The doorbell rang as Buffy sat at her kitchen table going through her mail. She hurried to get it, knowing it would be Spike. She opened the door to find him standing there, peeking over a heap of food, flowers, wine, dinner, and his duffel.
"Spike, is that you?" she asked, taking some things from him and going into the kitchen.
"Of course it's me, silly bint. Do you have many sexy strangers over, love?"
He set his things down and grabbed her around the waist, nibbling her neck.
"Only every other month or so, but they don't just show up. I have to call the service and request them."
Spike pulled away from her deliciously fragrant neck to stare at her perfectly neutral expression. Her tone was so nonchalant and lack of smile was so convincing, for a second he almost believed her.
"Oh, is that right?" He leaned down and whispered in her ear. "I think you are going to pay for that one, Summers!" He nipped her earlobe and swatted her bottom.
"It'll be worth it! The look on your face was priceless. I thought your eyeballs were going to pop out, and if your jaw dropped any further, I'd be picking it up off the floor," she said, giggling.
"Yes, I'm here to amuse. Thank you, ladies and gentlemen. I'm here all week. Please remember to tip your waiters," he said, smirking and giving a mock bow. "One encounter with Joyce, the Monster Mom has certainly made you saucy. I think I like it."
His eyes danced with mischief as he pulled her back into his embrace.
She stood on tiptoe to give him a proper welcome. "Yep, I've finally reached my crap-taking threshold. So you'd better watch your step too." The last part she said with a smile on her face. "How was the rest of your day? Did you make any plans or do any research?"
He stroked her hair, pulling it off her shoulders. "I did some research, but I didn't want to make any plans without you. I've got my laptop, so we can look online after dinner. Sound good to you?"
"Yep. Would you get the food ready while I put the flowers in a vase and uncork the wine?" She gave him a quick kiss and moved away to find a vase.
"Sure, no problem. I brought tagliolini al prosciutto and eggplant Parmesan. Which do you want? I also got some tiramisu for dessert." Spike put the two desserts in the fridge for later.
"Mm, both sound really delicious. Do you mind if we share?" Buffy took two wine glasses from the cupboard and grabbed the corkscrew from the drawer.
"No, not at all. If you want to put the flowers somewhere, I'll finish this up and pour the wine."
"That's great. I'll only be a minute." She put them on the dresser in her bedroom and went back to the dining room where Spike was setting the table. "God, that looks delicious! Are we ready to eat?"
"Yeah, just let me get the bottle of wine and the bread." Spike disappeared into the kitchen and returned a moment later with both. "Dig in," he said, sitting down across from her. "I can hear your stomach from over here."
"Oh! This is good! Did you go to Bella Rosario's?" Buffy took a sip of her wine, waiting for him to swallow his bite of tagliolini.
"Yeah, it looked like a good place, and Cheryl from your office said it was your favorite Italian restaurant." He rubbed her thigh underneath the table.
"Excuse me, but when exactly were you talking to Cheryl? Did you two have some clandestine meeting?" Her tone was light, but she also felt a little possessive.
"Yes, it was all very clandestine," he said, with an overly serious face. "We met in the elevators on my way out, and I asked her if she knew your favorite Italian restaurant, then we snogged until the doors opened."
"I'm sure you did. Did her mustache tickle?" Buffy tried to keep a straight face, but quickly dissolved into giggles.
Spike was laughing along with her and in between gasps he managed to say, "Oh, it drove me wild! Why doesn't somebody bloody well tell the poor thing?"
Buffy's shoulders were still shaking from leftover giggles. "I don't know! You would think she'd look in the mirror every morning and see it. I mean it's nothing a little wax wouldn't fix. I get my eyebrows waxed all the time, and I even get bikini waxes. And until recently no one even saw my…that part of my anatomy." Buffy's cheeks warmed from what she almost said.
Spike grinned like a schoolboy who'd just gotten away with his first prank. "You are so sodding adorable, you know that? You can't even say the word, can you?" He took a bite of his food and waited for her to reply.
Buffy took a sip of her wine "I'll have you know, I most certainly can say the 'p' word, or any other dirty word I want. I just choose not to." She held his gaze, daring him to defy her.
Spike's eyes remained locked with hers. "I'm sorry, 'can't' was the wrong choice of words. Maybe scared would be a better choice." He smiled evilly.
Buffy knew the game he was playing, and she wasn't going to take the bait. "Don't think I'm not wise to your game, Will. I know very well what you're trying to do, so stop it right now." She leaned over and poked him in the ribs.
"Oi! Stop that, woman!" He feigned offense. "I'm not playing any game, just wanted you to say a word, and it's not dirty." He pouted and leaned over to kiss her cheek.
"I'm sorry for poking you, but let's move on to another subject. Okay?" she said, bringing the last bite of her dinner to her mouth.
"All right, agreed, but I will get you to say it. Let's clean up here, and you can get the desserts while I get my laptop set up."
They worked quickly and soon settled on the sofa with their desserts. Buffy had to give him her wireless code in order for him to access the internet, but after that things went smoothly.
Spike's palms were sweaty, and he had a huge knot in his stomach about going over this with her. He wasn't sure how she'd react to spending so much time in New York, but he was about to find out.
"We'll have to fly out of L.A., so I thought we could leave after you got off work on Friday and spend the night and catch a semi-early flight to New York. That would give you a chance to maybe have dinner with Willow. How does that sound?"
"That sounds great, but don't you want to come to dinner with me?" she asked, snuggling into his side.
"Of course, but I wasn't sure if I'd be welcome." He kissed the top of her head.
"Well, if you're not welcome, then I don't want to go. I'll call Willow. I think she'd love to see you. Why don't we look at flights?"
"Okay," he said.
"How long are we gonna stay in New York? I want to meet all your friends, and see where you work and hang out," she said, looking up at him.
He put the computer on the coffee table and pulled her onto his lap, letting out a breath he was unaware he'd been holding. "You have no idea how happy it makes me to hear you say that, kitten. I've been so nervous about this part… I want us to stay for three days before we leave for England and three or four more before we come back to Sunnydale."
He stroked her back, wishing he could see her face to gauge her reaction, although she didn't seem tense.
Buffy shifted a bit to face him. She ran her fingers through his hair with one hand and cupped his cheek with the other. "That's a week of our trip, but it only seems fair that I spend time in your city… I mean, I've never been anywhere except L.A. I want you to show me everything, not just touristy stuff. I want to see how everyday New Yorkers live their lives, but maybe with some shopping and a little sightseeing. Does that work for you?"
She smiled and leaned in to nibble his lower lip. Spike took that as an invitation to deepen the kiss, gently sweeping his tongue across her upper lip. She opened her mouth, allowing him to continue his explorations. He sucked gently on the tip of her tongue, causing her to pull him closer, and she made whimpering noises that were driving him crazy. Things were getting out of control quickly. He felt her hand scale down his chest to untuck his shirt, but he placed his hand over hers, pulling away from her sumptuous lips to speak.
"Kitten, not that I'm not enjoying the attention, but I think we need to focus on our travel plans for the moment." He gently bit her pouty lower lip. "We need to get this done tonight, so we can lock in our rates. Okay? Afterward I promise I'll give you my full attention," he said, giving her a sexy leer.
"All right, if you insist, but can we still snuggle?" Buffy said, climbing off his lap and settling in by his side.
"Of course we can." He picked up the computer and found the fare they'd looked at earlier. "Here's one that leaves at nine a.m. and gets us to La Guardia at eleven forty-five. We could have dinner with Willow and Oz and stay at hotel near the airport. That sound okay to you? We'll have half the day left once we get home."
Spike realized his slip as soon as he said it, but he hoped she hadn't noticed.
"Sure, sounds great. Let me get my credit card." Buffy started to get up, Spike pulled her back down.
"Oh, no, this is Mum's trip, and it's her treat. She made arrangements for it all, so don't go getting your knickers in a twist over it." His tone was as light as the tap he gave to the tip of her nose.
"Wow, that's just…wow! And for your information, my knickers, as you say, are several things, but twisted isn't one of them," she said, smiling brightly.
"Yes, Mum was very kind, but you, Buffy Summers, seem to have found your naughty streak, and I believe it's about a mile wide." Spike just knew he had her now. There was no way she was going to explain herself out of this one.
"I have no idea what you're talking about. It sounds like you're the one with the naughty streak. I merely meant they were a size four, bikini, pink lace, and have a small bow in front." Buffy batted her lashes and grinned as if she'd gotten a gift card from Prada.
"You have no idea the fates you're tempting, Summers."
"I suggest we get this travel stuff settled, then you can show me," she whispered in his ear.
Spike forced himself to ignore the temptation that was Buffy Summers and focused on finding flights from New York to London.
"Okay. There are no direct flights, but here's one leaving LaGuardia at eleven thirty-five a.m. and arriving at Heathrow at five fifty p.m., with a connection in Boston. Sound good? I have a hotel I want to show you next." Spike quickly purchased the tickets for both round trip flights and waited for an email confirmation.
"Sounds perfect. I can't believe we're doing this. I'm sorry we're going under the circumstances we are, but I'm happy to have the time with only you." Buffy put her head on his shoulder and squeezed his arm.
"We don't have to stay here if you don't like it, but I think it's brilliant, and it's near Kensington and Notting Hill, two great places for shopping. It's called the Fox Club. What do you think, love? Scroll through the photos."
He placed the laptop in her lap and urged her to have a look-see.
"Oh God! It's so…English looking. Did you see these beds? We could live in those, and the bathrooms are great too! I'm sold! You're making all the reservations. You obviously know what you're doing." She bounced on her knees beside like a little girl..
"Let me make these reservations and we can turn in. I can make the ones for Padstow tomorrow, since you seem to trust my judgment so. Is that all right with you?" he said, murmuring the words against her cheek.
"Sure, you've more than proven yourself. I'll leave it all in your capable hands."
Those few words meant more to him than he could say. She was giving him control over something in her life. It was a small thing, but it spoke volumes to Spike.
"I'm all done. Are you about ready to turn in?" he asked, bringing her into his arms for a lingering kiss.
"Yep. I'm just gonna take a shower first," she said, once they parted, her eyes twinkling.
"Is that so? I'm feeling a mite dirty myself. I think I might join you," he said, smirking.
Buffy giggled, and stepped out of his embrace. "Only if you can catch me."
She started running, articles of clothing flying in her wake.
"Hey," Spike said, giving chase. "That's cheating!"
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Author's Chapter Notes:
Beta'd by Abby, Dawnofme, and Diebirchen. Thank you, ladies. Thanks to all who read, especially those let me know what they are thinking. Banner by Tanit.