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Ariel -
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Their sweet attraction, shyness, and charm all laid out in three short paragraphs – lovely!
Thank you! Willow's hesitance will be explained I promise. And I had to throw some Anya in there. It had been too long without her.
zampsa19752001 - Anya is always sure to provide comic relief here, that's for sure. And I do enjoy writing her character.
Promthea128 - Willow will disclose soon enough but no, it's not cotton candy.
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Will is gonna see Tara and Faith at Anya's store, and then hilarity ensues. Right?
That would be hillarious.
Laragh - Yes blushy cuteness is adorable. And I'll get to Willow's "beef with Sunnydale" I promise. I haven't left you guys hanging yet. I refuse to do it now.
bouncer73 - I'm glad you're enjoying it. And thanks for reading.
Update
Title - An Everyday Life
Author name – beautiful_love a.k.a. Jessica
Rating - PG-13
Disclaimer - I don't own these characters.
Feedback- absolutely
Summary- Totally AU - Tara meets Willow - the happy bumblings of falling in love - I'm not too good at this summary thing.
Notes: So I know I just posted the last chapter yesterday but I know I'm not going to have time later this weekend to throw it up and I feel like since you've all be so
patient you deserve this. So...
Chapter 10
Willow paced outside the restaurant doors, looking at the clock on her cell phone every thirty seconds to see what time it was.
7:26
‘Relax,’ she chastised herself.
‘She still has time to get here. Not everyone arrives fifteen minutes early like you.’ She’d actually arrived closer to seven but sat in her car for the first fifteen minutes so as not to look like some sort of weird stalker outside the restaurant.
‘I should’ve made the reservation for earlier.’ Honestly she didn’t know how she’d actually patiently waited until now to see Tara again.
‘Get a grip! You barely know the girl.’
Once again she looked at her cell phone.
7:27
‘Grr!’
She turned on her heel to walk back towards the other side of the door once again when out of the corner of her eye she saw Tara walking towards her.
‘Oh wow.’ Willow had to quickly gather herself and pick her jaw up off the ground. The blonde looked stunning in a simple knee length skirt and short sleeved blouse that gave Willow just a glimpse of her ample cleavage. The breeze pushed her long, flowing hair behind her as she walked, leaving her face open for Willow to explore.
‘She’s so beautiful.’
“Hey,” Willow greeted when Tara was close enough to hear her.
“Hi. Have you b-been waiting long?”
“Oh no, I just got here,” Willow fibbed. “You look amazing. I mean great. You look great.” Tara dipped her head to hide behind her hair but before she could Willow saw the blush taking over her cheeks.
“Thanks. So do you.”
“Shall we?” Willow asked as she opened to door to the restaurant and motioned for Tara to enter. The blonde walked inside and then followed the slender redhead up to the hostess. “Hi, we have a reservation for 7:30. The name’s Rosenberg.”
“Ah, yes. Follow me, we have your table ready.” They followed the young girl to the back of the restaurant where a semi-secluded table waited for them. They sat together, nervously smiling at each other over their menus until the waiter came to take their order, taking the menus with him when he left, leaving them completely open to each other.
“So, do you live alone?” Willow asked.
“No. I’m staying w-with a friend f-for now.”
“How’s that working out?”
“Good. We a-actually lived together a-all through college so it’s n-no big deal.”
“That’s cool. I live with a girl I’ve known since high school. And half the time her younger sister stays with us too.”
“So you g-get along then?”
“Oh yeah. Dawn, that’s her sister, she’s in college now so that’s why she doesn’t live there with us full time. But she’s great. She’s almost like my sister too. And I’ve been best friends with Buffy since she moved here sophomore year.”
“B-B-Buffy?” Tara stuttered.
“Yeah. Kind of a funny name.”
“P-Pretty uncommon.” Tara took a sip of her water a leaned forward. “So she’s our age?”
“Yeah.”
“Um, w-what does she look like?”
“Um, well she’s blonde, my height, thin.”
‘What the heck? Why does Tara want to know what she looks like? Oh God! Did she just come here with me tonight to scope out my roommate? Well it wouldn’t be the first time someone used you to get to Buffy. But I didn’t even tell her I had a roommate… did I? Think Willow! Think! No, I didn’t. So why is she so curious about Buffy? Calm down. Relax. Maybe she’s just making conversation. It doesn’t mean she’s not interested in you.’
“Is s-she um… g-gay?”
‘Damn it!’
“Yeah she is.” Willow slumped down in her chair defeated. She was surprised to hear Tara’s laughter a moment later. She looked up at the blonde, still giggling away and a genuine look of confusion crossed the redhead’s face. “What? What’s so funny?”
“Is she b-by any chance d-dating a girl named Faith?”
“Yeah. How’d you know that?”
“Faith’s my roommate.”
‘Oooohhhh.’ Relief washed over Willow and she sat back up in her chair, a smile on her face. Tara continued to giggle and that only made Willow’s smile bigger.
‘She’s so cute.’
“Small world huh?”
“Definitely,” Tara said as she took a sip of her water.
“So you already met Buffy then?”
“Yeah. The th-three of us went out for drinks after she got her tire fixed.”
“Yeah, I um, kind of faked a headache to get out of it,” Willow admitted. Tara pretended to be horrified but then laughed. “It wasn’t to get out of meeting Faith or anything. I was just kind of irritated with Buffy.”
“D-Did you know that they w-were setting us up?” Tara asked nervously.
“No! Really?”
“Yeah. I b-broke Faith down in the car on the way to the club we were supposed to meet at.”
“Wow. And I had just told Buffy that she wasn’t allowed to set me up with anyone anymore a few days earlier. Shows how well she listens. I felt bad the next morning though about ditching you guys.”
“You should. I had to watch them b-be all cutesy alone,” Tara teased.
“Well I’ll try to make it up to you,” Willow said, the flirtation in her voice evident to both girls. She watched as the blush spread across Tara’s face again but instead of ducking behind her curtain of hair, she just smiled at the redhead, her mind churning with all the ways the beautiful girl could in fact make it up to her.
*************************************************************************************
“I’m absolutely, completely and totally stuffed to the gills,” Willow said as she rubbed her stomach. “That was delicious.”
“It really was,” Tara said as she stepped out of the restaurant behind her date.
It was after ten and the two had been sitting in the restaurant for the better part of an hour, their dishes cleared, just talking and getting to know each other better. Willow learned that Tara had grown on up a horse ranch in northern California with her protective older brother Donnie, who still watched over her like she was twelve years old. She loved animals and was seriously considering going to veterinary school before falling into architecture. Her friends Faith and Anya kept her on her constantly on her toes as she was the “responsible” one of the group. And she spent a long weekend at least once every four months with her parents and her brother’s family on their ranch, just catching up and playing with her nieces. Willow was just a forthcoming with stories about her and Buffy growing up with their friend Cordelia, who had just moved to New York about six months earlier. She told Tara all about the antics she and Buffy had put up with when Buffy’s mom passed away six years earlier and Dawn went wild. But when Tara asked her about her family, she glossed over her answer, saying simply that her parents lived only a few blocks away but that they “weren’t close.” Sensing Willow’s discomfort, Tara immediately changed the subject to music but filed the “family” subject away for a later day.
“I was thinking of asking if you wanted to go down to the boardwalk for an ice cream but I don’t think I can fit anything else in me,” Willow said, stretching this and that, hoping to shake the uncomfortably full feeling she had.
“Well, we could s-skip the ice cream and j-just take a walk,” Tara suggested, not wanting her time with Willow to end. Willow just nodded and smiled, motioning towards the path that led from the restaurant down towards the boardwalk. The two didn’t say anything as they made their way through the throngs of people that had come out on the absolutely perfect evening.
“I didn’t realize it would be this crowded,” Willow said as a couple of giggling teenagers pushed their way between the two girls, running towards the sound of music that seemed to echo off of everything. “There must be a concert.”
“A concert?”
“Yeah, they have live bands play one day during the week and then one day during the weekend. It usually happens on Friday night though.” The girls continued to meander through the crowd, the music getting louder and louder as they walked. They rounded a corner and found the source, a small stage lit up with an alternative band in the center of the lights, pounding away on their instruments, a decent size crowd gathered around to listen to their anguish. “You want to check it out?” Willow asked as she glanced at Tara on her left.
“Sure,” the blonde nodded. Willow smiled back at her and moved into the crowd, clearing the path for Tara to follow. They settled somewhere in the middle and stood together, their arms gently brushing together every few moments as the rest of the crowd squeezed in around them.
Tara watched the people around them, nodding along to the music, laughing, smiling, enjoying each other’s company. She turned to Willow and smiled when she saw her head bobbing along to the beat. She turned her attention back to the stage and watched the band play on for another two songs before taking a break from their first set. The crowd seemed to swell for a moment and then start to disperse. She turned towards Willow, not wanting to lose the redhead and was surprised to feel her fingers enveloped in the warmth of the redhead’s hand.
“Come on, we can go this way and avoid all these people,” she said as she pulled the blonde towards the stage, walking to the right of it and onto the beach beyond. Her hand tingled from where the redhead gripped it, leaving her feeling a little light headed. “Sorry, I just am not big on crowds.”
“No, it’s o-ok. I’m not either,” Tara admitted. She was pleasantly surprised that as they continued to walk, Willow didn’t let go of her hand. With the music gone all the two heard were the gentle breaking of the waves as the water crashed down on the sand to their left and the dull clamor of the crowd beyond the buildings to their right. They appeared to be the only two on the beach at that time and surprisingly, instead of being nervous at the proximity of the redhead, Tara found herself relaxing and in a bold move, sandwiched Willow’s hand between hers as they walked. Willow felt the warmth of Tara’s left hand on the back of hers and smiled at the blonde, giving her other hand a little squeeze as they continued on the path back towards the boardwalk. Slowly they made their way back to the restaurant, pausing on the way at different booths lining the walkway, pointing out different trinkets and knickknacks, laughing and joking the whole time. By the time they finally reached the restaurant it was almost midnight and the parking lot was clear of all cars except for theirs and the remaining restaurant staffs'.
“I had a really nice time tonight,” Willow said as they stopped at Tara’s car.
“I did too,” Tara said, without even the hint of a stutter. Willow smiled at her and briefly squeezed her hand before letting it drop.
“Maybe we could go to a movie this week? You said you hadn’t seen that new Jennifer Garner movie.”
“I’d like that.”
“Great,” Willow said with a smile, her tongue poking out between her teeth. “I’ll look at show times and call you this week.”
“Ok,” Tara nodded, her own half smile gracing her face as she watched the redhead trying to contain her excitement.
“Alright, well I’ll let you get home.” Willow said this but made no attempt to move to her own car, and this only made Tara smile more.
“Good night Willow,” Tara said as she opened her car door and climbed in.
“Good night.” Willow watched as the blonde started the car and put the car in gear. Surprisingly she then rolled her window down and poked her head out.
“Go get in your car. I’m n-not leaving you here by yourself,” she said with a smirk. Willow just giggled and turned, quickly making her way to her own car and safely climbing in. She started it and waved to Tara one last time before the blonde sped off and out of sight.
Willow couldn’t wipe the smile from her face the whole way home. It had been a great night and honestly, the best date she’d ever had. She couldn’t wait to see the blonde again. Pulling into the driveway she noticed Buffy’s car was missing but Dawn was home. She parked her car on the street and quietly walked into the house, careful not to disturb the younger Summers girl in case she’d fallen asleep watching TV on the couch, which quite often, was the case. She locked the door behind her and peaked around the wall to the living room to see the television blaring on a late night infomercial but the couch empty.
“Dawn?” she called out, grabbing the remote to turn the TV down and noticing the light in the kitchen was on.
‘Figures,’ Willow thought, knowing that the younger girl was raiding the fridge. “Dawn?”
“Willow?” the young girl peeked her head around the wall and smiled when she saw she was no longer home alone. “Hey! Where’ve you been? I’ve been here by myself all night.”
“What are you up to?”
“Nothing. Just getting a snack. You want some?” Willow walked into the kitchen and saw Dawn was using the term snack loosely. The giant mixing bowl on the counter contained the remainder of Buffy’s rocky road ice cream, rice crispies and marshmallows, all covered with a strawberry topping she couldn’t remember buying.
“I think I’ll pass,” she said.
“Ok, you want to watch a movie?”
“Sure, let me just run upstairs and change.”
She took her time, changing out of the black pants and fitted top she’d worn to her date with Tara and slipped into her sweats before making her way back downstairs where Dawn had already set up camp on the couch and was tucking into her concoction. Willow took one of the easy chairs and settled in as the previews started.
“So you were on a date?” Dawn asked, without even looking away from the TV, a smirk covering her face.
“Shut up,” Willow said as with a laugh, knowing that Dawn wouldn’t hold off much longer before she was asking for details.
"Ok, ok. But you're going to have to fess up soon Will. Because I can tell from the perma-grin on your face that this is the start of something good and I need details."
"Details will be coming down the pipeline, I promise. I just want to enjoy this for now," Willow said, hoping Dawn would understand what she meant. The younger girl just nodded, an understanding smile crossing her face.
"So Buffy's at Faith's tonight... Again," Dawn said, spooning another load of sticky sugar into her mouth.
'Oh, poor Tara,' Willow thought, but she couldn't help but smile to herself.
"Well we're lucky they don't come here you know?" Willow said, noticing that the opening credits were finally starting to roll.
"Amen," Dawn said, licking a chunk of ice cream off her thumb.
*************************************************************************************
Tara crept into the front door, hoping that Faith would either be asleep or out for the night. She knew her roommate wouldn't bombard her with questions on her whereabouts but she was hoping to just have some alone time to unwind after what she had classified as the most fabulous date ever. She saw the lights on in the living room and heard the unmistakable sound of Faith's laughter at something on the TV.
'Damn,' she thought as she clicked the deadbolt locked and kicked off her shoes near the door.
"Tare? That you?" Faith called from the living room.
"Yeah, it's me."
"You ok? I tried calling you but you didn't answer. I was worried."
"Oh, sorry. I didn't have my phone on me," she answered as she stopped in the kitchen to grab a bottled water. She rounded the corner and was surprised to find Buffy cuddled up next to her roommate, looking at her expectantly. "Oh hi Buffy. I'm sorry, I didn't know you were going to be here."
"We're just watching some TV. Wanna join?" Faith asked, patting the seat on the couch next to her.
"No thanks. I'm tired. I'm just going to head to bed I think."
"Ok, well we'll keep the TV low so you're not bothered," Faith said as she reached for the remote.
"No it's ok," Tara said as she reached her bedroom door and opened it. "I'm getting pretty used to having to sleep with lots of loud, unexpected noises in the apartment." She pointedly looked between the two girls on the couch, a small smirk on her face as she did. Normally she wouldn't have been so forward but her night with Willow had left her floating and she couldn't resist poking a little fun at her roommate and girlfriend.
For her part Faith just chuckled and nodded her head. Buffy however sat next to the brunette, looking completely confused.
"Good night," Tara said as she closed the door.
"Night Tare."
"What is she talking about? Loud, unexpected noises in the apartment?" Buffy asked.
"Nevermind Buf. Let's just finish this show and head to bed. We have to get up early tomorrow if you still want to do that marathon in the morning."
"Ok." Buffy was quiet for a moment but then turned to Faith and whispered, "She was so with Willow tonight! Why didn't you ask her about it?"
"Let it go B. Just let it go." A soft kiss on Buffy's forehead was enough to keep her quiet again. For now at least.
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W+T flavored cotton candy.
but I’m very intrigued about Willow’s comment about Sunnydale. Hmmm . . .
Great job!!
