Hey.. thanks to everyone who has reviewed so far.. you guys rock! I'm
sorry it has taken so long to post this chapter; I've been trying to learn
how to play poker, to make it more realistic!
To respond to the most frequent comment, yes, Draco will be stripping.at least somewhat. Keep it mind the rating, though, so don't get your hopes up too high : D This chapter title is for all of you though (at least those of you who told me to have Draco, ahem take it all off)
Anyway, I'm hoping to write at least a chapter or two involving each hand they play..when I get tired of the clothing going back and forth, one of them will raise the stakes for the rest of the clothing!
Chapter 4 - A Simple Game? Or 'Draco Takes it Off'
"This is not happening," Ginny hid her face in her hands and whispered to herself.
"Oh, but it is."
Ginny jumped at the words that were whispered into her right ear. Somehow, without making a sound, Draco had circled around her and now stood directly behind her, his head bent down and his lips mere centimeters from her ear.
She gasped out loud. Hurriedly, she turned around and backed towards the fireplace.away from Draco. She only stopped when the back of her thighs hit a polished oak table.
Trying to fight the almost instinctive need to put the table between her and Draco, she took a steadying breath. "You realize my brothers will kill you for this."
"Yes, but if you had told them, they would have been here already, and somehow I have a feeling that you neglected to mention it to the amazing trio." His didn't look at her, but instead examined his manicured fingernails - as if signaling the fact that he was not worried about her brothers.
Ginny bit her lower lip. She wasn't sure what she should do. If any of her brothers found out about this, they would pound Malfoy first, and ask questions later. Then again, they would certainly lock her in her dorm room until she was thirty. She wasn't a little girl anymore, a fact that no one seemed to notice.except maybe Malfoy. Ginny could have laughed at the irony. She was a fifth year for goodness sakes! She didn't need anyone protecting her. Then again, she was dealing with Malfoy, the blonde devil incarnate himself.
She could just hear Ron now, 'You went off by yourself to look for Malfoy! I'll kill him! You just wait 'til I'm through. What were you thinking.'
Looking him in the eye, Ginny made her decision. "I'm in," she declared, brown eyes going flinty at the thought of Ron over-reacting.
Malfoy looked at her strangely, then nodded.
"I surprised him!" Ginny thought. "He didn't think I'd agree. I wonder why he suggested it then? Maybe.wait, I've got to remember to focus now.focus!"
Draco's mask dropped into place a second later. "Have a seat, Virginia." He said, gesturing towards a dark oak table where a pack of unopened lay, along a bottle of butterbeer and two glasses.
Ginny pulled out one of the high back chairs and slowly lowered herself onto the green velvet seat. It made a slight squishing noise as she shifted, trying to get comfortable in what was decidedly a comfortless situation.
Malfoy pulled out the chair across the table from her and sank down into it, without seeming to have a care in the world, although his mind raced as his thoughts tumbled and climbed over one another. It was only the years as a Slytherin that enabled him to keep his face impassive.
"This is never going to work, this is never going to work, this is never." he thought desperately.
"I can't believe I'm doing this, I can't believe I'm..." Ginny fought not to panic.
Putting on a practiced smirk, Malf- Draco looked her up and down. "I don't suppose you'd like to save us both the time and just hand over your clothes right now, would you?"
He got his answer in the form of a pack of cards flying at his head. Draco wasn't a seeker for nothing, however, and he easily managed to catch the small object.
"Temper, temper, Virginia. Then again, I suppose I should be thankful it wasn't one of the glasses, though."
Ginny snorted.
"Anyway, shall we begin? Do you want to deal or shall I?"
Another snort.
"Very well, I'll deal." Draco broke the seal on the cards and languidly shuffled them, never taking his eyes off the brooding redhead. "You know, this will be a much more pleasant experience if you actually talk."
"You know," Ginny mimicked. "This would be a much more pleasant experience if you weren't here."
Draco gave a emotionless chuckle.
'Maybe I should forget this.. just give the toad to her..' Draco dismissed the thought immediately. 'No, I do have a reputation to preserve. I got myself into this, and now I'm going to have to see it through.stupid teenage hormones!' (A/N: sorry, I couldn't resist that one!)
"Fine," exclaimed a voice, startling Draco. "Let's just get this over with. What's the game?"
"Five card draw - nothing's wild. Shall we open the betting with," Ginny glared at him, as if daring him to say anything remotely sexual. "A shoe?"
"Fine. I assume I don't have to take it off unless you win?" Like that was going to happen, Ginny thought.
"Naturally. After all, I'm not totally heartless."
Ginny gave him a look that spoke volumes, but let the comment slide.
Draco dealt Ginny and himself each five cards, then set the deck face down in the middle of the table. Picking up his cards, he looked at the hand he was dealt.
"Hmmm..jack, two tens, a three and two..not so great..wonder what she had." Draco looked over at his opponent.
Ginny kept her face impassive - the sign of a good poker player. Years of bluffing against six older brothers had taught her to keep her eyes from showing any emotion either. Slowly, as if wading through water, Ginny lay two cards down on the table.
Voice neutral, she said simply, "Two cards, please."
Draco dealt her two, and then helped himself to three. A six and two fours. Two pair - nothing stellar.Draco could curse his luck.
He could, or he could play smart - Malfoy style. Unobtrusively as possible, he removed his wand from his robe pocket where it was stashed. Quickly, he tapped the wand on the underside of the table, under the stack of cards, whispering a single word while his face was still buried in his cards.
Ginny didn't notice anything unusual.
"Shall we start the betting? I'll see the shoe and raise you a sock."
Draco looked down at his cards, then back at Ginny. He should call.. her hand was far better than his. Still, if he got greedy this early in the game, she would become suspicious. A sibling of the 'terrible-twin- weasels' would be able to spot a scam - unless it was very carefully played out. Besides, it wasn't like he was a shrinking violet and they were only his feet. "Very well. I'll see your bet and raise you another shoe."
Ginny looked at him.he had to be bluffing.there was no way he could beat her hand.then again, no reason to start the game off half naked. "Very well. I call."
He lay down his cards, then looked expectantly at her. She smiled triumphantly, showing a straight. "Well, I guess I win this round." She allowed herself a small smirk. "Well? Pay up, blondie."
Never breaking eye contact, he crossed his left ankle over his right knee. Slowly he slipped off his shoe, then the sock and placed them off the side of the table. In one fluid movement, he switched legs, and removed his other shoe, placing it alongside its match.
'Damn! Only Drac-Malfoy could make ankles sexy!' Ginny gathered both hands of cards in one sweep and handed them across the table.
'Perhaps this won't be so bad after all,' she thought as she watched Draco deal out the next hand. 'Then again, I don't make the mistake of believing 'not bad' equals 'a pleasant way to spend my evening'. Oh well. Putting Draco in his place can't be the worst thing I've ever needed to do. Who knows? Sending him back to his dorm in his underwear might just be the thing he needs to cut him down to size.'
She noticed him watching her. Pulling herself out of her thoughts, she met his stare, then looked meaningfully at the deck he carelessly shuffled.
Draco struggled to suppress an evil grin as she helped herself to the butterbeer.
'Enjoy it while you can, Virginia. Enjoy it while you can.'
To respond to the most frequent comment, yes, Draco will be stripping.at least somewhat. Keep it mind the rating, though, so don't get your hopes up too high : D This chapter title is for all of you though (at least those of you who told me to have Draco, ahem take it all off)
Anyway, I'm hoping to write at least a chapter or two involving each hand they play..when I get tired of the clothing going back and forth, one of them will raise the stakes for the rest of the clothing!
Chapter 4 - A Simple Game? Or 'Draco Takes it Off'
"This is not happening," Ginny hid her face in her hands and whispered to herself.
"Oh, but it is."
Ginny jumped at the words that were whispered into her right ear. Somehow, without making a sound, Draco had circled around her and now stood directly behind her, his head bent down and his lips mere centimeters from her ear.
She gasped out loud. Hurriedly, she turned around and backed towards the fireplace.away from Draco. She only stopped when the back of her thighs hit a polished oak table.
Trying to fight the almost instinctive need to put the table between her and Draco, she took a steadying breath. "You realize my brothers will kill you for this."
"Yes, but if you had told them, they would have been here already, and somehow I have a feeling that you neglected to mention it to the amazing trio." His didn't look at her, but instead examined his manicured fingernails - as if signaling the fact that he was not worried about her brothers.
Ginny bit her lower lip. She wasn't sure what she should do. If any of her brothers found out about this, they would pound Malfoy first, and ask questions later. Then again, they would certainly lock her in her dorm room until she was thirty. She wasn't a little girl anymore, a fact that no one seemed to notice.except maybe Malfoy. Ginny could have laughed at the irony. She was a fifth year for goodness sakes! She didn't need anyone protecting her. Then again, she was dealing with Malfoy, the blonde devil incarnate himself.
She could just hear Ron now, 'You went off by yourself to look for Malfoy! I'll kill him! You just wait 'til I'm through. What were you thinking.'
Looking him in the eye, Ginny made her decision. "I'm in," she declared, brown eyes going flinty at the thought of Ron over-reacting.
Malfoy looked at her strangely, then nodded.
"I surprised him!" Ginny thought. "He didn't think I'd agree. I wonder why he suggested it then? Maybe.wait, I've got to remember to focus now.focus!"
Draco's mask dropped into place a second later. "Have a seat, Virginia." He said, gesturing towards a dark oak table where a pack of unopened lay, along a bottle of butterbeer and two glasses.
Ginny pulled out one of the high back chairs and slowly lowered herself onto the green velvet seat. It made a slight squishing noise as she shifted, trying to get comfortable in what was decidedly a comfortless situation.
Malfoy pulled out the chair across the table from her and sank down into it, without seeming to have a care in the world, although his mind raced as his thoughts tumbled and climbed over one another. It was only the years as a Slytherin that enabled him to keep his face impassive.
"This is never going to work, this is never going to work, this is never." he thought desperately.
"I can't believe I'm doing this, I can't believe I'm..." Ginny fought not to panic.
Putting on a practiced smirk, Malf- Draco looked her up and down. "I don't suppose you'd like to save us both the time and just hand over your clothes right now, would you?"
He got his answer in the form of a pack of cards flying at his head. Draco wasn't a seeker for nothing, however, and he easily managed to catch the small object.
"Temper, temper, Virginia. Then again, I suppose I should be thankful it wasn't one of the glasses, though."
Ginny snorted.
"Anyway, shall we begin? Do you want to deal or shall I?"
Another snort.
"Very well, I'll deal." Draco broke the seal on the cards and languidly shuffled them, never taking his eyes off the brooding redhead. "You know, this will be a much more pleasant experience if you actually talk."
"You know," Ginny mimicked. "This would be a much more pleasant experience if you weren't here."
Draco gave a emotionless chuckle.
'Maybe I should forget this.. just give the toad to her..' Draco dismissed the thought immediately. 'No, I do have a reputation to preserve. I got myself into this, and now I'm going to have to see it through.stupid teenage hormones!' (A/N: sorry, I couldn't resist that one!)
"Fine," exclaimed a voice, startling Draco. "Let's just get this over with. What's the game?"
"Five card draw - nothing's wild. Shall we open the betting with," Ginny glared at him, as if daring him to say anything remotely sexual. "A shoe?"
"Fine. I assume I don't have to take it off unless you win?" Like that was going to happen, Ginny thought.
"Naturally. After all, I'm not totally heartless."
Ginny gave him a look that spoke volumes, but let the comment slide.
Draco dealt Ginny and himself each five cards, then set the deck face down in the middle of the table. Picking up his cards, he looked at the hand he was dealt.
"Hmmm..jack, two tens, a three and two..not so great..wonder what she had." Draco looked over at his opponent.
Ginny kept her face impassive - the sign of a good poker player. Years of bluffing against six older brothers had taught her to keep her eyes from showing any emotion either. Slowly, as if wading through water, Ginny lay two cards down on the table.
Voice neutral, she said simply, "Two cards, please."
Draco dealt her two, and then helped himself to three. A six and two fours. Two pair - nothing stellar.Draco could curse his luck.
He could, or he could play smart - Malfoy style. Unobtrusively as possible, he removed his wand from his robe pocket where it was stashed. Quickly, he tapped the wand on the underside of the table, under the stack of cards, whispering a single word while his face was still buried in his cards.
Ginny didn't notice anything unusual.
"Shall we start the betting? I'll see the shoe and raise you a sock."
Draco looked down at his cards, then back at Ginny. He should call.. her hand was far better than his. Still, if he got greedy this early in the game, she would become suspicious. A sibling of the 'terrible-twin- weasels' would be able to spot a scam - unless it was very carefully played out. Besides, it wasn't like he was a shrinking violet and they were only his feet. "Very well. I'll see your bet and raise you another shoe."
Ginny looked at him.he had to be bluffing.there was no way he could beat her hand.then again, no reason to start the game off half naked. "Very well. I call."
He lay down his cards, then looked expectantly at her. She smiled triumphantly, showing a straight. "Well, I guess I win this round." She allowed herself a small smirk. "Well? Pay up, blondie."
Never breaking eye contact, he crossed his left ankle over his right knee. Slowly he slipped off his shoe, then the sock and placed them off the side of the table. In one fluid movement, he switched legs, and removed his other shoe, placing it alongside its match.
'Damn! Only Drac-Malfoy could make ankles sexy!' Ginny gathered both hands of cards in one sweep and handed them across the table.
'Perhaps this won't be so bad after all,' she thought as she watched Draco deal out the next hand. 'Then again, I don't make the mistake of believing 'not bad' equals 'a pleasant way to spend my evening'. Oh well. Putting Draco in his place can't be the worst thing I've ever needed to do. Who knows? Sending him back to his dorm in his underwear might just be the thing he needs to cut him down to size.'
She noticed him watching her. Pulling herself out of her thoughts, she met his stare, then looked meaningfully at the deck he carelessly shuffled.
Draco struggled to suppress an evil grin as she helped herself to the butterbeer.
'Enjoy it while you can, Virginia. Enjoy it while you can.'