Dawn cried on her bed throughout the morning. Emily wasn't sure what to do. She hadn’t known Dawn had a crush on Connor. If she had . . . she didn't know what she'd have done. Just thinking about Connor made her stir with desire. He was unlike anyone she ever knew. Last summer, he'd just seemed so mature. He was a college guy, not a phony southern gent or some muscle-bound Neanderthal who just wanted to lay her. He looked at her with piercing blue eyes and asked her about herself and listened intently when she answered. He laughed at her jokes and was so graceful when he moved.
"Hey Dawn," Emily said as she sat sobbing roommate's bed. "Girl rules. If you have a thing for Connor, I'm not dating him."
"Just go away!" Dawn said into her pillow.
"If that's what you want," Emily said, feeling suddenly a deep regret for all that had happened. "I . . . I'm sorry. And not just because I hurt you. I can't believe I gave up my virginity because of a hangover. So, if you want, you can move over and we can have a cry together."
Dawn looked up at Emily and gave her a half smile. "Okay. But bring your own pillow."
Emily grabbed her pillow and laid on the tiny dorm bed. They laid on their sides, facing each other. Dawn already began feeling a little better. It reminded her of times with Buffy before their mother died.
"Thanks," Dawn sniffled. "I could really use a roommate right about now."
"So, tell me about it.”
"I don't want to be self-indulgent. People are always accusing me of that. You tell me yours."
"Went out last night. First college party. Got trashed. When I woke up, I couldn't remember anything. I was half afraid I got date raped or something. But when I walked home, I felt fine. My friend Becky said it hurts the morning after your first time. So, I dodged that bullet. Yay. Then I see this friend of my brother's I met last summer. I so badly wanted to hook up with him then, but the timing was never right. I talked. I flirted. I brought him upstairs and attacked him. So much for being a demure southern belle, huh? I've heard about girls coming to college and going wild. Never thought I'd be one of them."
Dawn snorted. "What was it like?"
"Fast," Emily said with a giggle. Dawn laughed. "Guess it was nice, too. But it turns out my roommate liked the guy, too. She came back and caught us."
Dawn laughed again and sniffled. "Oh, I hate when that happens."
"So tell me yours.”
"Met this guy last night. Said he liked my perfume."
"What a cheap line!”
"Yeah," Dawn said, enjoying grilling Connor. "But from him, it worked. We walked to the Quad together. He was only a sophomore, but I kissed him anyway."
"How was it?"
"It was nice," Dawn said peacefully. Even now, the memory was a warm and happy one. "Then I went and started kissing the seniors. But that mountain lion came. I fell down and hurt my ankle. My sophomore boy saved me. After all that time, he remembered me."
"And you kissed again?" Just asking made Emily feel both jealous and aroused.
"No. But I knew I'd have to find him again. And I did. He was having sex with my roommate in my dorm room.”
"That ass hole!" Emily said with mock outrage.
"Totally," Dawn smiled. She became quiet. "So, are you going to see him?"
"I'm seeing him for lunch. I'll tell him it was a mistake. Girl rules."
"You don't have to."
"Girl rules," Emily repeated. "It's as simple as that."
Dawn smiled. "You know, you're a great roommate."
"I'm an okay roommate." Emily said with a self-effacing smile. "I'm working on great." She glanced at the clock. "Don't you have IHUM in ten minutes?"
Dawn glanced at the clock. "See? That was better than okay. That was great."
"Yay me," Emily said unenthusiastically.
Dawn got up and changed clothes. She'd come back and shower after her class, but she didn't want to wear the same thing two days in a row. She laughed at herself. She knew that by the end of college, the same clothes two days in a row would be nothing.
"You know what you need to do to get this behind you?" Emily said. "Just find another guy. I mean, we're total babes. We can definitely find a couple hotties to drive that jerk Connor out of his mind with jealousy."
"One hotty. For me. You should keep seeing Connor."
"Dawn," Emily started. "I told you-"
Dawn turned to Emily. "When you announce to the entire floor that your roommate slept with a guy, you have to let her date him. Especially when it was her first time." Dawn forced a weak smile. "Girl rules."
**
"Totally not fair," Terry said as Connor rolled into class late and sat next to him. "I fight Craig because he's macking on your crush. I barely scratch him, then wake up the next morning with a black eye, swollen jaw, and busted up wrist. Then you break the ass hole's nose with one punch."
Connor smiled slightly despite his preoccupation with other personal matters. "Thanks for trying.”
"Mr. Reilly," Dr. Goodson, the instructor, called. "Since you know so much that you don't pay attention, perhaps you can tell me how 7-4 Be transforms into 7-3 Li."
"Yes, sir." Connor answered nervously. "7-4 Beryllium transforms to 7-3 Lithium through electron capture by the nucleus with emission of a neutrino."
"That's correct, Mr. Reilly," Goodson said, simultaneously excited and annoyed that Connor had answered correctly. "But reading ahead doesn't give you the right to distract other students with your chatter. Or come to class late. Understood?"
"Yes, professor," Connor said meekly. "Sorry."
Twenty minutes later, Connor and Terry walked out of the class. "Man, how'd I let you talk me into this major?"
Connor laughed. "I said I'd help you study."
"Why were you late? Beating up more football players."
"No. I overslept. I was out all night."
"But you know they're going to be looking for you, right?"
"Who?"
"The football team," Terry said, angry that Connor didn't know this already. "You broke the quarterback's nose. You think they're going to let that slide?"
"This isn't high school.”
"Still, man. I'm going to talk to the track team and get you a big ass posse."
"It's not the OK Corral, either. Will you chill out?"
"I'm just full of all kinds of nervous energy lately." He glanced up. "But I think I'm going to let you take this conversation by yourself?"
"What?" Connor said. He followed Terry's line of sight. "Oh," he said unenthusiastically.
"Um . . . hey," Alyson Inoue said as she walked up to Connor.
"Hey," he said quietly, making eye contact for only a second before glancing away. "How're . . . never mind."
"I'm good. Kind of. I . . . I was really sad list night."
"I don't need an explanation.”
"But I want to.”
"I don't want an explanation. I don't want to think about it."
"I heard you guys in the hallway. I wish you'd told me how you felt before-"
"So do I.”
"I realize after I . . . you know. With Craig. I guess you wouldn't want to, but maybe we could get coffee or something?"
"I . . ." Connor looked toward the student union where he was supposed to meet Emily. He wondered what Emily say about what happened that morning. He wondered if she'd even show up. No matter what was happening with Emily, he knew what was happening with Alyson. He finally looked at her. "Things are too screwed up.”
Alyson began to cry slightly, but choked back the tears. "Because of Craig? God, it's bad enough to get used by an ass hole, but to have it cost me a great guy. And what the hell. I mean, you'll punch a guy out for me, but you won't date me? You really do think women are property, you-"
"It's not Craig. It's . . . it's a timing thing."
"What the hell does that mean?"
"This morning, after I left Craig's . . . " Connor's eyes began to well up with tears of his own. This morning with Emily. He liked Emily a lot. But there was so much pain that had come from what he thought was a harmless tryst.
"You met someone?" Alyson said incredulously. "Wow," she added bitterly. "You sure work fast."
"I think you can understand someone looking for company when they're upset.”
"You're dating her?"
"I don't know. But I'm not going to treat you like a consolation prize. You deserve better than that. I'm either with Emily, or I'm alone. That's how it should be."
"Emily? Emily Pierce?"
Connor suddenly felt flush with shame. He looked down and nodded.
"You knock out Craig over a girl than hook up with his sister?"
“It's not like, like what you're thinking. But . . . yeah. Me and Em. Maybe."
"You know what? You and Craig can both go to hell. You and your whole messed up competitive whatever. Why don't you two just screw each other and get it over with?" Alyson turned and stormed away.
***
"So, Carter hasn't checked in yet?" Kennedy asked.
"Connor," Willow corrected. She stopped making breakfast long enough to kiss Kennedy. "And no. He hasn't checked in. He probably slept ‘til noon like someone else I know," she added teasingly.
"Where's Buffy?"
"She wanted to check out the site of the fight last night. See if the tracks could lead her anywhere that could give us a clue."
"One more night before we lose him for 28 days," Kennedy said. "Timing on this thing is kind of tight"
"Timing is everything. But if we set out with Connor early, I'll bet he could track the werewolf."
"It's creepy how he can do that. You think he's a werewolf, too?"
"Nah. He'd have been harrier last night."
"But your ex-boyfriend learned to control it. Maybe this kid's the same."
"He's not," Will said matter of factly.
"What is it with you and him?" Kennedy said in a cattier voice than she'd have liked.
"You're jealous?" Willow laughed.
"Yeah. You used to date guys. Then this cute, super-powered guy comes along who can sniff stuff just like you're ex."
"Cute? Connor? He looks so . . . girly."
"Willow," Kennedy said, as if providing a reality check. "You're a lesbian. Girly is good."
"But not in guys." Willow looked at Kennedy with a slight grin. "Or girls, really."
"So what're you saying? That I'm butch? I know I'm strong, but it's not like I don't shave my legs or armpits or anything."
"I'm kidding, sweetie. Don't tell me it's your time of the month, too. Because you and a werewolf, I can't handle."
Kennedy laughed as Willow dished out the eggs. "Sorry. I guess I'm annoyed we didn't catch that thing."
"That thing," Willow started.
"Is a person all but three nights a month," Kennedy said in a bored tone. "Yeah, yeah. Now who's being nit-picky?"
Willow smiled and sat down.
Buffy got back and headed straight for the kitchen. She threw some scraps of clothing down. "Stanford logo.”
Willow picked up the scraps. "Hardly narrows things down."
"Not completely," Buffy said. "But I'll bet we're dealing with an undergrad. PhD students don't tend to buy up the school merchandise."
"Maybe a freshman," Kennedy offered, adding to Buffy's theory. "They usually buy more of this stuff, right?"
"Or an athlete," Buffy said.
"Or a coach," Willow rolled her eyes. "Or an upperclassman who still has sweatshirts from freshman year. Or a staff or faculty member with lots of school spirit. The only thing this says for sure is if a guy walks by and says 'I'd never wear those ugly, gauche school sweatshirts,’ he’s probably not our guy."
"Willow's right," Kennedy said, groaning in frustration. "I'd hate to think your morning was a waste, but-"
"Wait," Willow said. "Is this all you found?"
Buffy nodded. "Yeah. These scraps."
"So the rest was cleaned up.”
"Meaning?" Kennedy asked.
Buffy smiled, raising her eyebrows. "Meaning who ever the werewolf is, they know they're a werewolf."
Willow jumped up. "If I can hack the network, maybe I can see if anyone's looking up information on werewolves."
****
Connor could see Emily from a block away. He'd been nervous about how this would go. She turned, her eyes locked with his. She smiled. And her smile told him everything.
"Hey," Connor said, grinning as he approached her. He leaned forward and kissed her. "What do you want to eat? Subway?"
"I don't know. Can I get a bowl of meat somewhere? I'm in the mood for meat."
"Yeah," Connor chuckled. "Tree house. You can get a burger. Bowl of Teriyaki Beef. Something like that."
They ordered. Although Emily protested, Connor paid for both of them. Then they sat a table for the notoriously long wait.
"I was worried," Connor said. "You know. After Dawn . . ."
Looking at Connor, sharing the same air as him, breathing in his scent, it made Emily tingle with excitement and long to be alone with him. She exhaled deeply, so happy that Dawn had said Emily dating Connor was okay. Emily had meant every word when she said she'd dump Connor for her roommate. But now, seeing and smelling and hearing him, she knew it would have been impossible.
"I doubt you care, but we have her blessings," Emily smiled.
"No, no I care.”
"You're sweet. So, do you like my skirt?"
It seemed an odd question to Connor. He hadn't even noticed what she was wearing when he walked up to greet her. He looked over the table. "It's nice." He wasn’t sure how to comment on what seemed like a typical skirt.
"Easy access," she grinned mischievously while cocking her eyebrow.
Connor looked at her confused. He wasn't sure what she was talking about or what he should say. Part of him wondered how well he knew her. Was he dating a crazy person?
Emily sighed, frustrated at Connor's lack of comprehension. "The Nitery. Next to Old Union."
"Where they have the plays?"
"It's empty during the day. But the doors are open."
It took a moment for Connor to catch on. He let out a nervous laugh that sounded like a breath. His smile showed embarrassment, desire, disbelief, and giddy fascination. "It's right next to the main student services building for the whole campus. Someone'll see us go in."
"We just have to time it right. Everything comes down to timing."
*****
Connor crept into the building and up the stairs. They went in separately, hoping not to draw attention. It also allowed Connor to stop by Tressider Express, the mini-mart, to buy condoms. "Emily?" he whispered.
She stuck her head out from a large room with lots of windows. The tables and chairs were folded up and stacked in a corner. "No one else is here," she said in a normal voice.
Connor laughed. Despite being alone, they were doing something sneaky. He felt like he needed to whisper. He walked down the hall and into the room. The moment he stepped through the door, Emily grabbed him by his shirt and pulled him in. She slammed him against a wall and planted her mouth on top of his.
"What happened to taking it slow?" Connor whispered.
"We can do it slower this time, if you want. But I feel like a dog in heat. I need you now."
Connor turned, pressing her body against the wall. He kissed her lips, then her ear, then her neck.
Emily pushed Connor to the floor and they made love.
Emily sat up. Her desire was drained and now the nauseating emptiness returned.
"I guess you can pull your pants up now," she said in a sullen voice. In the heat of the moment, all she could remember was her lust for him. When it passed, she felt like a slut. She silently cursed society. Why could men be proud of screwing anything that moved while she and other women were left ashamed for satiating that same lust?
"What's wrong?" Connor asked, looking at her sadly.
She smiled slightly. The sincerity and sadness in his eyes made her want to fall into his arms. Men could say whatever they wanted with their words, but eyes never lie. Connor's said that he cared for her. He was sad for her sorrow.
"Same as before," she said with embarrassment. "I feel . . . cheap."
She expected him to yell or complain. To remind her of what already lay so heavily on her mind. She suggested it. She initiated. Hell, she even directed it, telling him what to do. And she loved doing it. No matter how pathetic she felt now, she remembered the overwhelming ecstasy of satisfying her desire for Connor at the basest and most carnal level.
Connor nodded understandingly. "Okay. I'm . . . I'm sorry. I said we'd take it slow and then-"
"I wanted this as much as you did. More."
"Not possible," Connor smiled.
That god damn happy puppy smile Emily thought. Makes me want to just eat him up.
"From now on," Connor said. "Slow. No matter how much we want to."
"Yeah," Emily laughed. "That'll work just fine."
******
"You're still alive?" the voice came from behind her. Buffy turned. "I thought slayers had a life expectancy of about 21. You must be 30 by now."
"Try 24," Buffy said.
"Still too damn old for a slayer."
"And how long do werewolf hunters usually live, Mr. . . . Cain isn't it?"
Cain laughed. "I still don't get it. Werewolf. Menace to society. And you're going to make it hard on me to put this dog out of its misery."
"It's not the dog I'm worried about. It's the person the dog is during the day and all but three nights a month. I thought we covered this seven years ago."
"What do you have there?" Cain asked, looking at Buffy's hand. Buffy quickly shoved the scrap of clothing into her pocket, but it was too late. "Clothing? So, either you shredded your boyfriend's shirt in the heat of the moment, or you're looking to get between me and my wolf again."
"Cain, last time I broke your rifle. I see you out there again, and this time I break your skull."
"You care more about those freaks than you do regular people.”
"I've heard that before. Doesn't change anything. I see you out there, you go to intensive care."
"Not if I see you first," Cain grinned. He held his fingers like a gun and made as if he was pulling the trigger. Cain gave an ominous laugh and said, "I'll leave you to your shopping." He turned and walked to the cashier, buying only a poster-size map of Stanford's campus.
Buffy turned back to the jacket on the rack in front of her. She held up the torn piece of clothing she’d found. It was definitely the same jacket. The fragment ran from the collar to the emblem, allowing Buffy to match the size. She smiled and pulled a jacket off the rack and checked the tag.
“Don’t you think Kennedy would look cute in this?” Willow said, holding up a Stanford cap.
“I’m not wearing a hat from a school I never went to!” Kennedy protested.
Willow put the cap down and looked at Buffy. “Match?”
Buffy nodded. “Match.”
*******
Emily smiled when she opened the door to see Connor. He smiled back, half happy and half nervous. He glanced inside. “Is she still mad?”
“Maybe,” Emily said, placing her hand on Connor’s shirt. “But she’s also having dinner with her family.” Emily gripped Connor’s shirt and pulled him into the room.
“I have a dinner of my own to go to. But I wanted to see you first. No reason. Just wanted to see you.”
“I want to see you, too.” She sniffed him and frowned. “Too much cologne.”
“One spray,” Connor protested.
“It’s still too much. I don’t like the way your cologne smells. I like how you smell.” Emily began unbuttoning Connor’s shirt.
“Em,” Connor said with a giddy smile. “I have to go in like-”
“Come on.” She moved forward and pressed her body seductively against his. “We both know how fast you can be when you need to be.”
“No.” Connor gently pushed her away. “We’re taking it slow, remember? I don’t want you feeling sad or angry or cheap.”
Emily smiled. She bit her lip, trying to get her hormones under control.
“Speaking of cheap,” Connor said, pulling out a bag. “I got this for you this afternoon.”
Emily looked at the bag and smiled. “You got me jewelry?”
“Don’t get excited,” Connor said, removing the box from the bag. “It’s just a little bracelet. Nothing special.”
Emily opened the box to see a bracelet with “Con and Em” inscribed. She looked up at him and almost cried. “It’s beautiful.”
“I wanted to get ‘Connor and Emily’, but I couldn’t afford a bracelet big enough to fit it.”
“You shouldn’t have gotten me anything, you dork.”
“Nah,” Connor said with a shy grin. “You’re my girl now.” He leaned in and kissing her. “I want everyone to know that.”
“Well, Dawn already took care of telling everyone in the hallway this morning.”
As Connor backed away after kissing her, Emily reached up and grabbed his head. She pulled him back and kissed him deeply, again pressing her body against his.
“Slow,” Connor said through the lip lock. Again, he pushed her gently back. “Slow.”
“Fine,” Emily pouted. “So what’re you doing tonight, anyway?”
“Um, just this . . . job. It’s this job I used to have and I’m helping some people out with it. And I have to do it tonight. There's a timing issue.” Connor glanced around the room, looking for anything that could serve to change the topic of conversation. He found it in the form of a picture Dawn had just unpacked that afternoon. Connor went pale.
“What is it?” Emily asked.
“Is Dawn’s last name Summers?” Connor asked nervously.
“Yeah. Why?”
Connor shook his head. “Oh. Crap.”
|
|
|
|
Rave
Barbie Girl (Becca)
biscuit07
Filmtheory (Jim)
Malice (Jess)
MebbtheScribe (MichaelB)
Reset (Allie)
Shay (Marrisa)
somnambulist29 (Shea)
Stephanie Loss
Wendyness (Wendy)
Questions?Contact Us
|
|
All stories on this site have been archived with the authors' consent. Do not copy these stories for your own uses without the express consent of the author themselves. Buffy the Vampire Slayer TM and Angel TM are © UPN, WB, Fox and its related entities. All photos on the site are © UPN, Fox, Warner Bros, and/or their respective owners. No profits are being made by use of these images.
Powered with the assitance of eFiction.
|
|
|
