The Way I Are

Chapter Seven

Draco's mind is swimming, his breathing is unsteady and his heart is racing. His eyes are darting in every direction and his fists are clenching and unclenching beside him.

If anyone knew he was doing this, he'd die of sheer embarrassment.

Draco focuses in on the task at hand, trying not to think of the raven-haired boy who seems to be completely oblivious to absolutely everything. Especially the fact that Draco is completely enamored with him.

Draco struts haughtily into his favorite restaurant, which also happens to be where he saw the current boy-toy of the very same raven-haired boy he'd been thinking about earlier enter.

The plan was rock solid. Bailey had only seen Draco the one time in a dark club with strobe lights flickering so bad they'd give an epileptic a seizure. If he recognized him now it would be a miracle.

After Pansy told Draco of the picture Harry found in Bailey's wallet, he knew he had to figure out who the woman was. He couldn't let Harry continue on seeing someone who didn't have his best interest at heart.

Draco heads for the maitre d', looking around for his target, smiling deviously to himself when he sees him, sitting at a table set for two, seemingly waiting for someone.

"Ah, Mr. Malfoy! So nice of you to come in. Is anywhere fine or would you like a specific table?" the maitre d' asks, reaching out to shake Draco's hand.

Draco shakes the man's hand and replies, "Somewhere in the formal dining area. It's a touch windy outside and I don't wish to ruin my hair."

The two men swerve between tables and guests eating until they reach a small table, perfect for someone like Draco to eat at and still be comfortable. And the best part, Draco is close enough to Bailey to where he can see who he's meeting for lunch, but far enough away to where it doesn't seem like Draco was following him—even though he was.

The maitre d' hands Draco a menu, tells him to enjoy his meal and to let him know how everything was when he's finished and leaves, heading back to his post.

Draco scans the menu, occasionally glancing up to see if Bailey's date has shown up yet. It's not until Draco's server, a woman called Gloria, shows up to take his order that he notices a woman making her way to where Bailey is sitting.

"And what can I get for you today, Mr. Malfoy?" Gloria asks, flicking her notepad open to take his order.

"The lobster, please. I'm in a seafood mood today," he smiles at her, handing her his menu.

While Gloria leaves to put his order in to the chef, Draco observes Bailey and the woman.

What he sees about makes his blood boil and his veins pulsate. Bailey smiles excitedly when he sees her, standing up from his seat to greet her. And what a greeting he gives her.

Bailey takes the woman's hand in his and leans towards her, kissing her right on the lips.

The couple sit down at the table, holding hands across the table and smiling at each other. It isn't until then that Draco notices something interesting about Bailey—His wedding ring.

"What a prick," Draco mumbles to himself, his fists clenching together in anger.

The woman with Bailey laughs at something Bailey says, pulling the hand that's not holding Bailey's—her left hand—to her mouth in the way that girls do that Draco never understood. Draco looks closely at her hand and sighs when he sees that she, too, is wearing a wedding set. A beautiful diamond ring that could poke an eye out, but a wedding set nonetheless.

"Enjoy your meal, Mr. Malfoy. Let me know if there's anything else I can get you," Gloria says as she returns with Draco's meal.

"I will, thank you very much, Gloria."

Draco eats his lobster, looking back at Bailey and the woman Draco can only assume is his wife now occasionally, trying to think of the best way to tell Harry about what he's seen today.

Once Draco is finished, he checks his watch and realizes he still has a little over an hour until he has to report back to work. With the rest of his hour and the new found information he has, he decides to invite his business partner out to coffee.

Draco pays for his lunch and pulls out his mobile, dialing the number he knows by heart.

As Draco exits the restaurant, saying a quick goodbye to the maitre d', he waits for Harry to answer the call, praying that he will agree.

"Well, well, well, Draco Malfoy calling Harry Potter. Someone alert the media," Harry jokes as soon as he answers the call.

"Oh, Potter, I don't believe me calling you is news worthy. However, my inviting you to come have coffee with me at the cafe across from Edwardo's may be," Draco laughs, his heart beat picking up pace as Harry takes his sweet time to answer.

"Sure, Draco. I'll be there in a few minutes."

"Okay then. I'll be inside waiting for you," Draco says, clicking the phone closed, whispering to himself, "I'll always be waiting for you."

Draco crosses the street, thinking about Bailey and his wife. When Draco left they were just starting their entrees. At that rate, they'd probably finish either by the time Draco and Harry finish their coffee or a little after. Perfect timing.

Draco sighs, but smiles, knowing he's about to have coffee with Harry. To the untrained eye, this could look like a date. But on the contrary, it's just one person wishing it was and one person just having coffee with a co-worker.

Draco adjusts his composure and heads up to the barista to order the coffees for himself and Harry.

"Hello, how can I help you today, sir?" she asks.

"Can I have one hazelnut coffee with a bit of milk and sugar and one peppermint with milk? Thanks."

Peppermint is Harry's favorite and it is only around from October to February. Peppermint is also what Draco imagines Harry's lips to taste like, considering the amount of the peppermint coffee he drinks and the peppermint chewing gum Harry always has in his mouth while doing his paperwork.

Draco is snapped out of his imagining what Harry would taste like when the barista says, "Sir? Your coffees?"

"Oh! I'm sorry. I was... distracted," he smiles at her, handing her the money he owes for the coffees and takes at a small table by the cafe's front window.

If he's lucky, Harry will see Bailey leaving Edwardo's with his wife and Draco will be there to console him with peppermint coffee and arms for hugging.

Shortly after Draco sits down, the one and only Harry Potter comes busting through the cafe doors, unwrapping a scarf from around his neck.

Draco's heart throbs when he sees how utterly delectable Harry looks with his hair mussed from the wind.

And if he's not mistaking, Draco may have actually licked his lips, closing his eyes as he leans his head back, trying to regain his composure again before hailing Harry over to his table, sliding the peppermint coffee across the table.

"I could've gotten my coffee, Malfoy," Harry laughs, smiling a sexy half-smile, adding, "but thank you," to the end of his statement.

"My pleasure, Potter," Draco laughs, taking a sip of his own coffee.

Harry takes a sip of his and closes his eyes, focusing only on the peppermint dancing on his taste buds.

"Peppermint. You're good," Harry says, winking quickly at Draco before putting his coffee down on the table.

"You'd do well to remember that, Potter," Draco says, implying more than just his skill at picking out coffee in that one sentence.

Harry sucks in a breath and exhales heavily, shrugging his jacket off of his shoulders and onto the back of the chair he's in to take his mind off of the blonde in front of him.

"So why'd you invite me to coffee today, Malfoy?" Harry asks, quickly changing the subject as he takes another sip of his coffee.

"I wanted to. Plus, I kind of have something I think I should tell you."

Well, hello, there, darlings! Can you believe it?! It hasn't even been a month since I've posted and I've already finished this chapter! I'm actually pretty proud of myself.

I hope ya'll enjoyed and pretty please with sugar on top review!

xoxo,

K.J