“Yes,” he said, sounding almost proud. Was he purposefully trying to make her jealous?
“How is that…legal?”
“It’s not. Not really.”
She gave him a look. “I would say it’s not.”
“Well, she tells me she’s a female escort and I pretend not to know more than that.”
Buffy rolled her eyes. “Of course not.”
Spike shrugged, “That’s the way it is. You have a problem with that?”
Hmmm…Interesting. Was he now testing her? Cocking her head to the side, she eyed him curiously. “Should I have a problem with that? Do you want me to have a problem with that?”
“You can be anyway you want about it,” he said huffily. Yeah, he was testing her.
“Have you ever…sought her services?”
Spike grinned. “Would it bother you if I had?”
“Are you deliberately trying to make me jealous?”
“Maybe.”
“Why?”
He stepped closer to her, so that he was inches from her, and he smiled. “Maybe I’d like it. Maybe it’d turn me on to know you were jealous.”
“Would it?”
He nodded slowly, waiting for her reaction. Waiting, she imagined, for her to admit that she was. Except, that she wasn’t going to play that game with him even if she was jealous—and she was. Simply because he wanted her to be, and simply because he’d goaded her into it. He wanted something from her, and what that was exactly, she hadn’t figured out, but she knew her reaction would prove something very vital to Spike.
With that in mind, she leaned up so that her lips were just inches from his. He watched her intently, his eyes glittering with anticipation.
“Well, Spike,” she whispered. “I’m not.” And she pulled back, smiled brightly and bounced away.
Coupled with Buffy’s jealousy was the wildly curious part of her that wanted to meet this Faith and see Spike at work. She wanted to see how the other half lived, and how a cop did their job. She wasn’t much into cop or detective type shows, but being up close and personal with it, she couldn’t help but be fascinated and curious.
Even if it was a hooker and even if Spike was intent on being vague about whether or not he’d been with her. She sure wasn’t going to let him know it was eating away at her. No way. She wasn’t going to give him the satisfaction. It actually pissed her off that he’d tried to goad her into something. Why? What was the point? Had her reaction pleased him or pissed him off?
Looking sidelong at him as he silently drove on their way ‘downtown’, he didn’t seem upset or mad. He seemed fine, but then again, Spike could sometimes be the master of hiding his emotion.
Man, Buffy wished she had that gift. Maybe right about now, it’d be a help. Buffy wasn’t stupid, she’d sensed a change in him from last night. He put a wall up; distanced himself. She wasn’t sure if he regretted last night, and really, she couldn’t allow herself to dwell on that. If she did, she’d go mad.
Perhaps the problem was that she’d made herself to accessible to him. She’d pretty much lain herself bear for him and maybe that was nothing more than a turn off for him. Maybe he needed more of a challenge; needed more of a hunt. Anya had wanted more from him than he wanted to give, and that had been what caused her downfall. So, maybe it was all a matter of playing a little hard to get, a little nonchalant, a little indifferent to the attention he was giving or not giving.
Or maybe there just needed to be no games. Buffy hated games. Always had. She always much rather preferred getting down and dirty than beating around the bush. And, for all of Spike’s claiming that he was a no holds barred, straight-to- the-point kind of guy, he really wasn’t at times. He withheld and dodged, weaved and avoided.
It was rather annoying. Too bad her heart had already decided it wanted him….Though…he didn’t to have know that, did he?
No, he didn’t. So, maybe in the game she had to play, that was the ace up her sleeve.
Maybe.
Games usually had the tendency to blow up in one’s face, and Buffy wasn’t up for this to blow up in her face at all.
They were meeting Faith in a pizza shop that certainly looked as though it should have been closed down a thousand times over.
Spike sat back in the wooden red booth casually, and watched Buffy sip a soda and watch the door like a hawk. She’d been uncharacteristically quiet on the ride and he wasn’t sure what to think of that. In fact, she’d been pretty quiet since she’d questioned him before they left about what he was going to ask Faith.
“What are you thinking, kitten?” he asked, tapping her hand so she’d look at him.
“What?”
“What are you thinking?”
She shrugged and stared at the door. “Not really thinking anything.”
He tapped her hand again and when she looked at him, he asked. “I don’t believe that.”
She shrugged again. “Do you meet her here often?”
“Sometimes.”
“Where else do you meet her?”
“At the gym around the corner or on the street.”
“Oh.”
“Never seen a hooker huh?”
“No, I haven’t.”
“Is your virtue going to be all a flutter from this?”
She rolled her eyes and shook her head.
Okay, fine then.
He turned to face her and she looked at him. “Yes?” she snipped at him.
“I was never with her.”
“Well, Spike, you’ve made it perfectly clear to me from the start that you can do as you please. You have no ties to anyone right?”
“Well, yeah,” he said slowly.
“Then it shouldn’t matter to me what you do, or what you’ve done. You don’t really go for that sort of thing.”
“But I already told you that it’d turn me on for you to be jealous.”
“Right, well, I’m not about to be made to feel guilty either. That just seems a bit needy to me.”
“Now, look here—“
“Spike.”
Whipping his head over his shoulder, he found a fresh-from-the-gym Faith. Her brunette locks were pulled back in a pony, her usual pound of makeup was gone, and her tight and accentuating-of-all-her-features attire was gone. She wore running pants and a tank. Sliding into the booth she nodded towards Buffy. “Hey.”
Buffy nodded slowly, “Hey.”
“So, is this a new one?” Faith said to Spike, nodding toward Buffy.
“Faith, we’re not here to talk about my personal life, all right?” Spike said, annoyed.
Faith shrugged, “Fine, whatever. But if you want the goods, you might want to be nicer to me.”
“Are you hungry?” Buffy asked Faith.
Faith stared at her. “What?”
“Are you hungry?”
“No,” Faith said slowly. “What’s her deal?” she asked Spike.
“It’s called being polite,” Spike drawled. “Maybe you should look into it.”
“You’re one to talk, asshole.”
“Shut up. Look, I need to know if you’ve heard of anyone taking out a club owner recently,” Spike said, cutting to the chase.
Faith sighed, “No, I can’t say I have. Things have been eerily quiet, which is never a good sign.”
“You don’t say.”
“When things get quiet, it usually means something’s going down and people are scared by it.”
“That so?”
“Right. And you know who I’ve seen hanging around with some of the thugs?”
“Who?”
“Your pal, Finn.”
“What?” Spike said, sitting up straighter.
“Yeah, I’ve been seeing him around here at odd times. He’s always carrying food with him. I’m telling you man, he’s bad news.”
“How do you figure?”
“Why else would he be hanging around with thugs?”
“To get information like I do from you?” Spike said matter-of-factly.
“Fuck you man, he’s up to something, mark my words.”
“Or you’re just afraid he’s gonna sniff you out and then rat you out.”
“Yeah, and he does that, then I just turn around and rat your ass out.”
Spike glared at her. “Why do I seek your counsel?”
Faith grinned. “Cause I get the goods when I know what you’re looking for.”
“Well, now you know. So off with you already.”
“Peace out,” and she slid out of the booth.
“Faith,” Spike called and she stopped, turning to him.
“Yeah?”
“Find out what you can on Finn.”
Nodding, Faith waved at Buffy and left.
Buffy stared at her retreating form. “Did we learn anything?” she asked, turning to Spike. “I feel like we didn’t learn anything.”
“We learned something, all right.”
“Like what?”
“Finn, our modern day Leave it to Beaver, the poster boy for upright citizen, is possibly getting his hands dirty.”
“What does that have to do with my case?”
“Possibly nothing. But, I’ve also learned in this life that sometimes you just never really know a person, and often by the time you do, it’s too late.”