A Forbidden Love

Chapter 24: Our Secret

I take a step into the room, still in complete shock. I'm not sure whether to wake him or let him sleep and think this never happened. Before I could decide, my hand slips off the door, and it slams shut. He starts to stir. Crap!

He rolls over and faces me with his eyes closed. When he opens his pretty eyes, and they fall in me. The expression of shock and defensiveness is too much for me this late at night. All the pain and fear and suffering from the past year and a half rush back to me and I start crying. I went through all of that only to have him look at me like that. It's more than I can handle.

I stand there crying like a fool for what feels like forever. It's not my fault I'm broken. I think about how my parents treated me, how Ms. Zabini treated me, and how I treated Potter and cry even harder. I don't think this is the way most people attempt to begin a relationship.

He gets out of bed and walks towards me. I brace myself because I figure he's going to push me out the door. At least he didn't just sleep me away. He's taking an effort for me, which is good, even if it is in a bad way.

To my surprise, he doesn't push me out the door. Instead, he wraps his strong, muscular arms around my frail, weak body. We guides me over to the bed and holds me tight. I wipe my eye and look up at his face, eyes wide. The surprise is obvious on my face.  His, too, is laced with shock, obviously not believing what he just did.

"I th... thought you were g... going to push me out," I say between sobs.

"I did too, honestly," he says quietly, "but when I got to you, my arms went autopilot."

I cry myself out, face against his strong chest. It's beautiful. I cry at the beauty of it, hoping it's not just another cruel dream from the universe.

When I'm done crying, I fix myself up to the point where you can't even tell I cried. I hate looking weak and, of course, I have to be my weakest around my crush.

"Anyway..." I say, now fully composed. "Let's forget that that ever happened."

"Aw, but you're cute when you cry," he says.

"Wait! What did you say?"

"I said you're cute when you cry. And you're especially cute when you act all tough. I love it."

"But, I thought you hated me."

"I did, but only because I thought you hated me. You were always so mean to me. But, I have always thought you cute."

"First off, I know I was mean and I'm sorry. I realized it too late, and by that point, I couldn't change my ways or it would look suspicious. Plus, I don't really know how to deal with a crush. Oh and I've had a lot going on. So yeah, I'm sorry."

"I get it. I guess I shouldn't have been so mean either."

"I made it easy, though."

"You sure did."

We both let out a strained laugh. Neither of us are that good about confessing feelings. I know I'm not, and I can tell he's not, just by the way he's speaking now.

"And second?" he asks.

My face immediately brightens with a grin. "Draco is not cute. Hot and sexy, yes. Cute, I don't think so."

That gets him laughing. I'm glad. His laugh is adorable. I'm laughing right along with you. It helped lighten the mood a lot.

"Well Draco," he says between laughs, "you're sexy."

When we finally stop laughing, we kind of just stare at each other awkwardly. I take everything in, just in case this is the last I get to see him like this. Maybe he's drunk on the need for sleep or something.

Shut up, Draco, I think. Can't you enjoy good things that are thrown your way. Accept them for once. You deserve them.

First, I scan his body. He sleeps shirtless, so I have perfect view of his abs and his slightly muscular build. It's perfect. I can't wait to press myself against it again. I kind of wish I would've cried longer, for that reason.

After his body, my eyes move up to his face. I start with his handsome, tousled hair. It's wild, but he wears it well. Then I take in his scar, which reminds me that he's hated by my parents and most of my friends' parents. That just makes me want him more. Continuing down, my eyes land on his perfect green eyes. His eyes are every single shade of green, blended perfectly, dark to light, from the outside in. Finally, my eyes land on his gorgeous lips. In that moment, I wish nothing more than to put my lips on his.

I decide I might as well make my move. So, I do. I lean forward and... he does too. I'm relieved and let my body flow.

Our lips hit. He wraps his arms around me. I do the same. I push him back onto the bed. He rolls us over so that now he's on top. He slides his hand up the back of my shirt, touching my bare skin. It feels great. It's everything I've been waiting for and more.

Between kisses, he says, "You're pretty good... at this... you know."

"Shut up... and finish... kissing me," I respond.

When we finally pull apart, we're out of breath. We lie next to each other on the bed, fingers intertwined.

"That was amazing," he says at last.

"You're not so bad yourself," I say.

"You know, I could get used to this."

"Me too."

He pulls me in tight for a hug, and I wrap my arms around him in response. Before I know it, he's asleep, and I'm trapped, in his arms. Not that I'm complaining. He's even cute when he sleeps. I didn't think anyone could be cute when they slept. Resting my head against his strong body, I, too, fall asleep.

The next morning I wake up in a tight hold and panic. I look around and realize where I am. That actually happened. I can't believe it.

I shake Potter awake. "Hey, we fell asleep."

When he heard my voice, he looks as panicked as I felt. Then he calms and says, "Oh my God. Did last night actually happen?"

"It would appear so."

"So it wasn't just a dream."

I shove him playfully. "So you have had dreams about making out with me."

"What? No! OK, maybe once or twice," he adds, innocently.

He looks adorable. I peck him on the lips again. He smiles.

"I guess we should get going. Our friends are going to worry."

"Yeah, I guess so." I wasn't ready for this to end.

He climbs out of bed and heads to the door. Before he reaches it, he turns back to me. "About last night, Malfoy..."

"It's Draco." I cut him off. "You can call me Draco."

"Err... Draco then," he says, trying it out. He smiles at the sound. Then his face gets all serious again. "Last night. Secret?"

"Sure. If you want it to be."

"Yeah. At least for now, I want it to be. But I also want this to be," he says, gesturing vaguely at the room and at me. "Like, a lot."

"Yeah. Me too," I blush, and he does too. "Well, I'll see you Potter."

"Please, call me Harry."

"Harry," I say, trying it out. "Nah, I like Potter." We laugh.

"Oh and one more thing. Maybe a little less bullying of me and my friends."

"And have people suspect something is up? I don't think so." He glares at me. "I'm kidding. I'll watch myself more carefully from now on. For you, Potter."

"Thanks."

"Well, get going before you scare you friends."

"Right." Without another word, he runs out of the room.