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Buffy woke up at nine the next morning to her cell phone ringing beside her bed. She sat up, still feeling groggy, looking at the clock and frowning.

‘I only got three hours of sleep,’ she realized, laying back down on her pillow. ‘I should’ve known something like this would happen. An almost sleepless night thinking of the good-looking blonde one room over, completed by an erotic dream of said blonde. And it’s all capped off by a phone call.’ She grabbed it when her ring-tone became unbearable to listen to. ‘Mental note- change that.’ She looked at who the caller was- Faith. ‘Yep, my morning is now complete.’ She opened her phone and pretended to sound both cheery and alert.

“Hello, Faith,” Buffy said, propping up her pillows more so she’d be sitting upright. “How are you?”

“Five by five, B,” Faith answered. Buffy made a face, knowing Faith’s answer before she even asked the question.

‘What the hell does that mean?’ Buffy thought. ‘Why can’t she have a normal answer like everyone else? I hate when she says that. It’s the stupidest phrase I’ve ever heard.’ She paused. ‘Creative, but stupid.’

“So, what can I do for you at 9:07 in the morning?” Buffy asked, looking out her balcony doors at downtown L.A. surrounding her, a smile on her face.

“Well, blondie, I saw you run off with the Billy Idol clone yesterday while I nabbed his friend Angel, who by the way was flawless…well, until I was done with him,” Faith replied, sounding proud of herself. “And then you didn’t show up at your apartment this morning, so I’ve got to know- are you still with the hottie?”

“Well, actually, I’m kind of…staying here,” Buffy answered. She knew she was going to have fun explaining everything.

“So, you’re what, dating him?” Faith asked, sounding surprised. “Or did you just spend the night with him?”

“Neither,” Buffy answered. “I…I’ve decided to quit Miss Kitty’s, and Spike offered to help me.”

“And why would you quit?” Faith asked, shocked. “It’s a great gig with benefits and a high salary.”

“Because it’s not me,” Buffy answered. “I’m not that girl, Faith. I want to make a life for myself, maybe get enough money to send myself to college. And I want to make my salary doing something legitimate, legal.”

“And you think your blondie bear will help you get where you want to be?” Faith asked in a mocking tone. “You don’t think he’ll want reimbursement for his good deeds?”

“He’s not like that,” Buffy answered defensively, suddenly much more awake. “He’s a good man.” Thoughts instantly flooded her head.

‘She’s not right, is she? Spike wouldn’t just be helping me and letting me stay here because he thinks he can sleep with me, right? No…he’s not like that, Buffy.’ She paused, frowning. ‘You’ve known him for less than 24 hours. God knows what he’s capable of or what his plans are.’ She sighed and decided to go with her intuition. ‘Until he proves otherwise, I think he’s a genuinely good guy.’ She heard Faith’s laugh on the other line.

“Good men need sex, too, B,” Faith replied. “Especially ones who are shacking up with a professional whore.”

“Know from experience?” Buffy asked, an edge to her voice, not willing to let Faith get to her.

“Good to hear you haven’t lost your snappy comebacks in your quest to change,” Faith said, still laughing. “You can leave the business, but it’ll still be a part of you. No matter what happens, you’ll always be one of us. You’ll always remember what you did, and it’ll never go away, B. Never.”

“I bet I can write off my two months faster than your two years, Faith,” she said sharply, not backing down. “I did it to get by, to survive. And you might’ve started out that way, too, but now you’re just stuck in it. You hate everyone who’s walked away from it and made something of themselves. You’ll always be a whore, Faith, and maybe that’s what you deserve. But I won’t be. I’m better than that, better than you.” Buffy hung up with a satisfying click, filled with a new sense of hope and confidence.

‘Hopefully that’ll knock the bitch down a bit,’ she thought, grinning and putting the phone aside.

* * *

When Spike woke up at 8:45 AM, he instantly called into work. After a couple of rings, Cordelia answered. “I’m afraid I’m not coming in today, luv. Actually, I need the week off.”

“Why? Because of the case?” she asked. “I would’ve thought Miss Kitty’s Boudoir would have alleviated all of the left-over stress.”

‘Well, in a sense, it kind of did,’ he thought, smiling. ‘I gained a much more likable project to focus on.’

“Can you just mark it down somewhere that I’m on vacation for the week?” Spike asked, getting out of bed.

“Sure,” she replied. “I guess I’ll see you next Monday then.” He smiled at the thought of having off.

“And thanks again for setting up my appointment for me,” he said before hanging up.

‘I have a feeling I’ll be bloody thankful for the rest of my life,’ he thought, exiting his room to get into the shower.

After he finished, he opened the door to head back to his room, only covered from the waist-down by a towel. As he stepped out, he knocked into Buffy, causing her to stumble back a bit. He grabbed her arm to try to stabilize her, almost losing his hold on his towel in the process. He saw Buffy blush instantly, although she didn’t stop herself from looking up and down his body. Spike unconsciously licked his lips while noticing her perusal and felt a stirring below his towel as images of him and Buffy in flagrante swirled through his head.

‘Bad thoughts,’ he instantly chided himself. ‘Especially when I’m only covered by a thin piece of terry cloth.’ He paused, stifling a smirk. ‘Although, it’d be a lot less work to get me completely starkers.’

“Sorry,” Buffy instantly apologized, focusing on something on the ground, the blush never escaping her cheeks. “I didn’t see you…sorry.” He smiled at how adorable she was when she blushed.

‘I wonder what other things would make her blush,’ he thought, studying her. ‘Again, bad idea, you wanker.’

“I thought you took showers in the morning,” she said suddenly, looking at him quizzically.

“Yeah, I usually do,” he shrugged. “I had a late start this morning. Couldn’t sleep.”

“Me either,” she replied. Little did they know, both of them were plagued by the same thoughts the night before.
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A/N I was inspired by John Mayer's song "3x5" and Faith's popular phrase when I came up with the title for this chapter. Also, with the Spike in a towel thing, I didn't want it to be so similar to a certain part of "False Pretenses", so I made him be covered by a towel to change it a little bit (considering people seemed interested in Buffy seeing Spike naked/half-naked after a shower...or walking in on him LOL). As far as I know, there should be a little Spuffyness in the next chapter, so if that's something you want to see, review please!:)





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