Disclaimer: All characters are property of Joss Whedon.

More Than I Deserve: Chapter Four

Buffy didn't want to go. She wanted to stay in Los Angeles end explore this thing with Lindsey, but she knew she had to go. She needed to go back to Sunnydale and deal with the mess that she had left behind. She felt guilty about leaving the way she had, but the thing she felt most guilty about was lying to Lindsey. She could have told him the truth. He worked with the supernatural as well so he wouldn't have been weirded out, but almost everyone who found out what she did wound up dead or seriously injured and she wasn't about to take that chance with Lindsey.

It had only been three months, but he already meant a lot to her and she didn't want to risk anything happening to him. Eventually, she would have to tell him, but for now she could continue being Anne when she was with him.

"Hey, you already done packing?" he asked as he let himself in.

She shrugged and met him in the middle of her room. "I don't have a lot of stuff. It only took ten minutes."

"You'll call me when you get there?"

She smiled and slipped her hands into his. It was cute, the way he was so protective of her. It was nice, too. From the moment they had met, Lindsey had looked out for her and she would miss that almost as much as seeing him every day. "I can take care of myself, you know, but yes I will call you."

"And you're sure about going back? I can't convince you to stay?"

Buffy wanted to stay. God knew, she wanted to stay with him but she had to go back to Sunnydale and face the mess that she had left behind. She couldn't keep running. "I would stay if I could, but I have responsibilities that I've been running from long enough and my friends need me. On top of that, I know they and my mom are worried about me. I have to go back."

"I know." As much as she had relaxed after her first week in Los Angeles, Lindsey had been able to tell that something was bothering her all summer. She'd opened him up to him eventually, but he got the feeling that he was still missing a big part of the story. He leaned down and pressed his mouth to hers, brushing his lips over hers a couple of times before pulling back.

As far as kisses went it had been pretty chaste, but it was enough for Buffy. She really wanted to take her time and explore this thing with Lindsey. She didn't want it to be rushed. She didn't want it to be filled with passion in the beginning and then burn out so that they were left with nothing. It had been the perfect first kiss and she smiled as she looked up at him, her green eyes sparkling with happiness for the first time all summer. "I'll call," she whispered, not wanting to ruin the lightness of the moment.

"You better," he murmured, pulling her to his chest for one last hug.