A/n: Hello all my wonderful reviewers. Thank-you for all the wonderful reviews you guys throw my way, I'm honored. Ok, I just wanted to confess that this will be the only chapter that this story will have until after March 5th. You see I'm a little busy with exams and thus will be unable to upload another chapter until then. I apologise for this, but you just have to bear with me.
However, I promise I'll be back as soon as March starts with another chapter and another story too. Anyone who would like to receive personal alerts for new chapters, please leave me your e-mail address. In the meanwhile, enjoy the chapter. Special thanks to fallenwitch for beta reading this.
Sitting across from Ginny, Draco couldn't believe what had transpired between them in the last two days. Just 48 hours before that very moment, Ginny had been on the verge of eliminating him from her life. And now, she sat across from him, playing with the napkin in her lap as she dished her order at the waiter.
Lost in his thoughts, he didn't realize that the waiter had turned to him for his order until Ginny waved a hand in front of his eyes. Blushing furiously, Draco scanned the menu and quickly ordered something that sounded quite appealing.
"Number 42," he said quickly.
"And something to drink, sir?" asked the waiter.
Turning to Ginny, he raised an eyebrow in inquiry. She shook her head. He turned back to the man and chose the first item on the list. Nodding his head enthusiastically, the man went rushing away.
His eyes automatically seeked Ginny's and found them dancing in merriment. "You seem happy," he commented.
She looked at him, and he saw faint color staining her cheeks. "I'm just feeling very peaceful. And this place, by the seashore, this is the best place I could be," she said. `With you' added Ginny to herself. "What about you? Suddenly a merry man makes you grin?" she asked.
"What can I say, it's the company".
Ginny blushed at the hidden compliment. It had been so long since she and Draco had shared the easy chemistry they did at this moment. Long hours spent alone had taught Ginny one thing, that going through such moments always brought a smile to one's face. Taking a mental picture of her surrounding to remember later, she savored the feeling of being here, with Draco.
She didn't know what she was going to do after their five days together were up. She knew none of what happened in the past was his fault, but she still had a fiancé back home she had to explain things to.
"A Knut for your thoughts," said Draco, tapping his hand on the wooden table.
"I'm just thinking of how suddenly one moment things are going so horribly wrong and the next…"
"They seem perfect," completed Draco. She looked at him and gave a warm smile.
"You know I've always wanted to live near the sea. This is the best place you could have brought me," said Ginny. "Thank-you Draco."
Puzzled, Draco wondered how the conversation had suddenly turned to gratitude. "For what?"
"For not giving up on me and sticking it out till I heard everything," said Ginny softly.
Not trusting his voice to stand the pressure of forming a sentence, Draco let the calm silence wash over them. This new and uncertain phase in their relationship needed to be built upon.
Trying to think of a topic to bring up, Draco was saved the trouble when the waiter arrived with their order. Ginny took a whiff of the smell and smiled. Draco felt an odd sense of warmth spread through his body. He was with her here, and that was all that mattered. Suddenly feeling thirsty he reached for his drink and took two big gulps of it. Signaling the man for another glass, Draco looked at his own plate. He hadn't realized he was hungry until actually seeing the food before him. Tucking in, he grinned to see Ginny attack her food with similar vigor.
Eating their food in companionable silence, Ginny didn't realize that Draco was soon done with the fourth glass of his drink. She looked at him closely and realized that he looked as if a hangover would be a mild word for what the morning would be like.
Signaling for the man in charge of their table, Ginny looked at Draco concerned.
"How may I help?" asked the same man who had taken her order.
"What exactly did he order?" she asked, avoiding the ordeal of naming Draco a friend or anything else. She could wait for sometime before redefining their relationship.
"Oh madam, the finest lobster we serve and drunken chest".
"What exactly is drunken chest?" asked Ginny, pointing at the four empty glasses Draco had finished. When she turned to look at his seat, she realized he was missing. Concerned, she looked around the small hut and found him talking to one of the musicians playing music in one corner.
"Oh, it's the finest oyster secretions along with vodka and a strong shot of local alcohol," replied the man.
Feeling her head spin, Ginny moved towards Draco. She couldn't handle a drunken man. As she reached the middle of the hut, a spot light suddenly lit her up. Surprised, Ginny's eyes widened, and Draco suddenly enveloped her in his warm hands. "Dance with me," he said.
The musicians started playing a hypnotic tune. Strings on the guitar were plucked, and the piano played a calming rhythm. Feeling her body move to the tune, Ginny realized that she enjoyed the feeling of dancing with Draco. All those years ago, they had danced most of their fights away. Today it seemed like one of those times again.
Slowing moving to the rhythm, Ginny didn't realize the tempo suddenly changed until she was moving faster than before, imitating Draco's moves. Left, right, round and round. They moved on the dance floor in frenzy, working their past troubles away. Ginny went round him and felt his eyes follow her. Back in his arms, Draco moved her body to the rhythm. His eyes were clear, and she read the emotion in them and this time she made no mistake. He was in love with her, and, Merlin help her, she was in love with him as well. Ending in an exaggerate dip, Ginny felt his breath on her throat, and she mouthed the words that she had feared attaching emotions to, "I love you".
Unable to go anywhere, since she was still bending over Draco's arms, his body supporting hers. She closed her eyes for a moment. Hearing his ragged breath, she waited for something, anything. When he didn't say anything, she opened her eyes. The intensity in his eyes took her breath away. Without a word, his lips descended on hers and before she felt them move away, she heard him echo her words, "I love you too".
"Bravo, Bravo," shouted the musicians, whistling loudly. The other people in the hut clapped enthusiastically, and Ginny suddenly realized where they were. Helping her up, Draco brushed a strand of hair away from her eyes, and Ginny blushed at the contact. "Take a bow, you were amazing," said Draco.
"We were wonderful," corrected Ginny and caught his hand. They bowed together, and she supported Draco when she felt his steps falter slightly. "You're drunk," she accused, her voice low as they moved back to their table.
"I am not," denied Draco thickly. "Actually, I think I am," confessed Draco as his eyes drooped. Afraid he might go to sleep on the wooden table, Ginny removed some money from his robe and paid for their food. Supporting him on her shoulder, she caught hold of both his hands and Apparated him back to where they had come from, and this time she knew for sure that she wasn't going anywhere for a long time.
Reaching the room that they had spent the night the previous evening, she quietly placed Draco on the bed. Within moments, she had a fire going in the fireplace. Turning to her companion, she found him struggling with his shoes. Smirking at the childish curse he threw at his shoes, Ginny moved to help him.
Shoes and socks followed by his outer robe. Ginny helped him get rid of the white crisp shirt that he wore beneath the robe and then faced him. "That's all I'm helping you with. The rest is all up to you," she said and turned to go find a room for herself when she felt his hand hold onto hers.
"Stay. No hanky panky," he said, repeating the words he'd said the previous night. Ginny felt a small smile tug the side of her lips. Nodding she went to change into something comfortable. Upon returning she found him beneath the covers in his pajama bottoms. Turning the covers aside, she settled next to him. She kissed him on his forehead and whispered a small good night. Turning to her side, she muttered, "Nox" and felt the lights go out. The only light came from the fire burning.
Somewhere in the middle of the night, warm arms reached out to her and brought her closer to an equally warm body. Unknown to either, they had crossed a line, and neither knew where it would take them. For now, they slept.
A/n: Now review!
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