The next morning, Buffy awoke feeling somewhat abashed. Did she really behave like that last night? Had she seriously flirted with, and worse, had sexy thoughts about a complete stranger? Somehow the odd daydream hadn’t seemed so bad when he was only on the television screen, but now that she had been close to him, it seemed beyond naughty. She flung back the covers and threw on her bathrobe. It was still dark outside, but Angel was in the bathroom shaving. If she hurried, she could have coffee ready before he had to leave. Every day he took the train from their home in upstate New York to Manhattan where his law firm was based, but it seemed like he was taking earlier and earlier trains, and coming home later and later.
Several minutes later, as the warm smell of coffee was beginning to drift through the kitchen, he hurried down the stairs. Buffy leapt up from the bar stool she had been perched on, leafing through the information packet sent over by an artist who was having a showing in the gallery she worked for. “Good morning! Would you like some coffee?” she smiled at him. He did look handsome all dressed up in his suit, with his briefcase and that determined, man-of-the-world look in his eyes.
He returned her smile, but declined the offer of coffee. “I’m just in a hurry this morning, Buffy? You understand, right?”
“Of course.” Seeing his wife’s eyes dim slightly, he sighed inwardly and decided he could take just another minute to talk with her and maybe cheer her up. She was always very supportive of his career, but lately it seemed like she was beginning to resent all the hours he had to put in.
“Still thinking about the concert last night?” he asked with a teasing smirk.
Buffy blushed. “I don’t know what came over me! I can’t believe I acted like, like a teenager with her first crush! I can’t imagine what he must have thought of me!”
It had been cute, watching his wife play the coquette. And he had been very tolerant of her behavior, because, she was pretty and all, but Spike Giles was a rock star, and she was just, well, just Buffy.
“I’m sure he’s used to it.” Angel replied as he grabbed his briefcase and headed for the door. “You could always write him an apology!” He laughed slightly, then turned serious. “I’m sorry, but I’ll probably be late again, tonight, Buffy.”
“It’s okay. I’ll probably stay late at the gallery tonight, anyway, since we have that show coming up next week.”
“All right. See you later.” He absentmindedly kissed her cheek and left, his thoughts already gone from home.
With a sigh, Buffy sat back down at the bar and opened her laptop. No new emails. She scrolled down to make sure she hadn’t missed anything, but the only things in her inbox were a few ads and the receipt for last night’s concert tickets. Despite her outgoing personality, she didn’t have many close friends to get email from. After the wedding, they had moved several times and in the beginning he took up so much of her time that it became difficult to keep in touch with friends. Then, though, he had been going through law school and was so moody and stressed out that keeping him in an even temper had taken all of her charm and cajoling. They were newlyweds then, too, of course. Sometimes she wished they had waited longer to marry, but he had been starting law school in New York, far away from the college town in California where they had met, and he had been adamant about not having a long distance relationship. It was either marry or break up, and she had chosen to marry him.
Now, three years later, she didn’t necessarily regret her choice, but he was so busy with his job that she wished she had kept in better touch with some of her college friends. Absentmindedly, she clicked on the concert receipt and scrolled through the text. At the bottom, there was a link to Blue Flame’s website. She clicked on that and smiled when one of their songs loaded with the webpage and began humming out of her computer speakers.
I AM I AM
FOREVER YOUNG
EVERYTHING SEEMS SO CRAZY
FOREVER YOUNG
I AM I AM
LIVIN‚ FOR THE RUSH AND I‚M NOT COMING DOWN
DIGGIN‚ UP THE DUST LEFT FROM BURNING OUT
Spike’s voice was really amazing. She felt warmer and happier just listening. The website was really well done, too. There was a link to download songs, pictures of the band, bios, a list of concert dates, and…an email address for each band member. Maybe it wouldn’t be such a bad thing to write him a little note. Of course, he wouldn’t remember her, but just for fun…Before she could change her mind, Buffy clicked on the email address and began writing. Dear Spike, I know you won’t remember me, but I wanted to tell you again how amazing last night’s concert was! And to thank you for being so nice to me….
**************************************************************************
“Hey, Spike,” Xander yelled from the front of the bus. “You got some emails!”
Spike pushed himself up slightly off the window he had been leaning on to doze. The glass was cold against his cheek, but it felt good. Despite the freezing temperatures outside, the interior of the bus was always hot and stuffy. Probably from the excess of male energy trapped inside.
At the moment, though, Spike was feeling somewhat less than energetic. He had found a girl to take back to the hotel last night, a petite blonde one, too. But Harmony had proven to be more of an annoyance than a help. She insisted on calling him ridiculous pet names and wouldn’t shut up for one bloody second. The chit had tried to wheedle an invite to the next stop on the tour, but there was no way that was happening.
“Who from?” he asked Xander idly.
“One from your Dad, and some from fans. All girls, of course,” Xander snickered. Spike’s reputation as a lady’s man began long before the touring started. Xander, on the other hand, was in a long-term relationship with the band’s manager, Anya. She wasn’t with them at the moment, but they would pick her up a few stops down the road. “Let’s see…Who’s written he best “I love Spike” letter today?” Xander scrolled through the emails and began reading out names. “Emma wants you to go to her prom…Nancy wants to marry you, but wait, she’s only eleven, so you’d better hold off on that one…Buffy-“
“Buffy?” Spike jumped out of his seat. “Buffy emailed me?”
“Yeah. Sounds really sweet, too…Hey, wait. She’s the little blond from last night, right?”
“I think so.” Spike tried to play it off casually, but the facade was somewhat undermined when he tripped over Oz’s outstretched legs in his rush to get to the front of the tour bus. Oz opened one eye and blinked at him warily.
“Are we there?” he asked sleepily.
“No, it’s okay. Just going to check my emails. Go back to sleep.”
“Kay.” The eye closed and Oz resumed his even breathing.
Spike slouched down next to Xander and took over the laptop, eagerly scanning Buffy’s note. She apologized for being so “gushy” and thanked him sweetly for being so nice to her. Nice to her! He’d wanted to….Well it didn’t matter what he’d wanted to do to her. She had a husband to do those things with. But her email was so sincere. So different from most of the fan mail he got. A bloke could only be told so many times how amazing he was before all the compliments started to sound the same. But Buffy praised the whole band, the music and the song writing.
“So are you going to write her back?” Xander asked.
He really shouldn’t. This was a bad idea. Absolutely nothing could come of it. “Yeah,” he answered with a sigh. “I’m going to write her back.”
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Author's Chapter Notes:
The song is Forever Young, by my new favorite band, Juke Kartel!