Return to Summer of Love... 1969 Chapter Seventeen



Summer of Love... 1969
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

Author: WillowTara Addict
Rating: NC-17.
Disclaimer: I don't own Willow and Tara, I am only taking them back to the future, the year of 1969... Joss, if you were a kid back then, they were always yours.
Note: Ain't High Enough song is credited to Marvin Gaye.


Red was staring blankly at aromatic smoke creeping into the air and fade away, she was sitting with legs stretched out with her back against the wall of her bus. Bringing the skillfully rolled up paper with euphoric herb inside to her mouth and her natural red lips parted slightly to invite the foreign but yet familiar object. She took a long inhale and held in her lungs for probably fifteen seconds and exhaled the white smoke mixed with Carbon Dioxide.

Replaying what happened a few hours ago...

"Will you go to California with me?"

Tara looked into Willow's eyes and knew the inevitable, her lips trembling violently, and breathed, "No..."

The song just came on, and once Willow heard this and almost sobbed knowing that just matched her mood. She closed her eyes and open her ears completely absorbing those words.

Listen, baby
Ain't no mountain high
Ain't no valley low
Ain't no river wide enough, baby

If you need me, call me
No matter where you are
No matter how far
Just call my name
I'll be there in a hurry
You don't have to worry

'Cause baby,
There ain't no mountain high enough
Ain't no valley low enough
Ain't no river wide enough
To keep me from getting to you

Remember the day
I set you free
I told you
You could always count on me
From that day on I made a vow
I'll be there when you want me
Some way, some how

'Cause baby,
There ain't no mountain high enough
Ain't no valley low enough
Ain't no river wide enough
To keep me from getting to you

No wind, no rain

My love is alive
Way down in my heart
Although we are miles apart
If you ever need a helping hand
I'll be there on the double
As fast as I can

Don't you know that
There ain't no mountain high enough
Ain't no valley low enough
Ain't no river wide enough
To keep me from getting to you

Don't you know that
There ain't no mountain high enough
Ain't no valley low enough
Ain't no river wide enough

"Top-X, didn't you tell me that you don't start work until a week after next week?" Willow asked the driver of her bus.

Top-X nodded in confirmation.

"So turn around." Willow said simply, inhaling more from her joint.

Top-X jerked his head in confusion, "What do you mean, Red? You want to go back?"

"Are you that illiterate?! I said turn around and yes, I am going back but this time, to New York City." Willow said confidently, grasping a piece of paper with something scrawled on it.

"Oooh New York City! Xander, you are taking me to shopping! Yay!" Anya exclaimed excitedly.

Willow settled back to her original posture and allowed the effects of dope overtake her then she smiled silently.


"Tara, why didn't you go with Red? If you could and I would just take the car back home for you and you can come back to get it if everything works out for you two." Ginger said, trying to make sense out of what just happened.

Tara couldn't say anything but cry in silence.

A few hours later, the women arrived to their hometown, Manhattan and Tara dropped off Ginger back at her house then drove to her house. She was very exhausted that she didn't bother to say hello to her family.

"Is there something wrong with Tara?" a female voice said with concern.

"Who knows... I think she didn't have much fun at Woodstock." An elder man said dismissively.

The next morning, a female figure walked in Tara's room and drew the curtains open, allowing the bright sunlight kiss across her sleeping face begging to meet her blue eyes.

"Uhm... Mom?" Tara muttered sleepily.

"Yes, sweetie. This came for you when you were out partying." Mrs. Maclay said, holding out the long white envelope.

Sitting up, Tara took the envelope and glanced at the forwarding address then took a long and deep breath before opening it.

"Are you okay? I didn't know that you applied to University of California in Berkeley." Mrs. Maclay whispered, sitting besides her daughter.

As Tara read the letter and grinned excitedly, "I got in! They will accept my transfer. California, here I come!" 'Willow Rosenberg, here I am... '

"Tara, what's going on? I thought you were happy at NYU and you are going to lose your scholarship if you transferred." Mrs. Maclay asked.

"I don't feel I belong there anymore and I have always wanted to go to UC Berkeley but I thought you would need me close by so I chose to go NYU." Tara explained.

"Oh Tara... You should have told me a long time ago so I could have simply say, go there and be where you are at your happiest. Don't worry about us and it's your future. Oh my sweetheart, you are so wonderful and I am very proud of you." Mrs. Maclay kissed her daughter's head and hugged her in giving her blessings.

"Thank you, Mom and umm, I want to tell you something." Tara said, looking at her mom.

"Dear, you can tell me anything." Tara's mom said, encouragingly.

"I am in love." Tara said matter of factly.

"Ooh, who was that won your heart?" Tara's mom asked excitedly.

"Willow Rosenberg was who won my heart, I wish you could have met her, she was so incredibly amazing! She was quite a genius and she was such a firecracker but so easy to tame." Tara spoke of Willow dreamily, oblivious when her mother was smiling happily for her daughter even though she has always known her daughter was a homosexual before Tara could admit it to herself.

There were some knocking going on downstairs which stopped when someone opened the door to greet.

"Hello?" a young male with blue eyes asked.

"Is this the Maclay Residence?" The redhead asked politely and mentally decided the young man was definitely related to Tara, probably her brother.

"Yeah, it is. So anyone you are looking for in particular?"

"Yeah, Tara Maclay... is she home?"

"Yeah, she is, so what's your name?"

"It's Willow." Willow spoke.

"Willow? Got it. Come on in." The male disappeared upstairs.

Both women heard light knocking at Tara's door, "Come in, Donny."

Donny poked his head and met Tara's eyes then spoke, "There's somebody named Willow looking for you. She is a hottie! I am gonna ask her out."

"No!" Both women said in unison.

"Why not? Ooh, she got a boyfriend? I ain't surprised." Donald disappeared.

Tara looked at her mom, mouthing, 'Willow.' Mrs. Maclay nodded and urged her to go down and meet her.

Before Tara headed for downstairs, she stopped in front of the hallway mirror to check over herself and descended the stairs. Tara gasped at the sight of the redhead, she was so beautiful that always took Tara's breath away.

"Willow... I am so sorry!" Tara ran towards Willow and hugged her tightly.

"Does that mean you have decided to go to California with me?" Willow asked for confirmation.

Tara nodded excitedly and showed the redhead her acceptance letter from UC of Berkeley.

"Wow! I didn't know you applied to the school where I am a current student! Wait a minute..." Willow looked confused for a moment before it dawned her, "Tara, you applied before we knew each other."

Tara blushed and whispered, "Yes and I have always wanted to go there and what a wonderful coincidence."

The lovers hugged lost in wonderful sensation of reuniting.

"Ahem..."

Tara pulled back but not breaking the contact, she looked up at her mom and smiled half-smile, "Mom, this is Willow Rosenberg, my girlfriend." Tara looked back at shocked Willow and winked knowingly, "Willow, this is my mom, Theresa Maclay."

"Pleased to meet you, Mrs. Maclay." Willow acknowledged.

"Ooh, Theresa please and it's so good to meet the person who won my daughter's heart." Theresa said, wrapping her arms around the redhead, welcoming her.

"So would you like to stay here for a while until Tara is ready to move to California for college? Theresa asked.

"I would love to but I just realized that I dragged two people with me and I don't think it would be appropriate of me to ask you to spare a room for them so I-"

"Don't you worry, honey! We got plenty of rooms that can be vacated for until all of you are ready to leave for California." Theresa interrupted, reassuring the redhead.

"Thank you very much, Mrs... I mean Theresa." Willow thanked before heading outside to bring the couple inside.

"She is beautiful and she truly loves you, Tara." Theresa whispered.

"Thank you, Mom." Tara said, hugging her mom.

Outside, Willow opened the door and told the couple to get their stuff together while she was doing for herself.

"Really? We are gonna stay there? That place is really far out!" Top-X said in awe.

"Yeah, for a week anyway and please be respectful, I mean it when it comes to you, Anya." Willow said firmly.

As three people entered inside and they were shown their rooms but that Willow will be sharing the bed with Tara. Sharing the room with Tara has its advantages when it comes to the fact that her bedroom is downstairs rather than upstairs. So they can do the naughty.

They went out for the night on the town with Tara acting their guide, taking them to underground type of clubs. After a short while, the group was led to a nightclub which was Tara's favorite, it was called Blue Oasis located in Greenwich Village. It was so secluded that it was rarely raided by the Fuzz since homophobia was an epidemic in many places. It was also required to know a few passwords in order to get in. Fortunately for Tara, a couple of acquaintances who Tara helped when they were in need for a certain kind of help were actually closeted lesbians and introduced her to that club.

Flashback to the first time Blue Oasis got into Tara's chapter of social life...

"B-Blue Oasis? I don't believe I have heard that name before. What is it?" Tara asked a raven-haired young woman with smiling grey eyes.

The woman titled her head in question as if she was debating with herself whether she could share this with Tara or not but she remembered how much Tara has helped her get out of an almost inevitable crisis. She knew she was forever indebted to Tara even though Tara modestly told her she was just helping the others get what they really needed. In many ways, Tara was really her hero.

"Do you have anything against homosexuals?" The woman asked almost too bluntly.

Tara was quite taken aback by the question and the strength behind it. She never thought about homosexuality because it was virtually nonsexist. When she didn't respond, the woman took it as confusion and decided to clarify.

"Homosexual means when a person is attracted to another person of the same sex. Gay is for men who love men and Dyke is for women who love women. So are you?"

"I am what?" Tara questioned for clarification.

"Against homosexuals?" The woman responded with sincere in her voice.

Tara shook her head, "I don't have anything against them and I don't really know anyone who is a homosexual. Besides, I don't think they are any different."

"Now you know one." The woman smiled.

Tara blinked a few times when her mind was trying to process the new but yet surprising information. After she recomposed herself, she gave her friend an understanding smile and they hugged each other.

"So Neva, what is this Blue Oasis you were talking about?" Tara asked excitedly.

"Yeah, we will be meeting Bobbie there." Neva began to walk down the sidewalk with Tara following along. "It's actually a nightclub for people like us. You would have to know the password to get in."

"How come do you have to know that just to get in? Why don't you just slip in a 10 dollar bill as a bribe?" Tara asked in confusion.

"Oh Tara... You have a lot to learn! Even though you are probably straight but it's not that important, the point is that I am taking you to the most favorite place of mine because I wanted to thank you for helping me."

'Probably?' Tara thought to herself for a moment but chose not to get into it.

As Neva led Tara through a couple of alleys before reaching to their destination, when they reached to the door and Tara looked around taking in her surrounding. It was almost ghetto-like, definitely nothing like Manhattan, Tara decided and jerked her head towards the creaking sound of door opening.

"Hey Jo Jo! The music is fuckin' groovy! Far out!" Neva greeted the female bouncer before hugging her.

"Yeah, we got a theme tonight!" Jo Jo said when they parted and eyed the brunette a couple feet away, "Is she with you?"

Neva nodded, "Yeah, she's with me and her name's Tara." Turning to Tara, motioned for her to come closer. "This is Jo Jo, Bobbie's girlfriend and she works here and this is Tara."

Tara was about to put out her hand but she was grabbed into a hug. It startled her for only a second before she realized what just happened and relaxed in Jo Jo's arms, returning the hug.

When they parted, Jo Jo shooed them inside before closing the door to avoid any unwanted prying eyes.

Tara was in complete awe once she took in the sight of the nightclub. She has had snuck in several nightclubs that didn't card them with Ginger but they paled in comparison when she set her foot in Blue Oasis. Scanning the place with complete curiosity, Tara noticed there were several attractive women bartending but they have the skills that can make drinks look so interesting after they were made. Moving to the left, she can see there was a staircase leading to the upstairs, she wondered what is hidden up there. The whole place was almost too luxurious but very cozy unlike those places Tara had been to. She could see there were so many women around and several men. After that moment, she realized she fell in love with that place and was determined to come back again.

Back to the present...

"Where are we?" Top-X asked, holding Anya's hand, looking around.

"We are already here and I will be right back, it will only take a second." Tara assured him before walking towards the closed door, after a code-patterned knocking ended and she whispered the password. The door opened, Jo Jo was there greeting Tara with a surprised look on her face.

"Hey Jo Jo, so long no see. I am here with my friends and..." Tara leant in and whispered, "I brought my girlfriend."

"Really?! Who is that hotshot?" Jo Jo joked, getting a smack on her forearm.

As Tara took Willow's hand and pulled her to her side with grace, "This is my girlfriend, Willow. This is Jo Jo, a friend of mine and we met through a mutual friend."

"Groovy!" Jo Jo grinned.

"Are you forgetting us?!" The voice broke through the small introduction event.

"Sorry, Anya... This is Top-X and Anya." Willow introduced them and then added, "They are my bitches."

"Hey!" came from three people excluding Jo Jo who was snickering.

"Just kidding!" Willow knew it wasn't necessary but she couldn't help but to emphasize her point.

"Come on in, you all." Jo Jo widened the door to allow the group inside and looked around before closing it.

"That's so dope!" Top-X complimented, eyeing a few female couples kissing heavily.

"Really far out!" Anya agreed, her left eyebrow raised when she saw a manly woman groping a clearly feminine woman.

"I really like it." Willow said, squeezing Tara's hand in appreciation.

"I figured you would because it's my favorite. Buy you a drink?" Tara winked suggestively, smiling her prized half smile.

"Sure why not! Lead me." Willow allowed Tara pull her towards the bar.

"Hey Red, name your poison?" A young woman with short curly blonde hair sporting a black shirt with sleeves rolled up to her elbows asked.

"Poison?" Willow asked perplexed, almost offended.

Tara saw that and giggled at how cute Willow was being but had to act quickly before Willow turns herself into a firecracker. "Sweetie, she meant what would you like to drink, alcoholic drink that is."

"Sex on the beach." Willow said almost smugly.

That pinned the bartender on the spot when she heard the request that was literally unheard of. With that, Willow smiled, mentally patting herself but shook it off and said, "Red wine, please."

"Got you and you, Tara?"

"Something fruity and just surprise me. Thanks Danny." Tara was about to fish for her money but Danny waved her off, telling her the drinks are on the house.

Turning to Willow, she smiled seeing that Willow was doing the same thing. "Wanna dance?" They said at the same time.

They burst in giggles, moving away from the bar towards the dance floor and began to dance to the fast music. They are all getting their groove down. After a few minutes later, a waitress carrying their drinks arrived to an empty table and signaled the lovers of their drinks.

Seeing that, Tara leant closer to Willow's ear and whispered. "Here are our drinks, come on."

Willow was looking past Tara noticing the staircase, bringing the wine glass to her lips, before her lips touched the rim, "Where does that go to?"

Knowing what Willow was referring to, she turned her head towards the staircase and she smiled secretly. Turning back to Willow, before she said anything, she downed her double shot of cherry bomb. The drink was so strong that Tara immediately felt the effect of gentle buzz increasing. She smirked and leant in and said, "Wanna go and find out?"



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