Transitions
Chapter 6 The Date!
Ron stepped in the bathroom and closed the door. Pulling his wand, he locked it, and cast a silencing spell around the room. 'Am I really going to do this?' he thought, as he unzipped his denims. Hesitantly, Ron reached inside and touched himself. He was not the least bit erect. Something about having his best mate tell him to wank before he goes out on a date with their other best friend seemed to cure him of the need to wank in the first place.
Still, Ron began to stroke his limp cock, hoping to pull a fast reaction from his body so he could get this over with. He leaned against the door and closed his eyes. This was not working. He was thinking of Harry knowing what he was doing, and that was certainly not conducive to producing an erection.
"Think about Hermione," Ron whispered to himself. Just the mention of her name stirred something within him and he felt himself stiffen slightly. He began to think about her skin and how soft she was. He'd only touched her arms in a very chaste way, but still, her skin was the softest thing he'd ever felt. Once, he briefly touched her bare shoulder, but that was only for a second while he helped her adjust the strap of her sundress.
The line of her neck was always something Ron wanted to taste. It looked graceful and smooth, and he wondered if it was as soft as her arms. Probably softer. Without even realizing it, Ron's cock had swollen to its full length, and he was stroking it in earnest as he continued to think about Hermione.
Her hands were certainly soft, and each time she would touch Ron on his arm or grab his hand to comfort him, it brought goose bumps to his flesh. He imagined her hands stroking his length and had to muffle a moan, but then he remembered the silencing spell and let the moan out with a loud sigh.
Her lips always looked soft, but it was hard to tell just how soft they were when only being kissed on the cheek. Hermione always seemed to kiss his cheeks when he was not freshly shaved. Perhaps, she liked him with whiskers? He filed that way for later inspection, because now, his hand was pumping feverishly along his shaft. It took only the image of Hermione pulling her plump bottom lip into her mouth and biting down on it slightly, to send Ron over the edge. His cock erupted forcefully, pulling a shout from his throat and leaving a mess on the floor before him.
With heavy lids, he opened his eyes and grabbed his wand to clean up the floor. He washed himself up, closed his trousers, took a deep breath and opened the door. This was going to be one of the most important days of his life, and he hoped taking Harry's advice was not going to come back to bite him in the arse.
000000
Hermione paced in a tight circle in her sitting room. After a few moments of that, she went to the mirror to check her appearance. Never being a terribly vain person, this was not normal behavior for her. Something about Ron made her act out of character, or perhaps he simply brought out things that were inside of her waiting to escape.
She checked her teeth…clean, nothing stuck in them. She cupped her hand in front of her mouth and huffed…breath was good. She checked her clothing, blue jumper…nice, with no lint. Denims…good, not too tight, and not too loose. Hermione ran her fingers through her curls and wisely decided not to mess with them anymore.
Walking back to her couch, she sat primly on the edge, wringing her hands. She had no idea how Ron was arriving, so she stood again, not wanting to look as if she was waiting for him should he Floo in. Of course, he may Apparate, so it really wouldn't matter where she was sitting or standing.
Suddenly, there was a knock at the door and Hermione nearly jumped out of her skin. The last thing she expected was that he would come to the door since he'd never really used it in the past. As she walked over to it, her heart was pounding in her chest, and her hand trembled when she reached for the knob. Hermione took a deep breath and opened the door.
Ron's smile was the first thing she saw, and it nearly took her breath away. Though he looked nervous, and his cheeks were flushed, he looked determined. Ron was ready to take this relationship to another level, and Hermione could see it all over him. His posture spoke of a man who was taking charge, and even as he walked through the door, he looked more masculine to her than he had ever before. Her stomach did a funny wobble and she inhaled deeply in an attempt to stifle it, but it didn't work.
"What've you got there?" Hermione asked, indicating the picnic basket Ron carried in his hand. She closed the door against the cold air blowing in.
"Lunch," Ron said, with a wider smile.
"But it's so cold out, Ron…"
"Not where we're going…by the way, you look really pretty," he murmured the last bit, but did not remove his eyes from her. Hermione stuttered some form of a thank you and cursed her fumbling lips and fidgeting hands. 'This is only Ron, for Merlin's sake! Pull it together!' she shouted in her head.
"You're wearing the necklace," he said, then reached out and ran his finger over the pendant.
"Of course, I wear it always." Hermione blushed, and looked away.
"Er…so, have you got something cooler to wear, you'll be hot in that jumper."
"Ron! Where are we going? You must tell me!" She stamped her foot and cursed herself again for acting so…so…Lavender-like. Ron did this to her, and as much as she was loath to admit it even to herself, she loved that he made her feel all girlie and giggly.
"Must I?" he quirked an eyebrow and sat the basket down, closing the distance between them. "Curiosity killed the cat," he whispered, and as if on queue, Crookshanks bounded into the room, causing Hermione to smirk.
"But satisfaction brought him back," she said and Ron chuckled.
"If you grab your things, you'll know where we are going in less that a minute. Think you can wait that long?"
"No," Hermione answered cheekily, and grabbed a small garment bag that carried her yellow sundress and brown sandals. Just as she was about to fold it over her arm, Ron took it from her and folded it over his.
"I've got it," he smiled, then grabbed the picnic basket as Hermione got her cloak. Once it was on and fastened, Ron held out his arm to her and she looped hers around it.
"Now, close your eyes and promise not to open them until I tell you so," Ron ordered, and they simply stared at each other for a long moment. Hermione was nearly dizzy with anticipation, the last thing she wanted to do was close her eyes, but Ron was giving her a look that let her know he would not budge until she agreed.
"Alright, fine…" she sighed, "…you really have a lot of demands. Bring summer clothing, close your eyes…what will you demand of me next?" She quipped, but then their eyes met again and her knees nearly buckled at the answer she saw in Ron's face. She looked away quickly, for his gaze offered something much too intense for her at the moment.
Closing her eyes, she prepared to Apparate with him, but they didn't leave right away. Hermione could feel Ron staring at her, but she refused to open her eyes, that look was far too much to start a date on. If he kept looking at her like that, they'd be married by the end of the night, if she had her way. Her lips twitched at that thought, but then she felt Ron squeeze her arm.
"Hang on," he whispered in her ear, causing a shiver to run through her body. An instant later, she felt like she was being squeezed through a tube and then she felt the cold wind whipping around her head. This was not a summer place, Hermione knew this even with her eyes closed. She felt Ron's hand slip around her waist, again she shivered, as he turned her around.
"Open your eyes," he hissed in her ear. Slowly she complied and let out a loud gasp when she saw where they were. The large flowery luminescent sign read:
Magical Botanicals.
This place opened last summer and Hermione had been eager to go, but she never really had the free time. Not to mention, no one wanted to go with her. She distinctly remembered Ron saying he couldn't understand why someone would want to go to a place full of flowers…on purpose. Hermione looked at him.
"I thought you didn't want to come here?" she smirked.
"But you do, and once I read up on the place, it has a lot more to offer than flowers." He smiled and led her through the large glass doors.
Hermione was rather surprised once they entered. There wasn't a flower in sight, only a small ticket booth, and a rather large heavy, black velvet drape hanging opposite it. Ron walked up to the small man behind the glass.
"Reservation for Weasley," he said, and handed the man five Galleons. The old man flipped through a ledger and then came upon the page he was looking for.
"Ah, yes, you have lot 14. Beautiful spot, right by the center pond. It will be through the main garden, make a left at the third path and you'll find it straight ahead. Here is a guide; it has a map with it if you should get lost." He smiled with his kind wrinkled lips. Hermione was so beyond excited that she'd already made up her mind that this was going to be the most perfect day ever!
"The lady can change just over there and you, sir, can change over this way," he indicated the changing rooms with a feeble finger. "Would the lady like to pick flowers to take home?" the old man asked, fixing Hermione with a smile. Ron turned to her as well.
"Um…sure," she answered, hesitantly.
"A small basket is 8 Sickles, 2 Knuts and a large basket is 10 Sickles, 4 Knuts."
"Er…" Ron dug in his pocket.
"It's okay, Ron, I don't need a basket," Hermione said softly. She had money in her purse, but she didn't think Ron would appreciate her offering to pay and she was not about to do anything to ruin his mood.
"It's fine," he smiled. "I have it. She'll take a large basket." He handed the man the proper amount of coins and took the basket.
"Honestly, Ron, I'll be fine with the small one."
"No, I want you to pick as many flowers as you want." He gave her hand a squeeze.
Hermione smiled nervously, and then they split in different directions to change. She was so eager to get this date started that she had her clothes off and her sundress on in mere seconds. Strapping up her sandals, Hermione stepped out of the changing room and shivered. It was part from the cold air in the corridor as people were queuing up at the ticket booth and bringing with them a gust of wind from outside, but it was also from the vision of a sleeveless Ron.
He stood by the "Wizard's Changing Room," with a white tank-top on and light blue denims. His freckled arms were far more muscular than Hermione imagined. She'd been swimming with him at the pond behind the Burrow, but that had been nearly a year ago, and he did not look like that back then. All the Auror training had done him good.
A giggle pulled her attention away from Ron's divine physique and she noticed that there were a couple of girls in the queue gazing longingly at him. Hermione gritted her teeth and marched over to him. His dazzling smile was back as he met her eyes and she forgot all about the giggling girls.
"I thought I changed fast, but you beat me," Hermione said, as she approached.
"All I really had to do was take off my jumper. I didn't even go in the changing room for that," he chuckled. "You look…er…very pretty." His cheeks flared red.
"Thank you," she replied and he took her hand as they made their way through the entrance.
Pushing aside the heavy velvet drapes, Hermione was instantly hit with the heat of the place. It was like summer and it now made sense why she would need to dress as she was. Ron had done his homework…for once. Hermione smirked at that thought.
Upon entering, they were met with a vast oasis of flowers of all different types and colors. The sun was sitting high in the sky and was in direct contradiction to the cold whipping wind they'd just left. Hermione had to fight the urge to run ahead and smell all the flowers in the path they were walking through.
"I expect this is the main garden?" Ron asked, and Hermione removed her hand from his grip and pulled the guide out of his back pocket. She opened to the first page and read for a bit.
"This is the main garden and it's called, The Lady Rose Garden, named after Lady Lillian Rose a famous horticulturist from the 1400's," she read, excitedly. This was just going to be the best! "Oh! Ron, I can pick flowers from any section marked in yellow, blue, or green, but the flowers in the red section are off limits."
"Really? Why?" Ron asked as they moved through The Lady Rose Garden.
"Because they may kill us," Hermione answered and Ron stopped in his tracks.
"What? Is that what it says?" he peered over her shoulder at the guide and Hermione pointed to the section. "It actually says the vegetation in the red sections may kill you!" he said, incredulously. "Why would they have murderous plants and flowers in here? That's just asking for trouble!" Ron finished, and Hermione snickered as they began to walk again.
"Well, Ron, they have flowers and plants from all over the world, wizard and Muggle both. Besides, the red sections are clearly marked. See, there's one over there." Hermione pointed to a patch of red roses about 10 yards away. They stood about five feet tall and were sectioned off with a red rope. Before them was a large wooden beam that had scorched holes in it. Ron and Hermione stopped and looked at the flowers from a safe distance.
"Well they just look like regular roses, a bit tall, but—" before Ron could finish his sentence, there was a disgusting sound like 30 people bunching up phlegm in their throats, and as one, every rose in the patch spat out a glob of green goop that hit the wooden beam and began to burn holes in it.
"BLOODY HELL!" Ron shouted, and grabbed Hermione in a protective manner. "That was wicked!" he panted excitedly. Hermione was just as excited as he seemed to be, if not a bit disgusted. She walked a bit closer and Ron grabbed her arm.
"I just want to read the card." She stepped closer with Ron still holding her arm ready to snatch her away at the first sign of danger.
"They are called, 'Romanic Roses," and they are believed to be the cause of a wizarding condition back in the 1800's called Romanic Fever."
"Well, if they were going about lobbing loogies on people, I can see there being a fever when they burned to the ground!" Ron laughed.
"Oh, Ron! This place is so wonderful! We haven't even left the main path and I'm having a brilliant time! Thank you," she said, and cringed a bit at her gushing voice, but threw her arms around him anyway.
"Alright, er…well, it's early, I could still find a way to muck it up." Ron gave her an awkward sheepish grin. She loved that shyness about him, it was both refreshing and incredibly sexy.
In the middle of the rose garden, Ron and Hermione stood staring at each other. She could see his eyes drop to her mouth and she knew he was thinking of kissing her. Licking her lips in anticipation, Hermione waited for him to lean in, but he didn't. His eyes had changed and she didn't know why.
"Er…" he cleared his throat. "Let's put our stuff down at our lot and then have a look around, work up an appetite, yeah?"
"Sur-sure," she stammered, feeling a bit rejected, but then his hand was in hers again and he gave it a little squeeze as they started off to their picnic spot.
Hermione took a deep breath and reasoned that it would not have been appropriate to have their first kiss in the middle of a rose garden with other people milling about. That must be the reason Ron didn't kiss me, he can be terribly shy at times. She nodded to herself.
Ten minutes later, they had navigated through the paths and found their picnic site. Hermione wanted to run off and look at all the different things growing in this place as they made their way to their lot. The area Ron had picked was perfect. They were reasonably secluded, just far enough away from others that they could talk at a regular volume and not be heard.
The pond before them had ducks and frogs in it, doing what ducks and frogs do. Hermione could see several other ponds off in the distance where people were swimming. One had a large slide with children laughing and splashing about.
"I'm sorry, I didn't know there'd be swimming. I would have told you to bring your costume," Ron said, seeming to notice how she was gazing at the people frolicking in the distance.
"Oh, it's fine, I don't think I'd want to leave here with wet hair anyway." She smiled, and Ron gave her an odd look.
"You do know that you could dry your hair with your wand, right?" he asked with a smirk.
"Oh…well, yes…I forgot."
"Forgot you were a witch again, did you?" he laughed causing her to playfully roll her eyes at him.
After setting up their picnic, Ron and Hermione strolled around the grounds looking at all the unusual vegetation. Hermione picked enough flowers to fill her basket and Ron seemed fascinated by all the plants or flowers in the red sections. As it neared 1:30 in the afternoon, they made their way back to the blanket for lunch.
As usual, Ron seemed starved as he ate all four sandwiches prepared by his mother and half of Hermione's sandwich. There was something about watching Ron eat that made her smile. Somewhere along the way, she stopped being disgusted by his monstrous appetite and less than polite table manners. Or perhaps he had tamed his eating habits a bit. It did seem as if he chewed with his mouth closed more.
With full bellies, they sat for over an hour and enjoyed the sun. Ron looked as if he wanted to ask Hermione something, but he seemed to lose his nerve. Hermione certainly wanted to ask him something, but she didn't know how to bring it up. She opened her mouth to speak, however at the exact same moment Ron asked her a question.
"Do you want to go for a walk?" he asked. "According to the guide, if we continue to walk down that way…" he pointed over her left shoulder, "…it will be night time and they have moonlight paths," he looked extremely embarrassed by suggesting something so romantic, so he began to ramble.
"You know this is all fake, don't you, we are in a building, they've magicked the sun and, the clouds, and the water and even the grass. The flowers are real, I expect, but the clouds and such are magic, it's brilliant! I didn't even want to come here, but I like it, it's—"
"Ron," Hermione interrupted his rant. "I want to go for the walk, it will be nice."
"Yeah?" he asked looking at her with the sun catching his eyes and making them sparkle like sapphires. Hermione nodded.
Leaving their belongings, they made their way down the path toward the moonlight. Hermione gasped as they stepped into the darkness. Though there was only a crescent moon, the light from it was bright.
"That's nice," she whispered.
"What is?" Ron asked, taking her hand in his and it seemed no matter how many times he did that simple thing, it was not going to stop Hermione's heart from jumping in her throat.
"It's nice that they have a moon so people like Remus can enjoy this place as well," she answered and Ron looked at her oddly.
"Do you think that an artificial full moon would have an affect on a werewolf?"
"I don't know, but would you like to test it out?" she asked with a smirk, and a quirked eyebrow.
"Good point," he chuckled. Silence came upon them, but it was a good silence, even though Hermione still had a question looming in the back of her mind. She took a deep breath and simply asked him.
"So, are you enjoying yourself?" That wasn't really what she wanted to know.
"Of course!" Ron said, looking at her with wide eyes. "But I should really be asking you that question."
"Oh, I'm having a brilliant time!" she smiled brightly.
"Good," Ron sighed.
"Is this better than your other date?" Hermione asked in a rush and instantly felt Ron tense beside her, for this was the real question she wanted answered.
"Er…my other date?"
"You know, with that girl…your dad's boss' daughter?"
"Oh, her…of course this is better! I didn't want to go out with her, you know that, right?"
"I know," Hermione said quietly. "But sometimes you may not want to do something and then it turns out to be really nice," she whispered.
"Well, it wasn't," he answered bluntly.
"So…so you didn't kiss her?" her voice was so small that she could barely hear it herself. Ron's hand twitched and he cleared his throat.
"No…no, I didn't kiss her," he answered, just as softly and Hermione let out a sigh as they continued on down the path that was now lit by fireflies and fairies.
Sitting upon a rock, they looked at the lake as the moon bounced off of it. Hermione was so happy she could hardly contain herself. They talked for a long while as Ron asked her all sorts of questions about growing up as a Muggle and what happened when she first showed signs of magic.
"Well, I didn't have many friends growing up, and I didn't play outdoors like other children my age…" Ron smiled. "…one day, I'd disobeyed my mum—"
"Not you!" Ron said, with mock astonishment. Hermione pinched his arm causing him to laugh.
"I think she'd asked me to do something, but I was really into reading this book—"
"Figures," he snorted.
"Will you let me finish?" she pushed his shoulder with a chuckle, almost sending him off the rock. "I simply wanted to finish the chapter so I ignored her. Well my mum is not one to be ignored. She took the book from me, made me do my chore and forced me to play outside!"
"Wait, wait, wait!" Ron interrupted again. "Your punishment was to play outside?" he laughed loudly causing Hermione to join him despite herself.
"Well, I didn't want to go outside, Ronald. I wanted to finish my book! Anyway, I remember being so angry and wanting to get back inside so badly that I closed my eyes, stamped my foot and when I opened my eyes I was in my room!"
"WHAT?" Ron shouted, and jumped down from the rock so he could stand in front of her. "How old were you?"
"Five," Hermione answered, confused by his reaction.
"You Apparated at FIVE?" Ron asked, nearly falling over.
"No, don't be silly, I didn't Apparate!"
"Well, what would you call it, then?" he asked incredulously.
"I…I guess I just…I don't know, but Apparating makes it sound so…so…"
"Amazing? Incredible? Advanced!" Ron's eyes were bright and he looked as if he wanted to pick her up and swing her around. "Merlin Hermione, I always knew you were special, but this is…this is just extraordinary! Wait until Harry hears!"
"No, Ron, I don't think I Apparated," she blushed at his praise.
"Well, I think you did and I think it's brilliant, just like you!" His complement was met with silence and they stared at each other for a swollen moment.
"So…so, tell me about the first time you used magic?" Hermione asked, and seemed to pull Ron out of whatever thoughts he was having. She almost kicked herself because he may have been thinking about kissing her.
"Well, I didn't Apparate," Ron chuckled, and Hermione opened her mouth to protest, but he talked over her. "I know, I know, you don't think you Apparated, but anyway…my first sign of magic was when I was four—"
"Four?" Hermione questioned, rather impressed.
"Yeah, Fred and George had taken my ball and were tossing it back and forth over my head. Well I got so frustrated that…that, I started to…cry," he mumbled that last word, with his ears flaring bright red.
"Aww," Hermione moaned.
"Don't, Merlin, I can't believe I'm telling you this," Ron laughed through his embarrassment.
"But, there is nothing wrong with you crying, you were four. I think it's adorable," Hermione said, and Ron blushed crimson.
"Yeah?" he asked, and she nodded. "Er…so yeah, they started teasing me even more calling me a cry baby. Well, I got right angry then and I shouted something like, 'Give me my bloody ball,' and it flew out of George's hands right into mine! They tried to say that George got sick of my whinging and threw the ball to me. But he didn't, because they both looked terrified and they left me alone for at least two weeks!"
"Wow, so you did a summoning charm of sorts? And I guess I shouldn't be surprised that you were swearing at the tender age of four." She quirked an eyebrow and Ron laughed loudly.
"I reckon you shouldn't be, I had five older brothers," he laughed more. "But it's all uncontrolled you know, that's why it usually happens when children are angry or frightened. Harry said he grew his hair back overnight after his horrid aunt gave him a hacked cut." Ron chuckled.
"Yeah, he told me."
They sat quietly for a long moment. The crickets were chirping and it really felt like it was night time, so much so that Hermione was getting tired. She looked at her watch and discovered it was well after five in the evening. The time had flown by, but she was in no hurry for this to end.
"Are you ready to go?" Ron asked, having noticed her looking at her watch.
"No, no, just checking the time. We can walk back up to the blanket though, if you'd like?"
"Sure," he said, and helped her off the rock. Her knees nearly buckled as he slipped his arm around her shoulder. As if on instinct, her arm went around his back and her head rested on his arm as she was too short to rest on his shoulder. Before they made their way back up to the sunshine, a voice boomed through the air advising the patrons that the gardens would be closing in 10 minutes.
"Well, I guess we have to go now," Ron said, Hermione nodded sadly, she was not ready for this date to end.
All the same, they packed up quickly and before she knew what was happening, they had changed and were walking out the front door. Ron carried the picnic basket and Hermione held her basket of freshly picked flowers.
Apparating to her front door, Hermione was on the verge of explosion. She wanted Ron to stay, wanted this date to continue…forever. The sun had just set, but the evening was still young. Hermione pulled out her wand to unlock her door, but stopped before she opened it. She turned and faced Ron. This was it. If this was the end of the date then this is where he needed to kiss her. She tried with all her might not too look as hopeful as she felt, but she would just die if he didn't kiss her now.
"Er…um…so, you had a nice time, yeah?" Ron asked in a hushed tone.
"Yes, it was fantastic, Ron. Everything was perfect." She matched his volume though she didn't know why.
"So…would…would you like to go…you know…do it again?" He met her eyes briefly before letting them drop to his shoes.
"Yes! Of course!" Hermione smiled brightly.
"Really? So…well, when?"
"I…I can cook supper for you…well, if you like?"
"Sure, that'd be great!"
"Next Saturday?" Hermione asked.
"Yeah, that's great, cheers!" he said, excitedly, and stepped back. Hermione thought he was going to walk away. Her heart nearly leaped out of her throat, but he stepped back to her quickly.
"OH! Bloody hell! I nearly forgot! I'm sorry," he said, as he began to dig in his pockets.
Hermione was utterly confused by this, but within an instant, Ron pulled out a small velvet box. It was in her hand before she even realized that he had handed it to her. With trembling fingers she opened it and revealed a gold charm bracelet with one charm hanging on it that matched the pendant in the necklace exactly.
"Oh, Ron! You didn't have to do this! It's too much," she said as she willed her heart to stop thumping. She felt dizzy, breathless, and seemed to be losing all concept of time. She had no recollection of Ron taking the box out of her hand until she felt his fingers ghost across her wrist as he closed the clasp of the bracelet. His thumb remained on her pulse and he massaged it in slow circles.
"Do you like it?" he asked, as he stepped closer to her. Small puffs of white air left his warm mouth and the cold wind whisked it away instantly. His eyes burned intently into Hermione and she found that she was only capable of gaping at him.
"I…I won't be able to bring you gifts like…like this always, at least not now…maybe one day," Ron continued, even closer to her now. Hermione slid the hand that Ron wasn't holding up his chest and rested it on his shoulder. He pressed his thumb against her pulse.
"Your heart is beating so fast," he whispered, now their foreheads were touching.
"That could be your pulse too, you have one in your thumb, you know," she said quietly, Ron smiled.
Hermione could taste his breath as it left his mouth. A hint of mint, and the apple he had as they were leaving, swirled through her nostrils and danced across her tongue, nearly making her drunk. Her eyes fluttered closed as Ron moved closer, his lips practically on her. When she didn't feel his kiss, she opened her eyes again. The look he was giving her almost stopped her heart. His eyes were so expressive and they were telling her that he was a man on the edge. He wanted to ravish her, but something was keeping him from doing it.
"I…I promised my mum I'd be a gentleman," Ron blurted out, even as his arm snaked around her waist. Hermione moved her hand from his shoulder to the back of his neck and she threaded her fingers through his hair. They were in an embrace of sorts now that Ron had removed his hand from her wrist and brought it up to her face. His thumb now stroking her cheek.
"You…held the door for me," Hermione whispered, her lips so close to his now that if she tipped her head back a mere fraction, she'd be touching him. "That was gentlemanly."
"Yeah?" Ron breathed.
"You helped me down from—"
"Hermione," Ron hissed, cutting her off. "I…I really want to kiss you…but…but I…I think it will ruin me for good…so…so that'll be it for me…I'll be done for…forever…so you must be sure…"
"Please," Hermione breathed, and the word had barely escaped her mouth before he was on her.
The moment his lips made contact, Ron moaned so loudly and long that it rattled her teeth. Both her hands threaded in his hair and Ron pulled her flush against him. His tongue swished in her mouth, warm and wet and eager. Hermione was surprised by how soft his lips were and how good he tasted. It was so far beyond what she imagined. Ron was brilliant at this.
They stumbled back and landed against Hermione's door. Ron explored her mouth expertly with his probing tongue. He sucked her tongue into his mouth and nibbled her bottom lip. She simply hung on, for she had never been kissed like this, never felt the desperate ache at her center that was pounding her now. Her stomach flopped, and her heart banged against her chest, and she knew she was moaning, but she couldn't stop herself. She never wanted this to end.
It felt as if her world had tilted on its axis, but she soon realized that Ron had hoisted her up against the door. Without conscious thought, she wrapped her legs around him and Ron pressed himself against her. His erection was wedged right where she needed it and it instantly soothed some of her ache. The feel of it terrified Hermione but, God, she wanted it there so badly.
Ron fisted his hand in her hair as he finally broke the kiss and let his soft swollen lips travel down her chin to her neck. He latched onto her pulse point and sucked, causing a shutter to run through Hermione. He moved up to her ear and slipped her lobe in his mouth, then hissed, "You taste so good."
The sound of his voice in her ear, so husky and lust-filled, caused her to grind her hips against him. Ron groaned loudly and bit down gently on her neck, then he thrust forward pressing his hard cock against her even more.
This was not kissing, Hermione hazily realized, as she slowly rotated her hips against the startlingly large bulge in Ron's denims and he brought his mouth back to hers. She'd been kissed before, Victor had seen to that, but this…this was…sex. The strength that Ron was exuding now, the ripple of his muscles as he groped her, made Hermione certain that he could pin her to the door with only the power of his hungry cock. That thought shook her to her core and she pulled away from the kiss with wide, terrified eyes.
"I'm sorry!" Ron panted immediately. He gently lowered her to the ground, though it didn't do much good for Hermione. She was still floating, even with both her feet planted firmly.
"I'm sorry," Ron whispered again.
"It's…don't apologize," she said quietly, fearing that he may have regrets now. "I…I liked it," Hermione said, so lowly that she was certain Ron hadn't heard her, but his smile let her know that he had.
"Yeah?" he asked, stepping to her again, but before she could answer him, he was kissing her once more.
This time, it was soft and gentle, with only a slight brush of his tongue. It was a nice discovery that he had different kinds of kisses and she wondered if all of them would have the power to render her deaf and dumb. Before he pulled away this time, Ron peppered her face with feather-light kisses. Then he pressed his lips to hers one last time and pulled her into a hug.
"I knew it," he sighed in her ear, squeezing her more. "I knew once I kissed you, I'd never want to do anything else."
Hermione smiled as she stroked her hands over his back. She was unable to speak for fear that she'd start bawling, but she agreed whole-heartedly. She was done, this was it for her. No other man would ever touch her lips or any part of her as long as Ron was alive and probably not even after that. Slowly, he pulled away from the embrace. They looked at one another for a long moment, then Ron brought her hand to his mouth and kissed it.
"So, Saturday, yeah?" he asked, and Hermione nodded.
"You'll cook me dinner?" he smiled cheekily, and she nodded again.
"I'm sure it will be delicious…just like you," he hissed the last part and Hermione's eyes fluttered closed as they came together again in another searing kiss.
By all rights, she should be freezing, but there was a heat coursing though her blood that kept her more than warm, she was burning up! This time when they broke apart, Ron actually stepped away from her. He looked as though that was the only way he'd be able to walk away.
At the loss of his warm body, Hermione shivered violently. She wanted to leap on him and do wicked things that she wasn't even sure she knew how to do. God, Ron was a man and it somehow snuck up on her just how much of a man he was. Judging by the bulge in his denims, he was a rather healthy man.
Ron must've sensed where her eyes were because he closed his cloak, causing Hermione to look up at his face. He smiled sheepishly and whispered another apology. The only response she was capable of was a simple shake of her head. This incident had apparently robbed her of her voice, which was certainly a first.
"Oh, are you coming to Sunday supper at the Burrow tomorrow?" Ron asked, suddenly. Again, Hermione nodded. He smiled wide.
"Brilliant, then I'll…I'll see you tomorrow," he whispered and leaned forward and kissed her cheek. Hermione's eyes fluttered briefly, then she turned and opened the door to her flat. As she stepped inside and turned to say goodnight, or at least try to make her voice work, Ron leaned in and kissed her lips one last time. It was chaste, but still managed to suck away the last bit of ability she had to speak.
"It was a good date, yeah?" he asked quietly as he stepped back, waiting for an answer.
She nodded mutely, but with a dazzling smile. Hermione waved to him softly and then closed the door with a soft click. She leaned against it and then slid down the entire length, landing on her bum with a thud. Looking over to the basket of flowers, she took a deep breath, then let out a final sigh that carried with it a whisper of, "It was perfect."
A/N: Well, there you have it! Finally, the Date! Hope you all liked it, and hope you liked the fast update. If it took too long, blame the admins not me
Thanks to my fabulous beta, Jamie, couldn't do it without you!
Coming next: Chapter 7 Public Displays.
There may be a delay in that chapter coming out as I am going out of town and will not have computer access for a few days. I KNOW! How ever will I survive? Well, I don't know, but there will be lots of tears I'm sure!
Karen