Not My Reality

Chapter One



Buffy hunched down in her favorite spot on the couch, pointed the remote at the TV through her Garfield-slippered feet resting on the coffee table and sighed. After a long day at work, she needed these few minutes before bedtime. She’d already eaten her frozen dinner and had a hot bubble bath. Now all she wanted to do was veg in front of the TV in her dark living room.

There wasn’t much on at 8:30 on a Thursday night, but anything would do. She pulled her robe tighter and grabbed the blanket off the back of the couch. Saving money was not all it was cracked up to be, and she was very tempted to turn on the heat. All she had to do was think about owning her own place and then she could live with the cold. She was just glad that it wouldn’t last long. California was expensive, but the weather was good.

With a smile on her face, she thought of Dawn, who was a freshman at Michigan State University. They’d talked briefly yesterday and Dawn had said it was below freezing and that she couldn’t wait to get back home for spring break a month from now.

Buffy’s attention was drawn to the TV screen as a commercial ended and the show came on. She groaned and almost changed the channel, but then she sat up and stared. Buffy had seen the last episode of The Bachelorette four weeks ago, but the station was obviously rerunning it for those who’d missed it. It was one of those shows that she secretly loved to watch. Well, she and her best friend secretly watched it together.

When it had aired the first time, Willow had come over and they’d shared popcorn and ice cream. They’d both cried when Nina turned down Angel’s proposal and accepted Dirk’s ring instead. Angel had been crushed and the next week, he’d come on the after show special and had been a true gentleman. She thought Nina was crazy.

Buffy sighed and watched Angel on the screen as he smiled at Nina on their final date, not knowing the pain that was ahead for him. It made her angry to think about it. She changed channels until she came to the meerkat show on Animal Planet. Not really seeing what was on the TV, she stared off into space thinking about how lonely she was.

Working ten to twelve hours a day as an assistant manager at Bloomingdale’s department store left little time for meeting men. Buffy had taken on the responsibility of caring for her sister when their mother died a few years back. She’d had to drop out of college and work full time at the store. A job she’d taken so that she could pay for food and entertainment and get discounts on great clothes and accessories while her mom paid her University costs had ended up becoming her career.

Frat parties, dating and being a crazy college student went out the window. They’d had to sell the family home to pay debts and bury her mother, but she was able to find this apartment near the high school so Dawn wouldn’t have to change schools. Now Dawn was on a full scholarship in Michigan, Buffy had been promoted to assistant manager and she could save to buy a house of her own. All she needed was to find a great guy like Angel to spend the rest of her life with and she could be happy.





~ * ~ * ~





Buffy parked her car in the empty Stanford Mall parking lot and walked briskly with her shop key ready. She unlocked the door just as the first few employees showed up. There were a few quick hellos and then everyone hurried to get the store ready for opening. It was going to be a busy day for her and she would be in meetings off and on to brainstorm ideas for the wedding planning extravaganza that was coming next month.

Mornings were her favorite time to work the store. She loved opening and getting things rolling. And at this time of the year, the Stanford College students who worked part time were in classes. Most of the employees who worked the opening shift were ladies; some in their mid-twenties like herself and many who were older. They knew their jobs and she didn’t have to babysit them.

Once all the tills were set up, she did the rounds, making sure everything was in order. Assured that the store was ready for business, she unlocked the gates to the mall while another employee unlocked the doors to the street. Her cell phone rang and she pushed the button on her Bluetooth ear set.

“Hello?”

“Buffy, this is Victoria. I know our meeting is set for an hour from now, but something’s come up. Do you have time to meet me in the office in about ten minutes?”

Buffy walked briskly towards the back offices as she spoke. “Sure. I’ve got some paperwork to do so I’ll be back there when you get here.”

Victoria was the only reason why she stuck with working retail for so long. She was the boss everyone dreamed of having. They weren’t friends, but she was liberal with her praise and just with her decisions. When Victoria had recommended her for assistant manager, Buffy had been thrilled. Victoria had told her later, after she’d gotten the job, that she chose her because she could be flexible and because Buffy knew the workings of the store so well.

After her meeting, Victoria left to meet with a supplier and just after lunchtime, business picked up. Buffy was at a register in the men’s clothing department when Willow rushed up. She had a hard time concentrating on the customer as Willow fidgeted with a large envelope and wouldn’t sit still. Her friend had something she was dying to tell Buffy and Buffy was now dying to know what that was.

The next customer came forward and she scanned the items quickly, thinking about the possibilities. With the envelope involved, she doubted that the news was that Oz had proposed. They knew it was coming any day now, but this was something else.

“Bye now. Have a good day,” she said to the man as he left.

Willow slapped the envelope on the counter, grinned nervously at Buffy and then said, “I’m on the clock in five minutes, so I don’t have much time, but there’s something I have to tell you.”

“Spill already!” Buffy said as she shut the register down and came around the counter to stand next to her.

Willow glanced around and then leaned in closer. “Don’t hate me, okay?”

“What did you do?”

“You’re not going to like it.” Willow rushed ahead and said, “But I’m so glad I did it and you are going to do this.” Buffy didn’t like the sound of that. She glared at her smiling friend. “You remember that photo shoot we did at Glamour Shots last month?”

“Yes?”

“I…um… Well, I sent a copy of your photo in to a casting call and I just got a positive response.”

“A what call?” Buffy said, taking the offered envelope from Willow.

“Casting. For a TV show.”

Buffy giggled as she took out the letter. She shook her head. “This has got to be a joke. I’m not an actress; I don’t have a S.A.G. card or even an agent.”

“Angel is going to be the next bachelor,” Willow said quickly.

Buffy looked up sharply and stared at her friend. “Angel?” Then she shook her head. “I can’t go on TV. And there’s no way I’m falling all over a bunch of other women to date the same guy, on TV.”

“But I thought you really liked Angel?” Willow said, looking crestfallen. “I thought you’d jump at the chance to meet him.”

“Then how come you didn’t ask me before you sent my information in?” Willow’s flushed cheeks told Buffy what she wanted to know. “Because you knew I’d never go for it.”

“Just look at the letter. It says here that they are very interested in having you audition. And look, it says that the audition is in Burbank. The show is filmed in LA, so if you did get it, you wouldn’t be far from home.” Buffy shook her head so Willow tried one more time to convince her. “Do me a favor, just think about it. You’d get to meet Angel.”

Buffy sighed, took the letter from Willow and put it back in the envelope. “Okay, I’ll think about it.”

Not My Reality





Chapter Two





“Come on!” Willow said, as she rushed ahead and opened the door for her. “Hurry or you’ll be late.”



“Who’s more nervous here?” Buffy asked her friend. “We’ve got plenty of time.”



The butterflies in Buffy’s stomach were fluttering in overdrive and she was ready to turn back. They’d braved the horrible traffic and found the building even though Buffy hoped that they wouldn’t make it. She was only here because Willow had pushed her into it. Victoria had been no help at all when she’d agreed to give them both the day off. And she’d gone on to talk about a leave of absence if she got on the show and that her job would be waiting for her, no matter how long she lasted.



Willow rushed ahead again, read the directory and then called the elevator. Buffy was wound so tight that she couldn’t speak, and her friend had been so happy that Buffy had even gotten in the car to go that she didn’t even try to force conversation. Just as they stepped in to the small space, a couple of men entered too. One had platinum blond hair and sharp cheekbones. Buffy was too absorbed with her own worries to pay them much more attention.



The elevator music sounded loud in the silence, but faded in the background when one of the men spoke.



“This is bollocks, mate.” Buffy looked up then and got a good look at the man with the white hair and English accent. “I’m a bloody professional. I shouldn’t be on this job.”



The other man shrugged. “I’m with you on that, but that’s the joy of being union. Gotta do what we gotta do.”



“Yeah, well, if I have to put up with capturing bimbo moments in the house from hell all season, I’d better get an Oscar-caliber movie on my next gig.”



“Come on, Spike. It won’t be that bad. We get to look at beautiful women for a couple of months.”



“Sh—yeah. Desperate, attention-grabbing birds, all daft enough to fight over one fool of a man who was a desperate, attention-grabbing bloke last season. I’m sure it’ll be a blast.”



As the other guy laughed in agreement, Buffy and Willow exchanged glances. Willow raised an eyebrow and shrugged, but Buffy wanted to die from embarrassment. Even the cameramen thought it was silly. The guys got off the elevator, but Buffy stayed where she was.



“Come on,” Willow said as she too stepped out.



With a shake of her head, Buffy said, “Nope. Changed my mind. Let’s go home.”



She found herself being dragged down the hall by her determined friend. She stopped fighting it when they went into a room filled with women who stared at her with narrowed eyes. Already she hated it. But Willow gave her a nudge and they went forward to hand her information to the receptionist.



An hour later, she was bored to tears. The conversations of the other girls in the room were driving her crazy. They all seemed to be starlets and struggling actresses. She asked herself and then Willow what she was doing here, but Willow just gave her that determined face. All the women were dressed to the nines with hair and makeup overdone. She ran a hand through her simple straight blonde hair and wished that she’d worn a little more makeup or dressed in something better than a pair of jeans and a sweater.



Woman after woman was called away from the room. Buffy wrung her hands and tried to picture what was going on in there. How did one audition for a reality TV show? She’d never even been to a regular TV audition so she had no point of reference.



“Buffy Summers,” a man called out from the open door.



In a panic, she looked to Willow for help.



“Just be yourself.”



She followed the man down a dimly lit hallway and then into a small bare room with white walls. Two men and a lady sat at a long table. A black chair similar to the one she had in her office at Bloomingdale’s was set apart and in front of a very large and intimidating TV camera. She groaned when she noticed the man behind the camera. The blond guy from the elevator.



“Have a seat,” the woman said as she looked down at her folder, “Miss Summers.” The woman smiled and then showed the folder to her colleagues. “Is Buffy your real name, or just a stage name?”



They were all smiling at her, but Spike, the cameraman, was smirking and clearly trying not to laugh.



Buffy cleared her throat. “Yes. That is my real name.”



The man to the left picked up her color photo, stared at it and then stared at her. “Have you ever been on an audition before?” She shook her head. The guy on the right wrote something down. “Well, the way this works is different from most auditions. There’s no script reading involved, so we’re just going to film you as we ask you some questions, okay?”



She nodded and then felt stupid for not saying anything. “Okay.”



In a bored voice, Spike said, “And we’re rolling.”



“Tell us your name, where you’re from and a little about yourself.”



She looked into the camera lens, licked her lips and then began, “My name is Buffy Summers. I live in Sunnydale, California. I’m the assistant manager at the Bloomingdale’s department store in Stanford. Um…”



“Tell us why you decided to try out for the show,” the woman asked.



“I didn’t. My friend and I watched all of last season and we were rooting for Angel to win. My friend knew how much I liked Angel and sent in my photo and information when she saw that he was going to be the bachelor this year. I couldn’t believe that she did it.”



“You must have been thrilled to get the letter inviting you to come in today.”



Buffy giggled nervously and brushed a stray lock of hair behind her ear. “Actually, my friend had to drag me here.”



“So would you want to be on the show?” one of the men asked.



“I’d really like to meet Angel. I’m not here to get on TV or be famous. I don’t care about that stuff. But, I felt really bad for Angel and I’d like to get to know him.”



They asked her questions about hobbies and what she liked to do in her spare time and then they thanked her and told her she could go. There was no one to show her the way back, but she was so relieved to get off that chair that she didn’t care. She found her way out and barely paused to let Willow stand and catch up.



“So, how did it go?” Willow asked with a bright smile.



Buffy rolled her eyes. “I sounded so stupid. And if you ever put me through something like this again, you’ll have to find a new best friend.”





~ * ~ * ~





One week later, she was helping to put a new fragrance display up before the store opened when her phone rang. She was expecting a call from Victoria, so she just hit the button on her earpiece, said hello and continued with her work.



“May I speak with Buffy Summers, please?” a woman asked.



“This is she.”



“Good morning, Miss Summers. My name is Angelique Barton and I’m calling from ABC studios. The executives at The Bachelor are very interested in having you come back for another audition.”



Buffy stopped what she was doing and grabbed one of the stools near the makeup counter. She sat in it and the two employees with her stopped as well and stared at their boss.



“Um… You’re kidding me right? Because I was terrible in my audition.”



Angelique gave a short laugh. “I can tell you for sure that they aren’t looking for polished actresses. This is reality TV we’re talking about. They want real people.” There was silence and then she said, “So we have three days available for you to come in. Next Tuesday, Wednesday, or Thursday. Which day would work best for you?”

“Oh, my, God!” Dawn said over the phone. She squealed and then said, “I can’t believe you didn’t tell me this until now. I’m so going to slap you when I get home for Easter.” Buffy opened her mouth to say something, but her sister screeched and called out to a friend, “Annie, Annie! You are not going to believe this, but my older sister is going to be on a reality show!”



Then Buffy had to wait while the two girls talked in rushed voices and squealed together. She was patient for as long as it took to stir her spaghetti sauce.



“Dawn? Hello! I’m still here you know.”



“Oh, sorry, Buffy. Tell me about it. This is just sooo cool!”



She told her sister about Willow getting the ball rolling behind her back and then told her about the first audition. “I went back two more times and then they called me back today. They had all the hopefuls – that’s what they called us – sit in a room together and just talk while cameramen roamed the room. After the audition, they called us in one by one and when it was my turn, they told me on the spot that I was in.”



“So the guy is the one who lost last season?” Dawn asked.



Buffy leaned against the counter and smiled. “Yes. His name is Angel and I’m getting really excited about meeting him.



“I don’t know, Buffy, he seemed kind of broody to me. You really liked him?”



“Yes. He was soulful. A thinker.”



“I don’t know why you’re always attracted to the melancholy type. I mean, don’t you want to date a guy that knows how to have fun?” Dawn asked.



“Angel knows how to have fun. He went jet skiing, snorkeling, and played golf during the last season.” When Dawn scoffed, Buffy added, “And hey, he was runner up out of all those guys, so Nina thought there was something to him.”



“Buffy, that Nina chick picked a florist from Idaho as the winner. She wasn’t exactly into exciting.”



Buffy laughed, but said, “She was looking to find Mr. Right. And she was very practical about it. They actually got married, which not too many of the other seasons stars did.”



“I guess you’re right, but please, whatever you do, stay long enough in the game to get that home visit, ‘cause I wanna be on TV.”



“I’ll do my best,” Buffy said sarcastically. “Look, I’ve got to go. My dinner is ready.”



“Okay, but when do you have to leave for the show?”



“In two weeks. And if I stay long enough, I might not be back in time for your spring break.”



“That’s okay. I’ll invite a few friends to come stay with me. It will be party central.”



“Oh, joy.”





~ * ~ * ~





The next two weeks flew by in a blur of activity for Buffy. She had to train her replacement at work and make sure she left things in good order. There was shopping to be done. Most of which was accomplished right in the store with Willow, Victoria, and a few other friends obsessing over every outfit she’d be bringing.



Their top makeup girl gave her a total of five lessons on how to apply her makeup just right for being on TV. She didn’t have the heart to explain to her that in most cases, there would be makeup people on set to do it for her.



The night before she was to leave, her friends threw her a good-bye and good luck party at the Bronze. Depending on how long Buffy lasted on the show, she might not be able to see or hear from them for seven weeks, so she enjoyed every minute of the night. Oz and his band provided the live entertainment, while Willow, Xander and, Jessie bought her drinks and kept her laughing. They’d danced and talked the night away and she hadn’t had time to get nervous about the next day.



Now was the time to get nervous. Despite her late night, she’d had plenty of sleep since she didn’t have to be up early. She arrived at the studio and suddenly she felt like a star. People rushed to grab her large collection of luggage for her and add it to the growing pile in a van. A man carried her garment bag and backpack, and escorted her to the place where she could get dressed.



She introduced herself to the others in her dressing room, but then kept quiet as the other girls chatted in excited voices. Then she was ushered down a hall and into a makeup chair. The woman doing her hair praised her for her choice of dress, but Buffy wasn’t too sure. If felt like going to the prom all over again, all the girls in flashy silk and satin. Her simple green dress could pass for a prom dress, but she didn’t think she would stand out like some of the girls with their low-cut and short dresses.



Now, they waited outside the building with a group of cameramen for the limos to show up. They pulled up one after another and a woman with a clipboard called out seven names. A cameraman got in first and then one by one the brightly dressed ladies followed him in. The woman peeked in the open window and gave them instructions, but Buffy could not hear what they were. Then the lady moved down to the next limo and called off six more names and repeated the process.



When the third limo pulled up, one of the assistant directors called her name. She stepped forward with the others and recognized their cameraman right away. He gracefully climbed in with his cumbersome equipment and then she was pushed forward to get in next. Spike sat as far back as he could and held his hand up to stop her sliding farther down the seat.



“That’s far enough. Don’t get any closer or you’ll blur the shot.”



He told the girl who slid down the other side the same thing, so Buffy didn’t take his short words personally. She knew he didn’t want to be on this job, but she hoped he wouldn’t be such a downer the whole time.



The assistant director peeked in the window and said, “Get to know each other, ladies. There’s plenty of bubbly in the fridge. Enjoy!”



Then they were moving. At first, the girls were silent, sizing each other up, but the blonde across from Buffy started the ball rolling by introducing herself.



With a bright smile, she said, “Hi! I’m Harmony, and I’m here to have a good time.”

The others introduced themselves, Stacey, Alison, Maggie, and Kayla. Buffy doubted she would be able to remember all their names, but they seemed like nice girls. Harmony took out the glasses and passed them around, then smiled prettily at Spike and begged him to open the champagne for her.



“Sorry, love. Can’t put the camera down. Got strict orders.”



Buffy rolled her eyes and grabbed the bottle from Harmony, who couldn’t take her eyes off Spike. They were there to meet Angel, yet all the women in the car were drooling over the camera guy. If they knew that he thought they were all desperate bimbos, they wouldn’t be so eager to get his attention.



She popped the cork and then had the task of pouring for everyone. The other women drank liberally, talked loudly, and laughed too much. Buffy was quiet for the most part, unless they asked her a question. She sipped her champagne slowly, not wanting to get tipsy. And she was glad she did, because it turned out to be a twenty-minute drive to the Hollywood Hills where the Bachelor house was. Then they had to wait their turn to be introduced.



Buffy cringed when the others screamed as their limo pulled up and they got their first view of Angel. She then watch as one by one, the girls got out before her and introduced themselves.



Spike turned off his camera and gathered his things. All the while, he grumbled about silly women. Distracted by his colorful words, Buffy turned in her seat and watched him. When he realized that Buffy was staring at him, he asked, “So have you got a plan or strategy?”



“Uh… No. I’m just going to go out there and say hello. I guess.”



He looked her up and down and nodded. “Well, at least you aren’t acting fake like some of those others.”



“Buffy?” one of the producers called out. “Don’t keep Angel waiting.”



She looked out the window and didn’t see Harmony any more. How long had she kept them waiting? She groaned and Spike smiled at her. The heat from her embarrassment climbed from her neck to her cheeks. This was just great; now she was going to look like a red Popsicle in a green wrapper when she met Angel.

Spike watched Buffy hurriedly exit the limo and then he scooted forward to roll down the window an inch. The poncy Angel guy smiled widely at her, his eyes saying it all. Like Spike, The Bachelor was very happy with what he saw. The sun had gone down, but the location lights were strung up strategically and the lighting in the front yard was excellent for capturing video.


Buffy stopped a few feet away from Angel. With her back to Spike, he heard her say, “I can’t believe I’m actually here.”


“I’m glad that you are,” Angel told her. “What’s your name, darling?”

She stepped closer with her hand out. He took it and Spike rolled his eyes when instead of shaking it, he brought the back of her hand to his lips and kissed it.

“I’m Buffy. From Sunnydale, California.”

“We’re practically neighbors, since I live in Los Angeles. Nice to meet you, Buffy.”

“It’s nice to meet you, too.”

They hugged and then she walked into the house as cameras captured her movement from behind. Spike got his cue to get out of the limo barked into his headset. He shuffled out and jogged by Angel to get into the house so the next limo could pull up. During their run through and tour of the house yesterday, the cameramen had been given their assignments. He was to go around the back way and get set up in the large living room where the ladies would be gathered, waiting for the last limo-load of women to arrive.

Because he’d been a field cameraman for a local news station for a couple of years, Spike was assigned a steady cam and told to train his camera on the girls that he’d been in the limo with. He saw Buffy right away and focused on her. From the first time that he’d captured her image, he’d been intrigued by her. She’d been pushed into doing this by a friend, yet she seemed excited to meet Angel.

He didn’t know the guy well, but he didn’t seem like that great a catch to Spike. He guessed women went for the tall, dark, and depressed type. Someone put a glass of wine in Buffy’s hand. She frowned down at it and didn’t take a sip. Spike panned his camera around the room and noticed that all the girls had drinks. Well, that was one way to get them loosened up to talk and be cheerful with all the cameras pointed at their faces.

The buxom blonde named Harmony slowly walked around the heavily decorated room, running her hand over the rich gold furniture. She stood next to him and bit her lip. “So, are you going to be our cameraman the whole time?”

He took his eye away from the viewfinder and looked her up and down. “Might be. I’m sure I’ll last longer than half the women here tonight.” He adjusted the camera again and got his sights on Buffy. A dark-haired woman with luscious lips and doe eyes sat next to Buffy on the couch. The woman stood out from the others in a pair of dark slacks and emerald green blouse.

“So, when do you—“

“Look. I’m working,” Spike said, cutting off Harmony. “If you want to be on TV, you need to be in front of the camera.”

Unfazed by his rude and abrupt manner, she glided in front of the camera and blew him a kiss. He couldn’t help but grin. He followed Harmony’s movements as she walked up to the couch where Buffy and the other woman were sitting and then sat down.

“Hi. I’m Faith. From Boston.”

Buffy gave Faith a genuine smile and shook her hand. “It’s nice to meet you. I’m Buffy, from California.”

Faith’s lips went up on one side and then she said, “Typical California girl? And let me guess,” she said, barely containing her laughter as she got a good look at Harmony. “This is your twin, Muffy.”

Harmony gave Faith a death glare, but Buffy laughed heartily. “No, we aren’t twins. This is Harmony.”

Faith took a sip of her wine and watched Buffy. “I like you. You don’t take yourself too seriously.”

“What about you?” Harmony interjected. “Didn’t you get the memo about it being formal tonight?”

Faith was about to answer when all attention went to the entrance. Spike watched the other cameramen point in the direction of the entrance as well.

“Okay, ladies,” a tall, big-busted brunette said with loud confidence. “I’m here now, so you can all go home. Angel is mine.”

The cameras panned the room again to capture the reactions from the others. The women scoffed and grumbled, though some laughed and took it for the half-joke that it was. Buffy and Faith both rolled their eyes at the newest addition’s attention-grabbing entrance. Harmony, wanting to be as close to the center of attention as possible, rushed over to introduce herself.

Spike overheard the new woman tell a group that had surrounded her that her name was Cordelia. Harmony pointed out that they were both wearing Prada, and as soon as the two of them started going on about the latest Prada line, Spike felt like rolling his eyes, too. He was going to be stuck with these catty women for far too long. At least some of them were a pleasure to keep an eye on. Slowly, he zoomed in on Buffy’s face as she listened intently to Faith talk. Two more girls entered the room, but he ignored them and kept his lens trained on Buffy. She was beautifully unique, and if Spike were the Bachelor, he’d pick her right now and tell the others thanks, but no thanks. Her big hazel eyes leaned more towards green than brown and her long golden hair was not over processed like some of the other women’s was. Her skin glowed with perfection and Spike found himself imagining going over to her and running a hand over her face.

He was jolted out of his daydreams when the females stood as if on cue and began squealing with glee when the Bachelor graced everyone with his presence. Spike instantly disliked the man. Someone placed a drink in Angel’s hand and he led the bachelorettes in a toast. Spike focused the camera on Buffy again and felt the stirrings of unwelcome jealousy as the beautiful woman gazed adoringly at Angel.

Couldn’t she see that he was fake?

As the night wore on, Spike grew more and more weary of the whole mess. One by one, Angel took the ladies out back to sit on the couch by the pool. There were two cameras set up back there already, but each time one of Spike’s six girls went, he had to follow.

Practiced and smooth, Angel held his hand out to Stacey and invited her to go with him. Spike had to give the man props. He gave each lady his full attention when he invited her out and treated her as if she was the only one in the house that mattered. How he could do that with so many women around, Spike didn’t know.

Spike’s instructions were to follow at a distance and zoom in. The farther back he was, the more it would seem like the camera wasn’t there. But once they were on the couch by the pool, the fixed cameras on tripods were hard to miss. Spike gently lowered himself into the chair across from the couch and tried to stay as still as possible.

“So, Stacey, are you having a good time?” Angel asked.

“Yeah,” the woman said, but she couldn’t keep her eyes off the camera behind Angel’s shoulder.

One of the directors interrupted, walking up to them. “Listen, doll, do me a favor,” he said in his heavy Long Island accent as he placed a hand on Angel’s shoulder. “Keep your eyes on the prize here and just pretend the cameras aren’t even here.”

“I…I’ll try, but they are everywhere.”

And so were the grips, the sound guys, the producers, and half a dozen other suits.

It took a few more tries before they were finally able to get enough shots to use in the episode, and Spike was certain Stacey was going home tonight. He went ahead of the couple and back to the overly warm living room. He heard snippets of catty conversations as he passed the little clusters of women and got back into position. He could tell from some of their comments that the women were getting bored and tired. It was Buffy’s turn next, and he was going to have to go right back out after he got the shot of Angel asking her out there.

She smiled warmly at Angel and took his offered hand. Once they settled down outside, Angel asked, “So tell me, what made you decide to come on the show?”

“Well,” Buffy started and then took a deep breath. “My friend’s the one who pushed me into going, but once I knew you had accepted the offer to be the Bachelor, I couldn’t say no.”

“So you watched the show last season?” Angel smiled at her, his eyes straying to the dip of the fabric at her chest and then back up.

“Yes. I’m a big fan of the show.” Buffy glanced around with wide eyes, trying to take it all in. Enthusiastically, she said, “Really, I can’t believe I’m even here.”

“So, you are here to meet me? Not just to get on TV?”

Spike had to force the snort of amusement down. The man had a huge ego and he wanted it fed.

Buffy put her hand on top of Angel’s and gave it a slight squeeze. “I’m looking forward to getting to know you better.”

Her soft, warm voice was enchanting and Spike almost forgot that his camera was rolling. What he wouldn’t give to have a girl like Buffy talk to him like that. Logically, he knew he’d never meet a girl like her in any of the dives he frequented and played gigs at on his nights off. He made a mental note to find some classier places to hang out. He sighed, knowing he was in for a battle in getting his buddies, Clem and Gunn, to actually go someplace better than Chullies.

Waking up in a strange bed in a strange house was something Buffy wasn’t used to. Light streamed in through the windows and people ­­­­­-- lots of people -- were moving around in the hall, walking up and down the stairs and milling about downstairs. She groaned and put the pillow over her head. She was going to have to get used to the noise, the early risers, and worst of all, the tiny twin-sized bed.­­



“Up,” Faith ordered as she pulled the blankets off her. “Man, you need a new set of pajamas.”



Buffy threw the pillow at her but she was smiling now. “What’s wrong with my pajamas?”



Their other roommate came in with a towel on her head. Faith pointed to her. “Look at Fred, here. She’s quiet and shy, but even she has sexier nightclothes than you do. Right, Fred?”



Fred took a moment to check out Buffy’s pajamas and nodded. “Sorry, Buffy, but I think Faith is right. Penguins are not very sexy.”



Buffy pouted playfully as she made her bed. “I wasn’t going for sexy. I was going for comfort.”



They all went to the door when they heard a commotion downstairs. Harmony rushed up the stairs, her hands flailing. “The camera crew is here!”



The three of them backed into the room and Faith slammed the door. They quietly changed and put their makeup on. Faith sang the words “Riding on the Metro” out of tune over and over again while Fred hummed the Star Spangled Banner.



After the rose ceremony last night, the luggage had been brought in and the girls were left to figure out where they would be sleeping. Cordelia had gotten the first impression rose and for some reason she thought that meant she was in charge. Faith got in her face and told her to back off. She called Fred and Buffy over and told them to grab their things. They’d followed her up the stairs as the some of the other girls glared at their backs. Faith found the one room with only three beds and told them to park their stuff on the beds they wanted and she’d take the remaining one.



“I figure if I’ve got to be stuck in a house full of crazy bitches, I want to be in a room with the ones I can stand to be around,” Faith had told them and then grinned.



“So,” Fred said, breaking Buffy out of her thoughts, “who do you think is going home next?”



In all the excitement, Buffy wasn’t even sure who had gone home last night. She’d gotten a rose and she knew that Fred and Faith had gotten them as well. Then there was Cordelia who’d gotten the first rose. She’d seen Harmony this morning. That left ten other girls. She’d watched them get called up and get a rose, but she couldn’t remember names.



“It’s too early to tell, but I hope Cordelia and Darla go tonight,” Faith said.



“Cordelia’s a bitch,” said Fred with as much feeling as they’d seen from her. Faith raised an eyebrow at Buffy and then they both started laughing. Fred blinked and then said, “What? She is.”



“I totally agree, but I wasn’t expecting that out of your mouth,” Buffy said as she applied mascara.



“The thing about Angel,” Faith said, getting serious, “is that it’s hard to tell what type of girl he likes. I mean, look at us. The rail thin, skinny yet pretty and smart girl.” She pointed at Fred then pointed at Buffy. “The beautiful, blonde, nice girl, with a few slight curves. And then there’s me: the totally smoking hot chick from Boston with all the right curves.”



“With a little attitude thrown in for good measure,” Buffy said playfully.



“Damn straight.”



There was a short knock on the door. “Everyone decent?”



Buffy’s heart skipped a beat at the English accent and then she immediately felt guilty that she was so excited to see the camera guy. In their contract, they had given permission for cameras to roll in their bedrooms and just about everywhere in the house was a camera zone. Buffy brushed her hair one last time as Fred rushed to open the door.



“Good morning, ladies.”



He spoke to them all but he looked at Buffy. His direct gaze confused her. She knew the signs of when a guy was interested in her and Spike was sending them all her way. Her heart beat a little faster. He raised the camera and asked them how their first night in the house had been. Buffy felt the blush on her cheeks and the curious stare from Faith. She grabbed her vanity case and excused herself, edging by Spike at the door, and walked briskly to the nearest bathroom. Relieved to have it all to herself, she shut the door and locked it.



After avoiding her reflection in the mirror while she brushed her teeth, she finally looked up and whispered, “You’re here to fall in love with Angel, not start something with one of the cameramen.” She pointed at her image in the mirror and copied the look she remembered her mother giving when she’d been naughty as a child. “’Cause that’s wrong. No matter how hot he is.”





~ * ~ * ~





Spike stepped out of the crew break trailer after lunch, took a moment to stretch and then walked over to the equipment tent and found his favorite camera. “Time to go back into the lion’s den, mate,” he told himself.



Last night, they’d had a meeting with those in charge and were told to decide amongst themselves who would be staying for the long hours, because they didn’t need everyone for the remainder of the season. The first night, they always needed more crew. Many of the cameramen had families that they wanted to see during the week, so he’d volunteered to be one to stay on. He was sharing a trailer with two other cameramen and a full crew would show up every day at 8:00 a.m. and stay until 6:00 p.m. It was up to the crew staying to catch all the action in the house on the off-times and also to catch the reactions when someone came back from a date with a rose or had their bags taken away.



He was also scheduled to do some location shoots for a few of the dates. The one thing he requested was not to do any of the ones where they went flying. He shivered just thinking about being in a plane or helicopter.



For the remainder of the episode shoots, he’d be bunking with John and Carlos. They were good guys, and they’d had a great time last night, placing bets on who would win the whole thing and who would go home next.



He entered the house and Andrew, the production assistant, directed him towards the backyard. “Someone strongly suggested that they get in their bikinis and go for a swim,” the young man said, rolling his eyes.



Spike frowned at him, but then figured out what the problem was when the guy looked him up and down. He had no problem with another person’s sexuality, but how a guy didn’t get turned on by a pool full of hot birds with tiny bits of cloth over their important parts was beyond him. He quickened his steps and turned on the camera. It was days like this that he loved his job.



“Oh, good. You’re here,” one of the directors said. “Go relieve poor Carlos over there by the Jacuzzi before his eyes pop out of his head.”



Spike strolled over and grinned down at the full Jacuzzi when he noticed Buffy in the steamy, swirling water. “Hey, Carlos. Ray says it’s time for you to take a break.”



Carlos was practically drooling and Spike laughed at him as he backed up. Then his eyes widened and Spike shouted a warning, but it was too late. All heads turned when they heard the big splash. The girls erupted in boisterous laughter, but Spike did his best to keep the camera from shaking and hold in the laughter. He forced himself to think of the dressing down Carlos was going to get for toasting a twenty-thousand-dollar camera and it sobered him right up.



Soon, he was concentrating on his work. The girls in the hot tub had just agreed to take turns telling each other what they did for a living.



“I’ll start,” Cordelia said with a smug grin. “I’m a cheerleader for the Sacramento Kings basketball team. Oh, and I’m an actress too.”



In her charming southern accent, Fred said, “Oh, that’s so much more glamorous than what I do. I’m just a microbiologist.”



“Impressive,” Faith said with feeling. “I’m a private detective, but I mostly work missing persons cases with the police department.”



When it was her turn, Buffy smiled at the other girls and said, “My job’s not as impressive as the rest of yours. I’m an assistant manager at the Bloomingdale’s department store at the Stanford Mall.”



“Wow!” Harmony said. “Are they hiring? ‘Cause I’m a receptionist, but I’d love to see what was in before it hit the stores and get deep discounts on high fashion.”



“We’re not hiring right now, but I’ll let you know,” Buffy said with a genuine smile.



A bright smile that reached her beautiful long-lashed eyes. Spike stood up when he realized that he was about to sigh because of the girl. Get your act together, mate. This isn’t high school.



Cordelia stared at Faith intently. Spike could almost see the wheels turning in her head. A smug smile played on her lips. “Now I get it.”



Faith glared at her. “Get what?”



“Why you are even still in the game,” said Cordelia.



“What? Because Angel is a private detective too?” Faith asked.



Everyone stopped talking when the first date invitation arrived, diffusing the tension that Cordelia’s comment had created.



The dates were very important and not everyone would get one. During the week that would make up the second episode, there would be a couple of one-on-one dates and one group date. Everybody wanted a one-on-one date, but it was a risk as well, because of the roses. If you got a rose on the date, you were going to the next week. If you didn’t get a rose, you were going home right after the date. And only Angel could decide to give a rose or not.



On group dates, he would give a rose to just one girl. The others would get to come back to the house and hope to get a rose at the end of the week. It was just more difficult to get quality time alone with the bachelor on a group date. Those that didn’t get an invitation for a date could only hope that Angel had liked them so much that he didn’t need to take them on a date to know he was going to give them a rose at the ceremony. The best they could do was to try and get a few minutes alone with him when he visited the house.



Fred got the first invitation for a one-on-one date and came back with a rose and starry eyes. The next day, six girls, including Buffy and Faith, went on the group date, but it was Gwen who got the rose. On the third day, Darla came back from her one-on-one with the rose and got everyone pissed off when she rubbed it in their faces. The last one-on-one date was with the oldest woman in the group, a lawyer named Lilah. She came back with a rose and after confiding to Cordelia that she’d gotten the first kiss, the news spread like wildfire.



Angel showed up for the rose ceremony after his date with Lilah, but spent some time talking with all the girls alone first. Spike was busy outside with the stationary camera that pointed towards the women. When it was Buffy’s turn, she smiled at Angel and when he asked her if she was disappointed to not get the rose from the group date, she smiled and shrugged.



“It hurt a little. I thought we’d had a good time and I really enjoyed spending those few minutes alone with you. But at the same time, I knew it was a one in six chance.”



Spike couldn’t see Angel’s face but he knew by the tone of his voice that the man was serious. “I want you to know that I really like you, Buffy. Do you want to stay?”



“I would love to stay.”



Angel took only fifteen minutes in the framed photo room before he came out, ready to give the roses. He called Buffy’s name first and she seemed really pleased. She stood with Darla, Fred and Lilah and waited with her long stem rose for the other names to be called. There was a delay when one of Cordelia’s heels broke off her shoe and they had to get her a new pair.



Spike leaned against the wall near the girls holding roses and unabashedly watched Buffy. She looked incredible in a purple dress. However, he didn’t know if he quite liked the plunging neckline. She had a beautiful upper body, but it somehow felt wrong that she’d expose it to the world. His body began to heat up when Buffy started staring back at him. He raised an eyebrow at her then gave her a short nod. She blushed and then looked down at the rose in her hand.



The cameras rolled once more and the Bachelor gave a rose to Cordelia, Lily, Faith, Kate, Michelle, Kari, and last, he called Harmony. She squealed and jumped up and down. The three women left without roses said their goodbyes. A few minutes later, the champagne was handed out for Angel to give the final toast of the night.



Soon after, he hugged them all goodbye and left. Most of the girls were in high spirits and they called out to Buffy when she went to go upstairs. He kept the camera focused on her as she politely declined and walked up the stairs with the long stem rose hanging loosely from her hand. He zoomed in on her face when she got to the top of the stairs, turned and stared down at the camera. She smiled shyly and tucked of lock her hair behind her ear, and then she walked away, disappearing into her room for the night.

Not My Reality


Chapter Six


A loud snore woke Buffy up and she lay there for quiet some time, unable to fall back asleep. The dark room and the quiet breathing of her roommates soothed her, but she missed the quiet of her own apartment. Her stomach rumbled. She slipped out of bed and pulled the light blue silk nightie as far down as it would go. She smiled at the sleeping form of Faith in the next bed over. Even though the nightie was a little too big for Buffy, Faith insisted that she sleep in it. Faith was a study in contradictions. She didn’t own a dress, had more studded belts than anyone Buffy knew, but she wore silk and lace to bed.

With a smile, Buffy shook her head and left the sleeping girls. She stood in the hall and listened to see if she could hear movement in the house. All was still and quiet. On bare feet, she went to the bathroom. After washing her hands, she took the stairs lightly, hoping that the flushing of the toilet and the running of water in the sink hadn’t woken anyone else up.

She desperately needed a few minutes alone. Buffy had been getting lonely in her apartment all by herself before she came on this little adventure. But after being in the company of so many people, she longed for her tiny apartment. She was looking forward to having a bowl of cereal in the kitchen by herself.

Buffy gasped and wrapped her arms around her shoulders when she stepped into the kitchen. Spike looked up from the open fridge with a guilty expression on his face. She glanced behind her to see if anyone else was downstairs and then stared at his bare chest and black swim trunks.

“What are doing in here?”

“Sorry, love. Didn’t think anyone was awake. You want anything?”

She shook her head and he placed a beer can, a wedge of cheese, and a knife next to a loaf of bread on the island counter. Her common sense told her to turn around and go back up the stairs, but her feet wouldn’t obey. She stayed where she was and stared at him before asking, “What are you doing?”

“Couldn’t sleep. So I’ve been relaxing in the Jacuzzi.” He shrugged. “Got hungry and thirsty and this kitchen is closer than the trailer I’m staying in.”

His mischievous grin did something to her insides and so did the perfectly tanned, rippling muscles all over his torso. Buffy shifted her weight, but didn’t move from her spot by the door.

“You want a cheese sandwich?” he asked, with a mouthful of cheese.

Crinkling her nose, she shook her head.

“Suit yourself, but it’s obvious that you came down for a late night snack. Don’t mind me. There’s plenty of food.”

Now she felt stupid for just standing there. She went forward and hurriedly poured a bowl of cereal, very aware that his eyes never left her. She stood by the fridge and took a bite. Then she asked, “Are you even allowed to be in here?”

“Probably not. But I’m not one for following the rules.” He took a swig of his beer, keeping his blue eyes trained on her. “Why don’t you have a seat? I promise I won’t bite.”

Buffy scanned the room and then whispered, “Aren’t there hidden cameras all over this house?”

He laughed and took another drink.

“No. No hidden cameras that I know of. There are a few cameras set up outside near the pool, but they aren’t running during the night. If there were hidden cameras, they would have had to disclose that in the contract you signed.”

She sat down on the stool next to him and shook her head. “There were no disclosures about hidden cameras, but they did mention the ones outside by the pool.”

“I know those ones are turned off after filming shuts down for the day.” He grinned at her. “You wanna go take a dip in the Jacuzzi with me?”

“What? No.” Buffy pointed at the clock on the microwave. “It’s two o’clock in the morning and I have a big day tomorrow.”

“Live a little,” he said, trying to entice her.

She stirred what was the left of her cereal and then gazed into his eyes that suddenly were too close to her. God, he was so good looking.

“I…I shouldn’t. I’m here to meet Angel, and it wouldn’t be good if I got caught in the Jacuzzi with another guy. And besides, I don’t have a suit on.” The twinkle in his eye told her what he was thinking so she quickly added, “And there’s no way I’m going skinny dipping with you.”

With a frown on his face, Spike said, “Do you really like that ponce?”

“Angel’s not a … ponce, whatever that is.”

“I just don’t get what all you ladies see in him.”

“He’s nice. He’s good looking,” she said with a shrug.

“Hell, I’m better looking that he is.”

Buffy just stared at him, thinking he was unbelievable. “Angel is the Bachelor. What? You want all these women drooling over you instead?”

“Hell, no. I’m a one woman at a time kind of a guy. I’d be happy to have just one woman drooling over me at a time. One in particular.”

His deep, sexy voice and his hot gaze were enough to get her pulse racing. She fumbled to get off the stool.

“I should… I need to get back upstairs.”

He was right behind her and before she could go through the kitchen door, he blocked her way. She backed up until she bumped into the pantry door. He followed her and leaned one hand on the door, close enough to feel the heat radiating from his arm on her cheek.

“I’ve caught you staring at me,” he whispered. “I know you find me attractive.”

Buffy closed her eyes to block the sight of him from her senses. What little space still between them was charged with sexual electricity, stronger than she’d ever felt in her life. A tiny well of anger rose up inside her. She didn’t like being backed into a corner and she wasn’t about to let him push her around, even if he was right. She’d signed a contract to do this show and was going to see it through.

Slowly she opened her eyes and jumped slightly. His sharp angled face was just inches from hers now. The closer he got, the better looking he was. But she shouldn’t be thinking like that. Spike’s warm breath tickled her chin. He was going to kiss her.

Snapping out of the trance that he had her in, she ducked under his arm and raced out of the kitchen. She didn’t stop until she was at the top of the stairs and she didn’t dare look back. If someone had seen them… Buffy tried to take a deep breath and calm down. The house was still very quiet. She glanced around at all the closed doors and then went to her room. Faith and Fred didn’t even stir, so she slipped into her bed.

There was no way she was going to get back to sleep now. If she were at home, she’d pick up the phone and call Willow. No matter what time it was. Willow was always there for her to listen to her man woes. She was the voice of reason and often times the voice of encouragement, telling Buffy to go for it. She had no clue what Willow would say about this situation.

She’d mooned over Angel for months while The Bachelorette had aired. So much so that her friend entered her in the casting pool to be on this show with him. After meeting him, she was convinced that he was as great a guy as he seemed to be on the show. In fact, Angel was better looking in person. And she’d made it through two eliminations now, so she knew that he liked her well enough.

Spike. She shouldn’t even have noticed him. If it wasn’t for the bleached hair, he’d blend well into the background in his black jeans and t-shirts. Maybe if she hadn’t seen him in the elevator during the first auditions, she wouldn’t even be noticing him now. She shook her head. Buffy knew that wasn’t true. There was just something about him. His naked, finely chiseled chest and abs came to mind. His roguish, mischievous looks and those fantastic cheekbones and lips. She covered her face with her arm and squeezed her eyes shut. She had it bad.

And then there was his sense of humor. She hadn’t had much time to actually talk to him, but in the kitchen, he had been charming and funny. His words about being a one woman kind of guy came to her mind.

Buffy felt bad for thinking it, but now, she wished she’d let Spike kiss her.

The house full of bachelorettes got one stress-free day without cameramen lurking about. There had been a thirty-minute meeting with the producers and directors and then the women were told to relax and enjoy themselves. Buffy and Faith had spent a good portion of the day in the exercise room with Kate and Gwen. After dinner, Buffy endured an hour in the entertainment room. The TV was on but the women chatted in groups and it was hard to hear the sound.



Unable to stand the bickering between Darla and Cordelia, Buffy got up and went upstairs to her bedroom to find Faith hosting a poker game with Fred, Lily, and Michelle. They invited her to join them, but she wasn’t in the mood. She watched for a few minutes and then decided to wander back downstairs. Without thinking about it, she ended up in the backyard and found herself straining to see over the fence to catch a glimpse of the crew trailers.



Buffy doubted that Spike was even there. She tried to imagine what he did during his time off. Did he like to kick back at home and watch sports or did he go bar hoping with friends? She envied him his freedom to come and go as he pleased. She couldn’t even call her friends and talk on the phone, because the network was concerned that details about the season would get leaked to the press before it went on air. Right now, she would love to curl up on the couch and have a long chat with Willow. After eight relatively idle days with a group of other women, Buffy was even missing work.



~ * ~ * ~





The next day, they knew something was going to happen when they were all strongly encouraged to go swimming together. The crew, cameras, and sound equipment filled every nook and cranny of the house again, but most of the crew followed the girls outside. Buffy tried not to look like she was searching for someone, but every room she went in, she took note of who was behind the cameras. When Spike was nowhere to be found, she didn’t know if she felt relief or disappointment. Before she went out back, she overheard Harmony asking Carlos where Spike was and the cameraman said that Spike had the day off and would be on set tomorrow.



Buffy was soaking up some sun in a chaise lounge next to Fred when the women started squealing and shouting. Angel stepped out into the backyard and slowly scanned the area. Harmony came rushing up and jumped on him, and after he good-naturedly peeled her off his body, he agreed to change and get in the pool with them.



He went back inside and there was a flurry of activity by the pool as the women adjusted bathing suits and sat at the edge of the pool, waiting to get in. Buffy got up with Fred and they joined Faith and Kate in the Jacuzzi. Angel came out in a pair of shorts and dove right into the pool.



Faith stared after him. “That man looks damn good without a shirt on.”



The rest of them voiced their agreement and then went quiet as they watched him interact with the women in the pool. Someone came around and offered drinks. Buffy took one but just held it in her hands.



Fred leaned in closer to Buffy and whispered, “Why are they always trying to get us to drink?”



“To loosen us up,” Faith answered and then tipped back her glass.



Cordelia laughed and ducked under the water in the pool. The other girls squealed and screeched as she held up her bikini top.



“Oops. That wasn’t supposed to happen,” Cordelia said a little too boisterously. “Angel, will you help me put this back on please?”



He was all too happy to help her. After tying the last string, he got out of the pool and walked towards the Jacuzzi. Fred squeezed Buffy’s hand under the water and bounced with excitement. Buffy smiled at Angel as he approached, but she wasn’t feeling the same excitement as the other girls. Faith was attempting to appear cool about it all, but Buffy could sense an underlying tension from her as the woman stared intently at Angel.



Cordelia and Darla managed to squeeze their way into the already crowded Jacuzzi and did everything they could to steal all of Angel’s attention. Angel seemed to love it and Buffy’s opinion of him went down another notch. She wasn’t the aggressive type. She wanted a guy to go after her, not the other way around.



“Are you all right?” Angel asked Buffy.



She forced a smile and said, “Yes. It’s just getting a little hot in here.”



Then she lifted herself out of the water to sit on the edge with her legs dangling in. Angel’s expression changed from concern to pleasure as he eyed her bikini. He cleared his throat, smiled at her and then turned to one of the other girls. A few seconds later, he stood up and held his hand out to Faith. She looked shocked when asked if she’d like to take a walk with him, she got up and took the towel that one of the crewmen offered to her. Buffy watched them walk around the corner with a cameraman right behind them. Then she had to endure the snide and catty remarks from the other women as the cameras rolled behind her.



Angel ended up spending time alone with about half the girls that day, but Buffy wasn’t one of them. Faith didn’t say what Angel had talked about or what they’d done when they were alone and when Harmony pressed her for information, Faith only glared at her and told her to go away.



Just minutes after Angel left for the day, Lily came running back out to the pool area waving an invitation card. They all stopped what they were doing while she read it for them.



“Harmony. Tomorrow afternoon, dress in your most comfortable clothes and let’s see if we can roll our way into love.”



Harmony jumped up, giggling and smiling like the Cheshire Cat. She grabbed the invitation from Lily and bounced into the house talking about finding something to wear. The rest of the girls fell silent, all wishing that they were going on a one-on-one date with Angel the next day. After a few minutes, the yard was again filled with voices as they speculated on what the word “roll” meant.



Cordelia snorted and told Darla, “I bet they’re going to go bowling.”



“I’m so glad I didn’t get that date,” Darla said. “I want to go on one of the big dates with a helicopter ride or a dinner date on a yacht or something.”



“Me too,” said Cordelia.



The next afternoon, Harmony was in her element, primping and getting advice on what to wear. Spike was busy following her around and he didn’t look at Buffy even once. An hour before Angel was to pick her up, Harmony brought down her suitcases and set them by door.



Every woman in the house stared at those bags and wondered if Harmony would get a rose on her date or not. If Angel gave her a rose on the date, she would get to come back to the house and would be guaranteed to go on to the next round. If he didn’t give her a rose, someone would come by and pick up her luggage and they wouldn’t see Harmony again. She would be out of the running.



Angel came in and said hello to the girls before escorting Harmony out to the limo. Buffy sat back on the couch and watched Spike slowly move around the room with his camera as he captured snippets of conversation.



Cordelia smiled brightly as she ran her fingers through her hair. “I don’t think Harmony is coming back.”



“I hope she doesn’t,” Darla said. “That girl is annoying.”



Buffy could not stand those two and once they got started, bashing one of the other girls, it got uglier and uglier. She got up to leave, but one of the directors called her over to what the girls in the house had dubbed the interrogation room. Every so often, one of the girls would be called into the room off to the side. She would be asked a few questions about something that had just happened or was about to happen and then she was to be openly candid with her answers.



She sat in the lone chair in the room and waited. They got everything set up and then asked her what she thought about Harmony. Buffy was honest, but she tried to be kind, knowing that her answers might end up on the episode. Harmony was a pain in the ass, but she was peppy and more tolerable than some of the other girls.



When they dismissed Buffy, she headed towards the stairs around the back way so she could avoid the cameras and the other bachelorettes. She paused in the hallway when she saw Spike leaning against the wall with his camera resting at his feet. He stared at her, but didn’t talk. She slowly walked by him, hoping he’d say something, but he just kept staring.



Just as she was about to turn the corner, he said, “So, you’re not talking to me now?”



She turned and walked back. “What do you want me to say?”



“I don’t know,” he said with a shrug. “I guess I should be the one to say I’m sorry. You know, for making a pass at you.”



He looked down then and she tried not to smile. Spike was so cute when he was sorry. She bit her lip and then said, “It’s okay. I … um … I was giving off signals that I shouldn’t have been giving.”



The doorbell rang, cutting off their conversation. Spike picked up his camera and headed towards the door and Buffy went the opposite direction, towards the stairs. She was half-way up when Fred called everyone to the living room with another date invitation in her hand.



Some of the women stood up while the others sat on the couches. Each one hoping that they were going to get to go on a date. Fred opened the envelope, silently read it and then smiled. In her charming accent, she then read it to her very attentive audience.



“Six of you and one of me, don’t let it get you down. I hope you’ll accept this invitation to party with me for a night on the town. Buffy, Fred, Cordelia, Tori, Kate, and Lily.”



Buffy’s excited smile faded when she caught a glimpse of Faith’s face before the brunette turned and then went up the stairs. For the remaining girls, there was only a one in five chance that they’d get the last one-on-one date with Angel before this week’s rose ceremony.



Later that evening, the house had gone quiet. The majority of the work crew had gone home. Carlos, John, and Spike quietly worked the house, going from room to room, the kitchen, the Jacuzzi, and the living room. Buffy was sitting on the couch talking with Fred when they heard the front door open. Cordelia raced down the hall to see if it was Harmony or someone to pick up her bags. They fell in behind her and watched as a man ignored the gathering crowd, grabbed a bunch of the suitcases by the door, came back for more and then shut the door.



“Wow,” Fred said under her breath. “Harmony gone. Just like that.”

Buffy was all smiles for the cameras as she exited the limo and headed to the mansion, but she was exhausted. The other girls were obviously feeling much like she was, though some were drunker than others. They all staggered out of the limo behind her.

Earlier that night, Angel had picked the six women up and had taken them straight to a popular bar and grill well known for being a celebrity hang out. Because the owner had closed the place to the general public, they’d had it all to themselves. After perfect steak dinners, they moved their little party to the dance floor in the bar. Angel had danced with them all, but Cordelia showed off her moves and stole the show.

Later, he took each one of them separately to a small room off the bar. Buffy had enjoyed that little bit of time with him. She was amazed at how comfortable she felt with Angel when they were alone. When he leaned in for a kiss, she let him embrace her. She couldn’t believe that she was kissing the guy that she’d watched on TV and drooled over for so many weeks. The kiss was gentle and slow but was starting to heat up when Cordelia interrupted them. Buffy wanted to wring the girl’s neck, but she smiled and graciously walked back to the dance floor.

Now, her feet hurt and she just wanted to go to sleep. She slipped her heels off and ignored the calls from the girls in the house wanting to talk about the date. Buffy took the steps two at a time and flung the door open. Fred was right behind her and shut the door with a bang.

“I don’t think I’ve ever danced so much in my life,” Fred said wearily. “And all so that Cordelia could get the rose.”

Buffy was about to make a comment but she noticed Faith looking out the window. Then she noticed the fist sized hole in the wall next to the window. Buffy exchanged worried looks with Fred and cautiously stood next to Faith.

“Faith? What happened?”

Faith wouldn’t look at them, but she said, “I got the last one-on-one date invitation for tomorrow night.”

Now Buffy was even more confused. “If you don’t want to go on it, just tell one of the producers. I’m sure they’ll find a good excuse for you to go home early. Or you could go on the date and ask Angel not to give you the rose.”

Faith shook her head and sat down on the bed. Fred and Buffy sat down with her.

“Do you want to know how I ended up here?” Faith asked them. They both nodded so she said, “On a dare. My friend is always getting on me because I don’t do relationships. She made me watch the show last season and I hated it. Every episode, I complained about the process and the whole stupid premise.”

“But you couldn’t turn down the dare?” Fred asked.

Faith chuckled lightly. “Hell, no. I don’t back down from anything. But I didn’t expect to actually get on the show.”

Buffy put her hand over Faith’s. “You’re attractive and have a lot to offer. Of course you got on the show.”

Faith shrugged. “I decided to do it for the hell of it. I figured I wouldn’t last too long, I’d have a few laughs and then I’d go home.”

“But…” Fred encouraged Faith to go on when she stopped talking.

“But after getting to know Angel, I find that I really like him.” Faith leaned back against the headboard. “Angel’s the type of guy I would never try to date, because he’s all about the commitment. It scares the hell out of me. But I can actually see myself with this guy.”

“So why the long face about the one-on-one date?” Buffy asked.

“I hate that I care about it, you know. The invitation says I should dress formal because he’s going to be in a tuxedo.” Faith suddenly jumped up and threw open the sliding closet doors. “I didn’t bring one damn formal dress. Just my jeans and a few pairs of slacks. What the hell am I going to wear?”

That was an easy fix. Buffy stood up and went through her collection of dresses. “I’m sure we can find something in here that will work for you.” She pulled out a cheerful yellow dress with spaghetti straps. “What about this one?”

Faith took the dress from her, looked at the tag, and then shook her head. “I love the design, but yellow is not my color. And, there’s no way I could squeeze into this thing. It’s two sizes too small.”

“I’d offer you one of my dresses, but I’m even smaller than Buffy,” Fred said.

The wheels were turning in Buffy’s head as she stared at the dress. “Bloomingdale’s has this dress in a great shade of red.”

“I’m smokin’ hot in red,” Faith said with a grin. “Too bad we can’t leave to go shopping.”

It hit Buffy then. She grabbed her purse and rummaged until she found a pad and a pen. Then she hurriedly scribbled down some instructions as Fred and Faith asked her what she was doing.

Buffy smiled smugly. “I’m going to get you that dress in red and in your size and it will be here tomorrow in plenty of time for your date with Angel.”

Not waiting to hear what they’d say about that, Buffy raced down the stairs and then went searching for Spike. She found him in the kitchen, filming Darla and Kate having a heated conversation. He was also reaching for the bowl of popcorn with his free hand, as he balanced the camera on one shoulder. Once he glanced her way, she jerked her head towards the door and gave him a quick wave and then she left the kitchen, hoping he’d get her hint about following her.

She cautiously made her way to the front door and opened it, motioning for him to turn his camera off before she went outside. It was important that no one saw her doing this. She didn’t want to be seen alone with Spike and she didn’t want to get caught breaking her contract by contacting the outside world. Spike watched her search for a good place to talk.

Buffy grabbed his hand and pulled him to the right where there was a bench surrounded by a few trees and bushes. He gently laid the camera down and then sat next to her.

“I need your help with something.”

With a tilt of his head and one corner of his lips up, Spike slid closer to Buffy so that their thighs touched.

“I thought maybe you brought me out here to find out how a real man kissed.”

Looking into his eyes, she lost the ability to speak. How did he know that she had kissed Angel? And why was she feeling guilty about it? Then she remembered the cameras. She could only guess that the camera crew gossiped as much as the bachelorettes did.

“Here,” she said, shoving her folded note into his hand. “Can you call this number and follow these directions for me?”

It took a few seconds to stop gazing at her. He read the note and practically growled. “You want me to help you smuggle in a dress so you can impress Angel?”

“No! It’s not for me. It’s for one of the other girls. Willow is a good friend of mine and she works at Bloomingdale’s with me. I know she can get the dress.” She put her hand on his thigh. “Please, will you do it? For me?”

Buffy held her breath while he just stared at her. Then he said, “How can I say no to you?”

With a high-pitched squeal, she threw her arms around him. She was so happy that she could help Faith that she let him hug her back and hold on to her. She rested her chin on his shoulder and inhaled his wonderfully masculine scent. The elation over getting what she wanted died down and quickly turned into pure lust. As he held her tighter and kissed her neck, she closed her eyes, accepting the shivers of pleasure that washed over her.

Buffy sat back and put her hands in her lap. She couldn’t bring herself to look him in the eyes, so she watched his chest rise and fall.

“When I heard that you’d let that pillock kiss you…”

When Spike paused to clear his throat, she got the courage to gaze in to his eyes. She could see the hurt there.

“I don’t-”

“I know,” he said quickly. “I have no right to feel the way I do. I just know that I’ve never been this attracted to another woman in my life. If things were different, I’d ask you out and I’d do everything in my power to get you to see that I’m a much better catch than that bloody Angel.”

While he talked, Buffy watched the play of emotions on his face. That he felt so strongly about her put knots of pleasure in her stomach. She wanted to kiss him, and thinking about how she had regretted not kissing him that time in the kitchen, she made a snap decision, leaned forward and pressed her lips against his.

Instantly, he took over, gathering her into his arms and aggressively kissing her back. His tongue ran across her lips; she opened her mouth, letting him in and moaned at the sensation of their dancing tongues.

Buffy didn’t protest when he lifted her into his lap. The combination of their kisses and the feel of his arousal pressing at his jeans against her inner thigh overwhelmed her. Her heated body wanted more. She squirmed in his lap, her inner muscles tightening with her slick arousal.

She hadn’t been with a man in a long time. Not since her break up a year ago from her last boyfriend, Riley. All thoughts of other men fled from her mind as Spike’s hands found their way under her shirt. Buffy was certain that she was going to come, right then and there, when he roughly tugged her bra to the side and cupped one of her breasts.

A car alarm went off in the distance and jarred Buffy out of the trance Spike had her in. She jumped off him and adjusted her top while he sat on the bench, gazing at her with half-closed eyes. He looked incredibly sexy and a picture flashed in her mind of what he would look like in bed after they’d made passionate love to each other.

“Oh, God, I have to go. Sorry.”

Spike watched her run off and then stayed where he was for a few minutes, willing his heart to beat slower and his manhood to go back down.

Grinning, he said, “Now that was a kiss!”

He stood up, took his cell phone out and dialed John’s number. He asked the other cameraman to cover his area in the house for him and then grabbed his camera, heading for his trailer. It was empty with Carlos and John both in the mansion on the job. He set his cell phone down and placed Buffy’s note next to it.

After a long hot shower and a good wank, Spike got dressed and picked up his phone. He dialed the number on the note and waited.

“Hello,” a cheerful person said.

“Hello. Can I speak to Willow, please?”

“This is Willow.”

“My name is Spike. I work on the set of The Bachelor.”

“Is Buffy all right?” Willow asked in alarm.

“She’s fine. I’m sure you know that Buffy isn’t allowed to make any phone calls. She asked me to call you for her. She needs you to bring her a dress from the store.”

“Wow! Is she getting anywhere with Angel?”

Spike frowned but tried to stay pleasant. “Can’t say. But she needs a Maxim Hart dress. The spaghetti strap one in red and a size ten.”

He could not believe that he was ordering a frilly dress from a stranger. He’d always known he was love’s bitch, but this was taking it too far.

“Ten? That’s not her size.”

“She said it was for someone else. Can you get it for her?”

“Of course. How do I get it to her?”

“I could meet you tomorrow at noon at the Halstead exit off the ten freeway. There’s an Arco gas station on the corner.”

“Okay. Let me write this down. What do you look like and what kind of car will you be driving?”

“I have bleached blond hair and I’ll be wearing black. I’ll be in a black DeSoto. Can’t miss me.”

They exchanged cell phone numbers and then they hung up. Spike smirked at his reflection in the mirror, as he got ready to go back to the mansion.

“You’ve got it bad, mate. This is worse than how you acted with Drusilla.”

Buffy was starting to get nervous as she paced the length of the pool while most of the other bachelorettes played water volleyball. They’d invited her to take her sweats off and join them, but she just wasn’t in the mood. It was one thirty and she had neither seen nor heard from Spike since she’d given him the note. And the most incredible kiss… Abruptly, she changed directions and bumped into Fred.

"Sorry," Fred said.

"No, it’s okay." Buffy grabbed Fred by the arm and whispered in her ear, "I’m starting to get worried that he somehow couldn’t get the dress."

Fred glanced around before she whispered back, "Faith is counting on that dress. She’s acting all cool and like it doesn’t matter, but we both know that this date means a lot to her."

Out of the corner of her eye, Buffy thought she saw platinum blond hair go by the sliding glass doors in the house. She took a long look at the crowd of people who were outside: one of the directors, a few assistants, and most of the cameramen.

"I think he’s here. Do me a favor and try to distract the other girls from going inside," Buffy said.

She didn’t wait to see what Fred would do, but as Buffy casually strolled towards the sliding glass doors, Fred sat at the farthest edge of the pool from the house and said, "All right, I’m ready to give out details. Who wants to hear about the kiss I shared with Angel at the bar last night?"

Before Buffy had stepped fully inside, Spike nodded at her and then quickly ascended the stairs. She was honest enough with herself to know that the butterflies in her stomach were more about seeing Spike again than nerves over being sneaky with the dress. Trying to act normal, she went to the kitchen and grabbed a soda from the fridge.

By the time she’d gotten the nerve to go upstairs, he’d been waiting for five minutes. The door to her room was closed and after giving one final glance around to make sure no one was watching her, Buffy hurriedly slipped inside and locked the door behind her.

"What took you so long?" Spike asked her, still holding the camera on his shoulder.

"I didn’t want anyone to notice us," she said, eyeing his leather duster. "And what’s with the coat?"

""S my favorite coat, but I’m wearing it to hide this."



Spike pulled out a Bloomingdale’s bag and tossed it on one of the beds. Buffy could feel his eyes on her as she reached for it and pulled the dress out. It was nice to have him admire her as she put the silky material against her. She took a quick peek at the tag and smiled with relief.

"Thank you, Spike."

He nodded and took a step towards her. "That dress would look incredible on you."

"It’s a little too big," she said, her heart pounding in her chest as he took another step. To put more distance between them, she went to the closet, hung up Faith’s dress before she pulled out her own. "I have one in yellow."

She turned to show it to Spike but bumped into him, and with a gasp, she dropped the dress. He was so close. He smelled really good and from this distance, his eyes seemed bluer.

"Um…" she said as he continued to stare at her. "We should probably leave the room before someone figures out that we’re gone."

"Yes. But first, I want a thank you kiss."

He wasn’t that much taller than her, but with the large camera on his shoulder, Spike seemed bigger. "Is that turned on? I don’t think we should-"

Spike tossed the camera onto the bed, where it bounced twice before being still. "The only thing turned on it this room is me."

Then he grabbed her by the waist and pulled her against him.

She shook her head and slowly blinked. "That’s not true. You aren’t the only one who’s turned on."

Taking Buffy’s head in his hands, Spike swooped down on her and captured her lips. Out of pure reflex, she put her hands into the coat and got her arms around his waist. He pushed her back until she was up against the closet door. Through the haze of lust, she barely noticed that he lowered his hands. She just wanted to get closer to him. Kissing wasn’t enough. The fog began to lift when his hand slipped past the waistband of her sweatpants.

"Bloody hell, Buffy," Spike whispered against her lips. "You’re just as sexy in sweats as you are in a ball gown or lingerie." She whimpered when his hand went lower and slipped under her bikini bottom to cup her backside. He kissed her again, then moved to pay attention to her sensitive neck. All the while, he slowly pulled her sweatpants down. He groaned and said, "You’re wearing a bikini under there?"

They both jumped when the doorknob jiggled followed by a light knock at the door. Buffy quickly pulled her pants up while Spike scrambled to put his camera back in place. She took a deep breath and opened the door.

Faith barged in, paused and then grinned at them, standing so far apart from each other. "Fred said you might have the dress. I guess she was right."

Spike cleared his throat. "I’ll just get out of your way, then."

"Wait!" Faith said. "Thank you, Spike."

He nodded before rushing out the door. Buffy shut it and locked it, not wanting to turn around and face Faith. But she did anyway and regretted it. Faith’s grin had yet to fade.

"Did I interrupt something?"

Buffy shook her head and went to the closet. She pulled out the dress, hoping to distract Faith.

"Man," Faith said in awe as she took the offered red dress. "I don’t know how to thank you for going to all this trouble for me."



~ * ~ * ~



Buffy had managed to avoid Spike for most of the night. She made a point of staying in a crowded room and chatted with the other ladies, even going so far as to endure the bitchy remarks from Darla for the last hour. And the whole time, she alternated between thinking about Spike and thinking about Faith on her date.

Buffy and Fred had helped Faith get ready for the night. They’d hunted down a perfect pair of black heels from one of the other bachelorettes, Buffy had loaned her a black leather clutch and a black onyx pendant, and Fred had loaned her a pair of earrings and a bracelet. Then the pair worked on her hair and makeup before helping her to pack her belongings. Even though Faith had appeared to be taking the whole thing calmly, Buffy knew she was a bundle of nerves.

As the time drew nearer for when the date might be over, all the girls, including Buffy, migrated to the living room just off the entry hall and waited to hear the door open. When it did, Buffy stood up with some of the other girls and she rushed to hug Faith when she came around the corner with the rose in her mouth like a dancer.

Fred and Buffy helped Faith bring her bags back up to their room. The excited woman unpacked her bags as Fred and Buffy got dressed for the rose ceremony that would be taking place in just one hour.

Buffy sat on the bed across from where Faith was sitting and put on her shoes. "So, spill. How was the date?"

With a faraway look in her eyes, Faith said, "It was amazing. First, we went on a helicopter ride around Los Angeles and we landed on the rooftop of a high-rise building." Faith paused and smiled before saying, "Right on the roof, there was a table set for two and a string quartet to play music for us."

"I’m so jealous," Fred said good-naturedly. "All we did on our date was walk on the beach and eat dinner at a restaurant by the pier."

"At least you’ve had a one-on-one date," Buffy said then stared at Faith. "So, was there kissage?"

Faith chuckled. "Kissage? Yes, there was kissing and groping and if the cameras weren’t there, it might have gone further than that." She laughed when Buffy and Fred just stared at her in shock. "Hey, it’s the way I roll. If I like a guy and there’s an attraction, I just jump right in."

"Well, did you guys talk at all?" Fred asked.

"Yeah, we did," Faith said, sounding a bit surprised. "We’ve got a lot in common. We’re both private eyes who search for missing people. I search for mostly innocent people, he works for bounty hunters and we’re both good at our jobs."

"Rose ceremony in ten minutes!" one of the production assistants called out from downstairs.

Fred stood quickly, letting her smile fade. "Well, I guess that’s our cue to get there. Gosh, I can’t believe how nervous I am."

Buffy got up to follow Fred out the door, but Faith stopped her. "What is it?" Buffy asked.

Faith couldn’t look her in the eyes. "I’m…I’m really nervous."

"You don’t have to be. You’ve got a rose."

"No. It’s not that. It’s just…I’m freakin’ terrified because I think I’m falling in love with Angel and there are all those women down there."

Buffy gave Faith a short hug. "If it’s meant to be, then it will happen."

"You aren’t jealous." Faith said it as a statement as if she’d just come to a realization. "You don’t have the same feelings for Angel, do you? And it’s because you’ve got the hots for someone else in the house."

"I don’t know what you’re talking about," Buffy said as she turned to go out the door.

"It’s okay. I won’t tell anyone. I’m sure no one else has noticed, but I’m closer to you than the other girls and I see the way you two look at each other."

Buffy leaned against the wall by the door and sighed. "Oh, God, Faith, what should I do?"

"If you get a rose tonight, please stay. I need someone to watch my back here. At least I know you aren’t competition." When Buffy nodded, Faith added, "Good. I’m playing to win now and with hos like Darla and Cordelia around, I’m going to need all the help I can get."

Buffy and Faith got there just in time to take their places, Faith next to Cordelia with roses in their hands, and Buffy with the other bachelorettes in line to see if Angel would choose to give them a rose.

Angel came around the corner with the host of the show at his side and Spike behind them with a camera. He quickly went to the left out of view of the other cameras. Spike frowned at Buffy and she looked down, thinking about the kiss they’d shared earlier in the day. If Faith didn’t need her to stay, Buffy would still be standing here. There had been no time to talk to Angel and tell him that she wasn’t interested in him like she should be to stay in the game, and she’d only known Spike for a couple of weeks now. She told herself that she had nothing to feel ashamed about.

Angel gave the obligatory speech about how they were all amazing women and how the decision was really tough. The host of the show stepped in and reminded the viewers and the bachelorettes that since Harmony had not been given rose, all but two at the ceremony would be getting one tonight.

Angel called Darla up and handed her a rose that she accepted with a big smile before she joined Faith and Cordelia. Buffy wanted to wipe that smug look of triumph off the slutty woman’s face, but she smiled for the cameras and waited for the next name to be called.

"Kate, will you accept this rose?" Angel asked.

Kate said, "Of course," and joined the others. Then he gave a rose to Fred, Lily, and Gwen. Buffy could see the look of hope on Spike’s face and the nervous look from Faith.

The host interrupted Angel to say, "There are four women left: Lilah, Michelle, Buffy and Kari. And only two roses for Angel to give out. Who will get the roses? We’ll find out when we come back."

Buffy thought of how this would look on TV. The viewer would have to wait at least two and a half minutes to find out, but here and now, they just kept on filming. Eyeing the rose in Angel’s hand, Buffy suddenly realized that she didn’t care if she didn’t get it. She wanted to help Faith, but at the same time, if she didn’t get the rose, she could go home.

In those few seconds, she formed a plan. She could give her phone number to Spike and ask him to give her a call sometime to see where their growing attraction might lead them. She glanced over at Spike and smiled shyly at him. He began to smile back, but Angel called her name. Seemingly of their own volition, her feet were moving forward and she found herself accepting the rose and a hug from Angel. As she stood with the other women who’d gotten a rose to wait for the last one to be handed out, Buffy tried to get Spike’s attention, but he refused to look at her, his jaw twitching in obvious anger. She couldn’t believe him. How could he be angry at her? She wasn’t the one who called her own name, Angel did. She didn’t have any control over that. And there was no way Spike could expect her to embarrass herself and Angel by not accepting the rose. That would have been a terrible thing to do.

Buffy barely registered the fact that Lilah got the last rose, and she didn’t really pay attention as Angel said his goodbyes to Michelle and Kari. As soon as the director said cut, she tried to get to Spike, but he was walking away. Before she could follow, Fred and Faith were hugging her and celebrating. She caught a glimpse of Spike as he left the room, but then a glass of champagne was thrust into her hand and the cameras were rolling again for the end of the episode toast.

Brassed off. That’s what Spike was at the onset of filming for episode five, which would last all week. Through his camera lens, he glared at the nine bachelorettes relaxing in the sitting room as they waited for Chris, the host, to arrive and give them details about what to expect for the week. The room looked empty now that they were down to only nine contestants.

Spike fixed his glare on Buffy, who sat on the couch between Faith and Fred, but she refused to look at him. He hadn’t talked to her since the last rose ceremony a couple of days ago. Spike had been so angry after the ceremony that he had stormed out as soon as he could and spent his days off getting very drunk and moaning his woes to Clem and Gunn. Gunn had rolled his eyes and said that his complaining was worse than when Dru had broken up with Spike last year, but Clem had been sympathetic.

“Ladies,” Chris said as he walked into the room, smiling at them. “So, you’ve made it this far. I have to say, Angel has amazing taste in women.

A little too good, Spike thought. It would be so much easier if Angel had a thing for brunettes only, but the group of women on the couches proved that he wasn’t that picky about hair color.

“This week,” Chris continued, “There will be one group date, with a rose up for grabs. There will also be a two-on-one date, with a single rose only. Only the woman who gets that rose will be coming back to the house after that date.” Chris paused and let the murmurs of the bachelorettes die down before saying, “And there will be one more date. A one-on-one with a rose possible. As with all one-on-one dates, if Angel chooses not to give you the rose, then you won’t be coming back.” Chris smiled at the girls and then added, “Invitations will come to the house like normal for the group date and the two-on-one, but the for the one-on-one date, you will have to earn it.”

“What?” Darla said.

“Earn it? How?” Cordelia asked.

Chris waved the production assistant that had a crush on Spike into the room. Andrew smiled into the camera as Chris said, “There will be a talent competition and Angel will decide who the winner is. The winner goes on the date.”

The bachelorettes talked excitedly until Chris shushed them. “You have one day to practice the talent you want to perform for Angel. Almost anything goes and if you need supplies, give Andrew here your list. He will be leaving in two hours to go shopping for you.”



Andrew passed paper and a pencil to each of the girls and they were encouraged to talk about what they were going to do. Spike watched Buffy as she immediately wrote down a list and handed it to Andrew. Spike followed her out of the room and turned the camera off, though he kept it on his shoulder, just in case someone should come upon them.

She stepped outside and waited for him to step out too before closing the sliding glass door. She walked to the side of the house and then turned on him.

“That’s off, right?” she said, pointing at his camera. He nodded. “Are there cameras in this area?”

Spike glanced around. “Don’t see any and can’t see why they’d put them in this dark side of the house.”

Buffy scanned the area carefully. Spike waited patiently, hoping maybe she would kiss him again or tell him that she was going to walk out on the show.

“I was mad at you all weekend,” Buffy said quietly, emphasizing her words with pokes at his chest.

“Me? What the—”

“The look you gave me at the rose ceremony ticked me off. We don’t even know each other all that well. You don’t own me and I’d appreciate it if you stop glaring at me and making all this so unpleasant for me.”

So many retorts came to Spike’s mind. None of them nice. He groaned in frustration and wondered why he always fell for the bints who liked to torture him like this. Or why the angry flare of her nostrils and the glint in her eye turned him on as much as they did. I’m sick. That’s why. Sick!

He finally found his voice and said, “So, I guess you make it a habit of jamming your tongue down a bloke’s throat just for the hell of it then? Makes you perfect for this damned show. No wonder why you got the part; you play it so well.”

He didn’t see the slap coming until it was too late. The loud smack echoed off into the distance and he stumbled back, trying to keep the camera upright. He wiped at the corner of his mouth and smirked as she stood her ground, her chest rising and falling rapidly as she tried to catch her breath.

“Stay away from me from now on,” Buffy said.

And then she spun on her heels with her head held high and walked away from him. Spike turned to watch her, unsure of what he was more stunned by: desperately wanting her and having that only be intensified when she rejected him, or the still stinging slap that she’d dished out. He grinned. That Buffy was one hell of a woman.





~ * ~ * ~



Buffy sat back on the couch and crossed her arms over her chest as Fred set up to show Angel her talent. They had pulled numbers out of a hat to see in what order they would perform. Looking down at her paper, Buffy shrugged. She was last. It didn’t matter. It took all her energy just to ignore Spike who was filming off the side, behind her. Angel sat in a chair by himself, smiling at Fred as she poured water into a glass pitcher and set out four empty, clear glass beakers.

Fred adjusted her white lab coat, pushed up her glasses and then nodded shyly when asked by the director if she was ready. She smiled warmly at Angel and looked down at her display.

“I’m going to do a magic trick for you all. I’m going to turn water into pink lemonade.” She picked up the full water pitcher. “You can see that this is just plain water.” She filled the four beakers in front of her with the clear water. One by one she poured them back into the pitcher and water turned pink. Fred bowed as the other women cheered and Faith whistled through her fingers. Cordelia stood and glared at Faith. Dressed in a cheerleading uniform, she bounded over to the makeshift stage just as the production crew cleared Fred’s display.

Buffy and Faith rolled their eyes when Cordelia started with, “Give me and ‘A’!”

Even though she’d tuned the routine out, Buffy clapped politely when Cordelia finished, glad that it was over. Lily got up next and sat at the piano in the corner.

“This is Beethoven’s Moonlight Sonata.”

Buffy was impressed at Lily’s beautiful playing, though the music went on a little too long for her taste. Lilah got up next, her brows furrowed.

“My talents are mostly in areas which are hard to display in front of an audience.” Angel chuckled when she winked at him. “But, I do pick up languages very quickly. I can speak about twenty different ones. Pick a language, Angel, and I’ll say something.”

Angel seemed very impressed with Lilah’s language skills and he went through a long list of languages before Lilah’s time was up. Lilah sat back down, a smug look on her face and her arms crossed over her chest. Darla smirked at her and stood up. She took the cherry from her drink and sat in Angel’s lap.

“I can do my talent while sitting in your lap,” she said.

Spike moved and got behind Angel, slightly to the right to get a good view of her. She popped the cherry in her mouth, stem and all. She contorted her mouth for a few seconds and then stuck out her tongue. After wiggling in his lap for a few seconds while Angel clapped, she got up and showed the other girls that the stem was tied in a knot. Out of the corner of her eye, Buffy saw Spike roll his eyes and make a face, and even though she was mad at him, she couldn’t help but laugh at his antics.

It started out as a tiny giggle, upgraded to a chuckle and then went to a full-scale laugh. Spike was laughing so hard that his camera shook on his shoulder. Faith laughed, slapping her knees and then the others joined in. Within minutes, the entire set was laughing uncontrollably, with the exception of Darla who stayed perched on Angel’s lap. The bachelor had held out as long as he could but now his shoulders were shaking. When he threw his head back and laughed out loud, Darla got up and glared at everyone, turning in a slow circle until her death stare landed on Buffy.

“S…sor…sorry, Darla,” Buffy managed to get out, before she burst into another round of laughter.

After a fifteen-minute break, the bachelorettes, the bachelor, and the crew slowly trickled back into the sitting room. It was Kate’s turn and she got up and did an impressive juggling routine. Everyone but Darla clapped for her, and Buffy had to force herself not to look at the miffed woman for fear of laughing again.

Gwen got up next and handed Angel a Rubik’s Cube. She got Angel to mixed the colors up and then with Lily timing her, Gwen’s hands flew.

“Done!” she shouted and held the solved puzzle for all to see.

“Wow, fifty-eight seconds,” Lily reported.

While the others clapped, Faith got up and pulled an easel and a white dry erase board to the middle of the room. She picked up a black marker. “I don’t have many talents, but back in the day, I created some dope graffiti. I’ll just do something on the board here.”

As Faith worked with the markers, Buffy got up and slipped out of the room to prepare for her talent segment. Spike followed with his camera and she turned to face him.

“Go away. I need to get dressed.”

“Oh, see, now, there’s no way I’m leaving.”

She could feel her blood pressure rise with her frustration. She pointed towards the sitting room. “Go!”

As soon as he turned around, she rushed to get changed and came out just in time to see her props getting set up. Buffy felt self-conscious with all eyes on her. She tightened the black belt around her white dobok and then made sure the props were secure.

“I’ve asked Andrew to come and help me. So, Andrew…” Buffy waved him over. The short man came waddling out of a room completely covered in padding and stood on the large cushioned mat that the crew had brought out for her. Buffy smiled when the others snickered at poor Andrew. “Now, stand right there and don’t move.”

“I’ve been studying and practicing Taekwondo since I was a little girl,” she told Angel.

Buffy couldn’t hide her grin when Spike reached up and rubbed his cheek where she’d slapped him the night before. She could have done a lot more damage to him if she’d wanted to. She turned to Andrew and began her demonstration, using her hands and a flurry of kicks to show the various techniques. Unfortunately, Andrew could not take much punishment, even with the padding on him. Since she had no intention of hurting anyone, Buffy took mercy on him and let him go. He waddled away, sighing in relief.

Buffy turned to the set of wooden boards held up with cinder blocks. She took a deep breath, centered herself and jabbed the side of her palm at the wood. All three layers cracked beautifully in the middle and caved in. Two crewmembers came up, each holding the end of another thick wood plank. Buffy walked over to them and helped to place the board at just the right level for her. She knocked on the wood to give them all an idea of how sturdy and thick it was.

She glanced at Angel and then caught Spike’s eye behind him. They were both looking on with interest. She turned in a blink of an eye, and kicked the board. It split with a loud crack. They clapped for her and heard Faith recommend to Darla that she not mess with Buffy.

Angel stood up and kicked his shoes off, a gleam of lust in his eyes.

“I’m proficient in Taekwondo too. Do you want to spar?” Angel asked her while he took off his jacket.

“Sure.”

Angel stepped on to the mat and hitched his slacks up before going on the offensive. Buffy easily blocked every one of his moves, but she was sure he was going easy on her. She lightened up as well and soon they were both laughing. He gave her a bear hug and put her down. When she saw Faith’s crestfallen face, Buffy cleared her throat and took a step back from him.

Angel left the room to decide who would get the one-on-one date and Buffy went back to where she’d left her shoes and top. She dressed quickly and turned back, only to bump into Spike.

“Stop following me,” she said peevishly.

Buffy gave him a little shove, but he held on to her arm.

“I just wanted to tell you that I thought that was very impressive. Though we all could have done without the hug at the end.” He smiled. “I would love to spar with you sometime.”

“You know Taekwondo?”

“Yep, third degree black belt.”

Impressed, she said, “Me too.”

They gazed at each other until Buffy heard Angel talking in the other room. She rushed in and sat on the couch.

Angel smiled at Buffy and said, “You are all very talented and I enjoyed all of your performances very much. Unfortunately, I can only choose one of you for the date, and I’ve decided to take Buffy.”



As soon as Spike heard Angel tell them his choice for the one-on-one date, he left the room and set his camera down. He found a quiet corner and pulled his cell phone out to call his boss.

“Matt? This is Spike.”

“Hi, Spike. Everything all right on set?”

“Yeah, things are running smoothly. Look, I’m calling to request that I do the filming for the next date for the bachelor. I’d like that gig.”

Spike could hear papers rustling and then his boss said, “Are you sure you want it?”

“Yeah.”

“They’re going to Las Vegas and back. By private jet.”

Spike moved the phone away from him and said, “Oh, balls.” Then he put the phone back to his ear. He hated to fly, but Buffy was worth it. “Yes, I want it.”

“It’s yours. I’ll fax the itinerary to your trailer.”

Buffy leaned back into the plush leather seat and let her head touch the headrest. She closed her eyes and attempted to let the soft whine of the private jet lull her to sleep. It was an impossible thing to hope for, as they were ten minutes into a thirty-minute flight. They were still climbing and the pilot informed them that they would begin descent soon after reaching cruising altitude.

She wished now that she’d told Angel that she did mind if he tried to take a nap, but the poor man looked tuckered out. Before the jet left, their stewardess had offered them drinks. Buffy had declined, but Angel knocked back a shot of whiskey and closed his eyes. Spike had grabbed the drink that she’d turned down and drank it quickly, then asked for another.

All day she’d wondered where he was and now it made sense why he hadn’t been at the house. She was not happy with the fact that he would be glaring at her during her entire evening with Angel. Not that she cared if the date with Angel was perfect, but Buffy knew that she was going to be on edge all night.

Buffy opened her eyes and stared at Spike. The moment he got on the plane, Spike had sat down and buckled up. Then, he’d check the belt and pulled on the strap to tighten it twice before the plane took off. Her eyes narrowed as she got a good look at him now.

“You don’t look so good,” she said.

All her life, Buffy thought that the expression turning green was just that, an expression. But now she knew different. Spike’s skin was actually tinged slightly green. Angel opened his eyes and stared at Spike too. The other cameraman sitting next to Spike put his camera in his lap and looked on with wide eyes as well.

“Man, Spike,” Carlos said, “you weren’t kidding when you said that flying made you nervous. Don’t barf on me, okay?”

“Bugger off, all of you,” Spike said, his voice weak. “Just leave me be.”

He stared at Buffy, his brows furrowed. She wanted to ask him what his problem was, but with Angel and Carlos present, she couldn’t so she bit her lip and glared back until she couldn’t stand it any longer. She unbuckled her seatbelt and rummaged around until she found a thick white paper bag. She came back and tossed it in Spike’s lap.

Angel gripped her hand and squeezed it. “I’m sorry I’m so tired, but I promise to be better company when we touch down. They have a lot of fun things planned for us.”

Doing her best to ignore the two cameramen across from them, Buffy smiled and squeezed his hand back. “It’s okay. I’m feeling pretty tired myself. But I’m glad to be out of that house.”

“Why? Don’t you get along with the other girls?”

“A few of them, but there are a couple that…”

“What?” asked Angel, leaning closer to her. “You can tell me. I want to know if there are problems. I don’t get to see much of the interaction between you all, but some of the other girls have made similar comments.”

Buffy shook her head. “I don’t want to spend our time together bitching about the other girls. They haven’t done anything that bad. Just snide comments and other catty behavior. You should decide for yourself who you like.”

“You are a gem, you know that? Most of the other girls have talked down about the others.” Buffy was surprised when he suddenly chuckled and said, “I won’t say who, but one of the girls told me that there’s been some hanky-panky going on with the crew members when I’m not around.”

“What?”

Somehow, she was able to resist the urge to look at Spike. Her mind raced through all the times that she and Spike had been alone. Who knew? They had been very careful. And there had only been a few kisses. The only one that she knew who had an idea was Faith. She wouldn’t… Buffy sighed. She didn’t know Faith all that well, but what would she have to gain by telling Angel? The girl had practically begged her to stay on the show and not walk away.

“I asked around,” Angel said. “None of the other girls or Chris seem to know anything, so who knows. Have you seen anything going on?”

“Uh…um. N--”

Spike chose that moment to make retching sounds into the opened barf bag. Buffy looked on in disgusted horror as the bag ballooned out. Spike gripped the top of the bag closed and before anyone could move, he slammed his hand against the bag. They all ducked, expecting to be showered with puke, but there was a loud bang and…nothing.

“What the hell is wrong with you?” Angel yelled.

Buffy caught sight of Carlos’ big grin before he could turn away. Spike shrugged. “Sorry. Was bored.”

Angel pointed at him and said, “You’re supposed to keep quiet and capture video, not annoy the hell out of us.”

“Actually, Carlos is doing the filming right now. Only need two of us when we touch down,” Spike said.

Buffy tried not to smile, but the peeved looked on Angel’s face was truly comical. Unable to look at him any longer, she made the mistake of glancing at Spike. He raised one eyebrow at her and curled his tongue under his teeth. She coughed to cover her laugh and was saved by the pilot talking over the intercom.

“We are now getting ready to descend. Please fasten your seat belts.”

Spike sobered up. He leaned down and picked up his camera, clutching it close to him. He stared at her and said, “Ah, Buffy, don’t you think you’d better buckled up?”

She glanced down and reached for the strap. Angel leaned over her and pressed against her. “Let me help you with that.”



~ * ~ * ~



The camera was like an extension of him. He’d been shouldering one since he was eighteen, and five minutes into a job, he usually forgot it was there. Spike had the controls memorized and he automatically pressed the zoom when he wanted to see something close up. Now, he zoomed in on the backs of Buffy and Angel as they sat at a black jack table. He could see Carlos across the table and to his left, but as long as he couldn’t see the other cameraman in the viewfinder, they were golden.

The casino was doing a brisk business and the sound of slot machines and conversations filled the air. The area around Buffy and Angel was packed with people, but they had been notified about the filming, so most of them ignored the cameras and the sound equipment.

Spike moved closer and scowled at the couple, laughing and having a great time. Angel put his arm around her waist and gave her a squeeze.

“Are you having fun?” Angel asked her.

Buffy smiled and showed him her cards. “I keep winning. And I’ve never done this before.”

“Beginners luck or,” Angel said, looking down her dress and lowering his hand to just below her hip, “it could be that I’m your good luck charm.”

Buffy turned her head and glanced down at his hand. She sighed and shifted her attention back to her cards. Spike was slowly going crazy. He wanted to tear Angel’s arm right off his body and when he was done with that git, he wanted to shake Buffy and ask her why she let Angel touch her like that. Spike got a little closer, the camera peering just past Angel’s head, all the while Spike kept his eye on the that offending hand. Angel gave her another squeeze and Spike snapped. He swung the camera as hard as he could, smacking Angel on the temple.

The bachelor fell sideways and right into Buffy. They both tried to balance, but hung on for only a second before they were both tumbling to the floor. Wincing, Spike berated himself for not thinking things through before he acted. He set his camera down and rushed to help Buffy get up.

“Sorry about that. Lost my concentration,” Spike said to them, as they smoothed out their clothes.

Angel rubbed his temple and glowered at him. “What’s your problem, man?

“No, problem. Just an accident.”

“Well, I’m getting tired of you. One more accident and I’ll ask that they take you off the crew.”

Spike asked Buffy if she was okay, but she just stared at him curiously.

The director came rushing over with instructions on what to do next and a stern look for Spike. “Get back in to position and watch where you’re going.”

On his break, Spike ordered a drink and purchased a few chips. He played roulette until the boss called everyone back for filming. After looking forlornly at the five chips that he had left, he pocketed them and jogged down to the restaurant.

He had to endure an hour of boring dinner conversation where Angel went on about the hotel he was slowly renovating while he kept busy with his private detective agency, before the couple was escorted to the theatre in the hotel. Drinks were set at a V.I.P. table in the empty theatre and they sat down while Carlos and Spike were given instructions on where to stand and what shots to make sure not to miss. Then the bulk of the crew, including the director, left the building.

The dim lights went off and only the stage and a small area in front of Buffy and Angel was lit up. A woman with a guitar came out, subjecting Spike to the most awful live music he’d ever heard. Spike cringed and was very glad that he could train his camera on Buffy and not on the entertainment. When the singer changed tempos and sang a love song, Angel guided Buffy into the spotlight on the dance floor and they began to sway together.

Spike backed away, deeper in the shadows, but kept the camera zoomed in. Buffy looked incredible in her little black dress. He swallowed and closed his eyes. Now he wished he hadn’t asked to go on this trip. Keeping the camera so that the view was from the waist up, he let his eye wander down lower. She wore a strappy pair of stiletto heels. Spike stifled a groan and chastised himself for getting carried away with how he was feeling about the blonde woman.

Even her bloody ankles are a turn on.

His attention snapped to Angel’s hands around her waist. They inched lower. Spike put his free hand in his pocket and felt the black gambling chips. He pulled one out and just as Angel leaned in to kiss Buffy, Spike chucked it. He fought the urge to yell bull’s eye when it hit Angel on the cheek and they pulled apart.

“What the hell was that?” Angel asked, glancing around the room.

Spike did his best to look just as shocked as the rest of them. The musician paused as well, but when Angel waved at her, she started up the music again. Buffy smiled at Angel and he gathered her in his arms saying, “Now, where were we?”

Not thirty seconds later and Angel’s hands were roaming again. Spike palmed another chip. He’d gotten away with the first one. Did he dare throw another one? Angel caressed Buffy’s back and slowly inched his hand down. Oh, yeah, he could. His second shot wasn’t as accurate. This one barely clipped Angel’s ear, but it did the trick. Spike was satisfied when they broke apart again.

He busied himself with adjusting the settings on his camera as Angel barked orders for the lights to be turned on. Carlos slowly made his way over to Spike as Angel picked up both of the casino chips and held them up, asking who threw them.

Carlos leaned in to Spike and whispered, “I saw you. What’s going on?”

Spike quickly put a finger to his lips and shook his head. “Later.”

The director and his assistants came in as the musician left. They concluded that some pranksters must have snuck in, thrown the chips, and taken off. The director decided it was time to get separate reactions to the date from the couple. Spike offered to follow Buffy and one interviewer out to another room, leaving Carlos with Angel.

They set up in a small room with a couch. The interviewer asked Buffy how she thought the date was going so far and if she thought she’d be getting a rose or not? She said it was hard to tell. He asked her a few more questions before he gathered his clipboard and told them both to follow him back to the theatre.

Buffy said she needed to powder her nose and she’d be there in a minute. After she left the room, Spike followed the interviewer out.

“I’ll meet you there in a few minutes, mate. Need some coffee,” Spike said.

He watched the man until he turned a corner and then he went in search of the nearest bathrooms. Spike waited for a few minutes by the ladies’ door and Buffy came out. She stopped abruptly and sighed when she saw Spike there.

“You’d better stop interfering with the show are you’re going to end up getting fired.”

“Don’t care. That git had his paws all over you. Should have more respect.”

She leaned against the wall and crossed her arms. “Says the guy who practically pinned me to the cupboards a few days after we met and suggested that we go skinny dipping together.”

Spike snapped his mouth shut. They stared at each other for a few seconds. He could feel the electricity flowing between them. Finally, he found his voice. “At least I had the decency to apologize for that. I doubt that arrogant ponce in there would apologize for getting fresh with you.”

Buffy blinked and walked by him. With her back turned, and as he hurried to catch up, she said, “You’re probably right.”

“If he gives you the rose, don’t accept it.”

She walked faster and said, “Don’t tell me what to do.”

“So, let me get this straight,” Carlos said to Spike as they relaxed in their trailer. “You’ve got a thing for the tiny blonde chica, so you’re throwing things at the Bachelor to get him to keep his hands off her?”



Spike tipped his bottle of beer, took a long swig and smirked and shrugged. “That about sums it up.”



“Man. Everybody around here is getting some action but me,” Carlos said.



“Action? I’ve kissed her a couple of times, but that’s it.”



“Well, then, John has you beat.”



Spike paused; the beer bottle at his lips and one eyebrow lifted. “That so?”



“Si. He won’t say which girl, but he did say she was a blonde.” Carlos shrugged. “Could be your chica.”



Keeping his expression passive, Spike shrugged then got up. “Back to the bimbo barn.”



If Carlos noticed the tick in Spike’s jaw, he had enough sense to keep quiet and Spike was grateful for that. The limo was due to arrive any minute with the girls who went on the group date. Just as they got the cameras loaded with fresh disks, the limo came around the bend. They both ran to catch up to it and got there just in time to get their cameras rolling. Carlos kept going, heading for the house, but Spike stood near the limo and trained the camera on the door as the limo driver opened it.



The pretty, sharp-eyed Gwen got out first, proudly carrying the rose. Spike checked her off in his in mind from the list of possible girls messing around with John, since she was not a blonde. Cordelia came out next, her sour expression matching the way Spike felt. Dark brown hair, so not her. Faith stepped out next and marched directly into the house. Another one off the list. Lily and Fred came out together. John could be messing around with Lily, but she just didn’t seem like the type. Lilah was the last one out, her short skirt riding up high on her endless legs. Another brunette.



John exited next, his camera hanging at his side. Spike lowered his own camera and nodded at John.



“Have a good time?”



“Shit, no. After watching them all hang on Angel and take turns swapping spit with him all night, I need a shower,” John said with a shiver.



Spike knew he was late getting into the house, but he followed John to the equipment tent and waited patiently while the big man took the disk out and placed his camera in the case. He labeled the disk, dropped it into a protective sleeve and placed it in the box.



The agitated voice of the director came over Spike’s earpiece. “Where’s Spike? We need a camera out back, like now.”



Spike ignored it and followed John back to their trailer. John took off his jacket and paused, staring at Spike curiously. “Say, aren’t you scheduled to be in the house right now with Carlos?”



Spike nodded. “Wanted to asked you something first?”



“What?”



“Rumor has it that you’re shagging one of the bachelorettes.”



“Sha—What?”



Spike closed his eyes for a second, trying to stay patient. “Fucking. Which one of them are you fucking?”



John’s face fell into a frown. He glanced around and whispered, “Who else knows?”



“The Bachelor mentioned that one of the bachelorettes told him that one of the crew members was messing around with one the other girls, but she didn’t say who. I’m just curious, you know. Which one?”



“I could lose my job over this.”



“I know when to keep my mouth shut.” Spike desperately hoped he would believe it. He had to know for sure. Even though he just knew it wasn’t Buffy and he was still peeved that she’d accepted the rose from Angel in Vegas, he wouldn’t sleep well until he heard it from John.



Still whispering, John said, “It’s that hot little number, Darla.” He chuckled. “I told her that my uncle was a talent agent and suddenly she was all over me, man.”





~ * ~ * ~





Darla and Kate came down the stairs with their suitcases in hand and set them by the door. Buffy stood with the other girls and watched as they got in the limo with John the cameraman. She could feel the tense vibes from the remaining women as they watched the limo go out of sight and drive off to meet Angel somewhere for their all day date. Either Darla or Kate would not be coming back to the house, and the one that did was guaranteed to go on to next week like Buffy and Gwen.



Buffy was still shocked that Angel had given her a rose after the disaster that was Vegas. She’d been tempted to tell him no and walk away, but she thought of Faith. She had to get back to the bachelor house and find out if she was the one telling Angel that someone was messing around with a crewmember.



As the rest of the women filed back into the house, Buffy watched Faith climb the stairs alone. She’d been waiting for a time to talk to her, but Fred had always been around. After glancing around to make sure that Fred was busy doing something else, she quickly took the stairs and entered the room, locking the door behind her.



“Hey, Faith.”



“Hey.”



Faith sat on her bed, flipping through a magazine and Buffy nearly lost her nerve.



“Um… I have to ask you something.”



The magazine flew through the air and landed on the dresser. “Shoot. I’m so bored, and if I keep thinking about Angel hanging with the cop and the bitch all day, I think I just might go crazy.”



Sitting on the bed across from Faith, Buffy took a deep breath and said, “Did you tell Angel that one of the girls in the house was messing around with a crew member?”



Faith stood up. “What? No. Why the hell would you think that?”



Buffy told her what Angel had said on the plane the other day and Faith’s frown turned into a deeper scowl.



“I didn’t say anything. I don’t even know what you and that cameraman are doing. Frankly, I don’t want to know. But, I’ll be honest with you. I’m totally into Angel and if I thought you were a threat to me making it to the very end, I’d throw you under a bus and step all over you to make sure you went home before I did.”



Faith said it with a smile, but Buffy knew she meant every word. “Thanks for your honesty.”



“Don’t sweat it.”



After dinner, the seven girls not on the date milled about downstairs. Fred made a comment about how empty the house felt now and Buffy had to agree. Even the number of television staff had dwindled down. Fewer cameramen were needed and Carlos, John, and Spike were the ones they saw more of, with the occasional camera on a tripod being manned by someone else.



Buffy had tried to ignore Spike. She was very worried that someone would notice the looks that passed between them all the time, but she couldn’t help it. When he was in the room, she could think of nothing else but him. It was ridiculous. She tried to remind herself what a jerk he was, telling her what to do, but it didn’t work. Secretly, she loved that fact that he liked her enough to want her leave the show.



It was really too late to be working out, but she had to do something to relive all her pent up tension. She stopped by the kitchen to grab a bottle of water before heading to the small workout room. She switched the lights on and took her sweatshirt off, revealing a tight peach sport tank underneath. The treadmill seemed louder than usual when she switched it on in the empty room and she liked it.



She was just breaking a sweat when Spike slipped into the room, closing the door behind him.



“I really don’t want the camera on me while I’m working out, if you don’t mind,” she told him, not breaking her stride.



“Switched it off before I came in,” he said absently, as he stared at her with those intense blue eyes. “You look amazing in that get up.”



With a roll of her eyes, she said, “Please. I’m in my sweats.”



“You could wear a sack and still look good.”



She turned the machine off and grabbed a towel. “Look, we shouldn’t be seen together. Who knows what else the girls are saying to Angel. You don’t want to get fired.”



“It’s not us. I know which crewmember and which bachelorette, but I promised not to say.”



Relieved as she was, she kept a passive face. “Still, if the girl told Angel, then the production people have to know as well, and I bet they are watching us all like hawks.”



“True.” Spike adjusted the camera on his shoulder. “Listen, when all this is over, I’d like to take you out to dinner or something.”



Buffy’s heart rate soared. He was staring at her, trying to come across all confident and sure, but she wasn’t buying it and she was glad he was nervous. It just meant that he really did care if she turned him down or not.



“How do you know Angel isn’t going to pick me?”



“If I were Angel, I would. Thought so on the first night, but he’s not that smart,” Spike said with a grin. “He’s not going to pick you, because it’s going to dawn on him that you just aren’t into him.”



“What makes you think that I’m not?” asked Buffy as she straddled an exercise bike. She tried not to smile, but it was fun teasing Spike.



“Because you’re into me. Angel is no genius, but after a few more dates with you, he’ll see what I see. Those little annoyed looks when he touches you. The way you pull back slightly when he tries to kiss you. You didn’t hesitate when you kissed me outside that one night.”



Buffy looked off to the side. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”



“At least give me your phone number.”



She sighed and started pedaling. “I’ll think about it.”





~ * ~ * ~





Darla came back to the house an hour later, grinning like the cat that just ate the canary and waving the rose in the other girls’ faces as a man gathered Kate’s belongings and took them to a car.



Faith and Fred were quiet, as they got ready for another rose ceremony while Angel spent time in the decision room. Buffy felt a pang of guilt, afraid that because she stayed, one of them may be sent home. She was fairly certain they’d be staying, but there was always that chance. It wasn’t long before her thoughts drifted to Spike, and she couldn’t help but smile because he’d asked for her number. He was right about Angel. She was starting to get annoyed by how free he was with his hands and she didn’t know how much more of it she could endure. If it wasn’t for Faith, begging her to try to stay in or Spike trying to tell her what to do, she might have asked Angel to not give her that rose in Vegas.



In the rose room, Buffy stood off to the side with Darla and Gwen, all three of them with fresh roses in their hands while Angel stood before the other six nervous girls. Buffy sagged with relief when he said Faith’s name first and smiled at the couple when they hugged. Faith practically floated to her place beside Gwen. He gave Lilah the second-to-last rose.



With one rose left on the table and three girls left to give it to, the tension in the room was palpable. Buffy watched Angel pick up the rose as the host of the show talked into the camera.



“This was a tough decision,” Angel said. He paused for a long moment, letting the drama build. “Cordelia, will you accept this rose?”



The cheerleader gave a little squeal and rushed over to hug Angel. Buffy felt so bad for Fred and Lily. Again, her opinion of Angel went down a notch. She couldn’t understand how he could let two sweet and wonderful girls go home, yet keep two witches like Darla and Cordelia around. Buffy stared hard at the bigwig standing in the corner. She had to wonder if Angel had the last word on who would go and who would stay. Did they nudge the Bachelors into keeping some of the more colorful bachelorettes around to make better television?



They gathered around Fred and Lily, gave them both hugs, and then they were gone. Buffy didn’t feel like toasting with champagne, but took the offered glass and clicked it against the other girls’.



She had just caught Spike’s eye, trying to convey her boredom with the whole thing to him when all hell broke loose in the hall. Three police offers rushed into the room as a man in a suit handed an official looking paper to the director. Champagne glasses shattered on the floor as they grabbed hold of Darla and pressed her against the wall. One officer read her her rights, saying she was under arrest for the murder of someone Buffy didn’t catch the name of, while the other two wrestled the cuffs onto her wrists.



As quickly as they came in, the police left, dragging a spitting mad Darla out with them. Spike and Carlos followed them out the door. The director was shouting into his cell phone wanting answers and the five remaining women stood with Angel in silence, all too shocked to say anything.

A crowd had gathered outside the Hyperion Hotel, but Spike didn’t concern himself with that. Carlos stood across the street with his camera ready, John had gone inside with the director ten minutes ago and Spike was charged with standing by the doors to capture the moment the five remaining contestants arrived for the next week of filming. The temporary barricades kept the onlookers at a good distance and Spike’s only problem was going to be keeping the sun from getting in the way of a good shot.

The bachelorettes were stuck on the freeway in traffic and they were a few minutes behind schedule. He set the camera down and stretched as he stared at the building again. How did a guy like Angel, a P.I. with a thriving business and a hotel owner, feel so desperate that he had to go on a show like The Bachelorette to compete for one girl’s attention and then end up being second best only to become the Bachelor?

Like all the buildings on the block, the hotel looked run down and sad, away from the main streets. Spike had been inside for a brief time when they first arrived. The lobby was small but clean, and nicely decorated. The stairs on the left were blocked off, but Angel had informed them that enough rooms had been renovated that each bachelorette could have her own, although the crew that were staying had to double and triple up.

The boss spoke through his earpiece and let the cameramen know that the limo was just around the corner. Spike set the camera back into position on his shoulder and waited as it pulled up. The driver ran around the front of the car and opened the door. Out came the girls, one by one. They were smiling and seemed to be in good spirits, despite the little dramatic ending, two nights ago, to the rose ceremony.

The sun hit Buffy and framed her head like a halo as she exited the long vehicle. She was dressed in white, and her tanned skin glowed with health. He watched her pause and glance around. When their eyes met, she smiled shyly then looked down. Spike’s chest tightened and he almost dropped the camera. That look was for him!

As he followed the group inside the lobby, he smiled at Buffy’s curvy back. A few conversations, a few hot kisses and a lot of time capturing her image and personality on film and he was falling hard for the girl. And out of everything she’d done and said, that genuine and warm smile was the crumb he needed to give him hope for something more.

“Welcome to my home, ladies,” Angel said, as he came out of a small office next to the check-in counter with his arms open wide. “I hope you find everything to your liking and that you get a glimpse into what my life is like.”

Spike followed the group around as they got a tour of the lower level. Angel had the hotel closed down for the week so the restaurant attached to the hotel was empty. He introduced everyone to Eve and Lindsey, the married couple who ran the restaurant and the front desk. Then he showed off his office. Spike was glad that Carlos got the job of being stuck in the small space with all those people. Angel introduced his partner in the private detective business, Wesley.

Last on the tour of the bottom level was what Angel considered to be his biggest money maker, Caritas. He explained that the majority of his profits from the brisk business he did at the nightclub went to renovating the hotel rooms. A brightly dressed man came out of a back room and Angel introduced his business partner, Lorne.

“Hey, kiddies!” the over the top man said, with one hand out. “Welcome to Caritas, where the karaoke machine is always ready and the sea breezes keep flowing.”

He reminded them all to come back that evening, since the club was closed to the public just for them.

After leaving Caritas, the girls were shown to their rooms on the fourth floor, where their suitcases were already waiting for them. Spike hadn’t seen his room on the second floor yet, but he doubted it was as nice as the ones the girls had. He followed Buffy into her room and watched her take in the maroon décor.

“This is nice,” she told a director who was standing behind Spike.

Just as the director left, Faith came in, flopped on one of the queen-sized beds and said, “Looks like Angel is doing well for himself.”

“Yep, it does. Think you could handle moving out to L.A. and living in this big hotel?” Buffy asked as she hung up her clothes.

“Oh, yeah. I could get used to this.” Faith looked at the camera, smirked and then said to Buffy, “Isn’t this nice? We have our own rooms. All to ourselves, all night.”

Buffy chose to ignore the innuendo, but Spike’s imagination drifted to all the possibilities. He caught her eye and smiled when she blushed. A voice from his earpiece telling all the crew to take a break until after dinner distracted him from his wicked thoughts.

He said goodbye to the girls and headed down to his room. John and Carlos were already there and were sitting on the beds, staking their claim.

“Looks like I get the musty old cot in the corner, yeah?” Spike said, not really caring. He’d slept in much worse places in his time.

After they got their belongings settled, the conversation drifted to Darla with Carlos the first to bring her up.

“So, John, talk to your girlfriend lately?”

John groaned. “She’s not my girlfriend. I can’t believe I was having sex with a murderer.”

The day after Darla’s arrest, the story came out that they’d found her ex-boyfriend dead and packed in a deep freezer that had been put in a rented storage unit. She’d stopped paying the rent on the space and the contents had been auctioned off, contents sight unseen. The crew had sat around a TV and watched an interview with the guy who had won the auction and had discovered the frozen body.

“Are they giving you conjugal visits?” Spike asked with a wide grin.

“Hell, no. In fact, I have an appointment with my doctor to make sure I’m disease free,” said John.

Their long break lasted until after dinner that night. Beside the three roaming cameramen, there were three stationary cameras set on tripods in the nightclub. Lorne bustled about playing host while Lindsey had been talked into DJ duty. Eve was at the bar, mixing drinks and the girls were gathered around a couple of tables near the stage.

Spike got his orders and tested the sturdiness of one of the tables before pulling it a little closer to the group of ladies and hopping up on it. Buffy, Faith and Gwen sat together, talking and laughing. Cordelia and Lilah stood by the table, drinks in hand, looking bored. That was until Angel walked in and then they became bright-eyed and sickeningly cheerful.

Spike endured the awful music, he endured watching Buffy, along with the others, dance around Angel, but he felt like walking out when Lorne insisted that it was karaoke time. He recalled how none of the women had chosen singing for a talent a week ago and he didn’t think he could stand to sit and watch the women embarrass themselves.

Lorne opted to go first, and when he sang voulez vous coucher avec moi ce soir, complete with suggestive leer, everyone cracked up. Spike nearly fell off his precarious perch, he was laughing so hard, when he got a good look at Andrew in the back, leaning against the wall, nodding just his head to the music and mouthing the words.

When none of the girls wanted to go next, they started chanting for Angel to go up. He good naturedly kept a smile on his face, but held his palms up and shook his head slowly. “Trust me ladies, you don’t want me to go up there. Every one of you would walk out and pack your bags.” He turned to Lorne for help. “I’m telling the truth, aren’t I, Lorne?”

Lorne came down off the stage and stood behind Angel, putting a hand on his shoulder. “He’s not lying. As a matter of fact, he’s permanently banned from my stage unless he’s making an announcement.”

Lorne finally talked the girls into going up as a group and singing together. He promised he had the perfect song for the occasion. Gloria Gaynor popped up on the big screen behind them and the first beats of ‘70s disco hit the air. Spike was glad they had other cameras on tripods, because he had to give up holding his, knowing the shot would be too shaky. He put his camera down and clapped to the music, laughing when Lilah got out in front and started belting out the lyrics to “I Will Survive” while the other girls stumbled over them and tried to stop from laughing.

Buffy looked incredible on that stage with the lights shining on her and her eyes bright with merriment. When she started dancing with Faith, his jaw dropped. He stole a glance at Angel, who had a very similar expression on his face. The girls bumped and gyrated their hips and if the sight hadn’t glued him to the spot, he would have made his excuses and gone to his bunk.

The song died down and the women stepped off the stage. Spike’s grin faded as one by one, Angel took each girl into his arms and gave her a bear hug. He grabbed his camera, cleared his throat, and reminded himself why he was there. Lindsey went up next and played a soulful tune on his guitar, the women practically swooning at his liquid voice.

As soon as Lindsey put his guitar down, the director called it a wrap for the night, but the women were all a little tipsy and they protested. Lorne got up on stage and said, “Just because the cameras are off doesn’t mean we can’t have fun, right?” Cheers rang out from the girls and Andrew. “Put the equipment away boys and come on back. Drinks on the house, if you sing for us.”

Spike was tired, but he didn’t like the idea of Buffy hanging out all night with Angel while she was tipsy.

~ * ~ * ~


Buffy watched Spike march out of the room with the other crewmembers and bit her lip. She hoped he’d be coming back. Lindsey got the music started again and Faith pulled her out to the dance floor, calling out for Angel to join them. He left the table and the other girls and got between them. A shiver ran up her spine at the boldly lustful gaze that Angel had as he turned to look at her and then at Faith.

Crewmembers began trickling in, one by one. With a hint of amusement, Buffy watched Andrew sit at the bar and start a conversation with Lorne who stood with Eve, drinking his sea breeze. Carlos came in with one of the other assistants and one of the cameramen. The other girls came onto the dance floor just as Spike entered the room.

He stood by the door in his black jeans and tight black t-shirt, searching the club until their eyes met. Buffy smiled at him and then turned back to the group. Faith nodded in Spike’s direction and smirked. Angel was busy with the other girls, so Buffy eased off the dance floor and sat down by her drink. She’d had way too much to drink already, but she tipped back the glass and drained it.

Very aware that Spike had sat at the next table, Buffy tapped her foot to the music and waited for him to say something. He dragged his chair closer to her and asked, “Having a good time, pet?”

“Uh huh.”

Andrew hopped up on stage and grabbed the mike. He tapped it a few times and had everyone covering their ears until the squelch died down.

“Uh … Sorry. Lorne says I have to sing for my drink.” He smiled and snapped his fingers. “Hit it, big man.” The music for “American Pie” came on but instead of Don McLean, Weird Al Yankovic appeared on the screen behind Andrew. He leaned into the mike. “I dedicate this song to my comrades in the Star Wars Fan Club, Los Angeles Chapter.”

The place erupted in laughter as he sang about landing on Tatooine. The others came to join Buffy at the table and Spike slowly pushed his chair back and waved Carlos over to join him as she maneuvered her chair so she could see him. Andrew sang his last line about becoming a Jedi soon, bowed and then hopped off the stage, heading straight for the bar.

She was drunk and she knew it, but she tried not to drool when she got a good look at Spike’s washboard abs as his t-shirt rode up when he stood, stretched and said, “Well, I’m ready for a drink myself.”

He spoke with Lorne who spoke to Lindsey. The cowboy nodded with a grin on his face and handed Spike his guitar. He took a few minutes to get comfortable on the stool on the stage and strummed the guitar to get a feel for it. The place went quiet as everyone watched him.

Spike looked up and smiled sheepishly as if he’d forgotten they were there, but Buffy saw right through his fake humble act. She could tell that he loved all the attention.

“I’m a cameraman by day,” he said into the mike in a deep voice, “But I’m an entertainer on Friday and Saturday nights.” He strummed the guitar a few more times. “I’m going to play a cover of Richard Ashcroft’s ‘A Song For the Lovers’.”

“I spend the night.
Yeah, looking for my insides in a hotel room.
Waiting for you.
Were gonna make it tonight.
Yeah, something in the air tells me the time is right so we better get on.”

Buffy was mesmerized by his hands as they worked the strings. The words floated over her and around her like a warm caress.


“DJ, play a song for the lovers tonight.
Please, play a song for the lovers tonight.

Don’t wanna wait.
Lord, I’ve been waiting all my life but I’m too late again.
I know but I was scared.
Can’t you see,
I’m moving like a train into some foreign land. I ain’t
Got a ticket for this ride but I will.

Oh, play a song for my lover tonight.
DJ, play a song for my lover tonight.”

Spike played the guitar solo with so much feeling that she couldn’t stand to stay in her seat. She stood and swayed to the music. He kept his head tilted down, but looked up at her with those amazing eyes and she was lost. She flopped back down in her seat and just stared at him.

“Are you all right?” Faith asked.

Never taking her eyes off Spike, Buffy let out a tiny giggle. “Yeah. Just a little drunk.” On love.

“DJ, play a song for my lovers tonight.
Please play a song for the lovers tonight.

Can’t stop looking back no, no.
One more for the lovers.
Oh, brother, won’t you lend a hand. I’m alone in a room.
And I’m waiting for love.
I don’t know when this dreams gonna stop.
But I’m telling you friend, I don’t want to get up.

DJ, play a song for the lovers tonight.
Please, play a song for the lovers tonight.”

Two people didn’t clap when he finished, but the others enthusiastically cheered for him. Angel stared at Spike with hooded, broody eyes and kept his arms crossed, and Buffy just sat there, too stunned to move.

Lindsey turned the music down, and the small group of people left in the club continued to drink, their conversations getting louder and more interesting as the night wore on. Spike was seated across from Buffy and though they hadn’t said more than ten words to each other, their eyes spoke volumes.

Spike shifted in his seat again and took another sip of his beer. Like Buffy, the other four girls were very drunk. The crew had gotten a later start but most of them were catching up. Spike grinned when Carlos’ eyes crossed. Andrew held his beer up and toasted the group again for the hundredth time.

It was clear that the ladies were going to milk all this time with Angel for what it was worth. None of them seemed ready to leave. Even Buffy, but from the looks she was sending his way, he was sure it wasn’t just his ego that was saying she was still there because Spike was. Angel slid his chair back and stood up.

“Well, ladies, I’m beat. I think I’ll retire to my suite now.”

The ladies groaned in protest, but he promised to see them bright and early the next morning for breakfast in the restaurant. They waved to him as he left and a few of the crewmembers decided to call it a night as well, following him out.

Faith stood up and went to the turntable, turned the music up and pulled the rest of the girls, protesting, out onto the dance floor. She even convinced Eve to get out there with them. Spike checked his watch and then double-checked it. It was almost 2:00 am. He stood, stretched, and said good night to the men at the table. Andrew was the only one who could tear his eyes off the dance floor to say good night to him. Spike paused at the door until he caught Buffy’s attention. He gave her a short wave and a nod before leaving.

After the dark and loud club, the lobby seemed overly bright. Spike stopped and blinked a few times before walking towards the elevator. Instead of pushing the call button, he leaned against the wall next to it and waited. He didn’t have to wait long.

Buffy slipped out of the club, the music following her until she closed the door. She walked briskly, if on wobbly legs, until she noticed Spike by the elevator. Then she slowed her steps until she reached him. She pushed the button, but wouldn’t look at him.

He followed her in and pushed the fourth floor button for her. If she noticed that he didn’t push floor two for his room, she didn’t say so. Instead, she leaned against the mirrored wall and said, “I’m very drunk.”

“So, I noticed,” he said, ducking his head so she wouldn’t see the huge grin on his face. “You’re a cute drunk though.”

“I am, aren’t I?” Her smile faded and she said, “You sang that song for me, didn’t you?”

“Yep. You caught me out.”

She shook her finger at him, opened her mouth to talk and then closed it before she stuttered, “Y—you can really sing. Why are you wasting your time behind a camera with a voice like that?”

“Thanks.” He shrugged. “Not enough ambition, I guess. Came to L.A. to see what I could get started, but fizzled out and decided to fall back on my day job.”

What he didn’t tell her was that he’d lost all his drive to make it big when his girlfriend, who’d followed him out to L.A. from London, had cheated on him with his would-be manager and married the slime ball a few months later. It particularly stung because Spike had been begging Drusilla to marry him since their last year in school, but he didn’t want to think about her now. The elevator pinged its arrival on Buffy’s floor, pulling Spike’s attention back to the present and the woman he’d much rather be thinking about.

Buffy stumbled on her way out of the elevator and Spike was there to catch her. She looked down where his arm was around her waist and smiled. She put her arm around his neck and said, “I think I might need a little help.”

“I gathered as much. Where’s your key?”

She dug around in her pocket and proudly showed it to him. He guided her along, loving the feel of her in his arms, and opened the door for her. Being the gentlemen that he’d always wanted to be, but never had been before, he tried to untangle himself from her and let her go in alone, but she held on to his neck with a vice-like grip and pulled him into the room.

They stood together until the door softly clicked shut behind them. She turned in his arms, the alcohol strong on her breath as she wrapped her arms around his neck and threaded her hands into the hair at the nape of his neck. “I like you. A lot.”

He allowed his hands to roam up and down the sides of her torso and almost got lost in her hazel eyes. “You know I’m crazy about you, but you’re drunk.”

Her lower lip went out and he struggled to keep his knees from buckling.

“I know I’m drunk. Didn’t I already tell you that in the elevator? I don’t usually let myself drink that much. Not after a very bad incident in college where I made a total fool of myself and couldn’t show my face on campus for days.”

“Yeah, well, I’m not going to let you do anything now that you’d regret tomorrow. Let me help you to bed and you can sleep this off.”

Spike tried to move them further into the room, but Buffy held on tightly and whispered, “I don’t think I could ever regret anything that I did with you.”

“Yeah, well, I like you too much to chance it. Come on, I’ll tuck you into bed and leave you alone.”

Without warning, she grabbed his head and pulled him down into a kiss. Spike could taste the sweet liquor on her lips and on her tongue, but he let himself be pulled deeper in the kiss. She felt so good in his arms; they fit together perfectly. Now she pulled him towards the bed.

He wanted Buffy like he’d never wanted anything in his life, but as he broke away from the kiss, his senses returned. He almost wished that he were as drunk as she was. Then he’d have an excuse for tearing both their clothes off and falling into bed with her.

She swayed where she stood as he let go of her to pull the covers down. Then he guided her to a sitting position on the bed and helped to take off her high heels. She protested, saying she could do it, but he liked doing it for her and told her so.

Buffy tried to pull him down with her when he put the covers over her after she lay down. The pout was back and he came so close to giving in. She was everything he wanted in a woman and she was offering herself to him. He stood above her and closed his eyes to block out the sight of her half-closed eyes. Her bedroom eyes.

“I’ve gotta go,” he finally said, backing away from the bed.

Suddenly she sat up. “Spike, please don’t go. Could you just lay down with me until I fall asleep?”

“Lay down,” he ordered her. He grabbed the cover off the other bed. “And scoot over.”

She did and so, with his boots still on, he lay on top of her blankets and covered up with the one he got from the other bed. Her back was too him and he put an arm over her. She held on to his hand and gave it a squeeze and she backed closer to him.

“Thank you, Spike.”

He yawned and squeezed her hand back. “Just until you fall asleep.”


~ * ~ * ~


Spike rolled over and moaned. Or did he? Was that his moan? He didn’t think he’d drunk that much last night to have the pounding headache that he did.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

“Buffy! Come on, woman. If you don’t get up soon, you’re going to be late for breakfast with Angel.”

The moaning started again and he sat up straight and looked at the time on the alarm clock. It was Buffy who was moaning, and he was supposed to be in a meeting with the camera crew in two minutes!

Under his breath, he said, “Bloody, fucking, hell!”

He threw the blanket onto the floor and jumped when Faith knocked again. Buffy slowly sat up then grabbed her head. “Tell her to stop.”

“Can’t, love,” he whispered. “Don’t want her to know that I’m here, do you?”

She pulled the blankets down and sat up. “Water, I need water.” While he rushed to get her a glass, she said, “She knows about us.” Spike handed her the glass and raised an eyebrow at her in question. She waved a hand as she took a long drink. When she was finished, she said, “Us. That we have this… Thing.”

“Buffy!” Faith said again before she started another round of door pounding.

“Please let her in, before my head explodes.”

Spike rushed to the door and stayed behind it as he opened it. Not missing a beat, Faith rushed in and threw open the closet door. Then she paused and slowly turned to look at Spike by the closed door.

Faith put a hand on her jean-clad hip and said, “What happened here?”

“Nothing!” they said together.

Buffy stood up a little too quickly and Spike rushed to her side to steady her. She said to Faith, “Do me a favor and pick something out for me to wear. I’m going to hop into the shower.”

Faith nodded and turned to the closet while Spike walked with Buffy to the bathroom. She mouthed “thank you” to him. He nodded and Buffy gave him a small smile before she closed the bathroom door. He reached for the doorknob, but stopped when Faith said, “Really? Nothing happened?”

“She was drunk. I have too much respect for her to take advantage. Was tired and fell asleep after I helped her to bed.”

“That’s cool, man. Really,” Faith said, smiling at him. “I can see what she likes about you.”

“I’m late for a meeting so…” He opened the door and looked left and right. The hallway was empty so he rushed out, hoping that no one would see him. Luck was on his side and he made it to the end of the hall unseen.

He opted to take the stairs in the hopes of waking himself up with the exercise. Then, he stopped at the public restroom to relieve himself, wash his hands and splash water on his face and hair. He was in desperate need of some hair gel to tame his wild curls, but the water would have to do until his first break. He exited the restroom and jogged to the restaurant, all the while trying to come up with a good excuse to tell John and Carlos about where he’d spent the night. He could only hope they’d have enough brains not to ask in front of the others.


~ * ~ * ~


The rest of the week went by quickly. Spike didn’t get to see much of Buffy except for when they were in a room full of other people. When their eyes did meet, hers were soft and warm and just melted his heart. He did find a moment to beg her to not accept a rose if she got one at the end of the week, but she had shaken her head and said that she had to stay as long as she could because she’d promised to help Faith.

There were no roses given out on any of the dates, instead, on the last day of the week, Angel would offer roses to his four choices to remain in one rose ceremony. Lilah got the first date alone with Angel and Spike had spent that afternoon sleeping in his room to catch up from the night before. The next day, Buffy, Faith, and Cordelia went on a day-long group date and he didn’t even get to see her at breakfast time. The fourth day, Spike was on date duty and went along with Angel and Gwen on their one-on-one date.

Spike was sure that Gwen was going to get a rose, and during the rose ceremony back at the Bachelor House, Gwen was the first one that Angel called up. Spike glared at the three roses left on the table and begged the universe to make sure Angel gave them to the others and not to Buffy. Spike’s hopes soared when Angel called Faith up next and handed her a rose. It climbed higher when he gave the next one to Cordelia. One rose left and he could either give it to Lilah or Buffy.

Spike chanted in his head, “Lilah, Lilah. Come on your pillock, give it to Lilah!”

Angel called Buffy up and Spike wanted to throw his camera at them both. Buffy’s less than enthusiastic acceptance of the long-stemmed red flower appeased him slightly.

After Angel said goodbye to an angry Lilah, he came back into the house and they toasted with champagne. Chris interrupted to tell the girls to pack to get ready to go home. Chris looked into Spike’s camera and in one smooth take, he said, “Don’t miss next week, when Angel goes to Buffy, Faith, Cordelia and Gwen’s hometowns to meet the girls’ families.”

Not My Reality

Chapter Fifteen


The phone rang and even though the handset was right next to her on the end table by the couch, Buffy let it ring while she turned the TV off with the remote and put her breakfast, a bowl of ice cream, down.



“Hello?”



“Hey, B, how’s life back at home?”



Buffy sat up straighter and grinned. “Hi, Faith, how are you?”



“I’m five by five. Except I have one day left to plan Angel’s visit and the director is driving me crazy!”



“Why?”



“Ray wants me to invite my foster parents to the dinner, because they need that whole ’meet the parents’ feel to the visit, but I had six different sets of foster parents and while I got along well with my last set, they don’t really feel like family, you know?”



Buffy’s mind raced to think of whom she would ask besides her friends and sister. The bigwigs had pretty much asked her to do the same thing, but other than her long time Taekwando instructor, she didn’t have any parental figures she could invite over with her mother gone and her absentee father off in Japan.



“Just tell them no,” she said to Faith.



“I am so nervous about this, Buffy, and I hate it.”



“You’ll be fine. You know Angel likes you.”



“Yeah, but I’m… I think I’m already in love with him. Which is crazy. What do I know about what love feels like?”



Buffy got up and put her ice cream bowl in the sink. “You just know. And if you think you’re in love, then you are.”



“I could really get my heart broken.”



“You could, but you’ve got to take that chance. And don’t be afraid to tell him how you feel.” Buffy worried about Faith because she put up that tough exterior with most people. “You need to let Angel see the real you.”



“And what about you and Spike?”



She sighed and walked back to the couch. “After you left for the airport yesterday, we talked.”



“And…”



“He wasn’t happy that I took the rose and that I’m still in the game.”



“But you told him that you’re just in it to help me, right?”



“Yes, but he still seemed sort of distant. Then he was called into a meeting and my ride was there to take me home. And now, I don’t know when I’ll see him again. I don’t even have his phone number.”



“Spike is a good guy. I’m sure he understands. But if he’s working the crew at my house, I’ll talk to him for you, okay? And I’ll get his phone number for you.”



“Thanks, Faith.”



Buffy wasn’t too sure if he was still interested. She’d made such a fool of herself that first night at Angel’s hotel, getting drunk and throwing herself at Spike.



“So, did you party with your friends yesterday?” Faith asked.



“No. In fact, I didn’t let anyone know I was home yet. I’ve been enjoying the peace and quiet of being alone,” Buffy said. “But, I’m going to call my friend Willow in a little while. I should get dressed first; I’m still in my pajamas.”



“Let me guess, the penguin ones, right?”



Buffy looked down at the little black and white birds on her pants and chuckled. “Uh, huh.”



“Next time I come to L.A., I’m taking you shopping.”



“I work at the mall, Faith, I can go shopping anytime I want.”



“Yeah, but I bet you’ve never stepped into Victoria’s Secret even once.”



“True.” Faith laughed, so Buffy added, “Okay, after you win Angel’s heart and move to L.A., look me up and we’ll go shopping.”



Buffy was still in her pajamas two hours later after getting off the phone with Willow. She’d had to be careful with what she’d said, because she signed a paper saying she wouldn’t reveal who was left in the competition, except to say that she was getting a home visit. Willow was her usual upbeat self and launched immediately into plans for dinner when Angel came to Sunnydale. Buffy had laughed and tried to tell her to slow down, it was only Sunday and the dinner wouldn’t be until Thursday, but Willow wanted to make sure the rest of their friends cleared that Thursday in their schedules.



When Willow asked Buffy what Angel was really like, Buffy tried to keep her opinion neutral. She still thought he was good looking, but after spending so much time with him, she realized that he just wasn’t her type. It was then that she told Willow about Spike. She kept the details vague, but Willow was beside herself, wanting to know more.



Before they hung up, Willow talked Buffy into meeting her and the others at the Bronze later in the evening. It was hours before she’d have to get up and get ready, so she turned on the TV, sat back, and thought about what she would need to do in the next few days. Tomorrow, she’d have to go to the grocery store and restock her kitchen, but she had a couple of frozen meals left in the freezer and if she felt like it, she could always order a pizza for dinner.



Just then, there was a knock on the door. She jumped and giggled at the silly thought she had in that instant. Just thinking about getting a pizza delivered wouldn’t bring one to her. She opened the door and her heart nearly stopped when she caught sight of Spike. He tilted his head to one side and looked her up and down.



“Cute jammies. I guess it was too much to hope that I’d find you in your knickers.”



Buffy couldn’t speak. She tried but gave up. He looked incredible. Better than she remembered and she’d seen him only yesterday. The thought that she might see him again so soon had never crossed her mind and now that he was standing there, in his leather duster and combat boots, words just wouldn’t come.



He bit his bottom lip through a smile and said, “Aren’t you going to invite me in?”



Opening the door wider, she said, “Uh… Come in.” She closed the door and watched him look around before asking, “How did you –“



“I made sure I was on the list of cameramen coming to Sunnydale.” Spike leaned against the back of her couch and smirked. “And I got my assignment papers with your address on it.” As quick as lightening, his expression changed and she got a glimpse of the vulnerable man inside. He took a few steps towards her and stopped. “You’re not mad that I came here, are you?”



She shook her head and he practically sagged with relief. Her stomach did a flip as if she were a on a roller coaster. “I thought you were mad at me, because I accepted the rose.”



“I am,” he said with an indignant sniff. “Don’t want to have to watch that ponce put his paws on you ever again, but I think it’s nice of you to try to help one of the other girls. Just proves how incredible you really are.”



Buffy surprised them both when she launched herself at him and gave him a big hug. Inhaling her scent, Spike squeezed back, nuzzling her neck.



“I didn’t think I’d see you again until next week.” Buffy said, looking into his eyes. “I didn’t have your number and I was going crazy thinking that you hated me and—“



He cut off her words with a kiss.





His mouth left hers, but not before he nibbled on her lower lip. He teased her neck and kissed her just below the jaw line. At the same time, one of his hands found its way under her pajama top and she bit her lip to stifle a moan. She wanted more. Much more.



In a deep and rumbling whisper, he said, “God, you smell so good.”



She leaned into him. It felt so good to be in his arms as he kissed her again. At the rate they were going, she didn’t think she could stand much longer. Her head was swimming with arousal, her heart was pounding a crazy rhythm and every nerve in her body was humming with desire.



Going on her tiptoes, Buffy kissed his neck and when she got to the spot just below his earlobe, he shivered, making her heady with feminine power, knowing she could get that kind of reaction out of him. She kissed him there again. She pressed closer to him, knowing she wouldn’t be satisfied until he was inside her.



“I want you,” she whispered.



Spike looked at her then, his eyes boring in to hers. Buffy tried to read his thoughts, but she wasn’t sure if he liked that she was being so aggressive or if he was turned off by it. They hadn’t know each other all that long, but he’d slept next her and had been a perfect gentlemen when she’d been drunk and throwing herself at him. She trusted him, felt safe with him. Hesitantly, she slipped her hands into his coat and tried to push it off his shoulders. Suddenly, he was moving. He shrugged off the coat and let it fall to their feet before deftly undoing the buttons on her top.



She wanted to get his shirt off and managed to get it untucked, but he stepped back, almost batting her hands away. He yanked her shirt off and wasted no time in palming one of her breasts. She hissed an intake of breath through clenched teeth; he had given her no time to get used to the sensation of his hot hand on her flesh. Using his thumb, he rubbed across her firm nipple. She had trouble staying upright with so many sensations flooding her body.



“Come on,” she told him, grabbing his hand and leading the way to her room.



Once inside the bedroom, lit only by the afternoon sun, he pulled her against his chest and kissed her again. His tongue brushed against hers, his hands roamed over her back and down inside her pajama bottoms.



He broke off the kiss and smirked. “No knickers?”



“Nope. Help me get your shirt off.”



She was getting too much good stuff at once. The way he touched her, the incredible view of his well-toned, lean torso and the feel of the bumps and ridges under her fingers. Buffy wanted to continue touching him, but she also wanted to go further. She tried unbuckling his belt with one hand, but her fumbling fingers kept slipping. Even his low chuckle turned her on.



“I’ve got it, love.”



His moved to undo the belt while she kept her hands moving over his flesh and slowly brought them down past his belly button, where she switched to using just one finger to follow the fine trail of hair as he unbuttoned the jeans and opened them.



“No underwear?”



With a lopsided grin, he shrugged. “Waste of material if you ask me.”



A little gasp escaped his lips when her hand closed around his stiff cock. He tilted his head back and closed his eyes. Buffy glanced down as she pumped her hand up and down around Spike’s velvet soft flesh over the firmness and noticed that his pants were at his ankles, trapped there by his boots.



She let go of him and grabbed his hips, turning him until he shuffled back and sat on the bed. The way he watched her and his short little breaths spurred her on to hurry. She bent down, her head close to his cock and undid his boots. With a little tug, she was able to get them off. She surprised him by giving the tip of his cock a small, noisy kiss before she grabbed the bottoms of his pants and stood, pulling the jeans off him.



Spike was completely naked now and she liked what she saw. He was perfect. While he watched, she slowly pulled down her pajama bottoms before she climbed onto his lap. He scooted farther back on to the bed, his every move causing friction between them. He grabbed her head, threading his fingers through her hair and kissed her again while she slowly moved her hips, mingling his precum with her slick juices.



“Wait,” he said. “I have a condom in my wallet.”



“I’ve been on the pill since I started college. And I haven’t been with anyone in a very long time.”



“Same here.”



She pushed him back so that he was lying down and said, “I am so turned on right now.”



“You and me both. God, you are so beautiful, and I feel bad because we’ve never even been on a date.”



She smiled then. “Of course we have. More than once. Except I was actually on a date with someone else, but I was thinking about you.”



“You were thinking about me?”



“Yes. Ever since you cornered me in the kitchen that one night, I couldn’t stop thinking about you…wanting to do what we’re doing right now.”



He closed his eyes and his Adam’s apple rose and fell. She rose up and brought him to her entrance and just as he opened his eyes, she plunged down on him. She was so tight it took a few thrusts to get him fully seated inside her. He pulled her down for a kiss and rocked his hips, hitting her in just the right spot.



A few minutes later, he rolled them over and it was all she could do to wrap her arms and legs around him while he plunged into her. Little sounds began to escape from her lips as the pleasure continued to build inside her. She almost cried out in protest when he stopped.



“I’m not…hurting you, am I?” he asked tenderly, his eyes searching her with concern.



She shook her head, looked at him and licked her lips. “More. Don’t stop. Harder.”



He did as she asked and not long after, her nails were digging into his back as her world exploded into glorious colors with wave after wave of pleasure washing over her. He sped up, and within minutes, Spike’s eyes rolled back and his body convulsed above her and inside her. He continued to move, slowing his thrusts until he leaned on her and stopped.



He kissed her again and whispered, “That was…wow.”





~ * ~ * ~





A couple of hours later, Spike opened his eyes to see Buffy rushing around her room. He rested a hand behind his head and enjoyed the view until she noticed that he was awake. She turned the light on and smiled apologetically.



“Sorry, but I’m supposed to meet with some friends in an hour.”



He let his bottom lip jut out and sat up. He’d just shagged the woman of his dreams and he was hoping to stay in bed with her all night.



“I guess I should get dressed then and get out of your hair.”



She paused at the bathroom door with pantyhose and a slinky black dress over her arm. “I, um…you could come with if you want.”



“Really?”



“Sure. I mean, we’re just having drinks at the nightclub where my best friend’s boyfriend is playing with his band tonight.”



She looked adorable, standing there biting her lip, an uncertain expression on her face.



“I’d love to go.”



Buffy’s face brightened into a huge smile. “Great! I’m going to take a shower.” She went to leave the room, but turned back. “I don’t suppose you’d want to get in the shower with me?”



Spike leapt out of the bed so fast that she squealed. He hugged her and said, “Lead the way, kitten.”

Not My Reality


Chapter Sixteen



Buffy felt more relaxed than she had in a long time. Spike seemed to be in a similar mood and had his arm around her shoulders as they walked towards the entrance of the Bronze. They paused at the door and he gave her a long, lingering kiss before opening it for her.

Once inside the dark club, they put some distance between themselves. They agreed on the way there that it would be best not to make their relationship obvious to her friends, since they were going to have to meet Angel and not give away that their friend was dating someone else. As soon as the home date was over and Angel was on his way back to L.A., Buffy was going to tell them the truth about Spike.

Xander was the first to spot her and he stood, waving her over to their usual table near the stage. Seeing the people that she considered family after weeks of no contact, Buffy raced towards them, giddy with excitement. She hugged each of them tightly, grateful to be with them again.

“Things haven’t been the same without you!” Willow said. Her eyes widened as her hand went to her chest, she leaned closer to Buffy and whispered, “Isn’t that the camera guy you were talking about?”

Buffy whirled around quickly and waved Spike over. In the rush of seeing her friends, she’d forgotten about him and now she was completely embarrassed. It was then that she remembered her phone conversation with Willow earlier. Her mind raced with ideas of how to let Willow know not to say anything about her and Spike without alerting the others to the fact that she had a secret.

As Spike walked up, she turned back to her friends. “I hope you guys don’t mind that I brought a friend along.” Willow’s eyebrow went up, but Buffy plugged along. “This is Spike. One of the crew on The Bachelor.”

“Hey, man, nice to meet you,” Jessie said, holding his hand out.

They shook hands and Xander, not as enthusiastically, shook his hand too. Oz was his usual quiet self and just said hey and gave him a short wave.

“Nice to see you again,” Willow said, looking from Buffy to Spike and back to Buffy as everyone took a seat at the table.


Xander tilted his head slightly and asked, “You guys have met before?”

Willow explained how she had met Spike to hand over the dress, setting off a flurry of questions from Buffy’s friends, with the exception of Oz who just sat back and listened.

“Whoa!” Buffy said with a laugh. “You know I can’t say much. I can tell you that I’m one of the last four.”

Jessie took a swig of his beer and said, “So, Spike, what’s this Angel guy like?”

“Not much to tell,” Spike said with a shrug. “He’s a bloody ponce. Can’t see why all those women are climbing over each other like he was a prize.”

Xander leaned forward. “He can’t be all that bad. I mean, he was smart enough to keep Buffy around this long.”

Willow’s eyes widened when she heard Buffy’s quick intake of breath and saw Spike’s jaw clench. Rushing to change the subject, Willow asked, “So, how did you end up inviting Spike here tonight?”

Buffy breathed a sigh of relief, knowing that Willow understood that she didn’t want the others to know about how she felt about Spike.

“Um… He came by the apartment to find out where the cameras should be set up for Thursday.” Buffy glanced at Spike who nodded his agreement. “He was still working when it was time for me to go, so I invited him along. It’s the least I could do since he helped me get that dress.”

When Oz and Jessie got up to join the other band members on stage, Willow stood too and asked Buffy to go with her to the bathroom. Buffy heard Spike offering to buy Xander another drink as they walked away.

They barely cleared the door to the bathroom when Willow turned on her and crossed her arms. “Okay. Tell me what’s going on.”

Buffy let out a short laugh and shrugged. “I went to Hollywood to meet the Bachelor and fell for the cameraman instead.”

“Wow, Buffy. But he is really hot!” Willow grinned from ear to ear.

“He is, isn’t he?” Buffy leaned against the wall. “And, he’s a musician. Spike plays the guitar and he sings…he’s amazing. So now, I’m dating a musician just like you and Xander.”

Willow’s smile faded. “But what about Angel? Is he still coming over on Thursday?”

“Yes. I’ve only stayed in the competition this long because I was helping one of the other girls out. I can’t say more than that, but on Thursday, after the date, if it seems like he might still be interested in me, I’m going to tell Angel that I don’t want the rose at the next ceremony.”


~ * ~ * ~



Buffy sighed contently and nestled deeper into Spike’s arms as they rested on the couch together. They’d spent the last couple of days locked up in her apartment. She knew they were taking things very fast, but it just felt right. He’d arrived Sunday afternoon and because he didn’t have to go into work until Thursday, he hadn’t left. Not even to go home and get a change of clothes. That hadn’t been a problem because other than hanging out for a few hours at the Bronze with her friends on Sunday night, they hadn’t left the apartment. She gave him one of the new toothbrushes that she always kept on hand and it was kind of weird to see two side by side in the medicine cabinet.

“Are you awake, love?”

“Yep. Though this TV show is very boring.” When Spike told her he liked Dawson’s Creek and got excited about watching the reruns, she couldn’t believe it.

“This from the girl who is entertained by bad reality TV,” he told her dryly. Changing his tone, Spike rubbed her shoulders and said, “Too bad we can’t go out. I’d love to take you on a real date and spoil you.”

Buffy turned to face him and propped herself up. “After the next rose ceremony, I’ll take you up on that.”

“There’s this three-hour yacht dinner cruise we could go on. Oh, and the planetarium has this laser light show to the music of the Doors and there’s horseback riding—“

Her kiss cut him off, but he didn’t seem to mind. He actually groaned in complaint when she ended it. She smiled fondly at him and rubbed his bottom lip with her thumb. “I’m easy to please. You don’t have to go crazy with the dates. The movies, dinner, miniature golf; those are fine with me.”

“We could do those things too.” He gently bit her thumb before saying, “It’s going to be hard for me to compete with the dates you’ve had on the show.”

“Nah, not at all. All those amazing places were okay, but I wasn’t on a date with you, so they don’t mean anything to me.”

This time it was Spike who leaned forward to kiss her. She pushed him back into the couch as he pulled her shirt up and rubbed her back. Thinking about how she was going to have to work to get his jeans off again as she untucked his shirt from them, Buffy wished that they hadn’t even bothered to get dressed. Spike cupped one of her breasts and tugged her shirt a little higher.

“Oh, my, God!”

They jumped apart at Dawn’s exclamation and Buffy scrambled to get her shirt right and get out off Spike’s lap.

“Dawn! I wasn’t expecting you until tomorrow night.”

“I can see that.” Dawn crossed her arms and grinned, never taking her eyes off Spike, who stood next to Buffy. She shifted uncomfortably from one foot to the other, not meeting her little sister’s eyes. Squinting, Dawn took a few steps closer to him and frowned. “I thought Angel had darker hair and wide shoulders.”

“You must be Buffy’s sister.” Spike said, offering his hand to Dawn. “I’m Spike.”

Dawn stared at Buffy, barely able to contain a chuckle and mouthed the word Spike in question.

“Yes, this is Spike. My friend from… uh…the set of the show.” Buffy self-consciously patted her hair. “You can’t tell anyone that you saw him here. Okay?”

Dawn’s eyes got big. “What—“

“No questions. Just keep your mouth shut,” Buffy snapped. She took a deep breath when Spike put a hand on her back. “Sorry. Just promise me you won’t say anything.”

“I won’t,” Dawn said, shaking her head, but still smiling.

“I was just leaving,” Spike said. “My keys are in my coat.”

Still a little shocked from Dawn’s entrance, Buffy glanced around the room. It took a moment for her to remember that it was hanging up in her room. “I’ll be right back.”

Spike watched Buffy walk away before he turned to face her younger sister. He gave her a lopsided grin, silently willing Buffy to hurry up, as he was feeling very uncomfortable under the girl’s gaze.

“Well, at least you’re better looking than that Angel guy,” Dawn said, putting Spike at ease.

With a chuckle, he told her, “I like you.” Buffy rushed back into the room and handed him his coat. He took his time putting it on and watched Buffy’s flustered movements with amusement. “It was nice to meet you, Dawn.”

“Yes. Nice to meet you, too.”

Spike wanted to swoop Buffy up in his arms and kiss her silly to say goodbye. Instead, he gave her a small wave. “I’ll see you on Thursday.”

“I’ll walk you out,” she told him.

Dawn rushed ahead of Spike, pulled her luggage off the front step and said, “I’ll just go and put my things in my room.”

Buffy closed the door behind her and stood on the landing with Spike. She hugged her arms around her and looked down. “I’m sorry about the interruption. Dawn wasn’t supposed to be here until tomorrow night.”

“’S okay. I mean, I wish I didn’t have to leave you, but she seems like a sweet kid.”

Buffy rolled her eyes. “She’s been a pain in my ass since she could talk, but she’s all the family I have now.”

Spike looked down the stairs and out over the courtyard, then glanced back at Buffy and pulled her into his arms. “I’ll see you tomorrow.” He planted a chaste kiss on her forehead. “And if that ponce gets too fresh with you, I won’t be responsible for my actions.”

Buffy pushed him away. “Don’t you start anything. Angel hasn’t got a clue about us.”

He went down the stairs backwards. “I’ll try to be on my best behavior, but I can’t promise anything.


~ * ~ * ~



Buffy paced the small living room and waited for her sister to come out of her room. When Dawn finally came out, she started right in.

“Who was that, Buffy?”

“He’s my boyfriend,” she said cryptically, loving the fact that she knew things that her sister didn’t.

Dawn pointed to the couch. “Sit.” As soon as she saw Buffy was comfortable, she demanded, “Tell me everything.”

“I met him on the set. He’s a cameraman.”

“And Angel?”

“He’s coming here on Thursday as planned, he has no idea about me and Spike, and you are going to help me keep it that way.”

“Oh, my, God. My sister is cheating on the Bachelor,” Dawn said with a laugh. “How cool is that?”

“It’s not cool and I don’t want anyone to know.”

“He’s cute. All that curly blond hair and those blue eyes and that sexy accent.”

“Enough! I get that you liked him,” Buffy said with a frown, not sure she liked the fact that her sister was drooling over her new boyfriend.

“Oh, yeah. I like him much better than Angel.”

“How can you say that? You haven’t even met Angel yet.”

Dawn flipped her hair back over her shoulder and shrugged. “I know, but I watched the show last season, too, and I thought he was a bit of a jerk.”

Rubbing her temple, Buffy stalled, thinking about what she should and shouldn’t say about Angel. Dawn stared at her with inquisitive eyes, leaning forward in her seat and Buffy decided the best thing to do was to change the subject. “Why are you here so early?”

“Oh, that. I missed you,” Dawn said with a grin. “I only had one class today, so I switched my ticket so I could see you sooner.”

“I missed you too.” Buffy smiled at her little sister. She was growing up, but yet she was still so very young. “Well, let’s gets some dinner and then you can help me plan things for Thursday.”

Not My Reality


Chapter Seventeen



Spike resisted the urge to slam the bathroom door in Buffy’s apartment, letting it gently click shut instead. He took a deep breath and headed back to the living room. Dawn smiled at him, but he ignored her and sat with the director at the dining table to go over camera angles. He’d been having a rough day from the start.

First, he’d come into the office and found out that he wasn’t going to be the cameraman to capture the moments Angel first arrived in Sunnydale when Buffy would show him around. The thought of Angel hugging Buffy or of any happy moments between the two of them got his blood boiling. Knowing they were out there, while he was stuck in her apartment unable to do anything to stop Angel from putting his hands on her…

Dawn had been calm when he was introduced to her, not giving away that they’d met before, but when Willow arrived, Spike’s stress level had climbed another notch. Not thinking, the first thing Willow did when she entered the apartment was to greet Spike by name. Luckily, the other crewmembers were busy setting up and he was able to get Willow to the side and remind her that she’d never met him before.

Buffy had assured Spike, when they talked on the phone last night, that she’d asked all her friends not to make it obvious that they’d met Spike. Buffy had told her friends that she didn’t know if it was okay to hang out with the crewmembers and that she didn’t want to get Spike in trouble. According to Buffy, her friends had bought her explanation, but after Willow’s little slip, he didn’t have much faith in her other friends.

Willow and Dawn were in the kitchen when there was a knock at the door. Dawn yelled and asked someone to answer it. Spike was closest, so he went and opened it.

“Hello,” a nicely dressed, older man wearing glasses said. “I’m Rupert Giles. Buffy’s friend.”

Spike stepped aside when Ray, the director, came up and shook hands with him. “I’m so glad you could make it. We’ve never had so many girls make it this far who don’t have living parents.”

“I’m glad to be here and I’m honored that Buffy would ask me. We’ve known each other for a long time and I do consider her to be family,” the man said.

“Giles!” Dawn shouted as she rushed the man and gave him a hug.

Spike grinned at them as the clearly uncomfortable Giles patted her back and stepped out of the hug at the same time. Right then, the door opened and Oz, Jesse, and Xander walked in. The small apartment seemed to get even smaller with Buffy’s friends and all the crew crammed in.

Andrew rushed around in his usual nervous manner, stressing out over the small details until Ray finally had enough and pointed to the door, ordering all crew that would not be needed during filming in the apartment to leave. People rushed around doing last minute checks and then they trickled out, leaving Spike, two other cameramen, the director, a soundman, and the makeup and hair girls.

A few minutes later, the door opened again and Buffy walked in with Angel behind her. The man put his arm around her waist and when Spike felt the urge to kill him, he realized that it was probably a good thing that he hadn’t been there when Buffy showed Angel around town earlier in the day. John kept filming from an angle outside the door, but he didn’t come in the apartment. Spike knew that as soon as the door closed, John would be done for the day and could go home.

Spike grabbed his camera and had it on his shoulder by the time Buffy introduced her friends to Angel. There was a lot of teasing and shaking of hands and then everyone moved to the small living room that had been rearranged for better camera angles. Buffy sat next to a confident Angel. She wore a small smile that did not reach her eyes until she looked into Spike’s camera. Then her eyes lit up, causing his stomach to flip with elation.

It was the thing that turned the tide of his day and suddenly his mood lifted. He patiently endured the dinner and didn’t begrudge Buffy’s happiness as she laughed with her friends and seemed to be having a great time.

Later, Giles took a walk with Angel and Spike followed with his camera as they sat down near a fountain and talked.

“So, how do you really feel about Buffy?” Giles asked.

“I think she’s an incredible woman and we definitely have a connection. I’m just not sure how she feels about me. It’s like she’s holding something back.”

“Buffy has had some tough times in her life. Her father took off when she was in her early teens and her mother passed away when she in college. She doesn’t easily give of herself,” Giles said. “But I would love to see her happy and if you make her happy, then I’m all for it.”

Spike gripped the camera and tried to relax. What did that man know? Not much. After spending just a couple of days alone with Buffy, she’d opened up, blossomed even. She wasn’t closed off to him at all. The men stood up and shook hands and Spike followed them back to the apartment.

A few minutes later, everyone said their goodbyes to Angel, and Ray signaled for Spike to follow as Buffy walked the Bachelor out to the SUV waiting to take him home. Spike followed, glaring at Angel’s back. If the man tried to kiss Buffy, he didn’t know if he’d be able to restrain himself. Putting her hands her pockets as they stopped in front of the car, she shuffled her feet, keeping her eyes downcast.

Angel said, “I had a really nice time with your friends.”

“They’re great, aren’t they?”

He hesitated, but stepped in and gave her a big hug. “I’ll see you tomorrow at the rose ceremony.” And then he kissed her.

Spike coughed and was glad to see Buffy turn her head before he could make the kiss drag on. She gripped Angel’s arm before he could get into the car. “Angel, I’m sorry,” she told him, shaking her head.

“It’s okay, darling. Giles explained a few things to me that helped me to understand you. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

Before Buffy could say anything, Angel hopped into the car and he was gone. Buffy turned apologetically to Spike just as he shut the camera down.

“I tried to tell him.”

“I know,” Spike said, as they walked side by side back to the apartment.

“Tomorrow, I’ll try to get him alone and let him know that I don’t want that rose.”

Spike was so relieved. He wanted to pull her aside and kiss her senseless, but it wasn’t the time. They came around the corner to find all of the crew coming down the stairs to Buffy’s apartment.

“That’s a wrap,” Ray said. “A car will be here to pick you up at 4:00 p.m. for the rose ceremony. Good luck.”

“Thank you,” Buffy told Ray as she waved goodbye to the group.

Spike handed his camera to his colleague to put in the van. “I’ve got to go up and get my coat. Don’t wait for me. I brought my own car.”

He followed Buffy up the stairs, but instead of getting his coat and leaving, Buffy invited him into her living room where her friends were all waiting for her.

“Have a seat, everyone,” Buffy said and patted the spot next to her for Spike. Once everyone was settled, she said, “Okay, now that the show people are gone, there’s something I have to tell you. Willow and Dawn already know some of it, and I’m sorry I couldn’t tell you all before now.”

“What’s going on?” Xander asked, pointing at Spike. “Isn’t he one of the crew?”

“He is, but Spike is here because he’s a part of it,” Buffy said, grabbing his hand. “Spike and I met on the set of the show. We’ve kept it very quiet, but now that Angel is gone, I want you all to know that Spike and I are a couple.”

Willow and Dawn both smiled and seemed happy for her, while Oz took the news in with his usual equanimity. Xander’s brows furrowed, but when Jesse said he knew it and laughed, Xander relaxed and smiled.

Xander said, “Well, it’s a little weird to meet Angel only to find out Buffy is already with someone else, but hey, Angel never bought me a drink and you did.”

Giles stood up and shook Spike’s hand. “To tell you the truth, I’m rather relieved. I could tell that Buffy wasn’t really interested in Angel and I felt terrible for him.”

“I’m not trying to lead him on,” Buffy said quickly. “I only stayed in the game as long as I have because I agreed to help someone else.”

Willow asked, “Is that the one I got the dress for?”

Buffy nodded and said, “Tomorrow night I’m going to ask Angel not to give me a rose, but until the end of the show, we need everyone to keep it quiet about Spike and me. Okay?”

They all agreed not to talk about Buffy and whom she was dating before everyone stood to leave. Giles was the first to go, reminding Buffy to resume her training when she was back home permanently. Willow and Oz left next with Oz inviting Spike to jam with the band sometime. Buffy walked Xander and Jesse to the door, and right before ducking out, Xander gave Buffy a big hug and told her he’d see her soon.

Once the door was shut, Spike frowned and said, “I don’t know if I like that guy hugging you all the time.” Dawn doubled over with laughter and Buffy just smiled at him. “What’s so bloody funny?”

Dawn giggled and said, “Xander is gay, Spike. Jesse is his boyfriend.”

“Oh. Well, that’s all right then.”

Not My Reality


Chapter Eighteen


It felt weird to be back at the Bachelor house after a week of being at her own apartment, though it was nice to see Faith again. While Faith and Buffy traded stories about what happened on their hometown dates, Buffy kept one eye on the entryway. Angel was due to arrive any minute and she wanted to catch him before he went into the decision room to talk to the host of the show.

She got up and excused herself when she heard the door open. With a nod to Spike, she rushed over and asked Angel if she could speak to him alone for a minute. He smiled at her and took her hand to lead her to the decision room. Carlos followed them, but she asked him if she could keep this private. He nodded and left, but came right back with the director behind him.

“What’s going on here?” Ray asked.

“Um, I just need to talk to Angel for one minute. Alone,” said Buffy, thinking that things were not going the way she’d planned. There was no way she could talk to Angel candidly with a camera pointed in her face. “Please.”

“I’ll tell you what. Let Carlos stay and if after you are done talking, you still feel like you don’t want the conversation televised, we can destroy the film,” Ray said.

“Fine,” she said in frustration.

“Come sit here,” Angel said, patting the spot next to him on the bench. “You can tell me anything.”

Buffy sat, took a deep breath and held Angel’s hand. She did her best to ignore Carlos, but she really wished he wasn’t there. She glanced at the four framed photos on the shelf behind Angel and sighed at her brightly smiling image. Things had gotten really complicated since the photo had been taken.

“I wanted to talk to you before the rose ceremony, because I wanted to be honest with you.” Angel opened his mouth but she shook her head. “No, let me continue. I think you are a really great guy and I’m glad I got to meet you, but I’m just not attracted to you the way I should be to continue on.” She kept talking, rushing her words. “I mean, for all I know, you weren’t going to give me a rose tonight anyway, but you deserve to have the final three be woman that really want to be here for you.”

“And you don’t?” Angel said, taking his hand away. “I thought you said you’d only come on the show to meet me. Was that a lie?”

“No. It wasn’t a lie. And like I said, I’m really glad I got to know you. I’d like to leave here with you as my really good friend.”

“Wow. I wasn’t expecting this.”

“I’m sorry. I don’t want to hurt you, but you deserve better than to have me around when there could never be more between us.”

“I’m just trying to figure out what you find so lacking?” he asked with a frown.

“No. You’re not lacking. It’s just that us together; we’re lacking something. Chemistry. It’s just not there.” She tilted her head and gazed at him. “I’m sorry.”

He stood up. “Okay. Well, I appreciate your honesty.” He threw his hands up and chuckled wryly. “I guess this makes my decision much easier for the ceremony.”

She smiled at him as she got to her feet and got close to him. She whispered, “Can I tell you something?”

Angel glanced at the cameraman and waved him back, then he nodded. Buffy kept her voice to a whisper and said, “I don’t know about the other two, but Faith is truly and madly in love with you and I think you two are perfect for each other.”

Buffy kissed him on the cheek and rushed out of the room. Her heart was pounding in her chest and her palms were clammy, yet she was elated to finally have done what she should have done a few weeks ago. Angel had taken it better that she thought he would and now she searched for Spike. When she spotted him, she gave him a thumbs-up and they smiled at each other.

A couple of minutes later, Angel came out with Chris, both with very serious expressions on their faces. When the cameramen where situated and everyone was on their marks, Chris said, “Angel has spent some quality time with the four bachelorettes in their hometowns and though it has been difficult, he’s made his decision. Angel, whenever you are ready.”

“Thank you, Chris.” Angel picked up the first rose and paused to stare at the four women standing before him. “Cordelia, will you accept this rose?”

Buffy looked over at the cheerleader on the other side of Faith and was amazed to see tears running down her cheeks. Cordelia stepped forward, took the rose and went to stand in her place. Buffy’s attention was drawn back to the table next to Angel as he picked up the next rose. She swallowed the lump in her throat and even though she’d asked to not get the rose, the tension was still there. Everything about The Bachelor was so silly, but having been a part of it, she now realized how serious the last few episodes became. How even the coldest hearts were affected, how even the meanest women could fall in love and how much the other girls had opened themselves up to heartbreak.

Angel called Faith’s name next. The tough woman let out a huge breath of relief and marched forward to take her rose. Buffy looked at Spike, their eyes locking in solidarity. She smiled and felt such peace as Angel called Gwen’s name next. Gwen hugged her before going forward to get her rose and a kiss from Angel.

Angel turned sad eyes on her and held his arms out. She went forward and let him hug her before he walked her from the room and out of the house. Buffy was vaguely aware that Spike was right behind them with a camera pointed in their direction. They stopped at the curb and Spike came around to get a view of them from the front.

“I’m really glad we got to know each other,” Angel said.

“So am I. And I hope that we can keep in touch and be friends after this is all over.” Buffy quickly hugged him. “Good luck, and I hope you find the woman of your dreams.”

The limo pulled up and Spike followed her in. The door shut behind him and Spike sat next to Andrew, across from Buffy. Andrew was in charge of the exit interviews; though his voice would never be heard and his face would never be seen on the actual show, Andrew asked all the questions.

Buffy endured the questions about what she might have done differently and only had nice things to say about Angel. She was so glad when they finally pulled up to the studio lot. Buffy waited on the curb while Spike left the camera in the limo and asked Andrew to make sure it got back to the house. They walked into the studio offices together and he waited for her while she signed some final papers, which included details on when the “Women Tell All” episode would be filmed and one more confidentiality contract.

Before she left the legal office, they asked if she had a ride home or if she wanted them to get a car to drive her to Sunnydale. She smiled sweetly and declined their offer, quickly leaving the office. Her steps quickened, as she got closer to the lobby where she’d left Spike sitting on a couch, watching TV. All of the sudden, she was grabbed from behind and pulled into a room.

“What the –“

She stopped when she turned to see Spike smirking at her with his tongue curled behind his teeth.

“Didn’t mean to scare you, love.” He put his arms around her. “I just couldn’t wait one more second to do this.”

She didn’t know whose dark office they were in and once Spike began to kiss her, she really didn’t care. They were heating up the room and soon she was frustrated because she wanted more.

“Where is your car parked?” she asked. “Because we need to get to your place -- like now!”

She followed him to his big black car and kept up the teasing as he maneuvered the DeSoto through the convoluted Los Angeles streets like a man who’d lived there all his life. Twenty long minutes later, they pulled up to a tiny house on the end of an older residential neighborhood. They rushed in and she barely took the time to look around; Buffy only had eyes for Spike.

He took her by the hand and led her to his bedroom on the second floor. “God, Buffy, I don’t think ever been happier in my life to see a woman get dumped.”

She laughed and hugged him again. “I’m really happy about it too.”

“Wait! I forgot something,” he said. She tilted her head as Spike rushed to the door and turned to smile at her and said, “Make yourself comfortable. I’ll be right back.”

Now she took the time to look around. The room was painted in a warm brown, Egyptian rugs covered the wooden floors and everything pretty much matched. It was on the tip of her tongue to tell him how impressed she was with his decorating skills when he rushed back into the room, but went speechless when she saw the long stem rose in his hand.

He stood before her and touched the petals of the rose across her cheek. “Buffy, will you accept this rose?”

She giggled as she took it from him and said, “Of course I will.” She brought the rose to her nose and sniffed. “This is the sweetest smelling and most prized rose of all, because it comes from you.”

Putting his hands in her hair, he kissed her gently, but soon they were pressed against each other, the rose having dropped from her hand so she could touch him. After a few minutes, she tugged at his t-shirt.

“So, you want to get naked, do you?” Spike teased.

“Yes, I do.”

The bed was just a few feet away, but they somehow missed it. Buffy wasn’t complaining because the rug they were on was soft and the whole writhing together on the floor thing really turned her on. She knew that eventually at some point in the night, they’d get in bed. Buffy felt wild and free with the burden of the show lifted off her shoulders. She could tell by the frenzied pace Spike kept up that he was feeling it too.

Later, they rested under the covers in Spike’s bed. He slowly ran his fingers through her hair as they gazed at each other.

“I know this is really early,” Spike said, breaking their silent moment, “but I can’t keep it in any longer. I have to tell you. I’m in love with you.”

She grabbed his hand and gazed into his watery eyes. Buffy could not believe how things had turned out. She never would have guessed that she would go on a TV show to find love, only to find it with someone who was not the Bachelor. And now, here she was, lying next to an incredible man who was smart and sexy and he was declaring his love for her, showing his vulnerable side.

“I love you, too.”

Spike took his sunglasses off as he entered Bloomingdale’s and paused just inside to hang them on a belt loop. He glanced around at the brightly lit and opulent displays of overpriced clothing. After spotting the signs directing shoppers to different departments, he went to the left, feeling out of place in his jeans and t-shirt. A hopeful sales associate smiled seductively at him as he passed menswear, but he just kept going. Spike was not interested in the clothes or the woman. He had his own style and Buffy was all the woman he needed.

Willow had her back to the counter as Spike approached but there was no mistaking that red hair. As much as Spike longed for alone time with Buffy, he had enjoyed the few outings that the he’d gone on with her friends, and Willow was his favorite.

“Hey, Red, does Buffy know you’re such a slacker on the job?”

Willow whirled around with a big smile on her face and placed her palms on the glass counter.

“What are you doing here? It’s Buffy’s day off.”

He leaned towards Willow, motioning her forward. His voice was low, though his smile showed just how much fun he was having. “I know, but I need your help with something and I don’t want Buffy to know.”

“Ooh, really? What are you going to do?”

Spike looked at the gems on display under them and pointed down. “I need you to help me pick out one of these.”

Willow let out a tiny squeal and jumped up and down before she put her hand to her chest and calmed down. “But you guys haven’t known each other that long.”

“When you know, you know. But I’m not going to give it to her right away. I just know that I’m in love with her and I want to marry her some time soon. I’m a bit impulsive, so I figured if I got the right ring and just carry it around with me, when the time was right, I’d be prepared.”

“That’s so sweet,” Willow said.

He shrugged. “Don’t want to look like a fool if I blurt out a proposal and then have no ring to go with it.” Spike tapped the glass and grinned at her. “So which one of these beauties has she been eyeing?”

Taking out her keys, Willow opened the case and pulled out a tray with solitaire diamonds. “Well, let’s see. I know she doesn’t like the gaudy, overdone settings.”


~ * ~ * ~


A few days later, Spike walked down an ABC studio hall, humming a little tune. He’d put in a full day of work on the set of Ugly Betty and was looking forward to spending some quiet time with Buffy at her apartment. He grinned when his cell phone rang. It was probably Buffy requesting some sort of take out for dinner. Without looking, he flipped the phone open.

“Hey, pet, I’m just getting off work now.”

“Spike?” Ray Collins asked.

“Yeah, sorry,” Spike said as he paused and leaned against the wall. “Thought you were someone else.”

“Listen, I know it’s your quitting time, but I need to see you. Can you come to my office right now?” the director asked.

“What’s this about?”

“I’d rather talk about it in my office.”

Spike turned and went back the way he came. “I’m heading there now.”

He hung up and as he walked, he called Buffy and let her know that he was stuck in a meeting and would be a little late. He entered Ray’s office and his secretary sent him right in. Spike stopped short when he saw all the producers and an executive who were also present.

“Come in, Spike. We’d like to discuss something with you.” Ray pointed to the only empty chair. “Have a seat.”

Spike tried to gauge the mood of the people around him, but they were all quiet, just staring at him. His heart started to race. Somehow, they’d been found out and he was going to get fired. But why wouldn’t they just have his immediate boss do it? Spike was just a low man on the totem pole and while he took directions from the director on set, they never hired or fired him.

Ray spoke. “Can you guess why you’re here?”

After running his hand through his hair, Spike said, “I have a pretty good guess, but I think I’ll wait to hear what you have to say.”

“Show him the tape,” one of the producers said.

Behind Ray, the wall opened up to reveal a TV screen. A grainy black and white picture of two people on a bench at night in front of the Bachelor House was paused. Spike knew instantly that it was him and Buffy.

Ray pushed the play button on his remote and said, “Security was going over the surveillance video for the front of the house before deleting the files and came across this. We know it’s you because no one else on set has hair like that. We have a good idea who the woman is, but we’d like to know for sure.”

Spike’s mind reeled as he tried to decide what he should or shouldn’t say. “I just want to say that none of this is Buffy’s fault. I take full responsibility. I pursued her and—“

“Buffy?” one of the producers asked. “That’s not Darla?”

Spike scrunched his nose and shook his head. “Darla? I wouldn’t touch that for anything.”

Another producer stood up. “So, Buffy was going behind our backs with you all that time?”

“No! I mean, I kissed her once, she kissed me, but Buffy told me that she didn’t feel right messing around and we cooled it.”

Ray said, “So, you never got together again?”

“Well… We have.”

Ray stood up and shook his finger at him. “That’s why she asked Angel not to give her that rose. Am I right?”

Spike nodded, seeing his career as a cameraman going down the tubes. “We just sort of clicked, the two of us. Now that she’s out of the running, we’ve been dating – but we’ve kept it really quiet.”

“Wait,” the studio executive said. “Are you saying that the two of you are in a relationship now?”

“Yes. In fact,” said Spike as he dug in his pocket. “I bought this the other day and I’m waiting for the just the right moment to pop the question.” Spike turned his head slowly and stared at each man in the room. “Why are you all smiling like that?”


~ * ~ * ~


“You have such pretty hair,” the hair lady said as she swept Buffy’s golden locks up and pinned it securely.

Buffy smiled at the lady through the mirror and tried to appear relaxed with all the other rejected bachelorettes either sitting at a station or waiting their turn. She’d arrived with Spike who was only going to be an audience member since he wasn’t working on the show anymore. He hadn’t wanted to be apart from her when the Bachelor took the girls to Ireland for the last few dates and to meet his family who lived there, so Spike had asked to be reassigned.

It was nice to know he would be there for moral support. Willow, Oz, Xander, and Jesse had also gotten tickets. No matter how many friends she had out there, she was still terrified of being in front of a live audience. It was much easier when it was just a bunch of television crew around in a house isolated from the rest of the world. She could forget that she was going to end up on TV.

Spike and Buffy had spent the last few of weeks watching the episodes as they aired and she couldn’t believe how different everything came across once the editing was done. She had no idea how sweet Cordelia was with Angel or how fake some of the other girls had been in the house or all the snide remarks that were made about Faith and her behind their backs.

They’d watched the episode where she had taken Angel off to the side and asked to not get the rose. The way they edited the scene, it make it look like she had whispered most of what she’d said. And the press was going crazy trying to figure it out.

When she’d first arrived at the studios, she bumped into Fred and they had a happy reunion. Even she started digging for information, wanting to know what Buffy had said to Angel to make it so she didn’t get a rose.

“There. You’re all set,” the hairdresser said and then called out, “Next!”

“Fifteen minutes, people!” Andrew yelled into the room. “You’ve got fifteen before everyone needs to be on that stage!”

Fred linked her arm with Buffy’s and they slowly made their way to the stage. The Texan said, “I just saw Gwen. She seems to be in a good mood after being eliminated in the latest episode. I can’t wait to find out who Angel chooses. I hope he chooses Faith over Cordelia.”

“It’s exciting, isn’t it?” Buffy said, smiling as she thought about how happy Faith probably was now that she was one of the last two. “I’m just sad that we won’t get to see her tonight.”

Once they stepped on stage, they were swept up in a whirlwind of activity. Much of the audience was already seated and someone pointed them to the director’s chairs lined up and they were told to look for their names. Because they were set up in the order in which they’d been eliminated, Fred and Buffy couldn’t sit together.

Buffy took her seat next to Gwen in the front and smiled at her. “It’s good to see you again, though I’m sorry you got eliminated.”

Gwen stood, leaned down to give her a hug and sat back down. She shrugged. “If it wasn’t for whatever you said to Angel the night you didn’t get a rose, I think our seats would be switched right now or you’d still be in the game.”

Once everyone was present on stage, Ray came out and gave them a little pep talk about being candid with their answers and ended it by saying that they should be prepared for a few surprises. Buffy shielded her eyes while they waited for taping to begin and spotted her friends standing and waving in the second row.

Spike was not sitting with them, but she smiled when she saw him in the front row. She squinted against the lights and shook her head to clear her vision. When they had arrived, he’d been wearing his jeans, t-shirt and a nice red silk shirt, but now he was in a suit and a tie. She’d never seen him dressed like that; there was no mistaking that it was him though.

The announcer introduced Chris and the audience stood and cheered for him.

“Thank you, thank you. Well folks, we have a lot in store for you in this edition of the “Women Tell All.” This season has been filled with romance, drama, and surprises at every turn, but it’s not over yet. Angel is here.” He had to pause while the women in the audience went crazy with applause. “The women will get a chance to ask him some questions, and he has a few for them. Unfortunately, one of our bachelorettes won’t be here with us today because as everyone saw on the episode, she is currently incarcerated, awaiting trial.”

Buffy endured the next twenty minutes of questions and answers and flashback videos, trying not to wring her hands with nerves over having so many people watching her. She laughed with everyone else when they showed the blooper reel and she smiled at Angel when he came out on stage. Soon, Gwen was called to sit on the couch and they talked about the last episode when she was eliminated.

With Gwen and Angel still seated at the couch, they took questions from the audience. A lady stood up and a microphone was handed to her.

“I’m dying to know what Buffy whispered to Angel the night she was eliminated.”

The woman sat down, the crowd cheered, and Buffy stared at the camera with the green light like a spooked cat.

Buffy had no idea how she should react to the audience member’s question about what she’d whispered to Angel. She was about to answer with a simple explanation about just feeling like Angel was her friend when Chris stood up.

He nodded. “That’s the question on everyone’s mind and when we come back from this commercial break, we’ll give her a chance to tell all.”

As soon as the director called cut, Gwen came back from the couch and smiled at Buffy. “I guess it’s your turn now.”

“But, I don’t want a turn,” she said as Ray waved her over.

She passed Angel as he crossed the stage, heading for the exit. He said, “It’s good to see you again.” Buffy barely registered the quick hug he gave her and stared after him blankly as he left the stage.

Xander screamed her name and stood, waving like a maniac. She waved back and couldn’t help but smile as he turned to the row behind him and she could see that he’d told the people behind him he was her friend. Before she sat down where Chris directed her, she searched for Spike, but he was nowhere to be found. She could really use his support right now, she was so nervous.

Ray counted down and the cameras were rolling again.

“We’re back now with Buffy sitting in the hot seat. How have you been since you left the show?” Chris asked her with a big grin on his face.

“I’ve been doing very well.”

“Now, let’s get right in to it. All of America wants to know what it is that you whispered to Angel.”

She shrugged and tried to breathe in deep. “I just wanted him to know that I felt more like a friend to him than anything romantic. I didn’t think it would be fair for him to give me a rose because it would be like I was leading him on.”

“A little birdie told me that the reason you wanted out was because you’d fallen for someone else,” Chris said.

Buffy blinked as the audience started murmuring. “Um… I’m not sure how to answer that.”

Chris stared into the camera. “This season we’ve had a first that we weren’t too proud of with the arrest of one of our bachelorettes. We also have another first that is a shocker, but we hope this one will have a much happier ending.”

“What--?” Buffy started to say.

“I’d like to bring out our surprise guest at this time,” Chris said. “Come on out.”

Buffy shot to her feet when Spike stepped out and walked across the stage. “Oh, my, God. What is going on here?” she asked Spike as he gave her a big hug.

“Just go along with this, love. Trust me,” he whispered before they all sat down.

“This is Spike. Spike, can you tell the audience what you did on the set of The Bachelor?”

“I’m a cameraman.”

“Tell us why you are in front of the cameras tonight.”

“Well, while I was filming for the show, I got to know one of the bachelorettes really well and I fell hard for her.”

The audience went wild at that and Spike grinned at her. It was all she could do not to hyperventilate. Spike was going to lose his job, she just knew it. Chris asked him a few more questions and then he turned to Buffy.

“So would you say that you asked Angel not to give you a rose because you were beginning to have feelings for Spike?”

Buffy sighed as Spike grabbed her hand. “Yes.”

“Well, folks, we’ve had bachelors and bachelorettes from different seasons hook up, but I think this is the first time that any of the crew has found a love match on the show,” Chris said with shining, mischievous eyes and then he turned to Buffy. “You are in love with him, aren’t you?”

“Yes, very much so,” she said without hesitation.

Buffy turned when she noticed Spike moving and then she covered her mouth with her hand as the audience shouted and clapped with pleasure and even the other bachelorettes started clapping. Spike had gone down on one knee and opened a small velvet box in front of her.

“I’m so glad you said that, or I’d look like a bloody fool right now,” Spike told her with a lopsided grin. “You know how much I love you. Buffy, will you marry me?”

Not caring that she might be ruining her dress, she got down on her knees and hugged him. She whispered, “I’m going to kill you for this.” But already tears were spilling over and rolling down her cheeks.

“Do it after you say yes, okay?” Spike eyes started to glisten with tears.

“Well,” Chris encouraged, “yes or no?”

“Yes! Of course I’ll marry you.”

The crowd went wild again and suddenly they were on their feet with all the bachelorettes surrounding them, offering congratulations. Over all the noise, she could hear Chris talking into the cameras, reminding the viewers to tune in next week to find out if Angel would choose Cordelia or Faith.

With so much commotion and excitement around them, Buffy and Spike stared at each other and smiled. The ring felt foreign on her finger and she looked down at it, still in shock. She was engaged, it had happened in front of an audience and by tomorrow night, all of America would see it.


~ * ~ * ~


There were so many emotions jumbled up in Spike. From the moment the producers suggested that he propose on the episode until just a minute ago, he’d been nervous and excited and it had been difficult to keep that energy down when he was with Buffy. Now, he felt elated and relieved. She’d said yes. Buffy was going to be his wife. That is, if he survived her wrath over springing such a surprise on her.

Spike pushed his way through the crowd of people on stage and took Buffy’s hand to guide her off the stage. She gripped it with the strength of a bodybuilder, waved and thanked everyone for the well wishes and congratulations that kept coming. As soon as they exited the stage, they quickened their pace, looking for a quiet spot.

“This way,” Spike said when he saw a room with a door.

Just as Spike got his hand on the door to open it, Angel came out of the room. All three froze and just stared at each other. Spike didn’t care if the ponce was upset at them or not, but he knew Buffy was worried about that.

“So, you guys are engaged now?” Angel asked, folding his arms over his chest.

Spike cleared his throat and said, “Yes, we are.”

“I hope things go well on the finale for you,” Buffy said quietly.

“Thank you.” Angel stepped into the hallway and said, “I’m just wondering how you could lie to me like you did on the plane to Vegas, about knowing who the crewmember and bachelorette was that were messing around.”

“She didn’t lie,” Spike said, putting his arm around Buffy. “That was Darla and one of the other cameramen.”

Buffy nodded, but kept silent.

Angel waved his hand in front of them, “But you guys were—“

“We weren’t,” Buffy finally spoke. “We were attracted to each other, but nothing happened – except a few kisses – while I was on the show. I’m sorry, Angel.”

“Well, I guess congratulations are in order.”

“Thank you,” Buffy said as Spike pulled her into the room.

The door slowly shut behind them and Spike grinned when he heard Angel say, “I’m sure you two will be really happy together.”

Spike hugged Buffy and lifted her off the ground. “I’m the happiest bloke on earth!”

He got a little concerned when she didn’t smile back, but just stared at him intensely. Suddenly, she lunged at him, pressing her lips to his. Spike loved how she never did anything halfway, especially when she kissed him. There were no tiny sisterly little pecks on the cheek from his woman. He could go on that way for hours, but soon she stepped away from him.

“How on earth did you ever decide to propose to me like this?”

“Well, see, that’s an interesting story.”

“It sounds like I’m not going to like it.”

Spike shrugged. “About a week ago, I bought the ring and I had been keeping it in my pocket, waiting for the right moment to ask you. But a couple of days ago, Ray called me into his office and showed me a surveillance tape from the night you kissed me in front of the house.”

She gripped his shoulders. “Oh my God! They saw that?”

With chuckle, Spike said, “You’re so cute when you’re embarrassed.”

Buffy shook him. “Tell me what they said.”

“The picture was very grainy and they thought I was out there with Darla. When I told them it was you, I thought I was going to lose my job. They asked me a bunch of questions which led to me confessing that I was in love with you and I ended up showing them the ring.”

“Whose idea was it to propose to me on national television?”

The way she’d asked, he knew he was going to have to choose his words carefully. “It was their idea, but I thought it was a good one. I’d been waiting for the right moment.” He held a hand up when she frowned. “Also, I agreed to do it only if they promised not to air the surveillance tape of us on that bench. I knew you wouldn’t like it if the tape was shown to all of America.”

“No, I wouldn’t have liked that,” said Buffy in a soft, sad voice.

He hugged her and asked, “What’s wrong.”

Buffy shook her head. “It just feels wrong now. Like you only proposed to me to for the sensationalism of the show.”

“Don’t think like that. Please. You know how much I love you. And—“

The door to the room they were in opened and her friends came rushing in. Xander grinned when he saw them. “Angel told us where you were.”

“Willow!” Spike gripped the redhead’s shoulders and got behind her. “She’ll tell you. I bought the ring a while ago. Way before the producers talked to me two days ago.”

Willow nodded with a big grin. “He’s telling the truth. Spike came in on your day off, about a week ago, and asked me to help him pick out the ring. I’m so glad he asked you so soon, because I don’t know how I would have kept such a big secret for much longer.”

Spike sighed with relief when the worry that had clouded Buffy’s face lifted. Willow hugged her, and Buffy smiled widely at Spike over her friend’s shoulder. He wanted to go to her, but couldn’t, because her friends were all taking their turns either hugging her or shaking his hand in congratulations. As he watched her talk animatedly with her friends, he leaned against the wall and thought about how lucky he was that such a beautiful woman was soon going to be his wife.

Not My Reality


Chapter Twenty-One


Buffy pulled Spike along the little path up to Willow and Oz’s house. He’d been dragging his feet all day, but she didn’t want to miss any of the finale.

“You guys are late,” Willow said as she opened the door wide. “The episode is about to start.”

Oz handed Spike a beer before they could even sit down and offered Buffy water or soda. Willow had gone all out, with a full spread of snacks laid out before the three couples.

“You would think it was the Super Bowl or something,” Oz said with a roll of his eyes.

“We’ve been waiting all week for this,” Jesse said.

“Too bad Faith couldn’t call you and tell you if she was with Angel or not,” Xander said before taking a sip of his beer.

“I know, but we all signed those confidentiality agreements and we were sworn to secrecy until after the episodes air.” Buffy popped a Cheeto in her mouth, chewed and swallow as the theme music for The Bachelor began from the big screen TV. “Besides, this is really exciting.”

“Just think,” Xander said, “If you hadn’t met Spike, you might have gone this far.”

When she got a look at the perturbed face of her fiancé, she tried not to laugh. Spike had said that out of all her friends, Xander annoyed him the most.

“I don’t think so, Xand. Meeting Spike or not, Angel was not right for me. And I’m so glad Spike and I met.”

Spike grabbed her hand and gave it a squeeze, but everyone stayed quiet as the host of the show narrated a recap of the season while scenes from previous episodes played on the screen. Buffy couldn’t help but duck her head and not look when her scenes were played, though her friends cheered for her. She snuggled closer to Spike on the couch and settled in for the show.

First up was Cordelia. Angel started the date off by taking her to a local pub in his family’s hometown. He explained to Cordelia that while he was born in America and had been raised there, his family had decided to move back to their native Ireland a few years ago and that he loved to come and visit them on his vacations.

Once they arrived at his parent’s house, things got interesting. Buffy was doubly glad that she hadn’t gotten that far when she got her first look at Angel’s dad. He was all business-like and glared down at Cordelia, who tried her best to charm the surly man. Angel’s mother was a lot friendlier and got along with Cordelia quite nicely. It was Angel’s teenage sister who gave Cordelia the most trouble. She made snide comments and rolled her eyes at Cordelia’s behavior. Buffy thought she might like Angel’s sister. At least she could see right through the act.

Buffy sat up straighter when, after a commercial, Angel and Faith met at the same pub. If Faith could just relax and be herself, Buffy was sure that Angel would choose her. The couple talked over pints of ale and then they headed over to his family’s home. Angel’s father was just as surly with Faith, but she shook his hand firmly and soon had the man relaxing as they discussed the private eye business. His mom was nice to Faith, but she didn’t seem as enthusiastic as she had been with Cordelia. This worried Buffy and she said so to the others in the room with her.

She glanced around and grinned when she noticed how into the episode Oz and Spike were, even though they both had moaned and groaned about having to waste their time watching it.

Faith finally got a chance to talk with Angel’s sister and the two of them hit it off right away, causing Buffy to relax a little more. Still Buffy could not tell whom Angel would pick.

The two woman each had one last romantic date with Angel, and Buffy willed Faith to tell Angel that she was in love with him. Faith was not the type to get all gushy and Buffy just knew that Cordelia would say she was in love with him whether she was or not, just because she wanted to win so badly. Faith had to step up her game and lay it all on the line.

Buffy jumped out of her seat and gave a victory shout when Faith finally told him how she felt. Of course, after the final dates, Angel had to say that he was having a tough time and did not know yet which woman he would propose to. They went to a commercial and both Willow and Buffy got up to replace the dwindling snacks. As they busied themselves in the kitchen, they giggled when they heard the four guys discussing and predicting an outcome.

“So, you really want Faith to win, then?” Willow asked.

“Oh, definitely. Cordelia was even worse to live with than how she comes across on TV and Faith genuinely has a thing for Angel. I think they could be happy together.”

“Hurry up, girls. It’s back on,” Spike yelled from the living room.

They rushed over and sat down just in time to see Faith step out of the limo. Buffy’s heart sank. If she was first to meet Angel, then it meant she probably was going to get dumped. Faith didn’t know which order she was meeting up with Angel. She looked terribly nervous but beautiful in an off-white evening gown that enhanced her curves. Faith said goodbye to Chris and took the long walk in her high heels to the fountain where Angel was waiting for her.

Buffy grabbed Spike’s hand and he squeezed back.

Angel held his hands out to Faith and gave her a big hug. “Hi there, darling.”

“Hi,” Faith said, smiling cautiously at Angel. “Tell me now if I’m not getting a rose, because I don’t think I can take much more of this.”

“From the moment you stepped out of that limo in your slacks and walked up to me with all that attitude, I have been intrigued by you. The longer I get to know you, the more I find to like. And every date that we’ve spent together has been near perfect.”

Buffy and Jesse both squealed when Angel pulled out a velvet box and got on his knees.

“I can’t believe it!” Willow said. “I thought for sure she was a goner because she was up first!”

As soon as Angel declared his love for Faith and asked her to marry him, Buffy pulled out her cell phone and dialed Faith’s number. Faith said yes on the television screen just as she answered her cell phone.

“Hey, B, how’s it going?” Faith said, laughing into the phone. “I knew you would call.”

“Are you still engaged!” Buffy asked.

The show went to a commercial and all her friends stared at Buffy as she talked on the phone.

“Yes, we are. But it’s going to be a long engagement.”

Buffy nodded so everyone in the room would know the answer to her question and Faith continued by saying, “I’m already in L.A. and I’m moving into the Hyperion right now.”

“Now?”

Faith seemed so happy as she laughed into the phone. “Yes. I couldn’t move in until the episode aired and Angel wanted me here as soon as possible. Oh, and Lorne is throwing a party tomorrow night at Caritas and you, Spike and your friends are invited.”

“Cool. I’ll tell the others, but I know that Spike and I have nothing planned. We can make it for sure.” Buffy smiled at Spike who frowned at her, but she knew he’d enjoy himself once he got there. The show came back from a commercial and Buffy watched absently as she talked to Faith. “Poor Cordelia. She looks so confident getting out of the limo. Are you watching right now too?”

“Yes, but Angel already told me what happened when he told Cordelia that she wasn’t getting a rose. You don’t want to miss it, so I’ll let you go. I’ll see you tomorrow at eight?”

“We’ll be there,” Buffy said before she hung up.

Buffy couldn’t help but feel bad for Cordelia as she was let down gently. Her face fell in obvious surprise, but then she glared at Angel while he apologized. Cordelia didn’t say a word. She turned her back on him and stormed away. Angel chased her down and opened the limo for her. He tried to talk to her, but she put her hand up and said, “Don’t.”

“I don’t envy Andrew and the job he had of being in that limo with a brassed off Cordelia after that,” Spike said with a chuckle.

As she was driven away, Cordelia showed some of her true colors and was as caustic and mean as Buffy remembered her being during their stay at the Bachelor House. Oz switched off the TV and the room was quiet for a few seconds.

“Damn!” Jesse broke the silence. “That woman was a real beyotch.”

After Buffy was able to control her giggles, she let the others know that they were all invited to Angel and Faith’s party at Caritas.


~ * ~ * ~


Caritas was already jumping by the time Buffy and Spike arrived with the rest of group right behind them. Faith spotted them and ran over to give Buffy a hug.

“Thank you so much for all your support. I don’t think I would be where I am now if you hadn’t been there for me.”

Buffy blushed, but didn’t have time to say anything, because Faith grabbed her hand and they compared rings. Angel walked up and Faith rolled her eyes at the halfhearted greeting Spike and Angel gave each other.

“Let’s leave those two to glare at each other and show the rest of these guys how to really dance,” Faith said, grabbing Willow’s hand as well and pulling them both along.

Buffy was having the time of her life. Faith pointed out Fred to her after they stopped dancing, but she had yet to go say hello. The pretty scientist was sitting in a quiet corner in deep conversation with Angel’s fellow P.I., Wesley. While Buffy’s friends played darts across the room, Faith and Angel sat opposite Spike and Buffy at one of the tables.

“So, have you guys picked out a date for the wedding?” Angel asked.

“Not yet, but sometime before the end of the year. Right, pet?” Spike said.

Buffy nodded and said, “What about you two?”

“The show wanted us to do a special and get married this week, live on television,” Faith said. “Like that was going to happen.”

Angel set his beer down and said, “We were thinking a long engagement would be good. One or two years.”

“That’s the smart way to do it,” Spike said.

“Well, don’t be surprised if they call you guys, asking you to get married for a special,” Angel said.

Spike and Buffy both laughed, but Buffy was the one to say, “They already did ask us to get married during the “After the Rose” special next week, but getting engaged in front of an audience is all the excitement I can take. No public wedding for me.”

Faith’s face lit up. “You guys are coming on the special, aren’t you?”

“Yes,” Spike said, but grumbled under his breath about having to be in front of a camera again.

“Oh, good. Maybe they’ll have us all out there at the same time.” Faith smiled at Buffy. “I can’t wait to tell everyone how you stuck around and helped me out.”

Buffy shook her head. “I don’t know if I can take much more of the media frenzy over all this. Spike and I get calls all the time, wanting us to appear on morning shows and late night shows.”

Angel kissed the back of Faith’s hand and said, “We just came from taping the Tonight Show that will air in a few hours.”

After comparing notes on what the media wanted the two couples to do, Angel asked Faith to dance. Spike took Buffy’s hand and led her out into the hotel lobby. They said hi to Eve who was manning the front desk and then Spike pushed the button for the elevator.

“What are you doing?” Buffy asked.

“It’s the only place I can think of where I can get you alone for a few minutes.”

The chime rang and the doors split open. They stepped inside and as soon as the doors closed, Spike put his arms around her, kissing her while he maneuvered them into a corner.

“I’ve been wanting to get you alone like this all night,” Spike said as he nuzzled her neck.

“Hmm, I’m not complaining.” She smiled at him and kissed his nose. “I don’t think you know this, but the first time I saw you was in an elevator at the ABC studios.”

“Really? How come I don’t remember seeing you?”

“Probably because you were too busy complaining to Carlos about having to do The Bachelor job.”

Spike chuckled. “I do remember complaining about it. I can’t believe that I didn’t notice you then.”

“Well, once I heard you describing bachelorettes as bimbos, I sort of hid behind Willow.”

“After meeting you, my opinion has drastically changed. Not all the bachelorettes were bimbos.”

Buffy sighed and said, “And after living with a bunch of bachelorettes, I have to say some of them are bimbos.”

With his hand against the elevator wall, Spike leaned in close to Buffy and arched a brow at her. “So, do you wanna make out in this elevator, or what?”

As she leaned in and raised herself up to kiss him, Buffy thought about how lucky she was to have Spike in her life. He was gorgeous, sexy, fun, and exciting, and he was all hers. They were so in to each other that they didn’t notice when the doors opened again at lobby level until Faith cleared her throat.

“Damn, you guys should get a room.”

Buffy and Spike pulled apart slowly, gazing at each other. Without looking away from her fiancé, Buffy asked, “Why aren’t you still celebrating in the club?”

“’Cause I came looking for you. We just found out who the Bachelorette for next season is going to be and you’ll never guess who it is.” Faith could barely keep a straight face.

At the same time, Buffy and Spike stepped out of the elevator and asked, “Who?”

“Harmony,” Faith said, bursting into laughter.

Spike groaned. “Bugger that! There’s no way I’m doing that job.” He shook his head. “I swear, if they assign me to a camera on that show, I’ll quit.” Buffy and Faith continued to laugh as they all walked back to the club. “No really. I’d rather clean toilets at the county jail than work that show.”

Buffy let Faith go in before them and stopped Spike. “I wouldn’t want you to take that job either, because I know that Harmony had the hots for you.”

“You have no reason to be jealous,” Spike said, pulling her into a hug. “Seriously, that girl is exactly my definition of a bimbo. Besides, there will never been another woman for me but you, Buffy. You are it.”

The way he stared at her sometimes was as if he worshipped her, and Buffy basked in his love. She’d never been loved as completely as the way Spike loved her before. She threaded her fingers through the hair at the back of Spike’s neck and said, “Reality is so much better than TV. I love you so much.”

“I love you too, pet.”

The door to the club opened, letting out the loud music. Faith grabbed them both by an arm and pulled them in. “Will you two stop making with all that gushy stuff?”

Spike grabbed Buffy and planted a big kiss on her lips before saying, “Never!”