Author: foomatic

Willow stood at the door, fidgeting with the long stemmed rose in her hand. She looked at her watch. "Okay, fifteen minutes early," she mumbled to herself.

"Well, actually twenty-five minutes early, since you set your watch ten minutes fast, you doof." She raised her fist, ready to knock, then quickly changed her mind. "No, might seem too eager . . . too . . . desperate," she whispered. "But not quite 'I-want-to-be-on-you' desperate, just . . . kinda like . . . 'hey-look-at-me-I-have-no-life-so-I'm-here-half-an-hour-early' desperate." Unconsciously, Willow began pacing back and forth in the hallway, pre-occupied with the mental pep talk in her head to notice that the door had cracked open a tiny bit, curious eyes looking out.

"Okay, first date checklist. Step one, greet her and give her a nice compliment. Like, 'Hi, Tara! You look beautiful tonight. Not that you don't look beautiful all the ti- okay, stop! No babble. Single declarative sentences only. 'I like the shirt you're wearing,' and 'Hey, I'm looking forward to tonight!' or . . . or 'Are you ready to take off? Wait, that's an interrogatory sentence . . ." She paused and shook her head. "Focus Rosenberg! Step two, hand her the flower and smile." She ventured a look down both ends of the hallway, and, satisfied that no one was watching, gave the rose to the imaginary Tara in front of her and practiced her million-dollar smile.

Tara watched the scene unfold, her heart melting at the amount of thought the redhead had put into just a simple "Hi how are you?" She took a deep breath to calm the raging butterflies that had gathered in her stomach since she heard Willow's voice outside. Now or never, she thought to herself as she swung the door open.

"Hey Willow," Tara said. Willow whipped around, completely startled. Their eyes connected, and Tara's lop-sided grin rendered Willow utterly speechless. She gulped. She stared. She managed a few guttural sounds before her synapses started firing again.

"H-h-h-hi Tara . . ." Willow drew a blank. Step one! What was step one?! "I'm looking forward to taking your shirt off tonight," she blurted out.

"Huh?" was Tara's bewildered reply.

"Uh . . . no . . . that's not what I - you . . . er . . ." Willow's eyes went wide at the realization of what she had just said. Unable to come up with something that was even remotely coherent, she stuck her arm out, rose in hand, and smiled nervously.

"Um, for you." Breathe Willow. That's right, in and out, in and out . . .

Tara blushed. "T-t-thank you," Breathe Tara. That's right, in and out, in and out . . .

After a few cleansing breaths, Willow had finally calmed down enough to regain her powers of speech. "I'm sorry I . . . have a bad habit of being earlier than . . . well, early . . . so if you're not ready yet, I can wait out here and-"

"Oh, no I-I-I'm ready," Tara stammered. "Guess I'm g-g-g-guilty of being just as eager as you are."

"Well, that's me. Eager Eagerton. " Willow let out a little laugh. "So, shall we?"

"Yes, we shall."

It was a ten minute walk to the restaurant, and along the way they had chatted amiably about a myriad of subjects. Willow could scarcely keep her eyes off Tara, her hands yearning to grasp one of Tara's as they strolled the streets of Sunnydale. Her uncertainty, however, prevented any such action. Occasionally, their hands would brush, and what followed was a flurry of red cheeks and shy glances, neither of them bold enough to make the first move.

They arrived at the restaurant, and were promptly seated by the maitre'd. Menus were given, drinks were served, orders were taken. While they waited for their dinner, Tara had busied herself with her napkin. Willow watched as Tara's slender fingers expertly worked the thin material.

"Whatcha doing?" she asked.

"I feel kinda bad that I didn't get you anything . . . like you did with the r-r-rose-"

"Tara, it's okay, you don't have to worry about that."

"I learned some origami a while back," she said, her hands deftly creasing and folding the napkin, until it no longer resembled a napkin.

"For you," she whispered, handing Willow the finished product.

Willow could hardly believe what she held in her hands. Tara had transformed the napkin into a paper rose.

"Tara how did you- that's so cool! Where did you learn how to do that?"

"Oh, well, there was this TV show on origami one day. It was called . . . P-p-p-pa-per view." Tara laughed out loud as Willow looked at her quizzically. "Get it? Paper view? Pay Per View?" Her guffaw slowly turned into nervous laughter, then a giggle, then a snicker, until finally she cleared her throat. "Sorry, I have kind a weird sense of humor."

"Oh no, I thought it was very . . . punny." Willow smiled as Tara burst into another fit of laughter.

Just then the waiter returned with their entrees, and the pair enjoyed their dinner in comfortable silence, glowing from their previous exchange and lost in their own thoughts.

I made Tara laugh! Yay me!

Punny . . . Willow thinks I'm punny . . .

Tara watched Willow closely as the red head spooned food into her mouth. Willow's mouth . . . Her mind drifted to the one and only time she had drank from those lips.

"Hey Willow?" Tara asked from her place on the floor near Willow's bed. "I think I'm gonna call it a night. I've been reading the same sentence over and over again." Tara rubbed her eyes and looked up. Unbeknownst to her, Willow had been gazing at her for quite some time.

"Willow?"

"Hmmm? What?" She blinked her eyes rapidly.

"Why are you- oh no, do I have something on my face?" Alarmed, Tara brushed her hand across her cheeks, forgetting about the pen in her hand and inadvertently drawing a line across her face. Willow laughed.

"Well, now you do!" Willow got up from her bed still giggling and began to rummage through the drawer of her nightstand. She withdrew a small packet, then turned and kneeled in front of Tara.

"Relax, it's just a wet nap," she said when Tara gave her a questioning look. "Move your legs a little so I can get in closer." Tara swallowed hard, then complied. She uncrossed her legs, and Willow scooted into the open space. Tara breathed in sharply as her body responded to the closeness of Willow's. Willow opened the packet, leaned closer to Tara, and cupped her chin. Her eyes caught Tara's, and Willow was momentarily distracted. So beautiful . . . "Just thank the goddess it wasn't a permanent marker," she joked nervously, and proceeded to dab at the offending ink mark.

Tara closed her eyes at the contact. Willow gently stroked Tara's cheek with the wet nap, trying to still her wildly beating heart, praying to the goddess that Tara would not notice. Tara, it seemed, was trying hard to do the same. Eyes closed, she mentally kicked herself for enjoying this too much.

Okay, think unsexy thoughts, think unsexy thoughts . . . not working . . . NOT WORKING! her mind screamed.

Willow's hand had moved from Tara's chin to her thigh. "There, all gone," she whispered, her voice an octave lower than usual. Tara opened her eyes, and shuddered as she felt Willow push some loose strands of hair behind her ear. She took a ragged breath when Willow's hand rested on her other thigh.

Okay, now back away, Willow thought, her eyes glued to the blonde. Earth to Willow! Back up! But she couldn't. Couldn't move her hand off Tara's thighs. Couldn't look away. Couldn't breath. Slowly, their bodies succumbed to the gravitational pull of one another. Closer and closer they inched, until their breaths mingled and the inevitability of the what was about to happen diminished any second thoughts or hesitations.

Ever so gently, their lips touched. Both felt the delicious shock of electricity flow from their lips down to the soles of their feet from that simple touch. Surging, pulsating, the insatiable need for more rising as their shyness slowly turned into hot unbridled passion. So lost were they in their kiss that they did not notice the lights in the room glowing brighter and brighter, the sizzle of electricity becoming deafening until a series of loud popping sounds jarred the two apart.

"What the?" Their eyes opened, only to be blinded by the darkness of the room. Before they could say anything else, the door swung open, once again blinding the girls with the light from the hallway. There sound of the light switch flipping on and off.

"Willow?" came Buffy's voice. "What'd you do to the lights?"

"Dessert?"

Tara blinked as Willow's voice stirred her from her reverie. "What?"

"Do you want dessert? The sundaes are really good."

"Yeah sure. Um, vanilla for me."

"Make that two." The waiter took down the order and headed towards the kitchen.

"It's nice to not be huddled in your room for a change don't you think?" Willow ventured as she took a sip of water.

Willow saw the confused look on her face. "Not that I don't enjoy huddling in your room . . . with you . . . huddling and . . . you know, all with the huddling . . ." she grinned nervously as her babble subsided.

"No, I think it's g-g-g-great to b-b-be out. You know, a-a-a-anywhere with y-y-" Tara stopped mid sentence, flustered at her inability to control her stutter. "S-s-s-sorry, me nervous equals s-s-s-stutter."

"I'm making you nervous?" the red head asked incredulously. "Was it something I said? It was the 'taking off your shirt' comment, wasn't it? Oh goddess, I didn't mean to say . . . I mean, one minute you're not there, you know, just me and the empty hallway, then poof! There you are staring at me with those gorgeous blue eyes and truly, you topless was not the first thing on my mind . . . but it's on the list . . . of things on my mind . . . and I should put 'stop babbling' on that list . . . at the top of that list . . . cause you're turning red and . . . I'm not making the situation better, am I?"

"Is it s-s-s-safe to assume you nervous equals b-b-b-babble?" Willow nodded sheepishly. She was about to speak when the waiter arrived with two vanilla sundaes topped with whip cream and cherries.

"These look yummy!" Tara commented, trying to lighten the mood. She glanced around the dining room as she enjoyed her ice cream.

"Hey, look who's here," she said, pointing behind Willow.

"Buffy!" Willow had caught Buffy's eye and the petite blonde walked over to their table accompanied by Riley.

"Hey! What are you doing here?" She turned and looked directly at Tara. "Tara!" She leaned over and gave the blonde a hug, then eyed her vanilla sundae. "Oooh, can I have your cherry? Unless, of course, you plan on giving it to Willow -" Both women's eyebrows shot up at the comment. Buffy laughed out loud. "You know, when Willow talks in her sleep - I swear Will, when you talk about what you want to do to Tara, it makes me want to orgasm!" With that she slapped Willow hard on the back, and winked. "Hey Riley, why don't you come over tonight and get some orgasm pointers from Willow after she's asleep . . ."

"BUFFY!" Willow practically screamed. She looked at Tara, eyes wide with embarrassment. The heat radiating from her face could have warmed the entire restaurant.

Oh. My. Goddess, was all Tara could think. She looked down in her lap, hoping her long tresses would hide the redness of her face.

"I think it's time to go . . . " Riley's voice cut through the awkward situation like a knife. Willow studied her best friend through wide eyes. Her glazed eyes, slurred speech, and inability to stand upright sounded alarms in Willow's head. She looked at Riley, then shifted her gaze back to the Slayer.

"Buffy," she spat. "Have you been drinking?"

"Drinking? Oh no no . . . Learned my lesson the first time . . . Beer bad, remember? But . . ." She cracked a goofy smile. "Pina Coladas? Good . . . me likey likey." She teetered towards Riley, who swiftly caught her. He looked apologetically at Willow.

"I'm sorry Willow, it's our two month anniversary so I took her here to celebrate, and well . . ."

"Geez Riley, how much did she have?" Willow responded, her concern evident in her green eyes.

"That's the thing! She only had one!" He looked at the two women. "I'm really, really sorry about this . . . We'll just be going now. Nice seeing you Tara." With that he hoisted the Slayer onto his shoulder, and amid her protests, carried her out of the restaurant.

"Willow!" Buffy yelled as she was being dragged to the exit. "Don't forget to give her your cherry too!"

After a few awkward minutes, the redness had faded from Willow and Tara's faces and they sat quietly at the table, no longer interested in their desserts. Tara studied the red head for a second, then let out a small giggle. Willow looked up, and seeing the smile on the blonde's face, couldn't help but chuckle as well. The waiter approached the table with the bill, placing it between them. Tara reached for her purse.

"No . . . no, please let me." Willow grabbed the receipt before Tara could whip her wallet out. She started to protest. "No, it's okay. It's the least I could do after that . . . that . . . debacle. I mean, I know I talk in my sleep-" she dropped some twenties on the table, "- but it's not like I'm conscious of what I'm saying . . . I didn't know that I Freudian slip my way through la la land at night . . . and . . . you . . . I hope that . . . you don't think I'm a bigger freak than before . . . but -"

"Willow?" Tara's firm voice stopped the red head. She had never seen Willow so frazzled, and she was highly amused by it. Do it Tara. Ask her. I dare you! Tara's eyes twinkled mischievously as the locked on to the red head. Slowly, she reached her hand to Willow's untouched sundae. "Can I have your . . . cherry?" she asked in a not so innocent voice.

Willow's jaw dropped at the request. Vixen, she thought as Tara plucked the cherry from the melting ice cream. Willow's hand shot out from the under the table and firmly grasped Tara's. Not to be outdone, she murmured, "Only if I can have yours." Stunned at the red head's boldness, Tara watched as Willow took her cherry and placed it on her tongue before wrapping her lips around it and tugging at the stem. She rolled it around in her mouth, savoring it.

Tara sat there, cherry in hand, unable to breath, eyes mesmerized by the way Willow devoured the fruit.

"Saving that for later?" Willow gestured with the stem at the berry Tara was still holding. Not breaking eye contact, Tara sucked the cherry in her mouth slowly, and began to chew.

Hours later, after taking in a late summer sunset and a hand in hand stroll through downtown Sunnydale, the two found themselves at Tara's door.

"Good date?" Willow asked shyly, squeezing Tara's hand as she unlocked the door.

"Best date," she replied. "What with the, um, mutual exchange of cherries and all . . ."

"Yeah?" Willow stepped in closer.

"Quite the turn on, actually. I didn't think you'd recover from drunken Buffy long enough for sexy Willow to come out and play."

Slowly, Willow let her arms travel around Tara's waist, inching her closer, until nothing but the fabric of their clothing separating their bodies.

"Does my sexiness upset you?" she whispered huskily. "Does it come as a surprise that I dance like I've got diamonds at the meeting of my thighs?"

Tara flashed a look of confusion. "Huh? U-u-upset me? Diamonds w-w-where? What?"

For the hundredth time this evening, Willow's face flushed bright crimson. "Oh . . . I was just . . . trying a little . . . um, spicy talk?" Tara gave her a blank stare. "It's Maya Angelou . . . from a poem she wrote . . . Okay, no more 'sexy' Willow cause 'sexy' Willow will most definitely turn into 'why-don't-you-say-something-really-lame' Willow in which case I'd have to stop talking for the rest of evening for fear of saying something inane and obtuse-"

Tara quickly placed a finger on Willow's lips, effectively halting the flow of words from Willow's mouth. "You know, I've been thinking . . . " she murmured timidly, lightly tracing the contours of Willow's lips with her fingertip, "We've been doing a lot of talking, and not enough . . . you know . . . "

"What?"

"Well . . . the other s-s-stuff . . ."

For a moment, Willow's normally intelligent mind escaped her. "Other stuff?"

Tara's face fell. She started to pull away. "I just thought that . . . n-n-never mind . . .

OH! Willow mentally kicked herself. That stuff! "No wait wait wait." Willow sighed. "Don't . . . don't go. I-" Surprisingly, she found herself at a loss for words. "I didn't know if you wanted to . . . if you were ready. I mean, I don't want to do anything to make you uncomfortable or . . ."

"I want to . . . with you. I mean, we don't have to . . . you know, tonight . . . I just want to . . . " Tara stopped long enough to muster every ounce of courage she had, and then leaned in and planted a kiss on Willow's lips. She parted her lips a little, and was relieved when Willow returned her sentiments.

"Okay?" she breathed, resting her forward on Willow's.

"Okay," Willow replied. Tara took her hands and guided her into the room.

"Besides, if you spend the night, I'm sure 'sexy' Willow will talk my ear off while you sleep," Tara said, closing the door.