The car looked absolutely brand new.
The leather on the seats seemed like they just came out of the factory this morning, and the dashboard was completely spotless. The lights that lit up the console were almost blindingly bright, and they were seated so low, she was surprised that the body of the car was not being scratched by the pavement on the streets.
They were on their way to Hermione's house, and the ride so far had been quiet. Neither one of them spoke; the only noise coming from the built-in radio of the car playing some rock-pop song that obviously neither of them cared for.
All Hermione could think about was what this night had become. She was only expecting dinner and then she would have to take a taxi home.
But Draco was acting so politely to her. He poured her wine, they toasted, and he never once over the course of their meal insulted her or made her feel inferior. It was as surprising as it was generous.
They remained the rest of the way silent, and even when he was walking Hermione to her doorstep, not a word was spoken.
"I suppose I'll see you on Monday, then," Hermione said, trying to break the silence.
"Yes, I suppose so. Good night, Granger." He lifted one of his hands from his pockets and patted her on the arm. Then he walked back to the car with both hands shoved in his pants. He remained in the driver's seat with the car still off. She assumed he was waiting for her to go inside.
So she reached into her purse to unlock the front door and she stepped into the house and reach over to turn the stairway light on.
Since she wasn't wearing makeup, all she had to do when she got to her room was change into her pajamas. By the time she was done, it was almost 10:30. Hermione decided she was thirsty and went downstairs to get a glass of water.
When she reached the last step going down, a bit of curiosity sparked within her and made her look through the peephole into the driveway.
Sure enough, Draco's car was still there, still not on. She could see his pale hair and glowing face in the darkness of the night. Why is he still here? she thought.
Just as she was thinking about going outside to ask him that very question, the engine started and the headlights flashed on. The car swiftly backed out of the driveway and made its way out.
Strange. He's not one to linger.
Suspicious, she turned away and headed for the kitchen as she had originally intended.
After pouring herself a glass of water, she walked back to her room. The events from that night kept replaying in her head as she fell asleep.
Next Monday morning, Hermione tiredly strolled into her- Draco's building to start the day.
When she got to her cubicle, there was a pink stick-it note that stood out on a blue-colored folder on her desk. She put her things where they needed to be: jacket draped over her chair, handbag in the drawer beside her desk, coffee mug beside the keyboard, and flats changed into professional black stilettos. Then, she proceeded to read the note. It said, in sloppy handwriting:
Suzy's, noon exactly
Underneath the text was a face that winked at her.
Suzy's was a coffee shop two streets north of the building. Hermione had been there before once, with Ginny. It was just after Harry proposed to Ginny and they were discussing plans for their wedding over a cup of hot chocolate.
It wouldn't take her long to get there if she walked from the building. The walk would probably be, at most, 15 minutes. If she left around 11:45, she would make it to the café for exactly noon. It was almost nine o'clock, so she had about 2 hours.
But who would send her that anyway? The only people she knew at the company well enough were Draco and Lewis, but if either of them wanted to see her, they would have confronted her and asked her to her face. The note just seemed out of character for the both of them.
Still, curiosity got the best of her and decided to leave the building at exactly 11:45 so she could be there at exactly noon.
So Hermione spent the next two hours doing what she usually did; work, work, work. She emailed, photocopied, and faxed documents, wrote new documents, called satisfied customers, emailed angry customers, and frequently took breaks to the office kitchen to get a snack or a drink.
When 11:30 rolled around, Hermione reminded herself that she had to leave in fifteen minutes. She thought she would use the time to go to the washroom, but took her time knowing that she still had fifteen minutes to go.
As she opened the door, she saw that the sink closest to the door was occupied by a pretty blonde woman who was fixing her hair. She made nothing of it and continued to do what she came there to do.
However, when she walked out, the blonde woman was still there, but this time was applying makeup. Hermione's first thought was blaming the woman for not doing this at home.
While she was washing her hands, the woman finished up and closed her bags, ready to leave. She headed for the door, but Hermione couldn't help but notice that the woman had left her lipstick on the counter. She picked it up and called for the woman to retrieve her belonging.
"Excuse me? Is this your lipstick?"
"Oh, yes it is, thank you very much. What is your name?" the woman asked.
"I'm Hermione. And you are?"
"Cecelia. Well thanks again, Hermione," she said with a smile, and she walked out the door.
She was stunned. So that's Cecelia.
Hermione imagined that she would be pretty; after all, she went on a date with Lewis. A pretty face like his only deserves another. But this girl was absolutely stunning. Her hair was light blonde, but not bleached, because it looked so natural. Her knee-high pencil skirt and black pumps emphasized her model-like legs, and her eyes were a gorgeous shade of brown. And the rest of her body- it was just mesmerizing.
She could now see why Lewis went out for dinner with her. She was pretty and seemed like quite a nice girl, too. Even has a pretty name. She was almost perfect.
Hermione scolded herself for thinking about the other woman so highly, which in turn made Hermione very gloomy. She snapped out of her thoughts, washed her hands, and walked back to her desk.
When she got back, it was 11:45 exactly, so she grabbed her jacket and purse and headed outside to take her lunch break.
It wasn't such a bad day for a walk. The sun was out, but it wasn't hot. There was a breeze, but it wasn't cold. The sky was bright, but it wasn't blindingly bright like it was in the summer. Hermione could only describe the scenery as "perfect".
On the way, she saw mothers pushing strollers and teenage boys riding their bikes. She even passed a little boy and girl playing a duet on the guitar on the corner of the street, and she threw a couple of coins she had into her pocket into the hat the children were using to collect money.
When she entered the café, she looked around for a familiar face. She began to give up until she saw Lewis waving frantically at her the way he did when he was waiting for her at the burger place.
She smiled as she walked over to him. As she pulled out the chair across from him, she saw two mugs of hot chocolate on the table. She blushed and thanked him, which made him blush in return.
"Good morning, Ms. Granger," he said, and then winked.
She laughed. "I thought we were in a first-name basis."
"We are, but my intention was to make you smile. Since I made you laugh, I would say that I achieved that goal," he responded. "Can I get you anything to eat? I was thinking of getting a sandwich for myself."
"Well, I suppose I could go for a soup. Hang on, I brought my wallet." She reached into purse to get her wallet, but by the time she looked back up, she was by herself. Lewis was not in front of her.
She turned around in shock, and finally saw him standing in line, waiting to buy their food. She wanted to stand up and give him the money, but she didn't want to lose the table. He caught her eye and winked at her one more time before giving their order to the barista.
As she looked back forward, she saw that Lewis had left his jacket draped over his chair. She turned back around to make sure he wasn't looking, and snuck some notes into the pocket.
A few minutes later, he came with a tray that carried a sandwich on a plate and a bowl of soup. He carefully placed both items in their respectful places and went to return the tray. Hermione sat still until he came back.
When he came back, he said, "Why haven't you tried the soup yet?"
"I was waiting for you. Wouldn't want to start without you."
He smiled sheepishly and said, "How very thoughtful. I felt bad about not having dinner with you last night, even though I asked you out first. So I called you out today to make up for it."
Hermione blushed internally and tried her soup. Although she didn't care for peas, it was absolutely amazing. It had seemed as though everything that day could only be described as "perfect".
Even the talk after their meal was splendid. They both laughed many times, and they even got through three cups of hot chocolate each. Towards the end of the meal, they were sharing a chocolate cake and talking about some of their favorite bands.
When the cake was finished, Hermione set her fork down on the plate and looked at Lewis. "Thank you for lunch. I had a great time."
"As did I. Shall we schedule another day like this?" he asked playfully.
"I believe we should," she added, playing along.
"Right then. What day is it today?"
"Monday."
"Then every other Monday, we shall meet at this café at this very table for exactly noon. Fair?"
"Fair," she said with a smile. "Though I should probably get going now, my lunch break is almost over."
"As is mine." He stood up and put his coat on. "Would you like an escort back to the building, m'lady?"
She laughed out loud and took his arm. Together, the pair walked with their arms linked all the way back to the building and up the elevator.
In the elevator, he released Hermione's arm and reached into his pocket. "Forgot to give something to you." He pulled out the notes she had placed in there earlier and put them him her hand. "Don't think I don't see things," he said, and with one last wink in her direction, he stepped out of the elevator onto his floor.