“So, let me get this straight,” Carlos said to Spike as they relaxed in their trailer. “You’ve got a thing for the tiny blonde chica, so you’re throwing things at the Bachelor to get him to keep his hands off her?”
Spike tipped his bottle of beer, took a long swig and smirked and shrugged. “That about sums it up.”
“Man. Everybody around here is getting some action but me,” Carlos said.
“Action? I’ve kissed her a couple of times, but that’s it.”
“Well, then, John has you beat.”
Spike paused; the beer bottle at his lips and one eyebrow lifted. “That so?”
“Si. He won’t say which girl, but he did say she was a blonde.” Carlos shrugged. “Could be your chica.”
Keeping his expression passive, Spike shrugged then got up. “Back to the bimbo barn.”
If Carlos noticed the tick in Spike’s jaw, he had enough sense to keep quiet and Spike was grateful for that. The limo was due to arrive any minute with the girls who went on the group date. Just as they got the cameras loaded with fresh disks, the limo came around the bend. They both ran to catch up to it and got there just in time to get their cameras rolling. Carlos kept going, heading for the house, but Spike stood near the limo and trained the camera on the door as the limo driver opened it.
The pretty, sharp-eyed Gwen got out first, proudly carrying the rose. Spike checked her off in his in mind from the list of possible girls messing around with John, since she was not a blonde. Cordelia came out next, her sour expression matching the way Spike felt. Dark brown hair, so not her. Faith stepped out next and marched directly into the house. Another one off the list. Lily and Fred came out together. John could be messing around with Lily, but she just didn’t seem like the type. Lilah was the last one out, her short skirt riding up high on her endless legs. Another brunette.
John exited next, his camera hanging at his side. Spike lowered his own camera and nodded at John.
“Have a good time?”
“Shit, no. After watching them all hang on Angel and take turns swapping spit with him all night, I need a shower,” John said with a shiver.
Spike knew he was late getting into the house, but he followed John to the equipment tent and waited patiently while the big man took the disk out and placed his camera in the case. He labeled the disk, dropped it into a protective sleeve and placed it in the box.
The agitated voice of the director came over Spike’s earpiece. “Where’s Spike? We need a camera out back, like now.”
Spike ignored it and followed John back to their trailer. John took off his jacket and paused, staring at Spike curiously. “Say, aren’t you scheduled to be in the house right now with Carlos?”
Spike nodded. “Wanted to asked you something first?”
“What?”
“Rumor has it that you’re shagging one of the bachelorettes.”
“Sha—What?”
Spike closed his eyes for a second, trying to stay patient. “Fucking. Which one of them are you fucking?”
John’s face fell into a frown. He glanced around and whispered, “Who else knows?”
“The Bachelor mentioned that one of the bachelorettes told him that one of the crew members was messing around with one the other girls, but she didn’t say who. I’m just curious, you know. Which one?”
“I could lose my job over this.”
“I know when to keep my mouth shut.” Spike desperately hoped he would believe it. He had to know for sure. Even though he just knew it wasn’t Buffy and he was still peeved that she’d accepted the rose from Angel in Vegas, he wouldn’t sleep well until he heard it from John.
Still whispering, John said, “It’s that hot little number, Darla.” He chuckled. “I told her that my uncle was a talent agent and suddenly she was all over me, man.”
~ * ~ * ~
Darla and Kate came down the stairs with their suitcases in hand and set them by the door. Buffy stood with the other girls and watched as they got in the limo with John the cameraman. She could feel the tense vibes from the remaining women as they watched the limo go out of sight and drive off to meet Angel somewhere for their all day date. Either Darla or Kate would not be coming back to the house, and the one that did was guaranteed to go on to next week like Buffy and Gwen.
Buffy was still shocked that Angel had given her a rose after the disaster that was Vegas. She’d been tempted to tell him no and walk away, but she thought of Faith. She had to get back to the bachelor house and find out if she was the one telling Angel that someone was messing around with a crewmember.
As the rest of the women filed back into the house, Buffy watched Faith climb the stairs alone. She’d been waiting for a time to talk to her, but Fred had always been around. After glancing around to make sure that Fred was busy doing something else, she quickly took the stairs and entered the room, locking the door behind her.
“Hey, Faith.”
“Hey.”
Faith sat on her bed, flipping through a magazine and Buffy nearly lost her nerve.
“Um… I have to ask you something.”
The magazine flew through the air and landed on the dresser. “Shoot. I’m so bored, and if I keep thinking about Angel hanging with the cop and the bitch all day, I think I just might go crazy.”
Sitting on the bed across from Faith, Buffy took a deep breath and said, “Did you tell Angel that one of the girls in the house was messing around with a crew member?”
Faith stood up. “What? No. Why the hell would you think that?”
Buffy told her what Angel had said on the plane the other day and Faith’s frown turned into a deeper scowl.
“I didn’t say anything. I don’t even know what you and that cameraman are doing. Frankly, I don’t want to know. But, I’ll be honest with you. I’m totally into Angel and if I thought you were a threat to me making it to the very end, I’d throw you under a bus and step all over you to make sure you went home before I did.”
Faith said it with a smile, but Buffy knew she meant every word. “Thanks for your honesty.”
“Don’t sweat it.”
After dinner, the seven girls not on the date milled about downstairs. Fred made a comment about how empty the house felt now and Buffy had to agree. Even the number of television staff had dwindled down. Fewer cameramen were needed and Carlos, John, and Spike were the ones they saw more of, with the occasional camera on a tripod being manned by someone else.
Buffy had tried to ignore Spike. She was very worried that someone would notice the looks that passed between them all the time, but she couldn’t help it. When he was in the room, she could think of nothing else but him. It was ridiculous. She tried to remind herself what a jerk he was, telling her what to do, but it didn’t work. Secretly, she loved that fact that he liked her enough to want her leave the show.
It was really too late to be working out, but she had to do something to relive all her pent up tension. She stopped by the kitchen to grab a bottle of water before heading to the small workout room. She switched the lights on and took her sweatshirt off, revealing a tight peach sport tank underneath. The treadmill seemed louder than usual when she switched it on in the empty room and she liked it.
She was just breaking a sweat when Spike slipped into the room, closing the door behind him.
“I really don’t want the camera on me while I’m working out, if you don’t mind,” she told him, not breaking her stride.
“Switched it off before I came in,” he said absently, as he stared at her with those intense blue eyes. “You look amazing in that get up.”
With a roll of her eyes, she said, “Please. I’m in my sweats.”
“You could wear a sack and still look good.”
She turned the machine off and grabbed a towel. “Look, we shouldn’t be seen together. Who knows what else the girls are saying to Angel. You don’t want to get fired.”
“It’s not us. I know which crewmember and which bachelorette, but I promised not to say.”
Relieved as she was, she kept a passive face. “Still, if the girl told Angel, then the production people have to know as well, and I bet they are watching us all like hawks.”
“True.” Spike adjusted the camera on his shoulder. “Listen, when all this is over, I’d like to take you out to dinner or something.”
Buffy’s heart rate soared. He was staring at her, trying to come across all confident and sure, but she wasn’t buying it and she was glad he was nervous. It just meant that he really did care if she turned him down or not.
“How do you know Angel isn’t going to pick me?”
“If I were Angel, I would. Thought so on the first night, but he’s not that smart,” Spike said with a grin. “He’s not going to pick you, because it’s going to dawn on him that you just aren’t into him.”
“What makes you think that I’m not?” asked Buffy as she straddled an exercise bike. She tried not to smile, but it was fun teasing Spike.
“Because you’re into me. Angel is no genius, but after a few more dates with you, he’ll see what I see. Those little annoyed looks when he touches you. The way you pull back slightly when he tries to kiss you. You didn’t hesitate when you kissed me outside that one night.”
Buffy looked off to the side. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“At least give me your phone number.”
She sighed and started pedaling. “I’ll think about it.”
~ * ~ * ~
Darla came back to the house an hour later, grinning like the cat that just ate the canary and waving the rose in the other girls’ faces as a man gathered Kate’s belongings and took them to a car.
Faith and Fred were quiet, as they got ready for another rose ceremony while Angel spent time in the decision room. Buffy felt a pang of guilt, afraid that because she stayed, one of them may be sent home. She was fairly certain they’d be staying, but there was always that chance. It wasn’t long before her thoughts drifted to Spike, and she couldn’t help but smile because he’d asked for her number. He was right about Angel. She was starting to get annoyed by how free he was with his hands and she didn’t know how much more of it she could endure. If it wasn’t for Faith, begging her to try to stay in or Spike trying to tell her what to do, she might have asked Angel to not give her that rose in Vegas.
In the rose room, Buffy stood off to the side with Darla and Gwen, all three of them with fresh roses in their hands while Angel stood before the other six nervous girls. Buffy sagged with relief when he said Faith’s name first and smiled at the couple when they hugged. Faith practically floated to her place beside Gwen. He gave Lilah the second-to-last rose.
With one rose left on the table and three girls left to give it to, the tension in the room was palpable. Buffy watched Angel pick up the rose as the host of the show talked into the camera.
“This was a tough decision,” Angel said. He paused for a long moment, letting the drama build. “Cordelia, will you accept this rose?”
The cheerleader gave a little squeal and rushed over to hug Angel. Buffy felt so bad for Fred and Lily. Again, her opinion of Angel went down a notch. She couldn’t understand how he could let two sweet and wonderful girls go home, yet keep two witches like Darla and Cordelia around. Buffy stared hard at the bigwig standing in the corner. She had to wonder if Angel had the last word on who would go and who would stay. Did they nudge the Bachelors into keeping some of the more colorful bachelorettes around to make better television?
They gathered around Fred and Lily, gave them both hugs, and then they were gone. Buffy didn’t feel like toasting with champagne, but took the offered glass and clicked it against the other girls’.
She had just caught Spike’s eye, trying to convey her boredom with the whole thing to him when all hell broke loose in the hall. Three police offers rushed into the room as a man in a suit handed an official looking paper to the director. Champagne glasses shattered on the floor as they grabbed hold of Darla and pressed her against the wall. One officer read her her rights, saying she was under arrest for the murder of someone Buffy didn’t catch the name of, while the other two wrestled the cuffs onto her wrists.
As quickly as they came in, the police left, dragging a spitting mad Darla out with them. Spike and Carlos followed them out the door. The director was shouting into his cell phone wanting answers and the five remaining women stood with Angel in silence, all too shocked to say anything.
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Author's Chapter Notes:
Betas: Mabel Marsters and Tanit.
Thank you ladies. I'm sure the readers thank you too, because they don't have to see my awkward sentences or the stray typo.
Thank you ladies. I'm sure the readers thank you too, because they don't have to see my awkward sentences or the stray typo.