Part 3
“God, I’m fat,” Buffy exclaimed to the mirror as she pushed her stomach out.
“You’re not fat, Buffy. I shouldn’t have said anything. You look great.”
Before Buffy could answer, they were interrupted by a knock on the door. They looked at each other silently questioning who was at the door. Willow looked at her blankly. Buffy shrugged, and walked over to the door. She pulled the door open revealing Riley. He gave her a big smile before engulfing her in a hug.
“Riley,” Buffy gasped in shock.
Buffy couldn’t help but compare his bone crushing, clumsy hug to Spike’s smoother, more erotic embraces. Riley’s bigger, bulkier body also felt strange to Buffy after Spike’s lean, toned body.
“I missed you, Buffy,” Riley gushed.
Buffy stood awkwardly in his embrace. His voice didn’t send chills down her spine like Spike’s always had, and his caresses didn’t elicit the same burning desire.
“I thought your flight was tonight,” Buffy questioned.
She hadn’t prepared herself for Riley yet. She hadn’t expected to see him until tomorrow. Riley released her, and looked down at her in admiration. Spike had always looked at her with pent up desire, lust, and need. It was like he would die if he didn’t have her.
“I couldn’t wait to see you any longer, so I took an earlier flight,” Riley answered proudly.
Buffy smiled weakly, and a flash of confusion, and hurt crossed Riley’s face at her behavior. He looked away and noticed Willow standing silently by her bed.
“Hey Willow,” he called out.
“Hi Riley,” Willow replied with a smile.
“How was England?”
“Great, and Iowa?” she asked.
“Good, relaxing, normal,” he answered with an emphasis on normal.
Riley turned back to Buffy, and said, “You look great.”
“Thanks, so do you,” she replied with a forced smile.
Willow noticed Buffy’s uncomfortableness, and sensed that Riley was noticing it too. Trying to ease the tension, Willow said, “We were just going to lunch. Want to come Riley?”
Riley smiled. “Lunch sounds great. Airplane food is the worse.”
Riley looked at Buffy when she was silent. She was staring at the wall obviously in deep thought, and ignoring them.
“Is everything okay, Buffy?”
Buffy plastered a fake smile on her face, and answered, “Just peachy. Let’s go.”
Something just felt wrong to her. This didn’t seem normal.
~~~
Spike ran his hand up her back, and under her shirt. His cold hands cooled Buffy’s burning skin. She sat straddling his waist as he leaned up against the headboard of her bed. They were in the middle of some serious kissing, and headed quickly to more. The phone rang, and Buffy jumped at the intrusion.
“Don’t answer that,” Spike begged as he moved to kiss her neck.
“I have to. My mom’s supposed to call,” Buffy replied reluctantly reaching for the phone by the bed.
Spike grabbed her around the waist, and tried to pull her back to him. Buffy giggled as she tried to free herself. Finally, she grabbed the phone.
“Hello,” she said breathlessly.
Spike tickled her sides causing her to giggle. Her giggles stopped as quickly as they started, and she turned pale. Spike froze in fear.
“Hey Riley,” Buffy said into the phone.
She looked at Spike nervously. Spike looked away from her as his emotions got the best of him. He didn’t want her to see that he was jealous.
“I was working out…No you didn’t interrupt me. Well you did, but it wasn’t important.”
Buffy’s words felt like a punch to his gut to Spike.
“Everything’s good. How’s Iowa?…That’s great.”
Spike stood up, and walked towards the window. Buffy watched Spike head for the window, and she panicked.
“Hold on a sec, Riley,” she said.
Buffy threw down the phone, and ran to stop Spike. She rested her hand on his shoulder as he stood by the window.
“Don’t leave,” Buffy whispered.
“I wasn’t going to leave. Just go finish your talk,” Spike replied in a low, strained voice.
“I’ll only be another minute, okay?” Buffy promised.
“Don’t rush on my account,” Spike mumbled.
“Spike,” Buffy begged.
Spike turned around, and kissed her gently on the lips. “Go talk to him. I’ll still be here when you’re done.”
Spike walked past her, and out of the room. Tears formed in Buffy’s eyes. She brushed them away, and composed herself before she picked up the phone again.
“Sorry about that. I had my dinner in the oven,” Buffy lied to Riley over the phone. “I was working out, while I cooked. Then I was going to eat… a frozen pizza. Since Mom left, I’ve been surviving by the freezer aisle…Yeah, I should go eat before it’s cold…I miss you too Riley…Okay, bye.”
Buffy set the phone back in the cradle. She sat on the edge of her bed trying to compose herself before facing Spike. When she had her emotions under control, she stood up, and went to find Spike.
She found him sitting in front of the TV watching the Smurfs. She sat down next to him, and stared at his profile. His face was set firmly showing no emotion. Buffy waited for him to acknowledge her presence. Finally, he did.
“I wonder what Smurf blood would taste like. Maybe it’s really sweet, or tangy, or possibly sour. Of course it could taste like paint for all I know.”
“It could taste like normal blood,” Buffy answered quietly.
“That takes all the fun out of it.”
Buffy paused before asking quietly, “Spike, do you want to talk about Riley?”
“Why would I want to do that,” Spike replied coolly. “It’s your life. I’m just a brief stop over before you continue on the right path.”
“Spike,” Buffy pleaded.
She could hear the hurt, and anger in his voice.
“Look slayer, the world didn’t stop because we shagged. It goes on, and when your mates come back, your life will go back to what it was before.”
“What if I don’t want it to go back,” Buffy asked quietly avoiding looking him in the eye.
“Not to be cliché, or overly poetic, but we’re a stolen moment, slayer. We don’t work in real time, and you know it. You want a normal life, and so do I. I mean really, were you going to tell your chums about me?” Buffy looked at her hands, and didn’t answer. “I didn’t think so. I can’t be who you want me to be, pet.”
“I understand,” Buffy answered choking back her tears.
Spike could see her struggling not to cry, and it made him want to cry. As much as he hated saying what he did, he had to. There was no way this would ever work, and he wasn’t looking forward to another humiliating break up. He was just going to learn to accept this for what it was. A fling. Spike looked at Buffy. It was also a friendship.
“Come here,” he commanded. Buffy rested her head on Spike’s shoulder, and he held her tightly. “We can still enjoy it while it lasts,” Spike promised.
“Do you want it to end?” Buffy asked.
Spike doesn’t directly answer the question. Instead he replied, “If the summer lasted forever I wouldn’t be sorry.”
“Neither would I.”