Sunday afternoon, Buffy was sitting cross-legged on her bed, working on her chemistry homework with her headphones in her ears blasting Spike’s Sex Pistols CD. She was dressed in yoga pants and a tank top, her feet bare.
At the loud knock on her door, Buffy pulled an earphone out. “Come in.”
Spike opened the door. “Hey, Summers.”
“Hey,” Buffy replied, giving him a brief smile before turning back to her homework.
“My dad and your mum are gone,” Spike continued, leaning against the doorframe.
“I know,” Buffy said while punching in a problem in her graphing calculator. She made no move to invite Spike in, which made him puzzled.
“What’s wrong?” He questioned, cocking his head.
“Nothing,” she responded, not taking her eyes off her notebook. When Spike didn’t leave his spot at her door, she sighed. “How often do you smoke?”
“Weed?”
At Buffy’s nod, he continued, “Not often, Thursday was…well, I thought you could use it. I used to smoke a lot more when I was with Dru, since she was always high as a kite.” Spike answered, frowning a little. “Why?”
Buffy spun herself so her feet were dangling over the edge of her bed, and she looked up at Spike. “I really shouldn’t have been smoking with you. I’m trying to avoid all of my old bad habits, and that was definitely one of them.”
Spike crossed his arms over his chest. “You didn’t say anything.” His tone was slightly accusing.
“Now I am,” Buffy said honestly. “Pot was like a crutch for me last year. I don’t want to be that girl again.”
“Okay,” Spike acknowledged simply after a moment of silence.
“You’re not…disappointed or anything?” Buffy asked, raising her eyebrows.
Spike looked confused. “Why would I be disappointed? That’s bloody ridiculous, luv. It’s your own decision, and I certainly don’t hate you for it.”
A sigh of relief escaped her. “Good.” She stood up and walked towards him. Instantly, his hands went to her sides, pulling her close. She tilted her head up, readily accepting his kiss.
This was nice, she decided.
Their kiss became more heated, and Buffy found herself up against the wall, her shoulder blade digging into the light switch. Not that she cared too much. Spike’s hands were pleasantly traveling up her stomach, her shirt shifting up. She was wearing a flimsy bra, which was easily slipped up over her breasts.
“Hmmm,” Buffy let out a contented sigh as Spike’s lips traveled to the dip of her neck and his hands caressed her breasts softly. Hearing her murmur of encouragement, Spike flicked her left nipple, hardening it to a stiff peak.
As he continued to manipulate her breasts, Buffy reached forward, attempting to tug of his shirt. When he realized what she was doing, he un-suctioned his lips from her neck and threw it off. Instantaneously, Buffy’s hands roamed over his hard chest and abs, nearly groaning at the feel. She’d always been a suck for abs. “God,” she breathed, whether from the touch of his hands or from the feel of his skin.
Spike returned to his task at hand. “Mm, pet, you taste so fucking good.” He moaned against her neck, sending thrills down Buffy’s spine. They were pressed tightly together, and she could now feel Spike’s evidence of arousal. The knowledge was like a splash of cold water. How very close they were made her a little uneasy. Especially when Spike’s hand ran along the waistband of her pants.
Luckily, they jumped apart at the sound of the door opening and her mother calling out, “Buffy! Spike! We’re home!”
The two locked eyes for a moment, before Spike’s gaze drifted to her shirt and bra bunched around her armpits, her breasts bare for his viewing. Giving him a slight glare for his smirk, she yanked them down. “Jeez, don’t just stand there!” She hissed.
“I’m going,” he shot back, and with a grin kissed her quickly before tugging his shirt back on and going back to his respective room.
Buffy flopped back on her bed, closing her eyes. Heat and desire made her ache, and part of her wished her mother and Giles hadn’t returned. The smarter half disagreed. If being uneasy while making out was any clue, Buffy knew she wasn’t ready for sex. Right now, at least.
A knock prompted Buffy to hop off her bed and open the door. “Hey mom,” she greeted with an innocent, she hoped, smile.
“Hi,” Joyce responded, peering into her daughter’s room. “Is everything okay?”
“Yep,” Buffy answered cheerfully. “Why?”
“No one picked up the phone when we called about ten minutes ago,” Joyce replied, her brow creased.
“Oh, I probably didn’t hear it through my headphones,” Buffy lied. It was better the lie though, she thought, than saying “I was too busy making out with Spike.”
Joyce shook her head teasingly. “I should have known.”
Unwittingly, a nervous laugh escaped her lips. “Yep. Those darn earphones.”
A smile lingered on Joyce’s face. “Well, I talked to Faith’s mom, and everything’s set. She’ll be here in two weeks from Wednesday. It’ll be after the holiday party at the gallery, so it won’t be too stressful around here.”
“Good,” Buffy nodded, feeling excited. “Thank you, mom.” At first, the initial prospect of dropping Faith in the middle of Sunnydale was ridiculous, but then Buffy warmed up to the idea. Faith always promised a goodtime.
“You’re welcome,” Joyce replied, sounding pleased. “Now, if you help unload the groceries, I’ll see what I can do about making some brownies…”
“Done,” Buffy said quickly, shooting off her bed and running down the stairs.
**************
Two days later, Buffy dragged herself out of bed at 6:45, and stumbled into the bathroom. She’d gotten too used to sleeping in, she thought with a whimper, and now she had to go back to school. “Stupid school,” she muttered, washing her hands.
Seconds later, someone pounded heavily on the door. “Come on, Summers. I gotta piss.” Spike, of course.
“I’ll be out in a second,” Buffy snapped, drying off her face. She yanked the door open, and let out a muffled yelp as Spike swooped in, placing a morning-breath kiss on her lips.
“Ugh,” she grumbled, wiping her mouth. Spike firmly kissed her again, and with a slight push, got her out of the bathroom and shut the door, locking it.
Outrage made her mouth drop open. “Hey, that’s cheating!”
“What’s cheating?”
Buffy spun to see her mother poking her head around her door. “Uh…” think fast. “He just… pushed me.”
Joyce sighed. “Honestly you two,” she shook her head tiredly. “I’ll call later. Rupert and I are going out for dinner.”
“Okay,” Buffy managed, backing up to her room. “Have fun.”
Joyce smiled quickly. “Have a good day,” she responded, closing her bedroom door.
Relief washed over her as she shut her own door. Damn, that was close. She couldn’t help but wonder if she’d be able to avoid those incidents in the future quite so easily.
****************
The school day dragged by, but Buffy was happy to see her friends again, and was eager to talk to Willow—alone. They hung around the fountain, enjoying the crisp but sunny whether, while Xander glared daggers at Anya and her new boy toy James. Wes and Fred were happily talking about a movie they wanted to see, and Buffy and Willow were playing “Anywhere But Here.”
“Your turn,” Willow announced after her detailed description.
“Um…” Buffy paused, thinking hard. She had honestly exhausted all of her fantasy dates. The only one left was the very, very naughty dream about her, Spike, and edible lotion. “Actually,” she lowered her voice, “let’s walk to class.” She prayed Willow caught her deeper meaning.
Willow’s eyebrows shot up, and she nodded quickly. “Okay.”
As soon as they were out of earshot, the redhead leaned in, a little jumpy. “What’s wrong?”
Buffy tugged her friend’s arm, pulling her off to the side. “Have you talked to Tara or Oz?”
Immediately, Willow fidgeted, a sure sign she was going to lie or stretch the truth. “I…well…it was a busy weekend and I was in LA…”
“Bullshit,” Buffy accused bluntly.
“I was!” Willow protested unconvincingly. “Okay…I didn’t,” she finally admitted.
“Wills,” Buffy began firmly, “you need to talk to them, both of them. You can’t avoid your problem forever and hope it goes away.”
“Why not?” Willow asked almost childishly.
Buffy laughed a little. “You know why. Besides, it’s not far to Oz or you. Or even Tara. Just…talk to them. It’ll make everything better.”
With a look of hesitant determination, Willow nodded. “I know. Thanks,” she said gratefully.
“Good,” Buffy said with a nod of her own. “Now-“
She was cut off in surprise as her cell phone rang in her jacket pocket. “Hello?” She answered uncertainly.
“Yo, B,” Faith’s tired voice crackled over the line.
A relaxed smile flittered across Buffy’s face. “Hey, F,” she replied. “What’s up?”
“Just calling my favorite ‘cuz,” Faith responded with a yawn. “Bitch.”
Buffy knew exactly what the name was for. “Sorry,” she apologized. “I know I haven’t really talked to you, but I’ve been super busy.” No one made her babble like Faith did.
“Fuck you,” Faith replied, but half-heartedly. “I’m five by five. So, your mom and my mom have concocted a plan for me to visit your new little town of Sunny-what-the-fuck.”
“Dale,” Buffy corrected with a grin. “And I’m glad you’re coming.”
“Yeah, me too,” Faith said in a rare moment of tenderness. Then she shifted rapidly. “Any hotties?”
Buffy let out a bark of laughter. “Oh yeah. Call me later, I gotta go to class.”
“Later, B,” Faith said, and the phone clicked, signaling the end of the call.
Buffy slid her phone back into her pocket, and turned to a curious Willow. “Was that Faith?” She asked.
“Yep. She’s psyched to meet you guys,” Buffy answered, stretching Faith’s words.
“Cool,” Willow chirped. “Winter break will be so much fun. Oh! We’ll go to the Bronze on the half-day, and when Faith comes in.”
Buffy gave her friend a look. “If you promise to talk to Tara and Oz.”
Willow’s expression fell, but she agreed. “I will, promise.”
“Good, ‘cause I’m planning on a stress-free break, which means a guilt-free Willow,” Buffy warned.
“One guilt-free Willow coming up,” the redhead mock saluted. At the sound of the bell, both girls shot off to their respective classrooms. Oh no, Buffy thought glumly, she was so gonna be late.