Authors Note: Hey guys! I hope you are all enjoying the story. Major thanks to those of you who are putting my story in Alerts and Favorites! I love you guys! =] Sorry for any typos, I'm working on finding a Beta but no one seems to be replying to my messages. =( Anyways until I get a Beta there may be some small typos, so I apologize in advance. I don't want to go on hiatus or anything so I'm hoping you will look past my bad typing until some amazing person decides to be my Beta. =] Please, please, please review! I love them and they help me to improve. Plus, I'm going to let you in on a little secret, I have this story FINISHED! Yeah, I know right. So, I might be spiteful and say I'm not posting anymore until I get some reviews, but I'm not going to. But, giving me review does make me really happy and you may get some deleted lemons for your nice reviews. XD
Disclaimer: As always I own nothing except the plot and the original characters. Everything else belongs to J.K. Rowling seeing as she hasn't adopted me yet...
I intoduce some competition for Draco this chapter so enjoy!!
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Draco
Ok. So she got ready in record time. So what? But man did she look great. And she smelled great. She never really wore outfits like this around campus. And now I knew why. I also hated to admit to myself there was nothing wrong with her wardrobe, but I was in too deep now to turn back. I walked clumsily behind her out of Bixby Hall and followed her to her car.
I couldn't figure out which one was hers, but she slowed down next to a Honda Civic and next to that was a drop top Audi Coupe. I put my hand on the door of the Civic, and the alarm went off. "You might want to get off that person's car before they press charges." She hit the button on the key fob in her hand and the lights of the Audi blinked as the doors unlocked. "Get in."
I dumbly followed her instructions, and slipped into the butter leather seats. This girl was full of surprises. My family had money, and people on campus knew it. But I had no idea she was rolling like she was. She was more like me than I realized. Sensing what I was thinking, she exhaled and said "It was a present for my 19th birthday."
"I didn't say anything."
"You didn't have to. I know you, remember?"
She had a point.
"I think today is a good day to have the top down." It was warm and the sunshine was flooding through the trees. "I'll call Lavender and tell her to come down so we can pick her up." Hermione said.
Being caught up in this morning's antics, I forgot to tell her about Lavender.
"I already called her. She's not coming."
"Why?"
"She said she was sick. The flu bug that's going around."
"Oh."
"Don't worry. You've got nothing to worry about. Trust me."
My words of disinterest came across stronger than I had wanted them to. Even for her. She blinked a couple of times at the sting in my voice, those glorious eyelashes pulling me in deeper. She feigned nonchalance by my comment. But she was definitely taken aback.
"Oh, I'm not worried because I'm not checking for you. Believe me." Now the venom in that statement hurt my ego big time.
As we pulled out of the parking spot, we headed down the main street to reach the highway on our way to the Mall.
The first store we hit was Macy's. After we got to the misses section, she turned to face me. "Ok fashion Guru. I'm all yours. Make me over."
'I'm all yours' It had a nice ring to it. What the hell am I saying? I couldn't date this girl if she were the last woman on earth. She practically hated me.
Placing my hand on my chin, I looked at her thoughtfully. Then began thinking what would best suit her frame.
"What size are you?"
"8-10/ Medium. But it really depends on the clothes."
"Okay. Come with me."
Hermione
He began walking through racks of clothes. Selecting skirts, some pants suits, blouses, dresses, and sweater sets. Actually, he had really good taste in clothes. I thought he was going to put me in hooker clothes, but he didn't. He followed my directions to the tee. I was grateful for that. He held the clothes and asked the sales lady if she would secure a fitting room for me. She took one look at him and obliged, batting her pretty lashes and blushing uncontrollably. I rolled my eyes, and noticed that he caught me.
"Give the girl a break. Not everyone is immune to the charms of Draco Malfoy."
"Whatever. You're so full of yourself."
"Come on. Let's get down to business."
I tried on several outfits while Draco sat and watched me, telling me which was a yes and which was a no. I would have thought he would have made this torturous for me, but he didn't. True to his word he was a perfect gentleman. No snide comments. No mean remarks. Just his honest opinion.
I also found out that I was actually between a size 6 and a size 8 depending on the clothes. I guess that was a good thing, but I didn't want to lose my curves. Mom said I would be thinning out soon. And my shape would finally be stable. I guess she was right, since I hadn't changed my routine at all. I was becoming more like her that I had ever thought. I just never really paid attention.
It was down to two outfits. A black off the shoulder peasant dress with yellow detail, or a black pencil skirt with a purple blouse. Both showed off my curves flawlessly and I looked really good. And Draco told me he was impressed. Beaming like the proud father he gloated. "I have done my job."
"Well you have to pick one. You have final say."
"I pick the skirt/blouse combination."
"Okay." I said. "I'll go change back into my clothes and then we can get out of here."
"Cool. Hand me the dress, and I'll put it back for you. And while you're at it, hand me the outfit we're buying. I'll get that squared away while you finish getting dressed."
As instructed I handed him the clothes over the door, and he took them from me. I once again thought I had walked away winning all across the board. After slipping back into my clothes, I put on some lip gloss, smoothed my hair, and checked to make sure I was picture perfect. I was flawless. I grabbed my purse and keys and walked out of the dressing room, which was between the men's section and the misses section. That's when I saw him. I stopped dead in my tracks. Oliver Wood. 6'2", green eyed, and the smoothest butterscotch skin you've ever seen in your life.
Oh, he was one of the hottest guys from back home, but I also knew he was a player. It was funny though. He never took on that 'I'm God's gift to women' attitude with me like he did with everyone else. He was just him. I think that's how I became so crazy about him. I don't like bravado. I like real people. It also didn't hurt that I was sexually attracted to him. Actually, that was the understatement of the year.
"Gina!"
"O-Oliver," I half whispered, half spoke. "What are you doing here?"
"Oh, I came back to visit my folks and thought I'd come down to visit a few friends for the week. What are you doing here? Shopping as usual?"
"You know that's my mom, and not me."
"Oh, that's right. You're the anti-establishment beauty of the Granger clan." He flashed those dimples. "Give me a hug girl." I hugged him, and the school girl crush feelings started to come through a bit. Although not as strong as it had been in the past.
He hugged me just a bit longer than I was comfortable with, and I began to pull away at him. "Still fighting it, aren't you?"
"So how are your parents?"
"They're fine. But look at you. You look great. Somebody's going to have to take you off the market soon."
"Oliver, please. I have no intentions of getting married in the near future. I'm still in school remember?"
"Oh. Well that's not what I heard. Anyway, how's Ron doing?"
"He's fine. What do you mean 'Not what you heard?'"
"Nevermind." He shook his head at me.
At that moment Draco walked over to us holding a garment bag with my clothes in it. As he stopped next to me, he put his arm around my waist. "There you are. We're all set. You ready to go?" He was talking to me, but sizing up Oliver.
"Hermione, who's this?" Oliver asked.
I couldn't believe how rude I was being. "Oh. I'm sorry. Draco, this is Oliver. Oliver, Draco."
"Nice to meet you man." Oliver said with insincerity.
"Likewise." said Draco.
"Oliver, we have to get going. Nice to see you.'
'Nice to see you too. And Hermione?"
"Yes?"
"Give me a call. I'd like to take you out to dinner while I'm here to discuss the charity."
"Ok." I said weakly.
Draco and I strode away, and as I looked back, I saw Oliver staring at me, eyes piercing and licking his lips.
'I need to get out of here.' There was just too much testosterone in the building for me, and it was driving me crazy.
"What? Where do you want to go?"
"Oh, did I say that out loud?"
"Umm…yeah you did. Hermione, who was that dude?"
"Someone I need to do a better job of keeping my cool around. He's also Ron's cousin."
Draco
I imagined that girls laid down for him at the drop of a hat. Pretty boys rarely had trouble getting women to do that. I should know. But this was Hermione. She was different. She held herself to a higher standard. I also knew that there was more to the story she wasn't telling me. I began to wonder if she had feelings for this guy.
I'm not going to lie. As I watched her come out of the dressing room, I knew that I wanted to get to know her better than I did. She was the real deal. But seeing her look up and make eye contact with him. My blood began to boil, and I could feel anger rising up in my throat. Several looks flashed across her face, as she stared at him, knowing, caution, longing, and a few that I will neglect to describe.
But it was when he hugged her that I damn near lost it. I couldn't help myself. I just strode over and instinctively put my hand around her waist, while handing her the bags. I wanted her to be as covered up in front of him as possible. He was a wolf in sheep's clothing and I knew it. I should know. He was just like me. Or like I used to be. I was shocked that Hermione didn't say anything about me putting my arm around her waist. She normally would have bit my head off. Only, I wasn't trying to get fresh. It was for a show of moral support and to get Oliver to back down.
As we headed for the parking lot, I noticed her shaking her head, like she was trying to clear it.
"What's wrong?"
"Nothing. I think I have a headache coming on."
"That's because you didn't eat anything before you left the dorm today. It's okay. Let's go over to Applebee's so I can buy us lunch."
"That's sweet, Draco. But you've already done too much today. I can't let you do that for me. I'll treat you to lunch. That way we're even. Okay?"
"Hermione, I do what I do because I want to. If I didn't want to take you shopping, then I wouldn't have. If I didn't want to take you to lunch, then I wouldn't have even offered. Girl, I know it's hard, but you have to step back and let a man do for you sometimes. Don't worry about it. I got this."
She stopped dead in her tracks and stared at me. Not angry, just curiously. "What's gotten into you?" I just stared back at her. She became uncomfortable and quickly looked away. I grabbed her by the hand and led her back out to her car.
After hitting the car fob and unlocking the trunk, She strode to the car. But not before I relieved her of her packages and placed them in the trunk for her. After I let the trunk top down, to my surprise, Hermione was sitting in the passenger seat of her own car. Her car keys were on the driver's seat. I was in shock.
"You're ok with letting me drive your car?"
"Well this headache is killing me, so…if you don't want to, I'll do it myself."
"Uh, no. I've got it.
Hermione
My head was throbbing so hard from thinking so much about what happened today. I couldn't believe that Draco was being sincerely concerned about me. I couldn't believe I let Oliver get to me, and most of all I couldn't believe how I let myself feel about either one of them. This was not like me. All of a sudden I felt something reach across me. I gasped. It was Draco, putting on my seatbelt.
"I always have loved ones buckle up when I'm driving."
Loved ones. Did he just say loved ones? I must have been delirious. As we pulled into the restaurant, Draco killed the engine and opened my car door and the door to the restaurant for me. 'He must really be feeling sorry for me,' I thought. This wasn't in his character.
Hello, welcome to Applebee's. Can I get your name, please?
"Malfoy."
"How many?"
"Two."
I sat down on the bench and waited for the hostess to call us. The wait was only supposed to be five minutes.
"Mr. and Mrs. Malfoy, can you follow me please?" She said politely.
My breath caught in my throat, as I couldn't believe what she just said. Seeing my expression, Draco swooped in to correct her.
"Oh, we're not married, miss," Draco cleared up for her.
Um…I'm sorry. I just assumed because you…I'm…"
"It's ok." I told her. "We all make mistakes."
"Here we are. Your server will be with you in a minute. You enjoy your meal."
Before she left she put her hand on Draco's shoulder and winked at him. After she was a good six feet from the table, I cracked up laughing at him. He was looking pissed off.
"What's so funny."
"Your new girlfriend. Oooh, and she's just your type."
"Oh, you must be feeling better. You've got jokes."
"Come on. Seriously, you would not date her?"
"Look. You wouldn't know my type from a hole in the wall. And what do you care anyway?"
"I really don't. But you have to admit that was funny."
"I don't have to admit anything. But speaking of types, I know what yours is."
"Yeah, what's that?"
"Rich pretty boys, who lurk around in malls. I saw the way you looked at Oliver. You didn't know whether to run or jump his bones. And from the looks of things, had I not shown up when I did, you both would have opted for the latter."
Hermione
That last statement had taken me for a loop. I knew I was blushing. I also knew he was right, and I was pissed as hell. "You don't know what you're talking about. You don't know anything about me." I was trying to keep my voice down, but I knew I was losing my temper.
"I don't have to know you that well to see what was/is written all over your face. It was obvious. That dude is a predator. For real."
Little did we know, our server approached the table. He watched the exchange, and I believe was afraid to say something. "Hi. I'm George. I'll be your server. What can I start you off with today?"
"Oh, I really didn't get a chance to look at the menu. Can you give me a minute?"
"Sure."
"What about you sir?"
"I'll have a kiwi lemonade."
"Make that two, please."
"Sure thing. I'll be right back to take your order."
The server came back with our drinks and took our lunch orders.
I looked up at Draco who was obviously still feeling some kind of way about this morning. I decided to break the silence.
'Listen. I don't want to fight with you. Can we call a truce, please?" I looked at him pleadingly.
He exhaled. "Fine. I'll be civil."
Then our food came to the table.
Draco
I couldn't believe the way I got so upset. Why was I trippin' on her? I wasn't upset about the waitress thing. I even liked hearing Mr. and Mrs. Malfoy. It's just that Hermione is so smug sometimes. I just want to let her know you can't be so self-righteous all the time. But when she asked me for a truce and I stared into her big brown eyes, I swear I would have done anything that she wanted. That's why I conceded.
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