Thank you all so much for reading and sharing your thoughts! I may not update as often as I'll be going away on vacation soon, which is strictly sans laptop. I'll make sure to update everything as soon as I'm back at the end of June :-)
Now on to the second date…
Hermione was pleasantly surprised to receive Lucius's owl. She didn't expect to hear from him so soon. Actually, the more she analyzed her rude behavior, the more she expected not to hear from him at all.
As it was, she found herself coming out of the dressing room in Wiltshire Country Club, walking past the sparkling blue pool towards the tennis courts. She and Lucius made plans to meet up here on Saturday for a game of tennis. Until he suggested it, Hermione was afraid that he might propose a night activity that would have potential leading back to his house. Not that it was an unpleasant prospect by itself, but she had made it clear that she was interested in dates, not discreet sex meetings. To her surprise and delight, he suggested a day date. According to Ginny, day dates were a good sign, because there was a flexibility with time. Day dates could either be cut short or extended depending on how good a time everyone was having. It also took the question of sex out of it since tennis was more of a neutral rather than romance-driven activity.
All week Hermione was in a state of euphoric anticipation. As she scanned the tennis area, her eyes instantly zeroed in on him. He hadn't spotted her yet and she tried to surprise him by tapping him on the shoulder. With amazing reflexes, without turning around, he grabbed her hand, eliciting a surprise gasp from her lips.
"Trying to sneak up on me?" he inquired, turning around.
"Trying, but not succeeding," she admitted, unable to suppress her happy smile at the contact. He still hadn't let go of her hand.
His eyes strayed down to her bare legs and Hermione tried not to blush. In her pre-date euphoria, she bought a new tennis dress for the occasion since her spandex shorts and faded work out tops seemed inappropriate for the venue.
"You look great," he said, returning his gaze back to her face.
Hermione felt her smile transform into a goofy grin, but she couldn't suppress it. "So do you," she returned.
That was an understatement, she thought, trying hard not to drool over the magnificent specimen of a man in front of her. He let go of her hand and gently touched her elbow, guiding her toward the bench with their equipment.
After a little warm-up, they began playing in earnest, for which Hermione was infinitely grateful since her thoughts bounced all around her head. She was afraid she wouldn't be a good conversationalist right now or worse, blurt out something embarrassing about the last time they were together. Focusing on the match knocked all those stray thoughts out of her head. Her full concentration directed on the bright yellow ball.
She took a serve. The ball spun in the air and Hermione took a strong swing at it with her racket, hitting it flat. The ball sailed across the court into the serving box, skimming low against the ground. There was no way anyone could return that … but he did. And so their set began.
Lucius proved to be the hardest opponent she ever had, which made the game much more interesting and challenging. They each ended up winning the same number of games, but he ultimately won the tiebreaker. By the end of which, Hermione thought she'd pass out of from exhaustion: her serving arm was throbbing and she could even feel her legs.
Lucius smugly shook her hand. "Thank you for the great match. Very well played."
"Seriously," she panted. "I can't believe this is you slightly rusty. I'd hate to see what you'd make of me on a court with more consistent practice."
"I'm certain you can handle anything I mete out," he remarked, smirking enticingly at her. "You could have easily beaten me just now if your serves and forehand had more spin to them. Hard serves are good for clinching final points, but they're not consistent. Learning to alternate between top and back spins is what keeps the opponent guessing."
Hermione adjusted her ponytail. "I was always sort of taught to hit fast and low to the ground, so it's harder for the opponent to return."
"It works, but not for the shots close to the net. I noticed that those tended to either hit the net or go out. I also noticed that you align yourself with each ball and allow the torque of your body and swing to hit the ball and increase its speed and power. If you used top spin, you'd be unstoppable. You already use it a bit without being aware of it. "
"Oh, you mean because I hit it from the bottom and it goes up and spins forward, like this." She hit the ball and watched it sail back into the court.
He nodded. "So you do know the principle behind it."
"I suppose so. I just never played like that before."
"Would you like me to show you?" Lucius asked. Then added, "Unless I've worn you out."
"I'm up for any challenge with you," Hermione blurted out, belatedly aware of how suggestive it sounded.
His self-satisfied smirk returned and remained, even as he set her on a series of challenges, such as hitting the low ball from the service line into the service box. She almost fell into a trance by his smooth, deep voice as he explained and demonstrated his instructions.
Lucius hit the ball into the air, expertly delivering it to the baseline. Hermione watched as it bounced high.
"See? It would only do that if aided by top spin, because the ball would hit the ground and keep spinning up and forward. It's almost impossible for an opponent to return such a shot," he pointed out.
Hermione nodded and copied his movements, applying more spin into her shots. "I see what you mean about the power," she told him with a grin. "It's what you used to make me lose! You either kept me parked at the baseline or at the net when you drop shot them. Tsk, tsk!"
"Are you ready to get some lunch now?" he asked.
Her eyes lit up. "Sure."
They walked off the court and parted at the dressing rooms. Hermione quickly showered and changed into a black lacy, cold-shoulder top and tightest pair of white pants she owned. She changed her options five times this morning, striving to go for a look that was sexy, yet not overtly so; she wanted to send a clear message that this was a date in her mind, not just two acquaintances getting together for a little one on one tennis.
The look on his face when he saw her allayed all her fears about the nature of this day. His eyes glittered bright and hungry as he looked her over, sending a wicked jet of heat though her. Their carefree rapport of this afternoon metamorphosed into the most palpable longing. Her breath caught in her throat and she swallowed hard. He stepped closer to her, so close she could feel his breath on her cheek. His eyes consumed her, boiling the blood in her veins. The sheer desire in his eyes sapped away all her strength, which had little to do with the physical exertion of this afternoon.
Clearing his throat, Lucius shook his head. "This way," he said, putting a hand on the small of her back to escort her in the direction of the restaurant area. The contact of his hand on her made Hermione hyperaware of her skin. It took all of Hermione's willpower to shut down the wayward thoughts in her head. Nothing was going to happen between them tonight. She had made it clear that she needed to go slow. It wasn't a good idea to jump into sex just because they had a good time on their first date. There was no need to rush into anything physical until they got to know each other better. She was already falling for him way too fast for her own good.
They walked into the club's restaurant and were shown to a private terrace overlooking the fountain display with sparkling blue water.
As they lunched, they talked a little about their week and Hermione shared the highlights of her conference, thankful to have a topic that would force her to stop ogling her date.
"I have to thank you for inviting me here," she said, taking in the tranquil surroundings. "It feels great to get away from the city. I have to admit, I was surprised you wanted to see me again."
He looked confused. "Why wouldn't I?"
She took a long sip of her mimosa before stating the obvious, "I was a bit … bitchy with you that morning. You were being very … hospitable to me and I just … ran off. I feel like I owe you an apology for being so rude. I projected things on you that were obviously wrong."
"You don't owe me apologies. I am aware of the double-standards young women have to deal with," Lucius said.
"It's just that I heard some awful things on the subject of sex on first dates, even from people I consider friends, so I mistakenly thought that you shared those opinions."
"Like what?" he probed. "Just the usual lot of praising the wizard and vilifying the witch?"
She nodded. "That and things like, 'if she did it with you, she's done it on her other dates too'. I feel like the dating rules constantly keep changing. You read certain advice that encourage self-expression and not being bound by arbitrary rules. Then you read or hear another advice that contradicts the first. It's all 'do this' and 'avoid doing that'. We broke a lot of those rules on our date and still had a very good time … I think. I mean I did."
He fixed her with his steely gaze. "I did too. And I may be a lot of things, but I'm not a hypocrite. If I engage in something, I'm not going to turn around and think badly of my partner for doing the same. And fuck all these rules! Let's just break the rest of them! Life is about living on your terms, not somebody else's."
"Well said. Let's do it then!" Hermione reached for a ripe strawberry with her fork and took a small bite. "I suppose the first taboo topic would be marriage and kids."
"This is probably a deal-breaker, but it's not something I'm interested in doing again. It was a great part of my life and I wouldn't change it, but there's no desire to repeat the experience."
Thanks to Ginny, she already knew that. Solemnly nodding, Hermione agreed, "I'm not interested in doing it at all. People always tell me that I'm young and I'll change my mind, but it's not going to happen. I'm just not very maternal and just never, ever want to be pregnant. It's just not an experience I want to have."
Lucius looked much more relaxed. "So what's the next taboo topic?"
"Hmm, probably money or religion."
"I'm not very religious. As for money, my family's wine business is very successful. It goes back for centuries, so I couldn't spend it all, even if I tried."
Hermione nervously laughed. "I don't quite make that much, but I'm quite well off, I guess." She took another quick sip of her drink. "I don't know why people don't discuss these things more, actually."
"I don't either. I guess that leaves what? Pets?"
Her eyebrows rose up in surprise. "That's an off-limits topic?"
He shrugged. "Apparently. According to my son, it's right up there with politics and exes."
"Huh. I wonder why. People really should talk about it early on, just in case someone's allergic," she reasoned. "I used to have a half-cat, half-Kneazle. I'm not home enough to take on any pets now. I wouldn't want my roommate to be saddled with pet care. Although I saw the most gorgeous long-haired white cat in a shelter last month and was sorely tempted." She frowned. "I bet someone already adopted her though. I also like dogs and horses too. When I was younger, I used to spend summers with my grandparents and once they were looking after a neighbor's dalmatian and he was the most playful animal. What about you? Any furry friends on your end?"
His eyes twinkled in delight. "I grew up with horses. Very noble creatures. Narcissa liked peacocks, but those animals were so stupid. They're very territorial too and used to try to fight their own reflections in french doors and windows."
Hermione laughed at the image.
He went on, "I have a pair of gray great danes now, Cash and Tango. By necessity though I keep a colony of neutered feral cats. They're good for keeping mice off the estate. I have an art collection that I want to keep in its original condition as long as possible."
"Wow, kind of like at the Hermitage?" she asked, intrigued.
"Not quite as many. I'm not a crazy cat man with fifty cats running all over," he clarified.
"Actually, the Hermitage has seventy-four, so you'd be safe at fifty," she teased.
He looked pleasantly surprised. "How do you know that?"
"I'm sorry. I don't mean to sound like a know-it-all," she apologized.
Lucius gave her a puzzled look. "You don't, and no need to apologize for being intelligent. There's nothing wrong with having a lot of knowledge and being proud of it. I'm forty-six and I wouldn't know how many cats Hermitage has."
"It can be annoying, I guess. I've always been made fun of for that," she quietly confessed. "Even Professor Snape became terribly annoyed with me once. More than once."
He sneered. "That's his problem. Hogwarts's standards have been declining since my time there. In my day, there was nothing wrong with showing off your knowledge. Nowadays, everyone wants to play at being humble and play down their accomplishments. It's so tiresome. I say, there's nothing wrong with flaunting your best features. Now, did you discover this on a tour or did you read it somewhere?"
"For Christmas once I received this amazing 800-page art book on the Hermitage Museum and the Winter Palace," she told him. "It catalogues the entire art collection. It also mentioned how the cats were first brought over in 1745 and how the caretakers' duties evolved. It's rather cute. They don't have to chase mice anymore either since their presence is enough to deter the vermin. I just adore those art books. I can spend hours pouring over them. I have one on Florence and the Louvre as well, but I'm missing the one on the Vatican, so that's next on my list."
"Did you ever want to see it in person?" he asked.
"Of course. But when I travel there's never enough time. Did you know I've been to Paris to two different conferences and hardly saw anything? Once was on a Tuesday, so Louvre was closed and all I did was do the quick tour of Les Invalides and Eiffel Tower. I always think I'll return to those places again and do all the things I couldn't do when I was there on business. But then when I'm on holiday, the last thing I want to do is travel. I do so much of it for work that I have no energy for it at other times. I just always sort of end up staying home and hanging out with friends." She ruefully smiled at him.
"You have plenty of time for that."
She changed the subject. "I love your dogs' names. I never met anyone who had great danes. I'd love to meet them." She hurried to add, "Someday, I mean. If that's okay with you."
"Oh, that would be very okay with me," he said in a low, husky voice.
Blush was creeping over her cheeks again and Hermione fervently hoped that he didn't notice.
Mercifully, he didn't pursue the subject further and suggested they take a walk. A walk turned into drinks, which turned into dinner. Several times, she tried to pay for the bill, but he deliberately reached for it before she had a chance to and kept it carefully tilted away from her gaze. Before Hermione knew it, the sun had set. She told him she'd take a Knight Bus into the city, but Lucius insisted on driving her home. And who was she to decline spending more time with him?
Once they were parked outside her apartment, they continued to talk until it was well past midnight.
"I think we broke another rule here," she said as he walked her to her door. "I don't think even second dates are supposed to last all day, so we're on a roll."
"It's the theme of our time together – broken rules. However, some rules are better off broken."
"I couldn't agree more," Hermione said, smiling through her stifled yawn. Having woken up way too early in anticipation of this day with him, it was getting rather late for her. She drew out her wand when they reached her door.
"This is me," she told him, looking up at him. Although he hadn't initiated much physical contact with her all day, she had been longing for a goodnight kiss, hoping his distance had to do with respecting her request about slowing things down and not because he found the chemistry lacking between them.
"I had so much fun today, Mr. Malfoy," Hermione said in near whisper.
Lucius leaned over her. One of his hands came up to gently stroke the skin of her shoulder. She could see the flare of appreciation in his eyes.
"Lucius," he corrected her, looking at her with an intensity that she found almost frightening.
"May I kiss you?" he asked.
Hermione silently nodded, licking her lips.
They have kissed many times on that first date and yet she felt such a thrill, as though it were a very first time.
Lowering his head, Lucius claimed her lips with his. Hermione's hands lightly touched his shoulders as she edged closer to him. His own arms came to wrap around her waist, holding her captive, and her skin nearly combusted from the heat. When his tongue swept over hers, she nearly lost her ability to stand. All too soon, he stepped away from her.
"May I call on you tomorrow? Around noon, if it's not too soon?" he asked softly, stroking her cheek with the backs of his fingers.
You can call on me anytime.
"Of course it's not too soon," she said aloud.
"Then I'll see you tomorrow at noon." He turned to leave.
Hermione tugged him back. "One more." She raised her mouth to his and he readily accepted her invitation, but this kiss was too brief.
"Good night," he said, kissing her cheek.
"Good night," she echoed as she unlocked the door with a wave of her wand.
Quietly, walking through the dark flat, she walked to the living room window that faced the street. Hermione watched him get into his car and drive away until he was out of sight.
She missed him already.
There are no rules when it comes to Mr. Malfoy!