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Chapter 4 – Getting to Know You


Opening her eyes as the sunlight warmed her face, Buffy stretched contentedly, enjoying the fact that she actually had the space to stretch in the luxurious bed as the satin sheets wrapped around her. She couldn’t remember a time when she felt this safe. Slowly sitting up, she let the down comforter fall away, smiling as she looked around the room.

‘I can’t believe I’m this lucky,’ she thought, biting her lip to restrain from giggling. ‘This time yesterday, I was waking up in a fleabag motel with the wonderful prospects of being a stripper lying ahead of me.’

Climbing out of bed, Buffy grabbed some clean clothes out of the huge closet that wasn’t even partially filled with her belongings before walking across the hall to the bathroom. Tucking away some of the loose strands that had fallen loose from her ponytail while she was sleeping, she yawned as she shut the bathroom door behind her.

Quickly going through her morning routine, Buffy relaxed as she stepped under the hot shower, letting the steam and spray soothe her tense muscles. Lathering and rinsing her hair with shampoo and conditioner, Buffy closed her eyes, leaning into the water.

Feeling a draft of cool air wrap around her body, her eyes snapped open seconds before a shriek erupted from her as she saw Spike standing in front of her, a perplexed expression on his handsome face. Shutting off the water and grabbing the towel from the shower rod, Buffy eagerly wrapped it around herself, still feeling naked under his gaze.

“God, don’t you knock?” she asked in irritation.

“You’re…from last night…you…”

Sighing as she bit her lip and avoided his eyes. “Yeah…we met last night.”

“I don’t mean here,” he said, obviously struggling to get over his hangover as he watched her. “The strip club.”

“Yes,” Buffy said softly, not seeing the point in lying to him since he obviously remembered. “That was me. Now can we get back to my little inquiry- don’t you knock?”

“Sorry, pet,” he said with an easy smirk. “Didn’t know anyone else was in here. And it’s not like I haven’t seen it before.”

“Different situation,” she said through gritted teeth. “And there has to be a million bathrooms in this place, and you just happen to walk into the one with the naked girl in the shower?”

“Look, I’m sorry, alright? But my Da usually starts a shower for me in the morning when he knows I’ll have a hangover. And…don’t know why you’re so dainty all of a sudden. After last night…”

“That was different,” she said, growing tired of his insistence. “It’s not like I walk around naked on a daily basis.”

“Wouldn’t complain if you did,” Spike replied, biting his lip as his gaze perused her towel-clad form. “Definitely no harm in showing off that body.”

Flushing under his gaze, Buffy quickly grabbed her clothes and ran out of the bathroom.

Slamming the door of her bedroom, she breathed heavily as she leaned against it.

‘How am I supposed to make it through this?’ she thought, looking around the room. ‘I have a new place to live, a new job, and the one mistake that I made when I came into this town has somehow tracked me down…and not even on purpose!’

Closing her eyes for a moment, Buffy tried to get her thoughts in order before pushing away from the door and quickly dressing in jeans and a long-sleeved shirt. She had the need to be completely covered, subconsciously hoping to counteract the memories of her being practically naked the night before and writhing in a stranger’s lap. A stranger who, as it turned out, would be living down the hall from her.

Pulling her damp hair into a bun, Buffy’s eyes widened when she saw the door open in the reflection of the mirror. Busying herself with her appearance, she ignored Spike as he walked in, shutting the door behind him and leaning against it. Tucking away the loose tendrils that were too short to make their way back to the elastic band, she concentrated on her breathing as she felt his eyes on her, watching her every move. Putting lotion on her hands, she finally met his eyes in the mirror and sighed.

“What?” she asked in irritation.

“Wondering if I could get a repeat performance of last night, pet,” he said with an easy smile, crossing his arms over his chest in a relaxed stance.

“Not gonna happen,” she replied, straightening the sparse items on her dresser as she avoided him. Never seeing him cross the room, she nearly jumped out of her skin when she felt his arms wrap around her waist. Raising her eyes to the mirror, she felt as if her heart was trying to jump out of her chest as she met his gaze. “Listen…the girl that you met last night…she wasn’t me. I mean, she was, but…she was a version of me I don’t really want to relive.”

Watching as Spike slowly stepped back and turned her around to face him, Buffy gave him a tentative smile as she looked into his eyes.

“You understand…right?” she asked nervously.

“In other words- last night never happened.”

“In a nutshell,” she said with a halfhearted smile.

“Don’t know how I feel about that, pet,” Spike said, studying Buffy as her face paled. Closing his eyes for a moment, he sighed before nodding. “Fine. Never happened.”

“Thank you,” she whispered. “And…it’s not that…I mean, I had a good time, but…it just can’t happen again. Kind of a one-shot deal. Not offering any repeat performances.”

“Not even for willing customers?” he asked with a smile.

“Especially not for willing customers,” she said with an answering smile.

“Good to know,” Spike said, backing away from her and walking toward the door before snapping his fingers and turning around. “One more thing, pet.”

“Yeah,” she asked, turning to look at him in apprehension.

“What’s your name?”

Giggling softly, she looked into his warm eyes. “It’s Buffy.”

Spike studied her carefully for a moment. “You’re serious?”

“Yes,” she said with a smile. “My name is Buffy.”

Crossing the room, Spike repeated his move from the previous night, gently taking her hand in his and leaving a soft kiss on it. “Nice to meet you, Buffy.”

* * * * *

“It’s fairly simple,” Giles said as he showed Buffy around the Magic Box the next day. “All you really need to know is where everything is located and how to properly work the cash register. William will be working most of your shifts for the time being, and if he’s not here, then I will be.”

“I think I can handle it, Giles,” Buffy said with a friendly smile, looking around the shop. She felt a blush rise to her cheeks when her eyes met Spike’s. He was sitting at the large table on one side of the store, his feet kicked up onto the flat surface, idly flipping through one of the books. He gave Buffy a slow smirk when he saw her cheeks redden and raised an eyebrow suggestively, smiling when she turned around so she wouldn’t have to face him.

“Well, I best be off. If you need anything, Spike can help you. It’s been a few years, but I’m sure he remembers everything, don’t you, son?”

“Yeah, Dad,” he replied, never looking up from the book, although to Buffy, it sounded like he didn’t even hear the question.

“Alright, my number is next to the phone if you need anything. It should be a fairly slow night, so you don’t have anything to worry about.”

‘Except your incredibly hot son who I practically screwed the other night,’ Buffy thought, biting her lip as she glanced at Spike.

“Spike, are you able to take Buffy home, or shall I make time to pick her up?”

Spike smirked at the young woman before answering his father. “I think I’ll be able to take care of her.”

Buffy blushed, biting her lip as she averted her eyes.

“Very good,” Giles said with a smile, obviously unaware of the innuendo in his son’s voice. “I’ll see you both at home.”

“Bye, Giles!” Buffy said a little louder than intended as her nervousness took over. This was the first time she would be alone with Spike since the previous day and she didn’t know if she’d be able to make it the next few hours without acting on her urges that were trying to make themselves known.

Giles turned to wave before he walked out the door, leaving the two blondes alone. Buffy took a shaky breath before looking around for a place to sit. She started to walk over to the stool that was sitting next to the cash register when she heard Spike’s voice.

“You can sit over here, luv. I don’t bite…much. Course you knew that already, didn’t you?” he finished with a smirk.

“I’m fine here,” she muttered, running her hand along the edge of the counter- doing anything to keep her mind off the infuriating man she was trapped with.

“Come on, Buffy. Was only teasing. Come sit down.”

‘Be cool, you can do this,’ she thought to herself, pushing herself away from the counter before turning to walk back to the table.

Sitting rigidly in her seat and letting her fingertips trail over the cover of one of the many books sitting in front of her, Buffy avoided the strong gaze that she knew was directed her way. “I probably should have asked this the other night, but I can always blame it on the alcohol,” Spike said with a smile, tossing his book on the table with a ‘thump.’ “Or the incredibly hot woman in my company,” he continued with a smile, causing a faint blush to rise to Buffy’s cheeks. “How old are you, Goldilocks?”

“Nineteen,” she replied softly, feeling guilty for lying- especially to Spike.

“University?”

Buffy shook her head ‘no’, never taking her eyes off the books in front of her as she bit her lip, trying not to let her nerves show.

“What are you planning on doing?”

“I-I don’t know,” she murmured.

‘Survive,’ the voice in her head spoke up. ‘Above all else- survive.’

“I’m just trying to find my way right now,” she said softly, finally looking up at his penetrating gaze and feeling her stomach flip.

“Understandable,” Spike replied, standing up and walking over to a shelf to look at some of the merchandise.

“What about you?” Buffy asked, hoping to shift the topic of conversation away from her and the fact that her checkered past was still lurking beneath the surface.

“What about me?” Spike asked, turning around with a raised eyebrow.

“Well, it didn’t sound like you lived with your dad.”

“Eavesdropping the other night, were you?” he asked with a smirk.

“N-no…I just…well…”

“Relax, pet,” he said, sitting down in the chair next to her. “I would have done the same thing. And I’ve been in England.”

The tone in his voice changed as he muttered the last part. “I’ve always wanted to go there,” she said with a smile, changing the direction of the conversation.

“You’d love it,” Spike said, letting a genuine smile cross his face when he saw her smile. “It’s a lot better than Sunnyhell, that’s for sure.”

“It’s not so bad here,” she said softly, avoiding his eyes once again.

Spike tilted his head, studying her for a moment. “Where are you from, luv?”

“Oh, um…you wouldn’t know it…it’s a small town,” Buffy said, standing up and keeping her back to him as she straightened an already neat shelf, moving the trinkets around to keep her hands busy. She jumped when she felt him right behind her.

“Why do I get the feeling that you’re not being completely honest with me?”

“What if I’m not?” Buffy countered, turning around to face him. “Is that your business?”

“Maybe not,” Spike said, his eyes darting from her eyes to her full lips. “But considering I pay for a lap dance at a strip club and then you just show up and move in with my father, I think I have a right to figure out whether he’s welcomed a con artist into his happy home.”

A brief frown marred her pretty features as she shook her head. “First of all- you didn’t pay for anything,” she said, her voice choked as she remembered the other night and it’s lasting affects on her self-worth. “And if you really want to know…I’m just looking for a fresh start…that’s all,” she murmured, revealing more of herself with that simple sentence than she wanted to, but it was too late to take it back now.

Spike tilted his head, his brow furrowed as he watched her closely. “A fresh start from what?”

“I-I really don’t…”

Buffy pushed by him, hoping to get some distance from him and her previous comment, but Spike grabbed her arm.

“What is it, Buffy?”

“Spike, it’s nothing,” she said with a fake smile that usually worked wonders, but he seemed to look right through it.

“Buffy-”

“Just leave it alone,” she said sharply before softening her voice. “Please, Spike, just leave it alone.”

“I can’t do that,” he replied in a quiet tone. “I can’t just-”

He was silenced as Buffy threw her arms around his neck and pulled his lips to hers in a rough kiss. It was a last, frantic effort before she knew that she would tell him everything…and she wasn’t ready to tell him everything. She wanted it to stay buried, locked away where she would never have to remember.

Spike was stunned by the kiss but eagerly banded his arms around her waist, pulling her closer. They each battled with the other, their tongues frantically dueling. Buffy pulled back slightly to nip at his bottom lip, eliciting a moan from him before he pinned her to the nearby wall, delving into her mouth once again and taking what he had so desperately wanted the night he first met her.

The sound of the bell above the door separated them. Breathing heavily, they looked at each other with lust-filled eyes. Their lips were both swollen and red, and Spike’s eyes were drawn to her heaving chest.

“I better go help them,” she whispered, looking at the customers who were now browsing the front of the store. She needed the distance from this man who was awakening something inside of her that she never knew existed. It was one thing to have a meaningless encounter with him, but the kiss had provoked something.

She didn’t want to feel.

She wanted to stay numb.

She wanted to do whatever it took to walk away from her past and never let it come back to her.

Spike watched, still in shock, as Buffy turned and walked to the front of the store. His breathing soon regulated, but he couldn’t take his eyes off of her.

‘Bloody hell,’ he thought, narrowing his eyes slightly as he studied her. ‘After nearly shagging her, who would have thought her kiss could do nearly as much to me?’

Buffy glanced back at him, biting her lip nervously.

‘I wonder if he forgot what we were talking about,’ she thought. ‘Because I sure as hell did.’



A/N From this point on- the story stays close to my original version. I’ve changed a few little things, but the basic plot is still the same.


Thanks so much to: Rana, Kar, Seraiza, Caatje, Alicia, Amanda, willowmouse, Caitie, melissa g, BuffyandSpikeForever, Mac, Franchesca, pj, Reciprocity, Cordykitten & erika for reviewing!







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