The Way I Are
Chapter Twelve
"I feel like I've missed so much! Last we talked about this, you were seeing Bailey, and now you're shagging Draco Malfoy!" Hermione exclaims, laughing to herself.
Hermione and I are sitting at the very same table I sat at with Draco in the little cafe across from Edwardo's, catching up on our lives.
"I know. It's been a hell of a year. Good thing it's almost over. Can you believe Christmas is on Saturday?"
Hermione laughs again, taking a sip of her no longer hot coffee, "Not at all. Ron and I have been going mad shopping for Rose and Hugo. The holidays are always so stressful when you have children."
I smile to myself, hoping silently that my Christmas will be spent, not only with my surrogate family—the Weasleys—but also with Draco.
It's been a little over a month since Draco and I first slept together, and since, it's become a much more regular occurrence. And by that, I mean, multiple times a week.
"I can't believe we now go weeks without speaking, when we used to never go more than a day. I haven't even spoken to Ron for more than five minutes since Ginny and I divorced in July."
"He's still very distressed over that. Even though he can clearly see that both you and Ginny are better off now that you are divorced. You've never been happier and Ginny is happy as well. You'll see her on Christmas though, so maybe you can talk to Ron together."
"That's actually a good idea. Thanks, 'Mione."
Hermione smiles proudly, knowing full well that she's probably fifty times smarter than I could ever hope to be.
"Anyway, Harry, I have a question."
I sigh and take a sip of my peppermint coffee, knowing exactly where this is headed.
"Are you and Draco just sleeping together, or are you actually together?"
I close my eyes. In truth, I've been wondering this very same question for weeks. Yes, Draco and I sleep together regularly. But we also talk. We talk everyday at work and we text or have phone conversations after. I spend most of my weekends at his flat, and when I do, I don't sleep in the spare bedroom like a guest—I sleep in his bed with him.
We go out on what could be construed as dates almost every weekend—dinner or to a bar, usually.
"I've been trying to figure the answer to that question out myself for weeks. I was hoping to talk to Dray about it when I see him tonight," I reply, sighing sadly.
"Dray? You have a nickname for him too?"
I can feel myself beginning to blush, so I quickly hide my face, biting my lip nervously. I know I've never called him 'Dray' to anyone besides himself or Pansy.
"I-it's not just me. Pansy calls him it too!"
"But Pansy doesn't blush when she does."
I keep my head down, staring intently at my coffee cup and continue blushing uncontrollably.
"You really care about him, don't you?"
"I do. A lot. Yes, I do enjoy shagging him—I really enjoy it. A lot. Like, a lot—"
"I get it, Harry, Draco's good in bed. Not that I ever would have doubted that," Hermione chuckles lightly to herself, almost making me choke on my coffee at that last statement, prompting her to continue, "Oh, come on, Harry. He's Draco Malfoy. Everyone knows he was shagging half of the student body in Hogwarts. And Ron's told me about how he used to go home with a new man every weekend, before you happened."
"Both true. But while I do love shagging him, I also truly do care about him. A lot. When something happens, good or bad, I walk to talk to him about it. I get excited to get up and go to work in the morning to see him, even if I saw him the night before. I'm happy when I'm with him. I'm—"
"You're in love with him," Hermione says easily, finishing off the rest of her coffee.
"I am not in love with him."
"Yes, you are. Do you smile when his name pops up on you mobile when he calls you? Does your heart beat a little faster and a little harder when you see him? Do you miss him when you're not with him? Do you sometimes catch yourself thinking about him when you're not paying attention?"
I frown, looking down at my hands. Yes. Yes, I get excited when he calls me. Yes, my heart beats a little faster and a little harder when I see him. Yes, I miss him when I'm not with him. And yes, I catch myself thinking about him more than I'd ever care to admit aloud.
"No," I lie.
"Right. Well, then, Harry, I suppose you'll just have to talk to him tonight. Can we please not go this long without speaking ever again? You're still my best mate. Always will be."
I smile and stand up to walk with her out of the cafe, smiling again when she leans over to kiss my cheek before trotting off to get back to her family.
Meanwhile, the same question keeps running through my mind, 'Am I in love with Draco Malfoy?'
"Hi, Harry, good to see you," Draco smiles his sexy half-smile that he does as he walks through my flat's front door.
"Good to see you too," I smile back, closing the door behind him.
"How did your lunch with Granger go?" Draco asks, still using Hermione's maiden name to address her.
"Very well. We got to catch up on everything new in our lives. Though, it wasn't much, it was still good to see her."
"Did the subject of you and I come up at all?" Draco asks, seeming slightly apprehensive—nervous even.
I shrug, trying to play it off as no big deal, "A little. She asked if we were just shagging or if we were a formal 'couple'."
Draco begins to stutter a little as he occupies himself by taking his jacket off and slinging it over the back of a bar stool in my kitchen, "A-and what did you say?"
"I told her we're just shagging—Multiple times a week. I mean, that is what we are, right?"
"I suppose so," he sighs, taking a seat at the island, leaning his head on his hands.
In seeing how he seemed to falter slightly, I decide to grow a pair—yet again—and speak up, reaching across the counter to take his hand in mine, "But... In the last couple of months, I've kind of... fallen for you, I guess. I truly care about you, Draco, I need you to know that."
Draco's eyes widen and his entire face seems to lighten up.
"We act like we're a formal couple. When I get frustrated with something, I call you and you talk me out of doing something stupid. I'm truly happy when I'm with you, Dray," I say, hoping for some kind of reaction, but in true Malfoy fashion, he gives away next-to-nothing.
After about a minute or so, Draco stands. His hand slips out of mine, making me slightly worried.
I close my eyes, afraid of the reaction I was about to get.
And I don't reopen my eyes until I'm given a reason to. A great reason too.
Draco's hand clasps around my upper arm tightly as he pushes me backward by laying his other hand on my chest until my back hits the counter behind me. Deja vu.
At first, I think Draco's mad. Making a Malfoy admit he actually has feelings is kind of like suicide, but when Draco leans to the side and whispers, "I care about you too," in my ear, I know he's not mad.
Draco's lips find their way to my neck, making me arch my back into him, grasping tightly at his long, blonde hair.
"Dray, I hate to be the buzz-kill here, but are we just going to go back to just sleeping together or what?" I ask, pulling back from him, despite how much I didn't want to.
"Whatever you want us to be, we'll be. I'm leaving it all in your hands."
I smile, genuinely smile, and tug his head down so we're almost eye level with each other. I hold tightly onto his hair still, leaning up to press my lips to his, hoping that he understands by that what I've decided. And I think it's for the best.
So, I kind of really enjoyed this chapter. And I hope ya'll did too! Please PLEASE review if you did! It makes me so happy when I see a new review on one of my FF's. (:
xoxo,
K.J