Chapter 14.
It took more than half an hour before she uncurled her body form the fetal position she’d assumed in her grief and got off the floor. The sobs had stopped, but her eyes were vacant except for the tears still pouring unnoticed down her cheeks.
Buffy tried Xander’s cell, but there was no answer. Saddened and irritated at how the boy had seemingly teamed up with Will, she considered leaving an angry message, threatening to call his parents but reminded herself that she was the one to blame for the whole situation with Will and that Xander was not aware of the relationship. *Pffft! What relationship? Even if there was something… I screwed it up!* Xander hadn’t actually sided with anyone, he just stood by his male cousin when he felt needed to.
*Right! And Will won’t say anything about what we’ve been up to… Especially with me being a first-class bitch! Yeah, fat chance!* She shuddered at the thought of having to face Xander’s accusations along with Will’s hurt, *caused by me*, when the two returned. She groaned and teetered close to the edge of another sobbing bout before she resolved that she would fix everything! She’d show her man how much she cared… Well, maybe not how much, cuz she wasn’t sure as to the depth of his feelings, but at least that she did care for him.
She had to keep herself busy, to drive away pesky thoughts of a marble body and liquid blue firey eyes shaded by long dark lashes, from her mind. She had to bar regret and desolation from her heart if she were to survive not only the evening, but also the rest of the summer. It was imperative that she keep ignoring the alarming possibility that Will might not be convinced as to the reason of her change of attitude towards him. If she didn’t hold on to every ounce of optimism she could muster she’d be unable to do anything but dissolve into tears.
So she did the dishes, and the laundry, And changed the sheets on all the beds. *Xander must have had a snack in bed, cuz there’s nooo way he decided to put his bedspreads in the laundry if he didn’t stain them with something!* The thought of Xander made her try and call him once more. This time there was an answer.
“Buffy?” Willow had obviously seen the caller ID. “The guys are busy right now. Listen, we really want to go to the Bronze, but you said they can’t go out at night without you, so could you… maybe-change-your-mind?” the redhead blurted in a single breath.
Her lack of hesitation gave Buffy the impression that she’d rehearsed her request and was possibly talking while in the boys’ presence. Her inherent suspicion – fortified by accumulated disappointment in men – began to rise, ready to make a stand, defend the moronic behavior she’d only minutes ago renounced.
Thankfully, the part of her that had crumbled into tiny pieces when Will stormed out managed to glue itself back together long enough to stifle her ego and allow her to say, “I’m sorry Wills, I was stupid. Of course you can go and I’ll be there, too,” she said meekly, swallowing her pride.
Her voice sounded so subdued that the younger girl turned away from the daggers both Will and Xander were shooting at her through their eyes and whispered, “It’ll be alright,” before adding in a stronger voice, “Well that’s great, be ready by eight thirty, m’kay?” Not waiting for an answer she hung up, faced the glaring duo and put on her innocent face. “What? I only told her what we agreed on,” she chirped, batting her eyelashes twice for good measure.
“Knowing my couz, she’s probably jumping in the shower right now!”
He did know his cousin. The moment Willow snapped the phone shut, Buffy flew up the stairs and turned on the shower, looking for her best ‘forgive-me-for-being-a-bitch-and-remember-I’m-hot!’ outfit. She wasn’t sure if she’d imagined it, but she swore Willow’s voice was meant to give her some hope things were indeed alright. *So maybe they know? Nah! I probably got that wrong.*
~~~*~~~
Wearing nothing but her black lace underwear, she was still drying her hair when the others returned about an hour later, so she didn’t realize they were back till she heard the door to the other bathroom close. She switched off the blow-drier and put on her bathrobe before rushing down the hall, slowing her steps at seeing Willow standing outside the shut door.
“So… um, where are the guys? Is everything OK?”
“Yep – everything’s dandy! The men of the house just needed some privacy!”
“In the bathroom?” Knocking on the door Buffy asked “Will? Are you OK? Could I talk to you for a minute?”
A muffled ‘sod off’ was all she got for her effort, but she wouldn’t be dissuaded that easily!
“Come on Will! I wanna tell you…something.” Seeing the look on Willow’s face, she remembered that they had company and made a pathetic attempt to cover up anything that could be misconstrued. “I… I want to tell him I did the dishes.” *Smooth! I should really consider a career in politics!*
The other girl rescued her from further embarrassing herself. “Buffy, it’s OK. I know. And so does Xander.”
“You… you know?” *Should I play dumb?* Rejecting that option, and not bothering to knock again, she burst in the bathroom fueled by righteous indignation. “You told them? I can’t believe you’d do that! We have one little fight – No! Not even a fight! Just a stupid misunderstanding! And you go tell them something this big behind my back?” She registered the scene in front of her. “And what are you doing topless with a towel around your head? You guys washing each other’s hair now?” she asked with disbelief.
“I din’t tell ‘em you daft bint. Red saw us shagging!” He seemed livid.
“She… She saw us? Oh my God!” Hiding her face in her palms and pushing that shocking fact to the back of her mind in the ‘to-deal-with-later-or-never’ file, she insisted, “That still doesn’t answer why you two are in here together-” she waved her hand indicating the towel and his naked torso “-and like that!”.
Xander was trying to reduce his considerable size to something that could fit into the small space between the shower stall and the bathroom wall, failing miserably when Will pointed at him. “He’s ‘elping me with somethin’. Is that allowed in this bloody house? Or are the kiddies only to be in the babysitter’s presence all the time?” The vein on his forehead seemed about to pop.
“Helping? With what?” Buffy narrowed her eyes in suspicion, apparently oblivious to the fact that her lover was all but busting with effort not to break down crying.
Will pulled the towel away from his head, freeing what used to be a nest of dark-honeyed curls and was now peroxide blond.
“Helpin’ me look old enough to take you out! So we can be together in public!” His control on his true feelings faltered momentarily, and in that instant she saw the insecurity and pain his blazing fury tried to conceal.
She didn’t relent however, still unwilling to give any ground. “Oh! That’s priceless!” She was now waving her hands the way people do when words do not seem sufficient to communicate the depth of what they wanted to say. “Dyeing you hair will be enough to make you seem older! And when people do realize that you’re Xander’s age, and accuse me of robbing the cradle, what am I supposed to say? Huh? ‘No, it’s not what you think? You see, we’re really in lo…’” Her hand flew to her mouth as if to shove the word that nearly escaped back in her mouth. But Will caught it and leaped toward her way with a gleeful smile on his face, grabbing both her arms and crushing his lips to hers.
He held onto her despite her attempts to break away from the prison of his embrace, prolonging the kiss, pouring all the love he held for her into it until finally, he felt her melt into his embrace and return his passion.
And that’s when he suddenly withdrew to turn her towards the door and push her outside with a swat on her butt. “Off with you now! Go get ready, make yourself look pretty for me! Eight thirty and we’re leavin’!” There was nothing in his cocky smirk that resembled his previous wrath; only a hint of the pure bliss that had just filled his heart.
Dazed, Buffy left the room – followed by her cousin who, putting his arms around his girlfriend had to add his penny’s worth. “Yeah, uhmm… that went well.”
Buffy considered talking to Willow about what ‘exactly’ the girl had seen, but only toyed with the idea for half a second before deciding she preferred denial for the moment and went to her room to get ready.
~~~*~~~
She was more than satisfied with the result of her efforts by the time she made it to the stairs – which was closer to nine than eight thirty, but hey, women took longer to primp than men. She put on a black, micro-mini leather skirt, deep-red lace sleeveless shirt – which left just enough cleavage and bra uncovered to make a guy drool – and knee-high boots with spiked heels. Her hair falling loose around her shoulders and her dark make-up had the opposite effect than one might expect, actually making her appear younger than her twenty three years of age. Thankful for only a slightly breezy night that allowed her to get away with not wearing pantyhose, she picked up her waist length, thin leather jacket and was fully aware of her looks as she leisurely walked down the stairs, aiming for that movie slack-jaw effect when Will finally laid eyes on her.
She was disappointed though when she only saw Xander and Willow at the bottom of the stairs.
“Oh, someone’s looking nice! Make that two someones!!!” At some point during her beautifying endeavors, her cousin must have driven Willow home to change, because she now wore a short black dress with boots eerily similar to her own and her hair pulled up, *Nice! She could pull off eighteen easily in that outfit!*. He, on the other hand, wore charcoal jeans with a light gray shirt and had slicked back his hair, looking very much like an adult, and more handsome than ever.
“So…Where’s Will?” she tried for casual, but sounded needy.
“Will’s not coming, pet.” She heard him say just before he came out from somewhere to her right and under the stairway, a cigarette dangling from his lips as he spoke out of one side of his mouth. “You’re stuck with me… Spike.”
She gasped out loud as she took in the black jeans, black top and red shirt – matching the colors of her outfit perfectly – the peroxide blond curls tamed into spikes with hair gel and the Doc Martins that replaced the sneakers he usually wore. Gazing at the stunning man before her, her heart sped up, mouth opening to pant while moisture pooled in her panties… before she noticed the denim jacket he was about to put on… and frowned. “That won’t do!” was all she said before running up the stairs and locking herself in the walk-in closet.
tbc
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Please take a moment and let me know what you thought, ok? Oh, and Friday's chapter will be extra smutty! XXX
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Author's Chapter Notes:
Morning all! Here is Chapter 14. I hope you enjoy it! I’d like to once again thank all of you who read this story, and of course give a big hug to those who review! You guys make my muse sing! A huge thank you and an extra-tight hug are sent across the Atlantic to Im_bloody_English, for being the best beta ever and a really great friend! Thank you honey! Till Friday XXX