Chapter Four -- Flirting
"Tell me what you think," Cordelia beamed at Wesley. She was smiling again. That same flirty smile.
"About?"
"My idea for the filing system. It's good?"
Actually it was exactly what he would have done, even with the cross-referencing.
"Yes, quite. If you want me to take over."
"No." Well, that settled that. He knew she'd never let him help, much less turn over control of the new system. "I want to do it together. It'll go faster. You know how much I like working with you one-on-one."
Wesley smiled at her. Maybe she did have an epiphany. Or maybe she did want a raise. Well, he wasn't the boss. Just as long as he didn't lose any of his salary, as meager as it was.
They started working, arranging the files in logical order, not Cordelia order. She chatted about some of the things she'd read lately. Wesley realized that she knew quite a bit about world affairs.
"You want some coffee? Or some tea. It is the afternoon. I can heat up some water if you want."
Was this the new, epiphany improved Cordelia? Maybe it would be nice to have her around.
"Tea would be lovely."
Wesley kept working as Cordelia went about the business of fixing tea for him. When she handed him a steaming cup of his favorite tea. It smelled delicious. His stomach grumbled loudly in response.
"I have this new recipe I want to try out and you know, hey, just for one person is kind of boring. So I was wondering if you want to come over tonight for dinner."
Cordelia stood close to him, smiling. He could get used to this. Way too used to it. What he wouldn't do for a home-cooked meal. He was a terrible cook.
"Really? That would be great. What time?"
"How about after we finish here? It's four something and nothing is happening here tonight. Angel has disappeared again upstairs and I haven't seen Gunn in ages." Cordelia sipped her coffee, beaming at him.
"We should probably see if Gunn is hungry."
"Nope. I gave him lunch today. Now's your turn. I like my guys to have equal and undivided attention." Then she winked at him. God, where had the girl learned to flirt. He tugged at his collar a little, feeling it tighten ever so slightly.
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Masella laughed and laughed. These males were such suckers for their female. She had drunk enough of the elixir to mess with their heads for days. By the end of the week, the three of them would be bowing at her feet, doing her bidding. Then he'd turn the tables. Humans were so gullible.
He thought the smart, skinny one would figure out something was wrong, but he was the most gullible. He wanted her approval the most. The vampire would be harder to fool with his scheme. And if he found that Masella had been living in the basement, well, his life could get very complicated. So he'd stay out of the vampire's way.
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Cordelia led the way into her apartment, telling Wesley to relax. "I'm going to change. Take a seat already. Put your feet up."
Wesley tried to relax. "Hello, Dennis," he called. Always good to be in with the resident ghost, just in case something went wrong. Dennis flipped a light on and off in greeting.
When Cordelia had invited him over for dinner, Wesley couldn't believe his ears. She had only invited him over before begrudgingly. Never had she indicated that she wanted to spend dinner with him, not that they hadn't before. But work was different in his mind. This didn't seem like work-related. He'd treat it as such until Cordelia told him otherwise.
He'd brought his list of pros and cons with him this morning to discuss with the group, trying to find a compromise between the four of them that could work. He just didn't want to abandon their mission because of a little bickering. They'd get through it just like any other crisis they'd handled.
But Cordelia's actions today threw him for a loop, he had to admit. She never said she was sorry, she never made coffee unless forced, and she never let anyone make any suggestions about her filing system. He still didn't know if he liked the changes she had made overnight though.
Wesley liked sparring verbally with the woman. She was witty and intelligent. And she never missed an opportunity to make a snarky comment on something he'd done. None of which she had done today. He knew she never in the past meant to hurt his feelings, but sometimes he wished she would think before talking.
"Hey, Wes, hon. What do you want to drink?" Cordelia called from the kitchen. Wesley got up from the couch to head there.
She had changed into sweats and a short top, exposing her flat, tan stomach. How she ever found the time to have a tan was beyond him. She had pulled her hair back in a loose ponytail. No matter what that girl wore, she always looked wonderful.
"I have some beers and a bottle of wine in the frig."
"I'll open the wine, if you don't mind." Cordelia handed him the corkscrew and he set to work opening the wine. She smiled at him again.
She got to work making dinner, chatting about how she learned to cook from the staff her father had employed because she was bored one weekend. From then on, she made dinner for herself.
"Cook used to supervise, but he was such a good teacher, I just picked it up. I once made dinner for Daddy and fourteen of his friends and he never knew."
"Really? Why didn't you tell him?"
"Oh, he would have had a cow. Me in the kitchen? No way, no how."
Cordelia chuckled at the memory. She moved over to where Wesley was leaning up against the counter. The kitchen was hot and steamy from the cooking. She reached behind him, grazing his arm with hers to get something.
"I need the tongs."
"Oh, here they are," Wesley told her. As he handed them to her, their hands grazed. She smiled again. He smiled again. Damn, she was good, he thought.
The dinner went off without any other touching. Wesley actually enjoyed himself immensely. This was the first real date he had in the longest time.
Oops, stop, his mind commanded. This was not a date, this was Cordelia. One of his best friends in the whole world. He would try not to think of her in that way.
After they had coffee, decaf this time since it seemed Cordelia had at least two pots at the office, Wesley officially made the decision it was time to go home.
"I should be getting home now," he said as he was standing up from the couch where the two had settled after dinner.
"I'm really glad you could come over and try that new recipe tonight. Maybe another night we can try this new Mexican dish I just learned."
Cordelia led him to the door. "Thanks again. I'll see you tomorrow." She was making those eyes at him again. Those flirty eyes she made when she wanted something.
Her hand took his and held on. "I am so glad we have had this time together, Wes. You are the sweetest man. And so cute to boot."
Wesley snorted a little at that. When he found out what she wanted, he'd never let her live it down. Not this time.
As she moved closer, Wesley couldn't believe how wonderful and fresh she smelled. He had always liked the way she smelled. But she especially smelled wonderful tonight. All fresh and innocent. Which of course was not the look she was giving him.
She placed her hand to his face and pulled his head down slightly. She kissed him on the cheek, and then let go.
"Um, thank you again." God, he'd said thank you so much to her tonight.
"Thank you for being here for me, Wes honey." Her face was an inch from his. He could feel her breath on his face. She lightly placed a kiss on his lips.
She must want a vacation. That must be it, he thought through his hazy brain. A paid vacation. That's why Wes didn't try to kiss her back.
"See you tomorrow." He backed away from her and fumbled for the door. "Sleep tight." He couldn't get out of there fast enough. No way would she think that he had been affected. Tomorrow he'd pull Angel and Gunn aside and tell them they had to confront her.
No more sweet Cordelia. He wanted his sassy, spoiled, smart-assed Cordelia back.
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A noise woke him from a deep sleep. The dreams were getting more real by the minute, Angel thought as he awoke with a start. He could almost feel Darla at his side. Could almost smell her, taste her.
He heard the noise again, realizing that someone was knocking at his door. He quickly put on his robe to answer it.
"Hey," he quickly said when he saw it was Cordelia. He was so glad he'd woken up enough to put on a robe. It would have been really embarrassing if he had been sleepwalking or something.
"Hey, yourself. I was knocking, like forever. You OK? I've been so worried about you lately." She felt his forehead.
"Cordelia, vampire you know."
"Well, you feel the same temperature you always do. Do vampires get sick? Like colds or the flu?"
Cordelia let herself into his room. When he saw that it was 4:20 in the morning, he knew something was wrong.
"What's wrong? Did you have a vision? I'm sorry if I didn't answer the phone."
"It's OK. I just couldn't sleep. Way too much of that good coffee, well, yesterday, since it's after four in the morning. I was just way too wired to sleep more than a few hours."
Angel walked back over to his bed and sat on the foot of it, relieved that he hadn't neglected his duty as a champion. Boy, he was tired.
She sat down beside him, which in turn made him way too uncomfortable. Bed, no clothes, Cordy, no way. But the way he'd been feeling lately, what with all the erotic dreams, what's a guy to do. But this was Cordy. He got up to pace.
"We just never talk any more Angel. Like we used to."
Like they used to what? The talking usually consisted of her telling him what to do and why to do it. They rarely had talks unless it was she doing the talking.
"Is there something on your mind, Cordelia?" He'd play it close to the vest, let her talk it out. Then things could get back to normal.
"I just wanted you to know how good a job you are doing." She got up to stand in front of him. A little to close for his comfort though.
"Well, thanks. I really appreciate that." Oh, here it comes, Angel thought. Now she'll tell me what she wants.
Cordelia put her hand on his shoulder, rubbing it up and down. "You have the weight of the world on your shoulder. I just wanted you to know that I'm here for you. If you need anything. Want anything. Just call."
Angel could smell her hair. It smelled of flowers, with maybe a hint of strawberry. Her breath was warm against his face. If he could pant, he would be by now.
"You should, uh, try to go get some rest, Cordelia. I'm sure I'll talk to you tomorrow some more, right?" Anything to get rid of her. He couldn't take much more of her torture.
"Yeah, if you want. See you later, honey." Cordy sashayed to the door, turning to blow him a kiss.
After she left, Angel almost collapsed on the bed. She never flirted with him. And she never called him cute pet names. Mr. Broody and the Dark Avenger, yes, but honey, no way. She must be possessed. He'd have to talk to Wesley in the morning. Maybe he had a nice exorcism spell he could perform when she wasn't looking. That would work, and they could all go back to their normal, crazy lives.
He lay back down, quickly drifting off to sleep. He hadn't even noticed the shadow in the corner, but neither had Cordelia. Darla was pissed beyond belief. That little high school cheerleader had her boy all bound up in knots. The way she literally threw herself at Angel was disgusting. She'd have to do something about the bitch if she got too close to Angel. Angel was hers, and no one messed with him.