Chapter 16

Bam sighed in frustration as he sat in his editing studio alone talking to Ville on the speaker phone. "I miss her."

"We all do." Ville said.

"No, but... I miss her." Ville obviously didn't understand. "She's been there for me for the last thirteen years. If something went wrong, she would run to me and I would find a way to help her. And it was the same for me. Now... I'm not the one helping her."

"You can't."

"And that's what's the matter with me. It's not my place anymore, and now I feel like there's something missing."

"What exactly are you trying to say here, Bam?"

"Damn it, I think I have feelings for her. After all these years..."

"Well, you can't. She doesn't love you like that."

"Thanks for being so harsh."

"Sorry. Look, I don't want to be so mean to you when you're spilling your feelings out to me. I know it's a rarity. But you're her best friend, not her fiancé. There are some things she can't turn to you for anymore."

"Fuck! This is frustrating."

"Focus on Missy."

"I love Missy, but... She's not B."

"You're just used to Buff. Now that that's all changed... It's going to be tough."

"Are you in love with her too?"

"Not like you apparently are." Ville sighed. "Maybe you should just talk to her. Straighten yourself out."

"And what am I supposed to say? 'Hi B, don't marry the man of your dreams because I'm in love with you. Give ME a chance.'"

"Well, no. Oh for fuck's sake, Bam! All you have to do is talk to her. She's pretty understanding."

"It's not exactly easy to talk about this with you. I'd probably fuck it up if I talked about it with her."

"You won't know until you try."

"I have to go wedding dress shopping with her in a few days."

"She's already looking?"

"Yeah."

"They've only been engaged for over a month."

"You know she likes to get a head start on things."

"Has she planned a date?"

"No."

"Jesus. You gotta love her though."

"She also wants me to meet this friend of Angel's that's been taking care of her when he's at work. You'll never guess his name."

"What is it then?"

"Spike."

Ville laughed. "Spike! That's... Well, it fits with the weird name gang."

"Buffy, Angel, Ville, Bam, and now Spike." Bam shook his head. "I gotta go pack."

"Talk to her."

"Later." Bam hung up and sighed again.

Buffy and Spike walked out of the movie theater laughing. "That Jim Carrey…." Spike said. "Man, he's hilarious."

"You don't know the half of it." Buffy said. "I had to present an award with him one year and I could barely make it through rehearsals with him." Buffy paused as she noticed Spike staring at her. "What?"

"Sorry, but…. You celebrity, me regular Joe."

"And?"

"I'm having a hard enough time pounding it into my head that you're a person too, not just some pretty face on a screen. It may never happen for all the others."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, I remember seeing you in Interview With The Vampire holding your own against the likes of Brad Pitt and Tom Cruise and Antonio Banderas, then I turn around and you're all grown up and kissing another woman and manipulating everyone's life, and then you're this cool action hero, and now…. You're engaged to someone I know."

Buffy shrugged. "You know, all of this isn't exactly east for me. Those are just characters. At the end of the day, I go home…."

"To a mansion in Beverly Hills."

"I go home and take off my pants and my makeup just like everyone else does after work. Acting is just a job. Being Buffy…. Now that's hard. I feel like I'm constantly fighting a stereotype."

"You are."

Buffy sighed. "Everyone around here seems to expect me to want everything and be this big diva when all I want is to spend time making new friends and loving my fiancé."

"At least they're not hounding you anymore."

"Not complaining." Buffy sighed again and looked at her watch. "And probably hasn't eaten yet. I think I'm going to go get him something to eat."

"Well, the car's this….."

"No, I'm going to walk. I think I know this town well enough."

"Do you feel up to it?"

"Yeah. I'll just stay with Angel until he decides to quit for the day."

"Call me if you need a ride, though. I'm just a small town away."

Buffy laughed. "Will do. See you later, Spike." She waved and turned away, walking towards the Espresso Pump. She only got turned around once, but she quickly found her way. At the Espresso Pump, people stared at her as she walked in. The small town of Sunnydale was still buzzing about her presence there, but they no longer rushed up for autographs. Every now and then, if she was out, they would try to strike up conversations with her. Unfortunately, she hadn't met anyone too interesting outside of Angel's group.

As she stood in line, a tall blonde man walked up to her. "You're Buffy Summers, right?"

"That's me." Buffy said.

"Riley Finn." He held out his hand and shook hers. "It's really great to finally meet you."

"Thank you."

"My girlfriend Samantha is a huge fan. Well, I am too, but she's got every one of your movies."

"Awe, that's sweet."

"So, how do you like the small town of Sunnydale?"

"I like it a lot."

"You're dating the lawyer guy, Angel, right?"

"Engaged to."

"Oh. Cool."

"Do you know him?"

"Only in passing."

"Oh." Buffy stepped up to the counter and ordered. She thought that would get rid of the drooling Riley, but it didn't.

"So, you like cheese Danishes?"

"Um, it's for Angel, but yeah."

"Let me guess, the latte is for you."

"No. Angel again."

"You like mochas? They have a lot of sugar."

"And?"

"Aren't you on one of those Hollywood diets?"

"Do I look like I need to be?" Buffy was agitated now. "I just spent over a week in the hospital and about three weeks of eating nothing. Look, Riley, I hate to be rude here, but I've got my stuff and I'm leaving. Have a nice life."

She pushed past him and headed two blocks down to Angel's office. The little parking lot had three cars other than Angel's black convertible and Cordelia's little red sports car. At first, Buffy considered just taking the Danish and coffee home and waiting, but then she decided that Angel would probably need a break. In the lobby area, two men sat on one of the couches and an older woman with blonde hair sat on a chair across from the men. She looked agitated.

"Hey Buffy." Cordelia said, smiling brightly. "How are you feeling today?"

"Pretty decent." Buffy said, walking up. "Is he busy?"

"Never too busy for you."

"So, you're the new play thing." The blonde woman said, walking up to them.

"Buzz off, Darla."

"You won't last. They never last."

"I told you he doesn't want to see you."

Darla ignored Cordelia. "He's only in it for the fame and the money. Why don't you just give it up and let a real woman handle him?"

"Oh, because you did so well with him the first time around." Buffy retorted.

"Look, you little plastic Barbie doll…."

"Darla, if you don't leave this office now, I'm going to call the cops." Cordelia said, stepping up next to Buffy.

"Like they could do anything."

"Why don't you just screw your husband and leave everyone here alone, hmm?"

"I don't have a husband. I'm divorced."

"As long as you believe that, I'm sure the rest of the world will. Tell me, how many guys did you sneak behind his back and how long before he found out the first kid wasn't his?"

Darla looked at Buffy. "He'll come back to me once he's through with you. He always does."

"I believe it's you who comes crawling back to me." Angel said from his office doorway. "And it's me who keeps tossing you back to your sleaze husband." He walked up behind Buffy and wrapped his arm around her waist, kissing her neck. "Get out of my office, Darla, and don't come back ever again." He looked at Cordelia. "If she doesn't leave, call the police."

"You got it, boss." Cordelia said with a glare at Darla. "See ya, Buffy."

Angel gently led Buffy into his office and closed the door behind them. "Awe, did you bring me lunch?"

Buffy handed him his latte and Danish. "Yeah, but you're busy, so…."

"Nonsense, baby." Angel wrapped her in his arms and kissed her deeply. "How are feeling?"

"A little weak in the knees."

"What's wrong? Where's Spike at? Are you alone? Did you walk here? I'm going to shoot him."

"No, Angel, I meant…. Weak knees…. You and the kissing in the office and a weird fantasy I have…." She blushed. "And I told Spike to go on. He offered to drive me around, but I wanted to walk. I'm fine really." She noticed Angel staring intently at her. "Really."

"Fantasy, huh?"

Buffy shook her head and blushed profusely, tucking her hair behind her ears. "It's… stupid really."

"Let me be the judge of that." Angel crossed his arms and leaned against the desk, facing Buffy. She thought he looked so sexy like that. "Go on. What's this fantasy of yours?"

"You know…. Office, desk, lots of kissing and…. Stuff…. And swooshing things off said desk…. See, stupid."

Angel glanced at the desk with a smirk and then checked his watch. "Well…."

"You've got clients out there."

"But I've got my fiancée here telling me that her fantasy involves an office and sex and well…." He gestured around the room. "We're in an office. And I'm completely turned on by you."

Buffy giggled as Angel moved behind her and started to kiss her neck while fiddling with the hem of her shirt. She turned her head just enough so he could kiss her. She also caught sight of the grandfather clock standing behind Angel against the wall and the time. "Oh no!"

"What?"

"Bam! Airport! Twenty minutes."

Angel slumped. "Really?"

Buffy caressed his cheek. "I promise we'll get to it when you're not busy and I don't have anyone to pick up." She kissed him gently.

"Do you need a ride home?"

She smiled sheepishly. "Um…. Yeah."

Cordelia's voice came over the intercom suddenly. "Angel, Mr. Welch is still here and still needing to be divorced."

Angel sighed. "Tell him it'll be just a minute, Cordy." He looked at Buffy and then grabbed his keys off the desk. "Here." He handed them to her. "I'll call you later when I'm ready to come home."

"Ok." Buffy kissed him again.

"Thank you for lunch."

"I thought you might need something to hold you off until dinner."

"I'm more looking forward to dessert." He smiled at her sexily with dark, hooded eyes and lifted an eyebrow.

Buffy shook her head and walked out, putting a little bit more sway in her hips. She heard him groan behind her and she smiled to herself as she walked out, waving to Cordelia.