_Buffy continued running until she had burst through the door in the lobby and the tears finally fell. This was hell, all the pain, it was as raw as if she had been hurt only yesterday. She wrapped her arms around herself like she had that morning and choked back a sob, all her life she had only been with two men, Riley Samuals and Angel O’Connor. She had only slept with Angel, and that proved to have been a mistake.
She walked out to the curb and tried to hail down a cab on the busy streets but only managed to get honked at a few times, the cars just continued to pass her by. She would have smiled when a cab finally stopped for her but she really wasn’t happy right now, she was about to get in when she felt a hand on her arm.
***
Spike’s anger grew as he watched Angel dance away with his girl. There was nothing he could currently do without drawing a lot of attention to himself in a bad way so all he could do was walk over to his table and sit down with his family, silently fuming.
Chris patted his shoulder comfortingly. “ Don’t worry cuz. Liam’s not her type.”
Spike tried to laugh at the comment and make the situation light but the laugh never came. Instead he just continued to stare intensely at the dancing couple. It wasn’t Buffy he didn’t trust (not that they were together so it wouldn’t really be cheating…) it was Liam he distrusted. He and Angel never had gotten along but they had managed to be civil most of the time, now however things were different. They had something in common. Buffy.
He managed to look away for just a minute and heard an ‘oh dear’ from Ellen. Looking up he saw Angel standing on the dance floor with an angry expression on his face and one very red cheek while Buffy ran out of the restaurant. He knew something like this was bound to happen.
Giles put a hand on Spike’s arm. “ You should go see what happened. She seemed very distraught.” Spike just looked at Giles gratefully and got up quickly, heading for the door.
***
“ Luv, please don’t leave. Don’t let that bastard get to you.” The calmness in his voice soothed her, just enough to make her halt for a moment and turn around to face him.
“ I can’t. Spike I can’t do this, go through all of that again, I’ve been trying to get over what he did ever since it happened. I just I can’t…” She trailed off in a desperate sob. She wasn’t sure when she had decided to call him Spike instead of William like she had originally said but it just felt more personal right now and she needed that.
Spike’s heart broke, seeing her in so much pain, and crying like that… It was too much. He wiped away the tears from her eyes and kissed her forehead. He couldn’t continue putting the thought off to the side anymore. He was falling for this girl, no, he was already past that point. He was in love with the broken angel in front of him.
“ And your family, after that they’ll probably hate me.” Somehow that hurt her even more, to imagine someone like Jenny or Ann looking at her with anger or hatred in their eyes. She had to admit they felt like a family to her and she couldn’t bear it if they didn’t like her anymore.
Spike quietly shushed her, placing his finger on her lips. “ They don’t hate you sweets, I promise.” He placed his hands on her face and looked into her eyes trying to get his point across. “ C’mon pet, let’s get out of here.” Buffy gratefully nodded and got into the cab with Spike right beside her.
Buffy leaned her head against Spike’s shoulder as he spoke to the driver telling him a destination. Spike smiled when he felt the weight of her head and put his arm around her. He was happy that she was allowing him to be that close to her but he was also perturbed because he had never seen her this vulnerable.
“ Where are we going?” She asked him quietly, her breath steady on his neck.
“ I have a place here near Jenny’s house that I come to get away from everything sometimes.”
Buffy’s brows creased. What if they came? Even though Spike said that they weren’t mad she was still nervous about seeing his family, she wasn’t ready yet. As if he read her mind, Spike stroked her hair gently. “ Don’t worry, no one knows about it except me, and now you.”
“ How did you know what I was thinking?”
Spike just smiled and rested his cheek on top of her head. “ Jus’ did.”
Buffy listened lazily as Spike had to give the cab driver some directions since his place was so discreet. She watched as they entered a road surrounded by trees as far as you could see. The cab stopped and Buffy sat up quietly and got out of the cab before Spike had even paid the driver yet.
The place had an ethereal beauty about it at night with the moonlight coming down on it, casting small shadows. There was a large house up ahead with a large deck on the second level. She smiled when she realized that there was a large lake with crystal blue water sparkling in the open under the moon. She knew that tonight Spike would make her forget about Angel and her worries.
“ C’mon pet, you can go sit by the lake and I’ll be right back.” Buffy nodded and watched him walk towards the house for a few seconds before she walked up to the lake and just stared at it. Picking up a smooth, rounded rock she skipped it across the water like she had when she was only a little girl, watching as it bounced along the water six times sending ripples as it went.
“ I brought some blankets.” Buffy turned around to see Spike standing there with two large blankets piled in his arms.
Laying them out on the ground he gestured for her to join him, covering them both with the second blanket. “ Thanks.”
Spike turned to look at her. “ What for?”
“ For not making me stay there. For bringing me here.” Buffy looked away as silence took over and quickly changed the subject. “ This place is beautiful, have you brought anyone here?”
“ Told you, my family doesn’t know about this place.”
She looked up at the moon shifting positions. “ I wasn’t talking about your family.” Buffy said quietly. Somehow thinking of him bringing another girl with him here and laying with her like they were now didn’t sit too well with her.
Spike turned to her slightly alarmed that she would think that he just brought any girl here. “ No Buffy, I haven’t brought anyone but you here.” The blonde turned to look at his deep blue eyes and smiled. She knew there were feelings there, there was no more denial, she felt something for him.
“ You know, under the whole tough guy image thing you’re just a big softie.”
He just chuckled, not denying it. “ I’m not like this with everyone.” He suddenly switched on his side and propped himself up on one elbow watching as the girl he was so completely in love with turned to look at him. “ You do things to me that I can’t explain. I can barely understand half of them myself.”
Buffy looked up at him, her breathing slow and shallow as her heart wildly pounded in her chest. She watched for the second time as he leaned towards her. She closed her eyes when his lips came down upon hers gently, this time she wasn’t going to run, not like before. She moaned when she felt his tongue tease her bottom lip before slipping into her mouth and gliding along hers sensually, wrapping her arms around his neck as she moulded her body against his, kissing him back before they had to breathe.
Spike leaned his forehead against hers lightly, smiling. “ You’re amazing, you know that?”
Buffy kissed him lightly on the lips. “ I’m not ready to start anything too serious right now Spike, but I really like you, and I’d like to. Just not yet, under these disguises we’ve been putting up for your family.”
He nodded in understanding. “ I’ll wait for you. Forever if I have to.”
Buffy smiled. “ You won’t have to.” With that she laid her head down on his chest for the second time that night and smiled as he pulled her closer.
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A/N: Ok I know I said there'd be alcohol and Buffy in this chapter but i just couldn't do it quiet yet because this idea came to my head. But I now promise to put the alcohol and Buffy in next chapter! Thanks for the reviews guys!