Chapter 4

They walked along the beach, hand in hand. The whole night still a bit surreal to them, but knowing they wouldn’t have it any other way.

Buffy felt disappointed when he brought her back to the dorm, wanting the night to last a while longer. She could get caught up in it all she liked, but come tomorrow, reality would surface once again. A world where she was the Slayer, the one girl chosen to slay vampires, and who was currently holding the hand of one. Willow may understand her new relationship with Spike, but the rest of her friends wouldn’t be as easily swayed, not after her disastrous relationship with Angel.

Spike gave her hand a squeeze, with a promise they would go out again and a soft caress on her lips, before he walked away.

Buffy was relieved to see that Willow was already passed out when she entered the room, not up to explaining her date just yet. She wanted a bit longer to bask in it before reality came crashing down on her.


* * * * *


She was still on cloud nine a few nights later. It had been exactly a week since her first date with Spike, and they spent every night with each other since then, in secret. Willow was the only one who knew about them, and Buffy wasn’t sure how much longer that could last. She was now sitting at the Bronze, glancing around at all the happy couples. A sadness formed in her gut, hating the fact that she had a boyfriend for once, but couldn’t exactly broadcast it like everyone else. It was times like this that she would give anything to be a regular girl, one that didn’t have to hide who she was with. A thought suddenly occurred to her. Why should she have to hide her relationship? Buffy wasn’t a child anymore, she was capable of making her own decisions. Who was anyone to tell her otherwise? Her friends certainly haven’t made the best choices in their lives lately, and she’d never once judged them. Xander was dating an ex-vengeance demon, for crying out loud. If anyone was to be upset, it would most likely be Giles. He would think she was a failure of a Slayer once again. After all, it was her last boyfriend that took the love of his life away, but she couldn’t be blamed for that. It’s not like any of them knew about the curse, least of all her.

“Buffy, are you okay?”

She broke out of her thoughts at the sound of Xander’s concerned voice. “Sorry, what?”

“I was asking if you wanted anything to drink. You’ve been out of it all night,” he told her.

Buffy shook her head. “I just have a lot on my mind, but no, I’m not thirsty.”

He seemed to accept that answer.

Buffy lost the conversation going on around her again as everything faded, the man at the bar being the only person she could see. He gave her a smile, raising his glass to her and taking a long drink of the liquid inside. Buffy smiled in return, wanting more than anything to just go over to him, but she didn’t have to. He was suddenly making his way over to her, stopping once he reached their table, not paying attention to anyone else sitting there.

“Dance with me?” he whispered, reaching a hand out to her.

Buffy took it without hesitation, letting him lead her to the dance floor. She could practically hear Xander’s jaw hitting the ground, but couldn’t find it in her to care.

Spike wrapped his arms around her, moving slowly to the music. “I think Harris might have a bloody heart attack.”

She shrugged. “He’ll survive.”

He smiled in relief, glad that she didn’t seem to care about what her friend thought. Spike was just pleased that she accepted a dance with him in the presence of her mates. “You looked so beautiful sitting there, deep in thought. I couldn’t stay away much longer.”

“I’m glad you didn’t,” Buffy replied, resting her head against his chest.

Spike placed a kiss on the top of her head, holding her tighter. “Do you have any idea what you’re doing to me?”

She smiled softly against his shirt. “I think I have some idea.”

Spike didn’t think that was true. If she knew just how deep his feelings were for her, she was bound to run away from him. The feelings were enough to overwhelm him, never before feeling anything like it, not even for Drusilla. This young girl completely took him by surprise, and he wasn’t about to let her go. The song ended and he had to force himself to do just that, but only for a moment. He lightly traced her bottom lip, wanting nothing more than to suck it into his mouth, but knowing it wasn’t the time for that. “You should probably head back now.”

Buffy didn’t want to, but knew that she had a lot of explaining to do. She nodded and walked back over to the table, seeing that Xander was no longer there. “So, how pissed is he?”

Willow shrugged. “He didn’t say anything, just kind of stormed out.”

Anya rolled her eyes. “I won’t be getting any orgasms tonight. Who cares that you and Spike finally decided to have sex? We all knew it would happen eventually. The sexual tension was so obvious.”

“There’s no sex having. Not yet, anyway. I just wish Xander would realize that this is my life, and he has no say in what I do.”

Anya popped an olive into her mouth. “He seems to think otherwise. Even with all of the orgasms I give him, you’re still all he talks about. God, it was a lame high school crush, he should be over it by now. It was that sexy dance, wasn’t it? I heard about that.”

Willow gave Anya a sympathetic look, knowing a little about how the other woman felt. She glanced back up at Buffy. “I think he might have gone to Giles.”

The blonde rubbed her temples, just what she needed. “Well, at least I won’t have to break the news to him. I’m not dealing with either of them right now. This is my life and for once, I’m doing what I want. I’ll see you tomorrow, Will. I’m staying at Spike’s tonight,” and with that said, she made her way out of the club.

Willow nodded, not having a chance to respond.

Anya watched her go with a sigh. “At least someone will be getting orgasms tonight.”