Paris, France, 2230 hours.
With Riley and Graham picking up the slack in regards to fighting vampires in Sunnydale for the next few days, Buffy and Faith were enjoying themselves as they danced with one guy after another. The both of them even introduced Althanea to a few men who had asked for their number. The two of them would say that they were already taken before leading the men by the hands to the attractive witch. Eventually, she ended up on the dance floor with Buffy and Faith while Tara was sitting at their table stirring her drink. She watched them dance, rejecting one girl after another who they were pointing at, one was at the bar and another two were on another table, while continuing to dance. Tara sighed while recalling that Giles and Jenny had gone for a romantic dinner and that Willow was on her own special 'date'.
Tar sighed again as she leaned back on her chair when a hand gently fell on her shoulder. Looking at the hand, Tara was about to ask Willow how the 'date' went; but stopped when she looked up at the face. The young woman had soft features on her face, brown eyes covered with spectacles, and short bright red hair.
"Hello, Cherie," said the woman in a French accent as she placed her other hand on the table, "I hope you don't mind, but I see you here alone, and I just have to wonder why."
"Umm... hi," said Tara with a small smile and glancing at the dancing Buffy and Faith before looking away from the stranger and taking a sip of her drink, "I'm just waiting for my friends; so I'm not really alone... I mean not technically."
"I'm with my friends too," the stranger whispered as she leaned into Tara's ear, "but they're busy with their own partners."
"Oh?" asked Tara as she turned her head towards the young woman again. Her face was so close to Tara's ear while whispering that, when Tara turned her head, her nose brushed with the mysterious young woman's nose. The young woman then smiled while looking into Tara's eyes and said that they were two single women who needed each other.
"I'm actually leaving for the states in a few days," said Tara as the young woman's perfume wafted into her nostrils, "so.. so I don't think we could be in a relationship since.. well, you know what they say about long distance relationships huh?"
"I never said anything about a relationship," chuckled the young woman as she looked at the dancing Buffy, Faith, and Althanea before looking into Tara's eyes again. She then shifted her gaze to the blonde's lips, nose, and then to the blouse and shirt knee high skirt Tara was wearing. She then looked back up at the surprise on Tara's face and asked softly if she was what she suspected, "you do prefer other women, do you not? While I'll be disappointed if you are not interested in other girls, I will leave. But I hope I am not mistaken."
"You.. you're not," said a nervous Tara, "it.. it's just that I haven't always been... you know... approached for..."
"A night of carnal pleasure?" chuckled the young woman as Tara's face went red. Tara then started stammering while the woman continued to chuckle before she leaned forward and nibbled on Tara's ear. The woman heard Tara gasp as she kissed behind Tara's ear before she pulled back and looked into her eyes once again, "well? Am I wrong?"
"No," whispered Tara before she leaned forward and kissed the young woman under the flashing lights of the club while hundreds of men and women were dancing on the dance floor as music blared from the speakers. Tara felt the woman grab the back of her head before pulling her in so that her tongue could go deeper into her mouth.
After that, all that Tara remembered was a blur as she left with the woman, Eliza, after telling Buffy and Faith that she met someone. The both of them then headed for Eliza's small apartment where all Tara remembered was the both of them taking off each others clothes, then the soft feel of the mattress on her back, followed by flashes of redhead hair, and a name escaping her lips before she finally passed out with Eliza on top of her hours later.
"Oh, Willow," Tara whispered as she tried to catch her breath while Eliza breathed onto her neck as she fell asleep. The blonde held Eliza's sweat covered body tight while panting into her ear. Tara stared at the ceiling as the fog in her mind lifted slowly, and the memories of the last four hours of pure pleasure came crashing down on her. Tara looked at the redhead lying on her chest fast asleep with a smile on her face, and then shook her head before looking back up at the ceiling.
She didn't know whether to laugh or cry at the situation she found herself in; not only had she done something that she knew was out of character for her in going for a one night stand, but she whispered Willow's name following her last release. It was after that when Eliza climbed up to her chest and collapsed. The both of them were exhausted, but Tara felt as if she betrayed Willow somehow.
She couldn't explain it, but she felt that Willow wold be angry at her.
'You were lonely, Tara' the witch thought to herself, 'a beautiful girl came on to you, and you accepted her advances. Things moved quickly and now you're in her home after a night of what you have to admit was really good sex.'
Tara then sighed and looked out the window before wondering to herself why she still felt as if Willow was going to be disappointed in her.
After a few hours of sleep, Tara found herself waking up to Eliza snuggling into the nape of her neck while mumbling that it was time to wake up. The groggy Tara ran her hand through Eliza's red hair and moaned while Eliza started to kiss the side of her neck while mumbling that they had to take a shower together before leaving. Eliza whispered that she wanted this to be a great experience, and exclaimed it was indeed a greater than expected experience.
"I could have you every single night and I'd never get tired," hissed Eliza in Tara's ear.
Tara chuckled as Eliza started to tickle her. A few minutes later, Eliza then stopped and looked into Tara's eyes while saying that she would like to see her again.
"You said you will be here in Paris for the next three days," said Eliza as Tara placed her hands over her head and nodded, "I want to see you every night."
"I..."said a surprised Tara. She had expected this experience to be a one night stand, but now her heart raced as she wondered what else Eliza would be asking for.
"You are an amazing creature," said the Parisian as she gazed up and down at Tara before ending up looking into her eyes, "and I would like to be in your company until you have to leave."
"O.. Okay," Tara replied as a smiled appeared on Eliza's face before she leaned down and kissed Tara on the lips. The both of them got out of bed, kissing all the way, and then entered the shower. Tara kicked the door shut before the sound of the running water drowned out the sounds being made by the two women.
It would be another hour later that Eliza, now dressed in a short skirt and suit, accompanied Tara to her hotel before leaving for her work at an accounting firm. The blonde witch, who felt even more exhausted, kissed Eliza and then entered the lobby while her legs were still shaking and her body tingling as she recalled their encounter in the shower. Tara took the elevator up to her floor and then headed for the room she shared with Willow. Taking out her key card as she approached the door, Tara slid the key into the lock and waited for the electronic device to unlock the door. Opening the door slowly, Tara peeked in and saw that Willow was still fast asleep before walking into the room. Closing the door softly behind her, Tara took off her shoes and placed them quietly to one side before slowly walking past the foot of Willow's bed to the door leading to the washroom. Tara opened it and then closed it behind her while turning on the lights.
With her hair still damp, Tara stepped to the mirror over the sink and looked at herself as she recalled the previous night in all it's detail. She stared at the marks on her shoulders after taking off her blouse and then remembered moaning in pleasure when Eliza nibbled on her skin. Tara stared at all the marks before she turned and looked over her shoulder at the marks on her back. The bruises went down from her upper back all the way down.
Tara smiled before she yawned and then placed her hands on the sink. She steadied herself as her body felt weak, but she attributed this to the 'fun' she had with Eliza.
'I need sleep,' thought Tara to herself as she continued to look at the bruises all over her body. And Tara closed her eyes remembering every moment when she moaned at Eliza to not stop what she was doing. But Tara gave as well as she got, and she remembered the marks on Eliza's body when they showered together that morning. To Tara though, it seemed that it was Eliza who was more active than her… all Tara felt was exhausted. But she still wanted more of Eliza, Tara wanted to see her again.
Even though she wanted Eliza, Tara was still conflicted.
Tara turned again and faced herself in the mirror. There was a part of her excited to meet Eliza again later that evening, but there was another part that simply wanted to wait until Willow was past the pain of Oz's loss. And that was the conflict; she wanted Eliza… even though they just met, Tara wanted her. But she also wanted to wait for Willow to be ready.
'And what would you do until then, Tara?' she thought to herself as she put her blouse in the laundry hamper, 'Eliza's in the here and now, and Willow may never... she may never ever get over Oz. And when she does, she's straight... I mean there's no way to know if she'd even swing your way. How about you just enjoy Eliza's company? And worry about the rest later.'
Tara sighed before taking off her skirt and dropping it in the laundry hamper. She then walked out in her underwear and headed for her closet where she took out a pair of shorts and a tank top. Sensing that Willow was still asleep, Tara took off her underwear in the dark room and put on her shorts, and then while putting on her tank-top... Tara heard a soft voice behind her.
"Hey," whispered Willow while rubbing her eyes with the back of her hands as she lay on her side, "Tara?"
"Morning," Tara whispered as she turned around having put her tank-top and shorts on before leaning down on her bed and moving the covers to one side. All the while, Tara was looking at the green eyes looking back at her.. and all she remembered was the amazing night she had with Eliza. Tara then looked away while getting onto her bed, and then pulling the covers over her while yawning.
Once she was covered, Tara lay on her side and looked at Willow who had closed her eyes for a few seconds before opening them again. And the two young women stared at each other for a few seconds before Willow was the first one who spoke.
"I didn't see you when I got in," Willow said remembering that when she entered the room last night,, Tara was nowhere to be seen and that her bed hadn't been slept on, "Faith and Buffy said you met someone?"
"Yea," answered Tara before releasing a yawn.
"Good," Willow said before yawning. Willow then added that she felt that Tara was being restricted from having a life of her own ever since she returned to Sunnydale. Tara looked on while Willow also added that even Althanea seemed to be exhausted since she was helping her recover as well from her ordeal in hell, "and I heard that Althanea found a date too, She and the guy are going on another date tonight."
"Me.. me too," Tara said with small smile as Willow smiled while raising her body with her elbow.
"I'm glad," she said while Tara looked on, "I guess you and him… well… you know."
"Willow," yelped Tara who realized that she never mentioned to Willow that she preferred women. Tara then resolved to tell Willow at a later time while the former redhead chuckled. Tara then yawned before saying that she was just exhausted, and felt as if she couldn't move.
"He was that good, huh?" smirked Willow while Tara raised her eyebrows before saying, 'hey!'
"How was your date?" asked Tara with a smirk changing the subject. The blonde witch wondered how Willow would react if she found out Tara was with another woman, 'I should tell her… but not today. I'm exhausted.'
"It was magical," Willow smiled before adding, "it was like Oz was next to me the entire time. We went everywhere we discussed going before senior year, and when we returned to this room. He told me to... I mean he didn't really tell me to do anything.. he think it was more a figment of my own imagination. Anyway, he said that I should start to move on with my life."
"Does that mean you'd be looking?" asked Tara. The blonde witch knew she should be excited about this, but for some reason, Tara found that she couldn't be excited. She was feeling too tired, and she didn't know why. The only reason she came up with was the amazing sex with Eliza. Tara's eyes felt heavy while Willow said that she wasn't going to start looking anytime soon. She just wanted to stabilise her life before even thinking about dating again.
"Nice," Tara said before closing her eyes and slurring her voice, "I sleep now, Willow. Talk again soon."
"Sure, Tara," Willow said before she too closed her eyes, and the both of them slept.
In the meantime, Eliza was walking past a building when she saw her reflection on the glass was of a café. The woman smiled at her reflection as he eyes glowed purple momentarily. Eliza then continued to head towards her job safe in the knowledge that she would be seeing Tara again later that night.
'What a creature,' Eliza thought to herself, 'such powerful magic intertwined with her life-force. It will sustain me for decades before I have to feed again. I usually go for men, but sensing Tara's magic- more powerful than the other three who arrived in the club with her- I could try being a lesbian. If only for the next two days.'
Eliza then chuckled as she continued on her way.
TBC.