Chapter Three
Buffy started worrying about what to wear by noon the following day. She stood in front of her closet and tried to think about what to do. Yes, Spike had said she should look good, and she had told him she wanted to dress up, but the idea of appearing in public dressed in her best and accompanied by someone in jeans and a tee shirt was not appealing. Finally she just decided to trust him not to embarrass her too much, and she pulled out a little black dress that she’d been saving for something special.
A leisurely bath, time spent drying and curling her hair so that it hung around her shoulders in golden waves, a half an hour at her dressing table working on make-up, and she was ready to get dressed. She stood in front of the mirror in a black lace thong and held the dress up to her. It came up high in front into a halter top, and was cut low in the back. A bra was obviously not an option, but she looked at her perky little breasts and decided it was OK. She pulled the silky fabric over her head and settled the swirling skirt around her hips. The hem just brushed the top of her knees and when she had added thigh-high black stockings and strappy little black sandals with three inch heels, she stepped back to evaluate her hard work.
Staring back from the mirror was someone she almost didn’t recognize at first. Gone were the pretty, young co-ed and the flinty-eyed slayer, and in their place was a beautiful, sophisticated woman. She worried for a minute that she looked too good for what Spike undoubtedly had in mind for them, but when she heard the car pull up outside she knew it was too late to change. She heard the front door open and voice calling up the stairs, “Oi, Slayer. You’d better be ready. It’s a long drive and we’ve got reservations for 8:00.”
(Reservations? We have reservations?)
Buffy went to the top of the stairs and yelled back at him, “I’m almost ready. Try some patience for a change.”
She quickly grabbed an evening bag from her mother’s closet and filled it with her wallet, lip-gloss, a comb and, as an after thought, a stake. She hung it from her shoulder and with a sense of trepidation that surprised her she started down the stairs. She was almost to the bottom when she saw an incredibly good looking blond man, wearing an expensive black suit and dress shoes staring up at her with his mouth hanging open.
By the time she registered that she was looking at Spike, she was frozen on the stairs unable to do anything but gawk. He was wearing a blue shirt that matched his eyes exactly, and a tie that she was pretty sure cost more than her dress. She wanted to accuse him of killing someone for the clothes, but the way the suit fit, as though it had been tailored just for him, kept her mouth shut.
Spike couldn’t have moved if he’d wanted to. The woman standing on the stairs looking down at him was a vision in black and gold that he wanted to remember forever. He was grateful that he didn’t need to breath, as he was sure he wouldn’t have been able to and would have passed out on the floor.
Time dragged on as they stayed rooted to their spots, both lost in the sight in front of them. The sound of a door slamming next door broke the spell and Buffy shook herself and came the rest of the way down the stairs. The vampire moved forward and took her hands, helping her down the last two steps, but never taking his eyes from hers.
“You look absolutely stunning, Buffy,” he said with a slightly different accent than she was accustomed to hearing from him. The look on his face left no doubt as to his sincerity and she blushed slightly as she replied, “You’re pretty amazing yourself.”
They were standing at the bottom of the stairs, only inches apart and Buffy suddenly felt very warm as he devoured her with his eyes. She colored again, and gently took her hand out of his as she moved toward the door.
“So, reservations, huh?” she asked as she went out the door. “What’s that all about?”
He slipped in front of her and ran to open the door on the passenger side of his old Desoto. He couldn’t resist touching her hair as he waited for her to get in the car and she smiled up at him almost shyly as she felt his hand brush her head.
By the time he was back around to his own side and had slid behind the wheel, he was back to his old cocky self; and he ran an appreciative eye up her nylon clad legs, sayin with a leer, “I hope those aren’t panty hose, pet.”
Buffy flushed, but snarked back at him as she flashed him a glimpse of lacey tops and silky golden skin. “Do I look like the pantyhose type?” she asked innocently.
He swallowed hard and suddenly wished he was wearing his usual tight jeans as his cock sat up at attention in the lightweight dress pants. He peered sideways at her to see if she noticed, but she was looking out the window, watching Sunnydale disappear behind them.
By the time they got to LA, they had relaxed back into their usual comfortable camaraderie and Buffy was beginning to wonder what he had in mind for them.
“Where are we going, Spike?” she asked, looking around but not recognizing where they were.
“Right here, love. “ he answered, pulling into a curved drive in front of a very expensive hotel and opening his door. Before she could ask what they were doing at a hotel, the valet was opening the door on her side and handing her out of the car. His appreciative look at her legs as she swung them around to get out didn’t pass unnoticed by the vampire, and his eyes were briefly flecked with gold as he handed the key to the oblivious boy.
“Take good care of her,” he growled, gesturing at the car and taking Buffy’s arm. “We’ll be a while.”
They entered the hotel lobby and Spike immediately guided her toward an elevator set off from the others. A small tasteful sign indicated it was a direct elevator to the “Top of the World” restaurant.
When they emerged from the elevator into the restaurant, Buffy gasped involuntarily. The room was huge and dominated by the floor to ceiling windows surrounding it. When Spike gave the hostess his name, she smiled coquettishly and escorted them to a table for two, right next to a window.
Buffy was entranced by the view from their table, but not so entranced that she didn’t notice the woman looking Spike up and down and licking her lips. Buffy surprised herself by giving a low growl that fortunately no one heard but Spike. He cocked an eyebrow at her curiously, but continued to talk with the more-than-attentive hostess about a wine list.
When she finally walked away, swaying her hips provocatively, Buffy huffed, “Well, you’d think a nice place like this wouldn’t have such a ‘ho as their hostess.”
The blond vampire gaped at her and said, “Uh, Slayer? Not sure I’m followin’ you here. What did the poor bint do to bring that on?”
“She was ogling you,” she snarled. At his amused expression, she snapped, “And you were ogling back!”
He looked at her in annoyed surprise for a second, then burst into a big smile.
“You’re jealous!” he crowed.
“Wha-? As if! I am not!”
Buffy rolled her eyes and huffed in disgust. (I’m not jealous! Am I? Oh my god, I am. I’m jealous. Argh!)
“Yes, you are. You’re jealous.” He was so delighted that he was practically singing it.
“Fine, I’m jealous, Mr.-I’m-going-to-eat-the-parking-valet,’” she growled back at him. “Thought I didn’t notice that, huh?” She stuck her chin out at him combatively.
Instead of arguing with her, he reached across the table and took her hand, bringing it to his lips and kissing it. Warmth shot through her body when his soft lips touched her sensitive palm and he smiled when he felt her heart rate go up.
“Suppose, just for tonight, that we agree that there is nobody else in the world except us? We don’t have to worry about anybody ogling anything, because they aren’t really there. There’s just Spike and the Slayer.”
He looked at her with soft blue eyes that pleaded with her to agree. When she shook her head, “No”, he started to shut them, but she stopped him with a light touch on his face.
As soon as he was looking at her again, she said softly, “There’s just William and Buffy.”
A smile that lit up his whole face was his only response, as he kissed her hand again and rubbed his cheek against it before giving it back.
“William and Buffy it is.”
While the waiter was pouring the wine Spike had ordered, a pretty girl carrying a camera came up to them and offered, “Would you two like a picture as a souvenir of the night? You look so wonderful together.”
Before Buffy could respond, Spike jumped up and said, “Absolutely, luv. We’ll take two or three.”
He pulled Buffy to her feet and got behind her, wrapping his arms around her waist and pulling her back against his chest. Buffy settled for wrapping her arms across his, when she couldn’t find anything else to do with them. They took another one of them standing side by side with Spike’s arm around her waist, and a final one of them sitting at the table, leaning toward each other and smiling happily at the camera.
After giving the girl Buffy’s Revello Drive address and a nice tip, Spike once again took his place across the table from her. The menus came and they ordered, Spike having a New York Strip “very rare” he instructed carefully while Buffy rolled her eyes. They ate a leisurely dinner, talking about where they would go after they finished and what time they would have to leave Los Angeles to get home before sunrise.
Buffy tried not to wonder how much the evening was costing, or where Spike was getting the money for it, but she knew it was beginning to add up and they hadn’t even gone dancing yet. When she ventured a question about it, he gave her a hard look and said evenly, “Don’t worry about it, Slayer. I didn’t steal it and I didn’t kill anybody. That’s all you need to know.”
She flinched a little when he called her Slayer, and wondered if she had spoiled the evening for them, but he soon bounced back and was anxious to move on to the next part of the night. Buffy refused to be rushed through her chocolate mousse dessert and by the time she was done, he was practically jiggling with impatience.
They walked past the hostess without even noticing the wistful look she sent after Spike, and managed to get back into the car without risking a Spike headache for punching the valet.
The next stop was a well-known club on the other side of town and Buffy was flabbergasted when the owner came over to greet them, telling Spike how good it was to see him again, and offering a bottle of champagne on the house.
“How...what...who...” She fumbled for the right to question to ask as Spike just smirked at her smugly.
“I’m an important man, love. Haven’t you figured that out yet?”
“You’re not a man, you’re a vampire. And you live in Sunnydale. How does that man know you?”
He laughed and finally admitted, “Spent some time in LA off and on. Especially after Dru sent me away and before I came back to Sunnyhell. Got drunk here one night and passed out. Came to just in time to see a couple of vamps trying to take the night’s receipts and have Jake for dessert. Couldn’t tell you why I didn’t just kill them and drain him myself – but I didn’t. Dusted both of them, then passed out again. When I came to, I was lying on a couch in his office and he was telling me my money was no good in here for as long as he owned the place. Decided havin’ someplace this nice to go to whenever I wanted was more important that eatin’ him, and we’ve been friends ever since.”
“Does he know what you are?” she asked dubiously.
“Can’t imagine he doesn’t,” he said. “I’m sure it was my demon whipped those two thieves. I was too pissed to be much good in a fight. He’s never mentioned it, though.”
While Buffy tried to digest that their host knew what Spike was and liked him anyway - (Kinda like my mom, she realized with a start - he was taking her hand and pulling her toward the dance floor. The two lithe blonds attracted a lot of attention as their natural athleticism and sense of rhythm quickly made them the most watchable dancers on the floor. After several fast songs, the band dropped into a ballad and they melted into each other as though they’d been dancing together for years.
Spike’s arm was around her waist and his hand was on the small of her back as he guided her around the floor. After several circuits that let her know he was probably one of the best dancers she’d ever been with, he slowed down and they found themselves in one place swaying gently to the music flowing around them. He moved both hands around her waist, pulling her closer to his body and she snaked her arms up around his neck, resting her head on his shoulder.
He buried his nose in her hair, inhaling the scent of her herbal shampoo. He could smell and hear the blood rushing through the artery in her neck, just below his chin. When he couldn’t resist it any longer, he put his head down and licked the pulse pounding there. As soon as Buffy felt his lips on her neck, she shivered and moved closer to him. The vampire groaned as her warm body pressed up against his and he began nibbling on the warm skin on her neck and murmuring in her ear when he worked his way up to her ear lobe.
When the evidence of what her nearness was doing to him became impossible to deny, Buffy reluctantly pushed herself away slightly and shook her head.
“What’s wrong, love?” he whispered in her ear, trying to pull her back against him. He missed the warm body he’d been pressed up against, even thought she had only moved an inch or so away.
“What’s wrong is the whole club is going to know what you’re doing,” she hissed at him, turning a bright shade of red. “Those pants don’t hide a thing.”
“They won’t see anything as long as you’re in front me,” he grinned. “The only way to protect your virtue is to stay right here.” He pulled her back against the even larger bulge in his pants and she felt it twitch against her hip. She had to admit he was right. As long as she was plastered up against his body, no one would be able to see the hard object in front of him.
“See, love,” he whispered in that deep tone that sent shivers down her spine, “you need to be here. “S where you belong.”
Buffy let the soothing sound of his voice and the feel of his arms lull her back into the pleasant daze she’d been in when they first started dancing and she felt herself melting back into him. She smothered the little pang of disloyalty she felt when she couldn’t keep herself from comparing how well their bodies fit together with how awkward it was to dance like this with Riley.
The other patrons all noticed that the two beautiful dancers were now lost in their own world and they smiled with appreciation or wistful envy as they watched the couple swaying to music only they could hear. Spike and Buffy were so wrapped up in each other that neither one noticed when the music ended, nor that after a short pause in which the owner gestured to the band for another slow song, it began again.
As they danced, Buffy felt the little tingles on her neck that told her there was a vampire near. The tingle was almost familiar, but she shook it off, figuring Spike must have done something to trigger her radar.
(Maybe he nibbled too hard on my neck or something.)
Suddenly, he was ripped out of her arms and she opened her eyes to see him sprawled on the floor, eyes flashing yellow as he snarled at a large, dark haired man looming over him. Buffy could see the bouncers headed in their direction as Spike kipped back to his feet, preparing to launch himself at the man in front of him.
Buffy had run to his side and whirled to face his assailant, fully prepared to disregard her normal reluctance to hurt humans. One look at the furious face of the interloper and she froze in place.
“Angel?”
Chapter Four
Although neither vampire had gone totally into game face, both sets of glaring eyes were flickering yellow as they moved up to stand face to face. Buffy moved quickly to get in between them, and pushed Angel back toward the rapidly approaching bouncers.
“Stop it!” she hissed at him. “You’re going to get us thrown out of here!”
“Us? What us? Are you here with him?” Her ex stared at her in disbelief and dismay. “You’re out with Spike?”
“Yeah, Peaches. She’s out with me. An’ you’re makin’ a scene in my friend’s club.”
Angel turned to stare at Buffy incredulously.
“What the hell are you thinking, Buffy? It’s Spike!”
“I’m thinking that everybody except me is having a fun summer and I deserved a night off from babysitting the Hellmouth.” She stuck her lower lip out and glared at other vampire. “And you’re trying to ruin it.”
By this time, Jake and his bouncers were surrounding the small group, which, Buffy suddenly noticed, appeared to include Cordelia.
“Is there a problem here, Spike?” Jake asked as he motioned for his bouncers to take Angel’s arms.
Correctly reading the barely suppressed rage on his grandsire’s face, Spike said soothingly, “”S OK, Jake. Just a misunderstanding. Peaches and I are old friends. His social skills just aren’t very good sometimes. Right, Peaches?”
“Angel, please,” Buffy added quietly.
He stared back and forth between his grandchild and his ex girlfriend for a second, then bowed to the pleading in Buffy’s eyes and shook the bouncers off with a, “Right. My apologies if my usual greeting was a little too rough for the time and place. I’m not used to finding Spike in such nice places,” he added with a growl.
Jake looked at them dubiously, but when Spike nodded his head, he directed the bouncers back to the door and went back to his office, leaving them in the middle of the floor.
“Care to join us?” Spike asked as he took Buffy’s arm and headed for their table. He didn’t look back to see if they were following, just pulled Buffy’s chair out for her and sat down himself.
Cordelia rolled her eyes at the still frozen Angel and walked over to sit down next to Buffy. She eyed Spike cautiously until Buffy snapped, “He’s not going to bite you, Cordelia. Relax.”
“Well, not unless you ask me to, Cheerleader,” Spike leered at her then winced when Buffy kicked his unprotected ankle under the table.
“Ow, Slayer! Knew I should have worn my boots. What’s wrong with you?”
“Don’t be ass, Spike,” she grumbled.
(Guess William and Buffy have left the building. It’s jus’ like Angelus to bollix things up for everybody.)
When Angel had recovered sufficiently to follow Cordelia’s swaying hips to the table, he grabbed the only chair left and sat down in it facing Buffy and doing his best to ignore Spike.
“Buffy? I don’t understand. This is Spike. What are you doing going out with him? And what about the soldier?”
It wasn’t lost on the older vampire that Spike’s eyes narrowed and flickered yellow when he mentioned Riley. He tried not to watch as the other vampire struggled to push his demon down, but he couldn’t help noticing that Spike was able to do it fairly easily. A twinge of envy went through him to think that his much younger grandchild was able to control his demon better than Angel could his own.
Buffy rolled her eyes and tried to be patient as she filled Angel and Cordelia in on the events of the past year. Angel had heard about Spike’s chip and his inability to hurt humans, but he was floored at the idea that the former killer of Slayers was now helping one.
He turned to look hard at Spike and growled, “Why, Spike? What are you up to?”
“Not up to anythin’, Peaches. Jus’ helpin’ the Slayer out while her little Scooby buddies are out of town and gettin’ in my spot of violence. Promised her a night out on the town before summer was over and I’m just keeping my promise.”
He clenched his jaw and glared back at the clearly distrustful, scowling vampire. The air was tight with tension, and for a minute Buffy was sure they were going to throw the table aside and tear the club apart. However the blond vampire was able to lean back in his chair and project an air of supreme indifference that gave Angel no excuse for violence.
Instead, he demanded that they pay up their tab and come with him. Cordelia rolled her eyes when he said, “We’re going somewhere else. I need some answers here.”
“Oh, wonderful,” she moaned. “You promised me a night out in a human club and now you want to go running back to Caritas. How perfect!”
“Caritas?” Buffy and Spike asked at the same time.
Angel sighed and, taking a more conciliatory tone, explained, “Caritas is owned by a friend of mine. He can...sense things about people and demons. I want him to read Spike to be sure there isn’t something evil going on here. I don’t trust him,” he added, throwing another glare at Spike.
“I do,” Buffy said quietly. Under the table she rubbed her foot against his ankle and saw him smile slightly in her direction before he turned his eyes back to Angel’s.
‘Well, then it’s probably a good thing we ran into you. Obviously he’s got you fooled somehow, Buffy. But don’t worry, I’ll take care of it as soon as we find out what’s really going on.”
He beamed at Buffy, completely missing the pissed off look on her face.
“YOU will take care of it? Because I’M being fooled?” The more she thought about his cavalier treatment of her belief in Spike, the angrier she got. “Have you forgotten who I am entirely? Slayer here, Angel. Pretty good at spotting evil when I see it, remember?”
He had the grace to look embarrassed, but stubbornly stuck to his guns as he said, “I’m not trying to insult you, Buffy. But I’ve known Spike for a lot longer than you have and I know –“
“You know nothing, Peaches; but I’m tired of this. Let’s go visit this friend of yours so he can do whatever it is he does and then Buffy and I can go back to enjoyin’ what’s left of our evenin’.”
He stood up and pulled out Buffy’s chair, asking, “You ready to go, pet?”
She focused glittering green ice on Angel as she reluctantly finished off her glass of champagne and stood up. She conspicuously ignored Angel’s outstretched hand and moved closer to her date. Spike smirked at the glowering older vampire and smoothly ushered Buffy toward the door. They paused to look in to Jake’s office and Spike thanked him sincerely for the champagne and apologized for Angel’s behavior.
“No problem, Spike. I’m glad you could smooth it over. I had a feeling my bouncers might have been a little out of their league there...” he said mildly as he gazed at Spike . He wasn’t demanding an explanation, but he was clearly curious.
“Yeah, Peaches might’ve been a bit of a handful for ‘em. Thought it would be better to let it go than to tear up your club. Woulda had a go at him myself, otherwise.”
It was as close as Spike was willing to come to admitting that Angel was also a vampire, but it was enough to satisfy Jake’s suspicions. He nodded his head and repeated his promise that Spike would always be welcome there.
“No fighting tonight!” Buffy poked him. “We’re on vacation,” she explained to the grinning club owner with a smile. He walked over and shook Buffy’s hand.
“Well, don’t wait till you’re on vacation again to come back,” he offered. “You don’t even have to bring him with you if you don’t want to.”
He laughed with Buffy at Spike’s indignant “I’ll be damned” and waved them away.
When they reached the sidewalk, Angel suggested they all go in his car, but Spike refused.
“We’ll jus’ follow you there, Peaches. Don’t want to leave my baby unprotected here on the street.”
Angel growled and made one last attempt to get Buffy to ride with him and Cordelia so that he could “talk to her”, but she shook her head and stepped through the car door Spike was holding open for her. In spite of Spike’s outwardly calm appearance, she could see that he was wound as tightly as she’d ever seen him.
Once they were alone in the car and Angel and Cordelia had gone up the street, she put a tentative hand on his tightly clenched leg and said carefully, “I’m really glad you didn’t let Angel make a scene back there, Spike.” She could feel the steel-like muscle as she touched him and marveled at how something so hard could feel so good when it was pressed up against her own thigh.
(Great, bloody, fuckin’ poof! Leave it to him to come ridin’ in like the Lone Ranger and ruin my night. If this ‘friend’ of his manages to convince her to leave with him, I’m gonna take this whole city apart, brick by brick.)
All he said aloud was, “I need to kill something.”
Buffy sighed and removed her hand, but stayed close to where he was sitting, resting her hand on the seat between them.
“I know what you mean,” she surprised him by agreeing. “I don’t know where he gets off thinking I can’t make my own decisions. He’s a stupid...poof!”
He shot an astonished look at her; then grinned with delight. “Right with you there, love,” he said and patted her hand where it was lying on the seat. When she turned it over and curled her fingers up into his, he swore his heart lurched. They drove the rest of the way behind Angel’s car, holding hands, but looking straight ahead as though if they didn’t see their hands, it wasn’t really happening.
As they slowed down to follow Angel into the parking lot, they could see the silhouette of Cordelia’s head and it was obvious that she was speaking very animatedly.
“Looks like the cheerleader has a few choice words for Mr. Tall, dark and forehead,” Spike pointed out happily.
Buffy examined herself internally, looking for the pang of jealousy that should be there, and was amazed to find that she didn’t mind that Angel seemed to be with Cordelia. In fact, she was happy that he had someone else upon which to lavish his protective urges.
She giggled and agreed, “Yep, looks like he might be apologizing for the rest of the night.”
Finding themselves in much better moods than they had been when they got in the car, Spike and Buffy decided to make the best of the new club and they eagerly followed Angel and a still-angry Cordelia through the door. They were greeted by a large green demon with red horns on his head and a frothy drink in one hand.
“Angelcakes! Cordelia, don’t you look gorgeous? And what is this vision in blondness I see behind you?”
He walked past the two brunettes to circle Spike and Buffy twice before announcing to all within earshot that they were the “best looking couple to ever walk in the door.”
“I’m Lorne,” he introduced himself, “And you are...? Other than drop dead gorgeous, that is?”
He looked back and forth from Buffy to Spike expectantly, but Angel’s voice interrupted his beaming perusal.
“This is Buffy, Lorne,” he said gruffly, ignoring Spike completely.
“How do you do, Buf—“ he’s eyes got big and he whirled on Angel. “YOUR Buffy? The Slayer?”
He whirled back as he heard the snarl from the blond standing beside her and, batting his eyes at Spike, he said quickly, “Didn’t mean it that way, Scrumptious. Just that he talks about her a lot.”
He looked back at Buffy in admiration and said, “Welcome to Caritas, darlin’. I can’t wait to hear you sing.”
“Sing?” Buffy whirled on Angel. “What does he mean, sing? I don’t sing. No singing.”
“How about you, Luscious?” he turned to the blond vampire. “Would you sing for me?”
“Maybe later,” he growled, still angry over hearing Buffy referred to as Angel’s. “Give us something to drink first.”
“Oh, of course! Where are my manners? Here you go.” He ushered them to a table near the karaoke equipment and waved a waiter over. “Whatever they want,” he told him. “Keep them happy.”
Buffy looked around the bar at all the demons and vampires and decided that a Diet Coke would be the best choice.
(No way do I want to be drunk in a place where I’m outnumbered by demons twenty to one!)
Spike looked disappointed, but settled for a beer himself, still somewhat angry over the turn their fancy night on the town had taken. After a round of drinks and some awkward small talk, he finally looked Angel in the eye and asked, “Alright then, your royal poofness, tell us why you dragged us away from a perfectly good time at a nice, human club to this place.”
Angel hemmed and hawed until Cordelia finally snapped and said succinctly, “Lorne reads auras when people are singing. Angel wants you to sing so Lorne can tell him what evil plans you have for Buffy and he can rescue her from your evilness and be the big hero.”
Buffy and Spike gawked at her while Angel glared around the room as though looking for something to hit. Buffy and Spike looked at each other and put their heads together, speaking so low that even Angel’s vampire hearing couldn’t pick it up.
“Do you think he’ll know we..?” she worried.
“Dunno, love. But he’ll know I don’t mean to hurt you. That should be enough for Peaches.”
Angel frowned at the two whispering together and leaned forward to try to hear what they were saying.
“Rude, much?” Buffy said as she pulled back, her lips pursed in a worried pout.
“It’s rude to whisper,” he snapped back at her, then looked away when he saw her flinch.
“I’m sorry, Buffy. It’s just that I know he’s up to something, and Lorne should be able to tell what it is. I’m just trying to protect you. Really.”
“I know you are, Angel,” she replied with a sigh, “but I’ve been the Slayer for over four years now. I really think I can handle Spike on my own.”
“Hey!” Spike’s indignant shout was cut off when Buffy looked at him with warm green eyes that said more than she intended about just what she’d like to be handling.
“Can’t I?” she said, holding his gaze until he thought the air between them was going to combust.
“Bloody Hell!” he exploded. “Let’s get this over with.”
He marched up to the small stage and started going through the available music. Cocking his head at Buffy, he asked with a smirk, “Should I be lookin’ for Wind Beneath My Wings, pet?”
He laughed at her horrified expression, and went back to the pile, leaving Angel, Cordelia and Lorne to puzzle over what it meant that her flaming face looked angry, embarrassed and somewhat wistful, all at the same time.
As much as he would have liked to take the opportunity to croon a classic love song to her, even his demon’s desire for stirring things up knew that would be too much. The instant Angel caught on to what he was doing, the bar would be turned into an arena for a battle between two master vampires. He was pretty sure Buffy didn’t want to see that, no matter how much she might have liked the song.
Instead, he settled for being predictable Spike, and chose a song by the Clash. He started the music machine and began belting out the lyrics in a very passable baritone. When he got to “Girl, you got to let me know, Should I stay or should I go?” he was clearly singing directly to Buffy and she blushed in acknowledgement even as she tried to warn him with her eyes not to push Angel too far.
Fortunately, the older vampire didn’t pay much attention to anything that wasn’t written by Barry Manilow, and he didn’t have any idea what the lyrics were that Spike was shouting so enthusiastically. Lorne, on the other hand, had a very thoughtful look on his face as he stared at the blond vampire on his stage. Spike’s feelings for Buffy were so obvious, that the demon was sure he could have seen them even without his special talent for reading auras.
Buffy was laughing and clapping along with the song until Spike reached over the stage and grabbed her hand. She gave a little shriek, but allowed him to pull her up with him, where she then joined him in shouting out the chorus. When the green demon saw what their combined auras looked like, he groaned and shook his head. No way was it going to be good for the interior of his establishment if he told Angel what he was seeing.
The two laughing blonds finished singing to a round of applause from the other patrons, and Spike bowed deeply before leaping off the stage and lifting a blushing, but laughing Slayer down to the floor. His hands lingered just a second on her waist before he let go and pulled out her chair for her.
Oblivious to the good time being had by everyone except him, Angel whirled on Lorne and demanded, “Well?”
“He’s not going to hurt her,” his friend answered immediately, hoping the vampire would be willing to let it go at that.
“That’s all you saw?” Angel snarled in disbelief. “What else?”
“Nothing else that’s important.” His friend tried to drop the subject. “That’s what you wanted to know, isn’t it, Sweetcheeks? If he was planning to hurt her?”
“I want to know everything you saw,” Angel gritted through his teeth.
“No, Angel, you really don’t,” his friend said sadly as he moved back to the bar. “Just let them go. She’s going to be fine.”
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