Chapter 14
“Now, no peeking! Keep your eyes closed,” Spike told Buffy as the elevator arrived at the 14th floor.
It was Saturday and he’d told Buffy he wanted to drive her out to LA and so they could spend the afternoon in the city. But instead he’d planned for them to spend the whole weekend there and in order to keep it a secret, he’d employed Willow’s help to pack some of Buffy’s clothes.
He knew that facing the scrutiny of her peers had been more and more tough on Buffy over the past week and he reckoned she’d appreciate the opportunity to spend a couple of days away from Sunnydale where she could relax and they could spend some time together away from inquisitive eyes. So he’d called Ethan, his father’s editor, whose company had an apartment in LA which he leased for parties and special occasions and got him to agree to let him and Buffy use it for the weekend.
When they’d arrived in LA, they gone for lunch at a little café before driving to the apartment block, where he’d used the excuse of wanting to stop by and say hi to a friend who lived there. Once they were in the elevator heading towards the floor where the apartment was located, he’d told her to close her eyes.
“Spike, what’s all this about?”
“Wait and see, luv,” he said, his hand resting in the small of her back as the doors opened and he led her into the room beyond. “Ok, now you can look.”
He watched as she opened her eyes and gasped at the luxurious décor of the room. He had to admit it was pretty spectacular. They were currently standing in the living room which had a large sofa and armchairs with black and gold designed upholstery and mahogany furniture.
“Do you like it?”
“It’s gorgeous, but Spike, I don’t understand…”
“Well it’s ours for the night.”
He felt Buffy stiffen and move out of his reach. “Spike, I’m not ready for this.”
“Relax, luv. There’s two bedrooms. I promise to keep my hands to myself. I just wanted you to have some fun this weekend.”
Buffy smiled. “Thank you, that's really sweet of you, but what about my mom? She might worry if I don't come back tonight.”
"It'll be ok. Willow's gonna ring and leave a message to say you're sleeping over hers."
Buffy smiled, allowing her gaze to wander around the room taking in all the furnishings. “Spike, it really is lovely. But this looks so expensive.”
“Don’t worry about it. It’s leased by my father’s publishers for work events. And since it’s empty right now, I got them to agree to let us use it.”
She walked further into the room. “Money talks eh?”
He followed her and then sat down on the sofa. “That it does, pet. My father’s a famous novelist so his name is pretty influential.”
“Must be nice not to have to worry about money,” she said, sitting down next to him.
“Yeah it is, only I don’t see Dad that much. He’s often away on touring and promoting his books and when he is home he’s always holed up in his office writing.”
Buffy frowned. “Yeah, I don’t see my mom that often either. She works a lot.”
“I feel like I should apologize for that.”
“No, I didn’t mean it like that. I mean if her day off falls on a weekend, we’ll try and spend some time together. But if it’s a weekday, I’m always at school, and when she’d working, she gets up so early and therefore has to go to bed early, that sometimes it’ll be a couple of days before I’ll see her for long enough to say anything more than hi.”
Her mouth curved into a small smile when Spike took her hand.
“I guess I’m still finding it difficult getting used to the situation – I mean before we moved to Sunnydale, she was always at home and we used to talk loads and now we hardly ever have the time. We’ve kinda grown apart and I often feel as though she knows nothing about my life or what’s going on in it. I guess it’s just a little sad sometimes, especially since I don’t see my father anymore.”
“I don’t want to pry, luv and I’m guessing something bad must've happened before you came to Sunnyhell, though I don’t know what. All I do know is that one day you showed up sitting under the elm tree in my garden looking like a golden goddess.”
Buffy rolled her eyes at his blatant flattery and he grinned.
“All I’m saying is that I want you to know you can tell me anything, talk to me about anything.”
Part of Buffy wanted to fill him in on her life pre-Sunnydale, but another part of her just wasn’t sure she could trust him. She knew she was moving in the right direction but what had happened with her dad had affected her greatly and it wasn’t something she’d ever been easily able to talk about. Willow knew and she’d told Riley because he’d been there and seen her reaction to her father’s card, but she still wasn’t comfortable enough with Spike to reveal the true extent of her emotional scars.
Spike must have picked up on her hesitation because he spoke again before she could answer. “Luv, I can see that something’s holding you back and I’m not going to try and push you. I want you to be able to tell me but only when you’re ready, yeah?” He stood up and pulled her to her feet. “Now I didn’t bring you here for us to sit in this apartment digging up past uglies. I have something special planned for this evening and I’m very well aware of the fact that girls need a lot of time to prepare for a night out.”
At his words, Buffy looked up. “A night out? In LA? But I have nothing to wear.”
“I am way ahead of you, pet. I also took the liberty of asking Willow to pack a few of your things that you’d need this weekend. And as for tonight – that’s where your first surprise comes in. Go and look in your bedroom. It’s the door over there on the left.”
Frowning a little but unable to curb her curiosity, Buffy headed across the room to the door that Spike had indicated, opened it and went inside. For a moment, her eyes were captured again by the beauty of the furnishings, before she noticed a square black box on the double bed. She gasped when she saw the insignia on the lid.
- Versace -
Lifting off the lid, she pulled out what was inside and held it up. It was a black dress with tiny straps and a flowing skirt. It was plain and simple but elegantly sophisticated at the same time.
“Do you like it?”
She turned to see Spike lounging in the doorway.
“It’s beautiful…”
“I also got shoes and a purse to match,” he said gesturing to another couple of boxes on the vanity table stool. Buffy’s face fell when she saw the logos of Jimmy Choo and Louis Vuitton.
“You don’t like it…”
It wasn’t that she didn’t like it. Spike or whoever had helped him acquire the dress and accessories had incredible taste and she knew she would feel like a queen wearing them. But she knew from friends at her former private school that these kinds of clothes did not come cheap and she really didn’t want Spike to throw his money around trying to impress her.
She wanted him to know that she didn’t need luxurious lodgings or expensive outfits, but then she saw his face. He looked so disappointed and she just didn’t have the heart to say anything. She knew he was just trying to make her happy and he was under the misguided impression that to do that he had to ‘flash the cash’. They would have to talk about it eventually but right now she just wanted to make him smile again.
“No, Spike, I love it. It’s all so beautiful.”
He smiled, his blue eyes lighting up. “No, you’re beautiful and you’re gonna look even more beautiful wearing all this. Now run along – we need to be ready to leave at six.”
“Why? Where are we going?”
“Wait and see. That’s surprise number two.”
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Author's Chapter Notes:
Thanks to all my reviewers. Thanks to those of you who gave me positive reviews about the last chapter and about the insight in to Spike. I hope you like this one too...