A few days after meeting Riley at the show, Buffy was surprised to find a message from him on her phone asking if she was available for a date the following weekend. While she had enjoyed the short time they had spent together at the Bronze dancing and sipping drinks over idle chitchat, Buffy had often found herself growing bored with the conversation and wasn’t entirely certain that Riley Finn was a good fit for her. However, she ended up agreeing to meet him for dinner, which Buffy could tell ruffled his feathers by refusing to let him pick her up even though he didn’t come right out and say so.
Friday night rolled around and as usual she was running late, Buffy pulled in to the parking lot at Chadwynn’s, an upscale restaurant on Rodeo Drive, five minutes after she was supposed to meet Riley and grimaced at the sign declaring the spot to be valet only. Of course any restaurant in Beverly Hills would require paying to have your car parked and she felt mildly embarrassed about the condition of her Jeep Cherokee being in the midst of a sea of overpriced sedans and sports cars. Since she was technically running late, Buffy sucked it up and pulled up to the valet booth, slid out of her Jeep and handed over the keyring to the attendant and sighed at the thought of wasting that money simply to park a car.
Truth be told, the place was a touch too stuffy for her tastes, but Riley insisted on ‘going all out’ for their first date. She was definitely out of her element amidst the white table clothes, crystal glassware and five course settings, and would have been more comfortable at a pizza parlor with a pitcher of beer instead. Riley’s mood at first hadn’t helped soothe her nerves either. He had teetered on the edge of being miffed, not only because she was tardy, but because he seemed to continue to harbor a little resentment about her insistence that she drive herself, but his demeanor appeared to be improving as the night went on. Even though she shouldn’t have had to explain herself in regards to wanting to meet him at the restaurant, she had explained anyway in hopes that by doing so Riley’s mood would improve.
She’d had a steadfast rule to always drive herself on dates until she got to know the person she was going out with. This stemmed from a rather horrible incident her freshman year of college with Parker Abrams, who had turned out to be a downright bastard and left her stranded at a fraternity party. Walking home in heels and rain had made the night even more miserable. Since then she had learned her lesson and made sure to always have a ride home. It was easier and cheaper than having to risk walking home or paying for a cab to come to her rescue.
The meal was nearing an end, as was the plate of ooey-gooey chocolate dessert on her plate. Buffy moaned lightly as she savored the Dutch chocolate cheesecake that was downright sinful, while Riley rambled on about his upcoming movie. While Buffy had to admit she was actually having a good time, she was ready to call it a night because she was exhausted after a late band practice the night before and spending all day dealing with students as the end of the semester grew closer. She attempted to stifle a yawn and failed miserably, and blushed deeply while explaining why she was so tired. Conveniently, Riley agreed that it was time to end their date, since he had to be up early the next morning. He dutifully paid the check and escorted her out to her vehicle and stood by while the valet attendants located their vehicles. Once both of their cars had been fetched, they were faced with the skittish dance of ‘Do we kiss or do we hug’? After a few awkward moments, Buffy decided to bite the bullet and stood on the tips of her toes to brush a kiss across the cheek of her towering date and said a polite thank you before getting into her car. With a quick, yet coy flick of the wrist, she waved goodbye and pulled out of the parking lot.
While she had every intention of heading home, the small amount of wine in her system had her itching to stop at Caritas. The naughty side of Buffy influenced her to drive right past her turn-off for home and head for the bar; which caused her not so naughty side to berate her for lying to her perfectly nice date and ditching him early. The little bar seemed to be brimming with customers, which wasn’t unusual for a Friday night, but was annoying enough that she had a difficult time locating a parking spot. On her third trip through the lot, she spotted someone leaving at the rear of the lot and whipped her car in to their spot, grabbed her guitar that she had left in the back and headed for the door.
She rounded the corner of the club and inwardly groaned at the sight of the long line and faltered in her decision, but was saved by Lorne, who stepped outside at the exact moment she had decided to head home instead of waiting in that monstrosity of a line. She walked to the bar with Lorne, decked head to toe in a shimmery royal blue material, and happily accepted the Cosmopolitan he ordered for her. He handed over the bright pink drink, while apologizing for not being able to stay and chat once he realized that she was alone. With a sincere smile, Buffy reassured him that she was more than capable of holding down the bar stool on her own, but to make sure and squeeze her in for a song or two at some point during the night. He chuckled and promised that he would give her anything she wanted as long as she sang for it. Shaking her head, she handed him her guitar to keep up near the stage and settled herself onto the stool, while sipping on the tasty pink concoction.
About forty-five minutes and another Cosmo or two later, Lorne waved at her from beside the stage and announced that it was her turn. Buffy stood up, instantly feeling the effects of the alcoholic drink, and smoothed the front of her red halter dress before she made her way through the maze of tables to the stage. Perched on top of the stool, Buffy positioned the guitar and greeted the audience. “Um, hello…I thought I would try out a song that I have been working on for a couple of weeks. It’s called ‘Can’t Fight the Moonlight’. I hope you like it.” She fidgeted with her pick for a moment then started to play. “Under a lover’s sky…Gonna be with you…And no one’s gonna be around…If you think that you won’t fall…Well, just wait until…Til the sun goes down.”
“Underneath the starlight, starlight…There’s a magical feeling, so right…It’ll steal your heart tonight.” The stage lights were warm on her face as she moved in to the next verse of the song, and bright enough to hide the sea of faces staring up at her. “You can try to resist…Try to hide from my kiss…But you know, But you know…that you can’t fight the moonlight…No, you can’t fight it…It’s gonna get to your heart.” Buffy felt her frazzled nerves melt away as she settled in to the song and a smile lit up her face as she started in on the next verse. “There’s no escape from love…Once a gentle breeze…Weaves its spell upon your heart…No matter what you think…It won’t be too long…Til you’re in my arms.”
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Spike’s night had been utterly miserable. It started off as a long day at work and went into an explosive argument with his longtime girlfriend, Drusilla. The hour’s long argument had ended with Dru packing a bag and storming out of their apartment while he’d sank down on to the leather couch with a glass filled to the brim with whiskey. He had worked his way through at least a quarter of bottle of amber liquid, before he couldn’t take being in the apartment any longer; the four walls of the living room felt as though they were closing in on him and making it difficult to breathe. While he probably shouldn’t have been behind the wheel, especially that of his beloved DeSoto, Spike’s ability for rational thinking had long since flown out the window and he was on the road and halfway to the new bar down the street before he realized that driving probably wasn’t the best idea.
Once there, he saw that there was a line, but thankfully it moved fast enough that he didn’t have to stand outside for long. Spike crossed over the threshold into the club, dimly lit by the soft lights along the edges of the room and pointed at the stage, he immediately turned towards the bar, when the sultry sound of a woman singing stopped him in his tracks. Captivated, he made his way down the hallway towards the main room and stood in disbelief as he realized the source of the soulful sound. His golden goddess! Spike couldn’t believe that she was there, too. Of all the places that he could have gone tonight he had managed to end up at the same place as the woman he hadn’t stopped thinking about since he’d first seen her on stage the previous weekend. Spike ordered a beer and perched on a stool at the end of the bar, fascinated by the woman in front of him.
“You can try to resist…Try to hide from my kiss…But, you know…That you can’t fight the moonlight.” Mesmerized by the soulful, angelic depth of her voice, Spike’s beer sat untouched on the bar next to him. “Deep in the dark, you’ll surrender your heart…But you know, but you know…can’t fight the moonlight…No, you can’t fight it...No matter what you do…The night is gonna get you.”
“Don’t try then…You’re never gonna win…Underneath the starlight, starlight…There’s a magical feeling, so right…It will steal your heart tonight.” Spike didn’t know shit about magic or starlight, but staring at the blonde beauty perched on the stage, half hidden by the guitar strapped across her body, he was damn sure that she had, in fact, stolen his heart. “You can try to resist…Try to hide from my kiss…But you know, but you know…you can’t fight the moonlight…Deep in the dark…You’ll surrender your heart.”
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~~**~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
“You can try to resist…Try to hide from my kiss…But you know, but you know…you can’t fight the moonlight…Deep in the dark…You’ll surrender your heart.” As she finished up the last bit of the chorus, Buffy looked up from the microphone to quickly scan the audience since Lorne had harped at her earlier in the week for always keeping her eyes closed during a performance. It was at that moment that she locked eyes with the most alluring man she had ever seen. Dressed all in black with platinum blonde hair, he leaned against the bar with an air of authority, his gaze never lingering away from hers. Even from across the room, the intensity in his lustful gaze sent chills down her body and awakened a desire deep within that she hadn’t known was there. With a shaky breath, she finished the last verse of the song. "No, you can’t fight it…It’s gonna get to your heart.”
Buffy smiled when greeted with a thunderous applause of approval after she finished the song. Pleased that the new music appeared to be well liked, she offered a genuine thank you to the crowd and turned to put her guitar back inside its case. With the case in hand, Buffy hopped off the stage and was instantly ambushed by Lorne, whose face was lit with amazement and sparkling with a million watt smile.
“Honey, where on earth did that come from? I had absolutely no idea that you wrote your own stuff! Why didn’t you tell me?’ “He demanded with a nearly convincing pout of disappointment.
“I…I wasn’t sure of how well it would go over. I mean, it’s not the same kind of stuff the band performs.” she stammered, as Lorne ushered her towards the bar. Grinning brightly once they got to their destination, she added, “So what did you think?”
Lorne instantly launched into long tirade of how enamored he was with her and her work, old and new. He wrapped up his long winded appraisal with a request that Buffy start performing weekly on Open Mic night, where she could try out her new material. Elated, she quickly agreed and instantly started running through the piles of notebooks filled with songs she had been scribbling in for years. Unfortunately, by the time she was able to free herself from her lovable, but overzealous manager, Buffy didn’t see the sexy stranger at the bar. Deciding it was probably for the best, since she was quite tired and surely, no man that beautiful would be interested in her, Buffy leaned over the bar in search of the purse she had stored back there with the bartender, Harmony. Realizing that her arms were nowhere near long enough to reach her purse, Buffy made eye contact with Harmony and motioned that she was ready to leave.
She leaned her guitar case against the bar while she waited patiently for the very attractive, but not too intelligent, blonde bartender since the line was quite long. Parking her guitar against the stool, she leaned slightly over the edge of the bar to see if she could possibly reach the small black purse if she stretched. Giving up after a solid three attempts, Buffy eased herself back and bumped into someone. Since the bar area was cramped, Buffy was unable to turn around to apologize to the person behind her and ended up pressed against the stranger; unable to move.
“Why the rush to leave, luv? It’s well past midnight, so I know there’s no threat of turning into a pumpkin.” He whispered into her ear with a sensuous British accent; his breath was warm against her neck and tickled her ear. Out of the corner of her eye, she caught a shock of blonde hair and a scarred eyebrow.
Buffy relaxed into the strong arms that held her in place and his scent flooded her senses, seduced her seducing her with the smell of leather, tobacco and an underlying note of something utterly male. She felt weak in the knees and a warm sensation burned low in her belly like fire. His head was near the nape of her neck, his breath was warm on her skin and caused a scattering of chill bumps to spread across her skin, despite the suddenly warmer atmosphere in the bar.
Never in the history of Buffy had a man caused her to feel the way she did at that moment; aflame with wanton sexual desire, dizzy and breathless with anticipation.
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Author's Chapter Notes:
*CAnt Fight the Moonlight- owned by Lee Ann Rimes not me! I don't profit in anyway!