20

The two of them quickly climbed out of bed when Mr. Summers left the room. Buffy wrapped the bedsheet under her arms while Angel wrapped the comforter about his waist. When he looked at her, he noticed that her lower lip was trembling.

From behind her, Angel put his arms around her upper arms, wrapping her in his embrace. "I'm so sorry, Buffy," he apologized. "I never wanted to get you in any trouble with you father."

Buffy closed her eyes as if in pain. "This isn't your fault. It's mine. I-I never should have made you stay over. I knew my dad would be coming home in the morning. It's all my fault."

"Everything'll be okay."

"My dad was really angry. Angel, I've never seen him so pissed off in my entire life. It frightened me."

"He just found you in bed with your boyfriend. I can't imagine any parent being too happy about that. I know my mom wouldn't be thrilled if it had been her."

She shook her head. "This is different. Your mom knows about us, you told her everything. God, you can tell her anything and she will trust you and your judgement. Things aren't like that for me and my father. It's the complete opposite for us."

"Just explain it to him and I'm sure he'll understand. I'll even come with you if you want, for moral support."

"Thanks for the offer," she said, turning around to face him. "But I have to do this on my own."

Angel nodded. "Okay. Like I said before, everything will be just fine."

***

With a tentative breath, Buffy stepped into her father's study. He was sitting in his leather swivel chair, looking out the window, watching the sun play on the wet grass.

"Is he gone?" Mr. Summers asked without turning around.

"Yes. Angel just left a minute ago. Dad, I can explain -"

Turning the chair, he glared at her. "Don't. I have a pretty good idea of what went on up there. You were in bed with a boy you've only been dating for a little over a month."

"I know how disappointed you must be…"

"Disappointed? You could certainly say that, yes. I am quite disappointed. Frankly, I would have expected more from you." He took a sip of coffee. "I thank God your mother isn't alive to see this."

"Mom would have understood. She wouldn't have thrown Angel out on his ass like you did," Buffy said, tears stinging her eyes. "She would have been fine with it. I know she would have."

"You don't think she would've been upset? Joyce is probably turning over in her grave as we speak, wondering where we went wrong with you."

She couldn't believe her father was saying such things to her. "Where you went wrong?" she repeated. "Nothing's wrong with me. I'm perfectly fine, perfectly normal."

"So, you consider it normal to be having sex with a boy you've hardly known for a month?" he asked, with a sharp edge to his voice.

"I've known him my entire life! And I've loved him for just as long. You can stop it with the sex lecture, Dad. I've already had it. Mom told me that I should wait until I find the man I want to be with forever, the man I love. Well, I love Angel! And he loves me."

"I always expected better from you, I thought you had much better taste in men. It's almost shameful what you're doing."

She didn't understand what her father was saying. "Shameful? What am I doing that's so shameful to you?"

"You should be with someone better, Buffy. You should be with a young man who can provide a stable life for you, give you what you need. A man with means," Mr. Summers informed her.

"A man with means…you mean a man with money?" she accused. "You think I care about that? I don't. All the guys at Sunnydale High whose parents have money have egos bigger than the state of Texas. They're rude and snobby and sick; they're only after one thing and I'm not about to give it to them. Angel may not have any money, but he loves me. He knows how to treat me, and that means more to me than any dollar amount. He's a bigger, better person than any of those so-called rich high school boys could ever hope to be.

"Angel works hard to get what he wants. He supports his sick mother and twin sister by working for *you* forty hours a week. He gave up going to an Ivy League college so he could stay at home and take care of them. It's called substance, Dad, and he has a lot of it. How can you say that I shouldn't be with someone like him? He's what parents dream of. He's what I dream of."

"Someone like him will only end up hurting you."

Buffy blinked. "How? And what do you mean by 'someone like him'?"

"I suppose you already know about Luke Riches."

She nodded her head. "Yes. Angel told me about his father. He left them when Angel and Melissa were only ten. What the hell does that have to do with anything?"

"It's been my experience that, in cases such as this, the apple never falls far from the tree." Mr. Summers took another sip of his coffee. "Angel will do the same thing to you that his father did to Adrienne…his mother. He'll leave you broke, with children to care for. His children."

"Angel would never do that. He's nothing like his father, he hates his father for what he's done to that family," she told him. "How can you call yourself my father and say those things about the man I love? Haven't you ever been in love? So deeply in love where you didn't know where you ended and she began? That's how I feel when I'm with Angel."

He fell into his memories at his daughter's words. A face formed in his mind's eye: a beautiful young woman with long, curly dark brown hair and deep chocolate eyes, and a smile that filled his heart with love when he had been Buffy's age. A smile that still filled his heart even to that day. "Of course I've been in love like that. But that's not what you're feeling."

"How do you know what I'm feeling? You never take the time to find out."

"You are trying to defy me by dating someone you know I would never approve of; by doing things with him you shouldn't be doing. If you wanted my attention, Buffy, you have it now. End this game you're playing."

"This isn't a game. I love him and he loves me. I don't care if you don't approve, I wasn't asking for your approval."

"You have to stop this before you get hurt. That boy will only hurt you. Mark my words, young lady."

***

Angel was worried. It was four o'clock and he still had not yet heard from Buffy. He hoped everything was okay and that her father hadn't come down too hard on her. 'I'll call her after work and make sure she's handling everything fine,' he decided.

When he stepped behind his register, Jason McKenzie walked up to him. "You're wanted upstairs in the office, Angel. I'd suggest you go now."

"Who wants to see me?" Angel wanted to know.

"Mr. Summers," Jason said. "Man, what did you do? He never asks to see the employees. You must have done something big."

He shook his head. "You don't want to know."

His heart beating nervously, Angel ascended the stairs to the owner's office. Pausing for a brief moment, he knocked on the door.

"Come in!" Mr. Summers called.

Angel entered, closing the door behind him. He tried his hardest not to look like a scared puppy, but he doubted he was doing a good job at hiding his fear and apprehension. "You wanted to see me, Mr. Summers?"

"Yes, I did. Please have a seat, Angel. You and I need to have talk. It's about your relationship with my daughter."