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Yamanaka Ino, the owner of Konoha’s most popular flower shop, was decidedly in a sour mood this Tuesday evening. What started as a normal midweek day turned into a serious exercise in patience as the minutes ticked by with no sign of Haruno Sakura, her best friend.
It was moments like these that made Ino question her better judgement.
Last week they’d agreed on meeting up for drinks with some of Sakura’s friends, as Sakura wanted to introduce Ino to her boyfriend. While Ino was indeed too curious about the mysterious sexy professor Sakura was dating, it was outright embarrassing to be seated in a pub hogging an entire booth to herself while hoards of newcomers gave her dirty side-eyes.
No one was here yet. She’d checked and rechecked the time until they were over half an hour late and she was left doubting whether she was in the right place.
Blowing Sakura’s phone up didn’t help. Knowing her, there was probably some emergency at the hospital holding her back but that didn’t mean Ino couldn’t be salty about it.
“Excuse me …?”
Ino looked up at the source of the voice. And then up—woah, he was tall! “Yes?”
The man, rather handsome, and at least in his early-thirties, tilted his head. “Would you happen to be Ino?”
Taken-aback, Ino studied him more closely. Chestnut brown hair gathered in a loose bun at his nape, paired with dark caramel eyes and a jawline that could probably cut glass, Ino thought appreciatively. “Uh… Do I know you?”
He smiled. “I’m meeting up with Sakura and Kakashi ... I thought you definitely fit her description of Ino.”
Ino straightened in her seat, suddenly curious. “Ohh! Uh, yeah, I’m Ino, please have a seat.”
He slid into the seat in front of hers without further prompting, still smiling as he extended his hand across the table for Ino to take. “I’m Genma.”
Ino shook his hand. “Nice to meet you. Are you Sakura’s colleague?”
“Something like that. I work in pathology,” Genma unwound his dark blue scarf from around his neck and laid it next to him. “Sakura’s running a bit late. I tried to wait for her but she threatened bodily harm.”
Ino giggled, “That’s Sakura alright. Did she say how long she’ll need?”
“No, she was really busy. An ambulance came in with a little kid and he was all kinds of messed up.” Genma said, wincing. “Anyway, we’re sorry to keep you waiting, she’ll come with Kakashi later when she’s done. Can I get you a drink in the meantime?”
Ino’s throat was definitely dry after all the huffing and puffing she did as she waited on her company. “Beer would be nice, thanks.”
Genma got up once again and left for the bar. Ino couldn’t help but eye his rear as he walked away. He was nicely built, neither too lean nor too stocky. She liked his long-coat and leather shoes; it spoke of a man with a good taste for fashion and no one appreciated fashion like Ino.
He came back sometime later with two tall, frosty glasses garnished with salt, and placed one on the coaster in front of her.
“There you go,” he had a rather charming smile, “you know, I heard a lot about you from Sakura.”
Ino hummed quizzically around a big gulp of beer. She swallowed the bitter liquid and instantly felt a lot better. “Is that so?”
Mimicking Sakura, Ino assumed, Genma said in a higher-pitched tone, “She’s an absolute pain but you’ll love her! She has the most beautiful blond hair, but don’t tell her I said that or it’ll go to her big head! And she’s the best florist in town ... you own a flower shop, right? That’s really cool.”
Ino felt her cheeks flush in pleasure despite herself. “That forehead-girl surely likes to sing my praise. Thanks. It was my father’s before he retired.”
“Ah, Forehead-girl. So that’s where she gets that nickname,” Genma chuckled to himself. He took a deep sip from his beer, his head tilting back to give Ino a nice view of his throat as he swallowed.
He was a catch by all means, she mused as she leaned her cheek on her upturned palm. “So what else then did Forehead-girl tell you?”
“Hmmm … let’s see.” Genma set down his beer and fished a packet of cigarettes out of his inner coat pocket, “Do you mind?” he asked with a glance at her, to which he earned a headshake, “Cool, well—” he placed the cigarette between his teeth, talking around it as he lit a flame at the end. “She mostly talks about Kakashi what's-his-name these days.”
Genma drew in a deep drag. He exhaled a yellow-tinted cloud of smoke that dispersed fuzzily under the harsh lowlights of the pub, and leaned back in his seat, cigarette perched precariously between long fingers. “Apparently she met him at the library—who still goes to the library anyway?”
“Right?” Ino chimed with a giggle.
“And he helped her find the medical books section, all very classic-romance novel style,” Genma flicked the butt of his cigarette in the ashtray at the side of the table. “She then went ahead and explained what he looked like in very interesting details.”
Ino couldn’t help but burst into a fit of giggles, “Oh no, did you fall prey to her ever-eloquent spiels of pretty men and their sculpted asses?”
“Oh yes,” Genma nodded, nobly long-suffering. “I heard all about Kakashi’s beautiful dark eyes and wonderfully shaped ass. By the end of her speech, I indeed found myself wondering if a more beautiful man ever existed, and whether I should date that Kakashi-fella myself.”
Ino resorted to hiding her giggles behind the rim of her glass. The beer was doing a nice job of relaxing her, earlier indignation at getting stood up all but forgotten. “She’s always had it bad for dark-eyed boys.”
“Well by her account, he's anything but a boy. As old as me, she said, completely forgetting how she used to tease me by calling me an old man,” Genma divulged. His beer supply was dwindling lower by the minute, and he swirled the remnants at the bottom, looking almost reminiscent.
Curiosity niggled at Ino again, “And how old are you?”
Genma shot her a suggestive look, “Wouldn't you like to know?”
Ino huffed, and found herself smiling again despite herself. Genma was so easy to talk to, he had a naturally social air that didn’t leave space for awkwardness. “You can’t be that old”.
He quirked an eyebrow at her, the corners of his mouth lifting up in a sly smile, “Oh? And what makes you say that?”
Hmm … was he flirting with her, perhaps? “You don’t look old at all.”
His smile widened, showing a sliver of teeth. “That’s very sweet of you to say, Ino. How old do you think I am?”
The way he said her name was so pleasant, it rolled so nicely across his tongue. “Maybe thirty-two? Thirty-four is the oldest I’d give you.”
He barked out a laugh, completely startling Ino. “What?” she said, confused.
“You’re a few years off,” he told her kindly, and sucked in another long puff of smoke. “At least.”
“No way,” Ino shook her head, a little dazed with this new piece of information. “Okay, thirty-six. There’s no way you’re older than thirty-six.”
Genma chuckled again, “Careful or I’ll think you’re stroking my ego.”
She gaped at him.
He evidently decided to take pity on her for he leaned closer to whisper conspiratorially. “I just turned forty this July.”
Holy moly! Ino leaned back in shock, jaw definitely a little slack. “N-no way!” She spluttered. He only had a few wrinkles at the corner of his eyes, but otherwise, his skin glowed healthily and his hair was thick and wonderfully glossy. “There’s no way you’re forty, get out of here!”
This time, Genma threw his head back and laughed heartily. It was beautiful, and it made his eyes lighter, and Ino felt a little like someone had snatched the chair from under her.
“You’re adorable,” he told her, still trying to swallow his chuckles. He reached to stub his cigarette in the ashtray. “You know, I myself try to forget that I’m forty so if you’d like we can both pretend I’m thirty-two.” he chuckled, despite his better efforts.
He was almost twice her age! Ino, who had turned twenty-five this spring, wondered longingly if she’d look remotely that attractive when she was his age. “This is ridiculous,” she declared. “What’s your secret? You can’t just look like that without doing something .”
His smirk was decidedly flirty when he answered her. “Well … and you can’t tell anybody,” he waited for Ino’s serious nod before disclosing, “facial masks. The good ones. Twice a week. Day and night creams, the moisturizing one that’s important. Dry skin wrinkles! You would know that of course, you have wonderful skin, too.”
Warmth suffused her cheeks, “Of course I do! I use aloe-vera masks religiously. Charcoal is amazing to steer clear of acne as well.”
Genma nodded with a grin, “Atta girl. And you can’t go wrong with a facial treatment every once in a while.”
“Ooh, Sakura and I visited this place downtown a few months ago—Pearly Star or something, and they had a buy one get one discount. It was great, my skin glowed for two weeks afterwards!” Ino informed him and downed the rest of her beer.
“Oof, hold that thought, I’m gonna get us more beer—unless you prefer something else?” He grabbed both their glasses as he got up.
It was a Tuesday, Ino didn’t plan to get drunk. “Another beer should be fine, thanks.”
Genma left and returned as swiftly with two bubbling, chilled beers and a plate of tortilla chips.
Ino immediately snatched one and dipped it in cheese. “Bless you, I’m starving!”
Genma followed her example, asking, “Would you like to have dinner?”
“My, I disclose my skin routine and you ask me out on a date?” Ino teased, toeing the line to see how he’d respond.
He blinked, perhaps a little taken aback, but recovered admirably quickly. “What can I say, I just love a woman who takes care of herself.” He winked, and it made Ino grin.
They munched on some more tortilla chips. “Do you think they’ll even come at all?” Ino mused to her glass of beer.
“Kakashi and Sakura?” Genma hummed, “Maybe. I don’t know. Sakura’s a surgeon, emergencies pop all the time. For all I know, she could be done with the kid and on her way, or she’d had even another emergency.”
Ino huffed, “Yeah … sucks how busy that Forehead is. Are you also that busy?”
Genma shook his head. “Not really. I don't work at the ER so my work hours are more or less fixed. Sure, I have some late nights occasionally but there’s not much that can’t wait for the next day.”
They mused over that in silence. He broke it with a soft huff of his own before getting up and looking at her expectantly. “Wanna get out of here?”
Ino stared at him, “Uh … what about Kakashi and Sakura?”
“They made you wait how long? Serves them right to wait as well,” he smiled and offered her his hand. “Come on, I know some awesome spots for late-night endeavours.”
Ino took his hand and let him pull her to her feet. “Late night? It’s still ten, grandpa,” she teased.
Genma almost pouted. “Not you too! Fine then, don’t complain when I keep you up all night.”
Innuendo? Ino wondered with a smile. “No complaints from me, no siree.”
He offered her his elbow to hold onto, like an absolute gentleman, and together they settled the bill before they left.
The cool September air met them with a chill that rose goosebumps along Ino’s arms legs. It made her burrow closer to Genma’s side—he was warm and his jacket provided a nice insulator against the breeze.
He must’ve known because he was smiling the whole way. “Where are we going?” she asked him when they crossed another street and arrived at a more sophisticated corner.
The ground was paved with polished dark stones, sleek and glimmering under the ropes of light bulbs that hung crisscrossed above them. The shops were made of fancy white marble, glass windows revealing all sorts of delicacies.
“Whoa, I can’t believe I’ve never been here!” Ino scanned her surroundings, taking note of the three-person band playing a beat on the corner of the street and the rich scent of chocolate carried to them from the French pâtisserie just ahead.
“Ah, well, it’s just this street,” Genma said, steering her towards the chocolatier, much to her delight.
It quickly became apparent why this street wasn’t more popular when Ino caught a peek of some of its prices. It was outrageously expensive! Not somewhere to be visited frequently, but rather on occasion, and maybe not even then.
While Genma spoke to the lady behind the counter, Ino took cursory looks at the displayed sweets and their peculiar names. Everything looked mouthwatering. She only listened to Genma with half an ear as he said something about a ‘Chou à la créme’ and a ‘Soufflé’ and ‘maybe a Religieuse’.
“How can you even pronounce these?” Ino said in a hush as he led her to a table by the window.
“I took a French elective in college,” Genma murmured back. The sweet music was too quiet and the lady behind the counter could definitely hear them if she strained her ears a little.
She joined them briefly to lay down three plates on the table and two cups of coffee.
The ‘Chou á la créme’—she assumed as it was the only pastry that contained cream out of the three—was a small baked bun, puffy and filled with cream, glazed and topped with sugar. The other two looked just as delicious—one resembled a chocolate cupcake and the other was made of two buns placed atop each other and covered in chocolate, topped with chocolate truffles.
“I’m going to get cavities from just looking at this,” Ino said, her mouth-watering.
Genma passed her a fork. “Where’s the fun in that? Eat up!”
They grinned at each other and set out to sample all three.
Ino moaned. “Oh my god,” she whispered to Genma, “this is what I call foodgasmic.”
Genma let out a startled laugh. “Always happy to dish out foodgasms to pretty women.”
Ino smiled coyly. “ Just foodgasms?”
He gave her a decidedly salacious smirk. “Amongst other things.”
She giggled under her breath and took a sip of wonderfully rich coffee. “Thank you for bringing me here. You didn’t have to treat me to chocolate.”
“Now, what kind of date would this be if I didn't treat you?” he said lightly, and took a fork-full of the cream puff.
“So very generous of you,” Ino said demurely.
“I’m a generous man,” he agreed.
They shared a smile and sipped on coffee and savoured sweets until Ino’s phone began to vibrate across the table.
Sakura’s name lit up the screen but before Ino could reach for it, Genma held up a finger and took hold of her phone, “May I?”
Intrigued, Ino nodded. “Sure.”
“You’ve reached Yamanaka Ino’s phone,” Genma answered brightly, causing Ino to muffle her laughter. The counter-lady glanced towards them curiously. “Nope, we already left … hmm, that’s a secret … yes, we’re wicked like that. Are you done? … well sorry, but Ino’s mine for the evening … oh yes, we’re absolutely up to no good … don’t worry we’re just feasting on an unholy amount of sugar …”
Ino was definitely giggling then. Genma directed his next words to her. “What do you say, Ino? Shall we go back or would you rather we continue our adventure?”
“It depends on where your adventure will take us.” Ino fluttered her lashes.
Genma’s smile sharpened. “I guess we’ll see you and Kakashi another time, Sakura,” he said, laughing some more at something she said before ending the call with a ‘see you around!’.
“You’re so mean,” Ino chuckled, holding the coffee-cup between her palms for warmth and basking in the wonderful aroma of the shop.
“All part of the charm,” Genma dismissed as he took another bite.
“Well then, does this mean there’s more after this?” She glanced meaningfully at the sweets.
“Of course,” Genma said, “I don’t go half-ways, you know.”
Giddy, and entirely too charmed by this strange man and his pretty smiles, Ino let him take her to the street corner later that night, to where the band was still playing a gentle melody.
Two other couples were dancing along to the beat.
“Dance with me?” He offered her his hand.
Ino took it without a second thought. “You dance?” she asked delightedly as he drew her closer and rested his palm on her mid-back.
“Only with pretty women.” He winked, and Ino thought it was ridiculous that he made what she deemed a silly gesture rather charming.
“You’re such a flirt,” she accused without heat, her arms atop his shoulders.
“Only with pretty women,” he repeated with a grin.
They didn’t so much dance as sway in place while Genma twirled her just to get her to laugh.
It was indeed a very magical night, Ino thought happily, and was glad to have ditched Sakura to dance in the streets like a very silly teenager on her first date.
And when it neared midnight, and Genma offered to drive her home, Ino agreed.
She was sad that the night had come to end, but very pleased with having gotten to know Genma. When he parked the car by her house, he turned to look at her and said, “I guess this is the end of our date.”
And what a shame that was, indeed. “I guess.”
“Did you have fun?” Genma asked.
“I did, actually, thanks a lot,” Ino smiled sweetly at him and wondered if it would be too much to lean in for a kiss under the pretence of this date.
“Enough to warrant a second date?” He wiggled his eyebrows suggestively, earning a laugh out of her.
“Maybe,” Ino teased. “It depends. Do I get a goodnight kiss?”
His eyes flickered to her lips. “If the lady wants a kiss, a kiss she shall get,” he said agreeably, rich caramel eyes meeting hers again.
Her heart fluttered excitedly when he reached to tilted her chin, the pad of his thumb applying soft pressure on her skin as he drew her in. Ino shut her eyes moments before she felt the warmth of his lips ghosting over her own.
“Mhm,” she made a pleased sound against lips that kissed gently and expertly, but didn’t demand too much in return. When he leaned away with a gentle peck, Ino found herself wishing for more. “Definitely worth a second date,” she resisted the impulse to lick her lips.
Genma’s smile was very satisfied. “Do I get a phone number?”
Ino gladly typed in her phone number and gave herself a missed call. When she stepped out of his car, the cool air that met her didn’t register against the warmth filling her body.
She leaned down to smile at Genma. “Thanks for driving me home, I’ll see you around.”
“Goodnight Ino,” he nodded, still smiling as she shut the door.
He waited until she shut her front door before driving away.
Ino was left leaning against her closed door with a dreamy smile on her tingling lips.
Who cared how old he was, Ino thought, he was charming, and she definitely couldn’t wait to see him again. Ino went to bed with a lingering smile on her face.
Sakura was going to die when she heard about her night.