Chapter Four -- WET AND WILD
BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP!
Hermione groaned and slowly opened her eyes. Mmm, 9 o'clock, she thought sleepily. Perfect time to wake up. She pushed herself to a sitting position and, yawning, stretched her limbs. Walking over to the full-length mirror in the room, she gazed at her reflection, thinking aloud.
"Let's see…I've already done the beach, the buffet, the bar…what shall I do today?"
Seeing her hot pink polka-dot bikini poking out of the dresser drawer, she felt the sudden urge to get wet and wild.
"Perfect. The pool it is."
The pool at the Paradise Island Hotel was no ordinary pool. It was enormous. One end had a shallow play place for children, the other had an array of diving boards and slides, and, of course, a dozen Jacuzzis dotted the area.
Malfoy stood on his balcony, looking down at the pool area. He considered putting on his bathing suit and going down the slide a few times, but then immediately threw that thought out of his head. Who are you kidding? You're pale as milk, he thought. He watched the young Muggle children splash around in the kiddie section, and couldn't help but smile. Then he spotted something that made his head spin. Dark hair, hourglass figure, tell-tale book under the arm…Hermione Granger? In a BIKINI? It couldn't be, Draco thought. It would defy the laws of nature for Hermione Granger to wear a bikini…and look good.
Draco snatched his swim trunks and ran to the bathroom. I'm not that pale…
A number of Muggle families were already enjoying the facilities. Hermione loved to hear the young children laughing and splashing and the older shrieking as they careened down the slippery slide. In a little bit she'd join them, but for now she felt content lying out on her hot pink towel and soaking up the sun's rays.
Suddenly Hermione noticed a change in the temperature. Who the hell is blocking my sun!
"Enjoying yourself Granger?"
Hermione didn't even have to open her eyes. She could recognize that drawl from a mile away.
"What do you want Malfoy?"
She heard him drag a lounge chair next to hers, set out his towel, and lay down.
"If I'm not mistaken, America is a free country. And if I'm not mistaken, I have every right to lay right here."
Hermione leapt to a standing position, and whipped off her sunglasses, ready to tell him off. She quickly put them back over her eyes, and burst into laughter, however, when she got a full blast of what was lying beside her.
"Ohmigosh Malfoy! You have GOT to get out more!"
She sat back down, still laughing and holding her stomach. The sight of Draco Malfoy—mean, ruthless Draco Malfoy—looking pale and vulnerable was very pathetic, yet extremely funny.
Draco shifted uncomfortably.
"Well, I'm never going to get a tan if I don't start sometime."
"A tan! That's what you're after? God, Malfoy, I don't think you'll ever tan."
Draco quickly sat up, a look of pure menace on his face.
"Oh yeah?"
Hermione looked at Draco straight in his cold gray eyes. He's just putting up a mean front, she thought. A smile crept over her face. It would be fun to test him.
"Yeah. And you know what else I don't think you'll ever do?"
"What?" said Draco, rolling his eyes.
Hermione leaned in so that their faces were inches apart. Draco forced himself not to look at her lips.
"Catch me!" She screamed and ran towards the slide.
Malfoy cursed and ran after her. Hermione wove in and out of people, children, and towels on the deck to reach the biggest slide at the hotel—a towering 3-story blue twisty. She ran up the steps, taking two at a time, with Malfoy close on her heels. She shrieked with glee when he almost caught her ankle but the stumbled on the slippery steps. She paused and watched him scramble to his feet only to fall again. Ooh he's mad, she thought with a smile.
"C'mon Malfoy!" She yelled, laughing. "Or am I too fast for you?"
Draco was pissed. He had just fallen twice on the same leg, and now Mudblood Granger was taunting him. He looked up with a hateful look, but felt it melt away when he saw her face. Her lips were pulled into a devilish smile; her eyes were ablaze with laughter. She looked radiant, and Draco wanted her. He set his face to a grim smile and charged up the stairs. Hermione shrieked again as Draco rapidly closed the distance between them.
Reaching the top, Hermione glanced back over her shoulder, just in time to see Draco clamoring to the final ledge. She threw herself onto the slide and laughed out loud as she heard Draco curse in frustration. She felt him jump onto the slide as well and knew that he wasn't far behind. She pushed herself with all her strength and lay flat on her back to go faster. After a minute of swirling down the slide, she reached the end, and was shot out into the blue pool water. She quickly swam out of projectile path of the slide, and was making her way towards the edge when she felt a hand close over her ankle. She smiled. She had hoped Draco would catch her. Even though he was a bastard, he had gotten hot over the years, and nice and muscly. She wasn't even shocked to find that she liked him grabbing her.
Ensuring a firm grip on Hermione's ankle, Draco pulled her down, under the water. He heard her scream, and smiled to himself. He knew that scream. Draco Malfoy had been with enough girls to know the difference between a STOP Scream and a Give Me More Scream—and this definitely fell under the Give Me More category.
Draco held her underwater until he knew she couldn't hold her breath anymore, and then surfaced. Coughing and sputtering, Hermione pulled herself onto the side deck. Malfoy, cool as a cucumber, pulled himself up next to her.
"Gotcha." He flashed his neat rows of pearly whites.
Hermione looked at him. She had never seen him smile a true smile, one out of joy instead of spite. It suited him. She smiled back.
Disclaimer: I do not own anything Harry Potter.
