Loser, Whatever!

We continued roaming the village for a few more hours. By then, Oliver had the dress bag because he insisted that it was his idea to buy it. This led to some arguing over who paid for it and how picked it and who's idea it was. He won, because I didn't feel it was worth fighting over.

"Are you sure you don't mind carrying that?" I only said it to get a reaction, and a reaction I got.

"Bridgette! We've already had this argument! It's my dinner that requires you to get a new dress and you do need a new dress because you don't have any others!" I was laughing before he even stopped, "You're cheeky."

"I know, but it was worth the reaction!" I laughed. He looked at his watch.

"It's 6:30, you ready for dinner?"

"Yeah, you?"

"Definitely, I'm starved."

"Then why didn't you say anything sooner? I wouldn't have minded having supper earlier!" I scolded him.

"I didn't think you'd be hungry." He smiled innocently.

"Just ask next time." I smiled back and he gave my hand a squeeze.

"It's just around the corner." He explained.

We rounded the corner and a small restaurant was revealed. If he hadn't told me it was there, I probably would have missed it. The sign above it declared it to be 'Kira's." It was small, but cozy-looking. Through the windows I could make out a dim setting with booths lining the walls and a few tables along the floor. It looked like a neat place, like the Kleine, but much more organized and less random. He held the door for me before entering himself. The seating hostess already at her post as we came in.

"Table for two?" She pondered.

"Yep." Oliver replied.

"Follow me." She walked towards the back of the place and we obeyed. As we walked through, I noticed there were only about three other groups eating there. That was a good sign because it meant the food would be ready quicker and I was worrying about Oliver's stomach ever since it started growling about five minutes ago. She led us to a small, secluded square table at the back all by itself.

"Your waitress will be here momentarily." She said before walking back to the front of the restaurant. Oliver pulled my chair out for me before he took the seat opposite me. Sure enough, as soon as we sat down, a late-teenage girl appeared.

"Hi, I'm Kirsten and I'll be your waitress tonight." She introduced herself as she placed menus in front of either of us, "Can I get you a drink to start with?"

"I'll have a ginger ale." I answered. Oliver took his time, I had forgotten his unfamiliarity with Muggle beverages. I saw him steal a glance at the back of his menu, but I don't think Kirsten noticed.

"I'll have a coke." He said tentatively.

"Is Pepsi okay?" She asked.

"Uh, yes." He replied.

"I'll be back in a few." She walked back to the kitchen. I burst into laughter.

"Just stop it, okay? I know it looks funny, but I'm working on it!" He defended himself, but I saw him crack a smile.

"You have no idea how funny it looks! Everywhere we go, you'll be known as the guy who doesn't know how to order drinks. I thought you said you spent a lot of time here."

"I do, but I didn't know Muggles had anything but water a pumpkin juice, so that's pretty much what I order when I'm here. But then you said you wanted ginger ale and I thought I'd get creative. Whatis a Pepsi?" He queried.

"It's a soft drink." He looked at me as if I had three heads.

"How can a drink be soft? I thought it was wet. Muggles are very weird." He opened his menu and started consulting it for food choices. I heard another stomach growl and I chuckled again. He smiled, his gaze never leaving the menu.

Kirsten returned with the drinks and set them in front of us, "Are we ready to order?"

"Uh, yes. I'll have the chicken Caesar wrap." I informed her.

"And for you, sir?" She asked as she wrote my order down.

"I'll have the classic burger without onions please." He told her.

"Alright, it'll just be about fifteen minutes." She walked away, still writing Oliver's order.

Oliver turned his eyes to the brown drink in front of him, "It doesn't look very soft."

"It's just a name, I really have no idea why they call it that." I laughed then took a sip of my own drink.

"It's bubbling!" He looked horrified. This caused a fresh round of laughter from me.

"It's just because it's carbonated." That didn't help his expression. They didn't teach Chemistry at Hogwarts, "Don't worry, that doesn't mean it's poisoned. They wouldn't serve poisoned drinks in a restaurant. It's just one of the ingredients in it that makes it bubble."

He took a tentative sip, looked thoughtful for a moment, then took another sip.

"What do you think?" I asked.

"This is great! Why don't we have anything like this back home?" He demanded. Within minutes, he drained the glass so all that remained were the ice cubes at the bottom. By that time, Kirsten arrived with our food.

"Can I get you another drink, sir?" She asked.

"Please." Oliver was so courteous. She left and returned in seconds with a fresh Pepsi.

"Enjoy." She wished us before leaving again. I took a bite of my wrap. It was so good! I loved the bacon, you didn't get anything quite as artificial tasting as this in the wizarding world.

"How is your burger?" I asked after a few moments.

"Great. I love this place. We're going to have to make it a usual." He answered with his mouth full.

"Definitely." I agreed.

"So, how did your parents take the news that I was taking you out today?" He asked when he swallowed.

"Not too bad actually. Well, I only told my mom, I'm not sure my dad knows. But I'm sure he'll notice I'm missing. Just be glad we're not going to be there when he gets the news."

"I wouldn't want to get on your dad's bad side." He told me.

"I'm sure you're not. He'll get used to the idea. Like you said yesterday, this is the first time any of his kids have ever had a relationship. He'll warm up to it eventually." I consoled him, "What about your parents?"

"They're still in Scotland, but I hear from them occasionally." He informed me.

"That's nice, so when do I get to meet them?" I pondered.

"I really don't know. Let's wait until your parents get used to having me around then you can meet them. They know we're going out, they just don't know who you are. My mother subscribes to Witch Weekly. You should have seen the letter she sent me! 'I'm so happy you're finally seeing someone, hopefully you'll finally settle down after all this Quidditch!' I'll have to show you the letter. It was hilarious! As if she expected me to get married as soon as I became of age, which was probably what she had in mind." That made my heart soar. The part about how he was planning on staying long enough to let my parents get used to him, then I'd get to let his parents get used to me. It was also nice to hear him laugh about his mother. Did that mean he was planning a serious relationship? It could have gone either way with the way he was talking. I had finished half my wrap and started the second. Oliver was already half done his Pepsi.

"Have you never had a girlfriend?" I asked casually.

"Many infatuations, but not a real girlfriend like you." He smiled.

"Infatuations?" I repeated.

"It's not easy being a Quidditch player. There are always fans, female fans. And my mother added a lot of pressure to get married sooner rather than later. But I didn't want to burden my wife with having to travel and me being away from her all the time. My mom tried to set me up with a few purebred Scottish girls, but it didn't work. They weren't as into Quidditch as some people." He winked. I felt my cheeks burn. Wait, were we talking about marriage here? These were dangerous and awkward grounds. I needed to change the subject.

"When does the World Cup start?" I asked desperately.

"The Saturday after the dinner. But England doesn't play until the Tuesday, against Germany." He explained, "Incidentally, I do have tickets to every England game for you and your family."

"Oliver, you don't have to pull strings to get us tickets." I felt my cheeks flush darker and I was glad the restaurant was so dim.

"I'm not pulling strings. Each player gets twenty tickets to give to anyone they want. So I can afford to give you tickets. And you can apparate now, so You should be able to make it to every game whether or not your family accompanies you." He elaborated.

"Thanks, this really means a lot to me." I looked into his eyes. He smiled and reached over the able to close the gap between our lips. It answered all my unasked questions. He was here to stay, and my family couldn't change that. He truly liked me for who I was. It was so soft and gentle, but just as passionate as our last kiss. I would have liked to stay that way longer, but it was awkward leaning across the table and we pulled apart.

"You taste like beef." I pointed out. He laughed.

"You taste like chicken." He retorted, "But at least your father wasn't there to pull me off you."

"He pulled you off me?" I asked incredulous.

"Yeah, just before he took your arm, he totally shoved me off you. That's why I'm so worried about how he'll react to this."

"Don't worry about it Oliver. We already decided he can't interfere with us, he'll get used to it. I'm not going to stay his little girl forever."

"True." He replied, came around to my side of the table to kiss me again from a better angle.