CHAPTER 4: Going Out
The others watched on, some with their mouths completely open, as Buffy twisted and clapped with the performers.
"I didn't know she knew how to dance."
"Well, she's not dancing, really."
"Well tell that to the people who are doing it with her. They're all doing the same thing!"
The male of the group - the one who pulled her aside half-way through the Flamenco show - gave her a flashy, toothy smile and stepped close, raising his hands above his head and clapping as he set his hips to sway with the quick beat of the music. Buffy laughed and tipped her head back, her hair bouncing. She matched his rhythm and turned again, peeking over her shoulder as she marched away from him, kicking her heels up as she'd seen the other dancers do.
The girls in the dance troupe stomped back into a line formation. Three of them had fans, waving them about with flair and grace. The other two worked two pair of castanets each, twisting and stomping in unison. Buffy mimicked their stomping, moving in a circle around the man in the center of the stage, laughing every time she saw the surprised expression on his face.
The crowd applauded and whistled, among them the proud Scoobies. Buffy was a natural, it seemed. Giles watched on, unable to hide his smile. This is the best possible thing that could happen for Buffy right now. He needed her to see that she was still a beautiful, vibrant woman.
The young dancer reached forward, at her side at an instant with one hand on her hip, the other catching one of her hands, and spinning her into his arm. He dipped her down, a cocky grin on his face. He'd expected her to blush or something equally silly and girly. Instead, Buffy used the backward motion to flip over his arm and still holding his hand, flung herself away from him, then returned. Her back smacked into his chest just as the tumbling music stopped. The crowd went wild.
Everyone in the room stood, clapping, cheering, cat-calling. The performers - including Buffy's new Latin admirer - stepped forward to the edge of the stage and bowed with her. Buffy blushed and allowed herself to be led off-stage. The performers went to the stage again, bowed, and announced their thanks for attending the show.
Slowly Buffy made her way back to the table, blushing and thanking all the people who stopped her to tell her how great she was. When she arrived, the Scoobies were all grinning and standing, waiting for Buffy to take her seat.
"Well, that was... Buffy, I don't think there are words," Willow gushed, her eyes wide and excited.
"You were pretty awesome, Buff," Xander added.
"Your new boyfriend's coming this way," said Dawn with a grin.
Buffy glanced at Giles, who was smiling softly and staring at her. "What did you think, Watcher-mine?"
"Considering you've never formally trained to dance, you were magnificent."
"Si, she was muy impresionante, was she not?"
"Si, senor," Giles replied, almost automatically. He offered his hand to the stranger, a small smile on his face. "Thank you for inviting her on-stage."
"Ah, de nada, senor! It was truly a pleasure to dance with such raw talent." His accented words rolled, punctuated with poise and a glint in his eye. Giles' eyes changed a fraction, but only Buffy noticed. After ending the handshake, the performer motioned at everyone.
"Sit! Sit! Eat your dinner! I only wanted to say gracias for allowing me to pull away this beautiful senorita from your table this evening."
Buffy blushed and sat next to Giles, carefully tucking her napkin back onto her lap.
"You're quite welcome, ah..."
"Oh, forgive me, por favor, my name is Damian," the performer said, bowing to the table. "Now, if you will excuse me, I believe my team is waiting for me. We have another show at ten." Damian winked at Buffy and left, a bounce in his step and his shoulders thrown back like a peacock.
Buffy watched him leave and turned back to the table. They all stared at each other a moment before giving in to the laughter.
"Boy, he was..."
"Yeah."
"Whew."
"A fake."
Buffy's brow furrowed and she turned to Giles. "What?"
Giles blinked and looked at the others. "Was I the only one who knew? I'm sorry."
"How do you know?" Dawn asked.
Giles sighed and lowered his eyes to his plate. "His complexion and part of his speech patterns indicate he is from Spain, but his bone structure, underlying speech patterns - even the width of his eyes - express a Dominican heritage. He is probably pretending to be Spanish to work here."
The group exchanged looks, surprised more at the fact that they were surprised than that Giles could actually tell the difference.
"His name is of interest though." At the looks he received, he sighed and continued, "Euphemistically, it means 'to kill.'"
Buffy winced and gave him a flat glare. "Okay, moving on to something LESS depressing."
"Yeah, whatever happened to that guy who went missing two weeks ago. Did anyone hear -"
The conversation at the table turned to random things - news and gossip of the town and school. Giles gently placed his hand on Buffy's, catching her attention.
"Buffy, I just wanted to say you, you looked beautiful."
She flashed his favorite smile, one of those bright blinding forces of nature. "Thanks, Giles!" She gave his hand a pat and leaned in for a spontaneous kiss on the cheek. She missed, managed to get just the corner of his lips, but she pulled away and returned to the conversation with her bright smile and warm eyes.
Years from now, Giles would admit that was the moment he realized he could very easily fall in love with his Slayer.