Happy Friday! My cousin is getting married tomorrow, which means open bar. And after the week I've had at work and the complex my coworker is trying to give me about food and my dress, that's the thing I'm looking forward to the most.


Chapter 9

She hadn't hexed him.

Hadn't slapped him.

Hadn't pushed him away.

Didn't even think about reprimanding him for kissing her.

Instead, Hermione had wrapped his arms around his waist, held him close, and allowed him to deepen the best kiss she could ever remember receiving. It was a brief moment of nirvana that ended too soon when Draco pulled away. "Sorry, I probably shouldn't have done that," he murmured, blushing slightly.

"Why?" she wondered as he took a step back.

He raised one eyebrow incredulously. "Weasley," he reminded her.

Embarrassment colored her cheeks. "Oh, him," she mumbled. Draco nodded. "He's never kissed me like that. I don't think anyone's ever kissed me like that."

"Like what?" he wondered.

Her blush deepened. "Like they love me," she told him.

Draco's brows furrowed as he stepped closer once again. "Why have you stayed with him so long?" he wondered. "You don't love him, you don't want to be with him. Why stay with him?"

Hermione shrugged and returned to her place behind the counter. "I don't know," she replied. "He's the only person I've ever dated. I'm not saying that I need a boyfriend to make my life feel complete, but losing Ron means losing a lot of other people too. I don't want to be alone."

He followed her and turned Hermione to face him. "You're not alone. You've got me," he promised.

Though she nodded, she didn't quite believe him. "What happens when you get tired of me?" she wondered.

"That's not going to happen," he replied with a soft chuckle. "I find you far too entertaining to ever become bored with you."

"Please be serious," she chided.

"I am," he told her with a smile on his face. "I lost a lot of friends because of the war. Most of them, it's fine. Doesn't bother me that they're not around. But you? I love when you're around. I'm happy. You make me happy. I don't know that I can say that about anyone else."

She felt a sense of pride. The boy who had once insulted her for having muggle parents was now professing his feelings for her. And this time they were good. But there was Ron to think of. Harry, who would be caught in the middle of their potential break up. There were Molly and Arthur who had been like parents to her. Ginny would never speak to her again if Hermione broke her brother's heart. And Ron would be heartbroken, completely blindsided by the split.

Snapped from her thoughts by Draco's hand on her cheek, she looked up at him. "Thank you," was her only response.

He stepped back, clearly confused by her comment. "That's it?" he wondered. "I tell you how I feel, and all you can say is thank you? I thought some part of you might feel the same way. Guess I was wrong."

Hermione stood, dumbfounded, as Draco walked away. "Wait," she said when he reached the locked, front door. He stopped and turned to face her. Taking a deep breath to fortify her nerves, she left the counter to stand before him. "I feel the same way, and it scares me," she confessed. "We hated each other for so long that sometimes it's hard for me to accept the way I feel about you. And then I feel guilty because we've been friends for a month and I already have stronger feelings for you than I do for Ron. I mean it when I say that was the best kiss I've ever had, and I want to do it again."

Draco nodded, but turned the locks on the door. "Well, thank you," he replied.

She watched in stunned silence as he opened the door and walked out into the early morning rain. It was happening again. They were fighting, walking away from one another. And Hermione hated it. She hated that he left. Hated the way he dismissed her feelings. Hated that he hadn't looked back even once.

Deciding she wouldn't allow another fight to occur, she left the shop, not caring if the door shut behind her. "Draco, wait," she called out. He was well ahead of her and gave no indication that he would heed her request. "Please," she said, running to catch up with him.

"Why?" he asked when he finally stopped and faced her. "I get it. You don't believe that I've really changed. You think this has all been some act, some way to trick you so I could just eventually hurt you. Because I'm still the bad guy, and nothing I do will ever change that in your mind. So, just let me go, Hermione. Let's end this now and be done with it before either one of us gets hurt."

Hermione stepped back, shocked by his outburst. "That's really what you think I meant?" she asked. Draco shrugged and looked away. "I know you've changed. I've seen it. You hold my hand and let me sleep in your bed and you kissed me. You haven't called me a mudblood once. You haven't sneered at me like you used to. You listen to me when I complain about a bad day. I don't want to let you go."

Draco sighed and ran a hand through his damp hair. "I don't want to let you go either," he admitted. "I just don't want to fight with you. And I don't want to constantly have to remind you that I'm not the same person I was in school. All I want is a friend, and I thought that's what I had."

"It is," she insisted. "I am your friend, Draco, until you decide we really are done. But I don't want to be done. I care about you too much to just walk away. I'm sorry that I hurt you."

Stepping closer to her, he brushed a wet curl away from her face. "I care about you too," he replied. "Sometimes it scares me too. I'm not used to feeling this way about someone else."

"What is it you're feeling?" she asked, placing her hands flat against his chest. Beneath them, she could feel the wild thumping of his heart.

He smiled as he cupped her cheek. "I don't know," he said honestly. "I think it could be love someday. What comes between like and love?"

"Lust?" she guessed.

Draco chuckled. "Well, I did enjoy having you in my bed last night," he replied. Hermione rolled her eyes and gently slapped his chest. "You can't deny that you liked being there too."

"No nightmares," she told him. "Plus that mattress is incredible. I want one for my flat."

"And my presence?" he wondered.

Hermione shrugged. "Hardly noticed," she said carelessly. "Were you there the whole time?"

He gave one of her curls a gentle tug, but couldn't fight back a smile. "I liked having you there," he confessed. "Do you think you might want to do it again sometime?"

She returned his smile with one of her own. "Do you think you might want to kiss me again?" she asked.

He nodded, and did just that.