Banner by Noaluvjames

Chapter 7

Buffy felt the light touch of William’s hand on the small of her back as he guided her through the pub towards the exit. She had flinched slightly when his fingers made contact, but made no move to speed up and dislodge his hand.

Once outside, sensing her unease, William removed his hand, stuffing both in his pockets while he walked silently beside her. They made their way slowly up the path and past their cottages to pick up the trail leading to the beaches beyond.

‘Buffy, are you crazy! What are you thinking?’ she argued with herself. ‘You did not just agree to go walking on the beach with this practical stranger, even if Jake gave his approval. For all you know, Jake is in league with this guy!’

‘I hardly think Jake is out to lure unsuspecting females to their death on a sandy beach,’ she argued back. ‘He’s runs a respectable pub for cripes sake!’

‘Oh, fine! As if that would make all the difference,’ her inner voice rebuked.

‘He’s a nice man. Leave him out of this.’

‘Pfffft!’

‘I’m not listening to you go away!’

‘Someone needs to talk some sense in to you,’ it reasoned.

‘I’ve been listening to your sense for the last seven years. So, gimme a break! It’s not like I’m going to jump the man’s bones. It’s just a walk. On the beach.’

‘Sure… Just keep telling yourself that. Don’t tell me you don’t want him. Don’t want to turn around and head back to the cottage and spend the rest of the afternoon touching that scrumptious bod-’

‘Shut up! Just… shut up!’ She felt heat rising to her face once more. Damn. Even her inner-voice had her blushing now. ‘I do not. Now go away.’

‘Liar!’

Damn inner voice. Always had to have to last word. Uh oh. When did I stop walking? This is not good. She looked up at William to gauge his reaction. He stood there, hands in his pocket, head cocked to the side, regarding her. Damned if her fading blush didn’t re-bloom under his scrutiny. There was no way she was going to be able to come up with a plausible explanation for this one.

~*~*~*~*~

William stopped walking when he felt Buffy no longer keeping pace beside him. He glanced back to see what the problem was, thinking maybe her shoe had come untied or she stopped to look at something he hadn’t noticed. He was completely unprepared to see her stopped with her hands on her hips. She had a frown on her face, and if he didn’t know any better, he’d say she was having an argument with herself. Then he saw her blush. ‘Wonder what that was for?’

Her blush started to fade and it appeared like her confrontation with herself was over. He knew the second she realized that she had an audience. Her eyes came into focus and she gazed up at him. Her blush came back in full force at having been discovered just standing there. ‘God she was adorable when she blushes.’ He just stood there watching her, waiting for her to explain. Or not, he amended, as she started walking once more, ignoring his silent question. He fell back in step with her as she caught up with him.

~*~*~*~*~

‘I can’t believe he caught me talking to myself! There’ll be no chance in hell of me getting my hands anywhere near his delectable body. He probably thinks I’m certifiable by now,’ she thought to herself. Best to play it off and act like nothing happened. She started walking again and soon caught up to him. He said nothing as he turned and started resumed his pace by her side.

‘Are you happy now?’ she yelled at her inner voice. No mocking retort was forthcoming from the recess of her mind.

~*~*~*~*~

They reached the beach a few minutes later. Buffy watched as he slipped his sneakers and socks off setting them beside a boulder near the path. Then he rolled up his pant legs past his ankles. Buffy stood by and silently watched him. He looked up from his task and noticed her standing there watching him and quirked an eyebrow at her, daring her.

‘Fine! If he wants to romp in the waves, I can too.’ She bent down to undo the laces on her shoes and slid them off along with her socks, placing them beside his; she rolled up her pants legs a few times as well. Playfully, he grabbed her hand and took off running towards the water’s edge. Smiling, Buffy let herself be pulled after him. He let go over her hand when they stood ankle deep in the water and started walking the length of the beach. Oddly enough, she felt bereft at the loss of contact.

They wandered a while in companionable silence. Occasionally, Buffy would reach in to the receding waves to grab a shell. Some she pocketed, others she threw back into the ocean. He just watched her, stopping when she did as she bent to pick one up before putting it in her now bulging pockets or toss it aside to look for a better one. He finally broke the silence.

“What are you going to do with all those shells you’ve got?”

“Who knows? Isn’t that what people do when they walk along the beach? Collect seashells? Far be it for me to scoff at a tourist tradition,” she said. “You do have tourist traditions here in England, right?”

“Like what?” he asked curious.

“Oh, you know, the crazy flowered shirts, gazillion rolls of film to take pictures. Speaking of,” she gave him a bright smile, “I left mine in the cottage. Do you think we have time to go back and get it so I can get some shots of the sunset?” William inwardly cringed at the thought of him being anywhere near a camera, but resigned himself to playing along with her tourist notions.

“Sure. We haven’t walked that far, and we’ve got a while yet. Let’s head back and get our shoes.” Grinning, she turned around back the way they had come.

“Race ya,” she called over her shoulder and took off. William watched her for a moment before taking off after her. They were about 100 yards from their stuff when William caught up and then flew by her. Determined, she threw on a burst of speed in an attempt to pass him. He beat her by about a foot and turned around and gave her a snarky grin.

“So, what do I win?”

“Win? Who says you win anything,” she said, pouting. Damn, she hated to lose.

“Oh, come on. Don’t be a sore loser,” he teased. She harrumphed and sat on a boulder to swipe the sand off her feet so that she could put her socks and shoes back on. William joined her and did the same. Soon, they were walking back towards their cottages so Buffy could get her camera.

“I’ve got salmon and stuff for a salad,” she offered out of the blue once they rounded the corner of their cottages. William paused in his steps, before quickly recovering and following her to her front door.

“Ok, but I’ll bring the wine.”

Buffy looked over her shoulder at him as she reached her front door. “Deal.” Turning back to her door, she slipped the key in and undid the lock.

“Come on in, I’ll just be a second,” she said shyly. “You want something to drink?” William shook his head no.

“Go get your camera. You don’t want to miss your sunset. We’ll get something when we get back.”

“Ok.” Buffy ran up the stairs to grab her camera and a few rolls of film. Slinging the strap around her neck, she hurried back down the stairs to find Will in the same spot she’d left him.

William eyed the camera she had slung protectively around her shoulders warily. This was no ordinary camera. This was a camera straight out of his nightmares, and he had to wonder how he could have been fooled by this slip of a girl. ‘Way to go, Spike,’ he thought sardonically.

Buffy reached the bottom of the stairs and looked up at William. Something must have happened, because gone was the carefree man she had left in the foyer a few minutes ago.

“Is everything ok?” she asked.

He seemed startled by the question, not realizing the grim look that had settled over his features as he gazed at her camera. “What…uh, yeah fine. Ready to go?” he asked, pasting a bright smile on his face.

“Yep,” she replied, an answering one on hers, though hers was more sincere. She let him precede her out the door, so she could pull it shut and lock it once more.

“Nice camera you got there,” he commented a little cryptically.

She looked at him for a moment. Something didn’t seem right about the way that statement had come out of his mouth. She shrugged it off, however. She glanced at the Nikon F100 camera then gently ran her fingers over it. A look of love washed over her face.

“My mom. She bought it for me after I graduated high school several years ago,” she said, never taking her eyes from the camera. She released a soft sigh, unsure if she should continue. She decided she could tell him a little, just leave out the whys.

She spoke self-mockingly, “I was going to go to college then become a famous photographer. Then, I’d have my pictures hung in my mom’s gallery and people would come to gaze at the goodness that was Buffy. And, buy some too. They’d definitely have to buy some. After all, I was famous.”

Her voice had started off slow and hesitant, an almost wistful quality to it. By the end, the cheekiness was back, and William had to laugh.

“So, what happened, O’ Famous Buffy?”

“Life,” she said softly. She didn’t say any more, and the tone of her voice told him not to ask.

Relieved that she wasn’t some paparazzo that had managed to catch him with his guard down, he relaxed and once more began to enjoy her company. Now, he just had to work on getting her to lighten up again.

“Come on, O’ Famous One. The sun’s setting and if we don’t hurry you’ll miss it. Then what pictures would I buy?”

“Right! Let’s go.” And with that, the bad mood was lifted leaving both lighthearted and happy.

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