"I'm looking," I murmur, brushing her hair back from her face, hand splayed wide. I want to see her. See what's she's hiding. Or what she's trying so hard to hide. Really, I just want to see her.
And that really wasn't what I meant by my question. "You said you never liked anyone like this before...you mean like me?" Like a vampire? Let's hope not. Although that would be near impossible and have her here in front of me.
I hold her close, feeling that vulnerability from admitting these things sinking in. The kisses don't seem to stop and it's not long before I'm trying to do more, get more, feel more.
It's a tiny dance, a handshake of sorts as our tongues meet, mine drawing over hers, tasting her, drawing in a deeper more detailed scent. Should be able to make her out from much farther away now. She pulls away suddenly though, and I'm left with only half a taste, not really getting to savor her.
"Your place is closer," I say, keeping my eyes on her. It was just a squirrel. I can smell it. "I don't even know how you're still on your feet after a final and work." My hand brushes up and down at her waist, subconsciously trying to reassure her that I'm not upset...about anything. "I could tuck you in," I offer, a little sheepishly. "Who's the dork now," I ask her with a lop-sided grin. "Or I could do that for you at the hotel..." I want to offer to let her stay in my bed. With me. In case of nightmares. But I just can't quite bring myself to do it. After all our talk of taking things slow, I don't think offering to have her sleep with me is going to sound right. Even if it would only be sleeping.
He asks again what I meant by my words and I pause fr a moment, kissing him gently as he pushes my hair away to unviel myself to him. "I...I meant that..." I stammer over my words, unsure how to tell him what I was meaning, not to mention I don't know how he'd take something like that. "Never l-looked at boys much...or anything and." I wasn't telling him that he's the first guy that I've ever kissed, that was childish. "Never um p-paid attention to guys."
Angel reminds me that I should be tired and I nod, agreeing that some rest would be a good thing; but I wasn't ready for sleep or anything. I smile widely when he offers to tuck me in and I blush and nod. "We both are." It still amazes me how comfortable I am with him; I don't want anything to change it either.
"H-how about we can stop and grab a movie on the way? I d-don't know how much sleep we might get at my place." My face turns red and I sigh, shaking my head. "I meant that um it's usually noisy with the band upstairs and sleeping is usually problematic..." Then again the hotel might be a bit suggestive and the fluttering thought of curling up in his bed might become more than just a fleeting thought in my mind. "You c-can pick the movie..." I offer quietly, my fingers finding his.
Hmm. I don't really know what to make of that, but I nod, and keep her close not making any judgements or anything. My hands roam over her back, being soothing even if she isn't upset. I know how hard it can be to tell people things. Even when they don't seem that significant.
"Okay. Do you need to pick up anything at your apartment?" I ask, smoothly deciding that the hotel it was going to be. I like having her there, and if she's going to make excuses not to be at her apartment, then I might as well give her an invitation. "We can pick a movie up on the way back to the hotel," I say as I smooth her clothing back to its proper places even if it wasn't all that out of place. "You might want to pick, otherwise we'll end up with something from the dark ages," I try to joke.
Twining my fingers with hers I start to move, walking us backwards until we're free to move and walk, and all of that stuff that doesn't require going slow or restraining oneself.
Angel mentions my apartment and it seems to be decided that we'll go to the hotel. I'm okay with that, I love the old feeling of the hotel and the smell of pine mixed with dust. Kind of like a library.
I anxiously bite my lip as he moves his hands over my sides and hips, I squirm under his touch and nod when he mentions going back to the hotel. "I still have my bag at the hotel, I'm okay."
Slipping my fingers with his, I follow him quietly, standing close as we head towards the hotel. "You can pick, I'm n-not one of those girls that doesn't like it if it's not in color. Classic movies are alright."
We walk quietly, the air blowing in cool gusts as we walk towards the hotel, my lips still swollen and burning from his kiss. The rest of me aching for more. "Angel," I whisper, looking up at him. "Thank you for tonight."
"Alright," I say, glad for Tara that we don't have to go back to her apartment. She didn't seem to like it there, and I don't want her getting upset by another phone message.
I squeeze her hand as we start to walk, staying as close to her as she does to me. The urge to protect her is strong, and even if I can't give her everything she should have, I'll at least try to do that for her. I smile over at her when she volunteers to watch black and white movies.
"Hmm?" I pause in the middle of the sidewalk to look at her as she thanks me. "For what, Tara?" I ask gently. "I wanted it all, too," I say with a smile, hand stroking her cheek. "Nothing to thank me for unless I get to thank you too," I murmur, once again brushing her hair from her face. Leaning down I kiss her once softly and squeeze her hand.
And right now, all I want is to curl up on a couch with her, or in my bed and kiss her until her lips stay swollen for hours, her breath comes out in gasps, and I've got her warm skin beneath my hands.
"It...it made me feel normal." Like a real girl. "Like I could relax and be myself...It's been a w-while since...since I felt like I could do it." I blush and look away, still feeling the burn of his lips against mine.
I smile up at him after a moment. "Let's get a movie b-before we freeze to death." I squeeze his hand a moment. "Do you like hot chocolate? Wil- I've been told I make a great hot chocolate."
A small sigh escapes my lips as we walk slowly, my mind desperate to think of things that I shouldn't be thinking about. The memory of the dream I had when I was in Angel's bed floods my mind and it takes effort to supress a moan that's desperate to come out.
"Movie, popcorn and hot chocolate...yeah..." I breathe, desperate not to think about such things like my birthday and all of the things I need to hide from Angel. Mainly the one reason I'm running from my family like I am.
Smiling, I look at her, the sweet way she blushes, the shy timid way her mouth moves. It's intoxicating. The urge to coax so much more out of her is too tempting.
"Movie," I nod, enjoying the squeeze of her hand. I'm not sure who Will is or why he comes to mind when she thinks of hot chocolate, but Tara seems to go quiet, and I let her have her reverie, wondering if this has anything to do with the nightmares or the phone message. I'm not going to pry though. She'll tell me when she's ready.
"Popcorn and hot chocolate sounds good, too," I say if only for the fun of tasting chocolate in her mouth later and feeling her get warmer. Plus, the whole brushing hands when picking up the bits of popcorn. I spot a video store and head towards it, wincing at the loud ding as we open the door and go inside.
"Anything you're in the mood for?" I ask, eyes gazing over the brightly-colored scantily-clad people on the covers of a lot of the movies on the new releases as we pass by. I'm no prude, but I guess I'm just old-fashioned sometimes. Not that Cordy hasn't forced many a new movie on me, but still. The classics are classics for a reason. "Comedy, romance, action..." I say wandering through the store, still holding her hand.
There's a small smile that quirks his lips when I mention that hot chocolate sounds good and I find myself blushing, wondering if he had the flittering thought that I did.
All of this tension is going to unwind us both.
We walk into the store and my eyes catch sight of the small secrutiy camera in the corner, watching the two of us walk in the video store looking like a normal college couple.
Little did anyone know that I was a demon.
I shake that thought aside and lead him to the section where all of the classic's are and smile, looking around for something that catches my eye. "Romance is..." I blush and look at our hands. "Taken care of..." There's a hint of question in my voice before I quickly reach out for one before noticing it was sold out. "Drama maybe? It's been a while since I've picked anything like this out. So it's your choice. I pick the popcorn."
She seems to know where she's going, so I follow her easily, watching as movies go by and more movies lie ahead of us.
Smiling at her blush, I brush my fingers over the back of her hand. That's really damn adorable. Our romance is taken care of. I shake my head as she looks, and smile to myself. I see her fingers trace over one and I smile, thinking that would have been a good one.
I go look around a little too. "Hmm. Casablanca? Too serious?" I ask, putting it back, and mulling over that it might be too romantic to be enjoyable. "Charade! That's a great movie," I say. Audrey Hepburn, Cary Grant, and a plot that twists and turns. "It's kind of a mystery, but it's funny and..." well, romantic, but she already nixed that. "Hmm. The Great Escape?" I say, waving the box back and forth as if tempting her. "Steve McQueen, who doesn't love Steve McQueen." Well, okay, it might be more of a guy movie, but Steve McQueen.
"How about Charade?" I say, thinking that might keep the mood like. Walter Matthau is great in it too. Very funny. We've got enough tension between us that I don't think we need any help.
When he mentions Casablanca I can't help but grin until he seems to get mopy about it and picks another, grinning again. He's acting like a dork and I love it. I can act like that in front of him and feel just as much at ease as he does me. I couldn't ask for anything better.
I grin at him and take Charade from his hands and Casablanca from the shelf. "Five day rentals, I'm sure we can find time to watch these," I tell him confidently; secretly surprised at the sureness of my statement.
My fingers tighten around his and I pull him gently towards the microwave popcorn and I pull out a package of sweet and salty as well as original popcorn. "This is my favorite." I hold up the bag of the sweet and salty, wondering how the combo will taste to him...but secretly thrilled at the thought of it on his lips.
I find myself moving closer to him, my eyes locked to his as I stand on my tiptoes and kiss him sweetly, my body wanting to melt against him and to forget where we are right now and just enjoy the moment and the night we have.
Girls like me don't get to be happy...I'm going to enjoy this as much as I can for as long as I can.
I smile as she takes both, taking charge. That's my girl. It's hiding in there somewhere, that confidence. I hope I can get it to creep out more. "I'm sure," I agree in a murmur, following her as my fingers twine tighter with hers.
"Good to know. I'll have to keep that in mind when I make future snack runs," I say teasing her. She won't be letting me anywhere near a grocery store any time soon. And it occurs to me that I haven't winced once on this little outing, and haven't even thought about my injury really. That's definitely a good thought.
Oh. I find myself with a sweet looking girl in my arms, her arms twining around my neck as she strains up to capture my lips. My hands clasp at the small of her back, keeping her close, kissing her long and slow. Nothing...unseemly, but it's nice just to keep her close. She deserves what ever she can get that makes her smile, and this seems very much to make her smile. "That was nice," I say quietly with a smile, letting her slide back down to her feet. "You should do that more often," I say, teasing her lightly, my hand finding hers easily as we head to the counter.
I use Cordy's account here and the movies are quickly ours and the night comes flooding back as we step outside. My favorite time of night when things are slower and the darkness feels close and warm, comforting and sweet. I bet the night jasmine in the courtyard smells wonderful. I give Tara a smile as we head towards the Hyperion.
Angel kisses me back and I use the moment to just melt into him, wishing I could spill all my secrets to him. But I want to protect him. What if my family finds out and they somehow get Buffy involved; telling them I'm with a vampire and she takes him from me.
I don't know where this is going but I want to find out. I need to.
It won't happen, I won't let it happen.
He teases me and I slip my fingers with his, resting my head on his shoulder for a moment and wishing it was that easy just to be. Then again it has been with him; for a while I've noticed. Maybe even one day I can find myself not looking over my shoulder at what's going on or happen.
We make our way over to the hotel and I'm almost sad to see it go so quickly as my hand leaves his. "I'll go pop the popcorn and I'll be up in a minute." I make my way to the kitchen and put the bag in the microwave; I set it to pop as I start making the warm milk for the hot chocolate and look for a large bowl to pour the popcorn in.
After a bit of searching I finally find something and pour the two bags in one, dipping my hand in to sneak a few bites of the sweet and salty before I make my way up the stairs to see where Angel went.
"Ho-" I catch myself and blush in the dark before clearing my throat. "Angel?"
My hand feels cold without hers in it as I head up the stairs, smiling at her as she heads for the kitchen to take care of the popcorn.
I putter around the little den room we set up for Tara to study in, fluffing cushions, finding blankets, that sort of thing. I smell some good smells as I putter, and remind myself to go have some blood. Just in case. It's hard being around new people. Always have to feed more just to fight off the new cravings while their scent sinks in. Not that I had much practice before Buffy and her friends. Cordy and Wes were actually tougher though, since I see them all the time and see solely them some days.
Finishing off some blood I come back out in the hall to hear Tara call up the stairs. "Yeah? I'm in the study...room, your other room," I clarify. "Well, actually..." I trail off, seeing her as she hits the top of the stairs. "So which first?" I walk with her back to the room, not glancing at my bed as we walk past. God.
I smile fondly as he mentions that it's my other room. It makes me feel at home, like I'm wanted and belong there. I like this feeling it gives me, I really do.
"Doesn't matter," I tell him, sitting the tray with the popcorn and hot chocolate on the table. "They're going to be watched happily." I look around the room and look down at my clothes. "I'll be back in a second, I'm going to get out of these school clothes."
Without waiting I hurry out of the room and into mine, searching my bag for a pair of pants and a tank-top. I find a pair of grey sweats and a white tank to slip on, spraying some of the soothing body spray that Lorne gave me to relax. It smells of Chamomeil and Lilac's which I love.
I pad barefoot over to the room and find myself a corner of the couch. "You pick, Angel." I smile up at him and dip my hand in the bowl to take a few bites of popcorn. "Then I'm making you try this."
And that really wasn't what I meant by my question. "You said you never liked anyone like this before...you mean like me?" Like a vampire? Let's hope not. Although that would be near impossible and have her here in front of me.
I hold her close, feeling that vulnerability from admitting these things sinking in. The kisses don't seem to stop and it's not long before I'm trying to do more, get more, feel more.
It's a tiny dance, a handshake of sorts as our tongues meet, mine drawing over hers, tasting her, drawing in a deeper more detailed scent. Should be able to make her out from much farther away now. She pulls away suddenly though, and I'm left with only half a taste, not really getting to savor her.
"Your place is closer," I say, keeping my eyes on her. It was just a squirrel. I can smell it. "I don't even know how you're still on your feet after a final and work." My hand brushes up and down at her waist, subconsciously trying to reassure her that I'm not upset...about anything. "I could tuck you in," I offer, a little sheepishly. "Who's the dork now," I ask her with a lop-sided grin. "Or I could do that for you at the hotel..." I want to offer to let her stay in my bed. With me. In case of nightmares. But I just can't quite bring myself to do it. After all our talk of taking things slow, I don't think offering to have her sleep with me is going to sound right. Even if it would only be sleeping.
Reply
Angel reminds me that I should be tired and I nod, agreeing that some rest would be a good thing; but I wasn't ready for sleep or anything. I smile widely when he offers to tuck me in and I blush and nod. "We both are." It still amazes me how comfortable I am with him; I don't want anything to change it either.
"H-how about we can stop and grab a movie on the way? I d-don't know how much sleep we might get at my place." My face turns red and I sigh, shaking my head. "I meant that um it's usually noisy with the band upstairs and sleeping is usually problematic..." Then again the hotel might be a bit suggestive and the fluttering thought of curling up in his bed might become more than just a fleeting thought in my mind. "You c-can pick the movie..." I offer quietly, my fingers finding his.
Reply
"Okay. Do you need to pick up anything at your apartment?" I ask, smoothly deciding that the hotel it was going to be. I like having her there, and if she's going to make excuses not to be at her apartment, then I might as well give her an invitation. "We can pick a movie up on the way back to the hotel," I say as I smooth her clothing back to its proper places even if it wasn't all that out of place. "You might want to pick, otherwise we'll end up with something from the dark ages," I try to joke.
Twining my fingers with hers I start to move, walking us backwards until we're free to move and walk, and all of that stuff that doesn't require going slow or restraining oneself.
Reply
I anxiously bite my lip as he moves his hands over my sides and hips, I squirm under his touch and nod when he mentions going back to the hotel. "I still have my bag at the hotel, I'm okay."
Slipping my fingers with his, I follow him quietly, standing close as we head towards the hotel. "You can pick, I'm n-not one of those girls that doesn't like it if it's not in color. Classic movies are alright."
We walk quietly, the air blowing in cool gusts as we walk towards the hotel, my lips still swollen and burning from his kiss. The rest of me aching for more. "Angel," I whisper, looking up at him. "Thank you for tonight."
Reply
I squeeze her hand as we start to walk, staying as close to her as she does to me. The urge to protect her is strong, and even if I can't give her everything she should have, I'll at least try to do that for her. I smile over at her when she volunteers to watch black and white movies.
"Hmm?" I pause in the middle of the sidewalk to look at her as she thanks me. "For what, Tara?" I ask gently. "I wanted it all, too," I say with a smile, hand stroking her cheek. "Nothing to thank me for unless I get to thank you too," I murmur, once again brushing her hair from her face. Leaning down I kiss her once softly and squeeze her hand.
And right now, all I want is to curl up on a couch with her, or in my bed and kiss her until her lips stay swollen for hours, her breath comes out in gasps, and I've got her warm skin beneath my hands.
Reply
I smile up at him after a moment. "Let's get a movie b-before we freeze to death." I squeeze his hand a moment. "Do you like hot chocolate? Wil- I've been told I make a great hot chocolate."
A small sigh escapes my lips as we walk slowly, my mind desperate to think of things that I shouldn't be thinking about. The memory of the dream I had when I was in Angel's bed floods my mind and it takes effort to supress a moan that's desperate to come out.
"Movie, popcorn and hot chocolate...yeah..." I breathe, desperate not to think about such things like my birthday and all of the things I need to hide from Angel. Mainly the one reason I'm running from my family like I am.
He might not feel this way then.
Reply
"Movie," I nod, enjoying the squeeze of her hand. I'm not sure who Will is or why he comes to mind when she thinks of hot chocolate, but Tara seems to go quiet, and I let her have her reverie, wondering if this has anything to do with the nightmares or the phone message. I'm not going to pry though. She'll tell me when she's ready.
"Popcorn and hot chocolate sounds good, too," I say if only for the fun of tasting chocolate in her mouth later and feeling her get warmer. Plus, the whole brushing hands when picking up the bits of popcorn. I spot a video store and head towards it, wincing at the loud ding as we open the door and go inside.
"Anything you're in the mood for?" I ask, eyes gazing over the brightly-colored scantily-clad people on the covers of a lot of the movies on the new releases as we pass by. I'm no prude, but I guess I'm just old-fashioned sometimes. Not that Cordy hasn't forced many a new movie on me, but still. The classics are classics for a reason. "Comedy, romance, action..." I say wandering through the store, still holding her hand.
Reply
All of this tension is going to unwind us both.
We walk into the store and my eyes catch sight of the small secrutiy camera in the corner, watching the two of us walk in the video store looking like a normal college couple.
Little did anyone know that I was a demon.
I shake that thought aside and lead him to the section where all of the classic's are and smile, looking around for something that catches my eye. "Romance is..." I blush and look at our hands. "Taken care of..." There's a hint of question in my voice before I quickly reach out for one before noticing it was sold out. "Drama maybe? It's been a while since I've picked anything like this out. So it's your choice. I pick the popcorn."
Reply
Smiling at her blush, I brush my fingers over the back of her hand. That's really damn adorable. Our romance is taken care of. I shake my head as she looks, and smile to myself. I see her fingers trace over one and I smile, thinking that would have been a good one.
I go look around a little too. "Hmm. Casablanca? Too serious?" I ask, putting it back, and mulling over that it might be too romantic to be enjoyable. "Charade! That's a great movie," I say. Audrey Hepburn, Cary Grant, and a plot that twists and turns. "It's kind of a mystery, but it's funny and..." well, romantic, but she already nixed that. "Hmm. The Great Escape?" I say, waving the box back and forth as if tempting her. "Steve McQueen, who doesn't love Steve McQueen." Well, okay, it might be more of a guy movie, but Steve McQueen.
"How about Charade?" I say, thinking that might keep the mood like. Walter Matthau is great in it too. Very funny. We've got enough tension between us that I don't think we need any help.
Reply
I grin at him and take Charade from his hands and Casablanca from the shelf. "Five day rentals, I'm sure we can find time to watch these," I tell him confidently; secretly surprised at the sureness of my statement.
My fingers tighten around his and I pull him gently towards the microwave popcorn and I pull out a package of sweet and salty as well as original popcorn. "This is my favorite." I hold up the bag of the sweet and salty, wondering how the combo will taste to him...but secretly thrilled at the thought of it on his lips.
I find myself moving closer to him, my eyes locked to his as I stand on my tiptoes and kiss him sweetly, my body wanting to melt against him and to forget where we are right now and just enjoy the moment and the night we have.
Girls like me don't get to be happy...I'm going to enjoy this as much as I can for as long as I can.
Reply
"Good to know. I'll have to keep that in mind when I make future snack runs," I say teasing her. She won't be letting me anywhere near a grocery store any time soon. And it occurs to me that I haven't winced once on this little outing, and haven't even thought about my injury really. That's definitely a good thought.
Oh. I find myself with a sweet looking girl in my arms, her arms twining around my neck as she strains up to capture my lips. My hands clasp at the small of her back, keeping her close, kissing her long and slow. Nothing...unseemly, but it's nice just to keep her close. She deserves what ever she can get that makes her smile, and this seems very much to make her smile. "That was nice," I say quietly with a smile, letting her slide back down to her feet. "You should do that more often," I say, teasing her lightly, my hand finding hers easily as we head to the counter.
I use Cordy's account here and the movies are quickly ours and the night comes flooding back as we step outside. My favorite time of night when things are slower and the darkness feels close and warm, comforting and sweet. I bet the night jasmine in the courtyard smells wonderful. I give Tara a smile as we head towards the Hyperion.
Reply
I don't know where this is going but I want to find out. I need to.
It won't happen, I won't let it happen.
He teases me and I slip my fingers with his, resting my head on his shoulder for a moment and wishing it was that easy just to be. Then again it has been with him; for a while I've noticed. Maybe even one day I can find myself not looking over my shoulder at what's going on or happen.
We make our way over to the hotel and I'm almost sad to see it go so quickly as my hand leaves his. "I'll go pop the popcorn and I'll be up in a minute." I make my way to the kitchen and put the bag in the microwave; I set it to pop as I start making the warm milk for the hot chocolate and look for a large bowl to pour the popcorn in.
After a bit of searching I finally find something and pour the two bags in one, dipping my hand in to sneak a few bites of the sweet and salty before I make my way up the stairs to see where Angel went.
"Ho-" I catch myself and blush in the dark before clearing my throat. "Angel?"
Reply
I putter around the little den room we set up for Tara to study in, fluffing cushions, finding blankets, that sort of thing. I smell some good smells as I putter, and remind myself to go have some blood. Just in case. It's hard being around new people. Always have to feed more just to fight off the new cravings while their scent sinks in. Not that I had much practice before Buffy and her friends. Cordy and Wes were actually tougher though, since I see them all the time and see solely them some days.
Finishing off some blood I come back out in the hall to hear Tara call up the stairs. "Yeah? I'm in the study...room, your other room," I clarify. "Well, actually..." I trail off, seeing her as she hits the top of the stairs. "So which first?" I walk with her back to the room, not glancing at my bed as we walk past. God.
Reply
"Doesn't matter," I tell him, sitting the tray with the popcorn and hot chocolate on the table. "They're going to be watched happily." I look around the room and look down at my clothes. "I'll be back in a second, I'm going to get out of these school clothes."
Without waiting I hurry out of the room and into mine, searching my bag for a pair of pants and a tank-top. I find a pair of grey sweats and a white tank to slip on, spraying some of the soothing body spray that Lorne gave me to relax. It smells of Chamomeil and Lilac's which I love.
I pad barefoot over to the room and find myself a corner of the couch. "You pick, Angel." I smile up at him and dip my hand in the bowl to take a few bites of popcorn. "Then I'm making you try this."
Reply
Leave a comment