"So, you're Jeremy's cousin."  Dan Rydell held out his hand to the redhead standing before him.

 

    "Yep," she replied, shaking his hand, "Willow Rosenberg.  You're Dan, right?"

 

    Dan nodded, "So do you watch Sport's Night?"

 

    Willow looked at the floor, a little uncomfortable, "I do when I get the chance, but I'm busy most nights.  And, well, to tell the truth I'm not a really big sports fan."

 

    Dan smiled, "Well, I won't hold that against you too much.  Did Jeremy give you a tour yet?"

 

    Willow shook her head, "No, he went off with some woman named Natalie.  I think they're having a fight."

 

    Dan rolled his eyes.  "That would make sense.  Hey, I got an idea, why don't I show you around."

 

    "That sounds like fun."

 

    LATER

 

    "This will be the last stop on our tour: my office. Normally Casey would be in here writing, but he’s in Chicago doing an interview.  Please grab a seat."  Dan sat down on the couch, and Willow sat down next to him.  The tour had been a lot of fun. They had flirted innocently with each the entire time.  Dan had to keep reminding himself that Willow was his friends younger cousin, and therefore off limits.  Jeremy would probably kill him even for flirting, despite the fact that Dan pretty much flirted with every woman he knew.

 

    Willow had had a great time on the tour.  She was glad to get out of Sunnydale for a little while.  She hadn't been to New York before, so when Jeremy had called her up and invited her out, she jumped at the chance.  Jeremy had always been her favorite cousin, even though they didn't get a chance to see each other very often.  And despite her lack of interest in sports, Willow had fun while Dan had showed her around the studio.  He was funny and smart, and also very cute.

 

    "So you really don't' like sports?"  Dan asked.

 

    Willow laughed at the disappointed tone in his voice.  "Well, I like soccer."

 

    Dan made a face.  "Soccer, oh come on."

 

    "What's wrong with soccer?"   Willow asked, pretending to be indignant.

 

    "It's boring."

 

    "Soccer is not boring!"  Willow exclaimed, her arms crossed.

 

    "It really is."  Dan went on, "I mean come on, no one every scores.  I couldn't count the number of times I reported on a zero-zero tie.  If you're lucky you'll see a couple of goals in a game.  I just don't see the point in a game were you rarely see a score past one or two points.

 

    Willow rolled her eyes. "That's what's exciting about the game.  It's difficult, very difficult.  In order to score everything has to be in line perfectly.  Not only do you need massive amounts of skill, but you need a bit of luck.  A game can turn around in a second.  One goal can make or break a match.  It's a thrilling game. You never know when a team is going to score.  You can blink at miss it.  Soccer is all about the tension."

 

   Willow had been moving closer and closer to Dan as she talked about the game.  Suddenly they both realized it.

 

    "All about the tension, huh?" Dan asked, swallowing nervously.

 

    "Yeah, the tension."  Willow's voice has hardly above a whisper as she leaned towards him.  Their lips were almost touching.

 

    "Willow!"

 

    Dan and Willow both sat back, breaking apart.

 

    "That would be Jeremy."  Dan said, a bit nervously.

 

    "Yeah."  Willow looked at the floor.  "I'm in here!" Willow called.

 

      Jeremy stuck his head in, "Oh, hey Dan.  I see you met my cousin."

 

    "I gave her a tour."

 

    "Great.  Sorry I abandoned you there Wills, Natalie really wanted to talk."  Jeremy explained.

 

    "Oh, that's fine. Dan has been keeping me entertained."  Willow hoped she wasn't blushing.

 

    "So, you ready to go to dinner?"  Jeremy asked.

 

    "Sure," Willow stood.  "It was nice to meet you, Dan.  Thanks for the tour."

 

    "Of course.  It was my pleasure."

 

    "See you in a little while, Dan."  Jeremy said as he led Willow out the door.

 

 

 

    A few days later

 

    "Hey, Dan!"  Casey called as he walked into to the office they shared.

 

    "Hey, Casey, how was Chicago?"  Dan asked, not taking his eyes off the television screen his was watching.

 

    "It was fine."  Casey glanced at the TV.  " Hey, are you watching soccer?"

 

    Dan nodded.

 

    "But you hate soccer."

 

    Dan shrugged, "I learned the secret of enjoying it."

 

    Casey snorted a little in disbelief, "And what's that?"

 

    "It's all about the tension."