a/n: This note is for "Pam". The one who sent me the very lovely private note here on BSV. I read your message and hit reply, but the message disappeared and I could not remember your last name or the sign on name that you used to send the message. I just wanted you to know that you made my night with that message. Especially since you enjoyed the setting of Redondo. :) Contact me again, if you get this message. *hugs*

Chapter Eleven


In the middle of Buffy’s luxurious bathroom, John glanced around in awe; he was most impressed by the Jacuzzi tub. “This is one fancy set up.”

“I know. It’s almost worth the sky-high rent,” Buffy said, her voice magnified by the shower’s acoustics as she turned the water on. She straightened and faced him. “And like I said, there’s room for two in here.”

John slowly took his t-shirt off, more nervous than a teenage boy before his first time. He stood frozen to the spot when she pulled her tank top over her head, revealing perfect handful sized breasts. He really hoped they could hurry the shower along. Already growing hard, the sight of her naked as she got rid of the pants and underwear at the same time had him fully erect in seconds.

Buffy put her hands on his chest, running them down his firm abs and taking hold of the waistband of his shorts. She gently eased them down and over his erection and he used his feet to get them all the way off. Taking his hand, she guided him to the steaming shower. Once the door clicked closed behind him, he couldn’t take his hands off her. The water poured over them and while he leaned in to kiss her neck, she reached for the bar of soap.

It wasn’t long before they had lathered each other up. They rinsed off and stared at each other as they washed their own hair. No words seemed necessary. As if a spell had been cast in the room, rising up with the steam and connecting them on a deeper level. John turned off the water and she reached for towels.

They kissed, letting their tongues dance, while they dried each other off. The towels dropped, forgotten, as they shuffled together towards the bed. Her soft skin belying the strength inside, Buffy's wet hair fanned out behind her on the pillow as he joined her, covering them up with the sheet.

He kept his mouth on her, planting a trail of kisses down her jaw, her neck and in between her breasts. Buffy writhed beneath him, little sounds of pleasure escaping her lips. She gripped his shoulders and pulled him up to kiss him on the lips again, her hips moving, begging for him.

“Please, John, I can’t wait. Make love to me. Now.”

Pausing for a second, John let the thought that he rarely heard his name on her lips sink in. But her writhing and her deep breathing spurred him on. He sat up, reached over to the nightstand and ripped open the small foil packet that he’d placed there earlier. With impatient hands, she grabbed the protection and rolled it on for him before pulling him back down for another kiss. She was very much ready for him and though he tried to enter her gently, Buffy gripped his thighs and encouraged him to go faster. He didn’t need much prodding and once their bodies were joined completely, he lost some of his control. His thrusts were deep and powerful and she met him with gyrating hips on every powerful lunge.

John held out as long as he could, the fact that he was more turned on than he could ever remember being and the fact that he hadn’t been with someone in quite some time not helping. Her walls tightened, her breath hitched and although it was bordering on painful to keep going, he waited until she gasped and fluttered around him before he allowed himself release. He got his arms around her and held her tight as he continued to move until he had nothing left.

Still joined, they came down from the high together, wrapped in each other’s arms. Buffy clung to him tightly as if she thought he’d float away from her. Her head was buried in the crook of his neck, her legs holding him to her. Reluctantly, he loosened his grip and eased out of her. He got up and quickly disposed of the condom before returning to the bed.

Buffy was a perfect fit in his arms as she rested her head on his chest. They were silent and their breathing heavy as their hearts began to beat normally. He kissed the top of her head and she said, “That was…”

“Glorious?”

Playfully, she slapped his chest and looked up at him. “Did you just use surfer slang to describe what we just did?”

Her head moved with his chest as he chuckled. “Sort of. It would be surfer slang if I describe it the way we do riding a great wave.”

“How’s that?” she asked languidly.

In a false American accent that sounded suspiciously like his friend Dirk, he said, “Dude, that was one glorious ride!”

Buffy groaned and let out a giggle at the same time. “You are bad.”

“And don’t you forget it.”

It was obvious that her mood had changed. She sighed and turned towards him more, laying her arm across his stomach. Following her, he wrapped his free arm over her and gave her a gentle squeeze. They snuggled that way for a long time, neither of them willing to move, and it wasn’t long before they were both asleep.

~ * ~ * ~

The next morning, Buffy rushed around getting ready after kissing John goodbye at her door. They’d had chicken noodle soup for dinner last night, eating it out on the balcony as they watched the sun go down. He’d teased her about her culinary skills and she promised to make him a four course meal soon, defensively telling him that she could do it, but she just didn’t stock her cupboards for that. They’d watched some TV and ended up back in her bed. She’d been nervous about asking him to stay the night, but John didn’t know their sordid past. He’d humbly accepted, saying that he’d need to leave Dirk a message on their answering machine so he wouldn’t wait for him in the morning to head out to the surf together.

She had to leave in a few minutes if she wanted to be on time to meet Angel’s contractors. She had grabbed a strawberry yogurt to eat in the car on the way and opened the door when the phone rang. With a sigh, she shut the door and hurried to answer it.

Giles greeted her on the other line.

“You’ve caught me at a bad time. I was just on my way out the door.”

“Off to meet with Spike?” he asked in a careful tone.

“No. I’m helping Angel with something and if I don’t get a head start on the traffic, I’m going to be late.”

“So you’ve spoken to him?”

“Yes, I know that Vi and Sharelle are coming out here in a little over a week.” Buffy tapped her fingers on the counter as she eyed the clock across the room.

“Good. A watcher has been assigned to go with them as well. I—”

“I’m sorry, Giles, but I really have to go. I get the idea. We’re starting a Slayer Central in L.A. again. I’ll do what I can to help, but I am on vacation.”

“Yes, well, I know. I just thought you’d like me to keep you informed.”

“I do. But I’ll talk to Angel about it, okay?”

~ * ~ * ~

Buffy had arrived with minutes to spare before the contractors would arrive. Angel barely had time to go over what he wanted and hand her the paper before there was a knock on the side door. She dealt with the contractors as quickly as she could and was glad that they agreed to come back in three days time to do the job, so that it would be done by the time Vi, Sharelle and the watcher arrived.

She let the three men out and headed upstairs in search of Angel, but found Illyria instead.

“Slayer,” the goddess said, giving her a quick glance and looking down on her in distaste. “Do we get glass out front again soon?”

“Yes, it’s all set,” Buffy said, glancing past her in the hall. “Have you seen Angel?”

“I believe he’s in his living quarters.”

Buffy watched Illyria brush past her and dismiss her without a word or so much as a glance backwards. The Slayer shrugged and headed for Angel’s room. She knocked quietly and he was quick to open the door.

“Done?”

“Yes and it’s all set. They’ll be here on Monday and they’ve promised to have the job done by Wednesday.” She chuckled. “When I asked if they wanted to measure, they said they already had the dimensions.”

With a grim line to his lips, Angel nodded. “We’ve used them before.”

There was an awkward moment of silence as she stood in the hall. “Well, I guess I should go now.”

Angel put a hand up to stop her. “Before you do, I want to show you something. Just give me a minute. I’ll be right there.”

She shrugged and waited maybe sixty seconds before he came into the hall.

“What is it?” she asked.

“A surprise. Sort of.”

As they descended the steps she said, “Giles called me this morning to tell me about the slayers coming.”

“I just got off the phone with him myself. There is some sort of hold up in the Council as to which watcher will be coming with them, but Giles is certain it will be ironed out before they have to leave.”

Angel walked her to the back of the building, stopped her by the exit to customer parking and put a set of keys in her hands.

“What’s this?” she asked, frowning down at them.

“Keys to your new car.”

“Huh?”

“Giles mentioned that you were renting a car and I thought about the perfectly good car we have sitting in the back that Illyria never drives.”

Buffy was there when Angel had tried to give the blue goddess driving lessons in the Lexus that he’d bought for her almost two years ago. It hadn’t gone well and she had decided that Angel should have to drive her everywhere anyway.

Buffy started to shake her head, but he said, “It just been sitting here, all this time. I turn the engine to keep it running, but you know there are very few miles on it.”

“It’s too much.”

“Really, it isn’t. You’re doing me a favor by getting it out of my parking lot.” He let a small smile cross his lips. “Besides, I’ve already put the title in your name. You have to take it. And, I’ll make sure the rental car is returned.”

~ * ~ * ~

John and Dirk stopped by the mailbox on their way up to their apartment to get lunch. They put their boards away, showered and changed and then sat on the couch to go through it. Magazines and catalogs in one pile, junk in another, and bills tossed behind Dirk to the floor, where he’d go through them later, since he paid all the utilities.

“Look at this,” Dirk said, handing Spike a thick, official looking envelope from the City Courthouse of Redondo Beach. “I got one too.”

Alarmed, they glanced at each other and then tore their envelopes open, both breathing a sigh of relief when they read it. The assault and disorderly conduct charges from their bar fight had been dropped. John’s eyes were drawn to the sentence after that notice, which said that bail money had been refunded back to Angel Investigations and listed an address for a hotel in Los Angeles.

“I’m stoked, man! No court appearance necessary,” Dirk stated.

John got up and put his letter in the catchall drawer to his desk in his room. When he came back out, Dirk was getting out the ingredients for roast beef sandwiches. John squeezed into the small space and got a bag of chips out.

“So,” Dirk said, feeling conversational. “Are you doing anything with Buffy tonight?”

“She wasn’t sure how long she’d be at her appointment, so no plans for tonight. I need to buckle down and get at least two more chapters written before tomorrow if I’m going to stay on schedule to make my deadline.” John pulled out a couple of cans of soda from the fridge. “I’m locking myself up in my room with the do not disturb sign up as soon as we eat.” He set the things down at the table and sat, waiting patiently for his sandwich. “But my royalty check should have been deposited today. Buffy and I have a date tomorrow for dinner and a movie.”

Popping a wedge of tomato in his mouth, Dirk asked, “Do you think you’ll stay at her place tomorrow night?”

Dirk brought the sandwiches to the table and sat across from John.

John chuckled. “Why do you care if I stay overnight or not?”

“Don’t really. It’s just that if you are going to be away, I was thinking of inviting a lady friend over myself.”

“You’ve been holding out on me?” John grinned at his friend before taking a small bite. He chewed, swallowed and chased it down with a swig of Pepsi. “Who’s the lucky bird?”

Dirk shrugged. “Don’t want to say yet, just in case it doesn’t work out.”

John watched his friend carefully. There was clearly another reason he didn’t want to say, but he wouldn’t push him. They didn’t do that to each other. It was amusing and John thought maybe he was embarrassed over his newest crush. Perhaps it was one of the college students who rented across the hall from them. They seemed like nice girls, but they were very serious types and Dirk had poked fun at them a time or two when they’d been in the hall together.

“I think it’s safe to say that I’ll be staying with Buffy tomorrow night. Feel free to invite someone over.”