Willow knew Buffy well enough to know something was off. For one thing, she was smiling. A lot. And it was a genuine smile, not the sort that Buffy put on just for the customers. It was something Willow had rarely seen from her friend. "Buffy, are you okay? You didn't like, hit your head really hard on the way to work today, did you?"

Buffy didn't respond. She was leaning against the counter, that huge smile on her face. Plus a very far away look in her eyes. "Uh, Buffy? Are you home in there?"

Anya walked out from the back office and past the counter on her way towards the front door. "She had really great sex. It gives you that goofy, dazed look."

Buffy snapped to attention then. "Anya!"

"Well, you did. I'm going out for lunch. You guys want me to pick something up?"

"I'm good," Buffy said, trying to push back the blush Anya's declaration had brought to her face. At least there hadn't been any customers in at the time…

"I'm fine, too, thanks," Willow said.

Anya smiled perkily. "Okay. See you two in a bit."

Willow turned on Buffy as soon as Anya was out of the building. "What was she talking about?"

Buffy's attempts to keep from blushing proved completely futile as she turned bright red. "I had sex with Spike."

"Spike? Seriously? What about Riley?"

"Ugh. Riley was a temporary lapse in sanity."

"Oh my god, Buffy, this is huge!"

"Yeah, and so is Spike." Buffy's eyes widened. "I can't believe that came out of my mouth. He's turned me into a perv."

Willow smirked. "Wow. I've never seen you like this over a guy. Ever." Suddenly, she was pouting. "And how come Anya knew before me? I'm the best friend here! We've been at work together for hours, and you haven't said anything!"

"I was going to," Buffy insisted. "But every time I'd start, I'd think about Spike, and well…"

"Which explains the glassy eyes and huge grin."

"Oh yeah." As if on cue, the grin returned. "Will, it was amazing. I didn't know sex could be like that in real life. I thought movies were just making it up. But then I was with Spike, and wow. Just…wow."

Willow gave Buffy a light nudge with her elbow. "I told you there was sparkage."

"Oh, there's sparkage. I'm surprised we didn't catch something on fire."

"I'm really happy for your, Buffy," Willow said. "I was worried about you, alone all the time." She frowned. "But that still doesn't explain why Anya knew before me."

"Spike and I slept together for the first time the night before last. And then when we woke up, I didn't want to stop. So I called Anya and asked for the day off," Buffy explained.

"Figures Anya would take 'having sex' as an acceptable reason to skip work. Hey, didn't you have a date with Riley two nights ago?"

"Um, yeah."

"So how did you go from on a date with Riley to sleeping with Spike?"

"We were double dating with a friend of Riley's, and his girlfriend wanted to go see Spike's band. Only I didn't know it was Spike's band until I got there. I mean, can you even imagine the odds? Out of all the clubs and all the bands in New York, that's where we end up… Anyway, Spike gets on stage, and he starts singing to me. Well, really it was like musical foreplay. I swear, that man is…" Buffy stopped, shaking her head. "Anyway, he ended the set for the night with a song he wrote for me, and…"

Willow cut Buffy off with a loud "aww!" "He wrote you a song? Buffy, that's so romantic." She frowned. "Unless it was a song about thinking you're a bitch or something…"

"Willow! It was a nice song. Really pretty. Made me feel all gushy inside." Buffy's dreamy look returned again at the memory. "But then Riley got all jealous and tried to drag me out of the club, only Spike wouldn't let him. He was all sexy and…ugh, Willow, I think I'm falling in love."

Willow's eyes widened. "Love? Seriously? You?"

"Yes, me. Miss No-Man-Shall-Have-My-Heart herself."

"Does Spike know this?" Willow asked.

"I haven't told him," Buffy replied. "I want to make sure first, you know? And I'm so happy right now. I don't want anything to mess it up."

Suddenly, the front door burst open, Snyder striding in, a glare on his face. "Do you know what I see right now?" he asked as he approached the counter.

"A bakery?" Buffy replied.

"No. I see an empty bakery. And do you know why it's empty?"

"No one wants a cookie?" Willow asked.

"It's because there's gossip. People don't want to buy from gossipers." Snyder glared at the two girls before going back into his office, slamming the door behind him. He opened it again a moment later, peering out. "I'll be watching you two on the cameras."

Buffy and Willow shared a look before going off to find something to pretend to clean to keep Snyder happy.

Usually, Buffy cursed the lack of elevator in her building. After a long day at work, on her feet all day, the last thing she wanted to do was go up four flights of stairs. But today, she practically flew up them, her only thought being getting home to Spike.

Home to Spike… She liked the sound of that.

She walked in the front door to find him asleep in the couch. The television was on, and the remote control was on the floor under his outstretched hand. He was wearing nothing but a pair of worn jeans, and Buffy licked her lips as a naughty idea she couldn't bring herself to ignore sprung to mind.

Buffy shut the door as quietly as she could, not wanting to risk waking Spike up before she was ready. She crept over to the couch, a predatory smile on her lips.

Buffy walked out of the bathroom, toweling her recently-washed hair. Her gaze drifted over to the couch, and she blushed a bright red. She couldn't believe how things had escalated after she'd come home from work. Had she honestly tied Spike up and ridden him like a prized stallion? What the hell had gotten into her?

Spike walked out of the bathroom then, a towel slung low against his hips. Oh yeah… That's what had gotten into her. Her blush faded as she focused on the sight in front of her. A drop of water rolled down his chest, and she found herself wanting to lick it off.

That was one hell of a man. And he was hers. Could it get any yummier?

"Whatcha thinkin', luv?" Spike asked.

"How damn sexy you are," Buffy purred, licking her lips as she looked him up and down. Yeah, he'd officially turned her into a little lust bunny…

"Glad you finally decided to notice."

"Oh, I noticed a long time ago, buddy. I noticed way back at the wedding."

"Ha! I knew it." Spike smiled at her for a moment, before his expression got suddenly serious. "Buffy, what are we going to tell our parents?"

Buffy frowned. Parents were not exactly something she wanted to think about right now. "We're not," she said.

"We're not going to tell them? Anything?"

"Nope. Not a damn thing," Buffy replied. "Not like my mother pays any attention to me anyway. Well, unless she's calling to gripe at me about something."

Spike took a deep breath, and then let it out slowly. "I don't know about you, but I plan on this lasting a long time. And being the sort of relationship that would be a bit difficult to hide from family members…"

Buffy sighed. "I know. And me, too. I just… Mom'll freak. I know she's started thinking of you in a son sort of way recently, and us together will just creep her out. And I doubt your father will jump up and down at the idea. They'll make things all stressful, and I don't want us to be stressful. I want us to be happy."

"If you don't want them to know, then I won't tell them," Spike said. "But they're going to find out sooner or later, and it'll be a bigger deal if they find out we've been hiding it."

"I know, but just…not now, all right? Later?"

Spike knew "no" wasn't a word he could say easily to her—if at all. "Fine. But get used to the idea of having to tell them."

"I will."

This chapter has been highly edited for content. Sorry it's so short. I had to cut about half of it in order to post it on this site.

Sorry I had to take a little break from this fic for a while. I had some personal reasons for it. But I'm working on it again now, and no, it's not near being finished. Buffy and Spike still have a lot to work though, and contrary to what some reviewers seemed to think, I'm not planning just to rehash the same old thing, or cause problems just for the sake of angst. Nor is there nothing left that I can possibly tell, as a few reviewers who apparently fancy themselves mind readers seemed to think… I have a story I wanted to tell, and it isn't finished yet. I've got a lot of ups and downs planned, and I hope you'll enjoy it.

It's been a while since this fic has been updated, and hopefully, I haven't lost all my readers. So please, let me know if you're still with me here, and I'll work on getting out the next chapter a whole lot sooner.