This was it.
This was the moment William Giles had been waiting for since that fateful day when the woman standing just a few feet away from him had kicked him to the curb…well, technically he had never even reached the doorstep but just the same she had rejected him before he’d had a chance to profess his undying love to her. She hadn’t changed much since he had last seen her as she laughed in his face and walked off with her groupies. A few laugh lines around her mouth and a couple of crinkles around her eyes but other than that, nothing had changed. Same bright, shiny, commercial quality blonde hair, vibrant green eyes, toned body. Yes, Buffy Summers looked, in a word, effulgent.
William glanced down at his tight black jeans, matching black t-shirt and royal blue button-down before stepping forward in line towards the table lined with her latest best seller. It hadn’t been hard to track her down again, considering she was having her first signing at the local Sunnydale library. He nervously ran a hand through his newly bleached hair and silently cursed as he felt a couple of errant curls pop free of their gelled state. He looked good and he knew he looked good. He wasn’t the same timid boy he once was. He had made a life for himself out of the small town and was now a successful lawyer residing in Los Angeles. He had a gaggle of women chasing him every day, yet, he couldn’t find the right one. None of them were ever her.
The line moved up as another girl clutched her newly signed novel, squealed and ran off to friends to show them. He took another step closer to his crush of nearly fourteen years and towards possible rejection…again.
Nine Years Earlier
“B-Buffy?” William stood nervously in front of the popular cheerleader as she focused on someone standing behind him before glancing towards the normally reserved bookworm. “I-I was wondering, pondering really if I might, may, take you out for a-a movie o-or something.” His brown curls danced atop his head as he nervously wrung his hands and dared a glance into her hazel eyes.
The girl of his dreams smiled, actually smiled at him, “I’m sorry, Wesley, but I don’t think that would be the best idea. I don’t date losers.”
His face fell as she turned and walked away laughing with all of her friends behind her cackling at his expense. She hadn’t even managed to get his name right.
He stood dejected in the middle of the mowed field as bonfires raged around him and teens giggled at the prospects of leaving home and starting lives for themselves. His anger grew as he saw her wrap her arms around the overgrown quarterback, Riley Finn. William clenched his fists once…twice…three times and stalked off towards the parking lot where he was met by a familiar face.
“I take by the look on your face that she rejected you.”
William turned slightly to crack a grin at the dark haired boy, “She said no but it helps that she rejected you, not me.”
Wesley looked slightly perturbed at this insight. He would have preferred to stop his friend from making a fool of himself with the uptight and rather cruel cheerleader but William had been set on speaking with her. “I thought you were asking her out.”
“I did. She thought I was you or at least yours was the first name she could remember so technically you got the shaft, not me.” William shrugged. “Let’s get out of here. I don’t want to hear the name Buffy Summers for the next couple of lifetimes.”
Wesley glanced at his friend, almost surprised he wasn’t more upset about the recent turn of events. “Small town, William, I doubt you can go an hour without hearing her name.”
“That’s why I’m leaving tonight. I figure I can be halfway to Harvard before she bothers to remember my name or God forbid, actually care about someone other than herself.”
Nine years later
His electric blue eyes made contact with her hazel ones and it was as if they had never left high school as he passed her his chosen book.
“Who should I make this out to?” Buffy flashed him a bright smile as she focused on the sharp cheekbones and vibrant cobalt eyes.
He smirked at her, “Jus’ make it out to Spike, luv.” His newly found confidence fighting to the surface as he caught a comment from the woman standing behind him as he straightened his stance and focused on the petite blonde who had managed to make his life a living hell years before.
“Spike, huh? Sounds dangerous.” She grinned up at him again before scribbling a message onto the title page of her book.
William leered and raised an eyebrow at her, “What can I say, pet? ‘m a bad, rude man.” He took the proferred book and waited until he’d walked outside before reading what she had written.
William,
Meet me at the café around the corner in twenty minutes.
Always remember you,
Buffy
He blinked and reread the page over and over again before striding to the café, still bewildered that he was actually going to be able to talk to her and tell her how he felt after all these years. He took a seat in a secluded booth away from the other patrons as he waited…and waited…and waited. Almost an hour went by before he saw the telltale honey blonde hair and clicking of her high-priced heels on the old wooden floors.
“I’d be willing to bet you didn’t think I would show.” She spoke softly as she took the seat across from him. “I’m actually surprised you met me over here.”
He continued to blink at her in astonishment that she managed to remember his name. “You know my name.” It wasn’t a question, merely a statement of fact as he took in her appearance. Her natural beauty shown though but he could detect the faint circles under her eyes if he looked closely enough.
She shifted nervously in her seat as she fiddled with her purse, “I knew your name back then. I’ve got a confession to make…I had a bit of a crush on you back in high school.”
“You said no and you also thought my name was Wesley.”
“I can’t say I was the brightest back then but I did know your name, just like I knew you had a crush on me and that you were planning on going to Harvard after graduation. It wouldn’t have worked out anyway so I pretended I didn’t know who you were.” She leaned across the table to push back an errant curl from his forehead. “You’ve grown up.”
His eyes hardened, “Instead of giving us the summer to see if we wanted to be with each other you decided to act like you didn’t know who I was. You always were a conniving bitch, always had to have it your way.” He swatted her hand away and pulled back, noting with satisfaction the tears springing up in her eyes. “Doesn’t feel good being rejected, does it luv?”
She didn’t bother to answer as she stood and collected her bag before striding out of the small dinner with her shoulders hunched in a distinctly non- Buffy Summers move. He sat for a few minutes more just watching out the window as she was surrounded by adoring fans wanting pictures and autographs. Seeing the drawn look on her face as she posed with a group of teen girls, he made his decision and dashed out of the dinner towards her.
Cupping her elbow he pulled her away from the swarming group. Once they were far enough down a secluded alleyway between the library and local pet store, he pulled her roughly into his arms and dropped his lips down to hers, caressing and encouraging her to respond. It didn’t take long before her arms wrapped around his neck as she eagerly met his passionate kisses.
“Let’s do this right this time, B-Buffy,” He paused, waiting for her to remember, ““I-I was wondering, pondering really if I might, may, take you out for a-a movie o-or something.”
She threw back her head and laughed before smiling at him sweetly, “I would love to go out with you…William.”
Author's Chapter Notes:
I'd like to thank my husband for this one. It seems his incessant need to play country music all day long finally paid off.