Chapter Thirteen
They drove back to the hotel in silence sitting so close that anyone they met would have thought there was only one person in the car. Susan had both arms wrapped tightly around him and he felt the occasional tremble and gasp for air against him. He knew the pain that she felt, but he had to be strong for her. But none-the-less a tear slid down over his cheek. He had felt pain before over Buffy and Darla, but this pain was none like he before. This he knew was the most human he felt in over two hundred years. As much as he wanted to be human again this was an experience he never wanted to feel again.
He parked the car and shut it off, but they sat just holding each other. How in such a short time could they have developed such a strong intense passion?
After twenty minutes Susan looked up to Angel's face and wiped away a tear with a gently hand. "I knew they were going to take you away from me."
Angel leaned over and kissed away her tears, "We'll make this last forever." But as he kissed her mouth and felt the urgency surge through him he knew that their forever would not be long enough.
"Come on, let's go home," he said as he offered her his hand. They walked slowly toward the door. They went inside and in silence they sat on the small couch together still holding hands.
"What do we do now?" Susan finally asked and Angel just shrugged his shoulders. She continued, "I guess we will just have to make the best of it. We've been given what we want. We can wait until we can't wait anymore and it will be so special that we will just have to make it do for the rest of our lives. I've been telling people for years, life is what you make of it ... seize the moment. Angel, I love you with my whole being and I'm going to make sure that if you live another two hundred years you will not double it for a second."
"Why is it that I've known you for only two weeks and it feels like I've loved you forever and that a piece of me that was missing is back in place," Angel asked.
"I don't know, but I feel it too. Maybe we were lovers in a past life, who knows? It seems as if anything is possible. Let's go to bed, I'm really tired. We can figure this out later. At least they didn't limit our time together completely."
They were just starting up the stairs when a very light knock came at the door. Angel went to open it and found Wesley and the others there. Wesley had half expected Angel to be angry but he was met with an invitation in. "You could have used your key."
"We just wanted to bring a few things over for you," Gunn brought in a box of various items.
"The champagne was my idea," Cordy chimed.
"I found a C.D. with your songs on it," Wesley added.
Then Gunn with a big smile said, "There's some whipped cream and cherries ... always worked for me."
"We were kind of hoping we would be having a bachelor party instead," Wesley lightly laughed.
"Why don't we?" Susan's eyes lighting up. "If we are going to do this we should do it right. What do you think, Angel? Just a small party?"
"Sure, if you'd like."
Cordelia was excited to be planning a party, "We'll make the arrangements."
"Cordy, a small party," Angel expressed 'small' "For now I think we need some sleep." He followed Susan up the stairs, and then quietly said to her, "You sure you want to let them have a party? Cordy can tend to over do things." They went into Angel's room and closed the door.
"They need to do something for us, let them, and lets just enjoy it."
"I don't like parties much."
"I've never been to a real one before, drug parties don't count, so for me then?"
"I'd do anything for you," he said pulling her close to him roughly.
"Anything?"
"Anything!"
"Well, let's go to bed then, and sleep, I'm exhausted."
Susan walked through the door joining Angel's room to the one she had occupied. "You are going to sleep with me, aren't you?" Angel called to her.
"I'll be back in a minute. I want to use a mirror to take this make-up off." She came back into his room wearing Cordy's gift of flannel pyjamas.
"You are not wearing those in my bed! '
"And what do you suppose I should wear? Besides you are naked under those covers."
"I am not." They both grinned at each other.
"You are so, and we are going to practice abstinence, right?"
"Right, so come to bed."
Susan sat on the bed next to Angel. "I know it is hard, pardon the pun, but we have to make this last as long as we can. I know you just want to fool around, but we might get to the point where there is no fooling."
"Okay, okay, you win." Angel grabbed his robe off of the chair by the bed and pulled two pair of boxers and a T-shirt out of a drawer. Throwing a pair and the shirt at Susan, "But wear these okay. In the dark I might think I'm sleeping with some old granny."
"Oh, you are mean!" Susan said throwing her p.j. top at him and pulling on the t-shirt then switching the bottoms. Angel slid back into bed but Susan threw back the covers and jumped on top of him. "I guess I'll have to teach you a lesson." She held his wrists on the bed and kissed him hard. He stayed there in submission, but she rolled back on to her side of the bed. "This is going to be worse than I thought!"
Angel pulled the covers over them. "Its okay, let's just go to sleep." Susan cuddled up to him putting her head on his shoulder and running her fingers over his chest.
In the darkness Angel felt the dampness of tears. "What's wrong?" he asked.
"I don't know how I will be able to live without you."
"Maybe we will just have to abstain for a long, long time. I think I would rather have you with me than have a day of pleasure anyway."
"I love you."
"Me too." His lips very gently touched her forehead. Already daylight was trying to squeeze past the dark drapes.
They had been sleeping several hours when Susan started kissing Angel's neck very passionately, coming up and over to his mouth. Of course he responded until he realized she was sleeping, and once again calling her lover, "Alexander".
"Susan, Susan, wake up." She sat on top of him, but using another man's name was not a good turn on. He held her firmly by the shoulders and again said, "Susan, wake up."
'Angel ... no wonder that dream was so real!"
"Who were you making love to?"
"You of course!"
"Are you sure?"
"Yes! We had been out riding horses and when we got to the stable we went up in the loft and started making love."
"You called me Alexander."
"No ... it was you, Angel. You had long hair, tied back, but it was you." Worried she continued, "Honestly, I don't know an Alexander. It must have been just a strange dream. You were calling me Lizzie. We were even using some English accent or something."
They lay together very quietly. There were so many pieces to this puzzle and it seemed that only now were some of them starting to fit together.
"Angel, what was your name before Darla named you Angelus?"
"I don't remember, but I'm starting to think it was Alexander. I've been having dreams too."
"What kind of dreams?"
"Mostly making love to you," he said as he quickly moved on top of her and pinned her hands above her head with one of his own. "Going to teach me a lesson were you?" His mouth came down hard on hers, then moved gently dotting kisses down her neck as his other hand pulled down the neck of the t-shirt. He started nuzzling in between her breasts and just as Susy started to make quiet sounds of moaning he let go of her and jumped out of bed. "Let's go get breakfast."
"You do have a mean streak!"
"Hey, remember we still have to practice," Angel said with a laugh.
They both pulled on their jeans and went downstairs hand in hand.
"Hey lovers, how ya doin?" Cordy asked as she covered the sender on the phone, "just making party plans."
"Cordy remember a small party!"
"Right boss," she said with a smile.
They went to the fridge and found it to be fully stocked, mainly with what appeared to be appetizers. "I've never known Cordy to do anything in a small way," Angel sighed.
"I've never had a party before - this should be fun," Susan enjoyed a small pastry.
"If you say so," Angel said as he got a glass of blood. "What do you want to do?"
"Seeing as it is noon I guess we are limited."
"Oh, I can go out, special clothes and sunscreen, lots of sunscreen."
"Is there somewhere we could go horseback riding?"
"You like horseback riding?"
"I haven't ridden for years, but so often in my dreams we are riding together."
"I haven't either but it sounds like fun ... let's do it. I think there is a stable near Drummond Park.
They got ready and waved to Cordy as they went out the door.
"Don't be late ... nine o'clock!"