The Ardor of Every Day

9.

A couple of days passed by and work kept Naruto busy. He was exhausted and didn't even text any of his friends. He deliberately didn't text Sasuke. Spending some time alone, he thought a lot about what path he wanted their friendship to go. Even though he felt a sort of attraction towards Sasuke, he didn't know his feelings for sure. He didn't know how Sasuke felt either. Maybe Sasuke was just enjoying their friendship. Naruto didn't know much about him. He didn't want to get attached too quickly as things might go south in the future. For now, he wanted to build their friendship normally and wanted to avoid the tension that was always present in the room when they were together. Although he couldn't deny that being with Sasuke gave him a head rush.

It was 10 am when Naruto woke up. He didn't have work today, so he brushed his teeth, changed and got ready for the beach. It wasn't sunny today, it was more overcast and humid. The weather indicated that it might rain later. It had rained every day since he last saw Sasuke. He drove to the beach hoping it wouldn't start raining. When he reached, it was still dry but the clouds were starting to gather a little bit. He got ready, waxed his board and headed towards the waves. The ocean water looked darker as it reflected the sky. The waves were a bit more harsh than usual, but Naruto could handle it. He wasn't scared of the water, and he loved embracing nature however it came at him. The beach was less crowded, he could hear the waves crashing, the sound of seagulls, the lull when the wind took an intermission. It felt grounding but also filled him with adrenaline. He rode the waves for a while before he got tired of getting knocked down. He sat down and rested on the dry sand, slowly trying to build something to pass some time. When he was fulfilled with his experience, he went to his car, dried himself off, and changed back to his normal clothes. Before driving home, he grabbed a can of coffee from the vending machine as he hadn't had breakfast this morning. Sipping coffee and driving, he arrived home and went straight for a shower to get rid of the extra sand.

Since he could see himself spending the rest of his day indoors, he thought this might be the perfect opportunity to get that haircut. He had also given Sasuke some space, and it would be an appropriate time to see him again. He grabbed his phone with excitement and took a seat on his bed.

Naruto: Hey, are you free today?

He didn't expect a quick reply from Sasuke but his phone buzzed immediately.

Sasuke: Hi. Yes, it's my day off today.

Naruto: Can I come over for the haircut then?

Sasuke: Yeah ok, you can come in the evening.

Naruto: Ok, I'll come around 5 then.

Sasuke: Ok.

He was eager to see Sasuke, but also curious about how he lived. He'd finally get to see his house and maybe his room and get to know more about him in a way. He went downstairs for lunch, and also to tell his mom about the plan.

"Hey ma, what's for lunch?"

"I made curry buns, they're ready in the kitchen." She said, pausing her movie from the couch.

Naruto served himself a couple of curry buns and joined his mom.

"What are you watching?" Asked Naruto.

"This movie seemed interesting so I just put it on, it's called the Matrix."

"Oh I've heard of that, it's supposed to be very popular I think." Replied Naruto.

"Also um, I'll be going over to Sasuke's place in the evening. He's gonna give my hair a trim. I should be back for dinner."

"Ok ok have fun." His mom was too into the movie to say anything else.