Chapter 21
“Mom!” Buffy cried as she ran downstairs in her patterned pajamas. “How long can it take to finish one lousy test? William promised that he’d be back before I woke up this morning. He said that we’d drive somewhere for breakfast.”
“Buffy, he hasn’t been gone for very long. Maybe he just assumed that you’d roll out of bed at noon like you usually do on the weekends. You’re up early.”
“Well, I couldn’t fall back to sleep…” Buffy muttered as she peered out the window.
“After what?”
“Huh?”
“You said that you couldn’t fall back to sleep, and I was just wondering what it was that woke you,” Joyce explained.
“Oh, well…it was William. He made a lot of noise before he left.”
“That boy is always noisy. Nearly every night I hear strange noises coming from his room.”
“Oh?” Buffy asked, sitting next to her mother on the sofa. “Like, uh, what kinda noises?”
“I just don’t think that he sleeps very soundly. He must toss and turn a lot, because I can hear his bed squeak. Sometimes I swear that he hits the wall too.”
“Oh.”
“You’ve said ‘oh’ three times, Buffy. Is there something that you’d like to talk about?”
“I can say ‘oh’ as many times as I want.”
“And now you’re being defensive--.”
“Mom,” Buffy whined, “I told you not to shrink me!”
“I’m not trying to shrink you,” Joyce laughed. “I’m trying to talk to you.”
“About what? Do you want to talk about school? Let’s talk about school. I like school. I learn a lot in school and I also--.”
“Okay, point taken. There’s nothing that you want to talk about. Not to me, anyway.”
“No-I mean, everything’s fine. Really. If I’m acting weird it’s because of William.”
“You’re feeling nervous for him?”
“Yeah and it’s stupid. William’s nervous enough for himself and twelve other people. Last night, he was so anxious that he couldn’t sleep. God, he’s like one of those little dogs that just shake because they’re that wound up.”
“How do you know that he didn’t sleep last night?”
“Ah…he told me.”
“This morning?”
“Yes, since he was making so much racket—he’s so noisy—I got up and I yelled at him. Afterwards, I wished him luck and that was when he promised to take me to breakfast.”
“I see. I’m sure that he’ll do fine. Mr. Giles told me that William’s quite the driver and that he caught on quickly.”
“So, does that mean that you’ll let him teach me how to drive? Please, mom?” Buffy begged. “You’ve already said that you don’t want to teach me and you shouldn’t make Giles do it.”
“I don’t know…”
“William would be the best teacher!”
“I’ll think about it.”
“But, mom--.”
“I’ll think about it and I’ll see if William is comfortable with the idea. He’s just getting his license today; he might not be ready to teach.”
“But all the stuff that he learned would be fresh in his mind and—did you hear that?”
“I think it could’ve been the sound of a car door slam—Buffy! Don’t just run out there! What about your shoes?”
Not listening to her mother’s concerns, Buffy ran out the front door. “William! Hey, how’d it go? Was driving with an instructor as bad as you expected?”
“It isn’t something that I’d like to do regularly. I tensed up through the entire drive. My shoulders are full of kinks.”
“But you passed, right?”
“Of course,” William snorted, pulling her into his body for a hug. “I passed with flying colors on both the written and driving portions of the test. Wanna see my license? It has an awful picture though.” He pulled back from their embrace just enough to retrieve his wallet and place it in Buffy’s hands. “Don’t make fun of me too much.”
“Aw! You look cute!”
“Cute, eh? I was thinking more along the lines of pasty and toadish. But I guess your eyes might see it differently, you being blinded by love and all.” With a good-natured shrug, he tucked the wallet into the back pocket of his jeans.
“Don’t I get to see?” Joyce asked, sneaking up on the couple. “Don’t you think that you’ve both been hugging for long enough?”
“Mom, we were celebrating. It was a friendly hug.”
“Whatever it was, it can end now. Besides, it’s my turn. Come here, William,” she said, warmly inviting him into her arms. “It’ll be so nice having another licensed driver in the house. I’m so happy that you passed. Buffy, Dawn, and I are very proud of you.”
“Thank you, Mrs. Summers,” William said with a little grin.
“Have you told your uncle the good news? Maybe you should drive over to the bookstore and tell him. I’m sure that he’d appreciate it.”
“But what about my breakfast? William, you promised--.”
“You can come with me-I mean, can Buffy come with me, Mrs. Summers? I know that she isn’t exactly dressed to be out in public, but it’d be a short ride and I’d take her to one of the drive-thru places. If you and Dawnie haven’t had breakfast yet, we’d be happy to pick up something for everyone.”
“That sounds like a great idea!” Buffy exclaimed, heading to the passenger door. “Please, mom?”
“You won’t stay out long?”
“No, not at all, Mrs. Summers.”
“Well…okay. Let me get my purse. I have a few dollars that I can give you for the meal. Dawn and I already ate, so you can treat yourselves. But if you’re gone for longer than an hour, I might not be so nice when you ask next time.”
***
“So, when I stopped at a stop sign, they made me look to the left and spell out the word stop. Then I had to look to the right and do the same: s-t-o-p.”
“You’re kidding.”
“Nope, and then the guy barely spoke a word of English. He just sat there and mumbled the speed limit over and over again.”
“When he wasn’t forcing you to spell at stop signs,” Buffy giggled. “I’ll have to tell mom that if I drive, my spelling will approve tremendously.”
“Just say ‘tremendously’ and I’m sure that she’ll be so impressed, she’ll just toss the car keys at you.”
“Are you making fun of me?”
“Diction isn’t your strong suit.”
“Okay, Mr. Hilarious, want to guess what mom and I were talking about before you showed up? She was complaining about the sounds that come out of your room at night. Creaking beds, strange banging against the walls... She said that she hears something nearly every night of the week, which isn’t really possible since we switch between our rooms pretty often.”
“What?” William’s eyes widened and he tightened his grip on the steering wheel. “How did you cover for us?”
“Well, she thinks that you just toss and turn when you sleep. I don’t think she suspects anything more.” When he didn’t respond, she waited until he parked the car behind Giles’s store to continue. “If she did, mom would’ve burst in last night since I was having trouble, you know, with staying quiet.”
“You were vocal last night…”
“I was.” She unbuckled her seatbelt and scooted over so she could rest her head in his lap. “And it’s all your fault, William. I’m exhausted and uh, certain parts of my body kinda ache.”
“You should’ve slept in.”
“I couldn’t. I worried about you taking the test with no sleep and then, I always sleep better with you near me.”
“You really think that she doesn’t have a clue?”
“I think that we can officially start calling her Clueless Mom.”
“Buffy, no offense, but your mother isn’t very bright.”
“Tell me about it,” she laughed as William ran his fingers through her hair.
"But if she does put two and two together...you'll hide me, right?"
"No."
"No?"
"No. What would I do, William? Strap you to the basket on my bike? I don't have a car like some people."
"Pet, the E.T. routine never worked even when we were little. I never did fit in that bloody basket very well."
Snickering at the memory, Buffy sat up. "You were supposed to sit on my handlebars, dummy."
"It didn't matter, Buffy. Either way, you'd still manage to steer us into every dumpster and tree that got in your way. In fact, thinking back, maybe you shouldn't be allowed behind the wheel of any moving vehicle. You've got a long history of accidents and you've barely hit your sweet sixteen."
“You’re not supposed to agree with my mom! It’s always been us against everybody else.”
“Aw, baby’s gonna pout.” Chuckling, he pulled her in for a kiss.
“Take it back,” Buffy moaned, melting against him. “I’ll be extra careful and I’ll have to be a good driver because I plan on having the best teacher.”
“I guess Giles does know a lot…”
“Not Giles. You, William.”
“Me?”
“Yeah, you can teach me,” she whispered, between kisses. “It’s the perfect idea. We’d have the greatest excuse to be cooped up in your car for hours on end without supervision. And I know that you’d be an excellent teacher.”
“I would not.”
“You would too. You’ve got this weird teacher thing about you. I can totally see you shaping young minds and giving out too much homework.”
“I can’t tell if you’re insulting me or not.”
“Would I insult you?” Buffy grinned. “Just think about it. I already mentioned it to mom; she’ll ask you about it later.”
“Will you be upset if I refuse?” he asked, searching her eyes. “It’s not that I don’t want to…Buffy, if you demolish my car, I won’t be getting another.”
“William! How can you say that?! I won’t--.”
“Oh, look at the time. I’d better go inside now. Can’t be late, you know.”
“You’re such a wimp,” Buffy said, heading back to her side of the car to sulk. “I wouldn’t dream of hurting your stupid car.”
“Aw, come on.” With one foot out the door, William leaned across the seats to kiss her cheek. “I know that accidents happen--.”
“But you think that I’m an accident waiting to happen!”
“Now, you’re putting words in my mouth.”
“Don’t you have to go run to Giles?”
“Buffy…don’t be this way.”
“Just go. We’ll talk about it later.”
***
“I haven’t had this much fun in years, knowing that I have something to look forward to…a reason to run home every night… I have this constant buzz, pet.”
“You have a reason to run to my home every night.” Wrapped to her neck with blankets, Buffy admired William as he sprawled across her bed. Not a stitch of fabric covered his body and he didn’t seem to mind. “You’re never at your house.”
“You’d rather that I’d show up, ask for a shag, and head back across the street? Silly me, I thought we had more going on here than a strand of booty calls. Unless you’re thinking more along the lines of us swapping houses…Monday, Wednesday and Friday we’ll be at my house and then Tuesday, Thursday and the weekends we’ll be at your place. How’s that sound?”
“Bad. I wasn’t thinking about anything near that.”
“What were you thinking then?” Rolling on his side, William slid back under the covers to tangle their legs together. “Give me a hint, gorgeous.”
“Move in with me.”
“Uh, come again?”
“Your toothbrush is here and you’re slowly taking over my closet. I feel buzzes too, but I’m greedy. I want you here every morning and every night and all the times in between.”
“Have you spoken to Dawnie about this?”
“We’ve talked and if she disagreed, I wasn’t paying much attention. I’ve decided to be pretty stubborn about this.”
“Then I’d better start moving in, huh?” With a laugh, he nuzzled her neck and mouthed her earlobe. “I’d hate to upset you, especially if you’re so determined.”
“William…no. I don’t want to force you. I—will you please stop?”
“Love it when you tremble,” he whispered, blowing lightly in her ear for a second time. “Your body shakes against mine and I can barely control myself.”
“William…”
“Don’t know what I should do first…kiss you breathless or hide myself back inside your body.”
“You could do both.”
“I want the left side of the bed.” After making his announcement, William grinned and followed through with Buffy’s suggestion.
“Sure,” she gasped once William freed her lips.
“And my usual spot back at the dining room table, want that too.”
“Okay,” Buffy nodded, still reeling from the initial bliss of having his erection tucked deep between her legs. “Anything else?”
“No more girlie pink in the master bath. In fact, the whole house needs to be manned up a little.”
“It won’t be a problem.”
“Alright then.”
“You’ll move in with me—with us?”
“Yeah. Thanks for asking. It’s about time.”
“It’s about time?” Buffy repeated with a laugh. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
“I was leaving all these bloody clues…my toothbrush…taking over your closet. Knew it was only a matter of time, baby.”
“You’re kidding,” Buffy snickered.
“Not in the slightest. Now, let’s celebrate.”
***
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Author's Chapter Notes:
Happy Halloween!