Instead of being scared by Joe's honest remark about him being there to spy on her, Hermione felt liberated that finally someone was able to joke around. After so much darkness and seriousness in her life, she needed to feel carefree and easy-going again.
"Buy me another beer", Hermione then said to Joe, touching her hair in a sexy way.
"Sure", he replied and disappeared in the crowd next to the bar counter. With him out of sight, she checked her look in her mirror and felt satisfied. She was curious about what her first night in America would bring. She hoped she had the courage to make it different than the many sad nights she had had at home lately.
Joe reappeared with a bunch of beers on a tray and sat down opposite her. The dusty cowboy music was playing and provided a great backdrop for her new adventure. It was a little loud, but low enough for her to be able to talk to people. She wanted to talk to Joe to find out who he was.
"Here you go", he said, opening up a bottle and putting it in front of her. He had a weird smile: it was some sort of a serious smile wrapped up in a cool attitude, but he did not seem cocky. Well, why would he be cocky here with her, Hermione thought to herself? She was clearly the one who was settling, not the other way around.
"So what brings you to America? You are not from around here", he asked her and watched her face with his semi-friendly smile. It somewhat intrigued her.
"Vacation", she just replied and smiled. But her smile came too late after staring down towards the table, and he knew she was not telling the truth.
"You a serial killer escaping the police?", he then asked her, surprisingly more interested in her. She looked up and watched his hands wrapped around his beer.
"No, I am not", she said with relief. "I just needed to get away for a while, and I had always wanted to see America. You know the West and the South with the cowboys and deserts. We don't have that at home". She leaned back and watched his facial expressions. He chuckled.
"I suppose by home you mean Europe? And I suppose by getting away you mean from your man?", he cleverly asked and pointed at her finger. It caught her by surprise and she looked down at her hand. She was still wearing her ring. Quickly she hid it.
"Yeah, it didn't work out unfortunately, but it is hard letting go. What about yourself?", she said, pointing at his finger. He did not seem as eager to cover this proof of commitment as she had been, but calmly he looked at his wedding ring and stroked it.
"Divorced, but I guess you are right – it is hard to let go", he replied without turning a hair.
"Or maybe you are not married, but you wear it when you go to bars to seem like a perfectly settled guy who is not up to no good?", she said, clearly feeling the alcoholic impact from the beer. She had not been drinking for some time, but now there was no one to tell her what to do. It made her able to be bolder, and that was what she wanted tonight.
"I am really not that smart, I'm afraid, but if you are asking me if I'm free, then I just gave you my answer", he said, lifting his hand to grab hers. Feeling the drunkenness coming over her, she let him do it. She already felt like she was floating away, and that was a sweet and liberating feeling. She just looked at their hands before grabbing his hand and shaking it.
"My name is Marilyn", she then said. He laughed.
"I am Joe DiMaggio", he answered. Now she laughed – it was just like she had planned it.
"I knew you were a Joe", she continued, feeling more drunk as she emptied her beer. Immediately, he put another one in front of her. He was trying to get her drunk, but she just played along.
"Actually my name is Sirius", he then said and smiled to her. She barely noticed.
"Oh, Sirius? That is a terrible name that destroys my scheme", she said as the music was turned up.
"I want to dance. Joe Sirius, dance with me", she then said, getting up. Without a word, he got up too and led her to the small, improvised dance floor. He stood in front of her, putting his arms around her. His embrace was warm and soft and for a moment, she found herself indulging in it. It had been a while since she had felt a man's arms around her, and now she found out just how much she had missed it. It almost made her sentimental, but she stopped herself, when he started moving her to the music. They were standing close, and he was apparently an eager dancer. It amused her, and she had no problem following his lead.
"This is wonderful", she cried out, spinning around until she felt so dizzy that she was barely able to stand. He grabbed her, and she lifted off her hat, placing it on top of his head instead.
"It looks pretty on you", she yelled through the music. He was never really smiling fully, but every once in a while, a smile flickered across his face. It made him look way more handsome, but it did not help a lot, really. She did not really mind; he was still fascinating to her. At least for this night. She had no plans of ever seeing him again after tonight.
When the dance ended, they went back to their table. Being more courteous than she had thought, he did not let go of her hand but led her safely to her seat.
"I want to colour my hair", she then said, all dizzy and drunk.
"Really? What colour? Black? Red?", he asked, and she was surprised that he had been listening. She had actually been talking mostly to herself.
"No, I want it to be blonder. Platinum blonde". She took another sip of her beer, making sure that the fuzzy feeling wasn't leaving her body yet.
"Like Marilyn", he said quietly. She nodded and leaned forward.
"I want to go to Las Vegas and perform as Marilyn Monroe with my new hair", she said, again mostly to herself, getting caught up in day dreaming. "But what do you do for a living?"
"Me? I am a lawyer", he replied. She cracked up, making a mess of her lipstick.
"A lawyer? I don't believe that", she said, realizing that the conversation had become boring. She did not want to talk about everyday things like jobs. Quickly she got up.
"You have a room here, Joe Sirius?", she asked him, clearly suggesting what she wanted to do with her body language. Without him noticing, she pulled her top down a little to show her cleavage. She probably did not need to, but she just wanted to be on the safe side. By the sound of her question, his face lit up, and a faint fear started growing inside her. Was she being too careless?
"Oh yes, I have", he replied. Hermione pushed aside the annoying fear, grabbed the beers and went upstairs with him.
When he closed the door behind them, the music had almost disappeared. The silence was speaking reason, and it was suddenly too loud to bear.
"Do you actually live here?", she asked, looking around. The room was fully furnished. To the left, there was a cupboard, a table and chairs, and in front of her, two big beds. Clothes were lying scattered all around, and it seemed like he had been living there a while.
"No, I am just passing through", he answered politely and walked to her. He placed himself in front of her and looked into her eyes. She did not particularly like the view, but it excited her.
"Are you going to kiss me now, Mr. Stranger?", she asked him like a little girl and tried to mess with him by looking all innocent.
He did not reply but put his hand behind her neck. The silence made her worry, and that feeling started to spread in her entire body. His grip was firm but not hard and within seconds, he drew her face close to his and kissed her lips. First tenderly and then more passionately. For a moment, she let herself get lost in it and enjoyed his touch, and she did not resist when he put her down on the bed. He lay down on top of her and kissed her upper body. She tried to relax and enjoy it, as he seemed to be rather experienced, but suddenly she felt scared and pushed him aside. He almost fell to the floor.
"I'm sorry. I can't", she said, feeling exhausted. He looked confused.
"Really. I am sorry. I can't go through with it", she said, glancing at her ring without really noticing.
"I get it. He is still there. You want him back", Sirius said and sat down on the other bed, buttoning his shirt.
"I am afraid that's impossible", she replied, suddenly feeling all sober. But as she tried to stand up, she realized that her body was not sober, and she fell to the ground. Half awake, she felt Sirius placing himself behind her, pulling her up. As he put her down on one of the beds, she was unable to stay awake any longer...