Chapter 13
Buffy sat there anxiously, waiting for Faith to finish her breakfast so that she could talk about Angel. Not that she was anxious to talk about her new feelings, just anxious for the whole discussion to be over with. Plus, she had to meet the man in a few hours, and she didn't think she could handle it very well if she didn't have some separation of time between talking about him and seeing him. But Faith ate at her own speed enjoying the delicious taste of the food, and also the slightly nauseated expression on Buffy's face. Finally, she finished.
"Finally," Buffy began. "Okay." She took a deep breath. "I'll start at the beginning. I walked into the office. I saw this amazingly handsome man. I thought a little about how yummy he looked in leather pants, but then I remembered the reason I was there. I told him all about Riley and his murder. Actually, before that I totally embarrassed myself when all these words came out wrong. But then we were talking about the murder. He asked questions, I answered. Then he asked me to dinner, to talk more about the case. I said yes. Then, the rest of the day, I just kept thinking about him. I think I'm in love with him. I think it was love at first site. I feel so guilty because Riley's dead, yet I'm so happy because when I'm with him I feel special. When he touched, only to shake hands, I felt sparkage. I don't know what to do. I'm meeting him again in a little while. And then our dinner is tonight."
Her two friends thought carefully before answering. They both understood why she was feeling so conflicted, but neither knew what to say. Faith said that she had been the one with experiences closest to Buffy's, but the two guys had been alive, not one dead. Dawn had never been through anything like this. So Buffy finally decided to just play it cool. She wouldn't think too much about liking Angel, she would just relax and be concerned with finding out who murdered Riley. And who was trying to murder her.
Joyce had woken up fully refreshed from her night alone with her husband. She had made breakfast, then left to get to the gallery. She was only slightly surprised to find that neither of her daughters was there yet. But she assumed that they were still asleep, giving extra rest to their exhausted bodies. So Joyce opened up and got everything prepared to open. Then people came and she was so busy for the next hour that she didn't even notice that Buffy and Dawn weren't there. Just as she was getting worried, the two girls walked in. They smiled at their mother, and then set to work. About two hours later, Buffy left to have her second meeting with Liam Connor. And, thinking about Angel, she walked happily through the streets of Sunnydale.
Angel looked at the clock to see what time it was. Big mistake! The coffee he was trying to drink at the same time spilled down the front of his shirt. And his client would be coming in about five or ten minutes. The only lucky factor was that Cordelia had made the coffee. As much as everyone at the office loved Cordy, her coffee-making skills were just not that great. So the normally hot drink was only lukewarm and, therefore, did not burn Angel. Still, he swore because now he had a huge stain on the front of his black silk shirt. Doyle came in and saw what had happened, then quickly ran to the next room and grabbed the only spare men's shirt in the place: a red cotton one. As soon as Angel had put it on, Buffy walked in to begin the session of questions.
She looked at the crumpled black garment on the floor, then at the red shirt, before suddenly blushing. She was actually thinking about how nice it would have been to come just a little earlier. She would have seen this gorgeous man without a shirt on. But then she quickly gave up her slightly naughty thoughts and Angel began asking questions. She answered and the time flew by quickly. Angel found himself asking personal questions that were not a part of the normal process, yet Buffy answered them anyway. She talked about her friends, her school life, her college years, and her family. But as soon as Angel asked a few questions about her parents, the blonde quickly shut her mouth.
"Well," Angel said, "I think that's about enough for right now. I will see you tonight, then. About seven?" Buffy nodded. "Great! I'll pick you up. And wear semi-formal clothing. It's a pretty nice restaurant." And Angel left the room in a hurry to avoid her questions about why he had chosen such a nice place to eat. Buffy went downstairs, chatted with Cordelia awhile, then left. She returned to the gallery and worked until five. She then went home to get ready for her big date. *No, Buffy. It's not a date,* she told herself. *It's just another meeting to find out more about Riley. Even though it is at a fancy restaurant. And even though this morning most of the questions were about me.*
Angel pulled up at 6:55 and beeped the horn once. Buffy walked outside in a dark red cocktail dress. She was wearing strappy red high heels and she had her hair swept into an elegant French twist. Angel had to swallow several times before he could talk properly.
"Wow! You look."
"Stunning! Gorgeous! Absolutely breathtaking!" she supplied at his loss of words.
"All of the above," came his response. Buffy smiled. He opened the door for her and she got into his car. They went to a little Italian bistro restaurant that wasn't really well known. They ate and talked and neither one really cared that none of the questions concerned Riley's murder. After a delicious dessert of tiramisu, Angel and Buffy walked outside. They looked around for Angel's car and discovered that it was missing. He went inside to call the police, when suddenly a waiter handed him a slip of paper. It read: Angel, Took the car because something urgent came up. Sorry if it's an inconvenience. I'll return it tomorrow, first thing in the morning. Hope everything is going well with your 'client.' See you at work tomorrow, where you will tell me everything. Thanks, Doyle.
Angel walked outside to see Buffy staring at the stars. She took his breath away; she was so beautiful. He walked over to her and explained the situation. She said that she understood and would be happy to walk home instead. So they set off under the moonlight, heading towards 1630 Revello Drive. [A/N: I know that this is Buffy's mom's house in the show, but in this fic it's the Finn house. Joyce and Giles live in Giles' apartment, but it's a little different. Imagine it bigger and with more rooms.] The two were so at ease that neither noticed the dark shadow following them.
Buffy sat there anxiously, waiting for Faith to finish her breakfast so that she could talk about Angel. Not that she was anxious to talk about her new feelings, just anxious for the whole discussion to be over with. Plus, she had to meet the man in a few hours, and she didn't think she could handle it very well if she didn't have some separation of time between talking about him and seeing him. But Faith ate at her own speed enjoying the delicious taste of the food, and also the slightly nauseated expression on Buffy's face. Finally, she finished.
"Finally," Buffy began. "Okay." She took a deep breath. "I'll start at the beginning. I walked into the office. I saw this amazingly handsome man. I thought a little about how yummy he looked in leather pants, but then I remembered the reason I was there. I told him all about Riley and his murder. Actually, before that I totally embarrassed myself when all these words came out wrong. But then we were talking about the murder. He asked questions, I answered. Then he asked me to dinner, to talk more about the case. I said yes. Then, the rest of the day, I just kept thinking about him. I think I'm in love with him. I think it was love at first site. I feel so guilty because Riley's dead, yet I'm so happy because when I'm with him I feel special. When he touched, only to shake hands, I felt sparkage. I don't know what to do. I'm meeting him again in a little while. And then our dinner is tonight."
Her two friends thought carefully before answering. They both understood why she was feeling so conflicted, but neither knew what to say. Faith said that she had been the one with experiences closest to Buffy's, but the two guys had been alive, not one dead. Dawn had never been through anything like this. So Buffy finally decided to just play it cool. She wouldn't think too much about liking Angel, she would just relax and be concerned with finding out who murdered Riley. And who was trying to murder her.
Joyce had woken up fully refreshed from her night alone with her husband. She had made breakfast, then left to get to the gallery. She was only slightly surprised to find that neither of her daughters was there yet. But she assumed that they were still asleep, giving extra rest to their exhausted bodies. So Joyce opened up and got everything prepared to open. Then people came and she was so busy for the next hour that she didn't even notice that Buffy and Dawn weren't there. Just as she was getting worried, the two girls walked in. They smiled at their mother, and then set to work. About two hours later, Buffy left to have her second meeting with Liam Connor. And, thinking about Angel, she walked happily through the streets of Sunnydale.
Angel looked at the clock to see what time it was. Big mistake! The coffee he was trying to drink at the same time spilled down the front of his shirt. And his client would be coming in about five or ten minutes. The only lucky factor was that Cordelia had made the coffee. As much as everyone at the office loved Cordy, her coffee-making skills were just not that great. So the normally hot drink was only lukewarm and, therefore, did not burn Angel. Still, he swore because now he had a huge stain on the front of his black silk shirt. Doyle came in and saw what had happened, then quickly ran to the next room and grabbed the only spare men's shirt in the place: a red cotton one. As soon as Angel had put it on, Buffy walked in to begin the session of questions.
She looked at the crumpled black garment on the floor, then at the red shirt, before suddenly blushing. She was actually thinking about how nice it would have been to come just a little earlier. She would have seen this gorgeous man without a shirt on. But then she quickly gave up her slightly naughty thoughts and Angel began asking questions. She answered and the time flew by quickly. Angel found himself asking personal questions that were not a part of the normal process, yet Buffy answered them anyway. She talked about her friends, her school life, her college years, and her family. But as soon as Angel asked a few questions about her parents, the blonde quickly shut her mouth.
"Well," Angel said, "I think that's about enough for right now. I will see you tonight, then. About seven?" Buffy nodded. "Great! I'll pick you up. And wear semi-formal clothing. It's a pretty nice restaurant." And Angel left the room in a hurry to avoid her questions about why he had chosen such a nice place to eat. Buffy went downstairs, chatted with Cordelia awhile, then left. She returned to the gallery and worked until five. She then went home to get ready for her big date. *No, Buffy. It's not a date,* she told herself. *It's just another meeting to find out more about Riley. Even though it is at a fancy restaurant. And even though this morning most of the questions were about me.*
Angel pulled up at 6:55 and beeped the horn once. Buffy walked outside in a dark red cocktail dress. She was wearing strappy red high heels and she had her hair swept into an elegant French twist. Angel had to swallow several times before he could talk properly.
"Wow! You look."
"Stunning! Gorgeous! Absolutely breathtaking!" she supplied at his loss of words.
"All of the above," came his response. Buffy smiled. He opened the door for her and she got into his car. They went to a little Italian bistro restaurant that wasn't really well known. They ate and talked and neither one really cared that none of the questions concerned Riley's murder. After a delicious dessert of tiramisu, Angel and Buffy walked outside. They looked around for Angel's car and discovered that it was missing. He went inside to call the police, when suddenly a waiter handed him a slip of paper. It read: Angel, Took the car because something urgent came up. Sorry if it's an inconvenience. I'll return it tomorrow, first thing in the morning. Hope everything is going well with your 'client.' See you at work tomorrow, where you will tell me everything. Thanks, Doyle.
Angel walked outside to see Buffy staring at the stars. She took his breath away; she was so beautiful. He walked over to her and explained the situation. She said that she understood and would be happy to walk home instead. So they set off under the moonlight, heading towards 1630 Revello Drive. [A/N: I know that this is Buffy's mom's house in the show, but in this fic it's the Finn house. Joyce and Giles live in Giles' apartment, but it's a little different. Imagine it bigger and with more rooms.] The two were so at ease that neither noticed the dark shadow following them.
