The early morning breeze pushed wisps of hair across Buffy’s face. She ignored it and smoothed out Spike’s blanket on the sand. He’d been out in the ocean for more than an hour and her patience was starting to wear thin.

Yesterday, she’d watched from her balcony for him to set up his spot, but he never showed. She’d phoned him, but Dirk had answered and after trying to get Spike to come to the phone, they both gave up. He couldn’t avoid her forever though and she wasn’t about to move from her spot until they talked.

Her stomach flipped and her heart skipped a beat when Spike and Dirk came into view, heading her way. She loved the feeling she got, like a teenager, when she saw him. Dirk smiled at her, but Spike just stopped in front of the blanket and frowned while his friend set their boards up in the sand.

“Hey, Buffy! Long time no see. How’s it hanging?” Dirk asked as he found a spot on the blanket to sit.

“I’m good. You?”

“Whoa!” Dirk pointed at the wound on her shoulder. “How’d you get that gnarly cut?”

Buffy glanced down at what was now just a jagged scab. “An unavoidable accident.” She shielded her eyes and looked up at a dripping wet and not happy Spike. “Aren’t you going to sit down?”

Reluctantly he did and wordlessly took the offered towel from her. “Look, I don’t want to be rude or anything, but I was really hoping to get some work done today. I’ve got major edits to do and notes to work through before I turn this stuff over to my editor.” He opened his laptop and wouldn’t look her in the eyes.

Dirk stood, exchanging a sympathetic glance with Buffy, and grabbed a beer from the cooler. “I’m off to catch some Zs.”

Buffy tried to smile, but managed only to wave as Dirk walked off with a surfboard under each arm, mumbling about things being ‘bogus’.

Spike continued to ignore her, and while it hurt for him to treat her that way, she wouldn’t be deterred. She leaned to the side and drew a heart in the sand.

“You told me you loved me.” She said it softly, unabashed by the hurt she heard in her own voice.

He stopped typing, glanced at her quickly and then back at his monitor. “From the sound of it, it seems I was in the habit of doing that.”

She wanted to hear him say that he still loved her, that he would always love her, but that he just needed a little more time to adjust to knowing about his past. She desperately wanted him to throw her a bone. A crumb. And she was reminded of the times he’d been desperate for her to give him a crumb of hope. She straightened her shoulders and drew strength from the Spike she used to know, before the destruction of Sunnydale. He had been persistent; she could be too.

“Yes, you used to tell me often. Once you knocked me unconscious, tied me and your sire up, and offered to dust her for me.”

He snorted. “I bet that worked like a charm.”

“Not so much. You insisted that you were in love me with me, but you had me tied up and you…you didn’t have a soul. You begged me to give you what you called a crumb. To give you some kind of hope that there might be a chance for something between us.”

“And I’m guessing you didn’t give me that crumb.”

“I told you that the only chance you had with me was when you had me unconscious.”

He smiled then. “Now I know for sure that I patterned Summer Slater after you.” The smile faded, replaced by a disgruntled frown. “I bet you got a kick out of reading my book. Must have been a huge ego trip for you.”

“It wasn’t like that,” she said, almost in a whisper. “You can’t know how happy I was to know that you were alive. I dropped everything to come down here and find you.”

“Not happy enough to tell me who you were.” Agitated, he stood and began gathering his stuff. “I’m not getting anything done with you here.”

She didn’t want to push him too far, so she let him go.

---

The next morning, Buffy sat on her balcony and wrote Spike a note on the stationary that Dawn had given her last Christmas. It was the only set she had, with little brown and white hound dogs with huge eyes.

Spike,

I know you’re still upset with me, but I won’t give up on you. I love you. I meant it when I said it a long time ago, I meant it when I told you a couple of weeks ago and I mean it now. I’m not going anywhere. I know you love me. You are worth the wait.

Love Always,

Buffy

She took her time folding the paper, tucking it into the matching envelope and writing his name on the front. Then she made her way down to the beach, glad to see that he was still out with his surfboard. She lifted the blanket, unzipped his laptop case and lifted the monitor up enough to slip the envelope between the keyboard and the screen. Carefully she replaced everything like it had been before she’d been there and then she sprinted back to her apartment.

The knock on her door a few hours later had her heart racing. She’d just finished making a salad for lunch and wiped her hands on a towel. She all but ran to the door, and then took a deep breath. Opening the door, she let the smile fall from her face.

“I wasn’t expecting you,” she told Dirk.

“I know. Can I come in for a minute?”

“Sure. You want some lunch?”

“I’m good. You wouldn’t happen to have any beer, would you?”

Buffy offered him a seat on the couch and went to the kitchen. After putting her salad in the fridge, she grabbed a beer and then handed it to him before sitting in the easy chair with her feet tucked under her.

“So, what’s going on?” she said.

Dirk popped the can open and took a long drink before setting it on the coffee table in front of him. He shifted to get more comfortable and then glanced at her, unable to hold her gaze.

“John won’t talk to me. I know something big happened. I know that you knew him in the past and that he was called Spike, but that’s all he’ll say.” Buffy just sighed, so he said, “I told you that Misty dumped me, right?”

“Uh, huh,” Buffy said, not really paying attention as she stared off into space.

“That day, when you came over looking for John, right after you left, Misty told me that she didn’t want to see me anymore and not to call her. Then she just took off.”

“I’m sorry she did that to you. John was worried that she was using you.”

Dirk nodded. “He told me that on more than one occasion. Thing was, I didn’t care. As long as John didn’t mind that I was dating his ex, which he didn’t. I was getting some tail on a regular basis and she was easy to look at.”

Buffy cleared her throat and crinkled her nose in distaste.

“Oops,” Dirk said with a grin. “Sorry about that. My mouth just sort of goes on without me sometimes.”

Buffy smiled at him then. Spike was never that crude, unless they were alone and naked, but she could see why John would be drawn in to a friendship with Dirk. He would make a great vampire. A damn scary one without a soul, but still… “It’s okay. But I’m still not getting why you’re here.”

“I wanted to warn you that John—Spike—whatever he wants to be called today—is meeting Misty tonight at Stranded.” Dirk scratched the tip of his nose. “I don’t think he wanted me to know, but I overheard him talking to her on the phone. It’s not like I wouldn’t find out. I’m tending bar tonight.” He paused as she stared at him with sympathetic eyes. “I know what you’re thinking and really, I don’t care who Misty dates, but I think John’s vulnerable right now. I think he’s angry and I don’t want him to do anything stupid, like give that bitch a reason to think she has a chance with him.” He sat forward. “I know he loves you. I’ve never seen him act the way he does when you’re around with anyone else. He’s head over heels.”

“What do you want me to do about it?” She was already forming her own plan, but didn’t want Dirk to know how desperate she was.

“I want you to go down there tonight and fight for him. Best-case scenario, you kick her ass. Bonus if there’s bikinis, mud or oil involved.”

She gave the incorrigible surfer a sidelong glance and then let a tiny giggle escape. He grinned back and then burst into laughter when she did.

“Oh, Dirk, I’m so glad you stopped by.” Buffy stood, hoping he’d get the hint that she wanted him to leave.

He did and got to his feet, taking his beer with him. With his hand on the doorknob, he paused and asked, “So, you’ll be there?”

“Yeah, I’ll be there.”

“Glorious! I’ve got your back, Summers.” He opened the door, stepped out into the hall and peeked back into the apartment. “If you really want to hurry John in to taking you back, we could always pretend to be a couple. I’d risk his friendship to see him madly jealous for you.”

“No way,” she said, still smiling. “I’m not going to play games with him. I’m in hot water with him enough already.”

“Well, if you change your mind…” He let the sentence hang in the air as he shut the door.

---

The Friday night crowd at Stranded was packed in the bar and charged up with liquor as usual. Spike didn’t envy Chet’s job tonight. It was only ten-thirty and yet he and the other bouncer had thrown out four idiots already. The sliding doors to the larger dance floor past the pool tables were open wide and from his vantage point at the bar, Spike could see the bodies pulsating and could hear and feel the loud beat.

“You want another?” Dirk asked him from the business side of the bar.

“No thanks, mate. Gotta take care of something in a little while and I need to be sober.” He turned to face Dirk and grinned, trying to get his friend to lighten up. “You see anything you like tonight?”

Dirk shrugged, but pointed at a scantily clad, olive-skinned girl with long black hair. “I wouldn’t mind dancing the flamenco with her.”

“Hey, John,” Misty said, as she came up and wrapped her arms around his waist. “I love your new look. So sexy.”

Spike tensed up and did his best to turn and unravel himself from her grasp. He didn’t encourage her to call him Spike. He only did that with friends. With Misty, he was kinda hoping she’d never call him anything ever again. The bitch had used his friend to get closer to him even though she knew that he wanted nothing to do with her. The last straw was when she broke it off with Dirk moments after finding out that he’d taken off without telling Buffy. When Misty called earlier in the day he agreed to meet her, just so he could let her down hard; give her back some of what she’d been dishing out.

Glancing back at Dirk, he said, “I’ll be back in a few. I think I’m going to need that refill right about then.” Spike got up and grabbed Misty’s hand. “Let’s take a walk.”

He led her past the last pool table and didn’t offer her a seat. Instead, he leaned against the wall and watched Dirk. He worked the bar, mixing and passing out drinks with flare, but Spike was sure his friend was keeping one eye on them.

“Why did you want to see me?” Spike said, finally staring at his ex-girlfriend. He had a hard time focusing on her face with her breasts practically spilling out of her thin tube top.

“I don’t know,” she said suggestively, getting a little closer to him. “I heard that you were single again and I thought, you know, maybe we could get together.”

He wanted to shudder in disgust at having her so close to him, but he tilted his head and asked, “Why on earth would you think I’d want to get with you after you’d been with my best friend?”

Misty started talking, but Spike tuned her out. Even her hand on his stomach had no effect on him. He gazed past her and his eyes widened in surprise when he saw her. Buffy. She waved to Chet, who’d obviously let her and her sister into the club without having to wait in the line outside. God, she looked incredible in a tiny black dress with a plunging neckline and shiny stiletto heels. Her sister looked good too, in a more conservative, yet curvy red dress. They headed to the bar, where they sat, talking to Dirk, who had perked up for the first time that night. His friend suddenly became his old animated self and Spike could only hope he wouldn’t say anything to offend them.

Dirk pointed in Spike’s direction and he stood up taller as Buffy turned to look and their eyes met.

“Are you even listening to me?” Misty said, attempting to still sound seductive, but she was clearly peeved with him.

“Er, what? Uh, yeah, yeah. Go on.”

“I was saying, since Dirk will be working all night, why don’t we go to your place and have a little fun? We could watch that movie you like so much.” She got even closer to him and he could smell her expensive perfume. She traced his cheekbone with a perfectly manicured finger and licked her lips before she leaned in to whisper, “I could go down on you while you sit on the couch. I know you always liked that.”

Spike had had just about enough and was about to shove Misty away when she suddenly went flying to the side and into the wall next to him.

“Hey!” she yelled indignantly.

Where Misty’s nasty words had left him cold and flat, Buffy’s blazing eyes and heaving chest had his blood rushing south.

“If you know what’s good for you,” Buffy said with deadly calm, “you’ll stay far away from what’s mine.”

Misty stood up straight, rubbed her shoulder and glared at Buffy. “Yours! John, are you going to let her talk to me like that?”

Stunned, all he could do was shrug. Buffy sneered at Misty. “You can go now.”

Misty lurched forward to attack Buffy.

Coming to his senses, Spike grabbed the redhead, held her back and shook his head. “Actually, Misty and I were having a conversation. So, I think you should be the one to go.”

The anger deflated right out of Buffy. Hurt that Spike would choose Misty over her, she blinked a few times, nodded and then headed back to the bar.

Misty watched her go too and only when Buffy was seated and huddled with Dirk, deep in heated conversation, did the redhead turn back to Spike with a smug smile. “Now, where were we?”

Spike held his hand out to keep her from coming any closer. “If you value your life, I think you’d better just stay where you are.”

As upset as he was with Buffy, he couldn’t help but feel all warm and tingly with the murderous look she was throwing Misty’s way. Misty took a tiny step back but frowned. “Why don’t we get out of here?”

Spike took a deep breath before he spoke. “Look, I didn’t agree to meet you here so we could hook up again. I just wanted you to get this straight in your head, so pay attention.” She frowned at him, putting her hands on her hips, but for once she was quiet. “First, I broke up with you a long time ago because I just wasn’t interested in you anymore. That hasn’t changed. Second, if I thought for one minute that your game playing had hurt Dirk, I’d pay Buffy Summers to come over here and kick your arse, but Dirk was just in it for the sex, so you played each other. Except for the part where I wasn’t the least bit jealous and my opinion of you dropped even lower.”

She sputtered and shook her head, totally blindsided by his words. “But…but you dumped that bitch. I thought you wanted to go out with me again.”

He chuckled. “Get your head out of your arse. I wouldn’t date you again even if you could take a pill and transform your dull personality. I can’t be any clearer than that. Keep bothering me or my friends and I’ll get a restraining order.”

“A restr—you bastard! I can have any guy in this place I want. I don’t need to waste my time chasing after you.”

“Great! Plenty of blokes to choose from in this place tonight. I’ll be over there celebrating with a good strong drink.”

He walked away, satisfied that she’d finally gotten the hint and kicking himself for not being the bad guy and insulting her a long time ago.