[Reviews - 41]
-
Table of Contents [Report This]
Microsoft Word Chapter or Story | ePub eBook Chapter or Story | Printer Chapter or Story

Has been viewed 2420 times

- Text Size +




Banner by me


Author's Chapter Notes:
It's been a while and I can only apologise - computer problems. I hope you haven't forgotten about this fic! Enjoy the update. :)
Chapter Four

Two days later found them with very little work left to do; there was just one small corner of the garage left for them to sort through.

“Oh!” Buffy breathed as she opened the lid of one of the cardboard boxes. “Mom’s old photo albums.” She sat down cross-legged on the dusty floor of the garage and pulled the first book from the box.

William watched for a moment before kneeling down next to her. “Is that you?” he asked, pointing at a picture of a little blonde girl sitting on a tricycle.

“Yeah,” she replied, her fingers tracing the yellow-orange edges of the photograph. She turned the page and smiled at what she saw there: a woman with wavy dark-blonde hair, toddler-Buffy sitting on her lap.

“Your mum?”

“Yeah,” she said again, and then in a whisper, “Sometimes I miss her so much it hurts.”

“What happened?” William’s hand twitched at his side, and he squeezed his eyes shut, before deciding that consequences be damned. He took Buffy’s hand in his own and held it tight, just like he’d imagined doing so many times before. She didn’t flinch or pull away, and he knew that it had been the right thing to do.

“She had cancer,” Buffy said, a few moments later. “A brain tumour. She was in hospital a lot, and they operated, and we thought they’d caught it, that it was gone. A few weeks later, I got home and found her dead on the couch.”

“I’m sorry.”

“I wish she was here for me to talk to,” Buffy said, her gaze flickering to their joined hands. “Some things a girl just needs her mom for.”

William wasn’t sure what to say to that, so he stayed quiet, and the atmosphere in the room thickened with anticipation. He let out a shuddery breath and was about to open his mouth to speak, to say anything that would break the tension, when Buffy moved quite suddenly, launching herself forwards until her hands came to rest on his shoulders.

Her eyes were steely with determination, and then her lips were on his, pressing fiercely against him in the kind of kiss he’d only ever dreamed about.

William stiffened in shock, his arms falling slack at his sides until his brain caught up with what his body was doing, and he settled them loosely on her waist. He moaned, the sound trapped somewhere deep within his chest, and opened his mouth, getting his first taste of heaven when Buffy’s tongue touched his own.

He let her draw him down onto the floor, his weight covering her body completely. He could feel her breasts pressed against his chest, her nipples hard points that he longed to touch. He was hard, his cock throbbing a staccato beat in time with his heart, and it was all he could do to keep from thrusting against her.

The kisses eventually slowed from fast and fierce to long and languid, and every stroke of Buffy’s tongue against his sent William spiralling higher and higher, the taste and feel and weight of her in his arms stoking the fire.

He felt that they could have kissed all day, mindless of time and place, but reality intruded with the squeaking of the garage door and a harsh, mocking laugh.

“So this is what you do with your free time. Is he the reason you’ve been too busy to meet with me?”

Buffy swore and pushed at William’s chest. He rolled off her, panting as he lay on his back and drew his knees up a little. When he’d calmed down, he sat up to see Buffy had gone to stand in front of the man, her hands on her hips.

“Ever heard of knocking, Riley? Or, you know, maybe ringing the doorbell?”

“Sorry,” Riley said, not sounding sorry at all. “The garage door was half open. Saved myself, oh, six or seven steps.”

“You’re such a jerk.” Buffy crossed her arms in front of her.

William watched with curiosity. The man was tall, big and beefy, and a lock of hair fell persistently into his eyes.

“Lindsey’s getting things moving,” Riley said. “If you’d been to any of the meetings you’d have known that.”

“Can we talk about this inside?” Buffy asked, with a nervous glance back at William.

“You don’t want your little boy-toy to hear?” Riley replied. “Didn’t you tell him you were married? No, I think we’ll talk right here.”

“I haven’t been married to you in a long time,” Buffy spat. “No matter that we don’t have the papers signed yet.”

“We would have, if you weren’t being so stubborn.” Riley reached into his pocket and pulled out a cell phone. “I can get Lindsey on the line, and it can all be sorted by tonight.”

“No chance. You’re not getting this house, Riley.”

“We’ll see about that.” He smiled nastily and sent a smirk towards William. “I’ll leave you to it. Think about what I’ve said, Buffy.”

She remained stubbornly silent, and watched until Riley had jauntily walked off, long arms swinging at his sides. When the man was out of sight, all the fight seemed to go out of her, and she sank in on herself. “Sorry you had to see that.”

William stood, finally, and moved closer to her. “Not gonna ask,” he said. “It’s not really any of my business.”

“You don’t think what happened between us makes it your business?” she asked.

“Uh…” William wasn’t sure what to say; in all honesty, he’d expected her to avoid all mention of the kiss, to brush it under the carpet.

“We split up about six months ago,” she said. “He’s been trying to get his hands on this house ever since.” Turning a blazing gaze to William, she continued, “He’s not getting it! I’ll do anything to stop him from getting it.”

“I believe you,” he said. “Do you have a lawyer?”

“I had a lawyer. Lindsey. Bastard defected to the other side.”

“My dad’s mate’s a lawyer.” William said. “Bet he’d help you out. I could ask him for you.”

“No you couldn’t,” Buffy replied, and sighed.

“Wes is a good guy, I’m sure he wouldn’t mind—”

“That’s not what I meant, Will. You can’t just go up and ask your dad’s friend to help me out. You’re just here to do odd jobs and help with my yard. Why would I be talking to you about my marital problems?”

William felt oddly stung by what she said, but tried not to let it show on his face. “All right, it was just an idea. You go talk to Jenny, then, and she’ll suggest exactly the same thing.”

“Shit, Jenny,” Buffy said. She rubbed at her face with her hand, then met William’s eyes with a sigh. “What are we doing?” She looked down at the spot on the floor where they’d kissed, their bodies having made marks in the dust. “You should probably go.”

“But—”

“Please?”

William sighed. The last thing he wanted to do was leave now, right when they were on the cusp of something, but he couldn’t deny her a thing—not when she looked at him with such wide eyes. “All right. I’m coming back tomorrow, mind.”

“I wouldn’t expect anything less.”

He gathered his things together and stole one last look at her before leaving the garage.





You must login (register) to review.