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Chapter 17

“You look beautiful love,” Spike remarked as he hopped into the Limo. Instead of being met with Buffy’s usual 1000-watt smile, he was met with….

“You’re late.”

Something was definitely up.

“You of all people should know it takes many hours to perfect the “I just threw this together look.”

Instead of her usual chuckle there was, “I’m sure.”

It did not take Einstein to figure out she was pissed about something or as he looked at the expression on her face, someone. He tried the never fail Spike charm.

“You look stunning…”

“Giles rang me.”

So much for never fail, he did not know the reason but she was being all work today. Rather than make her more annoyed he decided to play along.

“What did the old boy have to say for himself then, did he finally score the Oprah interview?”

“Not quite, Xander called him. He seemed quite angry. Giles asked me what I had done to upset you so much.”

“Buffy, you haven’t done anything to upset me.”

“He said you want out of our arrangement,” Spike felt the colour drain out of his face. It seemed that bad news really did travel fast.

“Listen what…”

“Don’t. The second worst thing next to whoring around is trying to justify said whoring.”

“Buffy, please let me explain,” he could fix this. Bloody Xander, he would wring his neck for this.

“You don’t owe me an explanation Spike.” He could hear the contempt in her words, “We work together, and that’s all, on screen and off. All I ask is that you be discreet about it. The last thing I need at the moment is a scandal.”

“You have it all wrong, love.”

“So, you didn’t call Xander and tell him you want out.”

To lie or to tell the truth, he hesitated for the briefest of moments as he made the decision. However, it seemed as though in that time Buffy had already made it for him.

“Just be discreet, please” As she turned from him and went to look out the window, he caught the hurt in her eyes.

“Buffy listen to me, when I called Xander.”

Buffy grabbed her purse as the Limo slowed to a stop.

“Two more weeks Spike, we just have to be a loving couple for two more weeks,” she took his hand in hers as the driver opened the door.

“Then the job is over,” he saw her slip into character, a loving girlfriend. “On screen and off,” she put on her 1000-watt smile to the awaiting paparazzi as she stepped onto the red carpet dragging Spike behind her.

They stood together for a moment letting them take the pictures for tomorrow’s magazines. Buffy pulled him close and whispered in his ear.

“Then we never have to see or speak to each other again.”

~~~~~

Buffy needed a drink. Truth be told, she needed several. At this point in time, she would have been more at home in the bottom of a tequila bottle than at this party. She had given Spike the slip to powder her nose; however, it was really to find some hard liquor.

She usually craved his presence at this kind of party. He protected her from what he liked to call the seedy under belly of the industry. Yeah right, pot calling the kettle black. She could not figure out why she was so disappointed in him. At the beginning of their charade, she was under no illusions of whom and what Spike was. However, slowly without her even realising it, he had fooled her into thinking he actually cared about her. That he was more than his badass image. That he was someone she could fall in love with.

As she found the bar and ordered her double shot of tequila, she thought back to the last time she thought she had found someone she could love. Tears welled in her eyes as she remembered how well that had paned out.

The warmth of the alcohol made its way through her body, it seemed to calm her nerves and gave her the clarity that only hard liquor could. She did not need Spike. Hell, she did not need anyone; she had gone this long without someone to love.

As she downed her second double tequila, she had another brainwave. If Spike could throw it around without a care in the world then so could she. He was not the only one who could be a male chauvinist pig, she could too, expect without the whole being male thing.

She turned around from the bar, hoping to find some unsuspecting male to take home instead she came face to face with, “Spike,” she turned back around. “Another of the same please?”

“I don’t think so, make it a soda water.”

“Hey,” she pouted. “You’re not the boss of me mister. Make it a triple.”

“Since when did you turn into Oliver Reed?”

“Who?”

“Listen, I know for a fact you can’t hold your drink, so unless you want to be in the headlines for all the ‘Paris Hilton’ reasons, I suggest you take it easy.”

Buffy laughed. “As if I am going to take healthy living advice from you of all people. A guy you thinks a balanced meal is having cigarettes as well as alcohol.” She stumbled as he pulled her away from the bar.

“What’s gotten into you love,” she could see a look of concern on his face, he was a good actor and she was not falling for it again.

“Listen, leave me alone, you’re cramping my style,” she broke free of his grasp and straightened up her dress.

“What do you mean?”

“You’re not the only one who can whore around Spike,” she went to leave him.

“Don’t,” he stopped her. “You can’t do that not here. As far as everyone is concerned here, we are the new it couple.”

“Well, maybe it’s time for the truth.”

“I don’t think so love,” he pulled her to him and before she had time to process what was going on, he was kissing her, marking her as his own. In the back of her mind, she knew she should be angry about it. Nevertheless, her head was too busy spinning to feel anything but desire.

“Elizabeth?” her real name brought her back to the party. She broke from Spike’s embrace, only to come face to face with her greatest fear.

“Parker Abrahams,” he held his hand out for Spike to shake. Buffy’s brain went into overload. She did the only thing she could.

She ran.

Spike did not know what just happened. It was as if the world had slowed down and sped up at the same time. One minute he was kissing Buffy, the next she had ran off and all that remained was this Parker fellow.

“Spike,” he shook the guy's hand.

“Such a firecracker isn’t she,” he assumed Parker meant Buffy.

“How does it feel to know that I got there first?”

At that, Spike punched the smug look right off his face and went to find Buffy.





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