Chapter 3 – A
Summer’s Day
Buffy
snatched the phone off the cradle and tucked it between her shoulder and ear. Turning
back to the mirror she held the two blouses up again and contemplated how she
would look in them.
“Hello,”
she said, wincing when she heard how exasperated she sounded.
“Now, now,
Buffy,” Angel said. “Is that anyway to answer the phone? What if it was your
date calling to confirm times?”
For a
moment she was speechless and then irritation crept in. Of course, Angel would
find out. He had said that he would talk to Spike after he dropped her off.
Sighing, her hands dropped as she prepared herself for the lecture about to
happen.
“It’s not a
date. We’re just going to the movies together.”
The man had
the audacity to laugh at her and Buffy wished she could reach through the phone
and choke him. It wasn’t any of his business anyway.
“What’s in
your hands?” Angel asked the smugness of knowing her too well coating his
question.
“Blouses,”
Buffy said, giving up any pretence that she wasn’t nervous about seeing Angel’s
shipmate again.
“Uh huh,
and what’s on the bed?”
Guilty as
charged. Her blonde mane flowed over her shoulders as Buffy turned to look at
her bed.
“Clothes,”
Buffy whispered, refusing to admit that half her closet had already been
discarded.
“And do you
go through this much trouble when you go to the movies with me or
“You wasted
your talents by not becoming a lawyer,” Buffy said, throwing the garments in
her hands onto the pile. “Do you have a point with this phone call or is it
just a torture call?”
Deciding
that Angel was right about the clothes issue, Buffy grabbed her favorite pair
of worn jeans from the dresser. She and Spike had talked like adults. They were
friends. She would dress comfortably and not try to impress him.
“No,” Angel
said. “I wasn’t torturing you. You were torturing you by wasting hours getting
ready to go out on a non-date.”
“I’m a girl
and I like to look pretty.”
“You could
wear a gunny sack and still be beautiful,” Angel said. “Look, you shouldn’t go
out with him.”
“Why?”
Buffy asked. She reached for her make up bag. “Is he an axe murderer? A blood
sucking fiend? Wanted in thirty states? Give me one good reason why not?”
“He’ll
break your heart, honey,” Angel said. A loud sigh reached her ears and Buffy
knew that Angel was honestly worried about her. “He’s a pretty decent guy as
far as sailors go. He works hard, a little impulsive sometimes, but always does
what needs to be done. We talk on that ship. There’s not a lot of us so we get
to know each other pretty well. He’s still yearning for a woman that doesn’t
want him. And as wonderful as you are I don’t think that you can steal him away
from the sea.”
“It’s not a
date,” Buffy reminded him while trying to remind herself. Spike was the first
guy in a long time that made her sit up and take notice. She felt safe around
him and he had defended her to Faith which was a big deal. Angel was one of her
best friends but Faith was his sister and in the end would come first. Riley
had cheated on her with the brunette leaving Buffy feeling like she wasn’t
woman enough for anyone. For a long time after that Buffy didn’t even want to
date anyone. Their meeting had to be fate. Sighing, she accepted that her heart
was stirring again. “Angel, I know. I know. He told me straight up that he
belonged to the sea. But I’m…”
“Lonely, I
know. Just be careful, okay? And I’ll go ahead and stock up on tissues. By the
way you’d better hurry he should be there any second.”
“How do you
know?”
“Caught up
with him after he left you last night and invited him to stay at my parent’s
house,” Angel confessed with no remorse in his voice. “Figured that way I could
keep tabs on what’s going on.”
“Bastard,”
Buffy muttered, clicking the phone off and threw it in the direction of the
bed.
Now, she
just needed to decide which blouse to wear. The sound of knocking on the door
cut her deliberations short and she grabbed a baby blue pullover. She decided
it would have to do as she dug under her bed to find her shoes.
“Buffy,”
Her mother called. “Spike is here.”
Whether she
was ready or not it was show time.
~~~~~~~~~
His hands
were empty. Spike stared at them for a second before remembering this wasn’t a
date. You didn’t have to bring flowers and candy for a friend. He knocked on
the door and while he waited he tried to check out his reflection. Yep, he was
still athletic and good looking. Not that it mattered, he and Buffy were
friends. Right, maybe if he kept telling himself than one day he might believe
he had no interest in shagging the girl.
The door
was opened. His eyes fell from where he was expecting Buffy’s face to be to the
older woman in a wheelchair that was staring at him in amusement.
“Hi, I’m
Spike.”
“I’m Joyce,
Buffy’s mother. Come on in.”
She rolled
back into the living room as he stepped into the apartment. The kitchen, dining
room and living room were all in one large area. The kitchen with breakfast bar
was to his left, the dining table to his right and the living area was in front
of him. It wasn’t anything fancy but homey and comfortable. The right wall had
floor to ceiling shelves that were filled to overflowing with books.
“You have a
nice home,” Spike said honestly. It was the kind of place where people were
welcome and you were considered family.
“Thank
you,” Joyce said, gesturing for him to take a seat, “It’s
home.”
“Convenient
too, Buffy said that you owned the bookstore downstairs.”
“Yeah, it
works out.”
“Hi,” Buffy
said, standing in the hall entry way.
She looked
nervous as she looked at him and when he stared for too long she dropped her
eyes shyly.
“Hey
yourself,” Spike said, standing again. “Ready?”
“Yeah, I’m
ready,” Buffy said, walking over to her mother. “We’ll be back…after the movie?”
She turned to him because they hadn’t made any plans for afterwards.
“I was
thinking dinner and the works if you want to.”
Maybe she
wanted to come home right away. Maybe she was only going because she felt sorry
for the sailor without any plans. Spike wanted to kick himself for making
himself so vulnerable.
“Okay,”
Buffy answered, a little breathless. “I’d like to.”
There was
that look again. The one that said she wanted to believe he was her prince.
What had he been thinking? Dinner and the works? Just declare yourself on the
market. The desire to be with her as much as possible was warring with the
warning bells that told him to run.
“Sweetie, I
hate to ask,” Joyce said. “Can you run an errand for me between the movie and
dinner? Your father is going to be tied up at the shop all day and we need a
few things from the store.”
Buffy
looked at him waiting for him to let her know if it was all right.
“No
problem,” Spike said, turning to Joyce with a smile. “Why don’t we get stuff
for dinner too and we’ll cook.”
He felt a
twinge of guilt when disappointment flickered across Buffy’s face for an
instant. The voice telling him to run was getting louder and this way he could
be with her without putting them in a situation neither was ready for.
“Uh, Buffy
and cooking are very unmixy,” Buffy said, the smile returning to her face. “We
can get something from the deli or something.”
Pasting on
his come hither smile, he, oh so casually, put his arm around her shoulder and
squeezed her.
“I can cook
and since I don’t have an apartment here in town this is the only way I can
impress you with my skills.”
Cooking was
one skill he could impress her with. The other
skill he wanted to impress her with had been effectively pushed into the
background with Faith’s announcement last night.
“Are you
sure?” Joyce asked. “Buffy’s friends are always welcome but this is your
first…”
“That will be
great,” Buffy interrupted. “Where’s your list?”
Spike hid
his smile as Buffy fluttered about getting the list and money. At least he
wasn’t the only one that was having a problem with the whole affair. In a
matter of moments they were out the door and on their way. Thankfully
everything in Sunnydale was within walking distance otherwise they wouldn’t be
going anywhere. They picked a neutral
comedy to see and loaded up on popcorn and drinks before settling into Buffy
approved seats. In the middle of the row
halfway back. If he had his way they would have been in a rear row taking
advantage of the disappearing armrest.
~~~~~~~~
“Popcorn?”
Buffy asked, holding the bucket out for him.
His slim
fingers grabbed a handful of the buttery treat. Buffy watched wondering what it
would be like to have those hands sliding over her body. She swallowed and
reached for her drink hoping the icy liquid would cool her off. Spike shifted
in his seat so they were touching from shoulder to elbow. Glancing down she
realized that if she moved her thigh just an inch to the left their legs would be
touching too. A thrill ran through her and Buffy took a deep breath working up
the courage to move when someone sat next to her.
“Want some JuJufruits?” Angel asked, settling down into the seat next
to her and held her favorite movie candy out to her.
It couldn’t
be but it was. Buffy blinked her eyes a couple of times hoping he would
magically disappear. He didn’t. Spike sighed and leaned his head back against
the seat. Deciding to ignore her friend and hopefully gain support from his
date, Buffy leaned forward and smiled.
“Hi,
Cordelia, how are you?”
“I was fine
until I was dragged in here. All I’ve heard today is Buffy this and Buffy that,”
the pretty brunette said, reluctantly returning the smile. “I told him he
wasn’t welcome here but you know Angel. He always knows what’s best.”
Realizing
it was hopeless and Angel wasn’t going to leave, Buffy sat back and stared
daggers at her friend. She batted away the box of candy that he was still waving
in front of her. Once in her life she wanted the people around her to realize
that she was an adult. There were times it was great to be surrounded by family
that took care of her and supported her but this was not one of them. Maybe she
wanted to let go of the good girl and see what happened. She couldn’t do it
with her stalker friend tagging along.
“Leave us
alone,” Buffy said, trying one last time to get her point across. “Take your
girlfriend and go away.”
“I was
worried that you wouldn’t get your JuJufruits,” Angel
said, his eyes wide in pretend innocence. “You get cranky when you don’t get
your candy.”
Great now
he was talking to her like she was four. Buffy glanced to her left and Spike
looked pissed as he stared at the blank screen. He had pulled away from her and
she knew he was regretting asking her out. She didn’t blame him. This was ridiculous.
With Angel chaperoning she felt fourteen instead of twenty-three. Between Angel and Faith she’d never get a
chance to experience anything she was missing out on. Taking a deep breath for
courage, she took Spike’s arm and pulled it around her shoulders. The armrest
was pushed up and she snuggled against the blonde’s side. He froze for a second
then grinned down at her as he pulled her closer to him. She rested her hand on
his thigh and turned to look at Angel.
“No, I’ll
get cranky if I don’t get Spike.”
Spike and
Cordelia laughed. Angel looked ready to kill before sitting back and staring straight
ahead. Buffy hated upsetting him but it was worth it as her body registered
being up against a lean, muscled, and very male body. Every nerve in her body
screamed in pleasure at touching him. No man in her life had ever made her feel
so sexual with just a cuddle. The thought of doing anything more with him sent
a rush of arousal through her. And she had to cross her legs to try and ease
the tingling feeling between them.
Calm down, this was supposed to be a
just friends get together, Buffy told herself and hoped that he didn’t let go of her anytime
soon.
Trying to
appear as if this wasn’t doing wild things to her libido, Buffy returned to
eating her popcorn. Angel slid the box of candy on her lap. It was true. Ever
since they were kids she always had to have a box of the fruit flavored sweets
to get her through the movies. The popcorn never lasted with her appetite. She
forgave Angel because she knew even in his overbearing way he was trying to
look out for her. Mouthing the word ‘please’ at him, Buffy turned her ‘begging’
eyes at him and stuck out her lower lip. Angel gave her one last look of
warning and stood. Cordelia and he ended up sitting on the other end of the
theater from them.
“You sure
he’s not in love with you?” Spike asked, after the other couple left. “Because
he’s acting awfully jealous for someone who says he’s just a friend.”
“No, we’re
not in love,” Buffy said. “He just knows me better than anyone else.”
His
cerulean eyes studied her face for a moment. She smiled at him hoping to ease
any lingering doubts he had. It was hard to explain that it was always Angel
who picked up the pieces of her life when it fell apart. And Angel would be the
one to listen to her cry and hold her when Spike was gone. Already she knew she
was going to be hurt because this time she wasn’t going to run away. This time
Buffy was going to let her feelings lead the way. Even if it was with someone
who already said he loved something more than he could ever love her.
The lights
dimmed and the previews started. Spike settled her closer to him and Buffy knew
she was exactly where she wanted to be. She pushed aside the threat of future
pain and concentrated on enjoying the moment.
To be continued…
