Lovestruck || borusara

XXI.

She couldn't keep doing this.

It was unethical, it was inappropriate, and it was honestly mean. Sarada really needed to make a decision about how to proceed with her cover story, because the window of time between mind-numbing pleasure and soul-crushing guilt was growing smaller and smaller each time she spent the night in Boruto's arms.

She knew she could possibly avoid the guilt if she stopped sleeping with him, but Sarada already ruled that out as an option. She had come to learn that the way she craved him was hard to ignore and every time she gave in, the reward was a brief euphoria.

But Sarada also knew she couldn't live in this limbo for much longer. A decision had to be made. A cutting cover story that was sure to get people talking about the issue of athletes exploiting their fame or a fluff piece about track's golden boy. The former seemed so much more likely to garner the attention of The Konoha Times if she gave it the proper execution... but it would be at the cost of her relationship with Boruto.

"What are you thinking so hard about?" he whispered in the quiet dark of her bedroom. Their bare legs tangled together under her paisley sheets. His fingers gently combed a stray lock from her face and that familiar ugly feeling festered in her stomach like it did every time Boruto was sweet to her.

She didn't deserve his tender affections. Not with the secret she was keeping.

"It's nothing really," Sarada sighed.

Concerned blue eyes watched her for a moment, clearly unconvinced. But it seemed Boruto decided to let it go because he changed the subject with another question.

"Can I tell you something I've noticed about you?"

Her brow furrowed, unsure where he was taking this. "Uh, if it's a critique of my sexual performance I don't want to know."

Boruto snorted a laugh, "no, definitely no complaints there."

Her cheeks heated at his honesty. A sudden wave of shyness compelled her to bury her face into his chest to avoid his gaze. "Fine, say it," she mumbled against his skin.

"It's nothing bad," he said as his light laughter calmed. "I was just going to say, for a sports journalist... you don't seem to like sports that much."

She lifted her head with a humorous smile, relieved it was a harmless observation like that. "Oh yeah, not really."

"Then what are you doing working at a magazine like Athletics Illustrated?"

Sarada laid her head back down, allowing her fingers to trace along the contours of his muscled chest. "Um, well, I've always really wanted to be considered a serious journalist and cover important, consequential topics like global news, so, of course, The Konoha Times is my dream. But when I graduated from university they had just filled their team," she explained as she listened to the steady thrumming of his heart. "But Kaminarimon Publishing Company owns a whole host of magazines and there was an opportunity with Athletics Illustrated so I decided to pursue it, hoping that one day I would eventually be able to transfer."

Boruto nodded like the strategy made sense. "Well, maybe your cover story about me will get you the exposure you need to spark their interest."

"Yeah... maybe..." she whispered. Dark eyes clenched shut as if that would help her disappear from the awkward situation.

He squeezed her tight, obviously trying to comfort her, but she wasn't feeling insecure about her writing... no, she was feeling so devastatingly guilty that he still had such high hopes for her article when it very well could crush him.

*****

Was it bad that Sarada was confused why Boruto invited her to lunch? It wasn't like they didn't eat meals together, it was just usually dinner, so he could take her home afterward or breakfast after having woken up in his bed.