TITLE: Racing The Rain
AUTHOR: Finey_McFine
RATING: PG-13ish
DISCLAIMER: Willow, Tara and any other BtVS characters, as well as some random dialog, belong to Mutant Enemy. ALL other original characters belong to me! This includes: Willow’s siblings and teammates, plus Tara’s friends and co-workers. Mention of any ‘real’ people in this fic is brief and pure fantasy.
SUMMARY: Totally AU! Set in LA with lots of W/T fluff and some angst, but no Hellmouthyness; just good old regular day-to-day drama. Willow is attending college on an athletic scholarship and Tara is Hollywood royalty. They meet and fall in love, of course, but will they be able to survive the pitfalls of a public romance? Well, you’ll just have to read and find out!
FEEDBACK: Yes! Any glaring issues…please send me a PM!
AUTHOR’S NOTE: Hi Everyone and Happy almost Sunday! Early post, because we’re celebrating my little monkey’s 12th birthday tomorrow:) So, on my last post I asked for a rain dance and we got some rain. Yay! So this time I ask, will some please turn off the heat? Enjoy!*************************************
Chapter 43: My Tara “Willow, sweetie?” Tara said softly; her fingers gliding wistfully across the length of Willow’s sweat covered back, “We need to get up before Hunter comes looking for us.”
“Nuh uh, don’t wanna,” Willow mumbled as she buried her face deeper into her girlfriend’s chest; squeezing her tightly.
Tara smiled and pressed a kiss to the top of Willow’s head, “As much as I’d love for you to stay there forever, we have a date tonight.”
Willow grumbled incoherently, finally rising up on her elbow, “Ummm, Tara boobs,” She breathed as she ran her fingertips upwards across the silky skin of Tara’s stomach to gently massage her left breast.
“Oh God Willow,” Tara gasped as Willow’s lips descended on her right breast. “Baaaabyyyyy…” Tara whined.
Willow placed several light kisses on her girlfriends erect nipple, then her chest, her neck and finally her lips; kissing her deeply. Eventually breaking the kiss, Willow sighed, “I think we need to shower again. How about we take a quick one together?”
Tara glanced at Willow coyly, “You. Me. Naked and wet? Does not equal quick.”
“Hmmm,” Willow pondered Tara’s words, “You do have a valid point. Well, maybe we can just go together and take turns? I promise to be good and at least it’ll be a little quicker.” Tara finally acquiesced as they reluctantly untangled and went downstairs for a quick shower.
Some thirty minutes later, they happily skipped down the stairs hand in hand. Turning the corner they found Hunter sitting on the couch in the family room flipping channels on the TV.
“We’re here and ready for action – uh, dinner action that is,” Willow blurted out nervously.
Hunter eyed them with a knowing smirk. Earlier he had ventured upstairs to get an update on their departure time, when about half way up he heard music and some noises that a brother should never hear coming from his little sister. Doing an abrupt about face, that would make any drill sergeant proud, he made a hasty exit and decided to just wait it out downstairs with the TV turned up…really, really loud.
“Everything ok?” He asked.
“Yeah, we’re good,” Willow replied grinning goofily at Tara.
“We’re better than good,” Tara added, giving Willow a shy sexy smile.
“Great,” Hunter said, awkwardly.
Willow mumbled, “Super…” Not really listening to Hunter at all and completely focused on Tara. Willow kissed her girlfriend quickly, but went back for seconds, which quickly segued into something deeper.
Hunter coughed, “Well, ok then…shall we? Oh for the love of puppies, please?” He begged.
The girls pulled apart, completely flushed, “Ok, ok…we’ll stop.” Willow said and mouthed an
’I love you to Tara as she took her hand and they followed Hunter out to his truck.
***********************************
“So, how come we didn’t pick up Molly?” Willow asked her brother as the pulled into the restaurant parking lot.
“Her sister is dropping her off. They were at the mall and it was just easier,” He answered.
Willow turned to Tara in the backseat and smiled, “The mall is just across the street, so it’s pretty close.”
Tara nodded her head and returned the smile. She had taken the back seat to give the siblings a little time up front to talk. Inherently, Tara knew that if she and Willow were left to their own devices in the back, it would have made for a very uncomfortable situation for Hunter; even though she would have loved nothing more. It was fine with her as she sat back, taking in the scenery and listening to the chat up front. She loved watching the two of them interact; they were incredibly comfortable and at ease around each other. Tara could tell that their bond ran deep and she couldn’t help but notice how cute Willow was. The redhead spoke excitedly and gestured wildly with her hands as she caught Hunter up on all the goings on over the last couple weeks.
Arriving at the restaurant, Willow leapt from the truck so she could open the door for her date. Smiling sappily at Tara, she held out a hand to help her out and as soon as Tara’s feet hit the ground, Willow pulled her into a passionate kiss. Initially, Tara was surprised by the intensity of Willow’s kiss, but she responded quickly, wrapping her arms around Willow’s neck and pressing their mouths tightly together. As the kiss continued, Hunter did his best to avert his eyes, not wanting to intrude on their private moment. He stood on the other side of the truck waiting and wondering if they were going to come up for air anytime soon. Lucky for Hunter, he spotted Molly waiting on a bench just outside the front door of Pappasito’s and headed across the parking lot.
“Ummm, wow…” Tara breathed, “Will, you are an amazing kisser.”
“So are you baby, amazing…” Willow answered as she leaned in for a few quick pecks.
“Love you sweetie.”
“Love you too Tare, I guess we’d better go.”
“Umm hmm, hopefully we didn’t break your brother.”
Willow took Tara’s hand and they started across the parking lot, “Doubtful, but he might just break me,” Willow said and gestured towards her brother; who was sitting with Molly and rubbing their noses together.
“It must be contagious,” Tara offered.
“Yeah,” Willow smiled to herself, extremely happy for her brother.
They skipped up the steps to where Hunter and Molly were sitting on a bench, with their backs to a lush tropical garden. The outdoor waiting area was in fact beautiful. Styled to reflect an authentic Mexican Hacienda, the gardens surrounded a small stream with a waterfall and a hand crafted tile fountain as the centerpiece. Several children had gathered around, tossing coins and making wishes. The atmosphere was relaxed and Tara noted that it very much fit Willow’s laid back personality.
“Hey guys!” Willow shouted as they approached the couple.
“Hey,” Hunter replied, “Molly, this is my sister, Willow.” He said proudly.
“Hi Molly, it’s nice to meet you.” Willow replied.
“Y-You too Willow, Hunter talks about you all the time.” Molly was visibly nervous meeting Willow, she stammered and her hand trembled a bit when she reached out to shake Willow’s hand. Not only was Willow the first family member she was to meet, but also Hunter’s best friend, and Molly was feeling the pressure.
“Hmm, all good I hope!” Willow made eye contact and smiled warmly. Willow had a way with people and immediately put the girl at ease as she went about introducing Tara, and soon the four of them settled into a comfortable conversation.
After about 30 minutes the foursome relocated to a tall round table near the bar. They ordered strawberry margaritas and munched on homemade chips and salsa. They all seemed to get along well as they got to know each other a little better.
Tara glanced around as she sipped her drink, taking in the eclectic ambience of the restaurant. The main room was large and jammed packed with patrons. It was loud and with the addition of traditional Mexican music booming through the speakers, it made it hard to keep up with the conversation. She continued her scan of the room, noticing that the walls were adorned with a hodge-podge of colorful items and signs. There were also large multi colored Christmas lights draped across the ceiling throughout the entire restaurant, giving it a fun and festive atmosphere. Her eyes finally landed on Willow, who was regaling Molly with a ‘Hunter-centric’ childhood story. Willow had the girl laughing hysterically and swatting her boyfriend on the arm. Tara never got tired of watching Willow and it was quickly becoming her favorite pastime.
Unfortunately, the longer they sat out in the open, the more attention Tara received and soon a small crowd had gathered. Finally, noticing the commotion, the manager stopped by and quickly found them a private table in the back of the restaurant. They had waited nearly an hour to be seated and Tara couldn’t help but laugh to herself. Not once in her life did she ever have to wait for a table; this was most definitely a first. It was a humbling experience as she realized exactly how spoiled she really was.
Hunter sighed, “Wow, that was pretty…”
“Normal?” Both Willow and Tara answered simultaneously, then looked at each other and laughed; bumping shoulders.
“Gosh Tara, I don’t know how you deal with it, I mean it’s such an intrusion into your personal space,” Molly commented.
“The fans seldom get to me and they’re usually polite, but sometimes the Paparazzi does. I try not to evade them; I just live my life and try to stay away from controversy.”
“Oh yeah,” Hunter interjected, “Ya’ll are doing a bang up job at that!” Causing the four of them all laughed heartily.
The waiter came by, dropping off fresh chips and salsa and taking their drink order. The three women ordered a second round of margaritas and Hunter ordered a Coke. Tara’s brow furrowed and she bit her bottom lip as she pondered the menu. It was loaded with the usual Mexican fair and several items that Tara had never seen before. It all looked good and Tara had no idea what to order.
Willow noticed the perplexed look on Tara’s face and leaned closer, “You ok baby? You look a little lost.”
Tara smiled sweetly, “Umm hmm, I’m just not sure what I want. What’s good?”
“Well, pretty much everything. No matter what I get, it’s
always excellent! What exactly are you hungry for?” Just as the words left Willow’s mouth she knew she was in trouble, as Tara gave her the most seductive look she’d ever seen.
Willow turned about ten different shades of red at the look she was getting from her girlfriend. She attempted to respond, but the blue eyes that were locked on her effectively rendered her speechless. Willow glanced up at Hunter and Molly; relieved to see that they weren’t paying them any attention.
“So umm, what are you planning on eating, Willow?” Tara whispered.
Willow swallowed hard attempting to calm her hormones; the mixture of vixeny Tara and the buzz from the alcohol, had Willow’s libido in overdrive. The effect Tara had on her, never ceased to amaze her; just one simple look and it was all over.
Once Willow realized that her brother and his girlfriend were in their own world, she decided to have a little fun and began to rub her hand across Tara’s jean clad thigh; causing Tara to squirm beneath her touch. Then, in one quick motion, Willow slipped her hand between Tara’s legs and pressed snugly against her warm center. The move was completely unexpected and caused Tara to respond with a sharp intake of breath, nearly knocking over her drink.
“Woah, hey Tara…everything ok?” Hunter asked as he reached out and steadied Tara’s glass.
“Oh, yeah fine…” Tara breathed nervously; gritting her teeth and turning to the grinning redhead sitting next to her, “…I’m
finey-mcfine-fine.”
“Okaaay,” Hunter replied skeptically, “So, what are you two getting? I think I’m gonna order the Camarones Diablo!”
Tara exhaled deeply, still pondering the menu, “Baby?” She said sweetly, glancing at Willow.
Willow returned the smile and covertly removed her hand from between Tara’s legs, but left it resting on her thigh, “I usually order the fajita’s, they’re excellent and once you’ve had them here, you’ll never be able to eat them anywhere else. You can get beef, chicken or shrimp.”
“No shrimp!” They said simultaneously, giggling yet again.
“How about we get a beef-chicken combo and split it?” Willow offered.
“Sounds perfect,” Tara replied, winking at Willow.
The waiter returned and the group ordered their food. A few minutes later a young lady arrived at their table with a large cart and began to make their guacamole with fresh chunks of avocado, tomato, roasted jalapenos, onion, cilantro and limejuice. She placed the large wooden bowl on the table and the four of them began to dig in.
“Ummmm, oh my God this is good,” the blonde moaned.
“See, I told you everything here is excellent!” Willow beamed proudly.
“Do you have a favorite restaurant in LA, Tara?” Molly asked.
“Well, while I do love Spago, it’s not someplace you go to relax and have a quiet meal. My favorite restaurant is this little out of the way place in Culver City, where I grew up, called Celeste’s. They specialize in Caribbean food and it’s wonderful.”
Willow listened intently; she loved learning new things about her girlfriend. Tara laid her hand on Willow’s, which was still resting on her thigh. She turned to face her girlfriend, “I’d love to take you there sometime and show you where I grew up,” Tara stated shyly.
“I’d love to go,” Willow replied.
“So, I hate to bring this up-” Hunter said.
“-then don’t!” Willow interrupted; giggling and nudging him under the table.
“Ha ha, anyway…did ya’ll happen to see the tabloids?”
Willow rolled her eyes, “Yeah, Tara got cornered at Milo’s game by Clara Bose, the queen of all things gossipy.” Hunter and Molly scrunched their faces in unison. “She never changes, she was all with the grandmotherly sweetness and then wham! Right to the jugular; it reminded me of what happened to Rachael.”
“Oh yeah…I totally forgot all about that. She practically had her married off to old man Wheatley when she was 17.”
“Oh, this sounds interesting…do tell.” Molly said as she took a long sip of her margarita.
Hunter straightened up and began his story; “When Rachael was 17 she started helping old man Wheatley around his farm. He was getting up there in years and she needed volunteer hours for her college resume. Anyway, he’d kinda gotten a bad rap after his wife died,” Hunter glanced around the table and noticed that Tara and Molly were giving him their full attention, “See, he was in his late 70’s and started dating a younger woman.” Willow snorted and almost spit her drink across the table.
“How much younger?” Tara asked glancing at the choking redhead and patting her lightly on the back.
Willow smirked, “Oh, she was practically jail bait,” she paused dramatically and whispering, “The woman was 52.” Eliciting a round of giggles.
“So, anyway,” Hunter continued, “People started talking and thus his reputation of being a
cradle robber was born.”
“And my sister’s penchant for
older men was also launched,” Willow added, giggling sarcastically.
Hunter continued, “He dated the widow Pulliam for about six months and then another woman in her 60’s. Then poor Rachael unwittingly fell into his evil web of debauchery. She ran errands for him, cooked him dinner and drove him to appointments in town; that’s when the rumors started. Mrs. Bose had a field day.”
“So what happened next?” Molly asked.
“Well, Mom and I were at the grocery store and she overheard two women gossiping and pointing. Well, she came unglued; I’ve never seen her so mad. She left her cart, grabbed me by the shirt and tore out of there; straight over to Clara Bose’s house.”
Tara glanced at Willow, who shrugged her shoulders, “I was only 7, so my memory is sketchy.”
“The only reason I even knew about it was because I was with Mom at the time. Anyway, when we got to Mrs. Bose’s she made me wait in the car, and to this day, I have no idea what transpired, but she never even so much as uttered Rachael’s name again. I’m guessing she threatened her to within about an inch of her life; I don’t know, the rumors not only stopped, but went in reverse at about a hundred miles an hour.”
Everyone got a kick out of Hunter’s story and Tara began to see exactly how protective Sheila was when it came to her kids.
Maybe she thinks I’m going to hurt Willow; that this is just a fling? She doesn’t trust me and Willow is her baby. I get that but, God…I love Willow so much. Doesn’t she see it? How the hell am I going to convince her with all this tabloid crap, and now the town gossip is getting revved up; probably looking for revenge for the ‘Rachael’ incident. Shit…I’m doomed. Just as Tara’s thoughts were spiraling out of control, she was saved from herself as the sizzling hot plates of food arrived at the table. She was incredibly thankful that Willow had not noticed her distance as she struggled with her inner monologue. She brushed the intrusive thoughts aside and focused on the task at hand, eating this delicious food.
******************************************
“Wow, that was the most delicious Mexican food I’ve ever eaten; you were right,” Tara proclaimed, about 45 minutes later.
Willow simply nodded in agreement as she practically inhaled a large spoon full of charro beans; opting to give Tara an enthusiastic thumbs up instead.
“My God Willow, don’t they feed you out in California or do you just get tofu and salads?” Hunter playfully asked his sister.
“Hey, I eat plenty!” Willow exclaimed, “I just can’t get any decent charro beans, that’s for sure. Nothing but that refried crap.” She mumbled the last sentence to herself as she pouted and took in another mouth full of the bean soup.
Tara smiled sympathetically and placed a hand on Willow’s back, showing her support. Willow’s over zealous eating habits never ceased to amuse Tara.
“Hey Tare, did you save room for dessert?” Willow asked.
“D-Dessert? Sweetie, are you trying to kill me?” Tara replied, raising her eyebrows.
“Of course not baby, but the Cajetas are ‘to die for.”
“That’s the second time today you told me a dessert was ‘to die for’ and convinced me to eat it.”
“And was I wrong?” Willow asked, still picking at the fajita meat on her plate.
“No, you were most definitely not wrong. What is a Cajeta anyway?”
“It’s kinda like fried ice cream with chocolate syrup and cajeta sauce; which is this creamy sugary goodness.”
“Why don’t we get four spoons and share?” Molly suggested, but wished she hadn’t when she saw the redhead frown immediately. “Um, sorry. Was that not a good idea?” Molly said sheepishly, looking to Hunter for help.
“It’s a fine idea,” Hunter answered and looked towards his sister; scolding her with his eyes, “My sister is just very possessive when it comes to chocolaty desserts.”
“I’ll have you know big brother, that I
willingly shared a slice of chocolate pie from The Blu Moon with Tara earlier today,” the redhead said, clearly proud of herself.
“Wow, you must
really love Tara!” Hunter added.
“Hey, I can’t help it that I had four older siblings that were constantly stealing dessert-y goodness from me! It tends to make me very protective over my chocolate.”
Molly caught Tara’s eye and the two shared a knowing smile, both enjoying the banter between the two siblings. Tara could imagine little Willow with a bag of chocolate looking for the perfect hiding place; returning later, only to find her bag empty.
Finally, after some coaxing from Tara, Willow reluctantly agreed to share with Molly and Hunter. A little while later the four were felicitously digging into the coconut-pecan crusted, chocolate syrup covered, vanilla ice cream with gusto. The dessert was decadent and Willow wasted little time devouring her portion and the remainder of everyone else’s as well.
“Ugh, I feel like I might barf,” Hunter moaned.
“How are you doing there Willow, are you in the vomit club too?” Molly asked.
Willow groaned, “I had too much creamy goodness.”
Tara looked sympathetically towards her girlfriend, “Oh, baby, want me to rub your tummy? She likes it when I…” Tara paused, seeing the look she was getting from Willow and quietly continued, “…stop explaining things.”
Hunter giggled softly, waving to the waiter, “Can we get the check, please?”
The waiter shook his head, “It’s on the house sir.”
Hunter was taken aback, “What? Why?”
The waiter simply smiled and gestured towards his manager, “Per my manager.”
Seeing the interaction with his waiter, the manager quickly hustled over. “Is there a problem?” He asked.
“No, no problem. We were just wondering why the meal was comped?” Hunter asked.
Tara cringed; she could feel the heat begin to rise in her cheeks. This was nothing new for her; seldom did she ever have to pay for a meal when dining out, and it never got less embarrassing for her. She also never failed to see the irony of it all; she could afford the bill ten times over and yet they insisted on comping her meal.
“Well,” The manager started, “Miss Maclay is one of my favorite actresses and it would be an honor to buy her and all ya’ll dinner,” the man said almost shyly.
“That’s very sweet, but it’s really not necessary. Please, let us pay you; I-I insist.” Tara interjected.
The man was now blushing almost as deeply as Tara, “Well, how about we trade? Maybe a few pictures and autographs for me and my crew?”
Tara smiled sweetly and nodded her head; knowing that there was no way the man would take their money. They left the waiter a large tip as the manager ushered them towards the back of the restaurant for his photo op. Willow, Hunter and Molly stood off to the side while Tara charmed the small group of employees.
Hunter leaned in and whispered in his sister’s ear, “She’s the real deal, isn’t she?”
Willow smiled proudly and nodded towards her brother. “Yeah…she sure is.”
As soon as Tara finished, the foursome made their way out of the restaurant and realized that they’d missed the start of their movie; deciding to call it a night. By the time they pulled into an empty parking spot at Molly’s apartment complex, Willow was sound asleep, her head resting on Tara’s shoulder. Molly said her goodbyes and Hunter walked her to the door. Tara took advantage of the time and gently moved Willow so that her head was resting in Tara’s lap. Willow curled up in a ball and snuggled against her lover’s leg, “My Tara,” she mumbled sleepily. Tara couldn’t help but smile adoringly at her sleeping beauty; her heart surging with emotion at the way Willow laid claim to her. Even in sleep, the redhead was thinking of her and Tara could not have been happier.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
End Chapter 43 TBC…
I bow to the greatness of you as a writer. Amazing job! 
and welcome to the KB!!! 
and during the lunch break she said that guys love girls with curves and I happen to love curvy Amber, and Tara. 
