Good Evening All,

Thank you for the reviews I have received over the last couple of days - they mean a lot.
As promised, reviews help to inspire me to write quicker and voila! another chapter.

Enjoy!

Straight xx

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The next morning Hermione was up early. She'd gone to bed earlier then usual after having dinner with Draco. He had remained shocked after she'd managed to walk away from him and his roaring sex drive and eventually the shock had become to trying for Hermione who, towards the end, felt like snapping at Malfoy and telling him to get over it, rejection was inevitable at least once in his life. However, she didn't. Instead she went to bed early and got a good night's sleep. The sleep had done wonders for her mood and she had gotten up that morning, showered and dressed while planning out her day. She was going to make them both a nice breakfast before she went into Muggle London to check out some of the latest fashions gracing the stores - she considered it research for the shop. She'd dressed herself that day in skinny jeans and a red singlet with a pair of white pumps to match the white ribbon she'd used to tie her straightened hair up with.

Heading into the kitchen, Hermione busied herself collecting ingredients having decided to cook them both an omelette each for breakfast. Omelettes were a healthy breakfast option and she knew that Draco - being an athlete - would probably live on a very healthy diet of proteins, carbs, vegetables and so on. She cracked the eggs into the bowl, added some milk and then tossed in ingredients like lean bacon, mushrooms, cheese, corn, spinach and whatever else healthy and "breakfasty" she could find. She had just poured the first batch into the fry pan when she heard the guest bedroom door open and Malfoy appeared, similar to yesterday morning, in only his long pyjama pants. A sudden knock on the kitchen window was heard and Hermione opened it to allow a visiting owl inside. The bird flew straight to Draco depositing a letter into his hands and flying straight off, obviously not expecting a reply. Hermione tried to mind her business and worked at focusing on not burning breakfast as he silently read the letter.

She'd just served up his omelette and placed it on the little dining table for him when he sighed and dropped the letter onto the kitchen bench. She gestured towards his omelette which he gave her a small smile for and sat to eat it.

"Good news?" She had to ask, she was too nosey not to know.

"Good enough" he replied, "The club needs to do further investigations but for now they are going to let me play against Ballymore tomorrow. They still want me to stay out of the media eye as much as possible though which, depending on what Harry says, means I may be here a little longer"

She shrugged, "That's fine"

"Is it?" he asked her, seriously.

"Yes" she laughed, "It is…honestly"

She served up her own omelette and joined him at the dining table. He watched her as she nonchalantly sprinkled a bit of salt on her omelette and, finally, tucked into his own when he realised she obviously meant to say no more on the matter.

"So when is the press conference?"

"Today at 3pm"

"Are you going to it?"

He nodded, "Yeah they want the whole team there - kind of a show of alliance which is probably not necessary. After all, the team that orgies together stays together"

Hermione looked up at him so quickly that she almost felt her neck crack but he was smirking and she realised he'd been making a joke, not sharing a team bonding strategy.

"Will you come with me?" he asked her.

She frowned, "To the press conference? why?"

He shrugged, "Support, curiosity… so I can see a friendly face in amongst of sea of judgemental ones?"

"Ah yes sure, I can come" she said, slowly.

In truth, Hermione was surprised he'd asked her. In that split second where he'd thrown the question at her he'd show a small amount of vulnerability and Hermione was surprised that Draco would drop his guard like that around her. They weren't exactly close after all.

He nodded but said no more and continued to finished off his breakfast. When they were both done, he took their plates, cleaned them and put them away in their respective cupboards like Hermione had done yesterday morning.

"So where are you off to? You're obviously going somewhere since you're dressed so nicely…"

"I'm just going out to check out some different stores… see what fashions they are stocking in"

"In Wizarding London?" he asked her.

"Well…no" Hermione said, "We base the fashions in our store on in-trend muggle fashions with a magical twist about it so I'm going into Muggle London"

He smiled, "Perfect! I'll come with you…"

He bounded off into the guest bedroom leaving Hermione shocked for a moment. He'd left his bedroom door open so Hermione quickly walked up to stand in the doorway.

"Why?!"

He was puling a pair of jeans and a t-shirt out of his travel bag and promptly started to strip off his work out pants and change… obviously not bothered by Hermione's presence.

"Because if I don't get out of this apartment soon - no offence - but I'm going to get cabin fever and Harry said to stay away from the media and what a better way to avoid the wizarding media then to go into the muggle world. Plus I can keep you company and I promise you can talk to me all about fashion and I'll even pretend to listen"

"Oh how generous of you" Hermione said, rolling her eyes.

A moment later he was ready and having not come up with any good reason as to why he shouldn't be able to come with her, Hermione begrudglingly accepted that he was going to tag along and they flooed into the Leaky Cauldron. She waved at Tom and walked straight out the door into the muggle world as Draco ducked his head and thread his way through the patrons attempting to avoid recognition. Once they were out onto the muggle street though, he relaxed.

"Where to first Princess?"

They walked along the streets for a while casually as they made their way to Hermione's first stop. As they went, Draco was able to take in some of the more interesting facets of the muggle world… like taxis and parking meters and a woman carrying a umbrella in case of rain.

"You know I've grown to respect Muggles over the years Granger" he told her, "They live fairly normal lives without magic - just their gadgets"

"So do you think you could ever live as a Muggle?" she asked him in return.

He thought for a moment, "Not willingly. I could do it I suppose but I love magic to much to give it up willingly"

She nodded as if she understood and they kept walking. A moment later, Hermione paused in front of a shop called "Shimmer Chic".

"I should warn you now.. "Hermione told him, "The guy in this shop is extremely gay and he is going to love you… I'll understand if you want to stay outside"

Draco, however, shrugged, "I'll be fine Princess… it wouldn't be my first encounter with a gay man and it probably won't be my last. I have an entire gay following in the Quidditch leagues"

She pulled open the door muttering, "Don't say I didn't warn you" before they stepped inside. 'Shimmer' was an understatement Draco very quickly realised as he noticed that every single piece of clothing in the shop had some kind of sparkle on it.

"Ah Hermione, my love!" A shrill male voice called out from across the shop.

A tall male figure made their way towards them dressed in a pair of the tightest jeans Draco had ever seen and wearing a black t-shirt that had a bedazzled red rose on it.

"Ben" Hermione greeted him, wearing a big smile because she knew what was coming.

"Oh my god! Hand me a bucket because if I drool on the stock i'll be fired! Who is this you've got with you?!"

"Ben this is Draco. Draco this is Ben. Draco is - "

"- her boyfriend" Draco cut across her.

He took Ben's hand and shook it firmly while he wrapped an arm around Hermione. He wasn't feeling uncomfortable or even the littlest bit of unease in Ben's presence… This had been his play from the moment Hermione had mentioned the shop's assistant was gay. Draco had simply constructed for himself a way to get closer to Hermione, touch her and, generally, annoy her.

"Boyfriend? Oh drat! Well you've got great taste Hermione- he's gorgeous!" Ben said, almost sulkily.

Draco smiled and pressed a kiss to Hermione's temple as she stood still, shocked that she had been dragged into this rouse by Draco. Ben, however, didn't seem to notice.

"So you're accompanying Hermione on her little scouting trip today Draco?" Ben asked him.

Draco frowned, "You know what she's doing?"

"Of course!" Ben scoffed, "Hermione and I go way back! We went to school together… I know she's running her own little store and I let her in here some Saturdays when the manager is out so she can snoop… I'm a little hurt she obviously hasn't told you about me"

"Well it was a very quick jump from friends to dating wasn't it love?" Draco asked, smirking at Hermione.

"Yes" she said slowly, "Draco is full of surprises. One moment he was this bum sleeping on my couch and the next minute we're dating"

"A bum?" Ben asked, surprised, "You don't look as though you've been terribly hard up to me"

Draco chuckled, "When Hermione says 'bum' she means borrowing her couch for a few nights. I'm a professional athlete and I was in town on a stop over when I came to visit and crashed on her couch. I don't think that quite qualifies me as a bum love"

He gave her a cheeky swat on her backside before he pulled her close against and pressed another kiss to her temple, his audacity momentarily silencing her.

"Oh an athlete! Good score Hermione! Hey is it true what they say about athletes having an awesome sexual stamina?"

"Ben!" Hermione spluttered.

"It is" Draco said, winking at him, "Hermione, however, wouldn't know. She's been keeping me on ice - its a dreadful feeling Ben"

"Draco!" She snapped.

"Hermione why?!" Ben demanded, "How can you just look at him and not want to rip his clothes off?! Are you going for sainthood?!"

"I - You - Ah! Just show me the clothes Ben please!"

Draco smirked and winked at Ben as Hermione stomped off into the shop.

"She wouldn't be so tense if she'd let me show her my stamina" he said cheekily.

Ben, who was still attempting not to drool at the sight of this beautiful man, just nodded and followed Hermione dazedly. They walked around the store for a good half an hour after that with Hermione pulling out different items, examining them, holding them up against herself good a size comparison and chatting to Ben about bits and pieces to do with the range. Draco did as promise, he followed her and pretended to listen when really all he was thinking about was how stunning Hermione looked in her element- working away and chatting to an old friend. When Ben, however, had to move off to serve a waiting client, Draco saw his chance and moved in. Hermione was holding a black sequin dress and examining the material when he came up behind her and wrapped an arm around her waist, pulling her back against him.

"You should try that on" he whispered in her ear.

"What are you doing?" she asked him, "And no - its shocking quality. Its just pretty but could be done so much nicer then this"

"I don't give a fuck about the dress Granger. I just like the idea of bailing you up in the change room"

"Which brings me back to my question, what are you doing?"

He pressed a gentle kiss behind her ear as his arm not currently securing her in place, came to rest on her upper thigh, brushing along her jeans teasingly.

"Just giving you a taste of what its like to have my attention on you - as someone important to me"

"Oh great" Hermione said sarcastically, "So now you're trying to tell me that this is how you carry on with your mother in stores?"

He chuckled but didn't move, "Nice try Granger. You're trying to gross me out so I'll back off but I'm not buying it. You said you don't want your name associated with any 'club skanks' when it comes to me and that's fair, I can respect that. Here in the muggle world though, I'm just Draco and you're just Hermione and I can hit on you, feel you up, kiss you as much as I can coax you to allow"

"And if I'll allow nothing?"

"You haven't stopped me yet Princess. You allowed me to convince your old school friend that I'm your boyfriend and kiss you on the head and now you're allowing me to feel your body flush against mine as I give you more kisses"

Carefully, he took the dress from her hand and hung it back on the rack before he slowly turned her to face him and used a hand to angle her chin upwards as his head dipped down towards her, his lips brushing against hers.

"And even if we were in the Wizarding World…" he said quietly, "You'd never be just another name linked with the 'club skanks'. Like I said, you're important to me"

He pressed his lips firmly against hers then, kissing her slowly but passionately, and she didn't stop him. On some subconscious level, Hermione realised she'd half expected him to try something like this and he was right, she hadn't stopped it. She'd allowed it to happen and now she was allowing him to kiss her and she was enjoying it. She was so lost in what was happening but Draco maintained some level of awareness as he didn't give in to his baser instincts which were to run his hands all over, he respected that they were in public… for now.

"Well look at the love birds" Ben cooed.

Hermione blushed as they broke part, she didn't need to look at Draco to know he'd be looking smug.

"I dug up our stock list for you Hermione while you were snogging Governor Gorgeous over here.. Don't let that out of your sight until you get home or I will be in the biggest of troubles" Ben warned her.

"I won't" Hermione promised him.

She felt Draco slip his hand into hers and she quickly bid Ben goodbye before she was pulled out onto the street. The cool air cleared her mind somewhat and she realised that she and Draco needed to go somewhere where they could have a chat. She pulled him in the direction of a small cafe just down the street.

"You need to explain to me what you're doing" she told him firmly once they each had a tea in front of them.

He raised an eyebrow at her slowly, "I thought I'd made that pretty clear Princess"

"Try again" she told him.

Sighing, he put down his tea and reached out to hold her hand in his, squeezing it a second.

"I. want. you" he said slowly, "Not just to mess around with, not just because you're so sexy you drive me insane but because you're a perfect combination of sex appeal with brains to me. You're not a bimbo or a 'club skank' Hermione and you look after yourself, you have goals and you'd tell me to fuck off the moment I did wrong by you. I told you that I already let you get away once because I was an immature dick that didn't know how to get your attention and keep it but its different now and the timing is shit because I'm currently being made to look like the biggest manwhore around but I don't care. I'm not going anywhere and I, very selfishly, want you for myself. I'm not giving that up a second time"

"I just - um - I"

"Take all the time you need Princess" he said, shrugging, "I'm not going anywhere and I'm not going to stop trying to kiss you or hold you or challenging you because when you get fired up it fires me up… if you know what I mean. I'm here… and if I have to wait until this media mess blows over before you feel comfortable enough to give me a chance then so be it but I'm not going anywhere"

He was so sure of everything that Hermione wasn't quite sure what to say. Yes, he was drop dead gorgeous and fit and intelligent and everything, yes he had a bad reputation with girls and his name was being dragged through the mud right now because of that… but none of that to him seemed to matter and it made Hermione wonder if it should matter to her. She'd never been one to worry after her image before anyway … but this was so much more then an image. He didn't appear to be going anywhere anytime soon - he seemed quite set on hounding her until she agreed to give him a chance. Did she just cut to the chase and give him the chance or tell him to tell his story walking? She decided to try for honesty.

"I don't want to tell you no…" she said slowly, "But I can't be dragged through this media circus with you Draco. It sounds horrible and selfish but part of my clean, trustworthy image translates to our store and my livelihood and I can't risk that… It affects more then just me if my good image gets called into question"

He frowned, "That stings to know that getting involved with me is a liability to you but at the moment I respect that. This drama is going to blow over and when it does I will rebuild a new image, turn over a new leaf… I'll be done with the bimbos and skanks if you will give me a chance Hermione. I wouldn't risk anything with you for the bimbos and skunks. I'm happy to keep everything low key for now so that no one finds out but when this drama is over and i'm rebuilding my image I need to know you'll be comfortable being seen with me then because I won't hide my entire life from the media forever either - it makes living my life too hard"

"If I give you a chance then whatever we're doing with be kept low key and no one need ever find out and drag us both through the tabloids… if this thing seems like its going to work or whatever then we can talk about the public but for now… just us, just this please… ok?"

He nodded, "If that means you'll give me a chance then I can agree to that"

"Ok" she said smiling, "You have your chance Draco Malfoy… and if you ruin it I'm going to let Ben use the bedazzler - which is the machine which attaches all those little gems onto the shirts - on your balls … got it? and trust me… Ben would enjoy that in more ways then one"

Draco shuddered, "Ok agreed"

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