Chapter 27
Later that night, after the girls did a mandatory victory dance in front of the boys, the six of them were all sitting outside by the pool. The rain and clouds had cleared and the moonlight glittered brightly against the water. Claudia had made them a Mexican feast that included chips and queso, flour tortillas, guacamole and sour cream. There was a platter that had once been full of chicken quesadillas, but now they were more than half gone.
"Merlin, I should be more than full by now," Ginny said as she grabbed a quesadilla and tore it in half. "Guess all that winning has made me hungry."
Hermione grinned. "I still can't believe we won. It's awesome."
"Stop rubbing it in," Harry muttered before taking a much-needed sip of his margarita. "We're still wounded over here."
"You'll live." Ginny pushed aside her plate and leaned back in her chair. "So, when are you boys going to live up to your bet?"
Draco shrugged. "Whenever-hell, I'll do it right now if you want."
Ginny shook her head. "No way. Has to be in broad daylight, remember?"
"We'll do it on our last day here," Harry said as he casually took a chip and scrapped off what was left of the queso and popped it in his mouth. "How's that?"
"Works for me," Ron said and then grinned. "Maybe they'll forget it about it by then."
"Don't count on it, Ronald."
He gave Luna a wink. "We can dream."
"Hey girls?" Hermione said as she leaned back in her chair and placed her hands on the back of her head. "Remember that time when won? You know…when we kicked some boy ass?"
"All right, that's it." Harry set down his drink and got to his feet. "I'm shutting you up."
Before Hermione could even take in a breath, Harry had yanked her from her chair and locked his arms firmly around her. "Follow my lead if you want, fellas," he said as he lifted her off her feet
"Harry, what are you…don't even think about it!" she warned when she realized the direction he was going. "The water is freezing from the rain and I don't have my suit on and, and…and…you really don't care, do you?"
He grinned down at her. "Not so much. Brace yourself."
Hermione took in a breath as she closed her eyes tight, seconds before Harry tossed her up into the air-and into the icy cold water. She came up sputtering profanities and Harry just laughed before diving straight in-fully clothed in his jeans and shirt.
"Bloody hell, it's freezing," Harry gasped and then laughed when Hermione jumped up on his back. "Well, what are you waiting for guys?" Harry called out when he noticed Ron and Draco had yet to make a move. "Grab a girl and get your ass's in here."
Ginny and Luna both yelped and immediately darted from their chairs, but Ron and Draco were right behind them. Ron snagged Luna by the arm and whirled her around, while Draco swooped himself in front of Ginny, causing her to practically stumble against him.
They squirmed and protested the whole way to the edge of the pool, but it hardly did any good. The guys were too strong. Ron didn't waste anytime as he fell into the pool with Luna securely in his arms and they both came up gasping.
Ginny squinted her eyes, preparing herself for the icy cold, but she didn't go flying into the air like she expected. She blinked up at him to see him looking down at her with a slight frown. "What's wrong? I figured I'd be soaring by now."
"I hesitated." He shifted his eyes to the others, who were watching him with curiously, then looked back at Ginny. "I thought maybe…it would scare you, or you'd panic, after what happened to you yesterday."
"Oh." Her eyes softened and her heart all but melted in her chest. "Draco, that's unbelievably sweet that you when even think about that, but I'm fine. The pool doesn't bother me."
"Well then." He ran his hands over her shoulders, down to her arms, gripped them firmly, and sent her flying.
Ginny let out high-pitched shriek that was abruptly cut off when she hit the water. She emerged from the surface with a gasp. "Bloody freaking hell, that's cold!"
"You get use to it," Hermione promised and then let out a yelp when Draco landed inches from them.
Draco surfaced, letting out a breath as he slicked his hair back. "That'll sober you up." He then grinned at Ginny. "Bad night to be wearing a white shirt, isn't it, Red?"
Ginny blinked, looked down, yelped, and hunkered down into the water. "Son of a bitch."
Luna giggled. "At least you're wearing a bra."
"A nice one, too," Draco commented and only laughed when Ginny snuck a hand out and slapped his arm.
"Hey, look!" Hermione pointed to the slide where water poured into the pool. "Claudia must have turned it on."
"Well, let's not disappoint her," Harry said before taking off towards the side of the pool, the rest followed closely behind.
XXXXX
Later, after more than a few runs down the slide, including one big giant train of all six of them linked together, they all squeezed into the hot tub that had yet to be used. It was just shy of one in the morning, drinks had been refilled and no one shown signs of heading to bed.
"I still can't believe we did a train," Draco said after taking a long pull of his beer. "I mean, what are we, eight?"
"No, we're a group of friends that know how to have a good time," Ginny said, who was all but sitting in his lap due to the limited space of the hot tub.
"Exactly," Luna agreed. "I thought it was a blast."
"It wasn't so bad," Harry commented. "It was kind of nice being tucked in between Hermione and Luna."
Draco, who had been between Ginny and Hermione during the train, grinned. "I guess you have a point."
"No fair, I was on the end," Ron pouted. "Next time, I call between Hermione and Luna."
"Duly noted, Ron," Harry said with a chuckle before taking a sip of his beer. Under the hot swirling water, his fingers were entwined intimately with Hermione's. As much as he liked hanging with his friends, he wished everyone would head up and leave him and Hermione alone.
As if she read his mind, Ginny all of the sudden announced her departure. "My drink is empty, I'm tired, drunk-it's time for bed."
Draco felt the slight squeeze on his knee before she staggered up and got the message loud and clear. As much as he wanted to follow her right away, he made himself wait awhile so no one-especially Ron-got suspicious.
Luna followed soon after, amusing everyone when her tipsy self glided around the hot tub to give out hugs. When she was hugged him, Draco realized how much he actually liked Luna…adored her even. In fact, if he wasn't so in lust with his Red, he wouldn't have thought twice about swooping in and stealing her from Ron.
He pulled her back, looked into her loopy eyes, and smiled. "Well just look at you…you're quite smashed, aren't you Looney?"
She giggled out a snort. "Nooo," she protested and then let out stream of high pitch giggles. "Okaaay, maybe a bit."
Draco looked over at Ron. "Perhaps you should escort her to her room, Ron. She might miss a step or something and break her pretty little neck."
Ron chuckled. "I could do that," he said as he got up and slid his arms around her. "All right…let's go Blondie."
She giggled and then yelped when he lifted her out of the water and into his arms. "Wow."
Hermione smiled as they watched him carry her away. "Those two just…fit, don't they?"
Harry grinned. "Yeah, they do." He then turned to Draco. "Well…you're probably tired and all, Malfoy."
Draco was about to agree, but decided to give Potter hell first. "Not really." He took a long swig of his beer and stretched out his legs. "Nice night, isn't it?"
Harry scowled. "Scram, Malfoy."
Hermione nudged him in the ribs. "Don't be rude."
"Malfoy is doing this on purpose since he knows I want to be alone with you."
Hermione blushed. "Harry."
Draco laughed. "Relax, Hermione…it's not a mystery that something is going on between you two. I bet even Ron is finally figuring it out."
"Fine, whatever." Harry reached out and gave him a kick. "Now leave. I'm sure you're anxious to go on up and give Ginny a little late night visit."
Draco's grin dropped and his face hardened. "I don't know what you're talking about."
Hermione smiled. "Relax, Draco… it's not a mystery that something is going on between you two."
"Except for Ron," Harry interjected. "Lucky for you…he's still clueless."
"It's nothing," Draco blurted. "I mean…we're just…" He lifted his shoulder in an awkward shrug. "Hanging out."
Harry lifted a brow. "Hanging out? Is that what they're calling it these days?"
Hermione laughed. "Apparently."
"In that case, beat it, Malfoy, so I can do some serious hanging out with Hermione."
Giving up, he sighed and stood up. "All right, fine. I'm going." He stepped out of the hot tub and started to walk towards the house, but hesitated and turned. "Harry?"
"Yeah?"
"It doesn't bug you at all?" He asked awkwardly. "That I'm…er…hanging out…with your ex-girlfriend?"
"Well," Harry pondered. "Being that there is that important `ex' in front of `girlfriend', I don't mind as much. So…we're cool, Malfoy. But," he added before he could leave. "If you hurt her, I'll have to kick your ass."
"Yeah, yeah," he said with a small smile and then pointed at him. "And same goes if you hurt Hermione…it seems that I have become attached to the womenfolk." He grinned; then saluted. "Night lovebirds."
Harry watched in awe as he walked away and into the house. "Who is that guy?"
Hermione chuckled. "I know, right? That is a brand spanking new Draco Malfoy. He's a lot more likable then the old one."
"Yeah…just a bit." He looked over at her and grinned as he gripped her hips and floated her over until she straddled his lap "So…wanna hang out?"
Her laughter bubbled out of her as she circled her arms around his neck. "Oh, yeah."
Their curved lips met in amusement as they lingered a moment while a few chuckles emerged between them. Then, all laughter and playfulness melted away as the kiss turned from flirtatious, to passionate, as their lips and tongue met fervently.
Hermione let out a frustrating moan as she tried to wiggle closer, but her knees kept hitting the side of the hot tub. Harry immediately sunk them both into the middle of the tub, tugging her closer until she was wrapped tightly around him. She gently rolled her hips against him, causing him to groan urgently into her mouth while he molded his hands against the wet denim that clung to her ass.
Hermione was practically panting, as he left her mouth to venture downward. He took nips along her jaw, and then trailed gentle kisses to the curve of her neck. His hands cleverly snuck beneath her fluttering blouse underwater and found flesh. She shivered against him as his hands slithered up her sides and eagerly cupped her breasts. "Harry," she gasped as her hands flung out of the water to grip his damp hair.
He groaned softly into her ear. "You've said my name so many times in so many ways, Hermione." He lightly scrapped her lobe with his teeth. "In fear and in joy…worry and sadness." He lifted his head and crushed his lips urgently against hers. "But never like that." His warm breath merged with hers while their hearts pounded together. "Never like that."
Her lids fluttered as their foreheads touched. "Oh, Harry."
"I want you." His thumbs swept over her nipples. "Merlin, I want you so much."
"You have me," she murmured as she started to frantically scatter kisses over his face. "You've always had me."
A strangled growl erupted from the back of his throat as lips and tongue met in frenzy. His hands snuck out of her blouse, only to attack the buttons as he ripped and tugged until buttons fell off and floated away. He whipped her tattered blouse off her shoulders, keeping her wrists cuffed into the sleeves…leaving her constricted. His fingers easily flipped open the front clasp of her bra and moaned in approval when his hands enveloped her naked breasts.
"Yes," she murmured as she began to tug herself free of her blouse so she could touch him. "Please, Harry. Let's go upstairs." Her hands snuck under the shirt and found his warm, hard naked chest. "I can't stand it."
"I know," he groaned in agreement as he held her close and started to stand. "Let me just-ah, crap."
She let out a shriek when he stumbled backwards-bringing her with him-then gasped when his back slammed against the edge of the hot tub. "Oh my god, are you okay?" she asked sincerely, but couldn't hold back the small giggle that escaped her.
He winced as he moved his back awkwardly "Yeah, yeah-just didn't realize how drunk I was. That wasn't very smooth of me."
She grinned as she caressed his cheek. "You've had better moves."
He closed his eyes and chuckled softly before turning his face into her hand. He pressed his lips against her palm and let out a deep sigh. "It's probably a good thing I stumbled." He turned back to her and smiled when she sat back on his knees. "I don't think I want us to both be drunk during our first time."
She sighed. "I guess you're right."
He glided them back into the center of the hot tub and held her close, smiling softly when she tucked her head under his chin. "When I'm with you-for the first time-I want to remember everything. Every touch. Every taste. Every time you say my name in that sexy way."
She chuckled softly. "You mean like this?" She lifted her face up until her mouth brushed his ear. "Oh, Harry."
His whole body trembled and on a desperate groan, found her mouth with his own, and kissed her, long and hard. "Exactly like that," he murmured against her lips.
"Good to know," she said with a teasing smile and then snuck in a few more kisses. "Harry, if not tonight-when? I'm getting a bit impatient."
He chuckled. "Isn't that usually the guys line?"
She let out a laugh. "True."
"Don't worry." He kissed her nose. "I'm just as impatient. I'm not sure when exactly, but I do know where."
She lifted a single eyebrow. "Where? I didn't know that was an issue. I figured your room or mine."
"Oh, don't worry. I plan to get to my room-and yours-eventually, but for our first? It's going to be somewhere different…special."
She was puzzled, but only for a moment. "You're special place you want to show me. There?"
He nodded as he brushed his thumb across her damp cheek. "Yeah-I've pictured being with you there. Just you and I. No one else."
"Oh, Harry," she said as she held him close. "That sounds perfect. Just absolutely perfect."
He gently rubbed his cheek against the top of her head. "I'm glad."
"When?"
His body shook with laughter. "Soon, Lumpy." He bent down to nuzzle her neck. "Very, very, soon."
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