Buffy stared at her ex boyfriend in shock. “Riley, what the hell are you doing here?!”
Riley looked a little annoyed for a moment, like he’d actually expected her to be happy to see him, but he quickly recovered and laughed a little. “What do you mean ‘what am I doing here’? I’m here to see you, of course.” A pause. “Wow, Buffy, how long has it been, a month? I’ve missed you.”
He smiled that special smile that always used to make her knees go weak. Now, she just found it annoying. He’d missed her? Was he for real? Buffy took a deep breath, forcing herself to stay calm. “Riley, how did you find me?”
Riley got a proud expression on his face. “Oh, I called Hank. He told me you’d moved here.”
Buffy stared at him in disbelief. “You called my father?”
He shrugged. “Well, yeah. I came here a couple of hours ago. You weren’t home, so I decided to wait outside. I tried calling your cell phone, but you didn’t pick up.”
Her eyes widened. “You’ve been waiting outside my house for hours?! Are you crazy? What if I hadn’t showed up at all, you’d just hang around here all night?” Buffy was starting to feel dizzy. Why was this happening to her? Why did Riley have to come here? Everything had been going so well today. If only she hadn’t forgotten her stupid cell phone, then they would’ve gone straight to Spike's place, and…
Oh God, Spike! Who was still sitting in his car, waiting for her. Oh God!
Riley pretended not to notice her irritation and smiled, softly. “You would have to come home sooner or later, sweetheart. And I have to say, you were definitely worth waiting for. You look great.”
“Oh, please!” Buffy rolled her eyes at Riley’s lame compliment. What the hell was she going to do? She had to find a way to get rid of Riley, before…
“Buffy? Everything okay, pet?”
Damn it!
Riley spun around, looking at Spike in confusion before turning back to Buffy. “Who’s that?”
Walking up to stand beside Buffy, Spike glared at Riley, giving the other man the look over. “I could ask you the same thing, mate.”
Okay, this was bad. Very bad. Buffy closed her eyes for a moment, wondering what to do. She definitely didn’t want any trouble, but she had a feeling Riley wouldn’t just give up and walk away. Oh well, it was worth a shot. “Riley, you should go back home.”
“Riley, eh? This your ex, luv?” She nodded, cringing inside. Spike didn’t look happy at that statement, not that she could blame him.
Riley turned his attention to Spike, obviously not pleased with the fact that a strange man knew who he was. “And you are?”
Suddenly getting a smug look on his face, Spike took a step closer to Riley and reached out his hand in greeting. “Name’s Spike. Buffy’s new boyfriend.”
Buffy had to roll her eyes at the possessive note in Spike’s voice. A part of her was pleased, of course, and by the look on Riley’s face, he had definitely not seen that coming. “Excuse me?”
She decided it was time to step in. “Look, Riley, I don’t know what you want, and to tell the truth, I don’t really care. Now, if you don’t mind, we have plans for tonight.” Buffy gave Spike a questioning look. “Shall we?”
Spike looked from Riley to Buffy, torn between wanting to stay and find out what this wanker wanted, or getting Buffy as far away from him as possible. Deciding that the latter would have to do for now, he nodded and put his arm protectively around Buffy’s shoulders.
“I mean it, Riley. Go home.” With that, Buffy turned around to walk away, followed by Spike who glared at Riley one last time.
The drive to Spike’s place went by in silence, and when he had finally turned off the engine outside his apartment and they stepped out of the car, Buffy still hadn’t said a word. Spike was getting closer to panicking by the minute. “Buffy? Talk to me, luv? Please, you’re killing me here.”
Buffy seemed to snap out of it and shook her head, as if to clear her thoughts. “I’m sorry. Did you say something?”
Spike walked up to her and took her hand, trying to get her to look him in the eyes. “Why do I get a feeling there was a bit more to this breakup then what you’ve been telling me?”
Sighing, Buffy stubbornly kept looking down at her feet. “Probably because there was.” She paused. “Spike, please, do we have to...? I don’t wanna talk about this right now.”
She tried to take a step back, but Spike wouldn’t let her. “Did he hurt you? I mean, as in hitting you?”
Buffy looked up at him in genuine surprise. “No! No, of course not. He just…” She sighed again. “Please, can’t we just…”
He interrupted her. “No, we bloody well can not just! Dammit, Buffy, you’re the one who said we had to be honest with each other.” Spike was both frustrated and starting to get desperate. Why wouldn’t she talk to him? She’d told him that Riley had dumped her, but what if she still had feelings for the wanker?
What if seeing Riley again would make Buffy realize she was still in love with him after all? Then she would leave him, just like the all the others. He should have known this had been too good to be true. He wasn’t ready to just give up yet, though, and gave Buffy a pleading look. “Buffy, please, if you’re gonna leave me, at least…”
“Whoa! Hold it right there!” Buffy’s eyes widened at his words, and when she looked at him, she realized that he looked terrified. She put her hand on his arm. “Spike, no. God, how can you even think...” Quickly, she made up her mind. “Okay, look, I’ll tell you everything you wanna know. I just don’t want this to ruin things tonight more than it already has. I just wanted tonight to be perfect. I’m sorry.”
Spike suddenly didn’t know what to think. “What are you saying, pet?”
Buffy gave him a soft smile, and took both his hands in hers. “I thought it was obvious how I feel about you. I don’t want Riley, God! He’s a jerk, and being dumped by him was the best thing that ever happened to me, because if he hadn't, then I never would’ve met you.” She suddenly looked shy. “Spike, I want us to be together. I know we haven’t known each other long, and maybe it won’t work out. But maybe it will. I’m ready to take my chances. If you are, that is?”
Too stunned to even speak, Spike could only nod in response. Buffy let out the breath she had been holding, letting out a relieved laugh. “Oh, thank God!”
Chuckling a little, Spike pulled her into his arms. Buffy leaned into him, closing her eyes as he tightened his grip around her. Caught in his embrace, she sighed happily as her lips met his.
TBC