TITLE: Racing The Rain
AUTHOR: Finey_McFine
RATING: R
DISCLAIMER: Willow, Tara and any other BtVS characters, as well as some random dialog, belong to Mutant Enemy.
SUMMARY: Totally AU, Willow and Tara Meet with not so surprising results! Set in LA with lots of W/T fluff and a little teeny tiny bit of angst, but no Hellmouthyness. Just good old regular day-to-day drama.
FEEDBACK: OK; Any glaring issues…please send me a PM!
AUTHOR’S NOTE: Happy Sunday Kittens! This chapter grew a little too big so I split it up into two parts, hence the ‘A/B’ business. Plus they are light and fluffy, since the last few were a bit angsty. I’m gonna try and post the ‘B’ section later this week if I have time, otherwise it’ll post next Sunday:) Have a great day!
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Chapter 28A: Date Night
To say that Willow was emotionally drained was an understatement of gigantic proportions. After the call with her mother, she’d reached her daily limit. No longer able to concentrate on her schoolwork, she tried playing a few video games and when that didn’t work she mindlessly leafed through a magizine. She knew that their dinner date was important to Tara; she’d noticed her nervous stutter and Willow didn’t want to disappoint her with a sour mood. In truth, Willow was also a little apprehensive about the date. Cyndi had suggested they go out and tonight would put that plan to the test. It was going to be difficult being around Tara and not being able to touch her; no hand holding, no kissing…nothing. What if they slipped up? Willow was getting frustrated just thinking about it.
Whose idea was this stupid ‘wait to come out’ plan anyway? Oh yeah, mine. Idiot. She needed to clear her head and decided to go for a run. She threw on her running tights, a tank top and her favorite Nikes. After turning off her iPhone, then setting it for iPod only, she grabbed her sunglasses and off she went.
An hour and 4 and a half miles later, a very hot and sweaty Willow arrived back at her apartment and headed straight for the shower. She stood under the warm water, letting it flow over her and wash away the anxiety. She thought briefly about the conversation with her mother, but decided to let it go and focus on tonight’s date. Willow wanted to look perfect for Tara, knowing that they would most likely be photographed at some point. She definitely did not want to disappoint her.
So much had happened over the past month that she could hardly believe the turns her life had taken. She closed her eyes to rinse the shampoo from her hair and thoughts of Tara filled her mind. The majority of her time now a days was spent lost in thought about the beautiful blonde. She wondered if Tara thought about her as much, and secretly hoped that she did. She couldn’t imagine ever loving anyone more than she loved Tara at this very moment.
She shut off the water, stepped out of the shower and grabbed a towel. She leaned her head forward and hastily towel dried her hair, catching a glimpse of herself in the mirror with her hair going in all directions and the goofy smile on her face. She shook her head, laughing to herself and wondered how Tara could think that “that” was cute.
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Tara’s day had been a lot less stressful than Willow’s. She spent her time alone catching up on emails and reading scripts. She even managed to slip in a work out, successfully dispatching some of her nervous energy. Kelly never came home and though Tara thought about texting her, she decided not to. She did not want to spoil the evening with a bad mood either.
After showering, Tara stood in her closet for about 30 minutes trying to figure out what to wear. She told Willow to dress casual, but nice, nothing formal. Tara needed something nice as well, that complemented her girlfriend without completely showing her up. She assumed that Willow would wear dress slacks and a blouse, since she hadn’t seen her in anything else but pants. Tara slid on a pair of gray boot cut slacks that showed off her strappy Jimmy Choo sandals. Knowing how much her girlfriend enjoyed her cleavage, she opted for a loose fitting gray cami/black vest ensemble and topped it off with a matching black jacket.
Tara told Willow to be ready no later than 7:30pm because she’d made reservations at 8pm. She left about an hour early so she could stop by her favorite florist shop and pick up some flowers for her date. Upon exiting the shop, she was approached by several photographers. They clicked away furiously, all the while peppering her with questions about the recipient of the flowers.
“They’re for a friend,” she said as she smiled and waved before resuming her drive to Willow’s apartment.
She drove around for a bit to make sure she wasn’t being followed by the pesky Paparazzi and finally arrived at Willow’s about 10 minutes later. As she walked towards the tiny apartment, she couldn’t help but feel a slight tingling of déjà vu. Remembering back to their first meeting, Tara chuckled to herself,
so much has happened since then.
After knocking on the door, she waited patiently for Willow to answer and was rewarded with a stunning sight. Willow stood at the door nervously fidgeting, worried that Tara was disappointed with her clothing choice, until she realized that the stunned look on Tara’s face was definitely a good sign. Tara stood for a long moment just staring, and at a complete loss for words.
“You like?” Willow asked, somewhat seductively.
“Uh huh.” Tara mumbled, surprised that anything actually came out at all.
“Tara, baby…are you coming in?”
“Uh huh.” She mumbled again as she stumbled across the threshold.
“Are those for me?” Willow asked and motioned towards the bouquet of yellow roses that Tara clutched in her hands.
“Yes, yes of course they are. Sorry but, I think you broke me.”
Willow laughed and took the flowers from Tara. She brought them to her nose and inhaled deeply, “These are wonderful. How did you know, they’re my favorite?”
“Oh um, I guessed? You know, Yellow Rose of Texas and all. Willow, you look drop dead gorgeous tonight. I…I don’t even know what else to say.”
“Thanks Sweetie,” Willow replied while looking Tara over and blushing furiously “You uh, you look pretty
wow yourself.”
Tara took a step towards Willow and ran her hands down the sides of the redhead’s form fitting long sleeve slate blue mini dress and stopping at her hips. She pulled her girlfriend forward and kissed her passionately.
“You. Are. Amazing.” Tara said, punctuating each word with a kiss. Then taking Willow by the hands and stepping back, “Just…let me look at you for a minute.”
Willow was beaming proudly; thrilled that she’d made the right choice in clothing. During her run she decided that she wanted to dress up. It was seldom that she got the opportunity, since her life was immersed in school or sports; neither being the proper venues for a mini dress, black tights and knee high boots. She’d also taken extra time with her hair and make up; drying her bangs across her forehead and using the flat iron on the rest, making it look long and silky. Something Tara could not resist running her fingers through.
“This is going to be harder than I thought,” the blonde said, referring to the fact that she wasn’t going to be able to ‘knoodle’ with Willow.
“I know baby, I’m beginning to think that this plan was a
really dumb idea.”
“Not dumb, just necessary. Come on. Let’s go before we lose our reservations.”
They climbed into Tara’s car and headed out into the night to begin their first ‘official’ date.
“Hey,” Willow exclaimed, “I just realized that this is the first time I’ve ever ridden in your car!”
Tara smiled and looked at Willow quizzically, “Really? Are you sure?”
“Yep, either I’ve driven or we drove separately, oh and then there was the limo.”
“I guess you’re right,” Tara said grinning at Willow, “Ok so far?”
“Definitely! So, where are we going anyway or is this a big surprise?”
“I thought we’d go to Spago, in Beverly Hills.”
Willow’s mouth dropped, “Really?! Spago?
The Spago?!”
“Y-Yes, is that ok?” Willow’s reaction had worried Tara and now she wondered if it was too much too soon.
“Are you kidding me? That’s awesome!”
Tara giggled at Willow’s unbridled enthusiasm over a restaurant.
“What a minute? It’s nearly impossible to get in there, I know because Stacey’s boyfriend has been trying to get them reservations there for months and we just decided to go less than 8 hours ago and you already got reservations? I don’t underst-”
“Will, please just relax and breathe. In and out…remember?” Tara said quite amused with her girlfriend.
“Oh, sorry Tare. Once again, I kinda forgot exactly who I’m with. Dur!”
“It’s fine Baby, I just called and said I was coming and that was that. Being famous is quite nice sometimes…it definitely has its perks.” Tara said, grinning widely, “Besides, the Paps hang out there like vultures. Operation ‘be seen and photographed’ is now in action!”
Willow smiled back at Tara, lifted her hand and placed a gentle kiss on each knuckle. She then pointed at the digital display on Tara’s dash, “Do you mind if I…?”
“Go right ahead Sweetie, I was wondering how long it was going to take you anyway.”
Willow snorted, “You know me
way too well.”
She began fiddling with all the available options…the GPS, the DVD, the rear video camera and so on. She finally got to the radio and settled on a station that was playing top 40 music.
As Willow began to sing along with the music, Tara started listening intently to the adorable redhead’s own special version of the song.
Willow sang quietly,
“Now I’m feelin’ so fly like a cheese stick, like a cheese stick. Now I’m feelin’ so fly like a cheese stick.”
It wasn’t long before Tara started to snicker, she came to a stop at a red light and looked over at Willow; highly amused.
“What? Is my singing
that bad? I like this song!” Willow frowned and sagged into her seat.
Tara cleared her throat in an attempt to let her down easy, “No Sweetie, your singing is beautiful but uh, I don’t think those are the words.” Tara chuckled.
“Sure they are, I mean listen…she’s clearly saying
cheese stick.”
Tara’s raised an eyebrow, “Will, why would they be singing about a cheese stick?”
“I have no idea, I don’t write the stuff, I just sing along.” Willow replied smiling at Tara.
“Honey?” Tara said and pointed at the digital display, that clearly read
Like A G6.
“Oh my God, I’ve been singing it like that for months and no one told me!? Damn…” Willow said as she turned her head, looked at Tara and they both burst out laughing.
Tara and Willow were laughing so hard they were crying, so Tara finally pulled over a few blocks from the restaurant so they could wipe their eyes and fix their make up.
“Oh my God Willow, that was priceless! No one else can make me laugh like that, I love you Baby.”
“I love you too Tare, even though you’re all with the laughing at my expense…twice in the same day even!”
“Well, I’m sure my payback is just around the corner. C’mere you.” Tara reached out and slid her hand across Willow’s shoulder and around the back of her neck, pulling her in close for a sweet kiss.
“Mmhmm, I guess we’d better get this out of our systems now,” Willow breathed and kissed Tara again. It didn’t take long before the kiss deepened and they were caught in a full on make out session.
Tara finally pulled away and sighed, “Maybe we should just go back home because you look and taste absolutely delicious tonight.”
Willow smiled smugly, her green eyes shining, “Hmm, that is a nice thought, but I got all dressed up and I’m hungry too.”
Tara groaned, “This is going to be a
very long night.”
LOVE this!!! The warmth, the protectiveness even in sleep, and the sensuous details! Then those two lines: . . lover’s warm skin against hers; she loved Willow AND it felt good to finally tell someone; it felt good to tell Willow. Like a drumbeat/heartbeat – powerful use of repetitive phrasing.
Now I’ll forgive her! *Whew!!*
Thanks!
keep writing! I can't wait to read about Willow's mom meeting Tara
? I can just picture the contrast between that fiery red mane and the slate blue dress..Again, I pride myself on being a Tara/Amber girl. But, your Willow is fucking hot!! I would'nt mind getting my "knoodle" on with her a time or two 
!!
