Chapter 13: Road Trip
Willow watched as Buffy leafed listlessly through the racks of dresses at the small shop in the mall which specialized in formalwear.
“So Buffy, how do you like this one?” Willow held up a frothy confection of pink lace that screamed eighties prom dress. Buffy glanced over. “That’s nice Will, are you thinking of getting it?”
Willow swallowed hard. Something was seriously wrong when fashion conscious Buffy would call such a monstrosity even nice. Her initial perkiness as they’d left the dorm and made their way to the mall had dissipated somewhere along the way, and she seemed to be in almost a daze again. She wished her friend would just come clean and tell her what was going on, but she really hated to pry, and to admit that she’d snooped and read Buffy’s note from Spike. Maybe she should see if Xander could talk to Spike, discreetly, and find out what was going on at his end.
“Buffy, are you sure you’re feeling okay? You seem, well a little distracted.”
Buffy flicked through five or six more dresses before finally turning her attention back to Willow. “I’m fine. Just a little tired still, probably had a bug or something.”
She glanced back at the racks they had just been perusing. “You know, I’m just not seeing anything here. How about we see if Giles will loan us his car and we’ll go to L.A. for fall break, do some real shopping? I think we could use a little road trip.”
Willow nodded. “That’d be cool. We’ll shop till we drop and enjoy the sights and sounds of a big city again.” And one way or another, I’m going to get you to tell me what’s bothering you.
<><><><>
Buffy gathered her books after her last class on Tuesday and headed over to the lecture hall where Giles would be finishing up. He and Jenny had taken the long weekend she’d suggested and though she’d spoken to them only briefly when they’d gotten back on Sunday night, it sounded like all was right with them again. Giles had asked her if she would come to dinner on Tuesday, and she’d agreed. She sensed there was maybe an announcement to be made, she had heard the pride in his voice as he’d issued the invitation. That probably meant that Spike would be there as well.
She had mixed feelings about seeing him face to face again. She’d called him a few times on Sunday, trying to get up the courage to explain, but his phone had gone unanswered and he’d never returned her calls. She had made it halfway down the path to his home on Monday afternoon, but lost her nerve. After all that happened, she was reluctant to show up unannounced. She wasn’t even sure she would be welcome anymore. She remembered how cold he’d been when he’d driven her home on Saturday morning. Never in her life had someone looked at her with that much ice in their eyes.
But maybe she could corner him tonight at dinner, for just a few minutes, and try to explain. Surely he’d understand why she’d accepted Angel’s invitation. She could make him see that she wanted him and only him. She reached the building and waded through the outgoing crowd to reach her uncle and give him a welcoming hug.
“Giles, how are things? I’m glad you guys are back!”
“They are very, very well, Buffy, and that is all you’ll get from me for now, or Jenny will have my head.”
“Whipped already.” Buffy shook her head and giggled at him as he rolled his eyes.
“Buffy, I do want to thank you. Without your level-headed intervention, I fear that Jenny and I could have gone at cross-purposes for sometime. We both greatly appreciate what you did for us.”
“Oh Giles, it was the least I could do. You guys are one of the most perfect couples I think I’ve ever seen. You just fit together you know? And it took you so long to get together and be happy, I just didn’t want it to fall apart for no reason.”
“Well, thank you again, Buffy. I am glad things have worked out. Now all I have to regret is waiting so long to be with her to start with.”
Buffy nodded, realizing that she didn’t want to make that mistake either. Spike was the guy for her and she was going to let him know tonight. Her thoughts darted back to Giles and one way he could repay her for her kindness.
“Giles? I don’t suppose you’re grateful enough to loan me your car so Willow and I can go to L.A. shopping over fall break?’
Giles groaned, knowing he would eventually give in and entrust his little red convertible to the two girls.
“Only if Willow drives, Buffy, only if Willow drives.”
Buffy grinned as they headed toward home.
<><><><>
Jenny and Spike were already in the kitchen when they arrived at the house. She had clearly been filling him in on the details of the last week while they waited and Spike eyed the pair suspiciously as they walked though the door. He was starting to wonder if the Summers-Giles clan was capable of honesty in their relationships. But Jenny had assured him that it had been a mistake and all was well again.
He watched her breeze through the door to hug Jenny, golden and beautiful, and he felt his heart twist. If only things had worked out as well for them this weekend as they had for Jenny and Giles. He shut down on his impulse to hug her as she wandered over to lean on the counter beside him, close enough that he could feel the warmth of her body. Did she really need to get in his personal space like that? He sidled away an inch and she followed. He gave up. Let her try to play games with him, he was done with it. Maybe he should call up Faith when he got home, see if she wanted to go out over the break before the formal, maybe they could get to know each other better.
Jenny urged them all into the dining room and they sat down to enjoy the meal together. Conversation stayed light, talk of the mountain retreat Giles and Jenny had escaped to for the weekend and current events in the news filling the meal for a time.
“William, don’t you have the KET formal coming up soon? Isn’t it usually right after fall break?” He nodded, hoping Jenny would move on. This was one topic he did not want to discuss. But she persisted. “Do you have a date yet?”
He rolled his eyes. “Yes, Aunt Jenny, I have a date. Her name is Faith, would you like pictures of the event?” She ignored his sarcasm and nodded.
“What about you Buffy, are you going with Angel?” Buffy nodded hesitantly, not daring to look at Spike, afraid of what his reaction might be.”
“Of course she’s going with Angel. He’s the love of her bloody life, isn’t that right, pet?” She glared at him across the table, not wanting to do this here and now with two very interested parents watching. “It’s just a date, Spike, it doesn’t mean anything,” she hissed back at him.
“Right, not a thing. What with the romantic dinner beforehand and the, well you know what’s planned for afterwards..” He raised his eyebrow and gave her a suggestive look and she knew he was referring to the rooms. She blushed and darted a look at Jenny and Giles who were staring at the pair with open fascination. “I’m sorry, please excuse me, I have to go to the restroom.” She fled the table and raced up the stairs.
“Spike, what is going on? Is there something we need to know about? Is Angel taking advantage of Buffy?” Jenny looked concerned. Buffy was not one to back down from a fight with Spike, normally she gave as good as she got, but this time, she was acting oddly.
“Advantage? Hardly. That girl thinks she can wrap men around her little finger and make them dance whenever she whistles the right tune. Angel should probably be worried of her taking advantage of him.”
He pushed back from the table and started to clear the plates, signaling an end to the discussion.
Giles and Jenny exchanges a significant glance. Clearly there was more to this than either was letting on. But they knew pushing at this point wouldn’t get them anywhere. “Spike, when you get done with those plates, can you join us again for a moment? Jenny and I have something we want to tell you and Buffy.”
Spike smiled in spite of himself as he placed the dishes in the sink. He’d wondered if old Rupert had popped the question. Jenny had been playing with her empty ring finger all night, as though there was something missing from the spot.
He returned to the dining room to find the pair gone, presumably to get the ring, and a pale Buffy standing in the doorway.
He refused to look at her, just nodded down the hallway. “They have something they want to tell us, asked if we’d wait.” He returned to his chair. She walked over to stand beside him and reached out tentatively to lay a hand on his shoulder. “Spike, I need.”
She broke off as he visibly flinched away. “Buffy, please don’t. I know what you’re going to say, and I don’t want to hear it, alright? I just don’t think I can take any trite apologies right now. I’m sorry for the flowers and the card, suppose I was just thinking with other parts of my anatomy than my head, if you know what I mean. Not often I have such a beautiful woman snogging me on my couch. I can only imagine what it would have been like if we’d made it to the bed, and I certainly would have liked to got you back there, hence the poncy note. You’re quite the firecracker you know? Angel should be very happy to have you, all responsive and willing.”
Buffy drew back, appalled by his callused tone. Was that all that had been to him, just a random sexual encounter with no emotion? She closed her eyes. It wasn’t true, it couldn’t be true. He’d told her he loved her. She’d fooled around enough to know that, in the middle of a passionate make-out session, most guys didn’t demand you open you eyes so they could look into your very soul and you could see their love shining on you. It had been something special and unique and amazing between them, because it was them. She opened her eyes to try again, when she heard Giles and Jenny coming back down the hallway and returned to her seat. She didn’t want to spoil the evening, but sooner or later she was going to have it out with Spike.
The couple appeared from the hallway, arms wrapped around each others waist as they stood before their adopted children. Giles cleared his throat and gazed down lovingly at Jenny before looking back to Buffy and Spike.
“This weekend, as you know, Jenny and I went away together. I have been thinking for a long time about this and the events of the last week solidified my intentions.”
Jenny poked him in the ribs. “Don’t be long-winded, Rupert. Get to the point.” She smiled up at him and whispered, “I want to show off my ring.”
He smiled back. “Very well, to make a long story short, I asked Jenny to marry me and she has agreed.”
Buffy and Spike instantly surrounded them, hugs and congratulations flying as the less than surprising announcement was formally made. They admired the beautiful ring Rupert has chosen that Jenny had now returned to her left ring finger and discussed the upcoming wedding planned for the Christmas holidays. Buffy accepted the role of maid of honor and Spike agreed to be the best man. Before long, the significant glances between the newly engaged couple became more obvious and Buffy, after liberating the car keys from Giles, excused herself to return to campus, with Spike close on her heels.
As they started down the steps to the cars, the ice that had been between them thawed slightly as they joked about the upcoming wedding and the obvious eagerness of the new couple. Spike began taunting her about the horror of bridesmaid dresses and she returned his ribbing about the monkey suit he’d have to wear. He relaxed a little as they slipped back into more of a brother-sister bantering mode, feeling relieved that he could still have a conversation with her despite the tension of the last week.
That was one of the things that had been tumbling through his head all weekend long, he was losing both love and friendship with her. Maybe if he could just treat her like he used to, before he acted like the world’s biggest git and confessed his undying love to her, things could return to normal.
Spike walked her over to Giles’ car, taking the keys and unlocking the door for her.
“You sure you can drive this thing pet, I know how you and cars don’t mix.” He smirked at her as he held the keys just out of reach and she rolled her eyes, jumping to try to snatch the keys from his fingertips. She really hated being short. After several attempts, Spike laughing the entire time, she managed to snag the keys. Buffy stumbled as she landed from her successful leap, staggering against Spike and trapping him between her and the car.
She realized he had reflexively caught her and she looked up, watching the moonlight play across the planes of his face as he continued to hold her. He stared down at her, an unfathomable mix of hurt and longing on his face at the close contact and she reacted on impulse. Slowly, she leaned into him further and raised her lips to his. At the first brief touch, she could feel the electricity between them and the kiss deepened as Spike groaned and responded to her questing tongue for a moment, before he suddenly stopped and pulled back.
Buffy blinked, startled by the loss of contact with his warm mouth. What had happened? Why had he stopped? He gently pushed her away and began to walk back to his car, calling back over his shoulder, “Sorry, pet, moonlight went to my head. My apologies for trodding on Angel’s turf again.”
Buffy watched aghast as he yanked open the door of his car. “Spike, no wait.”
But it was too late. He pulled away in a squeal of tires that she suspected the whole neighborhood could hear, leaving her with tingling lips and a heavy heart.
<><><><>
“Xander? Xander?” Willow knocked softly on the door to her boyfriend’s room. The lab she’d had to finish up had been shorter than anticipated, so she had hurried across the campus to spend some quality time with her sweetie before break and her trip with Buffy started. She gave up knocking, realizing he must not be back yet. The internship he had with the construction company sometimes required late meetings and she supposed this was just one of those nights.
She paced for a minute. He’d probably be here soon, there was no point in going back to Stevenson. But she hated to just sit in the hall and wait for him. Suddenly, a brainstorm hit her. Angel! She hadn’t talked to him in a while and his room was just down the hall. Maybe he was in and she could hang with him for a little while, scope out what the deal was with him and Buffy. Willow left her bag sitting outside Xander’s door and walked down the hall to Angel’s room. She raised her hand to knock and suddenly froze as she heard a breathy moan from inside the room.
“Oh, Angel, yes, harder, harder!”
Willow stared at the door, wide-eyed. Was that Buffy? Having sex with Angel? When did that happen? Willow paused. That couldn’t be Buffy. She was sure Buffy had said she was having dinner with Giles and Jenny, that they were probably going to announce their engagement tonight. Feeling slightly like a Peeping Tom, or rather an Eavesdropping Tom, if such a thing existed, she pressed her ear to the door, after being sure that no one was in the hallway to see her peculiar behavior.
“Baby, that’s so good, you’re so hot,” she could hear Angel say in a bedroom voice. “Say my name, Angel, say my name, I want you to say my name when you come,” the woman replied, apparently adding some persuasion to the request as she heard Angel’s breathing grow more ragged and with a groan he murmured, “Darla.”
Willow pulled back from the door as though it were a hot stove and clapped a hand to her mouth to muffle her exclamation. That two-timing bastard! Granted, Buffy looked like she maybe had something going on as well, but she knew her best friend, and she was fairly certain that Buffy wasn’t sleeping with Spike.
Anyone with half a brain could see those two were meant to be together anyway, she didn’t know why Buffy hadn’t dumped Angel a long time ago. Talk about no chemistry. They almost seemed disinterested in each other. She continued to stare at the door. This was just the news Buffy needed to push her away from Angel for good. She knew Buffy was incredibly sensitive about cheating because of her dad, and the news that Angel had been with Darla should put the final nail in the coffin of their relationship.
Darla, Darla, who could that be? Willow gasped as she suddenly identified the voice. That was Darla Harmon, she was in their sorority. That little slut! She knew Buffy was dating Angel. Willow suddenly started as she heard footsteps coming up the stairs at the end of the hallway and she scurried back down to Xander’s door.
“Hey Wills, get done with your lab early?”
Willow nodded and clamped a hand over his mouth as soon as he was close enough. “Be very quiet and get us in your room quickly,” she whispered in his ear.
He nodded, puzzled, and unlocked his door, ushering Willow inside just as the door to Angel’s room began to open. With a squeak, Willow pulled him inside and shut the door behind them.
“Willow, what is going on? You eager to get me alone, sweetie?” He advanced on her and she laughed at his exaggerated leer as he stalked her across the room.
She stopped him with a kiss, then sat him down. “Xander, we have to talk, seriously. You’re not going to believe what I just heard.”
<><><><>
Buffy managed to make it safely back to Stevenson in one piece, though she was glad Willow would be behind the wheel tomorrow. She entered the dorm and unlocked their room. As she’d suspected, Willow’s bag were already packed and ready to go. There was a note on her bed, saying she’d be at Xander’s for the night. Buffy dropped the note back on Willow’s bed and returned to sit on her own.
She stared at the phone. Should she call him? Would he listen? She picked up the phone and dialed his number, then slammed it down after the first ring. She rolled her eyes and picked it up again. She was not going to be juvenile. She dialed his number again, listened for the ringing tones and was disappointed when she heard his voice mail pick up. She hung up again. So much for calling.
Maybe kissing him been a bad idea just now. She knew there were things they needed to work out, but he looked so sad and vulnerable and she had just wanted to make things better. She beat her head against her pillow. Why was this so complicated? She’d finally conquered her inner demons, or at least quelled them enough to take the leap with Spike, and now he was being difficult. Maybe she should just stalk over there and force him to listen. Would he kick her out? Would he give her a chance? She bit her nails nervously. He’d said it with flowers, should she? Sending flowers to Spike seemed too weird. Wait, he liked music! Maybe she could burn him a CD about how she felt? Maybe not, she was 20, not 14.
Buffy pulled out a bag and began to mechanically pack. She was at her wit’s end. If he wouldn’t talk with her by phone, wouldn’t talk to her in person, she was going to have to find another way to make him listen. It was time to play True Confessions with Willow and get her input. Maybe her best friend would be able to shed new light on the situation. She finished her packing, settled on this course of action and turned out the lights to try to get some rest.
<><><><>
Willow had returned early the next morning and they loaded the car, settling in for the ride to L.A. As soon as they reached the interstate, Buffy decided it was time.
“Willow, I have to tell you something and I need your advice.”
Willow nodded. She’d hoped Buffy would confide in her on this trip, giving her a better idea on how she was going to take the news about Angel’s infidelity.
“Go right ahead, you know you can tell me anything. You’ve listened to enough of my ups and downs over the years. Buffy,” she glanced quickly over at her friend before turning her attention back to the highway, “I know something’s been bothering you. You’ve been acting odd for the last week or so and I was starting to get worried. So spill. You’ll feel better.”
Buffy took a deep breath. “It’s about me and Spike. Willow, I don’t know exactly when it started. You know how close we’ve always been. But since I came back, our relationship has been different. It’s like there’s sparkage every time I’m in the room with him now. It was weird and I tried to ignore it at first, I mean, I felt really strange about it. Hello, best friend, almost brother. And then Angel asked me out first thing and he just kept asking until the next thing I knew everybody’s acting like we’re a couple. Spike never made a move, he just kept treating me like his kid sis, you know?”
“But Buffy, I thought he kissed you at that party when we first came back?”
“He did, Wills, but I didn’t think it meant anything. I mean, he never mentioned it again. Then we started spending all that time together, with the tutoring, and after he gave me a key I went over there most nights to watch TV and hang out with him.” She ducked her head a little. “I wasn’t really going to the library.”
Willow smirked. “Buffy, I figured something was going on, though it took me until a few days ago to realize you were probably at Spike’s. You’ve never spent that much time at the library in your life.”
Buffy laughed. “Yeah, probably not the best cover for me. Well, we just kept getting closer and closer, but in a non-romantic way. He even let me sleep at his place a few times.”
Willow stopped her. “You’ve been sleeping over there? How did I miss this? Did anything happen?”
Buffy blushed, “No, not really. It was when you and Xander needed some alone time and it turned out that Giles and Jenny had also scheduled alone time that I unfortunately walked in on. Remind me to tell you about that sometime.” She shuddered. “Anyway, Spike took me in. We did sleep in the same bed, but he was very gentlemeny.”
“So you slept there once. Has something happened since then?”
“Well, actually twice, before last Friday, but it was the same deal. Nothing going on but sleeping.”
“Hold on a minute Buffy, what happened last Friday?”
“I’ll get to that. But I have to explain what happened before, for it to make sense.”
“Alright, tell the tale.”
“Okay, so everything had been pretty platonic until your birthday party. I saw him flirting with Cordelia and I just saw red, Willow. I knew I had no claim on him, but I was so angry seeing them together. I don’t think I slept hardly at all that night, thinking about the two of them. And my response was less than adult. I started kissing Angel just to see if Spike would notice.”
She buried her face in her hands. “I’m such a bad person Willow. How could I do that, use Angel like that?”
Willow clucked sympathetically, knowing she was going to enjoy getting to tell Buffy what a creep Angel had been. Here she was beating herself up over a little flirting while that moron had been shtupping someone else, probably the whole time they’d been dating. “Buffy, Angel didn’t look like he minded all that much. Besides, it wasn’t that big of a deal. But there’s more to this story than that. Why did Spike send you flowers?”
Buffy felt a faint blush begin as she continued her story. “Well, I avoided Spike for a few days after your party, because I was embarrassed over what happened and still a little upset about him and Cordy. So I finally went over to his place on Wednesday for tutoring. Everything was fine, I apologized, we were good, just a little awkward. Then I hung around afterwards to watch Passions with him. And we ended up making out on his couch.
Buffy’s blush deepened and she stared out the window, suddenly very interested in the passing cars.
Willow caught the scarlet of her face and followed up, “Buffy? Are we talking a few smoochies here or did something more happen?”
Buffy grew redder. “Something more.”
Willow gasped. Had she had sex with him? Maybe she’d underestimated the powers of Spike’s charms. And there was that note. “Buffy, what happened?”
Buffy looked at Willow, not sure she could verbalize what had happened between them.
“I didn’t sleep with him.”
“But you did fool around?”
Buffy nodded. “Willow, it was so amazing. I’ve never felt so good in my entire life.”
“Aww, Buffy, did Spike give you a happy?”
Buffy giggled, feeling a little freer now that it was out. “Did he ever! Willow, he gave me the most incredible orgasm, but you know what made it so special? It was his eyes. The whole time, he just kept staring into my eyes and I could see so much love and desire and passion in them. Everything I’ve ever wanted.”
“So, did you return the favor?”
“No, that’s where things went bad. He mentioned something about me not having that much passion with Angel and I just panicked. I mean it was like all those yummy feelings were sucked away in an instant and this huge wave of guilt rushed into their place. I freaked and just jumped up and ran.”
She paused, gathering her thoughts to explain this properly. “It really shook me up Will. I think he’s the one. But everything with him was so explosive that night, and I know that the pretty fireworks can leave some ugly burns. So I told him I needed some time when he called.”
“So did you make a decision? That all happened, what, last Wednesday? And you went out with Angel on Friday? Hey, what about Friday? You said something happened with you and Spike then?”
“Well, you know Spike sent me those roses. That card was beautiful Willow. He told me he loved me. It was so sweet and it just made me want him more. But I felt like I needed to settle things with Angel first, so I was going to tell him at dinner last Friday. But I didn’t even remember it was an “anniversary” and once you mentioned that, it seemed harsh to break it off then. But I was at least going to tell him I couldn’t go to the formal with him, but then his buddies showed up and I didn’t want to embarrass him. I mean, he’s done nothing to deserve this. I’m the one who cheated, not him, and even though I don’t love him, I would never want to hurt him. He’s been nothing but sweet to me.”
“Um-hum.” Willow bided her time, knowing once she made her announcement, she’d never get the rest of the story from Buffy. “So what happened with Spike?”
Buffy’s features clouded. “That’s the problem. After Angel dropped me off, I went over to tell him that I wanted to be with him and that I just needed a little time to end this thing with Angel. But he’d seen us at the restaurant together and apparently decided to drink away the memory. He was sloshed by the time I got there. So I put him to bed and though we could talk in the morning.
Willow stopped her again. “So you stayed with him Friday night?”
“Yeah, but that’s not where things went bad. I must have been really tired and I think he was hung over, so we were both still asleep at like 10:00AM when Angel showed up. And he still has a key to Spike’s place. The deadbolt was turned, so he didn’t walk in on us, but I had to hide in the bathroom while Spike talked to him.”
Willow stifled a laugh at the thought of what that situation must have looked like. “So what happened?”
“Angel told Spike I had agreed to go to the dance with him at dinner the night before, and Spike got really angry. I wish I could have explained things to him before he heard that from Angel. Willow, I think he would have understood. But he didn’t take the news well coming from Angel. And it turns out, Angel was there to try and set him up for the dance with Faith, you know, Cordy’s skanky cheerleader friend. So Spike just called her right then and there and asked her! Angel left and we both were to mad to talk, so he brought me home.”
“So that’s it? You’ve haven’t tried to talk it out?”
“That’s just it. I’ve tried and tried to explain. I’ve called, I’ve left messages. I tried to talk with him last night at dinner. But he’s still very angry. So that’s where I need some advice. How do I get him to listen to me? And should I even keep this formal date with Angel? I don’t want to be with him. I know I’m in love with Spike. But I feel so guilty just dumping Angel with so little notice. It’s not his fault either. What am I going to do?”
“Well, first of all, let me say congratulations. You’ve been sort of a lone wolf for too long, Buffy. I know you wanted to wait for Mr. Right, but I think you’ve finally found him. I always thought you two would be a perfect couple together. And I know Spike will come around. He’s just hurt right now.”
Willow waited for that to sink in before she dropped the bombshell. “Buffy, I have something to tell you that is probably going to make you mad, but in the long run is a good thing. I went to Xander’s last night and he wasn’t in yet. So I thought I’d drop by and say hey to Angel. Instead, I got the verbal soundtrack to a porn flick, complete with a ‘say my name when you come, baby’.”
Buffy stared at Willow openmouthed. “Angel? Was in there with some other girl?”
Willow nodded. “Oh yeah. Right in the midst of the dirty deed. Buffy, it was Darla, from our sorority.”
Buffy continued to stare at Willow for a long minute, them began laughing hysterically. “You mean the entire time I’ve been beating myself up about all of this and worrying about his feelings, he’s been boning other girls? That bastard. I’m such an idiot, I should’ve known with his reputation, if he wasn’t getting it from me, he was getting it from somebody.”
She whipped out her cell phone. “That’s it. Screw Angel, metaphorically of course.” She shivered. “I bet he really was planning to try and get me in bed after that dance, with the hotel room.” Willow nodded. “Did he think I was some kind of little high school chick who’d give it up because her date bought her some pretty flowers and dinner before the prom? Willow, what was I thinking?”
“In the interest of maintaining out friendship, I’m pleading the 5th on that one. All I know is I’m glad you’ve seen the light.”
“Oh, I have.” Buffy continued to mutter under her breath as she dialed Angel’s number. Maybe Darla would be happy to go with him. Darla was a ‘ho and everyone knew it. Course, apparently so was Angel. Maybe they could give each other diseases. She brightened at the thought as she counted the rings. “C’mon, pick up, pick up, pick up.” Instead, she heard Angel’s suave tones at the other end, commanding her to leave a message. She ended the call. She needed to vent when she dumped his sorry ass and she wanted it to be live, not recorded.
“Damn, he’s not answering.”
“Call him later. Now about Spike, I think you do need to talk to him in person. Why don’t you surprise him at his place? You still have a key, right?”
“I do, but I don’t know if he’ll be mad at me just showing up, after all that’s happened.”
“Buffy, I think once you explain things to him and get him to listen, he’ll be very happy you came. And you should be naked.”
“What? Willow, I can’t just show up at his place and strip!”
“No, but you can already be naked before he gets there. I’ll bet he won’t kick you out then.” Willow grinned at her mischievously.
“Willow, that’s nuts. What if he turns me down? That would be totally embarrassing.”
“Buffy, he won’t turn you down, you know that. Once he realizes you’re serious and that you’ve kicked Angel to the curb, he’ll be all over you.”
Buffy closed her eyes momentarily, savoring that thought. Well, less dramatic approaches hadn’t worked, why not try it? She was interrupted from her plans by the ringing of a cell phone.
“Oh, that’s me. Will you answer it, Buffy? It’s probably Xander. He wasn’t up yet when I left this morning and I didn’t want to wake him.”
Buffy felt around in Willow’s bag until she found the ringing phone. “Hello, Willow’s phone, Buffy speaking.”
“Buffy? Oh, hey how are you? I was expecting Willow.”
“Hey Cordy. It’s Willow’s phone, not a bad expectation. We’re headed to L.A. to do some shopping over the break. I’m sorry I didn’t think to call you, it was a spur of the moment thing. You want to come up and join us?”
“Oh, thanks, Buffy, I really can’t right now.” Cordelia paused, unable to think of a good excuse other than her guilty conscience. “I have some stuff I have to do here.”
“No big. Do you want me to talk between you and Will? She’s driving right now.”
“No, that’s okay. I just had something to tell her. It is kind of important though, can you ask her to call me after you guys get to the city?”
“Sure, no problem Cordelia. Have a good break.”
“You too. Bye Buffy. Wait, Buffy, have you seen Spike lately?”
“I saw him last night. We had dinner with the folks. You’ll probably hear it from your mom before long, so I’ll go ahead and share. Giles and Jenny are getting married! The wedding will be at Christmas.”
“Oh, that’s great Buffy. Was Spike excited?”
“He seemed to be, Cordy. I don’t know, we didn’t talk very long last night after we left them.”
“Okay. I was just hoping the two of you were getting along well.” She laughed nervously, “Well, have Willow call me.”
“Sure thing. Talk to you later.”
Buffy ended the call. “That was really weird, Willow. Cordelia wants you to call her after we get to the hotel, but then she started giving me the 3rd degree about Spike. What do you think that was all about?”
“I don’t know, I’ll call her after we get there. Now that we’ve worked out your love life, give me the dish on the wedding and Jenny and Giles. They are so cute together!”
Buffy began to fill her in, feeling better than she had in more than a week after unloading to Willow. She had never imagined that finding out her boyfriend was cheating on her would make her so happy. The two friends chatted away as they finished the drive, the phone call to Angel postponed for the time.