Buffy was starting to get nervous as she paced the length of the pool while most of the other bachelorettes played water volleyball. They’d invited her to take her sweats off and join them, but she just wasn’t in the mood. It was one thirty and she had neither seen nor heard from Spike since she’d given him the note. And the most incredible kiss… Abruptly, she changed directions and bumped into Fred.
"Sorry," Fred said.
"No, it’s okay." Buffy grabbed Fred by the arm and whispered in her ear, "I’m starting to get worried that he somehow couldn’t get the dress."
Fred glanced around before she whispered back, "Faith is counting on that dress. She’s acting all cool and like it doesn’t matter, but we both know that this date means a lot to her."
Out of the corner of her eye, Buffy thought she saw platinum blond hair go by the sliding glass doors in the house. She took a long look at the crowd of people who were outside: one of the directors, a few assistants, and most of the cameramen.
"I think he’s here. Do me a favor and try to distract the other girls from going inside," Buffy said.
She didn’t wait to see what Fred would do, but as Buffy casually strolled towards the sliding glass doors, Fred sat at the farthest edge of the pool from the house and said, "All right, I’m ready to give out details. Who wants to hear about the kiss I shared with Angel at the bar last night?"
Before Buffy had stepped fully inside, Spike nodded at her and then quickly ascended the stairs. She was honest enough with herself to know that the butterflies in her stomach were more about seeing Spike again than nerves over being sneaky with the dress. Trying to act normal, she went to the kitchen and grabbed a soda from the fridge.
By the time she’d gotten the nerve to go upstairs, he’d been waiting for five minutes. The door to her room was closed and after giving one final glance around to make sure no one was watching her, Buffy hurriedly slipped inside and locked the door behind her.
"What took you so long?" Spike asked her, still holding the camera on his shoulder.
"I didn’t want anyone to notice us," she said, eyeing his leather duster. "And what’s with the coat?"
""S my favorite coat, but I’m wearing it to hide this."
Spike pulled out a Bloomingdale’s bag and tossed it on one of the beds. Buffy could feel his eyes on her as she reached for it and pulled the dress out. It was nice to have him admire her as she put the silky material against her. She took a quick peek at the tag and smiled with relief.
"Thank you, Spike."
He nodded and took a step towards her. "That dress would look incredible on you."
"It’s a little too big," she said, her heart pounding in her chest as he took another step. To put more distance between them, she went to the closet, hung up Faith’s dress before she pulled out her own. "I have one in yellow."
She turned to show it to Spike but bumped into him, and with a gasp, she dropped the dress. He was so close. He smelled really good and from this distance, his eyes seemed bluer.
"Um…" she said as he continued to stare at her. "We should probably leave the room before someone figures out that we’re gone."
"Yes. But first, I want a thank you kiss."
He wasn’t that much taller than her, but with the large camera on his shoulder, Spike seemed bigger. "Is that turned on? I don’t think we should-"
Spike tossed the camera onto the bed, where it bounced twice before being still. "The only thing turned on it this room is me."
Then he grabbed her by the waist and pulled her against him.
She shook her head and slowly blinked. "That’s not true. You aren’t the only one who’s turned on."
Taking Buffy’s head in his hands, Spike swooped down on her and captured her lips. Out of pure reflex, she put her hands into the coat and got her arms around his waist. He pushed her back until she was up against the closet door. Through the haze of lust, she barely noticed that he lowered his hands. She just wanted to get closer to him. Kissing wasn’t enough. The fog began to lift when his hand slipped past the waistband of her sweatpants.
"Bloody hell, Buffy," Spike whispered against her lips. "You’re just as sexy in sweats as you are in a ball gown or lingerie." She whimpered when his hand went lower and slipped under her bikini bottom to cup her backside. He kissed her again, then moved to pay attention to her sensitive neck. All the while, he slowly pulled her sweatpants down. He groaned and said, "You’re wearing a bikini under there?"
They both jumped when the doorknob jiggled followed by a light knock at the door. Buffy quickly pulled her pants up while Spike scrambled to put his camera back in place. She took a deep breath and opened the door.
Faith barged in, paused and then grinned at them, standing so far apart from each other. "Fred said you might have the dress. I guess she was right."
Spike cleared his throat. "I’ll just get out of your way, then."
"Wait!" Faith said. "Thank you, Spike."
He nodded before rushing out the door. Buffy shut it and locked it, not wanting to turn around and face Faith. But she did anyway and regretted it. Faith’s grin had yet to fade.
"Did I interrupt something?"
Buffy shook her head and went to the closet. She pulled out the dress, hoping to distract Faith.
"Man," Faith said in awe as she took the offered red dress. "I don’t know how to thank you for going to all this trouble for me."
~ * ~ * ~
Buffy had managed to avoid Spike for most of the night. She made a point of staying in a crowded room and chatted with the other ladies, even going so far as to endure the bitchy remarks from Darla for the last hour. And the whole time, she alternated between thinking about Spike and thinking about Faith on her date.
Buffy and Fred had helped Faith get ready for the night. They’d hunted down a perfect pair of black heels from one of the other bachelorettes, Buffy had loaned her a black leather clutch and a black onyx pendant, and Fred had loaned her a pair of earrings and a bracelet. Then the pair worked on her hair and makeup before helping her to pack her belongings. Even though Faith had appeared to be taking the whole thing calmly, Buffy knew she was a bundle of nerves.
As the time drew nearer for when the date might be over, all the girls, including Buffy, migrated to the living room just off the entry hall and waited to hear the door open. When it did, Buffy stood up with some of the other girls and she rushed to hug Faith when she came around the corner with the rose in her mouth like a dancer.
Fred and Buffy helped Faith bring her bags back up to their room. The excited woman unpacked her bags as Fred and Buffy got dressed for the rose ceremony that would be taking place in just one hour.
Buffy sat on the bed across from where Faith was sitting and put on her shoes. "So, spill. How was the date?"
With a faraway look in her eyes, Faith said, "It was amazing. First, we went on a helicopter ride around Los Angeles and we landed on the rooftop of a high-rise building." Faith paused and smiled before saying, "Right on the roof, there was a table set for two and a string quartet to play music for us."
"I’m so jealous," Fred said good-naturedly. "All we did on our date was walk on the beach and eat dinner at a restaurant by the pier."
"At least you’ve had a one-on-one date," Buffy said then stared at Faith. "So, was there kissage?"
Faith chuckled. "Kissage? Yes, there was kissing and groping and if the cameras weren’t there, it might have gone further than that." She laughed when Buffy and Fred just stared at her in shock. "Hey, it’s the way I roll. If I like a guy and there’s an attraction, I just jump right in."
"Well, did you guys talk at all?" Fred asked.
"Yeah, we did," Faith said, sounding a bit surprised. "We’ve got a lot in common. We’re both private eyes who search for missing people. I search for mostly innocent people, he works for bounty hunters and we’re both good at our jobs."
"Rose ceremony in ten minutes!" one of the production assistants called out from downstairs.
Fred stood quickly, letting her smile fade. "Well, I guess that’s our cue to get there. Gosh, I can’t believe how nervous I am."
Buffy got up to follow Fred out the door, but Faith stopped her. "What is it?" Buffy asked.
Faith couldn’t look her in the eyes. "I’m…I’m really nervous."
"You don’t have to be. You’ve got a rose."
"No. It’s not that. It’s just…I’m freakin’ terrified because I think I’m falling in love with Angel and there are all those women down there."
Buffy gave Faith a short hug. "If it’s meant to be, then it will happen."
"You aren’t jealous." Faith said it as a statement as if she’d just come to a realization. "You don’t have the same feelings for Angel, do you? And it’s because you’ve got the hots for someone else in the house."
"I don’t know what you’re talking about," Buffy said as she turned to go out the door.
"It’s okay. I won’t tell anyone. I’m sure no one else has noticed, but I’m closer to you than the other girls and I see the way you two look at each other."
Buffy leaned against the wall by the door and sighed. "Oh, God, Faith, what should I do?"
"If you get a rose tonight, please stay. I need someone to watch my back here. At least I know you aren’t competition." When Buffy nodded, Faith added, "Good. I’m playing to win now and with hos like Darla and Cordelia around, I’m going to need all the help I can get."
Buffy and Faith got there just in time to take their places, Faith next to Cordelia with roses in their hands, and Buffy with the other bachelorettes in line to see if Angel would choose to give them a rose.
Angel came around the corner with the host of the show at his side and Spike behind them with a camera. He quickly went to the left out of view of the other cameras. Spike frowned at Buffy and she looked down, thinking about the kiss they’d shared earlier in the day. If Faith didn’t need her to stay, Buffy would still be standing here. There had been no time to talk to Angel and tell him that she wasn’t interested in him like she should be to stay in the game, and she’d only known Spike for a couple of weeks now. She told herself that she had nothing to feel ashamed about.
Angel gave the obligatory speech about how they were all amazing women and how the decision was really tough. The host of the show stepped in and reminded the viewers and the bachelorettes that since Harmony had not been given rose, all but two at the ceremony would be getting one tonight.
Angel called Darla up and handed her a rose that she accepted with a big smile before she joined Faith and Cordelia. Buffy wanted to wipe that smug look of triumph off the slutty woman’s face, but she smiled for the cameras and waited for the next name to be called.
"Kate, will you accept this rose?" Angel asked.
Kate said, "Of course," and joined the others. Then he gave a rose to Fred, Lily, and Gwen. Buffy could see the look of hope on Spike’s face and the nervous look from Faith.
The host interrupted Angel to say, "There are four women left: Lilah, Michelle, Buffy and Kari. And only two roses for Angel to give out. Who will get the roses? We’ll find out when we come back."
Buffy thought of how this would look on TV. The viewer would have to wait at least two and a half minutes to find out, but here and now, they just kept on filming. Eyeing the rose in Angel’s hand, Buffy suddenly realized that she didn’t care if she didn’t get it. She wanted to help Faith, but at the same time, if she didn’t get the rose, she could go home.
In those few seconds, she formed a plan. She could give her phone number to Spike and ask him to give her a call sometime to see where their growing attraction might lead them. She glanced over at Spike and smiled shyly at him. He began to smile back, but Angel called her name. Seemingly of their own volition, her feet were moving forward and she found herself accepting the rose and a hug from Angel. As she stood with the other women who’d gotten a rose to wait for the last one to be handed out, Buffy tried to get Spike’s attention, but he refused to look at her, his jaw twitching in obvious anger. She couldn’t believe him. How could he be angry at her? She wasn’t the one who called her own name, Angel did. She didn’t have any control over that. And there was no way Spike could expect her to embarrass herself and Angel by not accepting the rose. That would have been a terrible thing to do.
Buffy barely registered the fact that Lilah got the last rose, and she didn’t really pay attention as Angel said his goodbyes to Michelle and Kari. As soon as the director said cut, she tried to get to Spike, but he was walking away. Before she could follow, Fred and Faith were hugging her and celebrating. She caught a glimpse of Spike as he left the room, but then a glass of champagne was thrust into her hand and the cameras were rolling again for the end of the episode toast.
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Author's Chapter Notes:
Betas: Mabel Marster and Tanit. I want to thank all the readers who have been reviewing. RL is kicking my arse right now and I've been having a tough time. The one bright spot is seeing all the kind comments about this story.