Beach House
or
A Seaside Summer Night Sex Comedy
Chapter 1: Escape
Rolf Scamander and Theodore Nott grabbed their drinks from the coffee shop counter on a warm summer day. Rolf held onto his tea in one hand, and a thick book in the other. He traversed between the occupied tables before sitting at a small round table in the corner. Nott followed slowly behind him. "How have you been?" Rolf asked. He placed his tea and the book on the table.
Nott sat down morose. His face was angular and sharp. Nott was needle thin, but tall. His black hair was messy and wild. He wore a tailored suit, with a white dress shirt, a thin black tie, and large black sunglasses covering his eyes. On the table, he placed down his coffee, dropped four cubes of sugar into it, and rubbed his eyes. "Well, I feel like shit at the moment. I have the worst bloody hangover."
Rolf smiled. Rolf had a rounder face than Nott, with slight dimples doting the top of his cheeks. He wore a brown tweed blazer with blue jeans. His curly copper hair was short. "Have a fun night last night?" he asked in jest.
Nott took a sip of his coffee. "Not particularly. I just watched an old movie by myself. Had a few more beers than I anticipated. I wasn't counting."
"Sounds exciting. Which movie?"
"A Bergman film: Smiles of a Summer Night."
"Was it good?"
Nott nodded. "Yeah. Real good."
"I've never heard of it," Rolf admitted. "Is it like Bergman's other films?"
"Yes and no. The same themes are there: the longing for answers that might never come and the strange feeling of emptiness. But, it's actually a comedy. A really funny comedy. It clearly influenced Woody Allen; A Midsummer's Night Sex Comedy is basically a rip off of it."
"What's it about?"
"Six people go to this old ladies house in the country for the weekend. It's all about their desires, and sex, and romance."
"Cool. Seems like you've been able to have fun since the semester ended. Found a job yet?"
"No," Nott shook his head.
"Neither have I."
"At least you're starting grad school in the fall," Nott commented.
Rolf nodded. "That's true." He took a sip of his tea. "I've been reading a lot. You know, in preparation of the fall. Right as the semester ended, I wanted read some fiction; books I could have fun reading. I've picked up a couple, but I haven't been able to get past the first couple of pages. So," he tapped the thick book he placed on the table, "I'm back in the exciting world of Ancient Magical Runes. It's not bad. I mean, I'm devoting my life's work to it right? That's what grad school's for. I might as well fully devote myself to it."
"Have you heard from Jen at all?" Nott asked.
"No. Not a word."
Rolf leaned on his elbow. Next to their table, a large window peered out into the street. People walked briskly in the summer heat. No one acknowledged each other; each passed by trapped in their own world. Consumed by their fears, hopes, dreams, worries; blinded by the monolith of life placed before them.
"You up to anything this weekend?" Rolf asked, his eyes still focused on the window.
"No. Why?"
"That movie you mentioned gave me an idea. My family owns a cottage on the ocean. We could go there for the weekend. I need to get out of this city. Clear my head. It might not be a raunchy weekend of sex and romance, but I think we could have fun. There's even a quiet sandy beach."
Nott tried to smile through his hangover, but it came across closer to a grimace. "I don't know. Two bored guys spending a weekend at the beach together. Sounds like it could get raunchy to me." He raised his eyebrows at Rolf.
Rolf laughed. "You just have to say the word, pretty boy."
Nott sat back in his chair, and stared up at the ceiling. "Do you think it's a good idea though? What would we do there? I'm not exactly a beach kind of guy. Sounds like it could get boring pretty quickly."
"What's the worst case scenario? We end up drinking too much and watching movies. That's what you'd do if you stayed in the city anyway. There's tons of stuff we could do. Like make a bonfire on the beach. That'd be pretty cool right? I've always wanted to do something like that. Pass around a bottle or two of vodka and watch the flames. It'll be awesome, trust me. We'll probably be so drunk most of the time, it won't matter if you're a beach person or not."
Nott shook his head. He took a large sip of his coffee. "Just don't ask me to wear a stupid bathing suit or anything."
Rolf smirked. Dismissively, he spoke: "God forbid you look uncool for even a second. Someone might see you in the middle of nowhere! They might tell all of your make-believe fans. What a scandal!"
"Hey. I dress this way for my own pleasure. I don't give a shit about other people." Nott spoke rubbing his forehead.
"Sure Nott. Whatever you want to tell yourself." Rolf stared out the window. "So, what do you think? Weekend at the beach?"
Nott smiled. "Sure. Sounds good."
"Cool."
...
His fingers delicately traced circles on her bare skin. A shiver passed through her shoulders to her thighs. On her neck, she could feel his warm breaths. Moving instinctively, she raised her arms, hoping to pull him closer to her. But, as she moved her hands towards him, he was pulled back out of her reach. Desperately, she tried to stretch her arms out further. The closer she got, the more distant he felt. An overwhelming fear began to fester in the pit of her stomach. She wanted to call out to him. Try to bring him back. But the words were stuck in her throat. A slight whimper was all that crawled out of her mouth. He was gone then, already a shadow, a silhouette far away from her.
Hermione gasped. She raised her head off of the car window. It was another dream. They haunted her over the past couple of weeks. She rubbed her eyes. Every night, she was taken back there: lying in his arms. It was a mirage; the image she desired most to reach. And yet, no matter her desire, it was still a lie.
"You alright there?" Luna asked. She stole a quick glance at Hermione, keeping one hand on the steering wheel. Luna wore a blue stripped shirt, with a long black skirt. Nearly a dozen beaded necklaces adorned her neck, matching the beaded armbands rattling as she drove. The car was an old brown sedan. Her flipflops were placed on the floor; she rested her bare foot on the gas pedal. The warm summer sun reflected off the black dashboard. In the light, Luna's dirty blonde hair shone like silk. The short girl sat forward as she drove; her chin barely above the steering wheel.
"I'm fine," Hermione muttered. She ran her fingers through her bushy brown hair. Hermione wore a beige blouse with long sleeves and a high neck, loose grey suit pants, and black leather wedges with an inch heel. "I just had a bad dream."
"Was it about him?" Luna asked concerned. Hermione stared out the window, and did not reply. The two lane highway passed along a green forest. The trees rose along hills like strokes on a mural. Luna patted Hermione's knee. "It's okay. You don't need to talk about it. We're out here to have fun, remember? Loosen up. Forget that I mentioned him."
Hermione continued to stare out the window in silence. Luna tapped on the steering wheel in restlessly. "I know!" Luna announced. "Open up the glove box. I have a secret weapon. It'll help you relax."
Rolling her eyes, Hermione leaned forward. Popping open the glove box, Hermione grabbed a small tin container. "This?" Hermione asked, waving it in Luna's peripheral vision. Luna nodded with a smile. Hermione opened the tin to reveal a half dozen rolled joints. Hermione closed it with a sigh. "Really?" She said turning to Luna.
"Come on! You need to unwind. What's better than that?" Luna exclaimed. "Look, you need to loosen up. We're here to have a good time. To help you. If you're not willing to break out of your comfort zone, then you'll never relax."
"I'm grateful for everything you're doing Luna, and I haven't really been myself the past couple of months, but I don't think 'loosening up' like this will solve everything." Hermione closed the tin case.
Luna shook her head. "Maybe not everything, but it would be a step in the right direction. Do you remember what you were doing when I picked you up this morning?"
"I was ironing. What does that have to do with anything?"
"You were not just ironing," Luna said. "You were ironing your socks. Your socks! Do you know who does that? Bored housewives who can only find pleasure in serving their overbearing husbands, and unfuckable middle-aged women who have given up on fun."
"That's an awfully strong opinion on ironed socks," Hermione commented.
"Maybe. But that does not mean it's untrue. Hermione, the goal of this weekend is to have fun. We're not going to have fun with ironed socks. We're going to have fun getting high, getting shit-faced drunk, and, with any luck, getting laid."
"I was not ironing socks to have fun. I just like the look of a neat closet," Hermione tried to clarify.
"Whatever. Enough about socks." Luna insisted.
"You were the one who brought it up," Hermione pointed out.
"Now, why don't you pass me one of those, and we'll light it up," Luna said, pointing at the tin container.
"You want to smoke right now? But you're driving!" Hermione said. She held the tin container closer to her chest.
"Stop being such a fucking prude. Have you not been listening? We're here to have fun."
"We'll have fun. That doesn't mean I'm going to let you drive under the influence."
"It's not driving under the influence. Hell, I think I drive better when I'm high," Luna insisted.
Hermione's grip on the container stayed firm. "You only think that because you're high when you're driving high. You feel better at everything when you're like that. I'm not going to let you do it. It's dangerous!"
"Give me the bloody tin!" Luna yelled playfully with a smile on her face. She turned, and tried to grab the tin out of Hermione's hands.
"Luna! Pay attention to the road!"
Luna laughed, and sat back in her seat. "Having fun yet?"
A chuckle escaped Hermione's mouth. "Sure." She leaned her head on the passenger's side window. The sea began to peer through the trees. Dark water sparkled under the sunlight. A smile grew on her lips. "Thanks for this, Luna."
Luna smirked. "What are friends for?"
...
Author's Notes: I hope you liked this chapter. I have a deep love for romantic comedies. I thought I would give it a try. I'm not much of a comedic writer, so expect it to turn into a dramedy, or just a drama with a couple of jokes. We'll see. It was fun trying something new though.
I've been writing a lot reticently, but I have not be posting much. The next chapter of The Study Group is coming along. I've also been writing a gang story in the same vein as The Warriors, staring Nott and Draco. Hopefully I will post the first chapter for that soon.
If you'd like to read another one of my stories staring Luna, the second part of my story The Unloved Kids is focused on her. I also have a number of other Hermione/Nott stories if you'd like to try one of them.
Please Leave a Review.
Thanks. BJ.