29

The following week and a half went by smoothly. Mr. Summers left for London the day after his talk with Angel, leaving the couple free to spend their last two weeks together. As planned, they arrived at the Summers' beach house Thursday evening, choosing to stay only until Saturday afternoon so that Angel could spend his last day in Sunnydale with his mother and sister.

"Here we are. Again," Buffy announced once she unlocked the back door.

"Yep."

She turned to face him. "Ready to begin our romantic holiday?"

"You know I didn't just come here for that, Buffy," Angel said. "It's not about…you know, having sex for the next two days. I wanted to be alone with you. Away from annoying family members, ringing telephones and all those other distractions we constantly have to deal with."

"There's no need to convince me, I already know this. That's exactly why I suggested we come here. So, tell me, what do you want to do first?"

Angel shrugged. "I'll let you decide."

She thought for a moment. 'I don't want to say we should go to bed because that might make him think the only reason I came up here with him was to *literally* be with him.' "Do you wanna watch a movie? There isn't a whole lot to do up here at night. I'm sure you already know that, though."

"Sure. Did you bring any movies with you?"

Buffy nodded. "Just in case, I brought a cute little romantic comedy. Cordy and I went to see it when it first came out."

"And what movie would that be?"

"What Women Want. Have you seen it?"

"No. But Missy did, and she said she really liked it. So we can watch that if you want to."

She smiled. "Great. Let's get dressed for bed and we can make popcorn and then watch it."

***

Two hours later, Angel sat on the couch, staring at the television in amazement. The movie's credits were rolling and he couldn't get over how much he'd enjoyed it. Mel Gibson had never been one of his favorite actors, but Angel couldn't help but like him after watching the movie.

'What an amazing gift to have,' he pondered. 'Being able to read people's thoughts. Especially women's. What I wouldn't give to be able to hear what Buffy is thinking right now. Is she thinking about me?'

When he looked to the right side of the couch, he saw his girlfriend sleeping with her head resting on a white throw pillow. The sight brought a smile to his face. 'So beautiful, so peaceful and sweet and innocent. How can anyone not love her?'

Despite his yearnings to be with her, Angel picked her up off the couch and carried her to the bedroom, where he covered her up with the heavy green comforter. He didn't have the heart to wake her up, no matter how much he wanted to.

'Maybe I had better go to bed too,' Angel decided. He went into the bathroom to take out his contact lenses and brush his teeth. Five minutes later, he climbed into bed next to Buffy. No sooner had he turned out the lights when she turned over in her sleep, pressing herself against him.

"Good night, love," Angel said before falling asleep himself.

***

"I still can't believe it," Buffy repeated for the third time that day, shaking her head. "How stupid could I be, falling asleep during the movie like that. Now I've probably ruined our entire weekend."

Angel took a sip of water. It was seven-thirty Friday night and Buffy had prepared the two of them a candlelight dinner. "You didn't ruin anything, I swear it."

"But I had plans for us last night!"

"And how much would you have enjoyed them if you were dead tired? Probably not a lot. You were tired, I understand."

She pouted. "I still feel awful about it."

"You can make it up to me later."

"Oh, I plan on it." She chewed a forkful of spaghetti. "Is everything okay? Do you like the spaghetti and meatballs I made?"

Angel nodded enthusiastically. "It's great. I've said it before and I'll say it again, you're a great cook."

"Thank you."

"So…um, when do classes start at UC Sunnydale?" he wanted to know.

"The day after Labor Day."

"Have you decided what you're going to take yet?"

"Yeah. Well, freshman don't register until next Friday, but I chose all my courses already. English 201, Introduction to Psychology, Survey of Calculus, Photography and Creative Writing. This way when we write back and forth, my letters will actually be interesting to read. I'm going to need to compete with those smart, pretty, creative girls at Emerson who'll be throwing themselves at you."

He smiled adoringly at her. "There's no competition. No Emerson girl could ever hold a candle to you."

***

Buffy stood by the door of the bedroom, surveying the decorating she had just completed. 'This looks perfect,' she said to herself. 'I only hope Angel thinks so, too.' Opening the door, she called out to him in the living room. "Angel! Come here, please!"

He ran down the hall to her. "What is it? Is something wrong?" When he saw what she had done, he stopped dead in his tracks. "Oh my god, Buffy. What have you done?"

She had placed white candles on every flat surface in the room. Soft music could be heard from the portable stereo on the dresser, the bedsheets had been turned down, and in the middle of the room stood Buffy. His heart pounded uncontrollably when he set his eyes on her. She wore an emerald green satin nightgown that fell to the floor. It matched her eyes perfectly, and her long blonde hair was tied up in a loose bun.

"Do you like it?" she asked.

"What…what's all this for?"

She walked a few steps toward him. "This is my way of making it up to you. For falling asleep last night."

"So you set up a seduction scene? You didn't have to go to all that trouble," Angel admonished.

"I wanted to. Besides, I had it planned out anyway. What do you think of my nightgown that I bought especially for tonight? Cordy helped me pick it out."

"It's lovely. The exact same color as your eyes." He smirked. "But it would look better on the floor in the morning."

Buffy took hold of his hands. "All in due time. But first you have to dance with me."

//Everybody's got something they had to leave behind
One regret from yesterday that just seems to grow with time
There's no use looking back on wondering
How it could be now or might've been
Oh, this I know but still I can't find ways to let you go

I never had a dream come true
'Til the day that I found you
Even thought I pretend that I've moved on
You'll always be my baby
I never found the words to say
You're the one I dream about each day
And I know no matter where life takes me to
A part of me will always be with you.\\

She held him close, knowing full-well that it might be the last time they'd be that close for a long time. Buffy didn't want to let a single moment slip by when they could be together. Every moment counted. But she wanted more than anything to be one with him just once more. 'It might be the last time for that, too,' she thought.

//Somewhere in my memory
I've lost all sense of time
And tomorrow can never be 'cause today is all that fills my mind
There's no use looking back on wondering
How it should be now or might've been
Oh, this I know but still I can't find ways to let you go

I never had a dream come true
'Til the day that I found you
Even thought I pretend that I've moved on
You'll always be my baby
I never found the words to say
You're the one I think about each day
And I know no matter where life takes me to
A part of me will always be with you\\

"I love you," she said. "Never forget that."

"I won't. I couldn't. You're on my mind every moment of every day."

She smiled sadly. "Good. 'Cause I don't know if I could live without you, Angel. If you ever found someone else, I'd die. I just know it."

***

At midnight, long after Angel had fallen asleep, Buffy lay wide awake in his arms. Her left hand traced circles on his chest, which rose and fell in time with his breathing. A single tear fell from her eye onto his arm.

"Don't leave. I changed my mind, Angel. Stay with me. I have a bad feeling that once you leave, we'll never be together. Don't go."

***