Remember Me

Disclaimer: I don't own anything. Joss owns it all damn him!

Sorry for the lack of updates. I've been kind of sick and then just
really busy. Hopefully updates will be coming quicker now. Thanks.

***

Chapter 9 – Getting to Know You

The next day, Buffy resolved to get Will to spend some time with her.
She’d checked the outline and knew that there was only one
workshop that he was required to attend. So she followed him into
the bathroom, sitting on the edge oe tue tub to watch him shave.

She’d intended to corner him there and get him to agree to lounging
with her for a few hours, but ended up silent as she watched his quiet
morning ritual. Just a few minutes ago Buffy had felt the affects of a
long night’s sleep on Will’s stubbled cheek. The rough feel of his skin
against hers as they kissed good-morning had her tingling and drew
her in for a second kiss before she let him get out of bed.

Now she watched as he smoothed shaving cream over his face and
rinsed out the razor. He didn’t use one of those barber blade
thingies, but he didn’t use an electric razor either. It was one of those
older razors that you could switch the blades out of. For some
reason, Buffy liked it more. The silence made the whole thing seem
kind of surreal. Buffy watched in rapt attention as each swipe of the
blade through the thick white cream left Will’s face baby soft. She
longed to reach out and touch a finger to the newly smoothed surface
just to compare the difference from their earlier contact.

Spike was painfully aware of Buffy's scrutiny. The way she was
looking at him, it took all his concentration to avoid fatally wounding
himself. God did she what she did to him? Methodically he
continued to run the blade up and down his face, making sure to get
every inch of stubble, making sure not to make eye contact with Buffy
through the mirror. It had already taken enough out of him just to roll
out of bed after the good morning kiss she'd planted on him. It
wouldn't take much to get him tumbling back into it, with her.

When he was finally through, Spike rinsed any residual cream off his
face before splashing on some aftershave. The liquid stung as he
slapped it on, letting the sharp pain break him out of his lustful
thoughts. Damn! Buffy was his best friend, had been since almost as
far back as he could remember. Or at least as far back as he wanted
to remember. Why couldn't he stop thinking about her as anything
more than that?

Yes, he had always known she was beautiful. That her body was
petite yet muscled, her face full of pixie innocence, and her eyes
startlingly wide and almost always filled with quiet amusement. He
loved that about her. The fact that she could find humor, a small
sense of the ridiculous, in just about any situation. He also adored the
fact that she was intelligent, kind-hearted, and one of the sweetest
bints he'd ever met.

So why couldn't he concentrate on those things lately? Why was the
only thing his mind able to focus and zero in on was the fact that she
was also one of the sexiest bints he'd ever met? Sighing he rinsed
out the razor and put it back in his traveling kit.

"What do you have planned for today, kitten?" Spike asked, trying to
force his thoughts on to other more concrete paths.

Buffy jumped to her feet, giving him a heart-melting smile as she
shuffled closer to him. "Well, I can't really do too much until the
stitches come out. I thought maybe we could lay on the beach for
awhile. And - oh! I've always wanted to try parasailing. We should
be able to do that, right? I mean, I don't have to be in the water for
that do I?"

Spike hadn't missed the fact that she'd said 'we' rather than 'I'. She
wanted to spend the whole day with him. On a normal day he could
handle it, no problem. Buffy in a bikini was a sight, that was for damn
sure, but he'd always been able to control his wandering libido before.
But now...While she thought they were lovers about to marry, how
was he supposed to resist? Even now he could see the hint of desire
in her eyes as she walked toward him. He tensed as he felt her arms
surround his waist and her head bend down to kiss his shoulder
lightly.

"I checked the schedule. You only have one meeting today. Can we
meet for lunch afterward and spend some time together?" Buffy met
his eyes in the mirror and gave him her best pleading look.

Spike crumbled. How was he supposed to say no to those eyes?
"Sure, luv. Anything you want." And then he turned and kissed her.

Buffy held onto him, crushing him closer as their lips met. She was
so elated. This was the first time that Will had made the first move
toward her. Maybe she'd been wrong about the problems they'd been
having. When she was in his arms like this, it certainly seemed like
she had been.

What was he thinking? Or maybe that was the problem, he hadn't
been thinking at all. The look she gave him, her warm arms around
his waist, her firm breasts pressed gently against his back. It had all
been too much. Spike had spent a long incredibly restlessly night
lying alongside Buffy. Not daring to move for fear that one brush of
her skin against his would cause a chain reaction worse than any
nuclear explosion.

So instead he gritted his teeth and forced himself to remain awake.
He didn't trust his control in sleep, so he lay awake all night while
Buffy snuggled into his embrace. How could he turn her away? What
would she think of he didn't want to hold her as they slept? So he did.

But now he did more than just passively stand in her embrace. Now
he let his hands wander her back while his tongue invaded her
mouth. She moaned and he hardened. Spike deepened the kiss, his
hands moving down her back to cup her buttocks. He pressed his
groin towards hers, fitting them together nicely.

Only when Buffy freed her mouth long enough to whisper, "Will,
please, let's go back to bed." Did Spike finally break away. He was
trembling and aching, but he put enough distance between them to
clear his head. What the bloody hell had he been thinking?

Buffy watched as Will visibly composed himself. His features
hardened, not into a cold mask, but still lacking the warmth from his
earlier desire. His hand made a rough path through his hair as he
blew out a ragged breath.

"God, Buffy. I want to, but...we can't." He made a show of looking at
his watch. "I have to be downstairs ientyenty minutes."

Buffy didn't bother to hide her disappointment. She had a feeling his
refusal had more to do with her previous wish to remain abstinent, but
she didn't press him on it. There was a glimmer of hope shining
through her aching disappointment. *Will* had kissed her. And she
could tell, whether he believed it or not, he was weakening. It
wouldn't be long until he finally gave in, and they could be together.

"Okay, sweetie. I'll just meet you in the lobby after your meeting."
Buffy kissed him gently on the cheek before exiting the bathroom to
find clothes for the day.

Spike checked his watch again. He did have to be at the workshop in
twenty, no make that fifteen, minutes but he couldn't go like this. So
he opened the clear glass door, and stepped in to the shower.
Turning the nozzle completely to the left he shuddered as the cold
water hit him full blast in the face. Too bad there wasn't going to be
as easy a solution for him *after* his meeting.

***

"Tell me what you thought the first time we met." Buffy smiled across
at him from the beach towel she'd spread on the hot sand. They had
been lying beside each other baking in the sun for the past two hours,
sweating away the last of the quick meal they'd eaten after Spike's
meeting. And for the past two hours, Buffy's fingers had been
entwined with his. She'd taken his hand almost immediately after
stretching out on the towel, and hadn't let go.

When he didn't answer right away, she squeezed his hand to get a
response. "The first time we met? How about I tell you about the first
time I ever set eyes on you?"

Buffy looked up at that, turning on her towel to face him completely.
"Weren't they at the same time?"

"No." Spike answered, staying on his back, looking up at the sky. He
could feel her eyes on him, but he refused to make contact. He'd
never told her this, and somehow it made him feel almost as if he
were stripping himself bare in front of her. "I'd seen you before, on
campus. The first time I'd ever seen you, you were walking across
the quad with Willow and Cordy." He sighed and moved his free arm
to cover his eyes, shg pag part of his face from the sun.

"I was just coming out of the Liberal Arts building after one of my
classes. I can't even remember which, all I remember was seeing
you there, laughing and smiling as you walked with your friends."
Now he did turn and look her in the eye. "I think I might have fallen in
love with you then." Bloody hell! Why had he told her that? "It was
one of those perfect California days, the sun was out and the wind
was just breezy enough to gently swirl the curls that framed your face.
The way you were laughing, it was so...real. It wasn't one of those
fake, sorority girl laughs. It was loud and heartfelt. Then you looked
toward me, and even though I knew you weren't looking *at* me I
think I stopped breathing altogether."

"Oh, Will." She leaned in and placed her cheek on his chest,
snuggling into his embrace and hooking her own arm around him.
"That's one of the sweetest things anyone's ever saidme. me. Why
didn't you tell me?"

"Yeah, right." He snorted. "Like a beautiful bint like you was going to
even look twice at me?"

"But I did look twice. Why did you think I kept asking you to study
with me?" Buffy insisted.

"Because you needed help? Because you were a bloody good
samaritan and thought that a pathetic loser like me needed more
friends?"

"I never thought you were a loser! Or pathetic!" She sat up abruptly
her words full of indignation. "You were and still are the smartest
man I know. And you're incredibly sweet, and loyal and..."

"I sound more like a dog than a man." Spike interrupted her.
"Besides you told me you just wanted to be friends." He remembered
that drunken night with clarity.

He wasn't much of a drinker, but Buffy had wanted to try a new club
and he'd gone with her. They'd both had a little too much to drink and
had ended up back in Buffy's dorm room. Willod bed been gone for
the weekend visiting Wesley, and so they'd found themselves alone.
Somehow they must have fallen asleep on her bed together. He
hadn't known how they'd gotten there. He woke up with a start
probably only an hour or so after they'd fallen asleep because the
clock only read 3:23AM. When he turned to check on Buffy she was
awake and watching him and before he knew what was happening
their lips were pressed together. She moved closer and wrapped her
arms around his neck, one hand moving up to run through his nancy
boy curls.

He let himself enjoy the feel of her for about half a second before he
steeled himself and pulled away. "Buffy, we can't." God, how it killed
him to say that. But he couldn't take advantage of her when she'd
been drinking. And she was obviously drunk, because he knew she'd
never kiss him sober. And he felt his own little buzz going as well.
For a moment he thought he saw a flash of something in her eyes,
but then it was gone.

"Oh god, sorry." Buffy whispered, turning away from him and
swinging her legs off the bed. "I must be soooo drunk. You're such a
good friend. Please tell me I haven't made you too uncomfortable to
still hang out with me." She pulled herself off the bed and walked
slowly over to the minifridge in the corner.

"No, 'course not, luv." He answered immediately, wishing she were
back in bed with him.

"Good, because your friendship is like the most important thing to me.
I would *never* want to do anything to ruin that." She stated
adamantly as she pulled a bottle of water out of the fridge and took a
healthy swig.

"Well, what did you want me to say?" Buffy's heated question pulled
Spike out of hiserieerie.

"Huh?"

"What did you want me to say, after I throw myself at you and you
push me away?" Buffy asked, head lowered now.

"You were drunk, luv."

"No, I wasn't. I mean, yeah I'd had a drink or two, but I wasn't
anything more than buzzed." She answered. "I had been wanting to
kiss you for so long, and I just figured I couldn't pass up the
opportunity, you know?"

Buffy was afraid to look up. Will was completely silent, and it was sort
of freaking hut. ut. Obviously they were together now, but revealing
her intentions from that long lost night had been very daunting. She
was feeling very exposed, and the longer his silence droned on the
more uncomfortable she got.

Just when she thought she couldn't take anymore she felt Will's hand
reach out to cup her chin. He pushed up until she met his eyes, and
then she realized just how close they were. "I didn't know, luv. I
never thought..." And then he kissed her.

God! She had intended to kiss him. She hadn't been drunk that
night. Spike still couldn't believe it. Even now with their lips pressed
together and Buffy's sweet tongue exploring his mouth, he couldn't
believe that this is what she'd wanted from him ten years ago. Bloody
hell! She'd *intended* to kiss him that night.

Spike pulled away trying to control the raging lust coursing through
him. They were in public after all. But he couldn't resist swooping
down and giving her one last quick kiss before pulling away
completely. "Come on, luv." He stood and then held out a hand to
help her up as well. "Let's go ask about the parasailing. Once we're
sure it's something that won't hurt your stitiches we'll try it, okay? I
know how much you were looking forward to trying all the different
activities here and I feel pretty bad that you can't. In fact, I feel
horrible that you were hurt at all. I’m so sorry, luv." Okay, he was
babbling. But his mind was still reeling from the revelations they'd
shared, and his body was still spinning from having been so close to
Buffy.

"Okay." Buffy followed happily beside him. He'd kissed her again!
And the things he'd said, the way he'd felt about her all those years
ago. God, she loved him.

***

Neither of them saw the figure shadowing them as they strolled
across the beach toward the rental and activity huts. The figure
stopped short, a sneer on his face, watching as they walked hand in
hand. He'd seen them on the beach kissing. Seen how happy they'd
been. It only made his sneer turn into a scowl. God, he hated that
man.