"And you're consuming me violently
And your reverence shamelessly tempting me
Who sent this maniac?
'Cause I never had this taste in the past
Oh, you're different
You're different from the former
Like a fresh battery I'm energized by you
Don't let it go away
This feeling has got to stay
Don't let it go away
This feeling has got to stay
And I can't believe I've had this chance now
Don't let it go away
Why am I so curious?
This territory's dangerous
I'll probably end up at the start
I'll be back in line with my broken heart"
~No Doubt~
Chapter 9 – New
"What are you afraid of, sunshine?" Spike bent towards Buffy's ear to speak over the loud song that was playing in The Bronze.
"I'm not afraid of anything!" She denied, giving him an angry pout. They had been getting along well and having a perfectly good time until he'd started suggesting that they hit the dance floor.
His smiled widened at the sight of her endearing scowl.
He taunted her, waggling his eyebrows, "If you're not a fraidy cat, then come on then, let's go!"
Oz and Willow had recently returned to their table after a round on the dance floor themselves and were now sipping their drinks quietly while they watched the two blondes argue.
"Because," she said, "if we do the dance floor thing, it's going to feel like…a double date of some sort." Buffy mumbled the last part, her brows furrowing in concern.
A bark of laughter escaped Spike, "Oh pet, you're hilarious." He grinned at her before downing the rest of his Jack Daniels in one go. "It's merely one dance. That's all it is. No more, no less."
Seeing the uncertainty still in her eyes, Spike added in a low rumble, "Trust me, if I was taking you out on a real date, you'd know it."
Buffy felt a slight tingle of excitement run down her spine and chanced a quick glance over at Willow who was signaling her best friend with a tilt of her head towards the dance floor. The red head silently mouthed, "Go. Dance. Now!"
Nodding slightly, she gulped what was left of her second vodka lemon and put on a brave smile. It was just what she needed. The cool and refreshing sweet drink went down smoothly and she licked her lips in satisfaction, estimating that this would give her enough Dutch courage to go dance with him. She looked up at Spike and hoped that she appeared more confident than she felt, "Okey dokey arthichokey, let's do this."
Letting him lead her by the hand into the crowd, Buffy felt her heart pounding in her chest as he held her hand tightly. When they were somewhere in the middle, he turned and pulled her towards him, their foreheads nearly touching. "Is this okay?" he asked.
She nodded and Spike grinned as they started to dance in sync with the music. Their bodies fit like yin and yang, each was a complete opposite of the other, yet complementary to each other, creating a perfect balance.
While Buffy glowed under the ultraviolet light in her off-shoulder white mini dress, Spike's fitted long-sleeved black tee and jeans ensemble flaunted his well-defined physique. The pair looked like a dark price and his angel dancing in a thunderstorm.
The atmosphere and vodka were starting to work their effect on her, and Buffy felt her inhibitions slowly slipping away. A sense of confidence settled over her as she swayed to the music and ran her hands down Spike's chest, feeling his compact muscles beneath the thin fabric.
He bit his lower lip, his own hands gripping her hips in response, a little tighter than he'd meant to. Buffy looked up at him from beneath her lowered lashes, one side of her lips pulled upwards in a playful smirk.
She turned around and leaned back into him, bending her knees a little as her hips swayed gracefully, dipping down and then upwards with the beat. He felt his breath catch in his throat when she brushed against his groin, "God, where did you learn to dance like that, pet?"
Buffy looked over her shoulder, dark green eyes twinkling at Spike, she ground a little harder against him for effect, teasing him mercilessly, "Well, wouldn't you like to know?"
He raised his eyebrows with widened eyes, wondering how this could possibly be the same reserved and serious Buffy he'd spoken to only minutes ago. And while he had thought that he was going to be the one doing the seducing tonight, it seemed that she'd quickly turn the tables on him. At this point he wasn't quite sure who was seducing whom.
Buffy laced the fingers of her right hand with his and pulled his hand over her midriff, bringing him even closer to her. She leaned her head to the left, offering the side of her neck and bare shoulder to him. Spike bent his head slightly and ran his tongue from her shoulder all the way up to the back of her ear, ending it with a tiny nibble to her lobe. Buffy let out a soft moan and shivered slightly against him.
"Sorry, I just can't help myself." He leered at her even if she couldn't see him. From the way she was responding to his advances, his inner predator knew that he could have her tonight if he'd wanted it so. All he had to do was push her a little further along, and she would fall into his hands soon enough.
Smiling, she didn't have to turn around to know he wasn't being sincere, "Liar, you're not sorry at all."
He smirked and nuzzled deeper into her neck, breathing in the scent of her, intoxicating his senses with hints of cherry and vanilla. "Go out with me, pet. One date is all I'm askin'."
She felt his warm breath against her neck and her stomach started doing backflips. "No…a world of no," she breathed, shaking her head even as she leaned further into him, grinding against his body, fully aware of how a certain part of him was reacting to her. "Going out with you would spell trouble with a capital 'T', I just know it."
A deep chuckle erupted from his chest, "What makes you so sure?"
He spun her around and she wrapped her arms tightly around his waist, arching her back and rolling her hips in circles perfectly in time with the rhythm. Buffy looked into his eyes with an intensity that wasn't there before, "The fact that I've never danced like this with a guy I've just gotten to know makes me pretty sure."
She had a valid point. Despite dancing many times like this before with girls he barely knew, none of them had managed to turn Spike on like Buffy had. This was starting to become a battle for dominance between them, and though he loved every second of it, he was afraid that it would inevitably lead to the both of them doing something they would regret later. In the back of his mind, he reminded himself that the mission was to get her out on a date, not screw her. It wouldn't bode well to let his lower region do the thinking.
He pulled away from her slightly, following the rational voice in his head, even though the rest of him was protesting. In a soft tone, he whispered in her ear, "You know, pet, I bet you're wrong about that. What we have is a rare occurrence known as an instant chemistry. Reckon it's not wrong for us to want each other. And who knows? Maybe you going out on a proper date with me wouldn't be the worst thing that could happen."
His expression had been unreadable and Buffy didn't quite know what to make of it. But before she could think of anything to say, he began leading her back to their table.
She'd only managed to get a small sip of her refilled vodka lemon before Willow dragged her along to the little girl's room. They were hardly out of earshot from the boys, when the red head blurted out in amazement, "Okay, Buffy, I'm simply going to come out and say it. What is going on here? I mean, dang girl that was some serious sizzlin' going on. I swear I could see smoke coming off the two of you!"
Buffy felt her cheeks grow hot, and suspected that she might be turning a shade of beetroot red, "It's only dancing, Will. That's all it is, I swear."
"Yeah right, just a dance, my butt!" Willow giggled. "That was sure puttin' the dirty into dancing!"
At her best friend's naughty comment, Buffy was certain that she was blushing in the deepest shade of red possible. In spite of her embarrassment, she put on a brave face and dismissed it with a wave of her hand, rolling her eyes at Willow, "Don't read too much into it. I promise you, this is purely a one-time thing."
"Hey, don't go all defensive on me. I'm simply pointing out that there is some serious sparkage there. I mean, anyone within a two mile radius could see it as plain as day, missy."
Meanwhile, the guys were at the table wrapped in their own discussion.
"So it looks like Buffy's really into you."
"Yes and no," Spike sighed, grabbing the bottle of half empty Jack Daniels, he poured himself another glass.
Oz raised an eyebrow.
The blond downed the drink and ran a hand through his gelled hair in irritation, ruining his carefully styled look. "It's like she's in some sort of…deliberate denial. The stronger her attraction is to me, the more she bleedin' refuses to say yes to a date. Does that even make any sense, Oz? Hell, this is soddin' frustratin' is what it is!"
"I'm getting the feeling that you're not doing it simply for the money and guitar anymore."
For a fraction of a second, there was something close to fear in Spike's eyes before he shook his head and gave Oz an incredulous look, "Don't be daft! I'm not planning on getting seriously involved with the girl or anything. It's just," His voice softened, "I've never had this much trouble getting a girl to go out with me before, and it's making my ego take a real bruising is all."
The red head wasn't quite convinced that Spike wasn't falling for Buffy but kept the doubtful thought to himself, "Do you need some help convincing Buffy to go out with you?"
"Not really, more like I just need some time." Spike sniffed, "But if you're offering a solution to help speed up the process, I'm all ears."
With a nod, Oz said, "I might have a way to help both you and Xander get closer to your respective Summers' girl."
Spike scoffed, "Really, now. And what exactly does this genius plan of yours involve? Because I get the feeling that the chit would still reject my advances even if I were a bleeding Prince Charming."
"Well, there's a bit of conspiring if you're up to it."
Grinning, he perked up at the prospect, "You know I can never resist a spot of diabolical scheming."
"It might take some work," Oz warned, "but it could pay off well if we stick to it."
Spike nodded in agreement, "That sounds like absolute fun, mate. Let's hear this plan of yours."
"Thanks for letting me use your printer and paper and I'm really sorry for bothering you like this," Dawn smiled, neatly compiling the papers of her assignment as they got printed out.
Coffee had spilled all over her paper earlier when she accidentally bumped into another student on her way to handing it in. She would've been in tears if Parker hadn't been there with her and suggested that she reprint her paper using the compact inkjet printer in his dorm, which happened to be conveniently close by.
Parker was sitting comfortably on the edge of his bed watching Dawn move about the room. "It's no problem, Dawn. I'm happy that I was there when it happened. I should say thanks for giving me the chance to save the day."
Dawn sat beside him and shook her head. She laughed as she put the papers away safely in her bag. It then occurred to Dawn that this was the first time in her life she'd entered a dorm room, and more importantly the first time she'd ever been in Parker's dorm room. She hated that she was feeling both excited and nervous about the experience.
"Gee, it must be nice to have your own dorm room all to yourself. All that privacy and space to do whatever you like and not have anyone tell you what to do…" She stopped in mid-sentence when she met Parker's thoughtful gaze, "What? What is it? Do I have something on my face?"
"No," He chuckled, "you look beautiful as always, Dawn. It's just…I realize that it feels so…right to have you here in my room."
"What?" Dawn could feel her heart racing and cheeks flushing. She wasn't sure if she should be flattered or creeped out by that statement. After all, they'd only known each other for a few weeks. Wasn't it a bit too early to be professing things like that?
"I'm sorry." He gave her a nervous smile of his own, "That came out wrong. What I mean is that I really like you a lot and it feels so easy to be with you. That's what I meant by saying I'm perfectly happy to see you here in my room."
"Oh, ha ha, gosh…thanks. It's only, you know, I can't exactly date anyone right now," Dawn replied.
Parker leaned forward, his face inching closer to hers, "Just because you can't date anyone, doesn't mean you can't…hang out with them as a close friend though, right?"
She gulped nervously and moved backwards as he continued moving forward, looking very much like he was about to kiss her. "Parker, this isn't exactly…" she started nervously, not quite sure how she should react to the situation. Just then, her ringtone rang out loudly in her bag. Thank God! She thought gratefully. Dawn jumped up and rummaged through her bag, fishing her cell phone out. She looked at the caller and sighed in relief to see Xander's name flash across the screen.
"Hey!" she chirped into the phone. She had never been so happy to answer a call.
"Hey yourself," Xander replied. "I thought we were supposed to meet like fifteen minutes ago at Café Verona."
"I know, I know," she cried, tucking the phone between her head and shoulder as she hastily tossed the rest of her things into her bag, "I'm really sorry, I was about to hand in my assignment but there was a situation involving hot coffee and my stupid paper got destroyed and I had to…"
"Woah, hold on, hot coffee? Are you okay?" Xander cut her off worriedly, "You're not hurt, are you? Do you need any help? I could come get you wherever you're at, if that's better."
"Calm yourself down, cowboy! I'm fine and things are under control. Don't worry about it okay? Just give me an extra fifteen minutes to hand in my paper and I'll meet you after that. And umm, since you're already there, could you get me one of those cute little cappuccino cheesecakes while you're at it? Sorry, but I'm seriously starving!"
Xander chuckled, pleased to hear that she was okay. "Alright, hearing you talk about cheesecake makes me a little less concerned now. I'll order that and a coffee for you. Just please be careful, okay?"
"Woo, make it an iced coffee, please! And yes I will be. I'll see you real soon, Xander," Dawn replied with a smile. She heard the worry in his voice and was touched at how sweet he was being. After she hung up, she turned to Parker who'd stood up as well.
"Sorry, but I've gotta run, Parker. I'm really late as it is. Thanks so much for helping me with the printing and all."
"Hey, anything for you and it's okay. Go hand in that paper and we'll talk later." Though his words seemed understanding, his tone was noticeably disappointed and Dawn could see that the smile he wore was not quite reaching his eyes.
When she finally arrived at Café Verona, she grinned at the sight before her. Along with what she'd requested, Xander had also gotten an array of colorful macarons lined up neatly on a long rectangular plate. She squealed in delight and ran towards the table, getting a few annoyed stares from the other patrons as she made her way.
"Xander, you're my hero!" She greedily grabbed a pink macaron and popped it into her mouth in one go, her smile widening as she chewed on the sweet meringue-based pastry.
His heart soared at the sight of how happy she was to see him. Granted, it was only because he was bearing sweet treats and a caffeinated beverage, but knowing that he was responsible for putting that smile on her face was good enough for him.
After taking a few sips of her coffee, Dawn gave Xander a lopsided grin, "Thanks. I already feel much better because of that one strawberry and pistachio macaron!"
Xander raised his brows, "Wow, you actually know the flavors? Frankly I picked them entirely based on the color combination."
"Yeah, I'm a sucker for these little things. I've tried just about every flavor they have here."
"Dawn, there is like a zillion flavors available."
"And yet I only see six types on this plate. Tsk." She shook her head in mock displeasure, before breaking into a sincere smile, "But seriously, thank you for making my day better."
"You are most welcome, milady."
Dawn chuckled, "Now, let's get down to business. How can we help Spike with his Buffy-won't-say-yes-to-a-date problem?"