WML Chapter 8: Too Tired To Play
The next week at work passed by in a blur. Draco and Hermione somehow hadn’t run into each other at all the entire week. The delivery system was fixed finally which made her trips to his office unnecessary.
Hermine spent the whole weekend packing the entirety of the house and separating her belongings from everything that was to go with Ron. He offered to help her but she refused and said she wanted to do it alone so she could get it done faster and do some thinking.
She honestly didn’t want to have to deal with the awkward tension that was between them, that and she honestly knew she could get it done a lot faster without him in the way.
As she walked out of the empty house, she realized that her marriage really was over for good but more importantly she realized that it had been truly over for a really long time. She felt stupid for not seeing it and accepting it sooner.
She took the day off Monday to get moved into the new apartment that she had finally found with the help of Malfoy’s friend. The man knew what he was talking about and was able to help her find a great place within her price range.
The week was passing by just as noneventful and boring as the last when Friday finally rolled around, and she decided that she had had enough.
She didn’t need an excuse to go see him. They were friends now and friends talked to each other. She hadn’t seen him or heard from him in two damn weeks, enough was enough, she thought.
She packed away the rest of her files and extinguished the lights in her office before walking out of her office and heading towards his.
It only took her a few minutes to make the trip as usual. She stood outside of his office door, which had the name D. MALFOY painted in large black letters. She felt nervous at the thought of seeing him again after their last encounter, but she was determined to talk to him.
She took a deep breath to calm her nerves and then knocked twice on the door.
“Come in.” She heard his voice call out.
She opened the door and took a step into his office. He was busy rushing around collecting papers and files, he didn’t even look up to see who had entered the room.
Hermione stood there awkwardly watching him for a minute before finally clearing her throat to make her presence known.
“Ahem.”
He glanced up at her for a second but never stopped working.
“Granger.” He greeted her simply.
“Malfoy… I’ve obviously come at a bad time.” She replied.
He set a large stack of papers down on his desk with a loud thud. Then he plopped down in his chair and let out a loud sigh as he ran his fingers through his hair. He was obviously frustrated and overwhelmed by whatever his caseload was.
“It’s fine. What can I help you with?” He said calmly as he looked at her.
She took another step into the room and closed the door behind her.
“I actually wanted to talk to you about some things, but you are obviously very busy, and I don’t want to distract from your work. I can come back some other time.” She blurted it all out nervously.
He raised an eyebrow at her and tried to hide the small grin creeping on his features.
“I’m still going to be at least another hour here, but I could meet you afterwards if you like.”
Hermione bit her lip nervously as she thought about his proposal.
“Uhh um.. That would be great.” She stuttered out.
She kicked herself mentally for acting like such a nervous little schoolgirl.
He nodded his head, “Okay, good. I’ll meet you down at the corner pub.”
She nodded back and smiled.
“Great. See you then.”
She almost tripped getting out of his office and cursed herself.
As soon as she closed the office door behind herself, she started to panic.
‘What am I doing? I am behaving like an imbecile, I’m so damn nervous around him now.’
She started walking away and then realized that she had an hour to rush home and get changed. Then she started to panic even more.
‘What am I going to wear?’
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Draco rushed through as much of his workload as possible. If he was being honest, he probably should have stayed a few more hours to get it all finished for the weekend, but he was exhausted already and really wanted to talk with Granger to find out where they stood with each other.
He had been trying his best to give her space to figure things out and do what she needed to do but he can’t give all the credit to being a good guy, he was super overworked the past couple weeks due to some crazy case in their department.
It was driving him nuts not seeing or speaking with her, especially after their last encounter but he had resisted for years, he could hold back if she needed him to… even if that ended up being forever. There was still a chance that all she wanted from him was friendship after all.
He finished up his last hour of work then headed out of the office. As he reached the front of the bar, he stopped to transfigure his clothes out of his ministry gear to something a little more suitable.
He ended up with a quick change into dark trousers with a black tee and black jacket. It wasn’t the nicest, but it was good in a rush, and it was more comfortable than the work robes.
Draco walked in and quickly found Granger sitting at a small table by one of the windows. He had to stop for a minute and take a breath. She looked stunning.
She was wearing a fitted white dress with a slit up the legs that went a little to high for comfort and her hair was left down with her curls brushing softly on her shoulders.
He walked over to the table and sat down in the chair across from her. He noticed as he sat that she already had an empty glass in front of her.
He motioned at it, “Started without me?” He asked with a smile.
She laughed nervously and smiled at him.
“I may have had a couple drinks while I waited.”
“A couple?” He asked surprised.
“I was nervous.” She bit her lip and glanced around the room.
She could feel butterflies swarm in her belly as she looked at him. Somehow it felt like his eyes were more beautiful than she had ever realized, and those eyes were staring at her.
She couldn’t help glancing looks down at his lips ever so often as they sat there. All she wanted to do was grab him out of that chair and kiss him silly.
‘Maybe the drinks were a mistake.’ She noted to herself.
She crossed her legs under the table and wiggled a bit to get comfortable, but she could feel the ache between her legs growing. She felt flushed and knew she needed to say something before she jumped him from across the table.
“I hope you don’t think I’ve been avoiding you. I know things have been a bit strange for us lately, but I would never purposefully avoid you.” She said and hoped he believed her.
He smiled back and nodded as he responded, “I figured you were busy. I wanted to give you space to think things out… Well, that and I’ve been swamped with work.”
“I noticed that you were pretty busy today when I stopped by. Has it been that way all week?” She asked and then licked her lips, wishing she had another drink to distract her hands with.
He frowned at her.
“Yea it’s been like that for a while now, but I didn’t come here to talk about work. I was hoping for a more personal topic.”
She was a little taken aback by his response and frowned back as she replied.
“Sorry. I didn’t realize this was a meeting for a specific topic. I was just trying to make conversation with you.”
He sighed loudly and brushed his hair back. He was so exhausted and not in the mood to play games. He knew he was probably being rude but he either wanted some answers or he wanted to go home to his bed.
“Look, Granger, I’m beyond exhausted. I only came out because I thought you knew what you wanted.”
This time she couldn’t hide the shocked expression from covering her face.
“What I wanted? What…”
Before she could finish the sentence, he cut her off by standing from the table.
“When you figure it out, let me know. Either way, I’m here for you. As for tonight, I’m off to bed before I do something to embarrass myself.”
All he wanted to do was grab her out of her seat and show her what she was missing. It took all his willpower not to reach out and run his fingers up her thighs which were exposed and looking silky smooth.
He turned and walked out of the building, leaving a very confused and shocked Hermione.
“What the hell just happened?” She asked loudly, not caring if anyone overheard her.
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A/N: Sorry again for the delay between chapters. I ended up in the hospital again and have been dealing with some health issues. HOPEFULLY things will get back to normal as far as new chapters. I have already started the next chapter and I promise that it will be way more exciting than this one. ;)