Chapter Five

Severus sat back with a sigh and pushed his plate away. Hermione had been right, the food here was good.

Their waitress came over to begin clearing the plates. "Can I interest either of you in pudding tonight?"

"I'll just have a coffee, please," Severus said.

"Coffee for me, too, with cream please." Hermione hesitated for a moment. "Oh, it can't hurt to ask. Are there any specials tonight?"

"Yes, Miss. We have a blackberry apple crumble, a bakewell tart, or sticky toffee pudding."

Hermione groaned.

"What?" he asked. "If you want something go ahead and order it."

She frowned. "I'm so full. But they do make the best sticky toffee pudding I've ever tasted."

"I could pack it up in a take-away box for you, miss. I'll put the sauce in a separate container. It's just as good warmed up at home, I can testify to that myself," she added with a wink.

Hermione still looked undecided. Her tongue swiped across her bottom lip, then she nibbled on it in thought and sucked it in. Severus bumped her with his shoulder and she looked up at him startled, her eyes wide. He'd leaned in so close he could feel her surprised huff of breath on his cheek. He turned slightly so his lips were right next to her ear and whispered, "Oh, go ahead. You know you want to." A sharp gasp escaped her lips and a flush rose again in her cheeks. Spy though he might be, he would not sink to using Legilimency on her, even though he would give anything to know what she was thinking at that very moment.

She quickly composed herself. "Yes, thank you – taking it home sounds lovely." She turned to Severus. "If you'd let me out please, I'm going to the ladies quick, while she gets the coffee."

He rose to let her out of the booth and watched she walked out of the room. He couldn't help but admire the way the tight denim jeans hugged her arse. He'd never thought he would look at Hermione Granger in such a manner. But after the brief conversation with her friend's husband, who had waylaid him earlier when he'd been on his way back from the loo, he'd hardly been able to think of anything else but her...

"Professor, I won't keep you," the man had said, "but could I have a moment? I'm Rod Talbot, Ali's husband. I know we weren't formally introduced, but Ali asked me to have a word with you—about Hermione."

"Ahh, Yes. I suppose you want to tell me to stay away from her. That I'm far too old for her and the fact that I was her teacher is scandalous." Severus had expected such a reaction from others, especially her friends, when he'd first considered the idea of he and Hermione appearing together in public.

Rod looked dumbfounded. "Uh... no. That's not what I was going to say at all."

Now it was Severus' turn to look surprised. "It's not?"

"No. Not even close. Ali and I already noticed the way she's been looking at you when you're not watching. I'm sure I've seen a few telling glances you cast her way as well, so I feel confident there's an interest there. We think you might be just what Hermione needs, you're someone she knows, someone she can trust. I think she's not been able to find that of late. What I wanted to say was to warn you about that Crenshaw bloke she recently gave the boot. He's a real git, and I'm worried he might be a bother to Hermione."

Severus nodded in agreement. "Yes, two-minute Mitch. We met, sort of, earlier today."

Rod barked out a sharp laugh. "Two-minute Mitch? She told you about that?"

"No, I happened to overhear it, not that I was eavesdropping, mind you. She told you?" Severus asked, wondering just how close Hermione was to her friend's husband.

"Oh, God no! She told Ali. But she always ends up telling me everything. Ali also offered her my services to go talk to the wanker and tell him to stay the bloody hell away from Hermione, but she said no. Said that she's sure the situation is straightened out now. I'm not convinced of that. I don't trust that bastard and you should be on your guard."

"Thank you, Rod. I appreciate the advice. From what I witnessed, I don't trust him either. I assure you, I'll make sure that Hermione stays safe." Severus shook his hand and turned to go back to his table, but Rod's sober voice stopped him.

"Severus," he said. "A word of advice. Don't worry about what other people think—the age difference, the fact that she was your student—the only thing that really matters is what you and Hermione think. Believe me, I know. Me and Ali, we're different. She comes from a fine well-to-do family, and I...well... I don't." He gave a negligent shrug. "I grew up rough, I guess you might say. There's a lot of fine folks who would say I got no business being with a nice girl like her, but the two of us, we decided not to listen to those folks."

Severus looked at the young man with a new respect. "I think you both made the right choice, and I thank you for your excellent advice."

As he'd approached the alcove where their booth was, he'd overheard Hermione talking with Ali. He wasn't really eavesdropping, but old habits were hard to break. So he'd paused silently behind a large potted shrub and in utter surprise had heard Hermione reveal how turned on she'd gotten while he'd been saving her life. No wonder she'd been squirming around so much as he held her close. She wanted him but she was confused by her feelings...

He'd waited in suspense as Ali contemplated her reply, then let out his breath in relief as she advised Hermione to forget about their past and pretend he was some bloke she'd just met. When Ali told her she should take him home and shag is brains out, he'd had to practically bite off his tongue to suppress the groan that threatened to escape!

He'd had to hide behind that blasted shrub for several minutes, reciting complex potions recipes in his head, waiting for his eager cock to settle down. He'd decided then and there to subtly encourage Hermione, knowing that if he suddenly came on strong she would be suspicious. So he'd sat next to her, sliding close enough for their thighs to touch, their warmth to mingle. He'd casually brushed his fingers against hers throughout dinner and touched her fleetingly whenever he could. Remembering how his voice had soothed her earlier, he'd spoken to her about anything he could think of.

He'd never thought of Hermione Granger in such a way before, or any other student for that matter – he hadn't been one of those pervy teachers who lusted after nubile teenage girls. But clearly she wasn't a schoolgirl now and he couldn't stop thinking about her. As he'd observed her throughout the evening, he realized there was very little left of that girl he recalled from their Hogwarts years, and much to his shock he was definitely attracted to the woman she was now.

Sweet Merlin, when she'd wavered about the pudding and gnawed at her lip, he'd wanted to kiss and suck at her mouth himself to sooth away any self-inflicted damage. When he'd whispered in her ear that she should get the pudding to go, he'd thought she might go up in flames. Her warm huff of surprised breath had caressed his face and that lovely pink shade had stained her cheeks again. Oh yes, he was quite aware now that Hermione Granger was indeed a woman...

"Severus?"

Surprised, he looked up to see Hermione standing next to the table. He hadn't even noticed her approach. Before he could stand, she disappointed him by sliding into the seat across from him instead of next to him. Still, the view wasn't bad from this side of the table, so he wouldn't complain.

"You looked deep in thought. What were you thinking about just now?"

One corner of his lips quirked up in a Snape-ish half smile and he repeated his answer from earlier in the evening. "You."

Hermione's eyes narrowed and she glared at him for a moment, wondering what on earth he was up too. Was he flirting with her? Or was he merely toying with her? Merlin's balls! She didn't know what to think, or how to trust anymore. She seemed to second guess everything everyone said or did. The idea that he might have actually been thinking of her made her warm all over, but the thought that he might be setting her up for some cruel put-down brought an ache to the middle of her chest.

"You have to stop saying things like that," she finally said softly.

Before Severus could reply the waitress arrived with their coffee and Hermione's take away box. "Sorry for taking so long," she said, "I was waiting for a fresh pot to brew."

"Thank you," said Hermione. "Could you leave the check now too, please?"

"Of course." She sifted through several paper tickets from her apron pocket, finally laying one face down on their table. "Thank you both for coming into The Lucky Penny, please come back again soon," she said with a smile.

Hermione fiddled with her coffee cup, adding some cream, stirring it around, adding another dollop and stirring some more, round and round, her spoon clinking on the cup. Avoidance tactics. When she finally did look up, it was to find Severus staring directly at her, his brows drawn together with that tight little crease right in between, indicating his displeasure. She'd been lifting the cup to take a sip but at his severe look she froze with it halfway to her lips and set it back on the table. "What?"

"When you ask me a question, should I not speak the truth to you?"

"iIs/i it the truth?" she said defensively, not needing to ask what question he was referring to. "You gave exactly the same answer earlier when I asked a similar question. I want to believe that's a good thing, but I can't help but wonder if you might be toying with me somehow, teasing me, or setting me up for some cruel joke." Hermione felt the sting of tears behind her eyes and had to blink rapidly to keep them at bay.

Severus' jaw clenched and he took a deep breath before speaking so softly that she had to lean in to hear him. "Woman, you and I are going to have a very serious talk in the near future about the kind of men you have been seeing, and why the first thing that pops into your mind when a man tells you he's thinking of you is that he's going to hurt you somehow." He sighed then and visibly relaxed a bit. "As to why it is that I haven't given a single thought to Hermione Granger in the past nine years and now suddenly I can't get her out of my head, I have no fucking idea."

Hermione tentatively rested her fingers over the top of his clenched hand and with the hint of a smile asked softly, "Really?"

Severus gave her a disgusted look. "Of course, really. Do you think I'd admit to to such a thing if it weren't true? The sorry truth of the matter is that I've thought of little else ibut/i you since that moment earlier when you walked away from me in the park."

Hermione's tentative smile morphed into a happy grin as she squeezed his hand. "Me too!" Without a single word of explanation, she picked up the bill and pulled enough cash from her pocket to more than cover it. She stood and held her hand out to him. "Come."

Severus looked at their untouched cups of coffee then up at her in confusion.

"Leave it," she commanded, although she did reach over to snag the bag with her treat. Grabbing his hand, she led the way through the pub.

She nearly ran over Ali as they reached the entry to the bar proper. "Whoa, Hermione. You look like a woman on a mission." Hermione gave her a telling look, but Ali merely laughed and urged her on. "You go girl!"

"G'night, Hermione...Professor," called Rod as they passed the bar.

Hermione, unwilling to release Severus' hand, merely waved a goodbye with the bag holding her sticky toffee pudding and continued resolutely on her way out the door. Once outside, she looked both ways then, making a tactical decision, went to the right. Two storefronts down she veered sharply into a quiet dark alleyway, pulling Severus with her.

"Hermione! What on earth –"

Before Severus could finish his sentence, Hermione had pushed him up against the building and plastered herself to him, going up on her toes and snaking her arms up around his neck to pull him down for a deep kiss. After a millisecond of shocked hesitation, he joined in enthusiastically. One of his hands slid down to squeeze and knead her arse cheek as he pulled her snugly against his body, while his other hand drifted upward to cup the back of her head and hold her strategically exactly where he wanted her.

Hermione moaned softly and acquiesced, letting Severus take charge of the kiss. This was what she wanted, what she'd been missing all along, there wasn't anything wrong with her. All she'd needed was this chemistry, this spark, and she never in a million years would have thought to look for it in Severus Snape. She thanked her lucky stars he'd been there in the park this morning eavesdropping on her little scene with Mitch, or she never would have known.

TBC