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Carefully, Buffy edged her cart past the elderly woman blocking the produce aisle and reached for an apple. She hated shopping on the weekends, but with the gallery so busy, lately she didn’t have much choice. Moving on to the meat department, she eyed the available selection carefully.

With many apologies, Angel had cancelled their planned Valentine’s trip because of a new complication in the case he was working on. She understood, really she did. They would go another time. But since they weren’t going out of town, she at least wanted to have a nice dinner ready. She loved to cook, but it wasn’t nearly as much fun making dinner for one. As she perused the selection, a small, insistent melody called out from her purse. She had downloaded a ring tone from Blue Flame’s website, so that every time her cell rang, so got to hear her favorite song. Thinking it might be Angel calling to set a time for dinner, she eagerly unzipped her bag and flipped the phone open.

“Hello?”

“Hello, luv.” A very weary voice with a British accent greeted her ears. She only knew one British person who had her phone number, although this would be the first time he had used it. Although their almost daily emails had become increasingly personal, so much so that Buffy had ceased to think of him as “the lead singer” and now considered him a good friend, they hadn’t actually spoken since the concert.

“Spike?”

“Buffy. I hope you don’t mind that I called...”

“Of course not. Is everything okay?” In their email correspondence, Buffy had almost managed to forget the effect his voice had on her, especially when it was saying her name. Her spine zinged and she felt her legs trembling a bit, but she hurriedly tried to put a tight clamp on these feelings. He was her friend, now, and it sounded like he needed cheering up.

“Life is fine, I guess. Just feeling a bit, out of sorts. We’ve been on the move constantly for the past week. Everybody’s feeling a little ragged around the edges, even Oz. I just thought I might feel better, if...” he hesitated shyly. “If I could hear your voice.”

Buffy melted at his hesitation. Leaning her elbows against the cart, she juggled the phone until she could hold it comfortably and be prepared to move out of any other shopper’s way if necessary.

“I’m always happy to talk to you!” she said warmly. “I can’t believe this is our first actual, live conversation, though.”

“I know. In case I haven’t mentioned it, I love getting your emails. It kind of keeps me grounded, thinking about you in Waterford, going about your daily life. Where are you now, kitten?”

Buffy sighed. She knew the pet names were just a normal part of his vocabulary, but she loved them a little more than she knew she should, and they were even more affecting in person.

“Actually,” she giggled. “I’m at the grocery store. It doesn’t get more normal than that!”

On the other end of the line, in an anonymous hotel room in Denmark, Spike’s heart clenched at the sound of her laugh. No matter how hard he tried, he had not been able to forget her. No number of small blond girls erased her from his mind. Especially now that he knew she was sweet, intelligent, and funny as well as beautiful. The emails probably hadn’t been a good idea, but once they were started, it was impossible to stop. She had opened herself up to him in her letters, and now he couldn’t stay away, even if he could only ever be her friend. Calling her probably hadn’t been a terrific idea either, but it had been a hellish week and he seriously needed some comfort.

“Shopping for anything special?” he asked.

“Dinner tomorrow night. Since we called off the trip, we agreed to at least have a nice dinner together.” She couldn’t help but sound a little sad, but she didn’t want Spike to get the wrong idea, so she struggled to keep an upbeat tone in her voice. For some reason, even though he had never said a critical word about her marriage, Spike made her feel defensive of Angel.

Spike sighed. His feelings for her weren’t helped by the fact that her oaf of a husband seemed to take her completely for granted. Although she hadn’t said it exactly, he knew Buffy was crushed when Angel cancelled their trip.

“What are you making?” he asked, fighting to keep an even tone in his voice.

“Not sure, yet. Just seeing what looks freshest.”

“Are you a closet chef, Buffy?” he teased.

“No,” she giggled again, and he basked in the sound, glad that he had banished that small amount of hurt from her voice. “But I do like to cook. My mom taught me. Speaking of which,” her tone turned serious. “Thank you for the flowers you sent to the cemetery. My aunt called and told me about them. You didn’t have to do that.”

“I wanted to, pet. Your mum sounds like an amazing woman.” He hadn’t actually meant for her to find out about that.

“So how’s Denmark?” She determinedly lightened the tone of the conversation, not really wanting to cry in the middle of the grocery store.

“Not so great, actually. Strangely enough, our cd hasn’t done as well in this corner of the globe. It makes everything just that much more tiresome if the fans aren’t there.”

“I’m so sorry, Spike. I guess we Americans just have better taste in music!”He chuckled. “I guess so, luv.”Her phone emitted a discreet beep, and she quickly checked the caller id.

“Listen, Spike, I have to go. Angel is on the other line. But call me any time okay? I love talking to you!”

“Sure thing, Buffy. I’ll hear from you later?” he tried without success to tamp down on the flare of jealousy that hit him.

“Of course. Bye!” And she was gone.

Still, though, it had made him feel better to hear her voice. Maybe he could make it through the rest of this tour after all. And then, when it was over, they were headed back to New York to spend some time in the studio. The thought of seeing her again, with those gorgeous eyes, that sunny smile, and that soft skin he could still feel brushing against his fingertips, sent a wave of arousal coursing through him and he immediately jumped off the bed. Right. Go and see if there are any pretty girls hanging around in the bar. Cause no way was he going to wank off to thoughts of his married friend. No way.





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