“It’ll be fun, you’ll see.”

William nodded politely. He knew that she was wrong, but he also knew that she meant well. He didn’t have to fake the warmth in his smile as his stepmother patted his arm, he was grateful for her. He knew the myths, that stepmothers were supposed to be evil and resented by the children in their new families. It had never been the case in his family. William’s mother had died when he was very young. He remembered her, knew that she’d been a great mum and that she’d loved him, but he’d mourned and moved on with the resilience that only a child can. His father hadn’t been as lucky. William remembered the years after his mother died as terribly dark ones for his father. He knew that some boys would have had a hard time welcoming a woman into their lives after seven years of being “bachelors” with their father, but he’d been all too happy to see his father smiling again. When Jenny Calendar had agreed to become Jenny Giles, William had been nearly as happy as his father had. Three years had passed, but William was still grateful every time she smiled at him.

“Buffy will be there this year.” She added brightly. “You two had so much fun a couple years ago, maybe this is just what you need to get to know each other again.”

It was harder to hold his smile, but William tried. “Maybe.” He waited until Jenny turned back and started talking with his father about the quickest route to the lake before he slumped down in the backseat and plugged his earphones in to his ears. He cranked the volume on his Ipod and smirked at the ridiculous idea that he and Buffy Summers would ever be great friends.

Unwittingly, his thoughts turned to the girl in question. He’d been fifteen the summer they’d met. She’d only just turned fourteen. She hadn’t gone to high school yet and had for that one summer not realized that William Giles was a nerd. She’d been on the line between childhood and adolescence, unconcerned with status and happy to spend time with anyone near her age and also stuck camping. They bonded instantly while eating too many roasted marshmallows and complaining about their parents’ musical interests. He’d never admit it out loud, but it had been the best summer of his life. He’d always been a quiet person, shy and bookish, but Buffy had been the opposite. She’d been a bright bundle of energy and she’d charmed him effortlessly. He’d opened up to her in a way he never had before or since. She’d been, for those few brief weeks, his best friend.

He’d thought that when she joined him at Sunnydale High School things were going to be even better. He’d thought wrong. Buffy was gorgeous and blonde and perky. She’d made the cheerleading squad on her second day and been one the beautiful people ever since. He saw her nearly every day, but they might as well be strangers. He couldn’t remember the last time they’d spoken. She’d never been cruel really; she’d never teased him or ignored him while he was speaking to her. Buffy had simply moved on. She’d smiled at him in the hall for the first few weeks and then it was as though she didn’t even see him. William would have liked to claim that he didn’t notice her anymore either. He couldn’t. He always saw her bouncing down the hall in her uniform, smiling and giggling with her girlfriends or clinging to one of the brutes that played football.

They belonged to different worlds and, as much as the popular crew might have thought otherwise, William had no interest in joining her world. He liked being challenged intellectually. He saw no reason to value members of the football team over those that wrote for the school newspaper or competed on the chess team. He was proud to have earned an academic scholarship and was looking forward to college in the fall. William wasn’t interested in Buffy Summers anymore. He wasn’t interested, until he saw her helping her Mom carry food out to the picnic table wearing a bikini top and the shortest denim shorts ever made. Then he was pissed.


Buffy Summers was less than thrilled by the promise of three weeks at the lake. She tried to convince her parents that it would be best for everyone if she stayed home and watered the plants, but they’d been far too excited about having the whole family at the lake again. So she’d dealt with it. She’d packed some clothes and tried to look at the bright side. Sure she’d be away from her friends for a few weeks, but she’d have plenty of time to work on her tan. Buffy liked to focus on the positive. Actually, it wasn’t so much a conscious decision to focus on the positive as a lack of seeing the value in other ways of looking at things.

By the time they arrived at the cabin, she had accepted the idea and if she wasn’t exactly looking forward to her time there, she was content. She helped her mom chop vegetables for salad and carried a platter out to her father when the hamburgers were done. She didn’t really think about William Giles until she saw him.

William was something of a mystery to Buffy. She’d first seen him at his father’s wedding. Jenny was her mother’s best friend from college and had taken on an honorary Aunt role with Buffy. Everyone had been thrilled when she and Rupert Giles had gotten married and she’d moved to Sunnydale since it would make visits more frequent. Jenny had sometimes joined them at the lake before that, but after the wedding she brought her new family with her. Buffy remembered being nervous about sharing her vacation with the older boy she’d seen but not spoken with at the wedding. But he’d been great. They’d spent all their time together, swimming and goofing around. She’d thought that they were friends, until he stopped talking to her. She still wasn’t sure what had upset him.

One day they were comparing Ipod playlists and collecting the shiniest rocks on the hiking trail around the lake and just a few days later he wouldn’t even chat with her in the hallway. He’d looked horrified. One of the other girls on her cheer squad had told her that all the smarties thought that they were way better than the cheerleaders and that was why he wouldn’t talk to her, but that hadn’t really made sense to Buffy since he’d been so friendly earlier. Then the other girl had explained that it was really for the best, since William was totally a nerd and it would hurt Buffy’s reputation to be seen with him. Buffy had rolled her eyes and told the other girl that they weren’t in a cheesy teen comedy, so that wasn’t likely to be a problem.

She’d have been happy to talk with William if he hadn’t blown her off. Besides, she’d always thought that if they were in a cheesy teen drama than William was clearly the hot guy in nerd glasses. It was a constant source of amusement to her that people fell for that silly baggy clothes and glasses costume all the time. She wouldn’t have thought it could work in real life if she hadn’t seen William pull it off so well. They’d gone swimming plenty of times that summer. She’d seen him without his glasses and button-down shirts. She knew that when his mop of shaggy curls was brushed back, a girl would be hard pressed not to get lost in his pretty blue eyes. Buffy knew that, if they were in a movie, someone would have given William a makeover, shown montage style with a pop-filled eighties soundtrack, and that William would have quickly become the most desired guy at school. They weren’t in a movie, so they’d simply become strangers.

Buffy placed the bowl of pasta salad she was carrying on the table and walked over to Giles’ car. “You’re just in time. Dad’s got the burgers almost done.” She gave Rupert and Jenny big hugs and nodded to William. “Hey!” She smiled.

William watched his father and Jenny walk over to greet Buffy’s parents before responding quietly. “Look, we’re not friends. We don’t talk at school. There’s no reason for us to pretend we are when we’re here.”
Buffy struggled to keep the hurt off her face as she nodded. “Fine. I’ll leave you alone then.”


William felt bad about being so harsh to Buffy, but it worked. She didn’t talk to him that evening or at all the next day. He’d thought that if she didn’t talk to him it would be easier. He was wrong. She was still there. She was never more than a few feet away, smiling, giggling and wearing far too little clothes. He wanted her to do bitchy things, things that would remind him of all the reasons he needed to avoid falling under her spell again. She didn’t. If he hadn’t known the truth, William was sure he would have decided that she was the sweetest girl that had ever lived. She complimented Jenny’s cooking and played Frisbee with his father.

By campfire time he’d had enough. William waited until everyone was distracted and slipped away. He’d been sitting alone at the nearest waterfront for about an hour when Buffy walked over. She stood in front of him wearing a hooded sweatshirt and a bikini and holding a can of beer in each hand.

“I brought a peace offering.”

“I suppose your crowd doesn’t think anything is fun unless you’re drinking.”

Buffy sighed. “Right. Just sit here alone and brood or whatever. I’m done.”

William reached up and took a can. “How did you manage to sneak these away?”

Buffy sat down next to him. “Yeah, the parental types have kinda got their party on since you left. They won’t miss a couple of beers at this point.”

“I thought I heard my dad playing guitar.”

“First they spent about fifteen minutes arguing over the words to Leaving on a Jet Plane and then my mom and Jenny tried to remember their dance routine from some Sorority thing and then my dad pulled out his accordion. I mean at least your dad plays the guitar, the accordion is…” She shuddered.

“True. I’d probably up and die of humiliation if my dad played the accordion.”

Buffy’s jaw dropped and she stared at him wide-eyed for a second before laughing. “Jerk.” She smacked his shoulder.

The sound of her giggling was infectious. “Do you remember when they started talking about forming a band? I believe Jenny was going to sing and your mum was going to play the tambourine.”

“Oh yeah, the memory is burned into my mind forever.” She deepened her voice in an impersonation of her father. “We’ll hit the road. It’ll be a great education for you kids. See the world.”

“You missed it last year when they started coming up with band names.”

“They didn’t.”

“My favorite was The Sunday Evening News.”

“I’m kinda sorry I missed that. I mean it’s great to have stuff to remind my mom about when I want to stay out past curfew.”

“You had cheer camp didn’t you?”

“Yeah.”

“Are you not doing that this year?”

“Cheering? Of course I am. I’m actually Captain now; we just have different dates for training this summer.”

“Oh. That’s…nice.”


“Can we just be straight?”

William’s shoulders tensed and he stared at the barely touched beer in his hand. “About what, then?”

“Why did you blow me off?”

He turned back to her in surprise. “What?”

“You just stopped talking to me.”

“No, you stopped talking to me. You started hanging with all the jocks and whatnot and decided that it was beneath you to bother with me.” William wasn’t entirely sure what possessed him to reveal so much, he just couldn’t believe that she was accusing him of ignoring her. Like anyone could ever ignore Buffy Summers.

“That’s not true.” Her eyes got shiny and she turned away.

William felt like an ass. He wanted to hold on to his anger and righteousness, but it was hard after seeing Buffy look so stricken. “Look, I get it. You had a chance to get in with that crowd and hanging with me would have messed things up. It’s fine.”

She didn’t turn back to him. “That’s not what happened. I’m not like that.” She spoke quietly before standing up.

William watched her take two steps before standing up. “Bloody Hell! Hold on. Look, maybe I was a pratt. Maybe, maybe we could start over. You know, like: Hi, I’m William. What’s your name?” He watched her back for a moment wondering whether he should want her to stay or leave. Either way, he knew he was going to end up hurt. At best, he figured she was bored and would play at being his friend for a couple weeks. William wished he was strong enough to resist her, but knew that he wasn’t. He would take whatever crumbs she threw at him because she the prettiest girl he’d ever seen and every time she smiled at him or laughed at one of his jokes he felt like it was Christmas and his birthday all wrapped up in one sexy, shiny, pink lip gloss wearing package. He’d curse his hormones, but he couldn’t turn away.

She seemed to think about it for a minute for turning back around and holding out her hand. “Hi, William. I’m Buffy. How come you’re hanging out at a lake in the middle of nowhere all be yourself in the middle of the night?”

He shrugged. “Just waiting for a pretty girl to come along, I guess.” William couldn’t believe the words coming out of his mouth. Was he actually trying to flirt? Who was he kidding? He wasn’t anywhere near smooth enough to pull off a line like that.

But Buffy was grinning. “And how is that working out for you?”

He had no choice. He said the only thing he could. “Very successfully.” He wanted to crawl away and hide.

“Oh. Where are you hiding her?” She pretended to search around and giggled. “What does she look like exactly?”

Laughing he sat back down. “Like you need to fish for compliments, pet, I’m sure that bloke you go with gives you plenty.” Again, he could have hit himself. She’d seemed entertained by his flirting and he’d brought up her boyfriend. William was certain that no male in the history of the world had been as crap at talking to girls as he was.

Buffy stopped laughing and turned to look out at the water. “We broke up a few weeks back. He said he couldn’t be expected to start college with a girlfriend that wouldn’t put out.”

The implications of what she was saying swirled through his mind. “Shit, Buffy. That’s…shit.”

“Yeah, I guess so.” She looked back at him over her shoulder. “Do you want to go swimming?”

“I don’t know if that’s a good idea. It’s quite dark.”

“It’s not though. The moon is bright.” She unzipped her sweatshirt and dropped it on the ground. “Come on. It’ll be fun.”

William stood up as she ran down to the water. “I’m not wearing my suit.”

She paused for a second before jumping in. “Just wear your boxers. There’s no one around.”

He’d taken off his shirt before he even realized he’d decided to follow her. He supposed it was foolish to think he had a choice. Buffy was clearly a siren tempting him to his doom. He pushed his jeans down, dropped his glasses on the top of the pile and raced down to the water.


Buffy watched William shout and curse in surprise as he hit the cold water and laughed. She swam over and splashed him. “Don’t be a baby. It’s not so bad. You just need to get used to it.”

He shook his head, sending water droplets flying from the tips of his curls. “God, it’s fucking cold!”

“Well don’t just stand there. Swim, the movement will warm you up.”

“Or I could have just stayed dressed and warm.”

Buffy swam close enough to place her hand on his chest. “But this is more fun.” She heard him gasp at her touch and decided that she hadn’t been reading him wrong earlier after all, he was…interested. She struggled to wrap her head around the discovery. She’d spent two years thinking that he didn’t even want to be her friend and now he looked like he might kiss her.

She was less surprised by her own reaction to the idea; she’d always thought that William was kissable.


“Give me a lift. I want to try a flip.”

William arched an eyebrow. “What?”

“Here.” She took his hands and placed them into the desired position. “Just hold your hands like this so I can jump off them.”

“I don’t know if I’m going to be any good at this. I never—Oh!”

Buffy pushed off the shelf she’d made with his hands and flipped backwards into the water. She finished off by throwing her arms up triumphantly and giving William her big cheer smile. She watched William’s eyes widen with surprise before he coughed and turned away.

“Your um…your top is…”

Gone. Her top was gone. Buffy shrieked and wrapped her arms across her chest. “Oh God! Where is it? Please, help me find it. Oh my god!” She turned in a circle, frantically searching the water for her missing bikini top. She couldn’t see anything in the inky dark water.

“Yeah. Yeah.” William circled the spot where Buffy had performed her flip, running his hands through the water trying to find it. When that didn’t work he tried diving down and feeling along the bottom of the lake. After several minutes, he turned back to Buffy and shook his head. “I’m sorry, pet. I can try again in the morning.”

Buffy whimpered. “I feel like such an idiot.”

He reached over and gently patted her shoulder. “Hey, now. None of that. It could happen to anyone.”

Shaking her head at her own foolishness, she started to walk to shore. “I’m going to go put on my sweatshirt now.”

William followed her back to their clothes.

“Will you, umm, will you turn away please?”

“Oh god. Right. Yeah, sorry. Of course.”

Buffy waited until he turned back to face the water to reach down and pick up her hoodie. She pushed her still wet arms into the sleeves and carefully zipped it up. Oddly, she felt more naked with it on. The fabric brushed uncomfortably against her already hardened nipples and plastered itself against her wet back. “All right, I’m covered.”

William turned and gave her a small smile before heading over to his own pile of clothes. She tried not to laugh as he struggled to pull his jeans on and not to sigh when he picked up his t-shirt. She’d remembered him being cute, but somewhere along the line William had gotten hot. His pale skin glowed almost blue in the moonlight and she watched the muscles in his back stretch and dance as he pulled on the shirt. When he finished, he walked over to her and placed his hands on her upper arms. “We’d best get you back and warmed up.”

“In a few minutes, okay? It’s pretty out here. I don’t want to go rushing back just because I did something dumb.” She nodded towards a grassy spot. “Will you sit with me?”

William followed her to the spot she’d chosen and sat beside her. “Aren’t you freezing, pet?”

“A little.” She gave him a grin.

He held his arms out wide. “I’m probably not much warmer myself, but…”

Buffy scooted into the space he’d made and rested her back against his chest. When his arms came down to wrap loosely around her waist she settled her own hands on top. She waited a few minutes before speaking.
“Do you know the constellations?”

“Yes. Some. What kind of nerd would I be if I didn’t, right?”

“Stop it.” She swatted his hand. “Tell me something.”

After a few moments, William lifted one arm to point towards the sky. “Follow the top branch of this pine tree over. Do you see the stars that form a line like this?” He traced the line with his pointer finger. “See it curves up and then down to this straight line and then ends with a box. That’s Draco, the dragon.”

“But that doesn’t look like a dragon at all. It’s just a wavy line and like a squashed square.”

He laughed deeply. “You have to use a bit of imagination.”

“More than a bit.”

“Well, you’re going to like this one even less then. Go down from there, towards the horizon. Do you see the ‘W’ shape? That is Cassiopeia.”

“What’s Cassiopeia?”

“She was a queen, who was punished for being too vain. She spends half of every night upside down.”

“What does that have to do with a ‘W’?”

William frowned. “It’s either her crown or her skirt. I think sometimes it has to do with her still doing her hair.” He shrugged.

Buffy turned slightly to smile at him over her shoulder. “Maybe they’re prettier without knowing the names.”

“Probably. Most of the constellation stories are disheartening.”

“William?”

“Yes?”

“Have you ever had sex?”

William almost chocked. “What? I don’t think that’s really—”

She turned and looked at him with her big, green eyes. “Just tell me, okay?”

He could feel his face heating up. Why was she even asking? “Of course not. I mean I’m not exactly drownin’ in the honeys, as they say.”

Buffy laughed softly. “Drownin’ in the honeys? Who says that?”

“Not me, clearly.” He closed his eyes and wished for a giant lake creature to jump out and swallow him whole. “Can we talk about something else, now?”

He felt Buffy turn in his arms so that she was kneeling in front of him. Cautiously, he opened his eyes. She was looking at him curiously, like she was trying to figure out a mystery. Then, without any warning, she leaned in and kissed him. It was over too quickly for him to kiss her back and afterwards he couldn’t think of anything more to say then her name.

“Buffy?”

When she leaned in to kiss him again, he clutched her tightly. The feel of her body against his was more exquisite than anything he had ever imagined. She was warm and soft and she shivered when his hand slipped under her sweatshirt to flatten at the small of her back. After a few moments, she pulled back slightly and gazed at him with luminous eyes. “Was that okay? My kissing you, I mean?”

“Okay?” William chuckled softly. “I’m starting to think I must have fallen and conked my head on a rock and that this is all some kind of coma-induced fantasy.”

Buffy smiled at him coyly and he knew that she was an imp or a nymph or some other mythical creature that thrived on driving men insane. “Do you have fantasies about me?” She asked it in an innocent tone, as though she was merely discussing the weather or his interest in a movie coming out next weekend.

He groaned. There was no choice; his mind was too busy cataloguing every sensation involved with her nearness to manufacture a lie. He told her the truth in a broken whisper. “All of my fantasies are about you.” He’d done it, laid his soul down before the siren. He knew he was well on his way to becoming another tragic tale fit for the constellations. Perhaps, he thought fancifully, the gods would take pity on him and place him in the sky to forever watch over the girl of his dreams.

Her eyes widened. “But I thought you didn’t even like me. You stopped talking to me.”

He sighed heavily. “I tried not to like you. Killed me a little every time I saw you with one of those Neanderthal Jock-types you dated. But I figured that was what you wanted, that type, not…not me.”

“William, girls go out with the boys that ask them out. Or…I mean not all of them, but like a subset of the guys that ask them out. Those were the guys that asked me out.”

“Pet, you can’t expect me to believe that you’d have gone out with me. Your friends would have—”

“Dealt.”

William was skeptical, but she was looking at him with such earnestness he couldn’t argue anymore. He kissed her again gently, still expecting her to disappear at any moment. When she moaned softly, he hugged her tightly. “God, you’re nice to touch.”

“It’s pretty nice being touched by you.” She kissed his cheek and wrapped her arms around his neck.

“That about settles it then. I definitely got knocked out and am currently having a really fantastic dream.”

Giggling, Buffy reached down and pinched his side. When he jerked, she shook her head. “Nope, you’re totally awake.”

“If you say so.”

“I do.” Buffy turned back around so that her back was against his chest again and rested her head on his shoulder. “I feel different with you.”

“Different to what?”

“Other guys.”

William worked hard to push back the wave of jealousy that hit him at the mere thought of her with other men. He knew that he had no real claim over her, sill his arms tightened their hold. “I’m not certain how I should take that.”

“Normally, guys get all grabby. You know, I have to push their hands away and stuff. But you haven’t tried to move your hands from my waist and you didn’t even make any comments when my top fell off. That would definitely have led to comments normally.”

“You normally date jerks. I think we’ve covered that.”

“Right. So I should be really glad that you’re being a gentleman and I am, only…”

He waited for a moment to see if she was going to finish her sentence. When she didn’t, he had to accept the only translation that occurred to him, no matter how unlikely it seemed. He kissed her neck. “Pet, are you saying that I should do this?” He reached around and fiddled with the zipper to her sweatshirt for a moment before slowly pulling it down. He couldn’t believe that she hadn’t made him stop. Exhaling slowly, he traced two fingers down the opening of her shirt. “You’re so soft.” She trembled against him and he moaned.

He was just working up the nerve to slip his hand beneath her shirt, just imagining how one of the pert little breasts he’d gotten a glimpse of earlier would feel against the palm of his hand, when he heard laughter.

Buffy jerked away and turned towards the trail she’d walked down on. “Who is that? Is it my mom?” She looked at William with big eyes as she yanked the hoodie’s zipper back up.

William grabbed his shoes and tugged Buffy with him into the woods. “Shh…come on.” Later, he’d realize that once Buffy’s shirt was zipped there wasn’t any good reason to hide. It was perfectly acceptable for the two of them to be hanging out by the lake. But in that moment, so abruptly torn from the heaven of touching Buffy under her shirt, William wasn’t thinking clearly.

The two of them hid behind a bush and listened.

“I can’t believe you talked me into this.” Buffy’s mother’s voice rang clearly through the quiet night.

“Oh, come on. You were always the wild one. Remember that spring break we spent in TJ?” Jenny’s reminder was followed by several seconds of giggling. William turned to Buffy and arched an eyebrow in question. She shrugged.

“Are you sure there’s no one around? Where did the kids get off too?”

“There’s no one here, Joyce. Now strip.”

The realization his stepmother was about to go skinny dipping with Joyce Summers kicked William in the gut. He turned, horrified, towards Buffy and found a matching expression on her face.
She mouthed the words, “No, God, Please, No!”

They had no choice. Running for the trail would make too much noise, they had to wait until the women were in the water and making enough noise to cover their escape. William whispered the plan into Buffy’s ear. “As soon as they start squealing about the cold water, we get out of here, quietly and bloody fast.”

She nodded in agreement.

Joyce giggled again. “We really should have made sure Hank and Rupert put away the pot before we left. What if the kids come out and see it?”

“William probably wouldn’t even know what it is.” Jenny laughed hard as she spoke. “He’s such a nice boy: no drinking, no girls, extra homework…it’s like living with a monk. I keep looking for a touch of Rupes in there, a little rebellion, but…nothing.”

Joyce joined her laughter.

William felt his cheeks heat up fast. He couldn’t believe how quickly the best night of his life was becoming the most humiliating. His stepmother was complaining that he was too…dull. Buffy was listening to his stepmother call him a nerd. He was so distracted by his horror that he missed the sounds of Joyce and Jenny running into the water.

Buffy pulled his arm hard. “Come on,” she whispered harshly. He followed her through the woods to the path and then back to the cabin without speaking.

Buffy stopped short of the cabins and pointed to the campfire where their fathers were still talking and fumbling with Rupert’s guitar. “We need to get our story straight.”
William nodded. “Right.”

“Truth is easiest. I ran into you at the lake. We hung out, went swimming and came back. Only when we came back they were still at the campfire and we were both tired so we went right to bed.” She frowned. “Or maybe you should say you were reading.”

“Because I’m such a nerd?” William glared and looked away. He’d never expected a chance with Buffy, but losing it still hurt.

She reached up and cupped his cheek. “Because the story will be better if we have more details and I don’t ever want to think about my mom skinny dipping with Aunt Jenny again, ever.” She rose up on her tippy toes and gave him a quick kiss. “This could work out great for us. They’ll all be so twitchy that they won’t even think about what we were doing.”

“Right.”

“Which means we can disappear again tomorrow night.”

“Right. Oh! I mean, yeah, that could be cool.” William groaned and looked up to the sky. He really needed to stop talking, he thought, he was shit at the talking.

Buffy giggled softly. “You are seriously cute.” She bounced up once more to kiss his cheek before running into her cabin.

William watched her leave with a mixture of bewilderment, glee and terror on his face. He was done for. He had no idea what she wanted him for, but he was going to give it.

Buffy put on her sunglasses and snuck a peek at William. He was reading beneath a large tree a little ways away. Her mother had commented on it earlier, that he was studying while the rest of them played Frisbee and volleyball, and Rupert had explained that William was planning on taking an extra heavy load his first semester and was trying to get as far ahead on the readings as possible. Buffy wanted to go over and talk with him, but she was too nervous. He’d barely even spoken with her all day and she wasn’t sure how to take it. She wanted to think that he was just nervous too or that he really was worried about getting his reading done, but it was all too easy to think that maybe he’d changed his mind again.

She pulled a magazine out of her beach bag and turned on to her stomach. She flipped the pages but her thoughts remained focused on the boy sitting a couple yards away.

She’d woken up early and with the twinge of frolicking butterflies in her tummy. She’d kissed William Giles and he’d kissed her back. The world seemed like a whole new place. She’d bounced out of bed, only to find that everyone else was sleeping late. Buffy had jogged, showered and debated which of her four remaining swimsuits to wear for several minutes before anyone else stumbled out towards the picnic tables the two small cabins shared. She’d happily run outside to help Joyce make breakfast and wait for William. Only he’d stayed in bed until nearly noon and then made himself a sandwich before he’d started studying. He’d smiled at her once and mumbled something that might have been good morning, but that was it. She didn’t know what she’d expected, but it hadn’t been that.

Her ex-boyfriend had called her a tease. He’d said that she was frigid and she had started to wonder if he was right. It was no longer a concern. Two days in close proximity to William Giles had not only brought back the crush she’d had on him three years earlier, it seemed to be turning her into a sex freak. She couldn’t believe that she’d been so bold the night before. She never kissed a guy before he kissed her. She didn’t even tend towards initiating the kissage after a guy had kissed her. But kissing William had seemed inevitable. His mouth just called to her. Buffy was mostly just amazed that she hadn’t pushed things further. A hot blush colored her cheeks as she remembered trying to encourage him to make with the groping. She wondered if he thought she was too pushy. She wondered if that was why he wasn’t talking to her.



William read the same paragraph a third time. How could he be expected to concentrate on anything while Buffy sunned in the world’s smallest, reddest bikini just down the beach? He was certain that she was doing it intentionally, that she was teasing him. At the same time, he brushed that thought away; it was insane to think that Buffy was even thinking about him.

He wanted to put down the book that he was only going to end up having to read again, walk over and sit down beside her. He wanted to ask if she needed help putting sunscreen on her back. Hell, he wanted to ask if she wanted help putting sunscreen on her front. He couldn’t do it. Everyone was on the beach. Jenny and Joyce were sitting in beach chairs not three feet from where Buffy lay and his father and Hank were playing cards under a large umbrella. If he got up, every single one of them would watch him. The thought made his stomach hurt. It reminded him of the things Jenny had said to Joyce on the beach the night before. She’d all but called him a hopeless nerd. That he was now confirming it by spending a gorgeous, sunny day at the lake reading books for courses he hadn’t even officially signed up for instead of flirting with Buffy Summers, an actual girl who had actually kissed him, only made the words sting worse. But what did he know about flirting?

He took off his glasses and pinched the bridge of his nose. His head hurt; he hadn’t been able to sleep for hours after they’d walked back to the cabin the night before. He’d replayed the entire evening a dozen times trying to figure her out. She’d said he was cute. She’d said she wanted to hang out with him again that night. He wondered if she’d already changed her mind.

William glanced over at her one more time before turning away completely and picking up his book.



It was dark, dinner was put away and they were all sitting around the fire pit. Buffy wanted to scream. It felt like her skin no longer fit, like every inch of her body had been rubbed too hard by a rough towel; she physically needed him to talk to her. She’d counted the words he’d spoken to her. Nine. He’d only said nine words directed to her all day long. Even when she added in the words he’d said to other people while she was in hearing distance she only came up with twenty-three. She’d used more than twenty three words while making breakfast.

Buffy stood up quickly. “We should make S’mores. I’ll go find sticks.” She swallowed hard and looked directly at William. “You should help me.”

His eyes widened. “Oh. Okay.” He nodded and stood up.

Ten and eleven, Buffy counted with a shake of her head. She was becoming pathetic.

Jenny reached over and tapped Rupert’s shoulder. “Didn’t we pack those long kebab sticks? Those would be perfect for roasting marshmallows. No need to go traipsing around the woods in the dark.”

William started to sit back down, but Buffy shook her head. “That’s okay. I like finding sticks. It makes the marshmallows taste better…more…umm…authentic.”She gave everyone a bright smile before spinning in place and walking towards the trail.



William watched her walk away for a few seconds before following. He didn’t dare glance at anyone else.

He was a little surprised that she didn’t stop and look at fallen branches at the beginning of the trail, but he didn’t say anything. He just followed her until she stopped, spun around and glared at him.

“Why aren’t you talking to me?”

“About the sticks?” He stared at her in confusion. She looked genuinely pissed.

“You’ve barely spoken to me all day.”

“What was I supposed to say?” He watched in dismay as her eyes widened with hurt before she turned away.

“Right. I get it. Never mind.” Buffy started walking again.

William hurried down the trail after her. He reached out and grabbed her arm. “No. I mean it. I didn’t know what to say.”

She narrowed her eyes and stared at him for a moment. “So you didn’t say anything?”

“Seemed like the best way to not say the wrong thing.”

“It wasn’t.”

He nodded. “I’m getting that.” He watched her, hoping she would smile. She didn’t. She barely looked up at him. He noticed her hand shaking and realized that she was nervous too. It was almost shocking enough to make him laugh. “Look. Last night was…I woke up and it felt so…surreal.”

She nodded. “Right.” She started to turn away again but he stopped her.

“You know that doesn’t mean bad, right?”

Buffy glared at him and he had to fight the urge to cower. “Yes, I know what surreal means. I’m not an idiot, William.”

“I didn’t say—I don’t think that at all.” He reached up and pushed his hands through his hair. “This is why I shouldn’t talk. I knew I’d screw everything up.”

“It felt—it felt like you were trying to pretend it never happened.” Her big green eyes met his for the briefest of moments before gazing back down at the dark forest floor.

He exhaled a shaky laugh. “I spent all day trying to convince myself that it did. It’s not the kind of thing that happens to me.”

“And you think it happens to me?”

Her voice had been so small and unsure, so completely not the girl he knew her to be, that he was driven forward. He reached out and rubbed his thumb over the apple of her cheek. “I think you are a golden goddess who could make a legion of men fall to their knees before you simply by smiling in their general direction.”

At first she simply stared at him again, her eyes wide and shiny. He cursed himself for making such a whimsical and over the top statement. Why couldn’t he have simply told her that she was pretty or that he knew plenty of guys had fallen all over themselves for her attention in the past? But she wasn’t running away or laughing, both possibilities he’d thought likely. He licked his lips while rubbing his thumb across hers. They felt sticky and he wondered if she had just reapplied her lip gloss.

“Are you going to ignore me when we go back to school?”

His hand dropped back to his side. He frowned. “I’m not going back to school with you, Buffy. I finished. I’ll be at—”

“I know. I meant would you have. If we were both going back to school together, would you pretend that you hadn’t…that nothing had happened?”

William sighed. “I guess if that’s what you wanted, I’d—”

“No. Is it what you want?”

“Why would I want that?” His head was spinning. It suddenly seemed like an incredibly good thing that he never spoke with girls.

She frowned. “Don’t answer questions with questions.”

William turned and looked down the trail. “We’re almost at the lake. Would you come sit with me?” He held his hand out and tried to ignore the pounding, racing beat of his heart. What would he do if she said no?

He didn’t need to worry; she quickly slipped her hand in his and let him guide her to waterfront. He walked over to the exact spot they’d sat at the night before and sat down. He waited until she was sitting on the grass beside him to say anything. “I voted for you for Homecoming Queen. I didn’t actually go to the dance, but…”

“I lost.”

“I know. I think it was rigged.”

She laughed. “Nah, Cordelia wanted it more. I only ran because someone nominated me and it seemed ungrateful not to.” She shook her head. “I don’t know who did it, only club heads can nominate people.”She shrugged.

He nodded and stared out at the still, black water. The moon was even fuller that night and its reflection was an almost perfect golden circle on the smooth black plane of the water. “I was head of the literary magazine.”

“We have a school literary magazine?” Her nose wrinkled.

“Yeah.” He laughed. “We do.”

“Oh.” Her eyes widened. “Oh!” She shook her head in wonder. “You. You nominated me? But why?”

He shrugged.

She put her hand on his arm. “Thank you.”

“It was nothing.”

Buffy scooted closer, so her leg brushed against his. “It was something.”

“I saw pictures. You looked…beautiful.”

“Why didn’t you go to the dance?”

William grinned at her. “Only one girl I would have wanted to go with.”

She raised her chin. “You should have asked her.”

“She had a boyfriend the size of Mount Rushmore.” He wondered if there was any chance that Buffy didn’t understand that he’d meant her, that she was only girl for him.

“You should have asked her,” she repeated firmly.

He laughed and nodded. “Maybe you’re right.”

“I usually am.”

“That so?”

“Yup.” She giggled and rested her head on his shoulder.

William turned and kissed the top of her head. Her hair smelled like coconuts and tropical flowers and he wished again that he’d been brave enough to offer her help with her sunscreen.

“The moon looks pretty.”

He grinned. “It does.”

She laughed again and he slid his arm around her waist, holding her tightly against his side. “That was a corny thing to say, right? Ooh, look at the moon.”

“It wasn’t too bad. I considered telling you that the moon wasn’t as pretty as you are. That would have been corny.”

She giggled again before they both grew quiet.



Buffy snuggled against his side. She could smell the insect repellent he’d put on earlier mixing with the scent that was just his own. She smiled knowing that she would always think of him when someone used bug spray nearby. “Did you think I was being too pushy last night, like too…bold?”

“No, love.” His answered instantly. “I thought you were being brilliant.”

“I’ve been thinking about it, you know…sex.”

“Oh, yeah?”

She heard the strain in his voice and knew that she’d made him uncomfortable again. He was cute when he was embarrassed, she thought, his cheeks flushed and he squirmed.

“Yeah.”

“What were you thinking? I mean, was there anything in particular...that you were thinking about?”

“Do you think it’s a big deal?”

William was quiet for a while and she started to think he wasn’t going to answer. “Yeah, Buffy, I think it’s a big deal.”

“Some of the girls on the squad were saying that it would be weird to go off to college still a virgin. Do you wish you weren’t? I mean, is it weird for you?”

“I’ve never been anything else, so…”

She turned and looked at him. “I’m being serious.”

He shrugged. “So am I. You’re asking, what? Do I feel like freak because I’m a virgin? I don’t know. I feel like a freak for a dozen more obvious reasons. It’s hard to say how much that one affects me.”

Buffy frowned and turned back away. She pulled her knees up and wrapped her arms around them.

He ran his hand over her hair. “You’re upset again.”

“I don’t want you to say things like that.”

“It’s not that bad, you know. I think it is just how people feel sometimes. I think everyone sometimes feels like they’re on the outside, that they’re different and no one else really knows it.”

She thought about it for a few minutes. “I guess so. I think I felt that way today.”

“Because of me? Because I wasn’t talking to you?” He said it like it still bewildered him.

“More like because I wanted you to so much. It was all I could think about all day. Why won’t William talk to me? Does he think I’m a great big slut bunny?”

William laughed. “How could you be a great big anything? You’re tiny.” He reached around her and gave her a squeeze. “I could probably fit you in a bread box.”

“William.” She glanced back over her shoulder and showed him a pout.

He laughed softly. “As to the other, I could never think that about you. You know that. I spent three years trying to work up a solid dislike for you and couldn’t even do that—failed miserably.”

“Did you? Really?” She turned in his arms and studied his eyes.

“I told you that I did.”

Her head tilted to the side and she smiled almost shyly. He’d nominated her for Homecoming Queen. “I had a crush on you, you know, that summer before I started high school.”



William’s world spun again. He furrowed his brow and stared at her for a few seconds. “You never said anything. I…can’t—”

She laughed. “Yeah, I was pretty shy about that stuff back then. I mean, you were my first real crush.” She shrugged. “I didn’t know what to do. I had this whole daydream all worked out…it was silly, I guess.”

He was sure his heart had stopped completely. He reached over, cupped the back of her head and pressed the gentlest of kisses on to her mouth. “Tell me, please.”

She was blushing. “It was dumb little girl stuff. I thought, you know, you’d ask me to a dance and I’d wear a dress and high heels and you would be all handsome and just—you and then you’d bring me home and we would stand on my porch and say good night and you would kiss me—my first kiss—I thought you’d give me my first kiss.”

His stomach clenched painfully. He leaned forward, rested his forehead against hers and squeezed his eyes shut. “Buffy.” His voice was nothing more than a hoarse whisper. “I gave you my first kiss.”

“You?” She gasped softly. “William?”

“Or I guess you gave it to me.” He chuckled very quietly as he opened his eyes.

“I didn’t know, William.” She whispered too now. “If I had, I’d have—I should have—”

“It was perfect. You were—are—you are perfect.”Her arms circled his neck and she pressed her mouth to his. His kissed her hard. And, as he hugged her body closer, he rubbed his hands on her arms. “Are you cold? You’re shivering.”

She shook her head; he felt her face rub against his neck. “I’m not cold.”

“You’re shaking, love. We could get you a jacket. I’ll run back myself—it’ll just take a minute.”

She kissed his neck. “I’m really not cold. I’m just—you’re a good kisser and I guess—I guess I’m a little nervous.”

William cupped her face in his hands and kissed her again. “Here. Lie back.” He laid down and gestured for her to use his arm as a pillow. “I remembered a better constellation story. Do you want to hear it?”

“Yeah.” She snuggled for a few seconds before rolling onto her back and gazing up at the sky.

“Okay. Over here.” William pointed to spot near Cassiopeia. “That’s Andromeda.”

“Isn’t that a movie about like a virus?”

He chuckled. “That’s The Andromeda Strain. This Andromeda was a princess.”

“Ooh and was she pretty?”

“Very much so. Unfortunately, she was the daughter of Queen Cassiopeia, who you remember was a very vain and reckless woman. The Queen bragged that she was more beautiful than the sea nymphs and as punishment for her arrogance, Poseidon—that’s the god of the sea—”

“Right.”

“Poseidon sent a sea monster, which started gobbling all their people up. I don’t remember how the king found out, probably an oracle, but either way, the only way to stop the monster was to feed it their daughter, Andromeda, because she was very pretty and a virgin—which is always a big deal in these stories.”

“They fed their daughter to a sea monster!”

“They tried. They chained her, naked, to a rocky cliff and then stood back and waited for the monster to come.”

“This is a horrible story, William.”

He laughed. “Give me a moment. So there she is, poor princess Andromeda chained to the rocks waiting for a horrible beast to leap from the ocean and devour her.”

“You seriously seem to be enjoying this part too much.”

“Well this is the part where she gets rescued by the hero, Perseus. Perseus had just slayed Medusa. You know the bird with all the snakes for hair?”

“Medusa was a bird?”

“No bird means—she was a woman with snakes for hair and anyone who looked upon her was turned to stone.”

“So how did—whatever his name was—kill her?”

“Perseus. He used a mirror. That’s not really the point. The point is: he is passing by when Andromeda is chained to the rocks. He sees her and falls instantly in love. He kills the creature and as a reward demands her hand in marriage.”

“And how does she feel about that?”

William laughed. “I’m thinking she was pretty much happy with both not being eaten and to be getting away from her mother. Also, he was kind of a big deal—famous hero—no doubt handsome.”

“So you think they lived happily ever after?”

“I do. In fact, Perseus is right there beside her.” He pointed to another constellation. She was quiet for a moment and he wondered if he shouldn’t have told her the story. He’d thought she would like it, but now he wasn’t so sure.

“That is a good story.”

He exhaled a breath he hadn’t realized he was holding in.

“You’re wearing your swimsuit tonight.”

“I am.”

“But I thought you looked pretty cute wearing those wet boxers.”

“Yeah, well I thought you looked pretty cute not wearing a top.” She gasped and he panicked. “Pet, I’m sorry. That was rude. I don’t—”

She giggled. “Look at you all snarky. I’d thought you’d get cute and squirmy.”

“So you were flat out trying to embarrass me?”

She nodded. “Yup.”

The sound she made when she popped her ‘p’ and her proud grin charmed him entirely too much. He knew that but it didn’t change things. “Fair enough. Do you want to go swimming?”

“Not really. I’m pretty much happy right here.”

He was glad that she was looking at the sky and not the goofy grin he was wearing. His cheeks hurt from smiling so broadly. “I’m happy too, love.”

“I like when you call me that. It’s very Austin Powers.”

He groaned. “Honestly? You went with Austin Powers there, not James Bond or any of the dozens of more attractive choices, you went with Austin Powers?”

She shrugged. “I like those movies.”

William sighed. “You are…adorable.”

She rolled on to her stomach and grinned at him. “Are you trying to tell me that you like me?”

He reached up and tucked a lock of hair behind her ear. “I thought we’d already covered that I more than like you.”

She smiled at him again and his heart leapt. He knew he was a lost cause. She startled him by reaching out quite suddenly and pulling his glasses off.

“Can you see me?”

“Yes.”

“Good.” She folded the glasses and then reached as far over his head as she could and placed them on the ground. “They should be safe over there, right?”

“I suppose so.” He felt odd and vulnerable now the she’d taken them off. Certainly she’d seen him without his glasses before. He’d taken them off to swim the night before. But still, there was something about her taking them off that made this different.

“Why don’t you wear contacts?”

He frowned. Why did she care? “I’m not fond of the idea of shoving bits of plastic into my eyes.”

She nodded. “That makes sense.” She cupped his cheek and rubbed her thumb over his temple. “You have nice eyes, like really blue.”

He was such a lost cause. “You’d like me more if I wore contacts?”

Her nose wrinkled and she laughed. “No. I’d get to see your eyes more if you wore contacts.” She leaned down and kissed his temple. When his eyelids fluttered shut, she kissed them as well.

William’s hands curled into fists along his sides, as he fought to keep his rapidly growing arousal in check. The girl had barely touched him and he felt ready to explode.



Buffy rose up to her knees before reaching over to pet his curls. His eyes were still closed and he was clenching his teeth which, she decided, did interesting things to his jaw line. She traced the hard line of his cheek bone. “If I saw you chained to the rocks, I would totally slay the sea monster for you.”

His eyes popped open and he laughed. “I’m not at all certain how to take that, Buffy.”

She felt her cheeks warming under his gaze and shrugged. “I’m not much with the damseling.”

“No, you’re not. Still though, must I really be the princess in this scenario?”

She giggled. “Would you rather be the sea monster?”

“It does seem like it is just a matter of time before you send me to my doom, so I suppose that is apt.”

Sighing, she grasped his chin. “Why do you say things like that? How could you possibly not get that I like you, like really, really like you? I’ve basically thrown myself at you. I told you about my crush and that silly daydream I had. I offered to have sex with you so you wouldn’t be a virgin when you started college—”

“You what? When did you…what?” He was looking at her like she’d sprouted wings and a unicorn horn.

“Before. When we were talking. What did you think I meant?”

He shook his head and gazed with unfocused eyes over her shoulder. “I don’t know, not…not that.”

“Oh.” She turned away. What was she doing? It was no wonder he’d never asked her out; she was a freak. “So I guess I’ve pretty much freaked you out now, right?”

“I would have to say that is a fair statement. I mean, I don’t even have fantasies with this scenario. This is too…why would you even—”

“Do you want to have sex with me?”

“Yes.”

Buffy blinked a couple times at the speed and simplicity of his response before smiling and giggling. “Okay. Now I think we’re getting somewhere.”

“Are we? I’m feeling even more lost. You’re gorgeous…stunning and you’re sweet. You could have anyone. Half the male population of Sunnydale High has a picture of you they use for wanking off. You told me— you said you wouldn’t sleep with that Basketball player even after you dated him for most of the last year. So why would you want to…with me?”

Her heart was beating so hard and so fast that she worried t it might break a rib or two. This was it, she thought, taking a deep breath; it was time to go all in. “I don’t want to lose you…again. I know you’re going away to school but it’s really not that far—only about an hour and a half—and I can borrow the car as long as I keep my grades up.”

His finger pressed down on top of her lips. “Are you saying you want to be my girl?”

She nodded.

William leaned in and kissed her. “Kitten, that’s…amazing. You—you…” He sighed and frowned. It made her stomach hurt, waiting for him to continue. “You cannot think I’d make you—you don’t need to sleep with me for that. Just say you won’t be with anyone else and I’ll be over the moon.”

“Kitten?” Her lips twitched.

“Too much?”

She shook her head. “Perfect much.” Buffy reached over and lifted his hand. She brought it to her mouth and kissed his knuckles. “I know you’d never push me. That’s why or I guess it’s just one of the reasons why.”

She didn’t know how to tell him the rest, that he made her feel exotic and adventurous or that she’d never wanted anything as much as she wanted to know him. He’d laugh, she knew, if she told him that he was beautiful or that he always seemed just a little sad. She didn’t know what caused it, the thin wrap of sorrow that seemed to shimmer in and out of view around him; she just knew it pulled her in. It was the very first thing she had ever noticed about him, he hadn’t even been looking in her direction but there had been something in his stance, the way his shoulders were held just a touch too straight as though he had to remember not to break at every moment. It was the way he said thank you as though he meant it with his whole self every time. She’d spent a year nursing the wound of losing him last time and she knew now that it had only been a crush back then. It was more than that now.

William’s world had flipped and spun so many times he was getting sea sick. He was so lost in wonder that he almost didn’t hear her question.

“Do boys really use a picture of me when they…you know?”

“Ummm…” Why had he told her that? What was wrong with him?

“Do you?”

And there it was: the obvious follow up question. He wanted to bury himself in the sand. “I would never...umm…” He couldn’t lie and couldn’t admit the truth, He froze.

She giggled. “You so did too, didn’t you?”

He groaned. “I don’t suppose an apology would help. I know it was totally—”

“Hot.”

His brow furrowed and he looked at her in bewilderment.

“I mean, other guys— that’s kind of…” She made a face. “But you…doing that and thinking about me.” Her nose wrinkled when she grinned. “That’s definitely goodness.” She scooted closer. “What did you think about when you did it? Ooh—what picture did you use?”

“Buffy, please. Love, this is far too embarrassing to live through.” She giggled her little Tinker bell laugh. “Couldn’t we talk about something else?”

She shook her head. “Nope. I want to hear all about it.”

William laid back down and closed his eyes. “You could simply kill me and be done with it.”

She laughed again. “You’re always so dramatic, William. Tell me. Which picture?”

He sighed. “This is hardly my best self you’re asking about.”

“Tell. Me.”

“I have a picture of you from Homecoming. A friend of mine took photos for the paper…it doesn’t matter, I just have it. You’re wearing a green dress that matches your eyes and you’re wearing that ludicrous tiara and you’re smiling. It’s a nice picture.”

“And you use that picture?”

A groan escaped from deep in his throat. “I have.”

“What did you think about? You know, while you were doing it.”

He opened his eyes for a second to glance up at her. A part of him wanted to cry, but she was grinning and looking so very eager to hear him explain. He squeezed his eyelids closed again. “I imagined that I went to the bloody dance and caught that hulk you went with getting too grabby. You asked him to stop and he didn’t, so I—I dealt with him for you because you—you deserve to be treated like a queen.”

“Aww… that’s sweet. That’s what you thought about to get off? It doesn’t seem—”

“And you were very grateful…so you gave-me-a-blowjob.” He sped through the words and winced.

“Oooh, I was grateful. I mean, of course I was. Naturally, I would be. Was I any good at it? The blowjob?”

“Brilliant.”

She slowly stroked his chest. “Well, that’s good. I mean a girl would hate to be sucky at, you know, sucking.”

“You are a very strange girl, Buffy Summers.”

She continued caressing his chest and stomach. “Are you hard right now?”

He exhaled, once quickly, and then nodded.

Her hand moved lower, softly touching him through his swim trunks. “Wow. You really are.” She rubbed him again. “You know…I am suddenly feeling very grateful.”

Her fingers slid under the waistband of his suit and he jumped. “Buffy!”

She laughed softly and leaned down to kiss his mouth. “Let’s see if I can do it as well in person.” She undid the drawstring and tugged down his shorts. She inhaled quickly. “You didn’t mention that I had so much to work with.” Her hand curled around his erection before he had a chance to respond. He groaned as his hips jerked violently.

“Fuck! Kitten!”

“Yup. Definitely liking the whole kitten thing.” She slid her hand up and down his length, once…twice…three times. “You really are…big…you know? But it’s…handsome. That’s makes sense, I guess, since it’s a part of you.” She rubbed her thumb over the tip and then leaned down to whisper, “You’ll have to tell me if I’m not doing something right,” before she pressed a kiss on the top. She licked her lips and then slid them around him.

William’s hand gripped the back of her head. “Oh that feels…so good. Oh! Too good. That’s too good, love.”

She licked the vein that ran up his length. “Tastes pretty good too.” She giggled. “So what do think? Should I lick it like a lollypop or—”

“Yes. Fuck. Yes.” To William, it was clear from the start that he was not going to last long. “Oh, it’s heaven, love.” He felt her pull him with her hot, slippery lips again and he moaned. “Too good. Won’t last.”

She only sucked harder. Her tongue teased him and every once in a while he could feel the edge of her teeth scrape against his shaft. It was all too good, too perfect to last. He pushed her shoulder so she sat up as he came, hard and fast. “Fuck, Buffy.”

She kneeled beside him, eyeing him with a grin. “I did okay?”

He chuckled weakly. “You’re amazing…you did amazing.” He groaned as he sat up. “Fuck, I made a mess of myself.”

She laughed as he reached for the bottom of his shirt and tugged it over his head. She watched him use his shirt to wipe at his stomach and then fix his shorts. “When did you get such a dirty mouth?”

He laughed too. “Probably when you put your hot little mouth on my cock.”

“Ooh, cock. That is a good dirty word.” She brought her mouth close to his. “I liked having my mouth on your cock, William.” She kissed him. “Tell me. Did I live up to your expectations?”

He kissed her back and squeezed the nape of her neck. “Better than, love.”

Buffy kissed his neck. “Got any other fun ideas?”

“You are far more fun than anything I could ever dream up. Why don’t you tell me what you’d like me to do?” She blushed. He almost couldn’t believe his eyes. How could possibly blush after what she’d just done? He put his shirt down and tangled his hand in her hair. “You can tell me.”

Her voice was quiet and didn’t quite meet his eyes. “I just…I just want to…please you.”

He sighed, criss-crossed his legs, and pulled her on to his lap. He rubbed his nose against the extra soft skin just below her ear and then used his teeth to give her earlobe a tug. “You’ve done that. Just sitting next to you makes me so happy that I can’t wipe away this goofy grin. The muscles on my face will probably hurt for days.” He hugged her tightly, enjoying the feel and sound of her soft laughter. “What you just did for me—that was amazing. So what I’d like, what would make me very happy is if I could do something like that for you.”

“You want…”

William steeled himself and pushed his nerves out of the way. “I want to get my girl off—preferably a couple of times.”

“You really think of me as your girl?”

“Trust me, love. I’m feeling all kinds of possessive. It’s a fight to simply avoid going caveman on you at the moment.”

She laughed. “What would that look like exactly? The going caveman.”

“I don’t—there’s hair pulling, right? And I’d have to toss you over my shoulder and stomp around a lot growling at any man that dared look at you.”

“Wow.”

“I know. It wouldn’t be pretty. I’m trying to resist.”

“That doesn’t sound very much like you.”

William sighed. “I am male. Being—like me—doesn’t eliminate the influence of testosterone completely.”

“I know that. I like the…maleness of you.” She snuggled against him. “I’m not going to promise I won’t growl at the girls that look at you, though.”

“I doubt it will be an issue.”

“I’m tougher than I look, you know. I could totally take out some skanky college girls.”

He laughed softly. “Why would I want a skanky college girl when I have my own personal water sprite?”

She nodded. “Good answer.”

“I thought so.” He kissed her temple. “May I touch you, love?”

She kept her face buried against his neck but nodded.

William plucked at the ties of the sundress she’d pulled on over her bikini. “So the suit was meant to torture me today, right?”

“Why would it be torture?”

“You can’t imagine I was able to focus on anything but you bouncing around almost naked.” He finally untied the knot and let the dress fall to her waist.

“You could have fooled me. I couldn’t even get you to look at me. I almost resorted to untying the top as though I cared about tan lines on my back.”

He groaned at the thought. “You really are a naughty little thing, aren’t you? Any other plans to torment me?” He hesitated for a few seconds before sliding his hand under one red triangle and cupping her small breast. He heard her gasp and felt her shiver. “Is this all right?”

She arched her back in response, pressing herself more firmly in his grasp.

He squeezed her gently and then flattened his hand, rubbing his palm against her hardened nipple. After a few moments he traced the red line around her back and undid the strings holding on her top. “God you’re pretty, Buffy.” His hand shook just a little when he reached out to touch her again. He teased her nipples, plucking and pinching as softly as he could, until her breathes came hard and fast and she whimpered quietly.

When she finally gasped, “please, William,” he reached down and pushed the dress down her legs.

He ran his hand slowly down her stomach and under the edge of her red bikini bottom. He stilled for a second and used his other arm to hug her closer. He wanted to say something, to tell her that this was special and that she was, but he couldn’t find the words.

Her skin was soft, she smelled like coconut and she’d just whispered his name. His fingertips brushed through the soft curls hiding her sweetest spot. He closed his eyes when he found her already hot and slick. He traced her folds experimentally until he found the spot that make her gasp and jerk in his arms. He exhaled shakily. “That’s it, isn’t it?” His brow furrowed as he brushed his index finger over the swollen nub. Her responding shudder worried him. “Am I too rough, love—I can—?” He felt her shake her head on his shoulder. He pressed his lips against the top of her head. “Tell me how—what you like—or show me.” He pulled his hand up and reached for one of hers. “Here.” He held his hand out, palm up, and placed her fingers on it. “Show me how to touch you.” He watched her look at his hand in surprise and glance, surreptitiously, up at him. She looked like she was going to argue. “Nothing would make me happier than seeing my girl come—right here—right now, because I’m touching her just how she needs to be touched. There’s nothing hotter than that.” He waited for what felt like forever but was probably only a few seconds and then her fingers moved.

She slid her fingertips across his palm a few times before showing him two fingers rubbing in a smooth circular fashion.

William moved his other hand back between her legs and mimicked the motion. “Like this?” He whispered near her ear and nibbled at her neck.

She pressed her fingers harder against his hand and he followed suit. Buffy gasped and clutched at his arm. She gripped his wrist and tapped his palm with her thumb.

William laughed softly. “Fuck, you are so hot.” He used his thumb to tap her swollen clit until she came undone in his arms. “My girl.”