By Rachel
Part 2
Rating:
PG-13
~*~::~*+*~::~*+*~::~*+*~::~*+*~::~*+*~::~*+*~::~*+*~::~*+*~
The next morning,
Cordelia woke up to her alarm clock blasting staticy music; some old 50's song
that Cordy had never bothered to pay attention to and so didn't know the words
to, or even know who the band who made it was. And looking at the blinking time
reading 11 am, she slammed her fist down against the snooze button and snuggled
beneath the covers. Five minutes later, it went off again.
Cordelia rose in a
huff and flung the alarm clock across the room.
"I
reeeeaaly don't want to get up today," She sighed. The door pushed open and a
cup of freshly brewed coffee floated towards her. "Thanks, Dennis," She
grumbled as she accepted it. She took a long drink, and sighed, wishing that
for a moment, it'd been human fingers that had brought her that cup. Human
fingers belonging to a hot, warm blooded, all American guy…about six foot two,
a hundred and, oh, say, seventy five pounds or so? With dark hair and dark eyes
and a great tan and a great smile…oh, and wearing nothing but a towel because
he'd just gotten out of his girlfriend's—no, scratch that—fiancé's shower after
staying the night. And that fiancé, the one he completely adored and showered
with gifts and spoiled with affection, the one with the killer fashion sense
and the big, one carat diamond engagement ring on her ring finger, yeah, her!
Cordelia Chase! That's the one! Well, that fiancé was just EXHAUSTED because
the night before, he'd just given her the BEST night of sex she had ever had…!
Dennis
hit her with a pillow.
"OW." She scowled, and
recoiled as Dennis flew past. Just how in the hell was it that he could get
into her thoughts now? Just great. Now her ghost was jealous of not only the
real men in her life, but of the dream men too.
Cordelia frowned
hopelessly as she realized she was destined to be an old maid. Except instead
of living alone with her cats, it'd be with her ghost. And her only visitor
over the years would be a tall, dark, and handsome vampire who never got laid.
Oh, and people would wonder why this hot, young guy was always coming to the
apartment of an old spinster of a woman… Yes, she could see it now. All the
neighbors would talk, and they'd see him coming in the middle of the night, and
leaving before dawn… Hey, maybe they'd start a rumor that he was her young
lover!
Hey, at least there'd
be talk.
"With my luck, they'd
think he was my grandson," She sighed disgustedly. "I HAVE to find a boyfriend
before that happens." Cordelia finished her coffee, then leaving the bed in
complete disarray (after all, Dennis would fix it later, he always did) she
decided to hit the shower. After peeing first of course.
Within a half hour,
Cordelia was cleaned, blow dried, brushed, and now dressing for work. She couldn't
decide between a simple pair of black dress slacks, teal colored cotton knit
wrap-around top with tiny the gold flecks in it, strappy sandals and trendy
gold accessories, OR, blood red halter top, dark denim hip-huggers, suede
leather boots and silver bangle bracelet, OR, old gray sweat pants, navy v-neck
t-shirt with a small bleach stain near the collar, white hair scrunchy, and a
pair of super comfy but scuffed Keds.
She eyed outfit #3.
Would it really matter to the guys if she wore that to the office???
Probably
not.
But she just couldn't
bring herself to do it; she was so not ready to go there. She felt hopeless, but
not that hopeless.
And so she opted for
outfit #1; Smart. Simple. Basic. And just dressy enough in case they had to
have drinks with a client later…say possibly at some expensive, ritzy, upper
class nightclub…where she might just run into the man of her dreams…because, oh
yeah, That was going to happen.
Ah yes;
outfit #1. Dressy enough, yet comfortable enough without her looking like a
total slob.
She shoved the sweat
pants back into her dresser and slammed the drawer closed.
Seriously. No sweat
pants for Cordelia Chase…not yet anyway. Maybe after she hit the big 2-1. Maybe
then she'd give up hope and realize there was nothing left—scratch that—NO ONE
left— in her wasted life to look good for.
Superficial much? YES.
And no, looks shouldn't matter. But right now, that's all she owned stock in!
Cordelia finished
applying her makeup, and after securing her gold hoop earrings, casually
checked out her goods in the floor length mirror on the inside of her closet
door. Her eyes narrowed, and she ran her hands over the material of her pants
to her hips. Her brows knitted together and she halfway scowled as she ran her
hands down the front of her washboard smooth stomach, over her thighs, and then
around to her butt. The pants did flatter her shape perfectly.
She had a good
shape…she had a good body. Maybe she wasn't a Grecian goddess, but then who the
hell was! In fact, Cordelia thought, she had a great body! Didn't anyone
realize that anymore?
Cordelia sighed,
shoved the closet door closed, grabbed up her jacket and left.
~::~*+*~::~*+*~::~*+*~::~*+*~::~
She caught the local
bus into town, and after ignoring the very awkward and uncomfortable ogling of
a few different, and very strange men, one of which happened to be the bus
driver, (the jerks anyway) Cordelia made a last minute decision to stop and
pick up gourmet coffee for the guys.
As she
paid the girl at the counter, and waited for the drinks, she frowned and asked
herself why she was feeling so generous after the rousing time they'd given her
last night. Really! Calling her beautiful and radiant and all that crap! What
kind of mean joke were they trying to play! They didn't deserve coffee! Well,
Wes and Gunn didn't anyway…Angel, for once, hadn't done anything wrong. So, she
justified her purchase for him.
Of course, she was
buying herself a cup too.
But still! Stupid
Wesley! Stupid Gunn! If she hadn't of been half asleep, she probably would have
kicked their asses…
"Here ya go!" The girl
behind the counter said cheerfully.
"They don't deserve
it," She mumbled. The girl just smiled in confusion.
Cordelia growled but
took the bag containing the four steaming hot cups of coffee anyway, and then
headed back out onto the street to walk the last four blocks in. The Hyperion
loomed in the distance, and twice within her first ten steps, some guy blared
his horn at her and another gave a low wolf whistle. Cordelia felt the heat rising
in her face. Was it a full moon tonight? What the hell was wrong with people
today? Who gave them license to be perverts…
"Excuse me!"
Cordelia's head
snapped up and she paused ever so slightly to glare back in the direction of
the voice who'd called out to her.
"Excuse me, miss!"
A rather handsome, and
expensively dressed (as Cordelia immediately noticed) older man was slowly
standing from his seat and smiling at her from his table in the partioned off
outdoor patio of the café she'd just rushed out of.
"Me?" Cordelia's nose
wrinkled.
He smiled. "Yes, you,"
"What?" Cordelia had
turned now to face him, and didn't mean to answer quite so snippily. But
whatever he wanted, she was startled, and waiting, impatiently at that, and she
hoped that whatever he had to say, he would say it quickly so she could be on
her way. When he said nothing, just sat there, the barest hint of a smile on
his lips and an obvious leer in his eye, she felt her impatience peak. She
rolled her eyes and turned to leave.
"Oh, no, wait! Miss,
please!"
Cordelia paused.
"Look! I'm kinda in a
hurry here! Got coffee for four, and it's getting cold." She gestured at the
bag. He bowed his head apologetically, and she in turn placed an angry hand on
her hip and waited for him to get on with it. His eyes continued to linger.
"Whatever you're
staring at, take a picture. It lasts longer."
"I'm sorry. I didn't
mean to stare. Really. It's just…"
She raised a skeptic
brow as she waited for the lewd comment that was so obviously ready to spill out
of his mouth; what with the way his eyes were casing her up and down, he could
only be thinking of 'the nasty'. When she wondered if people ever noticed her
body, she hadn't meant this! Well, whatever this jackass had to say, it'd
better be good. And if it was lewd enough, she might just find a better use for
this coffee than drinking it…
Now she crossed her
arms sternly and cocked her head at him. Another moment passed, and Cordelia's
anger began to boil.
"Geez, come on
already!"
"You," He started, a love
struck look on his face. "You… I think you are perhaps the most beautiful woman
I have ever seen!" He looked relieved, finally, at getting that burning
confession off his chest, but then he looked completely uncomfortable and
noticeably embarrassed; he straightened his tie and cleared his throat and to
tell the honest truth, Cordelia just didn't know what to make of it. He watched
her impishly, like a child waiting for validation. It was sick, really.
Cordelia scoffed.
Normally a line like
that would have gotten him at least the finger, if not the hot coffee after
all, but the way he had said it…it didn't sound like the typical line. It was
cheesy, yes! But the way the words rolled off of his tongue… Something about it
seemed…almost…sincere?
Nah!
"If I had a dollar for
every time I heard that," And Cordelia started to walk again. She silently
added to herself, 'I probably wouldn't have very many dollars…'
"No!" He called out
quickly, almost desperately. "I'm entirely serious! You have such…such confidence!
Such grace! You radiate something powerful!"
Huh? Grace? Who, me?
Cordelia spun around
to stare at him again. And he was blushing.
"I...I'm sorry, Miss.
I don't know why I stopped you to say that. I don't know why, but I just had to
say it." He was shaking his head in confusion, and he seemed to be trying very
hard to redeem himself in her eyes. "I am a married man, and happily, please
believe me. And I have daughters your age, and I meant no harm! Believe me!
It's just that…when I looked up and saw you walk past, I was…well…" He shrugged
apologetically. "Floored. You must know how attractive you are, and I'm sorry
if I've said anything to offend you. I do admire the man you must have wrapped
around your finger, though. And I imagine he's quite deserving to be blessed
with the love of someone as radiant as you…"
Floored.
He said 'floored'.
And a man?
Wrapped around her finger??? HA!
Now Cordelia was
floored. She stared at him, mouth agape, frown on her brow, but all the anger
had evaporated whilst she stood there helplessly. Floored??? What could she say
to that!
The man again shyly
told her he was sorry, and then awkwardly began to turn his back to her as he
slid back into his seat.
"Well, er, thanks."
She managed to mumble. His eyes again met hers briefly, and he gave her a wide,
genuine smile, not the least bit perverted or anything, and Cordelia felt
herself begin to blush.
The color rose in her
face making her skin glow all the more. She turned slowly back in the direction
of the hotel, fumbling awkwardly as a smile began to crease her face.
Floored, huh?
With a few steps, she
dropped her arms, even swinging the coffee bag ever so slightly, and then
suddenly there was a spring in her step, and she lifted her head and she walked
with a smile, and who could ever know that a compliment, a really GOOD
compliment, from a stranger like that could do that much good?
Her self-confidence
flared.
Cordelia got many more
compliments as she made the rest of her way to work. Oh, and she still got
plenty of catcalls, and whistles, and beeping horns too. Damn horny men,
anyway. Sometimes they just couldn't control themselves. It was disgusting.
~::~*+*~::~*+*~::~*+*~::~*+*~::~
"Angel, do you know
where Cordelia left those files?" Wesley asked, preoccupied as he went about;
picking through piles of paperwork here and there that Cordelia purposely kept
about the office.
They were
her "necessary" piles.
In Cordelia's defense,
everyone has their own filing system. And piles worked! For her. So don't knock
it, till you've tried it.
"Which
one?" Angel asked as he read the paper. His voice lacked the enthusiasm Wesley
was looking for, and Wesley snapped angrily… Well, it was angry for Wesley.
"Oh, damn this bloody
mess anyway!" He cursed. In a huff he swatted the pile in question, sending it
careening to the floor. Angel casually dropped his paper to look at where the
mess scattered across the carpeting. He said nothing, but raising his paper,
went back to his reading. He even had the nerve to lean back in his chair and
put his feet up on his desk. Wesley stared at him disdainfully.
"She's your seer, ya
know! You could make her manage these things a little better! Do her job, for
once…"
Angel rolled his eyes
from behind the newsprint.
"…She gets away with
murder around here!" Wesley fitted on. "Well, not murder as in MURDER, but she
definitely gets away with laziness! SLACK! She is the bloody secretary, after
all! She should be looking after the files in a bit more…" He regarded the mess
on the floor. "…Organized fashion! Really, Angel! Would you please talk to her
about this…it's ridiculous!"
"Wes," Angel sighed.
"Why don't you talk to her?" He set down his paper again and gave the
watcher his best apathetic look. "We're a unit here, after all. And besides,
I'm not the boss anymore, remember?"
Wesley thought about
this. "Well, yes, I know that! It's just that…that…she…well…Look at this mess,
Angel! This is not a business! It's a disaster!"
Angel glanced at the
floor.
"From what I saw, you
made that mess,"
"Well,
yes! I mean, I knocked it to the floor. But she…she…Cordelia…she leaves the
paperwork scattered about! And I can't for the life of me find anything
pertaining to this case!"
"Why don't you just
wait for Cordy to come in, and then ask her to find it. She should be here soon
anyway, and besides, Cordy's got this stuff set up…" He eyed the piles. "In her
own special way. She's got everything at her fingertips…she can find anything
in a heartbeat. You know that. So relax…stop complaining…show a little faith.
Cordy's a fine secretary…just don't let her know we call her that,"
"Oh, bother," Wesley
groaned.
Gunn came bounding in.
"YO, did you find that
file?"
"No!"
Angel smiled to
himself and went back to reading his paper.
"Angel says to just
wait for Cordelia to come in and ask her to find it," Wesley crossed his arms
sourly.
Gunn eyed the mess.
"Yeah, maybe we should. I don't want to mess up her filing system."
"This is not a bloody
filing system!" Wesley said hotly. "Filing system, BAH! I'm so tired of… IT'S
JUST A BUNCH OF PILES, for gods sakes!"
"What the hell is
wrong with my piles!"
The two of them looked
up to see Cordelia struggling to push through the glass doors of the Hyperion
with the bag of coffee in her hand. She, although frowning at the door, and
scrunching up her nose in earnest, looked absolutely cheerful. She wasn't the
least bit grouchy with them, and she'd already forgotten about last night.
Cordelia smiled inwardly, reliving the earlier compliment from the man on the
street…
Oh! It'd take A LOT to
get her down today! And a little bitching from Wesley wasn't going to do it!
Cordelia practically felt on top of the world.
Any sort of resentment
in Wesley diminished and he found himself staring at her helplessly. Gunn also
stared, and Cordelia, finally squeezing through the heavy doors, came walking
up. She smirked at their faces and brushed past them to Angel's desk. Their
eyes followed her every movement as she set down the bag of coffee and glanced
at Angel hidden behind his newsprint shield. She ripped the paper from his
hands, and shoved his feet from the desk and Angel sat up with a start. He was
about to say something when his eyes took in the sight of her and he paused.
She was taking the
coffee from the bag, ignoring the three of them completely, and going on about
her task in her usual manner. She picked up her coffee cup and removing the
lid, sipped the foam from the top. It was hot, and she licked her lips before
carefully taking another drink.
Angel did a double
take. There was something strangely different about her. New make-up? A new
haircut or color maybe? No, he didn't think so. But there was something, he was
definitely noticing something. But he couldn't pinpoint what it was in the
split second he had to contemplate it before he realized how Gunn and Wesley
were staring at her. His head slowly turned towards them and he watched,
baffled, at the way their eyes seemed to devour her. If he didn't know better,
and maybe he didn't, they seemed to be undressing her with their eyes!
Angel frowned. It made
him uncomfortable, and so he cleared his throat loudly and gave them both
scolding glances. Wesley blinked, and Gunn licked his lips, and they
immediately ceased whatever it was they were thinking at that second, but neither
pair of eyes moved off of Cordelia.
"So, I brought you all
coffee," Cordelia smiled, oblivious to their silence. She glanced between the
three men, and now sensed a slight intensity suddenly overtaking the room. She
thought nothing of it though, and when no one responded, she picked up a cup
and shoved it in Wesley's face. Wesley flinched, his eyes finally dropping to
the cup now, and with both hands, he reached up and took it from her. He almost
trembled as his fingers briefly touched hers.
"Vanilla." Cordelia
said. "You're fave, Wes!" She offered him a huge smile. Wes felt his knees
began to wobble.
"Oh, er, uh, why, uh,
thank you, thank you so very much,"
"And Mocha for you!"
She handed out a cup to Gunn. He rushed forward eagerly to accept it from her,
and Cordelia showed a puzzled expression when he gripped it in his hands,
taking her fingers with it, and wouldn't let go. She pulled twice, hard, and
finally was freed. He still didn't say anything, but she finally noticed him
staring at her. Cordelia's eyes went wide, and her smile faltered just a
little. "Oooookaaaaay…" She turned away, still feeling his eyes on her back,
but shrugging it off handed the last cup to Angel. "And Hazelnut for you!! With
a touch of cinnamon, I figured you like it on your blood, why not on your
coffee too, right! And oh, it smells so good! I got Irish Crème myself…"
"Thanks," He said,
offering her a small smile, and trying not to stare. He turned his attention to
the two stuttering buffoons at her back and waited for one of them to do
something stupid.
Wesley took too large
a sip and almost burned himself when it spilled down his shirt…he'd been
staring too intently at Cordelia. And Gunn did burn his mouth, and turning away
slightly let a small hiss of a curse slip out. He, too, had been staring too
intently at Cordy to even drink his coffee correctly. Angel didn't get it.
What was going on? Why
were they acting this way? Last night when they'd gotten in, they'd acted much
the same way, tripping over them selves to get the privilege of driving
Cordelia home. When did driving Cordelia anywhere become a privilege??? And
just what was so dandy about their co-worker today that they stared at her like
she was a piece of meat instead of their beloved, little, pain-in-the-ass Cordy!!!
What was going on!
Angel scowled as he
realized they'd been fine all morning, until Cordelia came in…
Angel slumped in his
chair. Something was up. And why was he all of a sudden staring at her too!
Angel averted his eyes
and focused on his coffee. He took a sip. OW! It was hot! Angel winced at the
burn on his tongue and quickly set the cup down. Cordelia had started to pick
up the mess that Wesley had made, and was muttering under her breath about how
she has to do all the work around here…
She still sounded
happy though.
"Ask her about he
file," Gunn muttered to Wes, his eyes leaving Cordelia only for a moment before
he realized she was bending down to clean up the floor. He leaned forward, eyes
trailing downward, and was slightly disappointed when he realized her shirt fit
her very well, and there would be no peek at her…well, you get the picture.
"Huh? Oh, yes, the
file," Wesley said, remembering himself and straightening his collar. He'd been
waiting for a sneak of cleavage too.
"What file?" Cordelia
asked.
That voice! It was
musical! Wesley halted and began staring at her again.
"We...we were
looking…for a file," Gunn stammered when Wesley didn't answer.
"Which one?" Cordelia
asked.
"The uh…uh…uh…" Gunn
shook his head. He was at a loss. Her eyes…they were so big. And hazel.
And…sparkly. He elbowed Wesley.
Wesley gasped. "Oh!
The um…er, um…"
Great, Wes was finally
back in the conversation.
Cordelia gave Angel a
funny look, but he shrugged, struggling to prove that he was obviously as lost
as she was, and so she turned back, waiting for Wesley to spit out whatever was
plaguing him. Angel found his head cocking to the side as his eyes trailed down
her back, and followed the curve of her hips, lower and lower, to the curve of
her…
He quickly sat up
straight and focused on the disarrayed files.
Cordy cocked her head
impatiently while Wes and Gunn continued to stammer at eachother. To her
astonishment, they turned red and suddenly started to giggle.
And blush.
And turning to
eachother, they agreed that it wasn't really that important and to just forget
about it.
"But…" Angel looked
down at the pile on the floor. "Wesley, you said—"
"Oh, it's all right!"
Wesley exclaimed. "It's not really important! We…we…we realty don't need it!"
"Yeah, it's no big
deal," Gunn agreed. "Not a big deal at all, nope, not big."
"Well, if you guys are
working on something," Cordelia said.
"Nah, it's fine,
Cordy!" Gunn grinned.
He. Grinned. Like,
really big. And like, for no reason. Cordelia eyed him carefully.
"Then I'm just going
to clean this mess up, I guess,"
Wes and Gunn glanced
at eachother and jumped.
"WE'LL HELP YOU!"
"Oh, gee, thanks
guys," Cordelia said uneasily as they scrambled for papers, grinning huge
grins, like a couple of schoolboys. Or actually, to better describe it, like a
couple of idiots. Cordelia shook her head slightly and reached for a manila
folder, but both Wesley and Gunn snatched it up first, and each holding it at
one end, they started to tug at it, and glare at eachother as the other tried
to claim it for themselves.
Angel watched with a
strange fascination. Wes and Gunn were acting really bizarre. And
Cordelia…sweet, little, pretty Cordelia, just sat between them watching in
amusement.
PRETTY??? Where had
that come from?
Angel crossed his arms
and cleared his throat. Wes and Gunn had started to bicker about the folder.
Cordelia calmly reached forward, resting one of her soft, smooth looking,
slender hands on each of their regular hands, and stopped the fight. With a
slow smile from each of them, they released the folder into her possession and
with a smile from her, the three continued on their task.
Angel had the urge to
jump to the floor with them to help Cordelia clean up the mess…
This is where Angel
decided to go out and get some air. He quickly crossed the floor, grabbed his
jacket and started towards the basement door.
"I'm going on a little
sewer walk," He said.
"Okay," Cordelia
nodded. He paused to watch her from the door.
She leaned gracefully
out to catch another piece of stray paperwork and as she reached for it, her
entire body slendered and extended like a cat. Angel felt an unfamiliar
stirring within him. Okay, was that a butterfly that just flew through his
stomach, or what? It was weird. It kind of tickled. And fluttered. And didn't
feel normal at all. Oh, there was definitely something weird going on here,
that was for sure.
Glancing at Wes and
Gunn, he quickly left. Neither Wesley nor Gunn realized he'd gone; both were
too busy chatting away to Cordelia; both trying to top the other's conversation
as they crawled around on the floor on their hands and knees to assist her.
Cordelia grinned. She
was suddenly liking all this much needed attention! Checking her out, rushing
to help her clean up the office… Hey, if they wanted to help, who was she to
stop them?
~::~*+*~::~*+*~::~*+*~::~*+*~::~