Chapter 3
“Buffy, love, you can’t stay in there all night.” Spike sighed when she once again didn’t answer him. He decided to give up and was about to move away from her bedroom door, when it suddenly opened to reveal the small blonde. His jaw nearly dropped at the sight of her in a silk nightie that left nothing to the imagination.
She didn’t bother to respond to him, heading into the living room and plopping down on the couch.
Spike had a feeling that it would be a very long night. “You can’t keep the silent treatment up forever. We really need to talk, pet.”
Buffy continued to channel surf, pretending that she didn’t hear him.
He finally had enough and marched over to her, snatching the remote out of her hand and turning the television off. “Why are you acting like a child?”
Buffy felt her anger surface and bounded off of the couch. “I’m being childish? You’re really one to talk, William. I’m tired of you always playing these games.”
Spike knew it was serious when she used his real name. “What games? Why don’t you really tell me what’s bothering you?”
“It’s late and I’m so not having this conversation with you right now. We’ll talk in the morning. Goodnight,” with that said, she made her way back over to her room and shut the door.
Spike just remained there in shock. “What the bloody hell just happened?”
* * * * *
He was awoken from a deep slumber at the sounds of laughter coming from the living room. Spike rubbed the sleep from his eyes and put on a shirt and pants, then made his way into the living room. Once his eyes adjusted, he noticed that Buffy was in there chatting with someone, a man that he never saw before.
“What’s going on?”
Buffy finally noticed his presence and flashed a bright smile. “Hey, I see Sleeping Beauty is finally awake. This is Riley Finn; he’s a friend from my night class. He was just dropping by a book that I left in class.”
Riley noticed the seething glance that the blond man was sending in his direction and decided that he’d better make a hasty retreat. “I’ll just get going now. Sorry, I didn’t realize you were seeing anyone,” he commented to Buffy.
She laughed and shook her head. “Spike? Oh, you don’t have to worry about him. He’s gay, we’re just roommates.”
Riley was surprised to hear that, but not displeased.
Spike was glaring at Buffy now, but she didn’t care to notice.
“Oh, well, maybe we could get together sometime after class? I know a great coffee place.”
Buffy smiled and showed Riley to the door. “That sounds like fun. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
He smiled as well, then left the apartment.
Buffy closed the door and turned to Spike. “He’s nice, isn’t he? A really sweet, decent guy. I think that’s what I need right now. A man that knows what he wants and goes for it.”
“You must be bloody daft if you think you’re going out with that ponce,” Spike practically growled.
Buffy wasn’t fazed. “I’m sorry, since when are you my father? I can date whoever I want. You never listen to me when I tell you about the losers that you decide to go out with, so why should I listen to you?”
He crossed his arms over his chest. “Well, you didn’t seem to waste anytime to tell him I was gay. I thought we settled on bi-sexual?”
Buffy shrugged. “Gay sounded better, and that way he would know there’s no chance with us. Besides, I thought we weren’t really labeling it. You’re just a guy that likes a lot of sex; it doesn’t matter where you get it. I’m the one that’s about having real relationships. All you care about is having a warm place to shove your dick.”
Spike grabbed her arm before she could get away. “You know that’s not true. I care about that just as much as you do; I just haven’t found the right person yet. And hey, I was with Angel for three months. That sounds like a real relationship to me.”
Buffy gave him a look. “Right, and what exactly did you spend time doing in those three months? The walls are pretty thin in this place, Spike.”
“What do you want me to say, Buffy? I’m a guy, we tend to like sex. You can’t tell me that you don’t like it just as much.”
She thought about it. “Sure, I like it whenever it happens, but I’m not always going out to find a different person to sleep with. When was the last time you ever saw me bring someone over for that?”
Now that he thought about it, he couldn’t remember her ever bringing anyone over. She would probably have the decency to go to their place. “Look, I don’t want to argue with you about this. I’m sorry that I’ve made you uncomfortable, but I can’t change the way I am.”
Buffy nodded. “Just tell me one thing, Spike. Were you jealous when you saw me with Riley?”
Spike suddenly found the floor to be very interesting. “Why does that matter?” he wondered, glancing back up at her after a few seconds. “I just feel protective of you, Buffy. I wake up to find some bloke that I don’t know sitting with you in our apartment, he could have been an axe murderer for all I knew. That’s all it was, me feeling protective of you. I’ve watched out for you since high school, I don’t intend to stop now.”
“Fine, you can pretend that’s all it was if that will make you feel better about yourself, but I’m a big girl now. I don’t need you to protect me. Riley couldn’t hurt a fly, so it really shouldn’t bother you if I went out with him. Not that it really matters to me. I’m going out with him, anyway. You can just stay here and keep trying to convince yourself that what you felt wasn’t jealousy. I have to get ready for work.”
Spike watched her go with a sigh, wondering when things got so complicated between them.
* * * * *
“What did you see in that Angel guy, anyway? He wore way too much hair gel.”
Spike glared at his friend, really not wanting to talk about his ex at the moment. “We have more important things to do, Xander.”
He held his hands up. “Hey, I was just curious. I refuse to believe that he was very interesting company. He was always so broody.”
Spike couldn’t help the smile that graced his lips at that. “Yeah, but he had a nice car.”
Xander laughed and patted Spike on the back. “I knew there had to be a good reason. So, what’s up with Buffy? I could tell that she wasn’t all that interested in me.”
Spike let out a sigh. “It was nothing against you, mate. Buffy likes her wankers to be dull and boring. She’s going out with Captain America tonight; it doesn’t get much more boring than that.”
“Well, if I didn’t know any better, I would say that you sounded a bit jealous.”
Spike growled and threw his hands up in the air. “You’re just as bad as her. I’m not bloody jealous, all right? She’s just a friend.”
Xander nodded. “Right, I forgot. You prefer someone with more of a penis. I’m watching you, mister,” he said teasingly.
Spike rolled his eyes. “Trust me, Harris. You’re not my type.” He licked his lips when a cute, red head suddenly walked by them. “Lately, I’m thinking that not having a penis sounds pretty good.”