Gambler of Feelings

Chapter Twenty Five

Sarada stayed up at night exchanging text messages with Boruto. They texted each other every day after their first date, though she'd preferred to avoid talking about her past on the next one. She had hoped the second date Boruto promised to her wouldn't be the last. All the romantic movies she watched ended after the happy endings. They didn't dig deeper into what happens after.

She was nervous, not knowing what to do with herself now. Boruto gave her a chance, but she felt restless thinking about his eventual response. He didn't respond to her message during Friday at all and she didn't know whether that silence was a good or bad omen. She gathered phone numbers of other club members as a distraction, though.

Ping!

When she heard her phone notification going off, Sarada immediately checked her messages to know if it was a response from Boruto. She let out a sigh of relief after double-checking his response!

From: Boruto
To: Sarada

[Hey, I'm sorry for stalling back on my response, ya know? Are you free tomorrow?]

Maybe she was overreacting, but she always was on edge, anticipating what he'd do next. She read the message over and over, while pacing around her room and thinking about her schedule. Was she free tomorrow? Sarada ran to her desk and grabbed her calendar book. She went through her pages in it with incredible speed. Lunch with mom, quality time with papa, school, brief trip with Chō-Chō... Here it was! The only thing she had planned for tomorrow was going out to try treats that went nicely, along with a blend of black tea she liked, then getting some rest at home. Besides that, she left the rest of tomorrow's page empty.

From: Sarada
To: Boruto

[Don't apologise, it's fine. I don't have any plans for tomorrow. Why do you ask?]

From: Boruto
To: Sarada

[That's great, ya know! Would you like to go on a second date with me?]

Her heart was beating faster than before. She was sure her cheeks were warm and the thought of a second date actually happening filled her with indescribable joy. She longed to see him. Hear his voice and embrace him. It was scary how her mood was always shifting when Boruto was involved.

She pressed her fingers on her touchscreen keyboard, carefully typing what was weighing on her mind. Pausing, she wondered if it was really the right way to do it. Soon, she backtracked, erasing the text. All of it sounded like something she'd need to tell him in person. Would she be able to endure it, though?

From: Sarada
To: Boruto

[Of course! Just tell me the time and place.]

It wasn't the message she spent six minutes painfully crafting, but she lacked confidence. She'd already used most of it to confess. The rest of it expired after their first date. Regret of her bold statement to win Boruto over washed over her. She wasn't brave enough to act after such a declaration. How silly of her to do one without knowing how to follow through on it!

Was it selfish of her to want to be loved by him? Boruto was popular amongst their peers. He was always shining brightly in her eyes. That's why she envied the way he carried himself. Her envy started before she had fallen in love with him. There's no denying that she admired him a lot back then. Receiving a chance to be with him was surprising. A miracle of sorts. She hated to admit it, but she understood where his fangirls came from now, even if she was against their behaviour.

She held her phone like a precious treasure, waiting while her hopes went up. That he reciprocated her love.

From: Boruto
To: Sarada