Hello Everyone! I know it's been awhile and I am SO unbelievably sorry for that! But never fear! I am going to finish this story… I am almost finished with the next chapter so I will post it within the next week. Thank You and Please Review!

Much Love,

~ Alterego13

"Hermione." The bushy-haired witch looked up from her work into the face of Jennifer Kenney.

"Yes?" Hermione questioned. Jennifer Kenney was the office gossip. She had beautifully blonde hair, a slim body, and a charming smile. Hermione absolutely paled in comparison, at least physically.

"I saw you leaving for lunch with Draco Malfoy yesterday." Jennifer flashed her a mischievous smile.

"Yes, I often go to lunch with Draco. We've been friends for years, you know that." Hermione slightly turned back to her work trying to avoid the topic altogether. Lunch had been great but something in their relationship had shifted; she just wasn't sure what that was yet.

"I guess, I did. It just appeared to be different between you two. I mean, he came to get you. Don't you normally meet at the restaurant?" She had noticed? How was that even possible.

"You've been paying attention?" Hermione asked to avoid answering.

"Sort of. So?" Jennifer was fishing. Hermione hadn't even told Ginny or Harry about her and Draco's night together and she sure as hell wasn't going to tell Jennifer, no matter how nice it would be to have another opinion.

"Don't get involved with him, Hermione. You're a nice girl and I don't want you to get stomped on."

"I have a date with Jake on Friday. For the fundraiser?" This conversation was over as far as Hermione was concerned."Oh. Well, that's fantastic. So, you aren't dating Draco then?" Did Jennifer have another reason for wanting to know her and Draco's relationship?

"No."

"What about friends, with benefits." Hermione blushed and shook her head.

"No?" Jennifer raised her eyebrows as Hermione looked down.

"No."

"Well, then I guess I know who I'm asking to the fundraise! Does he have a date yet?" Hermione's heart dropped. She was just being silly. Don't get emotionally involved, Hermione.

"I have no idea."

"Hmm… Well, I am going to ask anyway." Jennifer leaned closer to Hermione and whispered, "I hear he's fantastic in bed." Hermione felt another pang in her chest. No! No, she cannot sleep with him! Part of her screamed while the other part told her these emotions were stupid and pointless. She and Draco weren't together. She liked Jake. Not Draco. Draco was a one night stand to satisfy her curiosity. Nothing more. Nothing less.

"Although, I hear he is not much of a cuddler." Hermione stifled a laugh.

"A cuddler."

"Yeah, he never stays the night. Or stays more than ten or twenty minutes after the deed is done."

"Really?" Hermione was taken aback. Draco had stayed until she had fallen asleep. He had held her afterward. Why was she so different? Maybe because you are his friend and he didn't want to leave you after your first time. He did leave though, eventually.

"It's just what I hear." Jennifer continued, "Oh well, I don't need a clingy man right now anyway. I think I might go owl him now. Put in a good word for me?"

Hermione smiled. "Of course." She had absolutely no intention of letting that floozy anywhere near Draco.

Draco Malfoy was being stupid and he needed to get a hold of himself. He was a Malfoy for God's sake. Malfoy's did not let their personal lives and emotions ruin them. Malfoy's were not slaves to passion. He looked down at the half empty snifter in front of him. This was stupid. He could find someone else to keep his bed warm. It wasn't like he couldn't find someone. He was Draco fucking Malfoy. Why should he care if Hermione went on a date with Jake? This whole crush ordeal was absurd. What had he been thinking?

He got up from his dining room table and made his way to his bedroom, stopping to look at himself in the hallway mirror. His hair was sticking up in the back and his robes rumpled. He smoothed both out and continued toward his room. He was going out. He changed into some clean robes and combed his hair. One quick look in the mirror told him that if he so chose, he was definitely getting laid tonight. This thought reassured him as he headed towards the door. He flung it open, ready for a night out, only to come face-to-face with the one person, he didn't want to see.

"Hermione?" Draco furrowed his brow in confusion. Hermione's hand was still raised, ready to knock. Her mouth was parted slightly in surprise when Draco asked, "What are you doing here?"

"I think I need more practice."

"What?" He was still perplexed until Hermione pressed her lips to his. His brain screamed at him, If you want to get over Hermione, this was not the way. Why was he doing this? No, he couldn't do this. He couldn't make a fool of himself by letting sex blind him. Draco began to pull away, when Hermione pushed against him and moaned as her hips pressed against his. All thoughts of talking flew out of his mind as his blood rushed lower. His hands grabbed her face, his lips devoured hers. He pulled her up so she could wrap her legs around his waist and he carried her to his room. If he couldn't have her in a conventional way, he would show here how much he cared, by loving her completely with his actions.

Draco gently pressed her onto his bed, his lips never leaving hers. His hand traveled across her stomach, slowly pulling the buttons of her shirt apart. He trailed his lips down the column of her throat and continued to softly plant kisses over the newly exposed skin. "You are so beautiful, Hermione," he murmured against her ear.

Upon hearing his words, Hermione felt butterflies in her stomach and she flashed back to Jennifer's opinion of Draco as a lover. Something was wrong, his slow caresses and tender touches were confusing her. This was Draco Malfoy; he wasn't supposed to be acting this way. She thought after the first time he would be less gentle, less caring. He was supposed to live up to his reputation as a fierce lover. He was supposed to have taken her against that wall. He wasn't supposed to be romantic; he wasn't supposed to be sentimental and soft. It was all too much for her to handle.

"I-I can't. I can't do this." She whispered, gently pushing him away.

"What?" Draco wasn't sure he had heard her correctly.

"I can't do this. It feels wrong." Draco down at her, utterly perplexed.

"Excuse me?" What had he done? He was controlling himself, was he going too fast? He was trying not to be rough. He was trying to show her how much he cared for her.

"It's just not supposed to be like this." Hermione stood up, buttoned her shirt and fled before Draco could say anything.

As the door swung shut behind her, Hermione walked rapidly away. What was happening to her? She was so confused. She had wanted to somehow prove she was different than Jennifer and the other women. But why? This was all his fault. Draco Malfoy wasn't supposed to have feelings! Maybe she was wrong, maybe he didn't feel that way about her. It was just that the way he spoke to her, the way he touched her, it was off. It didn't seem like impersonal, casual sex. Draco was supposed to be the king of impersonal sex. She had talked to Jennifer, heard the other women too. None of their experiences matched her own. Why was she so different?

Draco stared at his bedroom door for about an hour, unable to comprehend what had happened. He couldn't imagine anything he had done wrong. He replayed the moment over and over again in his head. She came over to his house, this was his bed. He didn't force her to do anything. She was the one who started this. She was the one who pulled away. What was her problem? Tomorrow was going to be intensely awkward between them, but he sure as hell wasn't going to be alone. He was Draco fucking Malfoy and he didn't play games with anyone. And if he did? He won.