A/N : Thanx to funkydevil206, Baby Girl Geller-Green, Brunettepet, Spuffy2008, wicked-angel-413, ash, u2fan2005, Spikez-babe91, Sammi, Freezyboncoolipants, spuffygrl, Moluvsnumber17, Ape18, and XspikeXbuffyX, for all the reviews. It's great to know that a story I so enjoy writing is so popular with those that read it.
(For disclaimer, etc. - see chapter 1)

Chapter 13 - The Game

"So, when you said fun" William asked nervously, "What exactly did you mean?" he checked as he and Buffy went into the hotel room together. A part of him thought he'd rather not know but to be forewarned was to be forearmed at least.

"I dunno" Buffy shrugged, wandering around the room aimlessly, "I didn't have a fully mapped out plan, that would negate the fun" she rolled her eyes.

"Of course" William agreed half-heartedly, deliberately going to the opposite side of the room as he took off the leather coat and laid it on the bed.

"Ooh, mini-bar" Buffy exclaimed suddenly, opening up the cabinet and checking out the situation, "There's more spirit in here than the Sunnydale High Cheerleading squad" she laughed as she pulled various mini bottles out and brought them over to where William sat.

"Thirsty, luv?" he asked with a smile as he counted at least a dozen small bottles.

"No, these aren't for plain old drinking" she told him with a look and William caught on at last.

"Cos that wouldn't be fun?" he guessed.

"Hey, you're learning" Buffy grinned, fetching more bottles til she'd pretty much emptied the cabinet, "You ever play Truth or Dare, Spike?" she asked as she lined them up on the table by the bed.

"Only once" he admitted, "and I was six at the time"
Buffy laughed at his confession, as she finished putting all the alcohol in a line.

"Okay, well this is something me and Faith came up with" she explained, "Not Truth or Dare so much as Truth or Drink"

"I think I understand" Spike nodded half relieved to know she wanted to play instead of 'play', and half-panicked because he knew there was a lot he wasn't particularly comfortable with talking about and he really wasn't too good at holding his drink either.

"Okay" Buffy smiled almost dangerously as she pulled her legs up and crossed them lotus style. She was going to have some fun with this guy now. She wanted to know him, know everything about him and she was fairly certain this was one way to do it. He might not feel comfortable answering probing questions whilst sober but the more he declined to answer the more he would drink, and under the influence of alcohol people would usually admit all kinds of things that would usually be held back. Buffy knew she could drink a lot more than William before she got too talky, though she doubted he'd ask her anything she wasn't prepared to answer, he was far too polite.

"Tell you what, I'll give you a head start" she told him, noting how nervous he looked, "Ask me anything"

"Anything, eh?" William thought about it carefully before going for a question that had been playing on his mind this past half hour, "If I hadn't have got in trouble at the club, would you have slept with one of those men you were dancing with?" he said, mostly looking down and not at her face. She looked a little stunned but covered well.

"I dunno" she shrugged, really not having expected something like that to be his first question, "I guess. Why didn't you go with that girl?" she shot back, her gaze intense, "Before, when you didn't know she had a boyfriend and she wanted it so bad, why didn't you?" William looked at her for a long moment wondering how she could ask such a question.

"Because I don't use people" he told her evenly, "and because..." his sentence tailed off and he shook his head as he leant over to the table and picked up the nearest miniature bottle. Buffy watched as he took off the lid and downed the whole thing, coughing just slightly when he was finished.

"You didn't have to do that" she told him as he threw the bottle onto the bed beside them.

"Didn't tell you the whole truth, pet" he shrugged, "Rules are rules"

Buffy narrowed her eyes at him, wondering what he was holding back and planning to ask again later. If he kept drinking like that he'd soon be drunk enough to say anything.

"So tell me, luv, just how many men you reckon you've had?" he asked without a hint of embarrassment. That alcohol was clearly kicking in faster than Buffy had anticipated but then he had managed two bourbons at the club before this.

"I don't exactly keep score" she told him, "Do you?"

"That wasn't a proper answer" Spike smirked, tossing a bottle to her, "And in answer to yours, luv, no I don't"

"That wasn't my question!" she protested, when she finished downing the shot and tossed the bottle down next to his on the bedclothes.

"Too late" Spike argued, "Now where were we... oh yeah, you wanted to have fun, well, so do I. Let's get to the good stuff already" he smirked. Buffy giggled at the expression. She really liked William, but even more so now in this new Spike persona. The clothes made him look even hotter than usual and the alcohol loosened him up enough to make him more fun. Tonight looked set to be a good time.

"Whose turn is it?" Buffy asked, trying to figure out how the zip on her boot worked and finding it a very difficult task since she seemed to have three legs on her left side all of a sudden, at least it looked that way to her.

"Not a bloody clue, pet" Spike answered from his position laid out flat on his back on the bed, "but you go, ladies first and all that"

"Okay" Buffy nodded, thinking hard about her next question and giggling when she got the perfect one. She leaned back on the bed so she was beside Spike and whispered in his ear.

"How old were you when you lost it?" she asked and Spike looked at her strangely.

"Lost what?" he asked, blinking hard to try to get her face into focus. Buffy rolled her eyes at what she considered to be a stupid question.

"It!" she repeated, "Y'know, your... innocence" she said pointedly, bursting into fits of childish giggles when his eyes went wider than dinner plates.

"Oh" he said, seeming quite startled.

Buffy stopped giggling when he looked away and something occurred to her.

"Spike?" she said, leaning right over him so she could see his face, "Spike, have you never...?"

"I want a drink" came his answer as he managed to pull himself up to a sitting position, almost head butting her in the process but missing by just a fraction of an inch, "Where've the bloody bottles gone?" he complained when he found the table empty.

"Er, the bottles are here" Buffy said helpfully, gesturing to the spot on the bed and the trail on the floor, "but they're all the way empty" she sighed, "Guess that means no more drink, just truth" she pointed out and Spike winced at the implication.

"You're gonna think I'm an idiot" he said sadly, as he sat on the edge of the bed.

"Nooo" Buffy stretched out the world as she scrambled to sit beside him, "You're a nice guy" she nodded firmly and he snorted.

"Yeah, nice bloody guy" he complained, "Nice bloody guy that never even..." he didn't have to say it, she already knew and she felt bad for him in one respect and terribly envious in another. He still had his innocence, was probably saving himself for a woman he really loved like fairytales and romance novels.

"I was fifteen" Buffy found herself admitting, not really knowing why.

"I didn't ask" Spike pointed out, despite the fact the revelation coming as a bit of a shock.

"I know" she confirmed, continuing on with her story anyway, "His name was Parker and I met him at this club. Me and Faith shouldn't have been there but she easily passed for twenty-one and she made me up to look the same. He was so nice, kept telling me how beautiful I was and how he felt we had this big connection or whatever" she laughed humourlessly at her own stupid behaviour back then, "Faith was sixteen and already a pro, guys were all over her all the time and I so wanted that, to be loved like it seemed she was, so I went with Parker" she shrugged, wishing there were more bottles of alcohol to be had right now, "Faith made it sound like this awesome experience but to be honest it was just awkward and painful and I wondered why anybody bothered at all. Faith laughed when I told her that. I daren't mention how I cried right after, and how I kept wishing Parker would call me. He never did, and Faith convinced me the next time, the next guy, it'd be better"

"Was it?" Spike found himself asking, though he wasn't sure why. It was like one of those road traffic accidents that is terribly tragic but you can't help but look. It was a horrific story really, but somehow he felt the need to ask more.

"I dunno" Buffy shrugged, "I don't even remember who he was anymore, it just became something I do, like drinking..." her voice trailed away and she fought tears, feeling so ridiculous about it. She wasn't usually such a sad drunk, she was a happy dancing on the tables type girl when she drank excessive amounts but now, dragging up all her past adventures, it just made her feel wretched and terribly worthless sitting here next to such a wonderful man.

"Buffy..." he said, reaching to put his hand on hers, but she snatched it away and looked off in the opposite direction, seriously wondering about her sanity and why she'd just confessed all that she had.

"I should go" she said eventually, getting off the bed, glad her legs held her relatively steady as she went towards the door, "I'll see you tomorrow, I guess" she said absently as she left the room and William watched her go with troubled eyes.

She'd been through such a lot, what with her parents dying, being thrown in with her aunt and uncle and terrible influence of a cousin. Used by men, who taught her to be the same, a user. She thought sex was nothing but mindless fun, and love didn't seem to enter into that or any other aspect of her life. He wondered if since her mother and father's passing if anyone had even told her they loved her, given her a hug, made the world a little less bad. His life was far from perfect, his father less than great, but he always knew he had Dru, and his uncle Giles, he was never completely alone.

Before he knew where he was he'd stumbled through the bathroom that joined his room to hers, and was tapping on the other door.

"Buffy?" he said cautiously as he came through into the room.

She was lying on the bed still fully clothed, tear tracks marring her pretty face with mascara that'd been dragged along in the flow of salt. She was sleeping peacefully now at least, looked as if she hadn't a care in the world, but Spike knew different. It must have been the drink that gave him the confidence he realised as he stepped closer to her and carefully pulled himself up onto the bed beside her.

Gently he pushed her blonde hair off her face and placed a feather-light kiss on her forehead.

"Wish I could make it better, luv" he whispered in the dim light, "Wish I could take back all the suffering you had to go through..." his words trailed away to nothing as he settled down beside her, his body not quite touching hers as his eyes fell shut and sleep claimed him too.

To Be Continued...