********
TITLE: College Confidential
AUTHOR: Laragh
CHAPTER RATING: NC-17
DISCLAIMER: Willow, Tara and any other characters from the Buffy the Vampire Slayer franchise belong to Joss Whedon, FOX, ME and a whole host of other entities, none of which are me.
SUMMARY: The first part of the prequel to
Hacker Confidential and
Family Confidential - the college years!
SPOILERS: Perhaps minor references to the show or stealage of dialogue, but nothing that would spoil the series.
FEEDBACK: Yes please
Chapter 23 ********
Willow bounced through the door of their dorm, waving a piece of paper.
“Guess what I just did, guess what I just did!”
“Is that a party flyer?” Tara asked from the bed where she was leaning over a textbook with a highlighter and now eyeing the piece of paper uncomfortably.
“Do you think I got a personality transplant?” Willow asked, shutting the door behind her and going over to show Tara what was in her hands, “I signed up for my summer class! Photography, like you said!”
Tara smiled.
“I didn’t know you actually liked photography.”
Willow shrugged.
“Well, I’ve never tried it. But it seems like a good, summer-y class to do… better than history or something,” she replied, then pulled some more folded-up papers from her pocket, “I grabbed some of the next-semester class sign up forms for us too.”
Tara motioned towards her nightstand with her highlighter.
“The RA dropped some in this morning too.”
“Oh,” Willow replied, tossing her crumpled papers, “Did you fill yours out yet?”
Tara shook her head.
“Not all of it, I wanted to wait and see yours, see if we could schedule an afternoon off or something.”
“Yay, more Tara-time!” Willow exclaimed happily, snatching the forms up, “Do you have time to figure it out now?”
She dropped onto the bed and swung her legs up, then popped a kiss on Tara’s cheek.
“Hi, by the way. I like your sweater.”
Tara smiled, her eyes creasing affectionately.
“Hi. Thank you.”
Willow, as she always did, spent a moment appreciating Tara’s gently sloped smile and, as it always did, found it left a warm knot in her stomach.
“Hi,” she repeated, letting the papers fall away and scooting closer, “You smell good.”
She turned her head into Tara’s neck under the guise of smelling her perfume, but her lips quickly found skin.
“You smell
really good.”
Her hand slipped under Tara’s sweater and caressed her stomach a moment, then went to the button on her pants.
“Willow–”
Willow took her hand back and slumped away.
“Did I go for the pants too fast?” she asked, pouting at herself, “I went for the pants too fast, didn’t I? I always go for the pants too fast.”
Tara just smiled and brushed her hand against Willow’s cheek.
“I have to be in art class in thirty minutes.”
Willow sat back, disappointed.
“Oh.”
Tara smoothed her sweater down and fixed her pants button.
“Later,” she promised, her tone indicating she meant it.
Willow perked up a bit.
“Okay,” she said, happy with the thought of ‘later’ as she picked up the papers she discarded again, “These forms always fill me with a sense of dread… like my brain finally registers that exams are coming up.”
Tara reached out and squeezed Willow’s shoulder.
“What are you worried about, you’ll ace them all.”
Willow shifted uncomfortably.
“I’m not as smart as people think I am. I just want to do well.”
Tara moved closer to take Willow’s hand.
“Sweetie? What’s wrong?”
Willow felt comforted holding Tara’s hand and started to play with her fingers.
“I guess I still have my A equals love mentality.”
Tara leaned right over and pecked Willow’s lips.
“Well my love equals W-I-L-L-O-W.”
Willow smiled softly and brought Tara’s hand over her heart.
“Thanks, Tara.”
Tara smiled again, then pointed to her class form.
“I already filled out my core classes, you can see if we fit in anywhere.”
“Okay, I’ll get right on it,” Willow replied, laying the forms side by side, “Hey, maybe we could take a class together. I’ll need a new arts elective, I can’t do American Film History again. I cannot write another essay on The Motion Picture Production Code of 1930. That was some serious censorship-y stuff, you know. ‘Passion should be so treated that these scenes do not stimulate the lower and baser element.’ Which kinda defeats the whole purpose of passion; to be stimulating.”
Tara had turned back to her textbook, highlighting new passages.
“Passion isn’t just about sex.”
“I know, you can be passionate about other things,” Willow replied distractedly as she filled out her schedule.
Tara shook her head.
“No, I mean, when it’s about sex… it isn’t always about sex.”
Willow looked up then, blank.
“You lost me.”
Tara was silent for a few moments in thought, still idly dragging her marker across various pages.
“Well, when we’re… together… it’s not just because I get ‘excited’. It feels like I’m a part of you, like I’m breathing from you. Consumed by you. Sometimes I feel like I’m lost in time and space but it doesn’t matter because you’re there, you’re my constant. My passion isn’t because I’m stimulated, because I want you… it’s because I need you,” she answered, then closed her textbook with a shrug, “But I still don’t really know much about this kind of stuff.”
Willow sat dumbfounded for a couple of seconds, but when she saw Tara about to stand, snapped to attention and tugged her arm back. She grabbed Tara’s cheeks and pulled her in to kiss; deeply, urgently,
passionately.
Tara placed her hands on Willow’s shoulders and kissed back for as long as she could before gently pushing her away.
“Willow–”
“I know, I know,” Willow cut her off with a soft smile, “I just thought it better than ‘ditto’. I love you, Tara.”
“I love you too, Willow,” Tara replied and pressed another sweet kiss to Willow’s lips before moving away to gather her books.
Willow let the tingle spread from her lips through her body then flopped down to the bed with a satisfied sigh.
“It’d be so fun to do a class together. Maybe something fun like drama. I could be dramatic,” she said, then grabbed Tara’s stuffed rabbit from her pillow and adopted a theatrical voice, “You cannot have another carrot! You have a carrot problem!”
Tara smiled over her shoulder.
“Definitely dramatic.”
Willow made a grab for the forms again and perused them as Tara got her things ready for class.
“How about Introduction to Theatre?” Willow asked after a couple of minutes, “It says here it’s half-classroom based and half-theatre based… learning the history and putting on a little show I guess.”
Tara nodded and put her satchel over her shoulder.
“That sounds fun.”
Willow looked between the two schedules.
“Well I’m not a 100%, but it looks like that could fit in on a Monday and Friday afternoon.”
Tara smiled again and sat on the corner of the bed.
“I’m in.”
“Great!” Willow replied happily, marking the class in with pencil so she could erase if necessary, “I’m so glad I have my housing situation sorted. It was stressful last year ‘cause Becky was all hot’n’heavy with her ex, Tim, and I didn’t really know where we stood.”
Tara reached out to rub Willow’s knee.
“That must’ve been tough.”
Willow shrugged.
“Not as tough as when he broke it off because he wanted to bang as many girls as he could over the summer… I was glad I’d already arranged to go home with Becky, ‘cause she didn’t stop crying for six weeks. It took a lot of Cherry Garcia to get over that one.”
Tara lay down for a moment alongside Willow to kiss her cheek.
“You’re a good friend.”
Willow turned her head in so she could return the cheek-kiss.
“What about girlfriend?”
Tara let Willow trail kisses along her jaw.
“You’re a wonderful girlfriend,” she replied warmly, before pushing Willow away when she approached her neck, “Now stop tempting me to miss class. I have to hand a final assignment in.”
Willow brushed her hand delicately down Tara’s arm.
“You’re the tempting one.”
Tara blushed.
“No more sassy eggs for breakfast for you.”
Willow pouted.
“But you know how I like them wiggling at me like little boobs. I’ll stop with the naughty… at least until you get back.”
Tara pecked Willow quickly and stood.
“I’m sorry, honey, I have to go.”
Willow nodded, only a half-pout this time.
“Okay, bye baby. Have a good class.”
“Make sure to leave your assignments on the desk…and have a good summer.”
Tara slowly packed away her things, wanting the shuffle of people trying to get out of class as quickly as possible to die down before she left. When only a short, steadily-streaming line was left, she held her assignment against her chest and joined it.
“Hey, Tara.”
Tara turned when she heard her name and smiled at the girl standing behind her, short-ish with a brunette pixie cut and pale but pretty features.
“Hi, Mia.”
Mia’s cheeks appeared to flush, but Tara didn’t notice.
“So are you keeping this class up next year?” Mia asked, smiling almost giddily.
“I’m not sure, I’m still sorting out my schedule,” Tara replied, leaving her assignment down as she approached the professor’s desk.
“Yeah, it’s hard to fit in those electives,” Mia said, quickly copying the action and following her towards and out the door.
Tara nodded.
“I think, um, ‘Introduction to Theatre’ is the only decided one so far.”
“That sounds like it could be fun,” Mia replied, almost standing on the tips of her toes excitedly.
Tara smiled again.
“Willow seems to think so.”
Mia’s brow creased but she tried to remain casual.
“Willow?”
“My–”
Tara didn’t get a chance to explain as the lady in question appeared from around the corner. She lit up as she caught sight of Tara and rushed forward.
“Hey, missed you too much to wait,” she explained, pecking Tara’s cheek and taking her hand, “Wanna grab some dinner?”
“Uh huh,” Tara answered brightly, offering a wave with her other hand, “Bye Mia, nice talking to you.”
Mia looked completely dejected, but managed a weak wave.
“Bye Tara.”
Their backs were turned to the scowl that followed.
“I filled out my whole schedule and I’d have Tuesday and Thursday afternoons off
and all day Friday,” Willow said, happily swinging their hands between them, “So hopefully you can work in with one of those.”
“Your class load is light,” Tara replied, turning her head towards the sun to feel the heat.
Willow watched Tara’s face glow with the gleam of the sun for a moment before concentrating back on the conversation.
“Well I’ve been doing a bunch of extra classes the last two years, I’m ahead of schedule,” she explained, then smiled affectionately, “But I’d choose us-time over a class any day.”
Tara turned back to Willow and offered a loving smile.
“I love you, too.”
Willow felt warmed by more than just the sun, then sighed.
“Some us-time will be sacrificed for the next week of exams though.”
Tara squeezed her hand reassuringly.
“It’ll be okay. Think about all the time we have after. Hope you don’t get sick of me.”
Willow smiled again and shook her head.
“I never get sick. And I’ll definitely never, ever get sick of you.”
“Tara, I don’t know anything, I don’t know anything!”
“Willow, honey, calm down.”
“I’ve forgotten. I’ve forgotten everything the professor has ever said and I’m going to go in there and not write anything and fail and I’ll get kicked out of college and then you won’t love me and–”
Tara stood up from the bed and marched over to where Willow was pacing around the room. She took a hold of her arms to stop her moving, and kissed her softly to stop her talking.
“First off, I will love you. No matter what. Secondly,
you know this stuff. You’re panicking and stressing and that’s fogging your brain. Just take a few breaths.”
Willow did as she was told, then dropped her head against Tara’s shoulder. Tara stroked her hair gently.
“Let’s take a break, go for a walk.”
Willow shook her head, her shoulders tensing.
“I have to study.”
She pushed away from Tara and went back to the cascade of open books on the bed. Tara followed, rubbing Willow’s back to try and calm her down.
“Let me go get you some food at least. You haven’t eaten since breakfast and you just pushed that around the plate.”
Willow shook her head again.
“I don’t think I can eat.”
Tara held back a sigh.
“Well I’m hungry,” she said, knowing Willow wouldn’t object to her eating, “I’ll bring you back something, okay?”
Willow nodded absently, her eyes trying to take in the contents of four separate pages at once. Tara really did sigh this time and put her satchel over her body to sneak what she could back.
She dropped a quick kiss against Willow’s head.
“Sure you don’t want to come with me?”
“Tara, I can’t!” Willow replied exasperatedly.
Tara flinched and looked down, then quickly skirted out of the room. She kept her head down as she walked across campus to the cafeteria, a little stung. Once there, she picked up a tray and joined the back of the line, where a familiar brunette turned and smiled at her.
“Hey, I haven’t seen you guys all weekend,” Becky said, grinning, “Nesting it up in the love shack?”
Tara blushed and almost said ‘I wish’ but caught it before it came out.
“Willow’s been hitting the books pretty hard.”
Becky suddenly shuddered.
“Oh god, I forgot about exam-season Willow,” she said, eyes flashing with the memories of a very irate redhead, “Good luck with that. Is she inhaling coffee and pizza?”
“Coffee, yes,” Tara replied with a nod, “No pizza.”
Becky looked thoroughly surprised.
“We ordered a lot of pizza in our time, but we could have replaced our nightstands with pizza boxes last exam time. They lined the walls.”
Tara seemed pleased to hear that.
“Do you think she’d eat some pizza?” she asked hopefully, “She’s just pushing food around her plate when I make her come out here to eat.”
Becky chuckled.
“Willow will always eat pizza.”
Tara left her tray back with the rest of them and grabbed something from a nearby container, pocketing it.
“Thanks,” she said to Becky, before quickly turning and leaving again.
She walked off campus and to the pizza parlour they’d gone to on their first date, since it was the only one she knew where the actual establishment was. She entered quietly, spotting the same guy as before behind the counter, so kept her head down to avoid his gaze.
“Can I get a large, um…Sweet Red?”
Danny nodded and shouted the order back, then rung it up on the cash register. During the exchange of cash, he recognised Tara’s face.
“Hey, you’re…” he started, then went deathly white, “I’ll just, uh, get that pizza for you.”
He scurried off and Tara left her change back in her wallet. Danny returned a couple of minutes later with a smaller box on top of the pizza one.
“Here’s some garlic bread, on the house,” he said, then scrambled to the freezer behind him, “And some ice-cream. You like Chunky Monkey?”
Tara just nodded, blinking in surprise. Danny looked as if he was trying to talk down a gunman as he loaded the extras into a bag.
“I’ll just throw some Dew in there…” he said, shoving it all towards her with a nervous chuckle.
Tara silently took the bag and pizza box, then offered Danny a small smile.
“I’m sorry she ruined your shoes.”
She left without another word and carried everything back to campus. She struggled for a moment at the door but eventually managed to open it. Willow was over to her like a shot.
“Tara, I’m so sorry I snapped at you, I…” she trailed off, eyeing the contents of Tara’s hands, “Where’d you get all that?”
“The pizza place,” Tara answered, matter-of-factly.
Willow’s eyes went wide.
“Did you pay for it?!”
“Well I paid for the pizza, the rest was free,” Tara answered, closing the door behind her, “It’s pepperoni, and I even got a peach.”
She left everything down on the bed and produced the peach from her pocket with a smile.
“How come it was free?” Willow asked, seeing the generous contents of the bag.
“Um, Danny? Was that his name?” Tara asked, playing with the end of her sleeve, “He seemed pretty terrified he was going to get shouted at again.”
“You went to
that place?” Willow asked, obvious disdain in her voice.
Tara looked down.
“I-I didn’t know any other. I just wanted to get you s-something you might eat.”
Willow felt her heart clench and reached for Tara’s hand.
“Tara, I’m sorry I’m so crabby. I won’t snap like that at you again,” she promised, then went off in search of her wallet, “Let me pay you back for the pizza.”
“Willow, it’s okay,” Tara replied, sitting on the edge of the bed, “Please just eat something.”
Willow turned back, toying with her hands in front of her.
“Have I been worrying you?”
Tara offered her hand again.
“I understand. I lose my appetite when I’m stressed too. But you need something.”
“You’re not stressed?” Willow asked, taking Tara’s hand and wondering how she could be so calm, knowing she had an academic scholarship to keep up too.
“They’re just exams,” Tara replied kindly, “I’m a good student, you’re a great student. We’ll do fine.”
Willow’s shoulders appeared to relax, and she smiled a moment later.
“Pizza smells good. Gimme that peach so I can get cutting!”
Tara got the peach and a plastic knife and gave them to Willow to start her process.
An empty garlic bread box, almost-empty pizza box and two spoons deep into the tub of Chunky Monkey later, Willow had her hands over her bloated belly and gave a small groan.
“Okay… so maybe trying to eat an entire day’s worth of food in one sitting… was not such a good idea.”
Tara licked her spoon clean, then took Willow’s hand.
“Oh, baby, want me to rub your tummy?”
Willow felt that prickle of delight at the pet name and an even bigger one at the offer.
“Yeah, uh huh.”
Tara left the tub on her nightstand and curled around Willow, then slipped a hand under her shirt and started rubbing in light circles.
“Mmmhh…that’s better than an antacid,” Willow said lazily, closing her eyes, “Faster too.”
Tara pressed her palm more insistently into Willow’s stomach and got a moan of appreciation for her efforts. She began to press small kisses into Willow’s neck, pressing her lips softly against the delicate skin there.
Willow moaned again and pressed herself back into Tara.
“My bellyache seems to be turning into a belly tingle.”
Tara moved her hand higher, gently cupping one of Willow’s breasts through her bra.
“What if I do this?”
Willow turned her head back to meet Tara’s eye.
“Definite…tingle.”
She pressed her lips against Tara’s and turned her body, then made a hasty grab for the end of her t-shirt, twisting and wiggling out of it.
“God that thing had a vice grip on me,” she said as she threw it to the floor, “Did it mess my hair up?”
“Uh uh,” Tara shook her head, though her gaze was a lot lower than Willow’s head, a direction her lips followed a moment later.
Willow settled back to enjoy the soft kisses all over her chest. They pulled and grabbed at each other until they were lying in bra and panties together, hands roaming as they kissed hungrily.
Willow felt one of Tara’s hands slide down over her covered buttock and wiggled happily for a moment until she felt the other hand snap her bra open and instantly pulled away.
“One-handed?” she asked in a huff, “I only just managed from the back!”
Tara gently retreated her hands and brought them up to stroke Willow’s hair, doing her best not to look at where her girlfriend’s bra had fallen away.
“It’s not a competition.”
Willow knew she was being petty, but wished she could possess a bit more finesse when it came to bras and their removal.
“You’re an excellent panty remover,” Tara said to her, nothing but genuine.
Willow had to smile; the only thing Tara did better than undressing was making her feel better.
“I am, huh?”
Tara nodded, so Willow scooted down and slipped her fingers through the waistband of her girlfriend’s panties and quite gracefully stripped them from her.
Tara blushed as she always did during intimate-apparel removal, then giggled.
“10 points.”
Willow tossed the panties away and leaned back over Tara on her forearms.
“Do I get a medal?”
Tara nodded as she traced a finger down Willow’s face to her lips.
“It’s redeemable for a kiss.”
Willow brought her face close to Tara’s.
“Oh well, I’m going to redeem that right away.”
Tara’s eyes closed softly as she waited for Willow to kiss her, but they flickered open again when nothing happened. Willow mouth was open and panting just slightly, the tips of their noses brushing against each other.
“I get to choose where, right?”
Tara gave a barely-noticeable nod, then closed her eyes again as Willow made her way down her body.
Her breath hitched as Willow’s lips began caressing her intimate flesh and released it in a slow exhale a moment later. Her breathing pattern stayed in that rhythm, as controlled as she could manage.
Her senses were rapidly abandoning their purpose in place of overwhelming sensation, enough to startle her.
“Willow,” she gasped, her thighs and chest tightening, “I-I miss you.”
Willow paused, waiting a moment in confusion before lifting her head, then shuffled up in embarrassment.
“Am I no good at that either?” she asked, a hand wiping her mouth and her eyes staying down.
Tara could still feel blood rushing between her ears, but was coherent enough to recognise the critical tone of Willow’s voice. She blinked a couple of times to compose herself, then sought out her girlfriend’s gaze.
“No, Willow, no. You’re so good I can’t handle it,” she assured with a slight pant, but could tell it wasn’t sinking in, “Willow you’re not bad at anything. You drive me crazy.”
Willow drooped even further.
“I’m sorry, I’ll stop going on about it.”
“No, Willow,” Tara shook her head, then leaned up so their foreheads were touching and she could look Willow right in the eye, “You drive me
crazy. So crazy I get a little scared still. But I look in your eyes and I know it’s all okay.”
“Oh,” Willow replied, her eyes softening as she took that in, “So you really did…miss me.”
Tara nodded shyly and Willow brushed her cheek tenderly.
“Well I’m right here. I’m not going anywhere.”
She bumped their noses together again before taking Tara’s lips, reigniting a burning passion in them both. Tara slid her hand slowly down Willow’s side, then tried to messily yank her panties off.
“That’s just what you wanted, isn’t it?” Willow asked with a teasing smile and a giggle, “Gettin’ me naked.”
Tara blushed and bit her lip coyly, which only served to make Willow even more frisky.
“Let me get that pesky bra off, I don’t care how many hands it takes,” she said, pulling Tara up to get access to her back, but pressed a soft kiss to her cheek along the way, “‘Long as they’re mine.”
She pushed the hooks of Tara’s bra free in just two attempts and took great pleasure in releasing her breasts. She cupped both with some eager squeezes, then lay back over Tara so their chests pressed together.
A small shiver sped up her spine and she kissed the corner of Tara’s mouth.
“Much as I enjoy…” she whispered, trailing off with a shy look down, “Other stuff…there’s definitely benefit to being…close.”
Tara ran her fingers gently along the small of Willow’s back, then one slid up to her hair as they began kissing again. She felt Willow’s thighs spread on top of hers and let hers go with them until she could feel her girlfriend’s heat against hers.
She gently massaged Willow’s scalp as the kiss deepened and used the hand on her back to push their bodies further together. She luxuriated in how they melded into each other like perfectly fitting puzzle pieces.
Willow loved the slide of their tongues; the gentle, rhythmic motion that their bodies seemed to followed. She made a blind fumble for Tara’s hand, pulling it away from her back, to leave between their legs.
She wasted no time in letting her own hand get to work, easily gliding in to where Tara’s arousal had built up considerably.
Tara’s arched out of the kiss at the feel of Willow’s touch over her bud, her teeth digging into her lower lip again.
“You gotta stop doing that, you’re turning me on like crazy,” Willow whispered, then took a kissing path along Tara’s throat.
Tara let her own hand fall the last inch to cup Willow gently, feeling the heat radiate for a moment before beginning to explore her folds.
Willow’s head buried into Tara’s neck, her hips already bucking in response. She used her spare hand to encourage Tara’s leg over her hip and felt a surge at how open it made her.
Her hand dropped a little lower and sought out Tara’s entrance, gently questing inside, loving the feel of her girlfriend’s rippling muscles trying to coax her in.
Tara’s hand tightened in Willow’s hair, though she released it almost immediately for fear of hurting her, and her mouth opened silently to take in a long breath.
Her hand followed the same path Willow’s had, finding the wet opening and wiggling her fingers in.
“Ugh…!”
Willow let out a sound between a groan and a grunt, and started pushing her hips right into Tara’s, providing ample friction for herself and putting more power behind her thrusts.
“Is it good like this?” she asked, breathy, as she got into a rhythm she enjoyed.
“Uh huh,” Tara replied, doing her best to match it.
Willow took Tara’s lips again as their lower halves rocked together. She was already lost in fog that always engulfed her when they were together like this but the safety of Tara’s arm around her kept her grounded and moving.
She attacked Tara’s lips with even more hunger as the pulse in her belly began to radiate out, nipping and sucking in a bid to let out the engulfing sensations.
Tara could feel herself spilling out over Willow’s hand and while a tiny bit embarrassed still, had much better emotions to be focusing on.
“I love you, Willow,” she whispered, feeling as if heat was pushing up through her belly and out her throat, “I love–”
Her breath caught as the heat burst through its confines to enflame her. Her back arched and mouth opened again; Willow taking the opportunity to slide her tongue in to play, the final push needed to crash over the edge herself.
They lay still with each other for a long minute, their chests softly rising and falling together, until Willow finally slumped and rolled off.
It took her another minute to regain enough breathing control to manage moving again, and even then was only able for a leisurely stretch and smile.
“Wow, you did the impossible,” she said, giggling, “Distracted me from exams. And I don’t even wanna get right back to studying. Nope, I’m A-okay right here.”
Tara was rubbing her own belly to help the tension, but squirmed when she accidentally pressed over her bladder. She leaned over and left a sloppy kiss on Willow’s cheek.
“Can A-okay wait for a bathroom break?”
Willow smiled again and nodded, but stole a quick kiss before Tara hurried across to the bathroom. Willow watched her until any and all butt-wiggling was hidden behind a door, then stretched out again.
She spotted the pizza box on the floor as she stretched and wondered if Tara would mind her snagging the last slice – she felt a bit peckish after working off her overindulgence.
That thought sparked another in her mind, and she suddenly jumped up and made a beeline for her wallet. She plucked a $20 bill, then went in search for Tara’s wallet, finding it under her girlfriend’s jacket on the desk.
She opened it up and was just sliding the bill in, when Tara came back out, wrapped in her robe. Willow's eyes went wide, looking between Tara and the wallet, the rest of her frozen in place.
“I’m not, I wasn’t…” she started to fumble over her words, then gulped at the way Tara was looking at her, “I was just putting the money back…for the pizza.”
Tara looked both unimpressed and uncomfortable.
“I said it was alright.”
“I know, but…you don’t have…I mean…” Willow tried again, but knew she was just making it worse, “Made you uncomfortable again.”
Tara had her gaze fixed firmly on a spot on the floor.
“Giving me money after what we just did makes me a little uncomfortable, yeah.”
Willow went even more wide-eyed.
“Tara, it wasn’t for…!” she said, mouth open in shock, “Please, Tara, you know it wasn’t!”
Tara crossed her arms over her chest but looked up enough to meet Willow’s eye.
“We should probably talk about money.”
Willow left Tara’s wallet and the bill down separately on the desk, then went back to the bed to cover herself with the sheet,
“Okay.”
Tara walked over enough to sit on the edge of the bed. There was silence for a minute before she spoke.
“You have some…and I don’t.”
“Not millions or anything,” Willow replied quickly, feeling as uncomfortable as Tara about the disparity, “But yeah, pretty comfortable cushion…least until college is over. Then I'll just get a job.”
Tara laid her palm out on the sheet and rolled her hand back and forth, obviously nervous.
“I-I can’t afford restaurants or fancy jewellery, but I can buy us a pizza every once and a while.”
Willow shuffled over and placed her hand over Tara’s.
“Tara, I don’t want fancy jewellery, I just want you,” she replied, turning Tara’s palm over to trace a light circle, “I just hate thinking of you spending what little you have on me.”
Tara shrugged one shoulder.
“I ate my fair share.”
Willow smiled softly.
“Well, I mean, okay. That’s fair. You can buy a pizza every so often…does that mean I can maybe take you out to a restaurant every once and a while too?”
Tara considered it a moment.
“Promise you won’t put money in my wallet again?”
Willow nodded emphatically.
“Yes, Tara, I promise. I won't ever touch your private things,” Willow replied, then chanced a smile, “Well, I'll touch
some private things.”
Tara couldn't help but smile and blush lightly.
“You can take me out.”
Willow instantly brightened.
“After exams are over?”
“Only if you’ll eat at least one good meal a day and get some sleep every night,” Tara replied.
“You drive a hard bargain,” Willow responded, leaning over to peck Tara’s cheek, “Deal.”
She gently stroked Tara’s hair, then kissed her again, on the lips this time. She cupped Tara’s cheek and softly stroked her skin for a few moments before pulling away and resting their foreheads together.
Tara’s cheeks were really flushing now, her face wide in a smile.
“What was that for?”
Willow caressed Tara’s cheek back to her ear.
“I never had anyone really take care of me before.”
“Well get used to it,” Tara replied tenderly, “You’re too special not to.”
Willow pressed their lips together sweetly again.
“I will if you will.”
Tara offered a nose nuzzle in lieu of a handshake.
“Deal.”
Tara kisses.
Sounds like something someone with Asperger's would do. We're very literal.
...
Good thing Becky was able to give Tara advice.
.
to Willow for doing well in all her exams. It looks like Tara's advice worked.
the other smiley we need here is the Capt. Picard facepalm
. But, I read your story RELIGIOUSLY.