Buffy checked herself in the mirror for the umpteenth time that morning and finally, she was happy with the result. The green halter chiffon dress with subtle floral print that extend just below the knees and the stylish sexy stilettos that showed her perfectly painted toenails brought out the romantic look that she had been tirelessly aiming for.
Typically, She would have asked her roommate’s opinion on the attire she’d just chosen but since last night was a movie night at Oz’s place this would automatically mean that Willow won’t be home until later. So for now she’d just have to rely on her own judgment. Besides, it’s not like she’ll be on a real date. She’ll just be out on a mission to reserve the wedding reception of her dreams...with Spike. So no biggie! Right?
Subtle make-up… check! Glossy touch of lipstick… check!
She'd moved continuosly around the room but her feet barely touched the carpeted floor while she hummed happily to her favorite tune from the movie while you were sleeping . The twinkle in her eye, the continuous glow on her face and the racing of her heart has to be part of some coincidence. Somehow she was able to convince her young and obstinate mind that her choice of clothing has nothing to do with a certain male blonde at all. Nor was her choice of wearing her hair down instead of the usual ponytail that she’d normally opted for.
She pulled out the jewelry box that Xander got her for her birthday from under her bed and opened up the compartment that contained all her bracelets. Among them, only two bracelets stood out. One was the 14K Diamond Bracelet and the other was the plain gold bracelet that has hearts and butterflies as its charm.
Without any form of hesitation, her fingers picked the one that Spike had given her and fastened it around her wrist. That simple act alone had just caused her skin to tingle and for her heart to flutter. Oh boy! Is she in serious trouble!
Her fingers played with the heart charms as her lips slowly formed a frown. She wondered briefly how she would ever get through the day without breaking down. It’s bad enough that she had to conceal her true feelings from Spike after all this time, but to be in a situation where she would need to act so closely to the real thing could prove to be heart wrenching and torturous. Would this mean that she doesn’t need to put on an act at all? If that were the case, how far would she able to do it without revealing the truth beneath such false pretenses?
Sighing heavily, she got out her engagement ring from her old jewelry box and put it on her finger. She realized that today would only be just the second time that she will be able to wear it. Despite the number of assurances that Riley had given her, she’d chosen keep it in her mom’s safe, thinking that it would be dangerous for her to wear a 20 thousand piece of jewelry on her finger around the campus. But just for today for the sake of their act, the beautiful diamond ring would hopefully create enough distraction for their substitute Wedding planner to not notice anything amiss.
Buffy looked at the clock in her dorm room and saw that it’s still 30 minutes left before Spike arrives. Since Spike’s dorm just happened to the building next to hers, she’d decided not to wait and instead just go to him herself.
Soon enough, Buffy stood at his doorstep with a very apprehensive look on her face. She knocked. No answer. Hmmmm? She knocked again. “Spike? It’s me, Buffy!” She turned the doorknob and found that it’s open. When she came in and heard the sound of his shower running, the word dejavu quickly sprang to mind. Oh no, no, no no, no!
She slightly whimpered as her memory automatically took her back to the time when she’d been caught in between a very similar situation. Quickly, she turned on her heels, fully determined not to have a repeat of that incident. It will be safer for me just to wait outside his room. Much safer.
“Buffy? Where are you going, luv?”
” I….” The rest of her sentence died in her throat as she felt her mouth go dry when she looked at him. She couldn’t help it as her eyes roamed hungrily over the man standing before her with just a small sized towel draped dangerously low on his hips. Her heart began to beat erratically as her eyes went as far as noticing the traces of small droplets of water clinging to his perfectly sculpted chest. “I…I thought I heard somebody knocked so I went out and checked it.” She continued, trying to hide the nervousness in her voice.
“ I see.”
Buffy came back in and closed the door behind her.
“So who was it, luv?” He asked as he went to dry his hair with the other towel in his hand.
“Huh?” she asked, dumbstruck.
“Did you saw someone out there?” This time he questioned with an amused grin. He felt pride surge through him when he noticed the way Buffy was gawking at his body.
“No…Nobody,” She shook her head vigorously, then looked down suddenly finding carpet on the floor very interesting. Was the color of his carpet always been this brown?
“What’s the matter, Summers? You’re acting like you’ve never even seen a naked guy before.” He waggled his eyebrows suggestively at her.
“Oh you have no idea,” She muttered absentmindedly.
“Excuse me?”
“Nothing! Uh…You know what? Why don’t I just go outside and wait for you.” She piped up almost breathlessly as she went to open the door.
“No! You don't need to do that.” Spike protested rather sharply as he came to stand beside her in a flash. His movement however had caused the towel on his waist to unwrap that it almost fell on the floor. Good thing, Spike was able hold on to it and was able to cover the lower part of his front.
“Eeeep!” Buffy screamed as his hipbones along with a hint of curls below his waist were partially bared before her. Quickly, she closed her eyes and turned herself around.
“I’m sorry.” Spike apologized awkwardly.” Right! Turn that way while I put on my clothes…”
Why does it always keep on happening to me? She thought frustratingly.
“So what was name of the first restaurant that we’re going to see?” He asked as he put on his pants.
Buffy tried to compose herself before she replied. “Actually it’s not just a restaurant. More like a first class hotel that has one of those huge ballrooms for wedding receptions. It’s called the Hotel Athenea and it’s located just outside of town.”
“You can turn around now, pet. “ He informed her.
Buffy obliged and instantly stared in awe at the quickly transformed Spike that now stood before her. “ Wow! I thought I’d never get to see the day that you’ll put on a pair of trousers.” She chuckled. “And that royal blue shirt you picked-out looks perfect on you.” It brings out the color of your eyes, she added silently.
“I know.” Spike grinned proudly. “Not the kind I would usually wear but we’re going to a fancy place and it’s not everyday I can have somebody as beautiful as you as my fiancée so-“
“You think I’m beautiful?” She asked coyly.
Spike’s eyes went wide when he realized his Freudian slip but just as quickly he caught himself and looked at her seriously.” Of course you are, pet. I man has to be blind not see that.”
Buffy’s face flamed scarlet in an instant.
“Thank you….You don’t look so bad yourself. ” She told him as her eyes went up to meet his.
“Well, if you think I look good, wait till you see me finish this up with the hair gel.”
“No! You don’t need to do that.” She told him sharply.” I like your boyish messed up hair look. It suits you.”
Spike hallowed his cheek in a smile. “Really? All right. “ He began combing his hair up with his fingers. “How’s this?”
Buffy shook her head “ Let me help you mess it up nice and proper.” She pulled him to sit on his bed to get a better access on his hair.
Spike almost groaned at the tingling sensation her fingers on his scalp had managed to cause. The sight of her chest rising and falling in rhythm with her breathing had him shifting uncomfortably in his seat.
“ There you go.” Buffy told him as she quickly moved away. With the way he looked and the way he smelled, she wondered worriedly how she’ll be able to last the entire day without jumping on him. “We should be heading our way. I don’t want Lorne to wait for us.”
“Hold it, Summers.” Spike grabbed her arm.
“What?”
“I just thought…If we’re going ahead with this, should we at least have some kind of plan?”
“Have any ideas?”
“I surfed the net last night and picked-up a few pointers in acting. One good tip I read was to put yourself into the character’s place.”
“Meaning?”
“Meaning the moment we start pretending, we have to leave our true selves behind. Today you’re not only my best friend but also someone who I’m supposed to be in love with.” He informed her while trying to avoid her eyes.
“ You mean I have to pretend that I feel that way about you too?” Buffy tried desperately to sound nonchalant as possible. “I think I can do that.”
“ Yeah. Good. Now that we’re on the same page we have to work on some sort of agreement on just how are we going to do this. The thing is, we have to really show them that we truly are together.”
“Well…I actually thought about it last night and It occurred to me that there are some couples who are conservative and they don’t like to exchange affections when other people around.” Buffy suggested.
“You mean like one of those boring couples?” He questioned, clearly annoyed.
“Yes like one of those…” Buffy groaned.” Look! We have no choice but to be one of them, Spike. I mean you can’t expect us to be all sweet and cuddly with each other when were really not engaged in real life.”
“But don’t we exchange affection all the time. We’ve been doing that ever since we were kids? We even snuggle overnight. I don’t see anything wrong with that. That’s how we are, Buffy. ” He told her then muttered a sarcasm faintly, “At least right before captain cardboard showed-up.”
“What?”
“Nothing.” He answered quickly as he briefly closed his eyes in frustration.
Buffy heaved a big sigh. “It’s different now. We can’t do those anymore. I am with you on the character thing. It’s just that I’m not sure if I can act like one of those couples you have in mind.”
“Not even hold hands?” He asked as he tried to hide the hurt in his voice.
“Sure we could hold hands.” She told him.
“But don’t engaged couples usually….I don’t know…uh kiss?”
“Kiss?” Her heart skipped a beat. “Spike…I don’t think-”
“Well, if you don’t want a kiss… how about just a quick peck on the lips?” He added desperately.
“Peck?”
“Will you quit answering my question with another question, Summers.” He told her irritably. ”Come on! How are on earth are we going to be able to pull this off if we can’t act like what normally engaged couples do?”
“Never done it before. “ She lied. “ With Riley …we usually kiss fully in the mouth and it would usually never ends there –“
The mere thought of Riley kissing Buffy was enough to get his blood racing and his stomach to twist. Hurt flickered in his eyes as he growled, pinning her angrily on the wall with both his hands on hers. “Well Riley’s is not here, is he? So I suggest that you quit talking about good old Finn and focus on the task at hand.” He told her harshly.
“Okay.” She answered breathlessly. His sudden closeness was wreaking havoc on her senses. She closed her eyes as she willed herself desperately to hold back her raging emotions. God what's wrong with me? And to think they haven’t even left his dorm room.
Spike’s stare turned soft as he let go of her hands. He noticed that she was wearing the bracelet that he gave her but chose not to mention it. Instead he dared to ask “Would you mind if….” He told her huskily.” I show you how it’s done?”
Her mind protested, but with just a few inches separating both of their faces all she could do was nod numbly as she found herself lost into his deep blue eyes. Can’t…think… Her stomach did a flip-flopping motion just as he saw him close their distance.
Spike heart was pounding hard against his chest at the thought of what he was about to do. His mind couldn’t function properly. He could only feel.
Tentatively, he moved his body close to hers. His fingers caught a strand of her hair that partially covered her face and carefully tucked it behind her ear. They lingered there for a while before they proceeded to cup her cheek and then slowly, he finally dipped his head towards hers.
Spike thought he heard her sigh when he brushed his lips to hers. Buffy, Buffy, Buffy… His mind sang bitterly as closed his eyes. He heart was beaming as well as hurting. It was just another reminder of what he could never have.
Unknown to him, Buffy was having own inner struggle with herself. She felt the great urge of pulling grabbing him by the lapels of his shirt so that she could have her way with him. His kiss, to her real knowledge could hardly be classified as a peck. But who’s complaining? If Spike could get into the character pretty well, so could she.
His lips lingered much longer than he intended before he brought his head up and moved himself away from her.
Buffy almost groaned at the sudden loss of contact. She cleared her throat. “ So that was the …”
“Peck.” Spike continued for her, his eyes dazed.
“Right.” She answered, her mind out of focus.
“Why don’t we uh…” Spike gestured towards the door, still panting for breath.
“Absolutely! I think we definitely should.” Buffy replied all too quickly as she headed out through the door.
TBC
A/N : Hello Everyone. So sorry for the delayed update. Just got back from a vacation and hopefully I could go back to the usual 2 postings a week that I normally do. Thanks for bearing with me. My thanks to those who recently reviewed -ELIOTxD, chrissnicole, photographynut, Rosie, Ash, Steph, Candace, Crystal Pegasus, Kayla, Sara M., Mikaela, Jessica, Stine, Laura Liz and Kimmie. Love you guys! Your support means so much to me.
[Reviews - 589]
-
Table of Contents [Report This]
Chapter or Story |
Chapter or Story | 
Chapter or Story
Has been viewed 3711 times
- Text Size +
-
Table of Contents [Report This]
Chapter or Story |
Chapter or Story | Chapter or Story - Text Size +