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Author's Chapter Notes:
Thanks again to Brat for her encouragement.
Chapter Three

Why is he staring at me? Buffy wondered as she stood self-consciously in the doorway. She’d chosen a pale yellow dress with large pastel flowers which complimented her tanned skin. The soft material fell to her calves, hugging her curves gently and hinting at the slender body beneath. Strappy high heels completed the outfit. Her golden hair lay in loose curls around her shoulders. Willow had been giving her a final once over with a critical eye when the doorbell rang, so she knew she didn’t have smudged lipstick or any unsightly stains on her dress.

Eager to break the now lengthening silence Buffy cleared her throat and held out her hand. “Good evening Mr Rafe.”

He suddenly shook his head as if to clear it. “Sorry, I just wasn’t expecting…,” his voice trailed off and he smiled apologetically. “Good evening,” he said as he shook her proffered hand. “It’s nice to meet you…err.”

“Bu-Willow. My name is Willow,” Buffy rambled nervously. Oh this is getting off to a great start, she scolded herself, neither one of us can remember who I’m supposed to be.

“Right. It’s nice to meet you Willow,” Spike said as he offered her his arm.

With a tentative smile, Buffy placed her hand lightly in the crook of his arm and allowed him to lead her down the path to the waiting limousine. Stealing a glance at him she was surprised to realise that he was just as attractive in real-life as he was on the television. With its strong jaw line and high cheekbones, his face looked to have been sculptured by an artist. His platinum-blonde hair was resisting the hold of the gel he’d slicked it back with, showing a slight curl. The deep blue eyes, which had sent delicious shivers down her spine as he’d stared at her, reminded her of the ocean at sunrise. Beneath the dark suit and blue button-up shirt he wore, his lean masculine form was evident. Flexing the fingers that were wrapped lightly around his arm she felt the firmness of his bicep and had to resist the urge to explore further. She had assumed she would not be as affected by the flesh and blood person as she was by his darkly mysterious character. Convinced that no real man could provoke the potent rush of feelings that had been sparked by the fantasy. She had been wrong.

When he opened the car door for her, Buffy looked up at him with a small smile. Their eyes met for a moment and she was startled by the intensity of his gaze. Her breath caught in her throat and she forced herself to murmur a quiet word of thanks before seating herself on the luxurious leather. As he walked to the other door she exchanged a quick greeting with the driver and then took a deep breath in an effort to steadying her nerves.

“So,” Buffy asked as the drive pulled the car out into the street, “where are we going this evening?”

Spike gave her a winning smile and a wink, “Somewhere very special.”

Buffy couldn’t help but chuckle at the vagueness of his answer. “You have no idea do you?” she guessed.

“Not a clue,” he admitted ruefully. “But my assistant always books a very nice restaurant so I have no doubt it will be special.”

“Does your assistant arrange all your dates for you?” she teased.

“She would if I let her,” he replied lightly.

“Do you have to do this sort of thing very often?”

“Well, yeah, quite a bit.” His eyes swept down her body and then returned to her sparkling green eyes. “Though I have a feeling that escorting a beautiful and intelligent woman such as yourself to dinner shall be nothing short of delightful.”

Even as she felt her heartbeat began to race Buffy shied away at his words, uncomfortable with what she knew was nothing more than a polite façade. Even more perturbing was the response he so easily provoked in her body. She knew that if he continued to talk to her like that she’d be hard-pressed to remember that this wasn’t a real date. Then she’d be in real trouble.

“Look, Mr Rafe…”

His amused voice cut her off. “Please, call me William.”

“William,” she smiled as the name rolled pleasantly off her tongue. “Thank you very much for your compliments. However, I do realise that you’re only spending this time with me because of some silly competition.” She saw him frown and held up her hand to halt him when he would have spoken. “So it’s really not necessary for you to flirt with me or pretend this is something it’s not. I’d really like it if we could just talk and enjoy each other’s company. What do you think?”

She almost laughed at the shocked expression on his face. For long moments he seemed to be contemplating her words, searching her face for some indication that she meant what she said. Finally he nodded, as if coming to a conclusion. “You’ve got a deal Willow.”

Buffy was a little disconcerted at hearing him speak her friend’s name. She’d been so blunt about doing away with any pretence on his part that she’d all but forgotten that her very presence beside him was based on a lie. Giving a mental shrug Buffy decided to simply enjoy her evening and not worry about it. After all, in a few hours this date would be over and she’d never see him again, except for her usual Tuesday night rendezvous with the television. There was no need for him to ever know of her deception.





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