Probably my favourite date to write? Yes lol
Thanks to my amazing alpha, Ash, for her ideas for this one, and it may have gotten a little out of hand, but it was so fun to write! 5th date and Hermione is starting to regret some life decisions… aren't we all? Happy reading!
"No, Gin, you don't need to come over to select my outfit for tonight," Hermione said into her cell phone, trying to stop Ginny from barging into her house. "I've already chosen what to wear."
"Are you sure? You know I love to select your outfits for you. It's like you're a life-sized Barbie." Ginny's reply made Hermione groan into the phone. "You know what I mean. Why don't you let me help you?"
"Because I'm an adult. Besides, I decided to wear that dress you forced me to buy last year, remember?" Hermione was standing in front of the mirror in her room, checking her outfit for the night. "I know I swore that I wouldn't wear it, but it has grown on me, I suppose."
"Oh, you mean the gold one? Yes, 'Mione! You're going to make your date fall in love with you without even realising it," Ginny exclaimed. "My baby has grown up! I'm so proud—like a proud mama."
Hermione laughed at that. "You're such a weirdo, you know that, right?"
"I don't care; you love me anyway," Ginny replied and Hermione agreed with her. "Anyway, I need to go, I have some things to do for my mum before our family reunion. Call me when you arrive home, all right?"
"Sure, Gin, don't worry." Hermione bit her lip while she took another look at herself in the mirror. "But maybe I'll only call you tomorrow if everything goes well."
Ginny's screech made Hermione pull the phone away from her ear. "Get him, tigress! Make me proud, 'Mione! Gotta go, bye!"
Hermione laughed at Ginny's enthusiasm, but she couldn't stop thinking about what her friend had said. This could be a complete fiasco again, but she needed to keep thinking positive.
She had just received a text from Theo, who had sent her a picture of him eating noodles with Charlotte, huge grins on both their faces. Hermione's heart melted at the scene, and she was filled with the urge to join them.
She shoved that thought away and gave herself a pep talk. "Come on, Hermione. You'll only know if this is going to work if you finally leave your flat and go to meet your date. You've got this! Make Ginny proud."
Shaking her head over what she had said, Hermione grabbed her purse, her coat, and her car keys. She had a good feeling about this dinner, and she hoped she wouldn't be proven wrong this time.
"Miss Granger?" the maitrê d' asked Hermione when she arrived at the restaurant. "Your table is ready and your date has already arrived. May I grab your coat?"
Hermione couldn't stop the smile that appeared on her face; this date was already better compared to the last three. She had always admired a man who was punctual.
"Thank you," Hermione said, taking her coat off and giving it to the maitrê. "Can you show me my table, please?"
"Follow me," the maitrê said to Hermione, and she started to walk behind him. She tugged on her dress, trying to calm her nerves. "Your table, miss. Bon appetit!"
Hermione thanked the maitrê and turned. Roger had already got up from the table and was coming towards her. He was taller than her and had a nice smile, which made her smile in return.
"Seeing you in front of me is like I'm now in the presence of my perfect dream girl," Roger said, taking her hand and dropping a kiss on it. "Nice to meet you, lovely."
Hermione blushed and squealed out, "Nice to meet you too." Roger didn't even bat an eye at her mortification. He pulled the chair for her, and when she sat down, he left a kiss on her bare shoulder, and her blush spread down her neck.
"I hope you don't mind, but I took the liberty of ordering drinks for us before you arrived." Roger motioned to one of the waiters, who brought two glasses of champagne. "To celebrate this date and more to come."
Hermione didn't know how to respond to that, so she picked up her glass and toasted with him, taking a sip. Champagne wasn't her favourite drink, but she wasn't going to say no to one more glass after.
"Can I say that you looked like an angel when you entered the restaurant?" Roger said, taking a sip of his champagne. "I hoped that you were my date; otherwise, I would have been jealous of whoever you had come here to meet."
"Thank you," Hermione replied, feeling like her cheeks would remain pink for the rest of the night. "I thought you were handsome too."
"We make a nice couple, don't you think?" Roger asked, leaning over the table like he wanted to tell her a secret. "Two beautiful people... Imagine what we could do together. Are you following me?"
"Yes… I think I am," Hermione lied. "Did you take a look at the menu to see what to order?"
"Why would I look at the menu when I could look at you, beautiful?" Roger said in a breathless voice, staring at her cleavage. Hermione started to feel a little bothered by his looks. "Gods, you're so beautiful!"
"Thank you." Hermione's smile was a little forced now. She tried to read through the menu. "I'm going to order salmon or halibut. They seem interesting."
"You and I having a quickie in the bathroom would be better." Roger interrupted Hermione, and she looked up to see him biting his lip while staring blatantly at her mouth. "What do you say, beautiful?"
"I would rather not, thank you very much!" Hermione was getting flustered with the way Roger was behaving, and she didn't know how she had ended up on a date like this. "Why don't you choose what you're going to have for dinner?"
"I'd rather have you for dinner," Roger said, smirking at Hermione. There was a wicked gleam in his eyes that she did not like at all; it made her feel as if she wasn't wearing enough clothes. "I'm dying to have my mouth all over you."
"You didn't seem so forward when we agreed on this date." Hermione adjusted the straps of her dress to try to cover herself; she was cursing herself for having chosen it. "Why don't you just choose something to eat that's on the menu and we can talk a little more?"
"If that's how you want to play, fine. Let's play nice," Roger replied, opening the menu and Hermione sighed a breath of relief. "But for dessert, I'll be having you."
Hermione didn't let the awkwardness of what he was saying get to her. She hoped she would be able to salvage the night, but it didn't seem possible. She wished to at least get something to eat.
"I can't find anything I would want to eat here, so why don't we ditch this, get a hotel room, and I'll have you for dinner?" Roger was getting too close, and Hermione was panicking. "What do you say, beautiful?"
The moment he slid closer to her, his eyes closed, Hermione bolted off her chair. Roger's lips landed on a bald man's head, who was sitting at the table behind them.
"Oh, my God," Hermione murmured. Roger blushed as the man turned around to see what had happened.
"Mr Davies?" the man asked, and Roger seemed to lose all the colour in his face. "What happened?"
"Mr Fudge! I don't know what you're talking about, sir," Roger stuttered. His sudden meekness was not anything like before. "Please, enjoy your meal! My best wishes to you and your wife."
"I'm not here with my wife," Mr Fudge replied, starting to blush. "Have a nice dinner, Mr Davies. I'll see you at the office on Monday."
Hermione couldn't believe what was happening. Before she could say something, Roger was out of his chair. He grabbed her hand and started to drag her towards the toilets.
"Where do you think you're taking me?" Hermione stopped walking and yanked her hand away. "I'm not going anywhere with you. Have you lost your mind?"
"Come on, Hermione, you know you want to. You were giving me bedroom eyes all throughout our conversation," Roger said, cornering her against a wall. "Just say the word and I'll be yours."
"You'll be hers? That's rich," a female voice said from behind, and Roger paled for the second time that night.
"Cho! What are you doing here?" Roger turned around just as a pretty woman stormed over to them with fire in her eyes. "I thought you had gone to your mum's tonight."
"I was going to drive there when Marietta called and said she had seen my husband having dinner with some pretty girl looking all cosy," the woman, Cho, snapped. Hermione blanched at the realisation. "Next time you try to cheat on me, don't choose the restaurant where my best friend works."
"You're married? And you didn't say anything?" Hermione demanded, feeling ashamed of herself. She was instantly reminded of the way she had come to a conclusion regarding Theo, and her shame skyrocketed. She turned to the woman and said, "I'm sorry, I didn't know he was married. If I had known, I would have never agreed to go out with him."
"It's okay, it's not your fault." Cho smiled at Hermione, who smiled back at her, relieved. Cho turned to Roger and snarled, "You, on the other hand, have some explaining to do."
"Cho, love, don't be like that! You know you're the only one for me," Roger pleaded, following Cho outside the restaurant, leaving Hermione behind.
"I just wanted a nice date," Hermione muttered to herself. She picked up her purse from her table and walked to get her coat, readying herself for the talk she was sure to have with Ginny.
Hermione wasn't certain if she wanted to face her friends now; she could hear their teasing comments in her head. Looking at her keys, she made a split-second decision. After driving for a while, Hermione pulled over and walked towards the house she had parked in front of. She rang the bell and waited.
"Hey, Mum, can I come in?"