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39. Invitations - 2

Anya wished that Xander would turn off the television. She loved the fancy apartment that they had been able to move into once they were each contributing towards the rent. But she couldn’t understand Xander’s fascination with large screen televisions. As far as she was concerned, one set was more than enough.

And why Xander insisted that they had to have one of those things in the bedroom was beyond her. Unless they used it to watch dirty movies, which they sometimes did. Other than that, Anya didn’t see any use for it. It was just a distraction from what the bedroom was supposed to be used for: for sleeping and for sex. Only just now they weren’t doing either of those two things anyway. They were having an argument.

“I don’t know why you have to be so negative all the time, Xander. It’s just a party.”

Even worse than the television, Anya didn’t like to be bothered with conversation while she was getting ready for bed. She was busy planning out what she wanted to do once she got her lover between the sheets. She preferred quiet. Really, any conversation at this point just got in the way.

Xander looked at his fiancée as if she had grown another head. Why was it so difficult for her to understand that he wanted nothing whatsoever to do with that man, ever?

“Only that it’s being given by the man who used to pay for your services by the hour like a whore,” he sputtered.

They had argued about Thorndale for weeks after their chance meeting at the Bronze. Despite Anya’s suggestion that he would probably buy them a really nice gift, Xander flat out refused to allow Anya to invite him to the wedding. Eventually he had won out by convincing her that it would be too awkward to have him there - she’d have to re-work all the seating arrangements. And it wasn’t likely anymore that Buffy would bring him as her date, as apparently, Xander informed her, the two of them had had a falling out. Anya, as usual, was the always the last to know.

Anya had thought that the acceptance would finally put an end to the argument. But Xander just never would let things go.

Putting her hands on her hips should be a sure sign to her betrothed that his last comment had made her angry. As she waited patiently for him to apologize, she wondered if he paid any attention to her at all. He was watching that stupid TV show again. Now she was really mad. So much for the two hundred dollar negligee. Xander hadn’t even noticed that it was new. Even worse, it was obvious that they weren’t going to get much enjoyment out of it now.

“I was a whore, Xander,” she explained one more time, exasperated. “You knew I was a whore. I told you so, right from the beginning. In the general usage of the term, that means that I slept with men and in return they would pay me money.”

Anya thought for a moment. She really didn’t like to be so blunt, even though everyone assumed that she did. It was just that some people never took a hint easily, and had to be hit over the head with things before they could really grasp even the simplest concept.

Still, she wanted to soften the blow to her lover, at least somewhat, so she continued, “It was never by the hour, though. Usually it was an entire night, or no deal. Spike was my best client. He paid by the week. Like he does with Dawn. He liked it that way. If it wasn’t for him I would never have been able to buy out my contract with Glory or open up the Magic Box. You know all this, Xander. I don’t understand why you continue to hold it against Spike. Besides, it was like years ago.”

“I really can’t stand to hear you go on about how well he treated you, Anya. Not again. He treated you like a whore. A thing, a possession, something to be bought and sold.”

“That’s not true. He did treat me well, Xander, even if you don’t want to hear about it. He knew I was afraid to pick up new clients while that LA Stalker guy was still on the prowl, so he let me continue to work for him. I stayed far longer than any of the other girls, Xander. He didn’t have to let me do that, but he did.”

Anya couldn’t help it if she looked back on her time with Spike with fondness. Really, of all her clients, he had been both the most fun to sleep with, and the most generous. Sometimes she wondered if things might have turned out differently. It really wasn’t surprising that Xander was jealous. She should try to make allowances. If only he understood what Spike had meant to her.

“He was good to me, Xander. When I told him that was I planning to get out of the business, he negotiated with Glory to buy out my contract. Not only that, he loaned me the money to open the Magic Box. Without him I never would have gotten away from that life so easily, and certainly wouldn’t have been able to become a successful business owner so quickly. And if I hadn’t opened the shop, I never would have met Willow, and she never would have introduced me to you. So really, in a way, you should thank Spike for everything he’s done for us.”

She knew immediately that she’d gone too far when he snapped off the television he’d been trying to focus on. Xander would never see things the way that she did. “I can’t stand it Anya. Why do you even want to talk about him? Can’t we just forget it ever happened and go on with our lives?”

Anya tried again. “It’s not such a big deal as you’re making it out to be, Xander,” Anya wasn’t a patient woman by nature. Ever since they had run into Spike with Buffy, it had been a bone of contention between them. It was beginning to wear thin.

“I’m trying to point out to you the fallacy of your thinking. I mean, if Spike wanted to pay me to sleep with him now, well, that would be wrong. I’m no longer a working girl, and I’m engaged to you. So I would never do that. But that doesn’t mean that it was wrong to do then. We were two consenting adults who made a business deal. It wasn’t this big thing like you think it was.” Anya could only hope that would put the matter to rest once and for all. Still, a little reassurance wouldn’t hurt. The male ego could be so fragile sometimes. “Besides, all he has eyes for now is Buffy.”

“Buffy!” The TV completely forgotten, Xander was out of the bed now. Any sex plans that Anya might have had in mind were crushed as Xander raced to defend the woman that he considered one of his best friends. “That’s just another reason that I will always despise William Thorndale. I’m glad that he and Buffy broke up. But can he let it be? No. It’s clear to me from this invitation to his house that he’s trying to get chummy with her friends so she’ll consider going out with him again. Well, it’s not going to happen. I was never so happy as the day that they broke up, and if I never have to see or hear about him again, I’ll die happy. That guy is just bad news.”

“But he’s not,” Anya protested. “And just because they broke up doesn’t mean that they’re never going to get back together again. I know, because I’ve seen how he looks at her. If there’s one thing that I know, it’s that William Thorndale can be a very persuasive man. How else would he have gotten Glory to agree to let me leave her? And aside from being rich, he has a lot of good qualities that most women admire in a man. He’s kind, attentive, he’s a considerate lover, and believe me, I’ve had more than my fair share of –”

“Don’t!” Xander yelled, throwing hands up to cover his ears. “I don’t want to hear it. I don’t want to hear about any of your former lovers, and I sure as hell don’t want to hear about your ‘relationship’ with that lecher William Thorndale. For what he’s done to Dawn alone he should be in jail as far as I am concerned.”

“He didn’t do anything to Dawn.” Really, the entire evening was already ruined. Anya didn’t know why she continued to argue when it was obvious that Xander wasn’t really listening to a word that she said. But still, she had to give it one more try.

“All he did was take Dawn away from a situation she had no control over, and allowed her some time to make her own choices. That was very noble of him, Xander, not something he should be punished for. In fact, I’m a little ashamed that I never thought of poor Dawnie myself. And that’s partly your fault. You kept telling me to forget about the past, and to cut all ties with anyone I ever knew from that life, so eventually, I did. But Dawn and I, we used to be close when she was little. She always wanted to hear about the men we’d met…”

“Please stop Anya. I can’t stand William Thorndale, and I will never be able to tolerate being in the same room with him, and I will never, ever, ever enter his house willingly. And aside from the fact that I can’t stand what he did to you, I’m worried about his motives with Dawn and I am afraid of what he might do to Buffy. I knew that I didn’t like him from the moment I saw him.”

“Because he was flirting with Buffy!” If Xander could only see himself the way that she saw him. “You have to get over your obsession with her, you know. You and I are going to be married, Xander. Not Buffy. And not Spike. You don’t need to bring them to bed with us every night, Xander.”

“Bring them to bed….What are you talking about?”

“Like now. Here we are. In bed, together. Alone. Or at least we should be. But, no, what are we doing? Are you giving me orgasms like a good boyfriend should? No. We’re arguing over something that neither of us have any control over.

“What’s the point, Xander?” she continued. “You can’t change the past, and as much as it might hurt you for me to say this, you can’t change what is going to happen between Buffy and Spike, either. That is for them to decide. Not you or me. Personally, I think that they would be good for each other, but I guess we’ll just have to agree to disagree.

“Have your way, Xander,” she finally capitulated. “If you don’t want to go to the party, then we won’t go. Now go to sleep, Xander. I don’t think I am going to have sex with you until you stop being an ass and whining about things that have nothing to with you. Turn out the light.”

“But Anya.” Xander didn’t understand why his girlfriend never saw reason. But she was right about one thing, they shouldn’t let their disagreement about William Thorndale interfere with their personal life. One of his favorite things about his girlfriend was how truly inspired she was in the bedroom.

“No, Xander. You should have thought about that before you brought up the subject of Buffy and Spike while we were getting ready for bed. If you were suggesting a foursome or maybe a swap, that would be different. I know you’re still fixated on her, and maybe if you finally got to see that she’s flesh and blood just like any other girl, you’d finally grow out of it. It might take some doing to get Buffy to agree, but I am sure that I could convince William…” she could tell by Xander’s face that she had said something unfortunate again. Well, too bad for him. “Since you’re the one who’s against group sex… well I don’t think it’s very fair of you to expect to get any when all you really want to do is argue. Go sleep on the sofa.”

“But Anya…”

“Good night, Xander.” Anya replied, very firmly pushing Xander out the bedroom door and locking it behind him. Really, Xander could be very thick headed sometimes. She thought that a good menage might be just what he needed to regain his perspective. Life was all about give and take, making compromises, keeping others besides yourself happy. That seemed like a lesson Xander still had to learn.





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