Chapter 18

"Would you stop moving like that? You're gonna lose the whole effect of the outfit." Harmony said as she held Buffy still.

"This just isn't me." She replied and Harmony rolled her eyes.

"That's the idea, Buffy. I should have messed with your wardrobe years ago. How can you not own any skimpy leather? That's just not natural." Harmony stated as she pulled away and gave Buffy a look. "Yep, you almost look as good as I do in that outfit. Spike is gonna freak when he sees you." Buffy sighed as she continued to look at herself in the mirror.

"That's what I'm afraid of. Are you sure it's not too much?" Buffy wondered as she tried to pull the leather skirt down that Harmony let her borrow, but it wasn't working very well. She didn't understand how her sister could wear something so short. It was practically showing her underwear that Harmony suggested Buffy shouldn't even bother with, but there was just so much she would tolerate. She was wearing a red, halter top and she planned on putting her leather jacket on over it. Her hair was down in loose curls and she had to admit that she looked good. She figured a change wouldn't hurt. It was only for her date with Spike anyway. She still didn't know where they were going and hoped that the clothes would be okay.

"Holy crap, you've turned her into you." Buffy was pulled out of her reverie at Dawn's voice.

"I think this is a major improvement. Your clothes could use a little assistance, too." Harmony said and Dawn had a look of fear on her face.

"You won't be coming anywhere near my closet, Barbie. I happen to like my style, thank you very much." Buffy rolled her eyes as she tried to tune her sisters out. They may all have been a little better towards each other lately, but Harmony and Dawn would still constantly fight about stupid things. Buffy felt nervous when she heard the doorbell ring and knew it was Spike. She took a deep breath as she left the room and headed downstairs. They watched her go and Dawn took another good look at the outfit that Buffy was wearing. "Can I borrow that skirt?" Dawn asked and Harmony had a big smile on her face.

"I knew you would come around." She said as she secretly hoped that Spike would like her sister's transformation.

"Bloody hell," Spike said as he looked at Buffy.

"Is that good or bad?" She wondered and he looked her up and down.

"It's definitely good. You look amazing, love. What's with the sudden change?" He asked as Buffy grabbed her jacket and made her way out of the house, closing the door behind her. She shrugged as she got into his car.

"I just wanted to try something different. Harmony talked me into it." Spike rolled his eyes as he got in on his side and started the car up.

"I should have known. You look great, but you don't have to change who you are. You would look gorgeous in anything, including the sweats that you always wear. You didn't have to change to impress me." Buffy shook her head as he pulled out of the driveway.

"I actually did it for me. I have always been plain and I wanted to be sexy for once. You may have thought I always was, but I never did. I never looked into the mirror and thought I was pretty, but I actually did today for the first time ever. It felt really nice. I'm not saying that I'm going to make a habit of it, but one night couldn't hurt." She told him and he smiled as he grabbed her hand and placed a kiss on the back of it, without his eyes leaving the road.

"No, it doesn't. You may be dressed a little too fancy for where we're going though." Buffy raised her eyebrows.

"How is this fancy?" Spike looked at her when he stopped at a red light.

"You'll just have to wait and see." Buffy pouted at that. She always hated surprises, but she was positive that Spike wouldn't disappoint.

"I can't believe you did this." Buffy said when they finally arrived at their destination. Spike brought her to a farm a little out of Sunnydale, where she could see a lot of animals running around. It reminded her of the farm where her grandfather lived in Georgia and that she used to always go to when she was little.

"You do still like horses, right?" He asked and Buffy nodded as she looked around the place.

"Ever since I was a little girl. I used to love riding horses." Spike nodded also as he pulled her over to the stables.

"I know, you told me." She was about to say something else, when she noticed a young woman brushing a horse. The woman turned to look at them and a smile graced her lips.

"Spike, it's great to see you again." She said as she gave him a hug.

"Same to you, love." He replied and pulled out of the hug. He then turned back to Buffy. "This is, Tara. She's a friend. Tara, this is Buffy." He said as he introduced them and Buffy gave her a smile.

"It's nice to meet you." She said and Tara nodded as she shook Buffy's hand.

"Yeah, Spike has told me a lot about you." Buffy wasn't expecting that as she looked at Spike.

"I've been coming up here a lot." Buffy nodded and didn't know that Spike had a love for horses. Tara turned back to the horse that she was brushing earlier.

"Well, this one is ready if you want to take him for a run. I would be careful though. He loves to go fast." Buffy smiled as she moved closer to the horse. She ran her fingers through his mane and he nuzzled her hand with his nose. Buffy laughed and looked back at Tara.

"What's his name?" She asked as she turned her concentration back on the horse.

"We call him Lightning, but don't let that scare you. He's really very gentle." Tara told her and Spike smiled as he watched Buffy get acquainted with Lightning. He knew she would love it there.

"Hey there, boy. You're really very handsome, you know that?" Buffy said to the horse and was rewarded when he nuzzled her hand again. "I could really ride him?" She asked Tara and the other girl nodded. Buffy smiled and then realized something. "Yeah, I really shouldn't have worn this." She said as she looked down at her outfit and decided that it wouldn't be very easy to ride a horse in a skirt. Tara waved her hand in the air like it was no problem.

"Don't worry; I have some comfortable pants you can change into. I'll be right back." She told them as she walked away and Buffy looked at Spike.

"I really like her. How do you two know each other?" Buffy asked and Spike figured she would ask that.

"We used to go out for a little while last year. It didn't really work out." He explained and Buffy didn't realize that she was one of his ex-girlfriends.

"Why didn't it work out?" She was suddenly curious to know.

"Tara's a great girl and we really had fun together, but we just had different interests. Okay, let me change that. We had one very similar interest." He explained and Buffy didn't understand how that was a good enough reason to break up with someone.

"What would that be?" She asked and he gave her a smile.

"We both like women." He stated and Buffy's eyes grew big at that.

"Oh, well good for her. When did she find out?" Spike shrugged and started to pet Lightning as a distraction.

"I'm not sure; it was probably when she realized that she wasn't really attracted to me. Normally I would take offense to that, but when she told me she was a lesbian I started to fantasize about her with another woman. It all seemed better after that." He laughed when Buffy hit him on the arm.

"You're such a guy." She said as she wrinkled her nose.

"Well, that is one of my many good qualities." Buffy rolled her eyes and couldn't help the smile that formed on her face. Tara then came back out and looked at both of them.

"Did I miss something?" She wondered and they both shook their heads.

"Nope, just Spike being a perv." Buffy said and Tara nodded in understanding.

"That's definitely nothing new. I wish you luck with him." Tara said and Spike felt a little hurt as Buffy smiled at him. Tara then handed Buffy the pants and she took them, making sure that Spike's back was turned when she changed. He was complaining about it being nothing he hasn't seen before, but Buffy wasn't having it. Tara smiled at their banter. She could see the obvious love the two shared for each other and she was happy that Spike found someone. He was a good guy and he really deserved it. She just wished she could be that lucky. Tara still hoped that there was someone out there for her. Maybe she would find her one day.