“He understands, Buffy. He probably just needs a little time to recuperate. I hear that Hell isn’t exactly the nicest tourist trap,” Willow tried to assure her friend.

“Well, I just wish Angel could be a little more like Oz. I mean, if he could he’d probably spend all waking hours of the day with you,” Buffy commented.

Willow got that far-off look on her face. The one she always got when someone mentioned Oz’s name. He was so sweet and considerate. Almost everything a girl could want from a guy. “Oz is great, it’s just...” Willow stopped short not sure how to word her thoughts without sounding cheap.

“It’s just what?” Amy asked.

“Well, Oz is still kind of stand-offish. We’ve been seeing each other for a while now and still haven’t gotten past goodnight kisses. I want more smoochies if nothing else,” Willow complained. “When we do kiss it’s amazing. He kisses just the way I’ve always thought a guy should, so you can see why I would want more of it,” Willow said.

As if on cue, Oz and his band appeared on stage. He spotted them and waved in their direction. They all waved back and shared a conspiratory smile.

“He is a little cutie. Seems a shame for his kissing skills to go to waste,” Amy said more to herself then her friends.

After his set Oz came back to where they were sitting and sat down on the couch next to Willow. He put his slight arm around Willow, but Amy couldn’t help but notice that he gave her no hello kiss. She and her boyfriend, Brody, always kissed when they first saw each other. It seemed such a shame that her friends were having problems with their boyfriends when her relationship was going so well.

When they all decided it was time to retire for the night Oz offered to give them all rides home. When Oz dropped Amy first she went straight to her room and took her cauldron out. She was going to remedy this little problem of Oz’s so that Willow could be as happy as she was. Buffy’s problem was going to have to wait though. She wasn’t sure if she could put spells on vampires.

The next day, during lunch at school Amy sat at the table with Buffy, Willow, and Xander. She was waiting for Oz to show up so that she could slip him the hormone spell. And without anyone noticing.

Oz finally showed up and took his seat saved by Willow. He had a huge sack lunch with him. Amy was surprised that such a small guy could find room for so much food. He finished most of his lunch without Amy having a chance to slip the spell to him.

Finally, when he finished his lunch and he went to the vending machine to get something, she had her chance. Amy made sure no one was looking and slipped the spell in Oz’s Coke.

She sat there and waited for Oz to drink from his Coke. When he finally slugged back the rest of it, Amy stood and said goodbye to her friends. “There, that should make Willow happy,” Amy thought to herself with self-satisfaction.

Later that night, Willow and Oz were out on a date. Willow was having a really good time, especially since Oz was being really cuddly tonight. After they got out of the movie Oz suggested they go to the park. “Sounds good to me,” Willow said, trying to hide her excitement.
Maybe he was finally going to take a bigger step.

Oz turned off the engine to his van when they got to the park. Willow started her nervous chatter as she usually does when she’s in an intimate setting with Oz. “So I liked the movie, but don’t you think that Michele Pfeifer was over-acting just a little bit?”

Oz silenced her quickly by putting his forefinger over her lips. He leaned in and kissed her gently. “You are so beautiful,” he whispered before kissing her again. This time the kiss was stronger and much longer. He even slipped her the tongue this time.

When they finally came apart they both had to catch their breath a little. Willow couldn’t believe the passion behind his kiss.

“Do you want to get in the back. It’s a lot more comfortable. Leaning over in these seats are making my back ache,” Oz asked her. Willow hesitated for a minute. The prospect of making out with Oz in the back of his van was both exciting and a little scary.

Oz noticed her hesitation. “You don’t have to if it makes you uncomfortable. I just don’t want to take you home yet.”

The fact that he wasn’t pressuring her made it much easier for her to decide. “Sure. Why not?” Willow said, attempting to sound nonchalant about it. It was hard for her though. This was a really big step for her, but she was sure she was ready for it.

She went to the back and sat down on the cushions. Oz came back and sprawled out comfortably. She was sitting up rather stiffly. He gently chuckled at her stiff posture. He gave her a little head gesture for her to come sit next to him. She scooted over and was sitting close to his lean frame.

“Willow, loosen up. You’re too stiff,” Oz said and pulled on her arm for her to lay down next to him. She laid back and rested her head against a big, fluffy pillow. “See? Isn’t that better?” Oz asked her.

He leaned over and started kissing her again. She soon relaxed a little and got into the kiss. Soon Oz had rolled over so that he was half on top of her. His right hand went to her side and moved up it slowly until he was fully groping her breast. It scared her at first, but it also excited her. Then his hand moved back down so that he could move it under her shirt. The feeling of his hand against her bare skin made her jump a little, but she still didn’t protest. He started kissing behind her right ear and she gasped with pleasure.

When he started trying to push his fingers under her bra she got really nervous. She put her hand on his to stop it from going any further. “Oz,” Willow said in a breathy voice. “Hhhmmmm,” he moaned as he kissed her collarbone.

“I think we should stop,” Willow told him. He stopped what he was doing and looked down at her. “I really should go home. I don’t want my parents to worry about me,” she explained lamely.

“Man,” he said in frustration and rolled off her. He sat up and ran his fingers through his dark brown hair. She sat up too and he put his arm around her shoulders and kissed her ear. The sensation really excited her. “Are you sure you want to go?” he asked as he proceeded in kissing back down her neck.

“Yeah, I better. I told my mom I wouldn’t stay out too late tonight,” she claimed. It wasn’t true, but she figured she should go now before she lost all of her resistance. And it was going fast.

This time when Oz dropped her off in front of her house he kissed her with passion. “I’ll see you tomorrow, baby,” he told her.

When Willow lay in her bed trying to get some sleep she kept wondering what had changed Oz’s demeanor so quickly. She didn’t really care. She was just happy. She had been starting to wonder if he was gay or something.

The next day Willow told Buffy about what had happened. She didn’t give out any details, but she made it clear that Oz had been exceedingly touchy feely.

“Just like that, huh? That’s weird. I’m so used to you telling me how dry your dates with Oz are. This might take some getting used to,” Buffy said in shock.

After second period Willow and Xander were walking on to their next class and Willow spotted Oz. They both stopped to talk to him at his locker. Oz wrapped his free arm around Willow’s waist and pulled her close to him so he could kiss her long and deep. Willow looked at Xander through the corner of her eye as Oz planted the kiss on her. Xander looked too shocked for words.

Xander’s shock didn’t last too long. “Sit, Ubu, sit!” Xander said excitedly. “It’s called a time and place, buddy.”

Oz let go of Willow and faced Xander fully. “I’m starting to get real tired of the dog jokes, Xander. The only reason I put up with your smart ass is because of Willow. I can’t promise that’ll last for too much longer.”

“Oz!” Willow said excitedly. “Xander, shut up! Everybody knows that for some reason you don’t like Oz, but you could at least pretend to get along with him.”

“Are you kidding me? He was trying to make an X-rated movie with you in the middle of the halls. If I didn’t have a reason not to like him then I do now,” Xander practically yelled.

Oz slammed his locker door really hard, making both Willow and Xander jump. “I’m getting pretty tired of this shit. You can pal around with this chump if you want to, but I’m sick of pretending to like him.” At that note, he turned and left leaving both of them staring at his back.

“Is it so much to ask for you to be nice to Oz? He hasn’t done anything to you. I still don’t understand your dislike for him,” Willow said sadly and walked on by herself. Xander stared after her, wishing he could make sense out of his jumbled feelings for his best friend. Wishing he could also tell her the thoughts he had about her. Unfriendlike thoughts.

Buffy finished off her weapons training with Giles by knocking the wooden staff out of his hands and aiming a fake blow to his head. She lowered the staff she held and gave him a self satisfied look. “Not bad, huh?” she said.

“No, bad isn’t exactly the word I was planning on using. Well done. I think that you can skip patrolling tonight. There hasn’t been to many vampires out for a while now,” Giles offered.

“Oh, yippee! I actually get a night off? What a novel idea,” she said about her well deserved reward.

She gathered her things together and left the school. On her way through the school parking lot she noticed Oz’s zebra striped van still parked. Curious as to why Oz was still at the school she decided to go and check it out. When she got to the van she could hear voices coming from the other side. “You have the most beautiful smile,” she heard Oz say. She didn’t want to interrupt if he and Willow were having a moment so she turned to leave, but stopped when she heard the laugh of a girl she was sure wasn’t Willow. She went around to the other side of the van and found she was right about her guess. A sophomore girl she knew only by face was leaning up against the side of the van and Oz was looking deeply into her eyes. They didn’t notice her at first so she made her presence known. “Ahem,” she cleared her throat loudly.

They both turned to her in surprise. Oz backed away from the girl quickly and flashed a guilty look at Buffy. “I need to talk to you,” Buffy said to Oz, trying to keep cool. She was sure he had a reasonable explanation for what seemed to be his mac daddy mode.

The girl didn’t budge from where she was standing so Buffy moved closer to Oz and said, “You’re not invited into the conversation. So go away.” The girl looked to Oz to defend her, but finally walked away when she noticed he wasn’t going to.

“What was that all about?” Buffy asked angrily. Oz shrugged and went to go and lean against the side of his van. “What’s the matter? We were just talking.”

“It sounded like a lot more then talking to me. You have such a beautiful smile,” she mocked. He went over to her and put his arm around her shoulders. She gave him a dirty look, but didn’t pull away from him. “What’s the matter, Buff. You know you’re the only girl for me,” he said and gave her a winning smile.

She faked a smile back before grabbing the hand that was around her and flipping his slight weight over her shoulder. He lay on the ground in pain and she stood over him looking down. “If you’re jerking Willow around then expect to get worse then that,” she said and turned to walk away, but stopped. “Oh, and don’t ever call me Buff again.”

That night Willow was doing her English homework when the phone rang. “Hello,” she answered.

“Hey, baby,” Oz’s voice came from the other line. “I called to apologize.” Willow smiled at her boyfriend’s thoughtfulness.

“You don’t have to apologize. It was all Xander’s fault,” she said.

“Yeah, I guess. Hey, what are you doing right now?” Oz asked.

Willow responded, “Just doing some homework. Why?”

“I rented some movies. I thought you might want to come over and watch them with me,” he offered. She hesitated for a moment, then decided, “Why not. My parents are out for the night and I have nothing better to do.”

Oz came and picked her up. When they got to his house he took her straight up to his bedroom. He had a big bed with a black bedspread, a big entertainment center with a big screen TV, V.C.R.,and a big stereo system. There were band and movie posters covering his walls. His room was really tidy, which was a surprise to Willow because the only other boy whose bedroom she had been in was Xander’s and his room looked like a tornado hit it.

“Okay, so I got The Art of Kama Sutra and Debbie Does Denver. Which one should we watch first?” Oz said. Willow looked at him in complete shock. She actually dropped her jaw. “Willow, I was only kidding,” Oz told her and laughed. “No, I got Scream 2 and I Know What You Did Last Summer. They both have this same girl who looks just like Buffy.”

He popped in Scream 2 and they positioned themselves next to each other on his bed. They were just barely through the part where Buffy’s look-alike got killed, before they were kissing. They both quickly fell into the same position they had been in when they were in Oz’s van. The only difference was, things were going a lot faster this time. Oz had his hand up Willow’s shirt and he was trying to unhook her bra. He could have used some help, but Willow wasn’t going to give him any. She was just going to hope that he’d give up on it. But, and to Willow’s dismay, he actually got the damn thing undone. Willow gasped when his hand moved her bra away and started to carefully caress her breast. It felt good, so Willow didn’t protest until Oz started to unbutton her shirt. “Oz, don’t,” she said and moved his hand away.

“Don’t worry. I’m not going to hurt you,” he told her and lightly brushed her cheek with the backs of his fingers.

“I know you wouldn’t. I’m just not ready to go that far yet,” she explained. He rolled off of her and let out an exasperated sigh. “Jesus, Willow. Are you totally trying to tease me, or what?”

“Excuse me?” Willow asked in a choked voice.

Oz sat up and swung his feet off of the bed so that his back is to her. “You let me go this far, get me all hot and shit, and then you tell me to back off. What’s up with that Willow?”

Willow, sad and angry at the same time, got off the bed and walked over to the door. They’re face to face now. “You know, I don’t know what’s going on with you, Oz. One night you’re scared to kiss me and the next you’re all over me. I willing to do this, but only if it’s one step at a time.” She said this, then turned and walked out of the room, hoping she had turned in time to hide the tears.

Oz followed her as she jogged down his stairs and through his front door. “Willow, I’m sorry. At least let me drive you home,” Oz said reasonably.

“No, I can’t be around you right now. We can talk more at school, after I cool down,” Willow told him.

“What if the vamps are out tonight?” Oz asked with sincere concern for his girlfriends life.

“I can take care of myself,” Willow said defensively, even though she wasn’t sure she could.

The next day at school Buffy commented that Willow looked upset to Xander. She wanted to tell Xander about what happened the other day with Oz, but she knew he would just totally wig out and probably try to kill Oz and that would only upset Willow. “Yeah, well, I couldn’t tell you what it’s all about. She still isn’t talking to me,” Xander complained.

“You deserve it. You’ve been nothing but mean to Oz the whole time she’s been dating him,” Buffy said. She didn’t really feel the need to defend Oz, but she did want to defend Willow’s choice.

“You weren’t there though,” Xander began in his own defense. “The way he kissed her. It was almost as if he was trying to rub it in my face.”

Buffy thought about this. Oz was acting weird, as in not like himself. She could never imagine Oz trying to cheat on Willow, but that was certainly what it seemed like when she caught him with that other girl. Then he tried to get cute with her. “You might be right there,” Buffy admitted.

Xander looked shocked. “I know I’ve over-reacted in the past about Oz’s intentions, but I know I’m not this time,” he told her.

Willow was at her locker putting away her books so she could go to lunch. When she shut her locker she jumped because Oz had been standing right behind it. “Are you still mad at me?” he asked her.

“Yes,” she said, trying to hold on to her anger.

Oz took her hand into his and gave her a sincere look. “I’m sorry. I don’t know what came over me the last night. You know that isn’t me, don’t you?”

He was right. That wasn’t him last night. Willow was just curious as to what made him act like that. “I know,” she said, giving in to his hurt look. “I just don’t understand the drastic change. I mean, a week ago you barely even ever touched me and now you’re ready for so much more. Even more then I’m ready to give you.”
“He brushed a strand of hair away from her face. “Willow, you know that I don’t want to rush into anything. I can’t help wanting you, though.” Despite herself Willow smiled and blushed. She had never had a guy say that to her. “Can I give you a ride home today? We can talk about it more on the way to your house, if you want to,” Oz offered. She nodded her head in agreement and they parted.