Chapter 1 – This
There’s a port on a western bay
And it serves a hundred ships a day
Lonely sailors pass the time away
And talk about their homes
And there’s a girl in this harbor
town
And she works layin’ whiskey down
They say, “Buffy, fetch another
round”
She serves them whiskey and wine
“Hey,
Buffy, hurry up, girl,” Arnie hollered. “We got customers waiting on ya.”
“I’m
moving” Buffy said, smiling up at her boss. “Did every damn ship have to come
to port at one time?”
“It was the
storm,” Arnie said, pulling on the blonde’s ponytail. “Just be thinking of all
the money you’ll make.”
With a
final smile, Buffy hoisted the tray onto her shoulder and made her way through
the throng. She tried to ignore the occasional feels as she passed the sailors.
For the most part they were good men, lonely and far from home, but there were
always a few that went too far. That’s why she didn’t mind working at The Edge of Paradise; Arnie always took
care of his girls. As long as they worked hard and treated his customers well,
he’d make sure none of the men went further then the girls wanted.
Carefully,
Buffy brought the tray down onto the table filled with some of her regulars.
They all sailed on the Darla. The
freighter hauled goods from
From the
moment they had walked in with hearty hellos for her, the newcomer had been
staring at her. It was making her nervous as she hurried around doing her job.
The intensity of those blue eyes made her feel as if he knew her every secret
and her every desire. Few really knew her, and everyone else knew just what she
wanted them to know. Forcing a smile she glanced at everyone.
“Need
anything else, guys?”
Xander
looped an arm around her hips affectionately. “Buffy, my girl, I think that’s
it.”
“Isn’t
anyone going to introduce me?” The stranger asked in an out of place British
accent. His eyes boldly stared into hers until she flushed and looked away.
“Buffy,
this is Spike, one of the newbies but he’s cool,” Xander said.
“Hi,
Spike,” Buffy said, making eye contact with him again. “Welcome to The Edge. If
you need anything let me know.”
“I’m sure I
will,” Spike answered.
As she
walked away, Buffy could hear Angel warning Spike to leave her alone. It was
the protective warning of an older brother for his sister. They’d been friends
since childhood along with Xander and Wesley. And once she’d even dated Angel
but it was something that just wasn’t meant to be. They’d broken up when he
started his life on the sea. She’d never date a sailor, they were never around
and a broken heart was the last thing she needed in her life. She served them
their drinks, smiled prettily, flirted a little and collected her tips. It was
all she wanted. And it was all she could handle.
The sailors say,”Buffy, you’re a
fine girl”
What a good wife you would be
Yeah your eyes could steal a sailor
from the sea”
~~~~~~~~~
The pretty
little blonde was hustling her ass off and never stopped smiling once. She
carried trays of drinks that had to weigh more than her tiny body would soaking
wet. Spike couldn’t stop himself from staring at her. He knew from the guys
that she wasn’t that kind of girl and
to leave her alone. He also knew they weren’t just blowing smoke out his ass.
It was there in her eyes, an innate innocence in spite of all the ugliness
around her.
His
tablemates were slowly drifting off as they went home or to be with their girls.
Spike stayed where he was. Unlike his shipmates he was new to this town and other
than sitting here watching Buffy his only alternative was that he could return
to the ship to read. Whores and prostitutes weren’t his style and he was still
nursing the broken heart that had sent him to sea in the first place. Drusilla
had walloped a mighty punch when she kicked him out and he was trying to outrun
his memories. So, far it was without much success.
A pair of tan
legs came into view and his eyes slowly followed it over the tiny black shorts
that hugged Buffy’s hips, to a flat stomach, rested for a moment on the white
t-shirt pulled tight over perfect breasts right on up to a pissed off
expression. He smiled. She didn’t.
“Do you
want another one?” Buffy asked.
“Drink or
look?”
“I’ll ring
up your total,” Buffy said, turning to leave.
“I’m
sorry,” Spike said. “I’m a bad rude man for admiring your beauty and should be
seriously flogged for it. I once again offer my humble apologies.”
It earned
him a smile accompanied by the rolling of her eyes. At least she wasn’t angry
anymore. He rolled his shoulders and weighed his options. With a sigh he looked
up at her and shook his head.
“Total,” he
said. “Don’t want to be hurtin’ in the morning.”
“Give me
just a minute and I’ll be back,” Buffy said, still smiling.
Spike
watched as she strolled away. Her hips swayed in time to the music coming from
the jukebox in the corner as she crossed the floor. He wondered why she was
working in a place like this but wasn’t that what every man said about a pretty
girl that appeared to be still innocent. It wasn’t his business and he
swallowed the last of his drink. His finger ran around the rim of the glass
while he compared Drusilla, his dark princess, to the sunny light of Buffy. He
wondered if their personalities were as contrasting as their looks.
He sighed.
He didn’t want involvement and Buffy wasn’t the kind of girl you took to a
motel so it didn’t even bear thinking about. Except he hadn’t enjoyed the
company of a pretty girl in a long time and the little blonde waitress was
making him think about breaking his own rules. His quarrel with himself was
interrupted by a commotion a couple of tables away.
“Oh, come
on, girl, quit being so prissy,” a drunken old man was saying as he held Buffy
on his lap. He was trying to kiss her and she was struggling against him.
Spike
didn’t hesitate. The chair was thrown to the floor in his sudden movement to
help the girl. She looked scared and was frantically looking around for someone
to help her. Arnie had disappeared off the floor. A piteous cry was uttered when a rough hand
was clamped on her breast.
“Look,
mate, she said no, so let her go,” Spike growled, towering over the pair.
The drunk
locked eyes with him and pushed Buffy off of him. She stumbled, clearly shaken,
and it was only Spike’s arm that prevented her from falling. He held her
against him for a moment as she regained her composure.
“You okay,
Lamb?”
She nodded,
pulling away from him and straightening her clothes. He turned to the man as he
pulled bills from his pocket to pay for his drinks and Spike plucked a ten from
the pile and handed it to Buffy.
“What the
hell are you doing?”
Her eyes
were flashing fire at him as she grabbed the ten and handed it back to the
customer.
“Was trying
to help, Pet,” Spike said, perplexed by her behavior. As far as he was
concerned the old man owed her something for his attempt to accost her.
“I’m not
your pet,” Buffy snapped. “Thank you for helping me but I don’t want anything
from him.”
She counted
out change and dropped it in the man’s hand. He turned and left the bar. As
soon as the door closed behind him, Buffy let out a deep breath. Spike wasn’t
sure if she was mad at him or if it had been a backlash of her other emotions.
Deciding not to push his luck he returned to his table and righted the chair.
“I’m
sorry,” a small voice said behind him. Buffy was standing there and was
fidgeting. “I appreciate you helping me.”
“You’re
welcome,” Spike answered. “My mother taught me to always come to lady’s aid.”
“She taught
you well,” Buffy said, a grin had returned to her face. She reached into her
pocket and pulled out his tab. “Do you want me to wait or…?”
“I’ve got
it.”
Spike
reached into his pocket and after glancing at the total handed her some bills.
“Let me go
and get some more change,” Buffy said, turning away from him.
“If you
don’t have a problem with tips in general keep the change.”
It was his
turn to smile as she looked back at him. Her eyes were filled with uncertainty
at his teasing but around the edges was something else. He recognized it and his
grin widened at the thought that she found him attractive. Lust flooded his
body as he wondered what it would be like to hold her and kiss her. She must
have sensed his interest because she straightened up and whatever he had seen
in her eyes was gone.
“Thank you.
Again,” Buffy said. “Have a good evening.”
Spike had
been dismissed. He tilted his head and saluted her.
“Thank you,”
Spike answered. “Maybe we will meet again.”
Without
waiting for a reply he left the bar. Thanks to Drusilla he knew he wasn’t that
great of a catch. That was one of the reasons he had gone to sea in the first
place. To remove himself from any temptation of giving his heart away. And the
first time that he had been in the least bit tempted he had been slapped back
into place.
At the
corner Spike paused to light a cigarette and heard a noise. He looked around
but didn’t see anyone however something was telling him to be careful. A laugh
coming from the bar’s entrance made him turn around and he saw Buffy waving
good-bye to some other waitresses. Something wasn’t right and after the
incident with the old man he didn’t feel right leaving her to get home alone.
Spike ran to catch up to her and as soon as he got close enough to her, Buffy
turned and swung. Her fist connected with his chin and he fell on his ass.
“Bloody
hell, woman,” Spike snarled, looking up at her. “I was trying to help you.”
“And like I
said I appreciated your help but that doesn’t give you the right to stalk me or
assume that I want you in my life.”
“I wasn’t
assuming anything,” Spike said, rubbing his chin and standing up. “I was heading
back to the ship and something wasn’t feeling right. So, I came back to check
on ya.”
“Oh,” Buffy
said, stepping closer. Her fingers brushed his aside to inspect the damage. “You’ll
live. And that’s not a very original pick up line.”
Spike’s
stomach was tied in knots from her gentle touch. And his lower extremities were
paying attention to the exchange trying to decide if they should be paying
closer attention.
“It’s not a
pick up line,” Spike grumbled, locating and grounding out his cigarette. “Like
I said I was getting warning bells and I was worried about you.”
Spike
looked up and she was still standing close to him. He could smell her shampoo,
the hint of alcohol and smoke from the bar and a scent that was pure woman. His
lower extremities stopped waiting for further encouragement and started to stir
on their own. Her head was tilted back as she studied him and giving up he took
a step back. She laughed and he knew he had been had. Buffy wasn’t as innocent
as she seemed.
“You were
worried about little old me?” Buffy asked, her eyelids batting in rapid motions
that gave away her sarcasm. “Were you going to be my big old hero and come
swooping in to save me? Now, just where did you park that white charger of
yours?”
“Fine, next
time I won’t care if some big, nasty beastie eats you alive.”
His duster
flew behind him as he stomped away from her. Yeah, he wanted her. Wanted her so
bad that he would give up his self-proclaimed vow at celibacy just to be able
to taste those little cupid bow lips. But that hadn’t been his motivation when
he had come after her. It was totally honorable. Now, if he known she had the
punch of a damn prize fighter he would have left that curvy behind to deal with
whatever baddies were out there on her own.
“Spike,
wait up,” Buffy called.
He ignored
her and kept walking. A hand curled around his arm and he slowed down a little.
He glanced down at her and faltered. Something had spooked her. Buffy looked
behind her and was jogging to keep up with his pace. Spike slowed down.
“See
something back there?”
“That guy
from the bar was hanging out in the alley,” Buffy explained. “Maybe I should
have listened to you.”
“Maybe,”
Spike commented. “So, are you going back to the ship with me since that is
where I am heading?”
Buffy
stopped and chewed her lower lip. Spike almost groaned and asked if he could do
it instead. It took her a couple of seconds and a few quick looks between him
and the empty sidewalk behind them. Finally she sighed and looked up at him.
“Would you
mind walking me home?”
Feeling
like he had pulled off a coup he nodded his head, bent his elbow and held his
arm out to her. Her hand returned to the offered limb and he was given an appreciative
smile at his playing the hero after all. Maybe things were looking up after all
and he wondered if he was going to get a good night kiss for this.
To be continued…
