Just Can't Help Ourselves

[Katalina Harker]

It was a wonderfully warm day outside and the sun was shining brightly. After finishing up her paper for one of her classes she packed up her books and stood up to stretch. She leaned on the windowsill and looked out her window, seeing how beautiful the school grounds were this time of year. Finally deciding that the walls of this castle were too much to withstand she changed into her running clothes and tennis shoes. Kat piled her hair up in a messy ponytail and headed down out of Gryffindor house and out of the castle.

After taking a few energizing laps around the grounds Kat came to the willow tree by the lakefront. She sat down on the ground just outside of the shade of the tree, letting the sun beat down across her sweat moistened skin. Stretching her legs out in front of her she laid back, her hands behind her head, letting the warmth consume her completely.

 

[Sumner Drage]

Sumner had spent all morning warming up, practicing for the upcoming matches. Training for Quidditch was his ambition, for the next decade or so, until he became injured or retired and went onto another field. Possibly law enforcement. He spun toward the ground, sweat flying from his face, before barreling out and scoring a landing away from the broom shed. He'd stored it there, and walked the length of the grounds until he came up on the Lakefront. He was over heated and needed a swim. Guzzling water from the bottle he carried with him, he pulled it from his lips and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. He'd foregone the normal equipment used for group practices, opting because of the heat just to wear a simple black tank and black wind breakers.

He was nearly upon the lake when he spotted her there. Memories flooded back, softened his anger against her until finally he felt that they could talk. He smirked. Yeah we'll see how long that lasts until they were screaming at each other again. Propping a forearm against the tree trunk, head tilted, lips quirked, he took the water bottle and let a few drops splash across the exposed skin of her midriff.

 

[Katalina Harker]

Kat thought she heard someone approaching her general direction, but didn't bother looking to see who it was figuring it to be some random student just passing by. When she felt a cold drip on her stomach she squealed and rolled over, trying to escape it. Looking up she saw the culprit and glared at him. "Do you get some sort of sick pleasure out of torturing me?" Kat knew it was a stupid question seeing as how she already knew the answer. Yes.

 

[Sumner Drage]

Sumner smirked. "I did. Once." He rubbed the back of his neck, taking another drink of water, the chords in his throat moving as he swallowed. "Now it's second nature I guess." He popped the cap and set it on the ground, resuming leaning against the large trunk of the tree, back against it, arms cross over chest. "Truth of the matter, I think we should talk." He shrugged.

 

[Katalina Harker]

"Little sh1t," Kat mumbled as she rolled back over onto her back. Her ears perked when Sumner said they should talk. She didn't know if it was a good thing or not, but usually those words were ominous. "What? Want to tell me how incredibly turned on you were by the little table action in the Great Hall the other day," she snarked looking back at him, standing up against the tree looking like some sort of gorgeous Grecian god. Shrugging that thought off Kat closed her eyes again and said reluctantly, "You're probably right. Ugh, that left a bad taste in my mouth."

 

[Sumner Drage]

Sumner's keen hearing picked up on her muttered words, his mouth split into a grin. His thumb rubbed at his cheek and he decided, as she spoke so smart ass to him, that his added height wasn't so much of an advantage in this situation. Falling to his knees beside her, hands laid palm open on his thighs, he cocked his head. Steal greyish eyes regarded her. "I'm sure you knew what you did to every male in that room, professors included, when you pulled that stunt." He rubbed at his chin, eyes flicking along her body then back to her eyes. "Admit it, you liked the attention."

 

[Katalina Harker]

Kat peeked one eye open and saw that he had dropped down next to her. She felt her body tense up, but wasn't going to give him the satisfaction of knowing that his close proximity effected her in any such way. "No. Why don't you enlighten me. Tell me exactly what the site of me smacking my own ass in front of Merlin and everyone did to every single male in that room," she seethed as she sat up slightly on her elbows looking at him with a straight face. Kat lowered herself back down, propping her head on her hands once more a little smirk played on her lips. "Attention? I didn't notice I was getting any," she stated nonchalantly.

 

[Sumner Drage]

He snorted, becoming distracted and not minding a bit. He had always enjoyed verbally, not to mention physically, sparring with Kat. She had a quick wit and a biting tongue. His anger became pushed to the background. "Let's see. It rhymes with 'hood'." His smirk reflected hers. "You shouldn't seek out something you can't handle, intentionally or otherwise."

 

[Katalina Harker]

Kat had to bite the inside of her cheeks to keep from busting out into laughter. "You're a pig you know that?" Her nostrils flared when he told her she shouldn't seek out things she couldn't handle. Who was he to give her advice? "I was helping out a friend, plus they needed to be shown off. I bought them months ago when I had thought about...well they'd been in my drawer and were just too cute not to be shared with the entire student body," she said, having to stop herself short from spilling a secret that she hadn't told anyone else...little did he know or would he ever find out that she had the matching bra to go with it.

 

[Sumner Drage]

"Oh yeah, I know." Not only did he know, he didn't care. Sumner stretched his arms above his head, one hand pulling at his wrist. He barely stifled a groan from how sore his muscles were that morning. He leaned forward, planting his fists side by side between his knees on the ground. "Right pretty they were too Kat." His hand came out, fingers flicked lightly against the sweat beaded on the skin of her arm. "Awfully sweaty for a nap. Dreaming of somebody got you hot around the collar?"

 

[Katalina Harker]

"Thought you'd like them," she stated coolly before adding, "That'll be the only time you get a glance at my knickers." Then he touched her skin lightly sending first a chill then heat surging through her body. Her respirations increased only slightly as she tried to calm herself down. Keep a cool head Kat...don't let him get to you. "What get's me hot around the collar really isn't any of your concern anymore is it?"

 

[Sumner Drage]

Sumner chuckled lowly, nodding his head. "Yeah. You're right about that." He watched the flush creep on her skin. "So tell me," he began, smirking in a way that should have spelled trouble, "can he do that just by a touch?" His satisfied smirk grew, letting her know he knew exactly what his proximity was causing.

 

[Katalina Harker]

Inhaling sharply her body visibly shuddered. Sumner had been the only person to ever elicit any kind of response like that from her body and she both hated and loved him for it. Clearing her throat Kat propped herself slightly with an evil smirk on her face. "You can't even begin to imagine the things his touch does to me," she sneered spitefully, only herself knowing good and well there was no one else at the present time who did anything like this to her with the exception of the bo...man sitting next to her.

 

[Sumner Drage]

In the blink of an eye he was beside her, stretched out on the grass cushioned ground like a baseball player stealing second. Propped on an elbow, hovering over her halfway, his hand shot out; slowed, hovered half an inch above the skin of her throat. Eyes following the movement, then locking with hers, mere inches from them, his hand moved. Down down down, never touching, only the heat from his palm making contact. Until his hand came to her flat stomach, settled and pressed lightly against her skin, fingers covered by white shirt.

His head lowered, breath mingled with hers. He forgot about the game, drawn in by her. "Kat." Space closed, mouths met.

 

[Katalina Harker]

Her body pressed flush to the ground Kat let out a low moan. Hell he didn't even have to touch her and she could feel the heat radiating from his hand onto her body until finally she felt him make contact, his hand lightly touching her abdomen, fingers encroaching slowly into a whole new territory.

She felt his breath, hot against her face. Kat dug her fingers into the ground, breathing heavily. Her heart was telling her to get up and run, but her head was telling her that this felt good...the sensations were indescribable. As his mouth claimed hers she went limp completely, all her energy going into the kiss...memorizing his mouth like her life depended on it.

 

[Sumner Drage]

It was as though time had reversed itself; he was just some guy, she was just some girl. Nevermind that her lips were as familiar to him as breathing. Nevermind that her flesh under his fingers was like coming home again. Sumner drowned himself within her, pushing away all thought, all emotions until all he could do was-feel. Mouth parting, kiss deepening, his heart raced with in his chest. No longer content with being stationary, his hand moved, trailed over her flesh wherever he could touch.

 

[Katalina Harker]

"Sumner," she said breathlessly against his mouth before diving in again. Her whole body was on fire wherever he touched her, her fingers digging harder and harder into the ground, pulling up small mounds of dirt and grass. Kat arched her back and a low throaty groan managed to escape. Ecstasy was the only word that came to mind. "Oh God," she cried out as he continued to make her feel in ways she never had before.

 

[Sumner Drage]

Sumner knew, he just knew, in that one moment, from that one sound, that she could be his. Right here on the grass, in broad daylight, with no cares of whom would possibly stumble upon them. For one brief, glorious moment, he pressed his body to hers, legs entwined as he kissed her hungrily. Her cries drove him further until there was another sound that penetrated the fog. He tore his mouth from hers, panting, ears straining for the distracting noise.

He held the swear in, biting his lip until he tasted blood. Rolling off Kat, he grabbed her limp hands and pulled her into a sitting position. He drew his legs up toward him, grimacing, head resting on his knees. A moment later three very loud and laughing third years jogged passed.

 

[Katalina Harker]

"Yes," she moaned as Sumner pressed her body to his. If this had been a few months prior she would have said that this was what she wanted, but now it was more than a want...it was a need. The moment was cut very short much to her dismay as a group of rowdy third years came barreling past. Kat tried very hard to regain her breath as she sat with her arms wrapped around her knees, her head swirling. After a moment or two had passed she fell back to the ground, laughing hysterically.

 

[Sumner Drage]

Sumner attempted to regain control of himself. Deep breath in through the nose, deep exhale out through his mouth. He tried and tried and tried yet felt it slip through his fingers as Kat's laughter sounded out. It sounded loud and nearly jarring within his jumbled head but amazingly he wasn't annoyed, or angry, or upset by her reaction. Sighing he flung himself back, staring up at the sky, his mouth twitching. "I hadn't planned on that." His head turned toward hers.

 

[Katalina Harker]

Kat's blue eyes looked dead into his gray ones and her heart melted all over again. How was she supposed to get over him if they kept running into each other in quite this fashion? Her laughter died into a light chuckle as she said, "Which part?" She searched his face, but for what she was looking for she wasn't quite sure all she knew that this was the first time that things had felt right in a long time.

 

[Sumner Drage]

Seriousness overtook him. And as their eyes met, he knew, now would never be the right time for them. Nor the near future. Yet he didn't want things to have ended so badly between them. Because when he looked deep inside and was honest with himself, as he was being now, he could admit that he still loved her. And what was love if not an unselfish thing? "All of it," he answered, not referring to their kissing just now. "I'm sorry Kat. For hurting you. For misjudging you." It was, he knew, one of the rare times in his young life where his maturity grew. It wouldn't always be this way and who knew, in five minutes he would probably resort to his usual crass ways. Yet at this moment, he was serious. And he was sorry.

 

[Katalina Harker]

"What did I tell you about the serious face," she asked, pressing a fingertip to his forehead before adding, "It makes frown lines which make you age prematurely." Then Kat heard the words that he spoke and she smiled though a few tears welled up and flowed freely from her eyes. That was all she had wanted from him. "Sumner...I never meant to hurt you. You were the one constant in my life that I always knew I could count on and I blew it. And as for the other night...well, I'll hate myself for putting out publicly what you had entrusted me with. I was angry and hurt and all I wanted was for you to feel what I was feeling. I wanted you to suffer just as badly as I was," Kat replied, taking his hand in hers and squeezing it tightly. "I do love you...I always have and always will, but I think that us being apart right now, well, perhaps it's the way things are supposed to be."

They laid there in silence for a few minutes, just looking at each other, finally a peace settling over her. A thought popped into her head and she started laughing again. "So what do you think my chances are of getting all O's on my NEWTs next year if I pull another stunt like I did the other day for the male professors? Those high marks really could boost my career you know," she said as she poked him in the ribs with her free hand. As much as she would have hated to admitted it before now she had missed him. "And...what are we going to do about this? If I'm not mistaken you already have a friend with benefits, so what am I?"

 

[Sumner Drage]

Kat's words, her apology, were like a balm to his broken heart. It was still bruised but he felt like he could breathe again. The anger he had stored then released with ferocity at the Halloween feast disappeared. He'd always hold anger within from his familial circumstances; but not with Kat. "I love you," he stated simply. "That won't change, no matter what the future brings. And," he sighed, though it pained him, "you're right." He wasn't sure how long it would take to get used to being truly without her.

His hand in hers, his smile came more readily than it had in ages. "Career in what? Wizard pole dancing?" He squirmed, laughing as she poked him. Chuckling, he ran a hand down his face then let it flop onto his chest. He looked into her eyes, searched them and was silent for a moment. "You're the one that got away."

 

[Katalina Harker]

They loved each other and that right there was enough to keep Kat happy for an eternity. She glared at him slightly when he commented on possible careers and she retorted with, "Hey, a witch has to earn her living some how. Can't depend on some man to keep her up all her life." When Sumner looked into her eyes she finally knew that everything was going to be okay. Sure, not being together with him was going to be hard to get through, but she still had him in her life and that was more than she could have ever hoped for. What he said to her nearly brought tears to her eyes as she said in a hushed tone, "So are you." Kat leaned forward and lightly pressed her lips to his.