A/N: FB group: madrose_writing
Alpha love to honeysweetcutie
Forever unbeta'd
SIXTEEN
Party of Four
The following morning, Hermione found herself at a five-star hotel lobby bar with a full English breakfast a never-ending supply of mimosas. It has been exactly as Draco promised when he lured her out of a dead sleep and asked her to join him to the sole meeting he had for the day. The rest of the promise was something he would fulfill later when they spent the rest of the day together.
She had never been so happy to be inconvenienced by a gas leak in her life.
The night before, as Draco went about securing them dinner after they woke up, she had checked her email to discover one from her boss. It said that the city was still searching for the leak, so everyone was still being asked to stay home, but would continue to get paid. It was one of the best mornings she had had in quite some time. Especially when Draco had pulled her into his shower. No one who had an orgasm first thing in the morning could have a bad day.
As she dug into her plate, she pulled out her phone and sent a good morning text to Theo. No sooner did she close out of the app did her screen light up with an incoming call from him. She grinned and answered right away.
"Good morning to you too," he said.
"Sorry if it was me who hung up on you last night," she said, a blush creeping up her face.
There was a moment of silence so brief she thought she imagined it before he spoke again. "It's alright. You were busy."
She cleared her throat and took a sip of her mimosa. "Regardless," she said and smiled to herself. "I'm still sorry."
"Don't sweat it, Hermione," he assured her. There was some rustling on his end so she waited for him to finish whatever it was. She nearly choked on her drink when he spoke next. "How many times did Draco make you come?"
"Four," she whispered, hiding her face behind her other hand as she did.
She heard him hiss as he sucked in a breath and she squirmed in her seat. "In one session?"
"Yup."
"You'll have to show me when I come home."
A groan tumbled past her lips. "Theo…"
"Where are you?" he asked.
"I'm at the bar."
There was a small pause. "Why?"
"There's still that gas leak at the office so Draco invited me to his meeting this morning with the promise of free food and unlimited mimosas." She finished off her current glass and signaled for another. "How could I say no?"
Theo's laugh made her smile wide and sigh as her heart ached. "How are they?"
"The mimosas are the real winner, but the food's alright. Nothing beats your cooking." Her smile widened. "I miss you."
"I miss you too, Hermione. I'll be home tomorrow. If you end up working, I'll have dinner ready for you when you get home. If you stay home, my flight lands at eleven." She heard other voices on his end, one of them calling his name. "I have to go, but I'll call later if I can. Tell Draco hello for me."
"I'm sure he says hello right back," she said. "Bye, Theo."
"Bye, Hermione," he said and the call disconnected.
She hadn't even set the phone down before she felt it vibrate in her hand again. She answered it once she saw Ginny's name flash across the screen. "Hey, what's up?"
"My mother is driving me insane."
Hermione couldn't help but laugh. Molly Weasley was the sweetest woman on the face of the earth, but when she was set on something, she pushed everyone towards it until she got her way. Which, when she thought about it, was exactly what Ginny would do, though Hermione would never say that to her friend's face.
"What is it this time?"
"She's demanding a seating chart. I keep telling her I don't give a flying fuck where people sit, so long as they understand the sweetheart table is for Harry and I. If one person has a problem with another, don't sit by each other!" There was a moment where Ginny took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "Anyway, can you come over tonight?"
Hermione hesitated, knowing that Draco had mentioned wanting to do something with her that evening. "Will Harry be home?"
Ginny muttered something under her breath and Hermione bit down on a laugh as she caught something akin to unhelpful, spineless, and asshole. "Yes, why?"
"Mind if I bring Draco with me? We'll even pick up dinner on the way."
That did the trick. "Just Draco?"
"Theo's out of town until tomorrow. We can even bring wine from-"
"Seven work for you two?"
Hermione did laugh at that. Ever since she had shared that Draco worked in the wine industry and was constantly bringing home bottles for them, Ginny had been hounding her for some. "We'll be there. If you need anything else-"
"Chocolate, please," she interrupted. "Any kind. Several kinds, actually. Buy the whole aisle."
"Maybe some tampons?" Hermione suggested with a snicker. "Or maybe a pregnancy test."
"I'm hanging up now."
"See you tonight," Hermione said, setting her phone down when the call disconnected. She waited a full minute before she decided that even if someone else did call, she wasn't going to answer. Her food was already getting cold and if she didn't eat soon, she was going to feel those three mimosas sooner than she wanted.
By the time Draco returned, she was halfway through her fourth one and just pushing her plate away from her. He dropped a kiss to her cheek and slipped onto the chair beside her. "Did the bribe meet your expectations?" he asked.
"Yes, thank you," she said, reaching for his hand and lacing their fingers together beneath the bar. "Theo called. He says hello."
He inclined his head. "Did he say what happened last night?"
She opened her mouth to answer, but realized Theo hadn't clarified what had happened. She closed her lips and shrugged. "Not sure still, but he's not mad about it."
He chuckled and let go of her hand in favor of check his emails. "Anything else happen?"
"Ginny called. We're having dinner over there tonight. I hope that doesn't impede on any plans you might have made."
He quirked a brow at her. "Fishing to see if I planned our date yet, Granger?"
"Maybe," she teased as she took another drink. "But did you?" she asked, feeling guilty for not having asked first. "If you did, I can-"
"If I did, it can be delayed another day. I like Ginny."
"Harry will be there too."
"As long as her brother isn't there. Potter's fine without Weasel making him dumber."
"Ron and I dated a long time ago, you know."
Draco's brows nearly rose off of his face in shock before he dissolved into a round of hysterics. "You and that brainless git? Why?"
She rolled her eyes and shoved him playfully. "He was sweet and had it worked out, I would have been Ginny's sister-in-law." She shrugged and finished her drink. "But it didn't, so I'll just have to be her best friend instead."
"How devastating," he drawled, but smiled at her regardless.
"I told her," she said after a moment of silence. "About the three of us."
His brow quirked up again. "And?"
"She's on board with whatever makes me happy."
"And do we?"
"Make me happy?" she questioned. A grin took hold of her lips as she reached for his tie and pulled him closer so she could kiss him. "Absolutely."
"Good," he said, pulling her to her feet and twining their fingers together. "Ready to go?"
"What's on the agenda?"
"I was thinking we could see a movie and then get a light lunch."
"Really? That's awfully…typical."
"Did you really think I was going to set the bar high with our first date?" he asked as he led her outside, summoning his driver with a single text. "No, I'm going to build up the wow factor. Each date I take you on, you'll see the quality increase."
She nodded and stepped closer to him, stepping up on her tiptoes until her lips were near his ear. "I've always wanted to have sex at the cinema."
He pulled her close until there was no distance between them and moved his hips so she could feel his growing erection. "Fuck, Granger. Keep that up and I won't make it to the theatre."
"What's the matter, Draco?" she teased, pulling away as the car pulled up. "Don't think you'll have the stamina for both?"
As the afternoon wore on, he spent it showing her that he did indeed have the stamina for both.
By the time they made it Ginny and Harry's place, Hermione was ready to crawl into bed and sleep for a week. Between the sex in the shower, the mimosas at breakfast, car sex, and an extreme workout in the cinema to make that sex work, she was exhausted. She barely had the energy to stop by the store and get enough chocolate to supply a school, stop by one of Draco's suppliers to get several bottles of wine, and pick up dinner on the way. It would be a miracle if she made it through dinner before she passed out on Ginny's couch.
Harry and Draco went about setting the table for the four of them and setting out the food while she and Ginny put away the sweets and poured the wine. When they sat down to eat, Hermione couldn't help but feel a little saddened by the fact that Theo wasn't there with them to enjoy this moment.
The conversation was easy, as if the four of them had always been friends. She was amazed at how well Ginny and Draco got along, the both of them doing most of the talking. The only things Harry and Draco seemed to share a common interest of was sports. And when that subject came up, Hermione was the only one that was silent, choosing to tune them all out and sip at her wine.
After dinner, Harry and Draco moved to the living room to continue their debate over rival teams while Hermione and Ginny elected to stay behind to clean up. "We'll have to do this again," Ginny said as they threw away the last of the containers. "When Theo's home."
Hermione smiled and nodded her head in agreement. "That would be great."
"How's that working out?"
"Since the last time I talked to you about it a few days ago?" she asked.
Ginny rolled her eyes and offered Hermione what was left of the opened bottle of wine. She shook her head and her friend poured the rest into her glass to finish off. "How is it with Theo being gone?"
"Strange. I know we've all talked to death about the fact that they're alright with me being with them separately, but it still feels…" She shook her head to come up with another word, but failed. "Strange."
"It's still new. Give it some time."
Hermione nodded again and set the few dishes they had used in the sink before filling up the other side to start washing. "Do you want to talk about wedding stuff?"
Ginny snorted and shook her head. "No I really don't. But, it is getting down to the wire. I know it all needs to get done, that we've planned out everything in advance that we could, but Jesus Christ, Hermione." She hopped up onto the counter off to the side and sipped at her glass. "Do you think it'll be more complicated if you marry both of them?"
The wine glass in her hand slipped and shattered in the sink. She went still as she stared at the little shards while Ginny remained seated and laughed so hard she nearly spit wine out of her nose.
"What happened?" Draco and Harry asked at the same time as they entered the kitchen. Draco came to the sink and pulled Hermione away from it, inspecting her hand for any injuries. When he didn't find any, he pushed her aside and went about getting glass out of the sink.
"I made a comment," Ginny said with a hiccup.
"One that was made far too soon," Hermione added.
Harry took the glass from Ginny's hand and set it down on the counter behind her. "Come on, Gin, let's get you to bed."
"Thanks for coming over, Mione. Nice to see you again, Draco," she said, hugging each of them in turn.
"I'll talk to you tomorrow," Hermione replied.
"Just leave the-" Harry started.
Hermione shook her head. "Take care of her, we'll see to this. We'll let ourselves out."
"Thanks," he said, and disappeared out of the room with Ginny in tow, her laughter reaching their ears from down the stairs after she left.
"Go sit," Draco demanded when she tried to help.
"I'm not-"
"There's barely anything left to wash," he interrupted, finality in his tone.
She huffed and hopped up onto the counter in the spot Ginny had just been. "Thank you."
He nodded and continued to stare down at what he was doing. Even as he asked, "What was it that Ginny said to you?"
Hermione played with the fabric of her blouse as she stared down at her hands. "Nothing major, just-"
"You do realize I can tell that you're lying, right?" he asked, turning to narrow his eyes at her. She didn't look up, but she saw him from the corners of her eyes. "Just spit it out, Granger."
She took a deep breath, letting it out with a sigh. "We were talking about her wedding plans and she simply asked if she thought it would be harder to plan ours."
She noticed the way he stiffened; the way his shirt stretched as the muscles in his back tensed. He didn't say anything as he went back to rinsing off the last few dishes and pulling the plug on the sink to let it drain. Tense silence wrapped around them as he dried his hands and slowly turned to rest his back on the sink, ankles crossed and hands up on the counter.
"It's only been a few weeks," she said after clearing her throat. "Far too early to even think about going down that road. She was just trying to deflect from having to think about her wedding. I think I might offer to-"
As she started babbling, he had crossed the distance between them, nudging himself between her legs and pulling her face down to shut her up with a kiss. Her hands fell to his shoulders as his held her face firmly. His tongue danced with hers as he did a fantastic job of quieting her thoughts.
They pulled away at the same time, their foreheads resting against one another's as they panted for air. He dropped his hands to her thighs and squeezed reassuringly. "It will be easier."
"Easier?" she questioned, pulling back to look at him.
He inclined his head. "Pansy will probably take over the planning and you won't have to lift a finger."
She worried at her bottom lip as her head started to shake. "Draco, it's-"
"A long way off, I know, but if that's what's in the cards for us, then-"
"How would that even be possible?" she blurted, cursing herself for getting into this now, in Ginny's kitchen. "I'm fairly certain the law only recognizes marriages between two people, not three."
"For now."
Hermione's lips parted for a moment as she realized the tone of his words carried a promise, but she clamped her mouth shut again, not wanting to truly delve into this topic. Not yet. "Can we go home now?" she asked, letting the yawn she'd been stifling come to fruition. "I'm exhausted."
It was a weak way to change the subject, but Draco allowed it anyway. He kissed her temple and then called for the car to come pick them up. After making sure Ginny's place was in order, they stepped outside and into the car when it arrived. Just as she thought, the moment she laid her head on Draco's shoulder in the back seat, she closed her eyes and fell asleep.
