Ch. 3: Receptions and Sweaty Hands
I sat nervously on the edge of my bead, with Alicia brushing my hair softly. I feel like a cat, resisting the urge to purr. It was always nice having someone else brush your hair. I saw Angelina squirting some moisturizer onto her finger tips and I close my eyes. The cool thick cream feels good and wet against my skin as my friend rubbed it in thoroughly.
"I feel like I'm being pampered," I murmur, keeping my eyes shut. Although I couldn't see, I could still feel the smiles radiating off my two best friends' faces.
"You almost ready in there?" Oliver's voice interrupted the treatment. My eyes flew open, and I got jabbed in the eye with a mascara wand.
"OW!" I cried loudly, my eye beginning to tear up. My other eye was cracked open angrily. Angelina gave her a pathetic smiled. You have to be careful with those things, Ange!!!
"You alright?" we heard Oliver ask.
"FINE!" we all yell in unison.
I finally managed to stop my eyes from watering and Angelina finished with my makeup, while Alicia had long since finished with my hair. Wonder what it looks like?
"Done!" Angelina said after applying some gloss to my colored lips. I wonder what color lipstick is on under the gloss? I opened her eyes, and stand up, walking over to my closed door, where a floor length mirror sat waiting. I peer into it and gasped.
"Wow, I look...really pretty!" I say, in total awe of my reflection. The neckline of the dress receded well below my breasts, and only small tendrils of hair graced my shoulders besides the straps of the dress which tied behind my neck. The dress went to just above my ankles, and I was wearing black high heels that laced up my legs like snakes around their prey. Most of my golden hair was in a loose French twist, with some long curls hanging down.
Angelina and Alicia gave each other a high five and smiled at each other.
I peered down the hall at Oliver, who sat impatiently in the living room. Oliver glanced idly at his watch and grumbled something about being late. He jerked up in his seat when he heard the door open, and I quickly ducked back inside. Alicia and Angelina walked into the living room, side by side, with me following behind them scrunched down so that I was hiding behind them.
"Drum roll please," Alicia said authoritavely. Oliver rolled his eyes but caught Angelina mouthing '3-2-1.' The two girls stood aside, and I walked between them, blushing slightly and smiling softly, keeping my eyes on the floor. I could hear Oliver standing up and walked towards us.
"Katie Bell...is that really you?" Oliver asked in disbelief. I blush a darker shade of red but kept my eyes unmoving. I look that bad do I? Well the girls and I think I look pretty!
"You like nice," Oliver whispered. I look up into his deep chocolate eyes and see the sincerity there. Aww, thanks Ollie- I mean, Oliver.
"You do, too," I reply automatically. I quickly looked at my roommate up and down. Oliver was wearing black slacks, a light cobalt blue shirt, and a black tie. It was still too warm for a sport coat, but he still looked plenty handsome.
"So are you ready?" Oliver asked, breaking the small silence that had formed between us all. I think I have everything – Dress, hair, makeup, purse-
"Oh wait! I don't have a purse or anything!" I said, beginning to turn back to my room. Alicia stood in my way and handed me a black handbag.
"I thought ahead. I already put everything you might possibly need in there, including your wand," Alicia said, grinning like she always was. Angelina rolled her eyes and shoved Oliver and I towards the door.
"Go! Or else you'll be late!"
"And don't worry about us! After we raid your fridge and look through all your personal belongings we'll let ourselves out," Alicia added. I roll my eyes as the door shut quickly behind me.
Oliver and I stare at the door, wondering what state of destruction our apartment would be when we got back. A few moments later, Oliver snapped back to attention.
"Come on, let's go,"
"Where, exactly, are we going again?" I ask timidly.
"Oh right, it's a fancy steak house called 'Le Mirage'," Oliver says. I give him a nervous look.
"Uh, I don't know where that is," I admit weakly as we made our way down to the hall to the elevator.
"So you can't apparate? Darn it. I don't think the place is connected to the Floo Network – Too fancy or something like that," Oliver muttered in his Scottish brogue. I smiled. I loved it when Oliver talked. There was just something about his voice that was so...sexy. DAMMIT BELL! You're doing it again!!!! Back to the conversation. Thoughts back to the conversation.
"So I guess we're stuck with the Knight Bus?" I questioned aloud.
"Guess so," Oliver said, not meeting my gaze. Why won't you look at me?
We stepped out into the cool evening air, standing out on the street corner. I removed my wand from my purse, and stuck it out. A few moments later, with a huge gust of wind (I had to hold my dress down out of fear it would fly up) and a large rumbling, the triple-decker Knight Bus appeared.
"Hullo, Stan!" I greeted the man holding a hand out to help me aboard.
"Evenin' Katie. Where to?" he said as he hoisted me onto the bus.
"Le Mirage," Oliver said, hopping on board and coming to stand behind me. The old man behind the wheel went into drive and the bus shook and lurched. I nearly stumbled forward, but Oliver placed a hand on my hip, holding me there. I blushed slightly at the touch, but stopped blushing when the bus lurched again, signaling a stop.
"Here you are!" Stan announced, turning to Oliver and I, holding out a hand to collect the fee.
"That was fast," I muttered as I began fishing through my purse.
"We are known for our speed," Stan says. Oliver beats me to the punch and puts a few sickles in his hand as he steps down from the bus and holds a hand out to help me. I take it lightly and step down.
Suddenly my ankle turns and I trip. Damn high heels!! I close my eyes, getting ready for the imminent face plant, but it never comes. I open my eyes and feel a lot of pressure on my arms. I'm nearly face to face with Oliver, and he's gripping my arms, holding me steady.
"You alright?" he asks, letting go of my arms as we step up onto the sidewalk. I nod meekly and I can't help but feel embarrassed. I look around quickly, and decide that no one saw it but us. Oliver smiled weakly and linked his arm in mine as he led me to the front of the restaurant.
A snotty-looking maitre'd looks down at us silently. His grey hair was curled in wisps on the top of his head, and he wore a plain looking tux.
"Oh, right. Hart party," Oliver says. I look at the old man as he looks at me. I put on a small smile, hoping he'll return it, but his look turns even colder. I frown as he picks up two menus and leads us into the heart of the restaurant. Let's just say we won't be tipping the wait staff too well tonight. I grin wickedly to myself as we take a few steps forward, Oliver's arm never leaving mine.
As we step through the oak double doors I see numerous tables side by side, creating a very long Viking-like table. High back chairs sat all around the table, most already occupied with Oliver's teammates and their dates. I feel Oliver's body jerk as he raises his arm up and waves at a teammate down the row. I recognize the man as Elliot Guest, one of the starting chasers. Oliver leads us over and pulls out a chair for himself and sits down, immediately chatting up a storm with Elliot. I glare at the back of Oliver's head, hoping I'd bore some kind of hole, but no luck. I frown and pull out a chair for myself, setting my purse between my knees, hoping I didn't kick anyone. Why were the tables so damn narrow?
"Well hello there, Katie!" I hear a very feminine voice say. I look up and see Elliot's girlfriend, Lorelei. She was a blonde German girl, with a very thin, delicate frame. Her hair was in two long plaits running down her shoulders, and blue eyes were rimmed with dark kohl, which brought a lot of attention to them. I could tell she had put concealer on her lips, to make them look nude and fashionable. I looked down a little farther and saw she was wearing a simple black dress, with very thin shoulder straps.
"Hi, Lore," I said back to her. She looked at me up and down and smiled weakly.
"I like your dress," she said. I thanked her, but couldn't help shake the feeling that another emotion was present right there. I couldn't quite put a finger on it, but I knew I didn't like it.
"So I haven't seen you around at any of the games, lately. Where have you been?" she asks.
"Well, my friend Alicia and I own our own little boutique a ways South of here. We just finished remodeling and restocking, so I've spent quite a bit of time there," I explain. She quirks an eyebrow.
"You own your own boutique? Fascinating," she murmurs as she takes a sip out of her wine glass. I look in front of me and see a chilled glass of water with a lemon wedge in the bottom. How come she gets the wine and I don't?
"Yeah, it's a small boutique for women, called "Flaunt". We sell all sorts of items; dresses, skirts, shirts. Stuff like that," I say as I pick up the slippery water glass and take a sip.
"I see," she says quietly. I look into her eyes, and see that they're concentrated on Oliver. I look over and see him and Elliot enthralled in conversation.
"Did you see Krum's last game? It was atrocious! He tried to Wronskei Feint, but he couldn't pull out of the dive fast enough," Elliot said. I recognized the name 'Krum' and quickly thought back to my years at Hogwarts, the Yule Ball in particular. He was the champion from Durmstrang and went with...Hermione? Oh right, it was Hermione. I remember Fred and George saying Ron was positively livid about Hermione going with him.
"Oh, I know. He broke his broom didn't he?" Oliver asked. I looked at him fondly, fingering my earring-less earlobes for no apparent reason.
"Shame it is. Was a brand new Nimbus 4000," Elliot explained. I felt a smile tugging on my lips. So they still made Nimbus' did they?
Lorelei and I listened in on the conversation for a few minutes more, until it was interrupted by a loud clinking of glass. We all looked up and saw Alex Hart standing up, his wife Veronica by his side.
"Welcome, one and all. We're all here tonight to celebrate my engagement to the lovely Veronica Bates," he said, looking at his wife-to-be fondly. "So tonight, we eat, drink, and celebrate!"
"Here, here!" I say loudly, raising my glass like so many around me have done. Everyone turns to look at me, semi-shocked looks on their faces. Oliver turns around and gives me a dirty look. What? What did I do? The couple-to-be smile sympathetically at me. Seriously, what did I do?
The crowd goes back to talking, and we all look at the menus placed before us. Oliver turns and grabs my arm pulling me closer.
"Katie, come on. Watch yourself. Don't embarrass me," he whispers harshly. He lets go and looks over his menu, starting up a conversation with Elliot again. I sit quietly in my chair, his words running through my mind. 'Don't embarrass me.' I don't know why, but that really tears me up inside to hear that. Up until now he's never been ashamed of me in any way...What changed? I could feel hot tears starting to sting at the corners of my eyes, but I set my jaw and kept them in.
I looked at the menu, and read the directions to myself. 'Read over the menu and when you find an entrée that you like, touch it and it will be ordered. If you have any questions please as the waiter.' Alright, seems simple enough. Now...what to have, what to have.
I looked over the extensive menu, passing up the steak and going for the Chicken marsala. I touch the words and they glow red, before the menu jumps out of my hand and flies out of the kitchen. I watched it in surprise and wonder as it flew up to the ceiling and slid through a door, which I assumed were where the kitchens were. I saw a few menus follow it, and I settled back into eavesdropping in on conversations.
I turned to my right, and heard Oliver and Elliot talking in hushed voices about their upcoming match against the Falmouth Falcons. I sighed and looked across from me. Lorelei was talking with Nick Benson's sister. I think her name is Tamara...Well, I listened for a few minutes about their designer clothes and watches and –Ugh, don't these girls care about anything other than how expensive their things are? I turn to my left and nearly fall out of my chair.
Nick laughs as I jump in my seat. When I turned he had been staring at me intently. It was a little unnerving really.
"Sorry, didn't mean to scare you. I'm-"
"Nick Benson. Chaser, am I right?" I say. I judge by the look on his face that he's surprised I know so much about him. I kind of feel like tapping him on the head and saying, 'Hello! You're famous! Who wouldn't know all about you?'
"Right," he laughs. I smile at him. Finally! Someone who is laid back enough to laugh! God knows we need more people like him, especially now that some people ::Cough:: Oliver ::cough:: are starting to wedge sticks up their bums.
"Katie, right?" he asks. I nod. He pulls out my hand and kisses the top of it gently.
"Pleasure to meet you," He says, his eyes looking up at me though his face is still only inches from my hand.
"Nice to meet you, too," I say nervously, tugging my hand back into my lap.
"So, Katie, what do you do for a living?" he asks, leaning his left elbow on the table on the table and smiling at me. My eyes flicker over to Lorelei and Tamara and see them shoot horrified looks at Nick for his latest movement. I snigger inwardly and turn back to Nick.
"I co-own a boutique with one of my best friends," I say proudly.
"Oh really? Quite impressive for such a young woman," he says, sipping his glass of chardonnay. Dammit! Where is everyone getting the wine?! Then I remember his comment and smile deviously. This guy was sure playing his cards right.
"Not as impressive as being a chaser for a famous quidditch team, especially a team like the Montrose Magpies," I say. Why a Magpie is here among all these United boys, don't ask me – must be a former teammate or friend. They say flattery gets you everywhere, so let's see where this goes. I open my mouth to say something, but the appearance of tons of plates interrupts me. I turn and see a steaming plate of chicken marsala in front of me. I smile and put the napkin in my lap, idly looking about at what everyone else ordered.
"Hungry, Katie?" I hear Lorelei ask me. I look at her plate. She has a small Caesar salad. I look to her left and Tamara has the same thing. I look down the table really quickly and see every female, with the exception of the two girls on the squad and I, have a small salad in front of them.
"Just a bit," I say, looking up at her. Her blue eyes shone like ice, and she had a soul to match those piercing blue orbs. She smirks and picks up her outermost fork, and stabs a piece of lettuce.
"What'd you get?" I hear Oliver ask me as he leans over to see. I shove him playfully out of the way and he smiles weakly. Have you removed that stick yet, Oliver dear?
"Chicken marsala," I reply, looking over at his plate.
"Haggis for me," I smile and him. I thought this place was supposed to be French? Oh well. But hee hee, leave it to Oliver to order the food of his homeland. I myself have tried it only a few times, and it's alright I suppose. I never got a full taste, as I thought it would taste horrible and quickly followed the bite with a tall glass of milk. O well.
I look over and see Nick ordered the same thing I did. I smirked as I cut into the pounded chicken breast and mopped in some marsala sauce. I stuck the fancy fork in my mouth and closed my eyes in rapture. As snotty as the people here are, they make a mean dinner. I look over and see Oliver devouring his haggis hungrily.
"Good?" I ask him. He nods feverishly between bites of food. I smile and put another fork full to my lips. I look down and see Tamara and Lorelei pushing their plates back. Barely half of the salad was gone.
"You have enough?" Elliot asks his girlfriend. I don't think there's much affection between this couple, but then again, it might just be me.
"Oh, yes darling. I need to keep my figure," she says coldly, shooting me a glance. I look down at my own plate. I was a little more than half done. I look down at my plate, and push it away. The two women across from me quirk an eyebrow and the left corners of their mouth were tugged upwards. I looked away and put my hands on my half-full stomach.
I sat there staring off into space, when I saw Oliver lean in to me out of the corner of my eye.
"Stop!" he whispers to me. I look at him in confusion.
"What?" I ask. OK, Oliver you're really starting to confuse me.
"Stop rubbing my leg! It's distracting!" He hisses rather loudly. I furrow my brows.
"I'm not doing it!" I hiss back. What in the name of Merlin's Ghost is he on about? A second passes and he mutters an exasperated 'Thank you!'
I furrow my brows some more, and finally come up with a 'brilliant' idea. I nudge my fork off the edge of the table and look down. Besides Oliver's navy pant leg I see a high heeled foot – but it's not mine. I follow the leg to a body across from me, legs tightly crossed. I grab my fork, and right myself, so I'm back above the table.
I see Lorelei looking at Oliver with a seductive look planted on her face. As if on cue, Oliver looks up and smiles back. I look at the two of them in utter disbelief. Oh please say he doesn't like her. She's SUCH a-
I'm interrupted by music starting up. I see some couples turning to each other and standing up, going into an empty area to dance. That was fast.
Oliver turns to me, a boyish smile playing across his features. I think I'd melt if I wasn't sitting in this chairs...Melt? What the heck am I on?
"Want to dance?" he asks me timidly. I smile and nod. We get up from our chairs, and I chance a look at Lorelei. She looks absolutely livid. I smile to myself as I feel a warm hand on the exposed skin of my back. I jump slightly, shoving myself a little closer into Oliver's chest. He just tightens his grip as I rest a hand on his shoulder, placing the other in his hand. His fingers twitched slightly on my back, and I can feel the calluses from the big, rough hand holding my own.
We sway to the music, the only sound is my heels clicking on the ground. I smile up at him and he returns it. I rest my head on his chest, and I can feel my insides squirm. I close my eyes, letting him lead us slowly. I inhale, and smell his cologne. It smells nice – like a forest after it rains.
Suddenly, I'm pulled from my little dream world as I feel a tap on my shoulder. I get off of Oliver and turn. Nick is standing there, looking up at Oliver, who is a good deal taller than he is. Then again, Oliver is one of the tallest on the team. I want to say he's about six feet, five inches, but I'm not quite sure.
"May I cut in?" Nick asks, grinning at Oliver. Oliver lets go of my hand and his other hand slides from behind my back, brushing the bare skin there. I shiver involuntarily, goose bumps springing up all over my arms and legs. Soon a smaller hand is replaced on my back. I look up and see Nick smiling at me. I smile in response as he takes my hand in his. Yuck, sweaty hands. Please let the song end soon.
That's it for chapter three! Thanks for all the great reviews guys! Means a lot to me! Until 2morrow!
I want to do another Katie/Oliver story, but I need some ideas. Anybody have a plot bunny to donate?
Lotsa love to everrrrrrrrybody :-D
English-Foxlette