Chapter 9:
“You alright Buffy?” Willow asked when she saw her friend’s tired and worried face, “You haven’t touched your pancakes.”
“I’m not that hungry anymore.”
Buffy’s appetite has been scarce for the last few days. After the party, she and Angel went home to discuss their late night activities they had.
*~*~*~*~*
“What’s wrong baby?” Angel asked when he spotted Buffy’s frustrated face. “Didn’t you have any fun last night?”
“No…not really…” she bit the inside of her cheek, restraining herself from going off and yelling at him.
“Who were you partnered with?”
“William Pratt.”
”Dru’s husband?”
“Yes…what do you think about that?” she asked as she eyed his every movement. Angel was on thin ice, and if he slipped up just once he was bound to be in deep deep trouble.
Buffy deep down hoped that he was angry at the situation, mad that someone other than him was touching her intimately.
“I’m thinking…I’m sorry you didn’t get a good pick.”
“What?”
Buffy was fuming when she heard Angel insult William.
“Dru and him have been having problems…you know, in the bedroom department.”
She couldn’t believe what she was hearing, were these words actually coming out of his mouth?
“So what, she’s been open about these types of things with you—discussing her personal marriage with her employee?” Buffy argued, “Seems a little bit unprofessional, don’t you think?”
“She needed someone to talk to Buffy.” He sighed.
“OH I’m sure she did…” Buffy scoffed out bitterly, “That woman has no respect for William at all.”
“Oh, so he’s talked with you and you think that’s appropriate?”
Buffy narrowed her eyes at him, ‘Careful Angel, careful…’ she thought to herself, ‘You turn this thing around on me and I’ll bring you down.’ She would have been happy any day of the week if Angel fought for her on the subject of her conversing personally with another man, but now…now, his response only got her fired up.
“I didn’t need to speak with him. I can just take one look at him and could see that your boss doesn’t appreciate what she has.”
“Buffy, the man is a wounded puppy.”
Buffy shook her head at Angel and left the room without uttered another word to him. “Ya, and I wonder who ran him over” she muttered to herself as she went up the stairs.
*~*~*~*~*
It had been 2 long nights since then. The first night Buffy didn’t even sleep in the same room with him. The next night she was hesitant, but she still somehow managed to get under the covers with him. She didn’t know why she did it, perhaps she just felt stressed knowing that things were broken in her home. Buffy only got into that bed because she wanted to see if there was an ounce of normality left in their master bedroom—if things could ever be the same again. She didn’t let him touch her at all, they calmly conversed but that was it.
“Are you and Angel having problems?” Willow took a guess.
Buffy wanted to come clean and flat out say ‘yes’, but decided to hold back a bit.
“Let’s just say the party wasn’t too grand.” Buffy sadly said as she dumped cream into her coffee and started to stir with a spoon.
“What happened?”
Sparing a glance at an elderly couple behind Willow’s shoulder, eating their breakfast in the next booth, and spying to see a young family at the table across from them, Buffy refused to discuss this in public.
“Umm…not here.” Buffy said as she shot Willow a look that said that this was neither the place nor the time.
“Oh, got it.” Willow said with a nod, understanding completely the situation.
“How are you and Oz doing?” Buffy changed the subject.
Willow smiled dreamily, one that Buffy would kill to be doing at this moment.
“Great…he’s playing in Seattle next week and San Francisco the week after. After that, he’s all mine for 3 months. “Willow smiled.
“I’m happy for you Wills…” Buffy said truthly.
‘Everyone deserves some happiness…’
*~*~*~*~
Buffy didn’t feel like going home straight after work. Driving home to an empty house and waiting a few hours for Angel to come stumbling in asking for dinner wasn’t what she needed tonight. She drove around the city for a while, finding herself down near Santa Monica and down near the beach. When Buffy got out of her car and started to walk, she carried William’s writing folder with her.
After that night with William she didn’t go home and automatically read his work. Her mind was still preoccupied with leaving Angel and trying to find the courage to tell Willow what happened at the party so she could have a shoulder to lean on. For the time being Buffy placed William’s folder in a place that Angel couldn’t ever find it and promised to read it soon as she was in a relax state of mind. Before she left the Pratt house, before even the partiers were away and coming down the stairs, William told her to give him a call when she was finished if she liked it. And if she didn’t like it…well, he asked her to mail it to him.
The sun was slowly setting over the Pacific Ocean when Buffy glanced up from her spot on a bench adjacent to the beach. She slipped off her shoes and brought her feet up to tuck under her legs. Buffy reached for William’s folder beside her and started to read.
*~*~*~*~*
The lights of the boardwalk were starting to flicker on as the sun went down. Buffy sat inside her car and watched the people on the beach walk by. A bunch of kids were having a small bonfire about ¼ of a mile away, pet owners were walking their dogs, and a few late night joggers were sprinting parallel to the shore.
Buffy’s phone vibrated in her hand. She took a quick look at the ID before answering.
“You here?” she asked instantly as soon as she picked up.
“Good…” she muttered softly, “I’m in a red Pacifica near the Pier…okay…I’ll be waiting…”
*~*~*~*~
Buffy watched through her rear view mirror as a car pull up behind her, the headlights on the black Mustang were blinding. With a deep sigh Buffy got out of the car and turned to her guest.
“Hello Buffy…”
“Hello Dru…”
TBC…