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"Why do you think I’m here?” Riley asked her awkwardly.

“Honey, I know how to gage the clientele and you’re so sweet you're nothing but a box of sugar with legs. Guys like you don’t come looking for girls like me, so why don’t you tell why you really dropped by.”

He had no experience with girls like her, so he was relieved that she hadn’t thrown herself on him the moment she opened the door. Like she had guessed, he wasn’t here for sex. “I think you know what I want to talk about.”

“Angel or more specifically what Angel is thinking about your girl?” She said stepping back to let him inside. When he seemed uncomfortable, she gave him a quick wink. “Don’t worry, I won’t compromise your morals or your relationship.”

He walked inside and since the only available seating in the room was the bed, he decided to remain standing. “You said that if we asked you something you would tell us the truth…did you mean it?”

Knowing what he was going to ask but not how she ended up in this situation, she decided to just get it over with as quickly as possible. “He isn’t still in love with her or atleast not that I can tell. Going by what he told me, I think they just lost themselves for awhile in the pain and passion of it all. Now that they have had some time apart it was easier to see that they don’t fit as well as they thought.”

“He may be over her but I’m not so sure she is over him.” Riley admitted knowing full well that Angel was only half his problem.

“I wouldn’t be so sure about that, you didn’t see the fire in her eyes when I called you ‘sexy soldier boy’.”

“And you didn’t see the way she completely ignored me while she and the others tried to decide what to do with you. It was like my opinion wasn’t important and I bet she never left him out of the loop.”

Since he wasn’t a bad guy, she took pity on him and decided to throw him a bone. “That could be because Angel’s not the kind of guy to let alone leave him out of the loop.”

“I don’t get what you all see in him.” Riley said thinking that she was only being so nice because she wanted Angel for herself.

“Whoa, I am starting to get tired of telling you people that I don’t want him. I don‘t do relationships that last longer than an hour.” Buffy said flopping down on the bed. She didn‘t see what he saw in Faith but then again, she was betting she wasn‘t always a bitch. Nope, that was probably just a special Buffy Winters bonus. “I was talking about you Riley. Did you say something or did you just let her have it her way?”

“She’s the slayer, it’s her destiny and she and the others…”

“Spare me the excuses,” Buffy said cutting him off. “Believe it or not, relationships are all the same. It doesn’t matter if you pay for them or not. All that does matter is that, if you don’t say what you want or what you’re not willing to do, it’s not going to go anywhere. Angel and Faith don’t fit because they are both so puffed up with their own self importance, that they can’t make room for each other in their lives. To make it work you’ve got to not only meet her as an equal but also let her know that doesn‘t make her any less. It just puts you on the same playing field, so to speak.”

“I don’t know how to do that.” Riley admitted sadly, feeling like his relationship was well and truly doomed.

“You’re a normal guy and you’re letting her power make you believe that you are somehow less than her. I was normal a lot longer than I had superpowers and not once did I let someone get away with making me feel like I was beneath them. The longer you let her treat you like you don’t matter, the more she will keep shoving you out. Tell her what you need and if she can’t treat you as an equal then you don’t fucking need her.” Buffy said bringing her knees up to her chest.

“You sound like someone whose been through this.”

“I go through it every time I take a john. They tell me what they want and if it’s not something I do then they find someone else. If it is something I do, I give them what they want and they give me what I need. That makes us equal in my book because both of us get what we need or want and everyone is happy.” Buffy said with a shrug.

“You don’t talk like...well like a…”

“You can say it Riley. It’s not exactly a dirty word and since it’s the truth it doesn’t count as an insult.” Buffy chided him lightly, as a slight red blush crept up his neck. She thought Faith was a fool for treating him like a accessory but since it was her life, that wasn‘t her problem.

“Like a prostitute.” He said, thinking that sounded a lot less insulting that the other terms.

“I have my GED and if higher education wasn’t quite so costly, I would have probably gone on and taken a couple classes. But it was hard enough to pay for night school let alone four more years.”

“I heard Faith give Giles a brief version of your life story but why didn’t you try getting a normal job like other sixteen year olds?”

She laughed but even to her ears it sounded harsh and bitter in the small room. Why was it that people instantly assume that hooking was her first choice when it came to deciding a future career? She wondered if it was just her or if that was just the general consensus. “I got a job working in a diner. It was open twenty-four hours a day and I had the nightshift so I could work longer than the law really allowed. Even with the extra hours I always had to decide which I wanted more, a place to sleep or something to eat. I hung on six months and every night around 3 am a bunch of working girls would show up flashing a lot of bills. When my weight slipped below a hundred pounds and the rent was due I realized my morals weren’t doing anything but keeping me on the brink of starvation, so I just let go. It wasn’t that hard, even the first night because I know that I was always meant to be on the streets. When I was little about five or six my mom used to send me out to meet her dealer and if the state hadn’t stepped in, she would have started sending me out to meet a john just to help her feed her drug habit. So in a way it was like coming full circle, only I was the one getting fed.”

His own upbringing had made it impossible for him to imagine a world where a parent, any parent, would sell their own child. But he knew that it happened everyday. It was something everyone knew but just ignored as they went along in their normal lives. For her that was normal and it wasn‘t a surprise that she ended up ignoring the kind of life he led. “If the state stepped in, why didn’t you have some other choice?”

“In my first home, the man of the house had a thing for girls around my age. I lost my virginity at eight against my choice. So atleast now I have a lot more choices about who comes into my bed and who doesn‘t.” She said emotionlessly as if she was talking about the latest episode of must see TV. She had said no pretty lies and she meant it. She had no problem talking about her life. She had figured out a long time ago if you’re afraid to admit where you’ve been then you're no longer the one in control. Control, was something very important to her.

Tara had been right, it was amazing that she had survived, Riley thought with admiration. He also felt sorry for her but everything about her posture said that wasn‘t something she wanted or expected to hear. But she had helped him see a few things, so he knew of atleast one way to make it up to her.

She saw him reach for his wallet and although she appreciated the gesture, she wasn’t about to accept. “Unless you plan of letting me screw you senseless don’t even reach for your money.”

“As tempting as that sounds, I don’t think my girlfriend would care for that too much. But you gave me some pretty good advice, saving me from paying a fortune to some therapist, who would constantly ask ‘how does that make you feel‘. So I’m paying you instead, it makes us equal.” Riley said throwing her own words back at her.

“Sorry but you did me a favor earlier by taking me to Giles and the others so our little therapy session evens us up.”

He knew that it was a losing battle since hard headedness seemed to be a part of the slayer package but he wasn’t ready to give in just yet. Checking out the room, looking for inspiration he spotted a pack of playing cards on the bedside table. “How about a game of cards?”

Since she had no doubt he intended to lose, she was about to refuse and send him on his way, when there was another knock at the door. Quickly getting up, she crossed to the door and looked through the peephole expecting to see one very pissed off slayer. To her surprise it was someone else, which gave her a brilliant idea. Opening the door only part way, she leaned forward and gave Spike a sultry smile. “Hello lover.”

“I thought I would see if you were up for a bit of company, pet. Since I was in the neighborhood and all.”

“You’re just in time,” she said opening the door wide enough to reveal Riley. “Come on in. We were just about to play a game of poker.”

“What are you doing here Finn?” Spike asked striding through the doorway.

“He was in the neighborhood making sure I made it home unharmed. He felt guilty about his friends attacking me earlier and when I spotted him checking up on me, I invited him in for a game.” Buffy lied smoothly, walking over to grab the deck of cards. She was honest but she wasn’t above lying to keep Riley out of trouble. He hadn‘t done anything wrong, so the least she could do is give him a decent alibi, she decided. “So are you in?”

Since that sounded exactly like something Riley would do, Spike calmed down marginally. He should have known that the boy scout wouldn’t actually proposition a strumpet and he was also keen on winning some of his hard earned cash. If he couldn’t hit him, trouncing him at cards was the next best thing. “What’s the game ?”

“California lowball, no limit and since this is just a friendly game we won‘t have a buy-in.” She reached into her suitcase to pull out a giant bag of assorted jellybeans. They were the kind you could only get from a candy store. Since they were one of her little luxurious, she had picked some up knowing that she wouldn’t be able to find them here. “The white beans are ones, the cherry tens, the lime are twenty-five and the licorice, being my favorite are worth one hundred.”

“I’ve been to a few casinos in my time and those are the same colors the house always uses. So it’s looks like you have been to a few as well.” Spike said noting how at ease she seemed to be with the cards and terms.

Thankfully she was spared from answering by another knock at the door. “You all start separating out the chips while I see who it is now.” With a very put upon sigh she went to see which mystery guest was waiting behind door number one. Looking through the peephole, she made that guests and opened the door. “Let me guess, you were just in the neighborhood?”

“We talked it over and decided that we owed you an apology for not being really friendly earlier. And since you don’t really know anyone, we thought you might like some company.” Tara said glancing at Willow.

“If you like we can talk about orgasms?” Anya said sincerely, ignoring Xander’s shocked hiss.

“Sorry about Ahn, she used to be a vengeance demon and she’s not used to the social niceties yet.” Xander said a little sheepishly. “So are you alone…I mean is now a good time?”

“As a matter of fact there are two devastatingly attractive men sitting on my bed, but I don’t see a problem with adding a few more. The more the merrier right?” She teased throwing the door open with a flourish. “I believe you all know each other.”





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