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Author's Chapter Notes:
Hello all! I really hope you enjoy this chapter.
Chapter Nine

Buffy waited nervously with the cell phone pressed to her ear. Maybe he wasn't home and she would be able to put this off a little longer. The question was, could she wait much longer without combusting.

“'ello?”

Combustion postponed. “Hey. It's, umm, it's Buffy.”

There was a short pause, and then, “Hello, luv.” She could hear the smile in his voice and found herself smiling as well. “It's good to hear from you.”

His words sent little shivers down her spine and she kicked herself for acting like a smitten schoolgirl.

“What can I do for you?” he asked.

She took a deep breath and tried to sound casual. “Actually, I was wondering if you're busy right now. I happen to be in your neighbourhood and I thought maybe we could meet for coffee.” She neglected to mention the fact that she's driven all the way to the university this morning to dig his home address out of her files.

“Right now?” The surprise in his voice was obvious and she cringed. That confirmed it. She really did look as desperate as she felt. Then he chuckled. “That anxious to see me are you, pet?”

She rolled her eyes. “Oh yeah, I'm positively counting down the seconds. I'm at a café about a block from your building called The Bean. Do you think you can deflate your ego long enough to get your ass down here?”

That only made him laugh harder. “No worries, love. I'll see you in a few minutes.”

After she hung up, Buffy sat fidgeting with her phone. Her heart was beating double-time with excitement at the thought of seeing him again, but she was anxious as well. She had no idea how he'd react to her proposal. If he agreed, then she'd probably go home feeling happier than she had in months. If not, she had a pint of Homer Hudson ice cream in her freezer that was just waiting for a good excuse to be eaten.

“Hey there, pet.”

Startled, she looked up to see Spike standing beside her table. “Wow, that was quick.”

He shrugged. “I didn't have far to come.” He sat opposite her and ordered a cup of strong, black coffee before he continued. “You know you could have just knocked on my door. I wouldn't have minded.”

Buffy shook her head vehemently. “I don't think that would have been a good idea.” I may have tackled you to the ground before you even invited me in. “Here is better.”

He smiled at her with a knowing look in his eye, as if he knew exactly what she was thinking. “So how has your weekend been?” he asked, then winked at her. “Thoughtful I hope.”

“You could say that,” she replied, unable to hide a smile of her own. The kiss they had shared just two nights ago had already been replayed in her head hundreds of times. Hell, it even came with a orchestral soundtrack now.

“Any thoughts you'd like to share?” he prompted.

This was it. The perfect opportunity to say what she'd come here to say. It was now or never. “Okay. Here's the thing...” She paused as she tried to arrange her suddenly jumbled thoughts back into some sort of order. Maybe she should have written this down. Swallowing heavily, she took a deep breath and tried again. “About the other night–”

“When we kissed.”

She looked up at his interruption to see him grinning at her. God damn it. He was enjoying her discomfort way too much.

“I like you,” she blurted out, determined to get this over with before that threat of combustion turned into a reality. “I mean I really do like you. If we'd met under different circumstances I would have no qualms about exploring this...” she waved a hand between them, “this thing that we have between us, further. But–”

The amusement that had been written all over his face when she began her speech had, by now, been replaced with disappointment. “Buffy, I warned you about trying to shut me out again.”

“No,” she said, holding a hand up to stop him from going any further. “That's not what I'm doing. I'm trying very hard to be honest here so will you please just shut up and listen?”

That seemed to give him pause. “All right.”

She had no problem giving voice to her thoughts now. This was too important for her to stuff it up. “Whether we like it or not, I'm your supervisor for your master's thesis. We can't just ignore that and pretend that it doesn't matter. If anyone found out about what happened the other night it could be very detrimental to both of us. I, for one, did not work this hard to have it all go up in smoke because I couldn't control my hormones and I don't think you did either.”

Spike frowned. “I know that the situation isn't ideal but, Buffy, don't you think you're getting a little carried away? I'm not one of your students. Who is really going to care if we go on a date?”

“You'd be surprised,” she replied. “Despite the high number of women working on the front line of psychology, when it comes to academia the top jobs are still more likely to be filled by men. Men who haven't appreciated a short, blonde girl making it into their ranks at such a young age. If I was found to be consorting with someone in my charge it would all but destroy my credibility.”

Spike lowered his eyes to his coffee cup and Buffy knew she'd made her point.

“There's also your career to consider,” she continued. “If we began a relationship while I was supervising you, there would always be those who would believe that you had an unfair advantage over your fellow students. That I did more to help you write your thesis than is permissible for a supervisor. Those sorts of rumours can follow you for your whole career.”

He swore quietly and ran his hands through his hair. “You're right. Of course you're right. I should have thought through the repercussions more seriously.” He looked at her with a wry grin. “You may have noticed that when I see you my blood doesn't exactly flow in the direction of my brain.”

She laughed, feeling her face flush at the mention of his...err...nether regions.

“I'm sorry I gave you a hard time.” As he spoke, his hand moved across the table and his fingertips brushed against hers on the cool surface.

“It's okay,” she replied, relishing even this minor contact. When she looked up she found him all but devouring her with his eyes.

“I can't believe I don't get to kiss you again.”

Even as her heart melted, tears pricking the back of her eyes, she shook her head at him. “Don't be so damn hasty. You'll still get that and more if I have anything to say about it.”

“Huh?” Spike tried to frown in confusion and raise his eyebrows in surprise, at the same time. It was quite a comical look and Buffy couldn't help but laugh.

“I will only be your supervisor until you hand in your thesis and graduate from your degree. That will officially be the end of our professional relationship. After that, what we choose to do in our private life is just that...private.”

Spike began to chuckle. “When you say you need time to think you really mean it. Got it all worked out in that pretty little head of yours, haven't you?”

Buffy flashed him her best smile. “Naturally.”

He shook his head and relaxed back in his chair, disentangling their fingers. “Okay. So we wait. I can deal with that. What do we do until then?”

“We carry on as before.”

He raised her eyebrows at her again. “Are you kidding? You mean the whole professional discussion only thing again? That was exhausting.”

“It was?” she asked in surprise. “You made it look so effortless. Like it really didn't bother you one way or the other.”

Smiling, he tucked his tongue behind his teeth in a way that made her want to taste it. “And it drove you crazy, didn't it?”

“Oh my God, Willow was so right about you.”

“Are you seriously telling me that you've never seen any of the students you've supervised socially? Not ever?”

Buffy squirmed a little in her chair. “Well, technically I've been friendly with one or two but...this is different.”

“How?”

She shrugged. “I never wanted to be...err...inappropriate with any of them.”

He laughed out loud at that one. “So that's it. You just don't think you can keep your hands off my hot, tight little body, hey?”

“Don't be ridiculous,” she replied, dong her best to look indignant. “I just don't think it's a good idea to tempt fate.”

“Uh-huh. That's a good one. Blaming your lack of self-control on fate.”

She was preparing to argue again when he took hold of her hand again. “I just want to spend time with you,” he told her. “If the only way I can do that is to be your friend then I'll take what I can get. For now.”

Seeing the hope in his eyes, Buffy sighed. The thought of trying to keep herself aloof from him for the rest of the year did sound pretty awful, not to mention practically impossible. And at least this time would allow them to get to know each other.

“All right. You win,” she conceded. “Platonic friendship it is.” Lord, save us from our own lust bunnies!





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