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Author's Chapter Notes:
I can't promise you the next updates will be on time...I'm still feeling really sick so I might take a break just for a little bit. Sorry :(

But this one's longer than most so maybe that'll make up for it?I should probably shut up and go back to sleep
Chapter 29

Riley wasn't exactly the most fun person a girl could date—hell, he wasn’t even on the top 100 list—but he was nice. And safe. Which was what Buffy wanted. He was also enough like Angel that by being with Riley she could sort of pretend that she was with Angel again and right all the things she saw as wrongs.

She was being much more attentive than she ever had been with Angel and was trying to be a better girlfriend for Riley. They'd only been dating for two months though so she wasn't one hundred percent sure how able she would be to keep up this 'good girlfriend' act.

She was doing what he wanted to do every night, going where he wanted to go, eating where and what he wanted to eat--basically being completely submissive. And whether she'd acknowledge it or not, it was wearing on her.

"Riley?" Buffy asked while they were walking from her house to his car for their date.

"Yes, honey?"

She hated the way he called her 'honey' but never said anything about it. "I was wondering if maybe we could go to the Bronze after dinner tonight? We haven't been there in quite a while."

"Oh," Riley said, sounding disappointed, "I had been hoping we could come back here after dinner."

"Maybe we could do both," Buffy suggested, still not used to having him come back to the house with her--they weren't having sex but it was still something to get used to.

"That would be nice," Riley conceded. "We'll go to the Bronze for a bit and then come back here."

"Thank you," Buffy said sweetly, and held on tighter to his arm.


Riley's sensible blue Mazda got them to the restaurant in just a few minutes. Riley had wanted to take one of 'her' cars (which were really Giles') because they were 'cooler', but she still wasn't going to let him. Buffy wanted Riley to date her because he liked her, not because of anything to do with her step-father's money. She wanted things to be as normal as possible.

Riley didn't open the door for her--either the car door or the restaurant door--but then, Buffy hadn't expected him to.

"Reservation for two," Riley told the hostess, "under Finn, Riley Finn." Buffy wanted to tell him that he wasn't James Bond, but she held back.

"Of course. Right this way, sir." Buffy was ignored by the young woman as the couple was led to their table. She wondered if Riley even noticed. Spike would notice, she started to think, stopping herself before she could go any farther. Thoughts like that wouldn't do her any good.

"She was nice," Riley commented when they were sitting down and he'd finished his little chit chat with the woman.

"Yeah," Buffy muttered, "Sure."

"What, I'm supposed to be okay with the fact that you danced with other guys at the Bronze, but I can't talk to other women?"

"It was dancing, Riley. And like you said: danced. That was before we were dating. And you can talk to whoever you want but don't expect me to agree that some woman who was openly flirting with you and ignoring me, is nice." Apparently she was done with the 'submissive girlfriend' act.

"Gee, Buffy, what's got you so touchy tonight? Is it...you know?"

"No Riley, I don't have my period." He was so annoying some days. "Can we just have a nice dinner and then go to the Bronze?" she nearly pleaded.

"And then your place," Riley pointed out.

"Yeah, then my place."


"Do you really want to go to the Bronze?" Riley asked when Buffy was finishing up her chocolate cake dessert.

"Do you really want to go to my house?" Buffy countered, savoring the last bite of her cake.

"Fine," Riley snapped, "but can we go already?"

"Once I finish my coffee," Buffy said.

"You take forever to eat," Riley grumbled, then apologized when he caught what he'd said. "Sorry. I guess I'm the touchy one tonight."

And here she was thinking that Riley was never going notice she was angry with him. "Well we have the bill all paid, so why don't you figure out the tip while I finish up?"

"You can finish your coffee and I'll finish paying," Riley said, pretending as if he'd never heard her suggestion.

"Sounds good," Buffy said neutrally, wanting to just finish the night nicely.



"So, B, you wanna dance?" Buffy turned around in surprise when she heard the question. She and Riley had been at the Bronze for about half of an hour already and she was about ready to kill Riley, so the question from Faith was a welcome reprieve.

"I'll be back after this song, Riley," Buffy told her boyfriend. "Or maybe after a few songs."

"Buffy I thought we had agreed you weren't going to be dancing with other people anymore."

"A: You agreed and B: This is Faith."

"Gee, thanks Blondie," Faith joked.

"You know what I mean," Buffy said anyway, not saying anything else to Riley before walking to the dance floor with Faith.

*******

"Think we're getting your boy over there pretty worked up," Faith whispered as she leaned closer to Buffy. They'd danced for almost three full songs now and were having a great time.

"Not so sure about that," Buffy said as she finally got a good luck at Riley. "He looks a bit more angry than jealous if you ask me."

"Who said that wasn't what I meant?" Faith asked with a smile. "Looks like Army Boy over there really doesn't like you dancing with anyone else. You know, most guys would either be getting turned on...or be trying to join us. Or both."

"Riley's not...Riley's a little odd like that," Buffy explained.

"He the one you were so hung up on?"

"No," Buffy said sadly, again harboring unwelcome thoughts of Spike and how different he and Riley were.

"Good. I knew you had more sense than that. Don't do too much with this one, yeah? Think you need to find someone more...worth it."

"What? Is it your personal goal to save me now?" Buffy asked incredulously.

"Nope, just think you need someone reminding you of some things; not sure you have anyone else to do that."

"Yeah, not anymore I don't."

"Then just at least think about it, okay?"

"Okay," Buffy said as the song finished and Faith changed partners, leaving her to make her way back to her stupid boyfriend.


"What were you doing, Buffy?" Riley asked when she made it back to the small table.

"Dancing with a friend," she said calmly.

"Most girls don't dance with their friends like that."

"Well I do," Buffy explained carefully. "Now do you want to go or not?" she asked, ending the line of conversation.

"Yes, please," Riley said, suddenly very nice and aiming to please.


Forty minutes later found them sat on Buffy's sofa--well less sitting, more lying if you wanted to get all technical about it. Riley had nixed her idea of watching a movie in favor of getting straight to the making out--without even the pretense of watching a movie first. Normally this would have been enjoyable for Buffy--okay, maybe she wouldn't always go as far as 'enjoyable' but it was at least fun. Usually.

For the last ten minutes Riley had been trying to snake his hand down her pants. And for the last ten minutes, she'd been stopping him.

Nearly fed up with the fact that he wasn't getting the message, Buffy took both of his hands and tried holding them. But Riley's hands were much bigger than hers and he easily pulled out of her grasp, obviously not liking that idea.

It was when his fingers fumbled with the button on her pants less than a minute later when Buffy finally lost it.

"Are you dumber than a fucking turkey?" Buffy yelled as she shoved Riley off of her, smoothing down her clothes as she got up to stand next to the sofa. Riley, off balanced by her shove fell to the floor.

"What are you doing?" he asked, looking up at her from where he was sitting on the floor. "And what are you talking about? Why a turkey?"

"Turkeys drown if they look up when it's raining," she explained distractedly before focusing on the topic at hand. "And what am I doing? How about what were you doing?" When he just looked at her blankly she decided a bit of elaboration was needed. "What's with the Mr. Grabby Hands act?"

"Mr. Grabby--What the fuck, Buffy? We've been going out for two months and you get mad at me for trying to get in your pants?" He asked it like it was the most absurd notion in the world.

"Um, yeah," she said. "Unless I tell you you can, then hands off mister."

"Unless you tell me to?" he scoffed. "Please, Buffy. A girl like you does not 'tell' a guy when they can undo her pants. It's sort of a given."

Buffy opened her mouth, ready to dish out some clever retort when she fully realized what he'd said. She didn't know what to say.

"Oh come on," he continued. "I've seen the way you dance with guys--and God, Buffy, girls--at the Bronze. I've looked in your damn closet, at those damn clothes you try to hide from your parents--all the leather; the tight shirts; everything low cut. Please, Buffy, don't try to act like your anything other than a slut."

She really didn't know what to say now, but she could feel the rage boiling just below the surface.

"I've seen whores more prudish than you, sweetheart."

"Ooh!" she seethed, trying to block that word out of her consciousness, "get the fucking hell out of my house and stay the hell away from me!"

"Come on Buffy, don't act like that." Riley tried coaxing her into calming down.

"Riley Finn, get the fuck out of my house," she said again, even more forcefully this time.

When he realized that she meant it and that she wasn't going to change her mind, Riley collected his jacket off the chair next to the sofa and headed for the door. "Good luck trying to pretend you're something other than you are," he told her as he left, not even closing the door behind him.

This time though, after having a man walk out on her after insulting her so rudely, Buffy didn't cry. This time it didn't hurt because, this time, she knew she was the one that was right. Last time maybe she hadn't been--at least not completely--but this time she was. And so instead of being hurt, or sad, or upset, or anything on that realm of emotions, she was just plain pissed.

"That bastard," she hissed as she walked over and slammed the door. "Acting all 'ooh, watch me make a grand exit’, after he's such an unbelievable asshole! Just because I wouldn't have sex with him."

But that wasn't right either, she realized with a start. She couldn't be a whore if she didn't have sex. No, she told herself, it was just Riley. She'd go out tomorrow...or soon, and...and she'd show herself that that was still what she was.

Apparently Buffy wasn't quite ready to let go of that label just yet.





TBC.........please review?

and I told you Riley wasn't sticking around for long, didnt I? ;)





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