We made some mistakes but I couldn't imagine life without his presence in it anymore. I did that for five years, and it felt unfulfilling," I smiled. "I love him, and I do want to. But I also want to do everything with him, not just that. I can see a future with him, and that's the most important thing to me."

"You love him? Already?" Ino squinted.

I nodded. "It's not like it was a sudden thing. I've spent all these years, a huge portion of my life from before and after I moved, pining for him, missing him subconsciously. I thought I was okay, but seeing him again brought everything back."

"And the fact that he's willing to do all of this for you..." Hinata trailed.

It was silent for a while, everyone seemed to be mulling over my situation. I'm not sure how they think it's so interesting. From an outsider's perspective the entire thing must seem like a mess that could've easily been solved through communication.

The silence was broken by Carolyn.

"Make sure to let me know about the wedding ahead of time."