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HOT SHIVER	By : rogiari Category: -Buffy the Vampire Slayer > Threesomes/Moresomes > Angel(us)/Spike(William)/Xander > Angel(us)/Spike(William)/Xander Views: 1731 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Buffy the Vampire Slayer (BtVS), nor any of the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
- 1-HOT SHIVER
- 2-Second Chapter
- 1
- 2
HOT SHIVER.

Crossed by a hot shiver
by crazy dreams bigger than me
Living through thousands of emotions
In contrast
I start over after you

between thousands of notes of life collected
and horizons I don�t see anymore
confusedly between tired images
you spring back to my memory

You know I think a lot about you
You know I feel a lot for you�and more
I waited a long time for you
You know I think a lot about you

�Brivido Caldo�
Matia Bazar
BRIVIDO CALDO

Writer: Rogiari
Rating: NC � 17. Slash, M/M and F/F. Some Buffy bashing;)
Shippers: A/S, Connor/Dawn, and others.
What is all about: During a holiday in Madeira, a Portuguese Island in the Atlantic ocean, two families meet: their lives will change forever.
Disclaimer: I don�t own them, except for the (few) original characters.
Timeline: AU. Human.
Distribution: not without asking. You can find it here:
http://princestothenoir.altervista.org/04fanfictiontranslate.html
Feed - back: always, please, to rogiari@fastwebnet.it
Dedicated to: James Marsters.
Translated from Italian by Rogiari
Betaed by our precious Pat.

First Part.
Welcome to Paradise

Funchal, Madeira.
June.

Chapter One.

The place was certainly beautiful.
And warm, too.
And it was not the sticky heat of New York in summer, but a real warmth, cooled by the plentiful rains of that wonderful European subtropical island.
It�s like being in Hawaii, Liam thought, but this is much more expensive.
Darla was satisfied, though. She loved expensive places. She had vetoed Bermuda since she had discovered her beautician at Est�e Lauder spent her summers there. So, she had flipped through exclusive brochures and had discovered this pearl of a place in the Western Atlantic: Madeira, a Portuguese island of incredible beauty which had amazed its Roman conquerors with its astonishing subtropical vegetation, and the tourists with its unbelievable Celtic atmosphere. This had been a place of conquest for a daring, ancient knight, and the old legend had conquered her too, it had sparked her imagination.
It�s like southern Ireland, she had told him to convince him about the trip, an incredible mix between Northern and Southern Europe, a crossroad of cultures. In its cellars the wine smelled wonderful and lay for years, on its windy coast wild orchids grew. It was wonderful. Liam had nodded, without telling her that Ireland was nothing like that.
So, now they were in Funchal, disembarked from the private jet with a whole set of Vuitton suitcases monogrammed in gold. Liam eased his dark sunglasses over his eyes, while he took his briefcase, glancing at the chauffeur sent by the tourist village where they would be guests, while the man was putting all their luggage in the minivan.
�I bet in this place there won�t even be a night club� his son observed, shifting his backpack on his shoulders. Darla smiled, adjusting his blue Lacoste collar. Steven had worn Lacoste since he was three. The older and more worn they were, the better they became him. It was some sort of rich boy�s genetic gift. That color underlined perfectly his clear blue eyes.
�We�re not here to dance� Liam replied. �You�ve got tests in history and geometry to make up, if I�m not wrong. The place is magnificent, we�ll relax�and you�ll study�
�Dad�.�
�Steven is right� Darla replied sweetly. Her son�s name was Steven Connor�after his maternal grandfather. Liam liked �Connor� better, but even he had to admit that it was impractical with his last name being O�Connor. Steven was easier.
�He can�t just study at seventeen. Darling, I�m sure there will be a disco in the village. And lots of cute girls�
Liam stared at her. Encouraging Steven in womanizing wasn�t necessary at all. He had got the drift all by himself, quite a long time ago. He was a cute guy, quite tall, slender and elegant. He was thinner than Liam, he had taken after his mother, and he had blue eyes.
But he had his father�s bearing, too. And women liked him. Liam just knew he wasn�t a virgin anymore.
�Like that?�
Liam followed his glance.
In the small, crowded lounge several groups of incoming and outgoing tourists exchanged places like every Saturday, going to and fro from the villages and hotels. Liam saw the girl: tall, slender, elegant, very beautiful hair, shiny and chestnut brown, down to her waist, a nice face with some freckles and wide blue eyes. She wore a tank top and a mini-skirt which showed her beautiful long legs.
Very cute indeed.
She was standing next to two adults, a young couple. Liam�s glance slid lazily over the woman: she couldn�t be older than 26, 27. Blonde hair, tiny and skinny. Very smart. One of a kind.
But it was the man next to her who took his attention.
He was of average height, slim, but quite strong, wiry, very cool. An unforgettable face, all made of angular planes, lights and contrasts. A soft mouth. Deep eyes he believed to be blue.
That was it.
The type of person who made him reach for his pencil.

�I wish there were some boys!� Dawn was complaining. �I still don�t know why I followed you to this senior citizens� paradise�
�Boys?� her sister intruded. �I see a perfect one. And he wears Lacoste, too�uh�and judging from his parents� suitcases they�re worth a lot of dough�
�Don�t be crude� Dawn replied, covering her eyes with her sunglasses. That was an ideal way to follow her sister�s glance and to examine the prey.
Quite a hottie, indeed.
The boy smiled at her.
And Dawn smiled back.
�As usual I�ll be so lucky he�ll end up on the other side of the island. And there won�t even be a disco in this place. Why couldn�t we go to Hawaii as usual?�
�Because you�d have missed Winston Churchill�s favourite place?� the man intruded, with a deep, accented voice. �Nibblet, you aren�t serious, are you? This is Madeira. It was adored by the Romans, who took all of its wood for their ships�and renowned for its wine�
�I drink Diet Coke� the teen replied. �C�mon, Spike! Do you really think we�ll have any fun here?�
�I�m not here to have fun, but to relax�
�As if� Buffy intruded. �I�m here for shopping�and�ahem�for fun. I think Dawn is right. We must look for a disco in the village�
�I swear - if you keep on going at it like rabbits, like you did in Miami and Disneyworld, I�ll ask for a legal emancipation� Dawn affirmed. �This time at least I hope you had the good sense and delicacy to ask for a room on the other side of the corridor?�
�Dawn, please� Buffy complained. �You�re nasty. It sounds like I�m a slut�
Spike and Dawn exchanged an amused glance.
�We�ll be on different floors� Spike confirmed, laughing.
And then he stopped suddenly. He realized the boy was still looking at them.
No�it wasn�t the boy.
But the man who was probably his father.
Spike asked himself if it was someone he knew.
And he studied him. No�he would surely recall him, if that was the case.
Tall, imposing, elegant. Dark. Perfect in jeans and a black jacket, with a white shirt. And impenetrable dark sunglasses.
And he was still looking at him.
Spike put on his own sunglasses and followed his girls to the bus.
The Country Golf Club & Village was a wonderful complex of houses in colonial style, towering on a sort of cape in the eastern part of the island, the side most protected from the cold winds blowing in from the North Atlantic.
Spike had chosen it almost by chance from a brochure, but he had to admit it had been a great decision. The place was amazing.
The houses were in part private property, other were let to tourists. They climbed the hill, on the top of which were the main structures, three restaurants, the infamous disco, and two beautiful swimming pools. It was a place of rare beauty: from the two windows (one on each side) you could see the outline of the island. From the center of the village a long path led to a series of beaches hidden along the winding coast.
Dawn and Buffy were enchanted. It really was a cool place. Buffy felt immediately at home, and made herself comfortable in the bathroom. Spike and Dawn explored the small kitchen (a useless one, since they were planning on having all of their meals in the restaurant or at the beach) and then lay on the recliners on the small terrace facing the sea.
It was cooler than they expected: at night a cold wind blew from the ocean. Spike took a pullover and threw it to Dawn, who wrapped it round her gratefully. The sun set swiftly there in the tropics.
�When you told me you were taking me to Europe I was thinking of Eurodisney��she pouted. �Or to Milan, to see the boutiques. Not a island for old Englishmen in retirement�
�Maybe because I�m English, did you forget?� Spike smiled. �I�m sure you�ll like it. Isn�t it wonderful, this view?�
�Yes, but��
�Dawn, have you seen my eyeliner?�
Buffy was ready for dinner. Spike turned and admired her. She was astounding in that black minidress, with high heels and her blonde curls raised in a soft chignon. When she wanted, Buffy was simply the most beautiful woman. That was what he had thought during all their long courtship.
In a way, it had been a battle, more than a courtship. He had met her when she had come to take some shots of him with a colleague, for an interview on a local paper. Spike had been single then�and quite desperate for a female companion. He had been a jerk with her, he had courted her in all possible ways. But he had got nothing. She kept repeating they could be friends, but she wasn�t single anymore.
There was only one way to define Spike: headstrong. He hadn�t given up. With the friendship as an excuse he had intruded into her life, among her friends. He had met her boyfriend, a hunky soldier all of a piece (and Spike had immediately understood which was the piece Buffy liked most about him), named Riley, her friend Willow, Willow�s husband Xander. He had entered their homes with his sweet best friend Tara. Soon all of them had got what motivated him: he had it written all over his face. All but Buffy.
That insistence had undermined her. She had often been rude to him, and had he laughed it back in her face. She was used to courtships, but with Spike�.he wasn�t exactly the fool of the situation.
To tell the truth, his body drove her mad. There had always been between them, in any interaction, a deep chemistry which made her skin sing. Even when nothing had yet happened. Spike had wisely waited for the right moment.
Buffy could be an exciting little slut�but she fancied herself faithful. As long as that Riley was in the picture, he couldn�t get anywhere with her.
Eventually Riley had been called up to go to Iraq. God bless America.
It took him the whole of�.three days to get into her bed. She was dying to.
The first time had been a fight. She didn�t want to succumb, but when he kissed her she had burned. Spike was out of his mind with arousal He had never had such a complicated, contradictory woman. She kept on swearing she felt nothing for him, but they had spent a couple of months fucking like rabbits, desperately, everywhere and all the time and in every possible way. A similar craziness of the senses had been unknown to him before�.notwithstanding Dru, his old girlfriend he had deeply loved for all of his teens and good part of his twenties.
Spike was convinced he loved Buffy. He told himself she was the woman of his life. He had asked her to marry him: she had declined. He had threatened to stop seeing her: she had almost raped him.
He had tried to break with her, terrified by her influence on his will. He couldn�t succeed. She had taken him back every single time.
Suddenly, Riley had come back, after six months (filled with sex and desperation) with another woman. A wife.
Buffy had cried three days long (for her hurt pride) and then had fallen back into Spike�s warm arms with a big, shining �Can you forgive me?�
They had started living together. Spike had moved into the big house where she lived, alone, with her teenage sister. And everything had clicked into place. No one discussed marriage anymore. Things worked that way.
Spike was quite sure about that.
They still hadn�t all that much in common, except in the bedroom . That always worked perfectly fine.
On the other hand, Spike got on perfectly with Dawn: they were on the same wavelength, each really cared about the other. And they discussed Buffy, too. Her coldness, her difficulty with bonding. About her strength, too: she had succeeded in working as a free � lance photographer and had supported herself, and Dawn too, after their mother�s death. Spike helped them as much as he could, and their small family had been together for three years.
But he didn�t dare ask himself whether that was all there was.
When he had Buffy in his arms for the first time, he had believed he was in seventh Heaven. He had felt like a lottery winner. He really had the woman he had desired so much.
But she was so distant, sometimes. Spike knew she cared about him�in her way. Probably she even loved him, she had fought to take him back anytime he had tried to escape from her grip.
But they really couldn�t reach real intimacy together, apart from fucking. She loved photography, but she didn�t care for music, movies or art. Spike was a 360� artist, he would have liked for himself a woman who shared in his love for life, music, beauty. And here he was again, on a terrace with Dawn, looking at the ocean. Alone.
�Let�s go� Buffy whispered.
Dawn rolled her eyes and moved to the bathroom. She didn�t want to go to the restaurant with her surrogate parents. It was better to let them go ahead: she knew them, they would find a dark bush for the usual kiss and touch.
Spike nodded, escorting Buffy out. The night, falling, was making reflections in the beautiful swimming pool. Spike wore a pair of jeans and a white shirt, with loafers. He always dressed like that when he was on holiday. Buffy ran her fingers through his short, bleached hair and kissed him. With the usual passion nothing could switch off�.like that was our sentence of guilt, Spike thought, surprising himself.
Hand in hand they climbed the path to the restaurant, under the lamps, and both gazed out at the most beautiful sight of the whole island. It was a dream place. Buffy preferred to take shots of people, she declared landscapes were a waste of her time. But that was a pity, Spike thought.
They sat at a table for three, and he kept a chair aside for Dawn. A lot of people followed their movements. They were really an astonishing couple.
Spike didn�t worry about Dawn: she would find her own way and make her entrance, in the best time and way. She was a grown up girl, his Nibblet.
�I hope they won�t use too many spices� Buffy protested. �I hate places where they don�t cook in the American way�
�Thank God for that� Spike replied, slowly sipping his pleasant-smelling local wine.
The table next to them was approached by another small family. Spike caught sight of a beautiful fair haired woman, very similar to Buffy in build, but slightly older, with an astonishing face, really unforgettable.
And the man from the airport.
They recognized one another at first sight.
Now, he was without glasses.
Spike saw eyes as dark as Hell.
In a perfect face.
Eyes that met his, and did not look away.
�Here I am!�
The boy�s arrival broke that�contact.
The dark haired man said something to the boy, and he answered. Spike tore his glance away: he wasn�t used to being impolite. And Buffy was speaking.
He had to ask her to repeat her sentence.

�You know I saw you, right?� Darla whispered, while Steven went to the buffet.
�The way you looked at them�.you like her, the blond one, don�t you? Does she look like that slut you bedded?�
�I didn�t have an affair� Liam replied. �You know that. For seventeen years I�ve been with only one woman. You�
�You always throw it in my face, uh?� Darla commented, sipping the wine.
�Darla��
�All right. I�ll try to forget you were screwing that Kate�
�I wasn�t. We just had a working relationship�
�Yeah, whatever�I�m spending this holiday in peace. I don�t want to argue�
�Neither do I�
�Good�
�As you please�
Steven came back and rolled his eyes: his parents had been arguing again. But that was too strong a word: Darla was too cultivated to argue openly with her husband. And Liam was simply too uncaring.
The boy�s glance crossed the room: framed in the open window which gave on to the outside, in a perfect position, the girl he had met at the airport stood. She wore a blue minidress and looked astonishingly hot.
She saw him and smiled.
And then, gracefully, she approached his table. Steven thought for a long moment she wanted to talk with him, but she wanted quite simply to sit down at her companions� table nearby.
To make space for her, Spike backed his chair up, accidentally knocking Darla. She poured red wine over her glittering white top.
�Oh, I�m sorry, Miss, �I�m terribly sorry�
�You could be more careful� she replied, with gritting teeth. �But this sort of thing happens�
The white suited maitre d� arrived with a stain remover. �I�ll pay for your laundry� Spike affirmed. �You can put it on suite 240�s tab�
�That�s funny, it�s the one next to ours� Steven smiled, so happy that that small accident gave him the excuse to get to know the girl. �We�re in 241�
�Our terraces are adjacent� Liam exclaimed, staring at Spike. �I love the cool air at night, here. I hope I won�t disturb you�
�Not at all� Buffy replied, stretching out her hand. �I�m Buffy Summers. My boyfriend, William Shelby�and my sister Dawn�
Liam took her hand, but he didn�t introduce himself. He kept on staring at Spike. That evident coldness didn�t stop Buffy. She was madly curious about that beautiful, elegant man. And the woman was incredible, too, with her rich lady appearance.
�Is this the first time you�ve been to Madeira?�
�Yes� Darla replied. �Now, if you don�t mind�.� She made a gesture to the maitre d�, with the obvious intention to stop the conversation. Buffy noticed it and backed off, angered by her indifference.
�Some people are really snobs� she whispered to Spike. He just shook his head.
Dawn and Steven kept on looking at each other. Now they had been officially introduced. This was not the moment to talk�but the moment would come. They had no more excuse to ignore each other.
They smiled.
Dinner seemed unbearably long to both. Spike savoured his food while Buffy nibbled at it as usual. She mostly lived on air, but on occasions she binged on trashy food.
Buffy couldn�t stand the other couple�s haughtiness. She had come to Europe to meet interesting people, people with flair, not the usual clerks and housewives from Des Moines. What a bummer! Those three had interesting and rich written all over their faces.
Spike was quiet, on the contrary. As usual, social status in people left him totally cool. He just didn�t care, and this explained a lot about his friends, Buffy thought.
�Let�s go and dance!� she said, still in a bad mood. She asked herself whether tall and dark was looking at her. He was a most beautiful man, in a worrying way, and she had caught his intense glances shot toward their direction. The girl had seen them, and she had deduced from them the only possible conclusion: he liked her. It must be that.
What, was she an immoral slut if she exulted when such a beautiful man was interested in her? She knew she had a hook on men, she had known it from 9th grade. Since Nicole in �Eyes wide shut� fantasized about a stranger, why couldn�t she do the same?
She felt good and gratified with that type of glance on her. She felt womanly. And she felt desire, the desire she � as a perfect pseudo � wife � would satisfy later with Spike in that beautiful wooden bed.
She consciously turned, to assure herself he was still watching.
But they were leaving, after having eaten little and hastily.
Disappointed, Buffy turned back again.

Spike pleased Buffy and took her to dance.
If he knew her (and nobody knew her better) she now would relax in the groove and dance. She danced gracefully, she was petite, sensual, sexy to die for, and she raised the temperature of any male in a wide range.

But her intemperance stopped there. Spike knew she was a faithful woman. Her ways and moves were like seeds in the wind, nothing more. She sowed attraction, but reaped nothing. Spike was quite sure if Riley hadn�t left he would have got nothing from her.
The village�s disco was small, friendly, dark, with a well furnished bar. The wine drunk at dinner still ran quickly through his veins, and Spike chose against having another drink. He had to stay clear headed. If he knew his girl, he would need all of his lucidity to stay head to head with her later in the bedroom.
Yep, Buffy was a high maintenance type.
He left her to zdance alone, at a certain point, and sat on a couch, drinking some cool grapefruit juice. He didn�t need any science to know what moved her. She was some sort of kidult, a woman grown up too swiftly who wanted back all the amusement of a time maybe lost forever. She was only fifteen when her father left, and life in Sunnydale, CA., hadn�t been easy. Not to mention her mother�s death and moving to her grandmother�s house in New Jersey (the bank had eaten up her mother�s house).
She and Dawn had rebuilt their lives, and Buffy had been admirable. She hadn�t a nice temper, but she had worked hard, she had studied, she had fed herself and her sister. Spike admired this.
What harm could there be, now that she lived in relative peace and wellness, to desire nice dresses, beautiful holidays, to have fun, and to be on the receiving end of men�s glances? In a way it was just right.
Dawn had suffered less, since Buffy, Spike and their friends had acted as a sort of cushion.
By the way, where was she? He hadn�t seen her anymore after leaving the restaurant. He didn�t want to be her warder, of course, but this was a new place, and�
�May I sit here?�
Spike raised his eyes. It was the man from the restaurant. The one who hadn�t introduced himself.
�Sure� he replied. �But I was just leaving. I don�t see my sister in law anymore and I was wondering where she was�
Liam smiled. �That�s not a problem. I saw her with my son at the tennis field. They were watching some tourists playing�
�That�s OK, then�
�I didn�t introduce myself. I�m sorry, I know my wife doesn�t care for new acquaintances. I�m Liam O�Connor�
�William Shelby� Spike introduced himself, offering his hand. The man�s was large and warm, and gave him a strange feeling. A very pleasurable one. �You can call me Spike. They gave me that nickname at Public School for being as skinny as one, and I never grew out of it�
�You�re an Englishman�
�And you�re Irish, judging from the accent. But I guess you�ve lived in the United States for a long while, like me�
�My wife is American�
�Good. My girlfriend is American too�
�She�s very�pretty� Liam made a gesture at Buffy, dancing sensually in the crowd.
�And young�
�And very self conscious� Spike added, with a smile. �But I ask myself if all women aren�t like that�
�Right. That�s so tiring, sometimes��
They exchanged a smile. And stayed still and quiet for a long moment. Not an embarrassing silence, indeed. Not at all.
�Would you like a drink?� Spike asked, calling for the waiter.
�Yeah, but I�ll take a juice like you. Those strong wines aren�t made for me, my head spins�
�Your wife�did she go home?�
�She had a headache�
�You seem really young to have such a grown up son�
�Connor will be in College next year. And he is quite mature for his age�but�some circumstances about his education didn�t satisfy me. Sometimes I ask myself if a normal school would have worked better for him than West Point�
�You�re joking, aren�t you?� Spike asked. �Is your son really at the Military Academy?�
�Yeah. But I don�t think it�ll be his future�
�I wouldn�t ever have guessed it. Maybe because of his long hair, I think�
�He was at home for a couple of months, due to a health problem. But now he�s recovered. He�s going back to attend his last year and then he�ll go to College. And he�ll have to decide his path. I�d like him to be a doctor, I know he dreamt of that as a kid�but I still don�t know whether that will be his career�
�I hope he won�t do as I did� Spike admitted. �I followed the path my mother had indicated to me�and I never regretted it, after all it gave me independence, and that is important, too. But I�ve got other interests as well�
�Don�t tell me that. I could say I�d like to but I can�t is my motto�
�I�d never guess that, looking at you� Spike spouted, amazing himself for the freedom he felt in talking with this�stranger. �You seem to me a man who knows perfectly what he wants�and how to get it�
�Don�t be fooled by appearances� Liam smiled. �Tell me about your interests. After all, our names are similar�Liam and William�
�Right� all of a sudden embarrassed, Spike stared at his glass.
�Spike, why don�t you introduce me to your friend?�
Buffy was there. She stared at them, delicious, sexy, hot. She wasn�t wrong. The man had come after her. Her smile widened.
�I must go� Liam said, standing. �My wife is waiting for me. It was a real pleasure talking with you�William�
�The same for me� Spike admitted.
�What a jerk!� Buffy shouted, crossing her arms. �That�s the second time he�s avoided introducing himself to me�
�Let�s go� Spike replied. �We�ve got to collect Dawn and get to bed. I�m quite tired after the journey�
�What? Aren�t we exploiting our privacy to test our new bed?� Buffy was indignant.
Spike rolled his eyes, taking her home.

Spike mused.
What was problematic was that Buffy was riding him at the time.
It was impossible to even imagine he wasn�t attracted to her anymore.
But that night his thoughts flew away, lost in that magic atmosphere, in that wild nature, with its cold oceanic wind which brushed the trees against the house�s walls, making a sound like fado.
Finis terrae�.
So the ancients called those faraway lands that like Portugal, Brittany and Ireland protruded into the vast nothingness amidst the wide ocean and lost Atlantis, inexorably beyond the columns of Hercules.
Music, sounds, words�he raised his arms and took her soft, small, round breasts in his hands, while she was lost in her pleasure�.her head bent back�so far away.
Spike thought of a song he would have liked to create, a song which talked about a night like that, a quiet one, while a woman was quietly making love and from the sea a mythological creature surged�.mysterious and mighty�
What a strange train of thought.
His body reacted mechanically but his soul was far away, then. They both reached their climax, and a surge of inspiration invaded his mind.
�You�re miles away� Buffy reproached him, later. �What are you thinking about?�
�About you� he lied, turning on to the other side.
She caressed his shoulders, kissing them slowly, with the tenderness she devoted now and then to him, like an elusive gift, and then she went to the bathroom.
Closing his eyes, Spike tried to sleep, clutching on to his dream.

�What in the world are we doing in this place after midnight?�
�Going to bed?� Dawn suggested, studying the activities plan. It was so predictable that you could understand exactly what was going on at a certain time without even studying it.
Eternally.
During the week the disco closed at midnight (two a.m. at week � ends). In the caf� near the main swimming pool there was a musical evening �to close each day�. She and Connor (or Steven, but she preferred the former name) went there, lazing about, listening absentmindedly to a girl who was shouting songs already stale and old.
�Has anybody told you you�re a very beautiful girl?�
She raised her eyes. They were now behind the swimming pool and the underwater lights gave a pearly gleam to her skin.
�Since I was three. Continuously� she smiled, broadly. �Especially when I make funny faces�
Connor smiled again, uncertain how to make his move.
She was beautiful, indeed. And she inhibited him a bit. She was friendly, easy going�beautiful girls weren�t like that at home. Usually, hot cuties � like his mother, or her sister � were quite intimidating. And demanding as well. Courtship had followed serious rules for millennia.
Dawn seemed an easy going gal. A good girl at school, with a lot of friends as easygoing as she was.
�Come on, let�s go home� he said, taking her by the arm. He didn�t want to crash and burn. There was time to get to know her better. They would be staying there three weeks�an enormous span of time, it seemed to him.
She had already told him she lived in New Jersey, not far from his own house on the Hudson river.
�Mmm� she studied her watch �If Spike and Buffy went home directly�it was 11.10 p.m. when we met them�well, I can go to bed now�
�What�s with the numbers?� Connor asked, smiling.
�It�s easy. My sister and her boyfriend go at it. Continuously. I�ve never heard or seen a couple so hectic in boinking, not even rabbits. We�re on different floors but sounds filter through�and I�m tired of sleeping with my pillow over my face. It�s better to give them time to work it out�
Connor laughed.
�That�s funny� he said. �My parents don�t do it anymore�
�How do you know?� Dawn asked. �You�re never at home, studying away at school�and then you live in such a big house it would be difficult to tell, anyway��
�That�s true� Connor replied �But I feel they don�t do it enough. They�re always very cold with each other. I�ve often asked myself why they didn�t divorce. I�ve asked myself whether they have affairs. But I don�t think so. Maybe I�m wrong�
�They had you when they were very young. Your father must have been 18 and your mother 16. They must have loved each other, then�
�That�s what is strange about them. They were still in High School when I was born�
�Do you suffer from�their reciprocal coldness? You can discuss it with me, you know. I lived with two parents who hated and humiliated and then left each other. My father has vanished. And my mother died. Sometimes I guess I would have ended rather badly if not for Spike�
�What do you mean?�
�When my mother died, I had a sort of a crisis. I stole things�.just for starters. And I didn�t study anymore. I kept bad company. Nothing too bad, but my sister was too busy earning our living and going on with her studies, and she almost didn�t see me as a person. When she started dating Spike�well, he saw me. He cared about me. Sometimes I think Spike saved my life�
�He�s like my father, in that way� Connor confessed. �You look at him, and he seems like a cold, reserved guy. But I know he�s not like that. He has a big heart, very loving�and he�s always showed it to me. When my grandfather and my mother insisted on my going to West Point, like every male in my family, he imposed his will and left the decision to me�
�And you obviously accepted�
�It seemed interesting, to me. And it hasn�t been totally disappointing. But I�m not sure I�ll follow that path�
�Spike and your father should meet� Dawn replied, smiling. �Your mother is quite a difficult woman, too, I guess�.�
�She was the Hudson Princess. Do you get it? �The Vanderbilts talk with their peers and with God� She was very beautiful, rich, almost from a royal family, her mother was a cousin of the Kennedys. She spent her holidays in Martha�s Vineyard. And then she got pregnant at 16. And who had knocked her up? My father, 18, come over directly from Ireland�
�Oh�
�No, she�s not an easy going woman�
Dawn yawned. �I�m that. Easy going. Very easy. Low maintenance�
Connor studied her. The swimming � pool light was intoxicating.
�I don�t know why, but I doubt that. C�mon. Let�s go home�

Spike threw a blanket over Buffy�s body. Now she was asleep, he didn�t want her to get cold.
He pulled on his pajama pants.
He only wanted some alone time.
He had heard, a quarter of an hour before, Dawn coming home and climbing the stairs to her bedroom on the second floor. The night was silent and perfumed around him.
He took his guitar from its case, and went to the terrace. He closed the window panel, to avoid waking his girls.
And then he sat on the chair, with his guitar in his arms. He looked for some accord, concentrating on the fantasy he had had before, when he was making love with Buffy.
He didn�t find anything of interest, and so he started the introduction to �In the Flesh�, courtesy of Pink Floyd. That song always amazed him.
�You play well�
He turned at the deep voice, and saw Liam, his companion from the disco, on the other side of the terrace. A simple, low hedge separated them.
Spike smiled at him.
�You like fresh air, too�I see. You said right�
�Yeah. There�s a strange smell of the ocean. It reminds me of Maine�
�Do you go there often?�
�My wife has some cousins there�
�I see. Do you like Pink Floyd?�
�I love all the seventies rock. Genesis, Deep Purple, Pink Floyd, Jethro Tull��
��.David Bowie, Iggy Pop, the Rolling Stones�.� Spike continued. �Personally I adored punk, too. Sex Pistols, Ramones, The Clash�The Cure�.I�m quite omnivorous�.�
�Do you sing your songs, too?�
�Some. I�ve got a sort of garage band I do gigs with in clubs�
�Let me hear some�
�With pleasure. But I wouldn�t want to wake your wife up�
Liam face darkened. �She�s in her bedroom on the other side of the house. She won�t hear a thing�
Spike nodded, and started playing and singing an old ballad he had written. Liam had to admit to himself that he had a wondrous voice. Raw, sensual, deep. It went straight to his bones�to his gut. He asked himself why the man wasn�t in show business. He was really talented. He knew how to pause at the right moment, and how to become emotional as needed. And then again suave, lighteharted. Just in time to shout his pain, a few notes later�.
Spike let himself go, singing with closed eyes, not caring about the thousands of expressions his art created on his beautiful face.
He was used to quite an absent � minded audience, in the clubs he played with Oz and his companions. Usually people went there to have a drink with friends and chatter the night away. Not to listen to him.
But he noticed, while singing, that there wasn�t any wavering in the other man�s attention.
When he reached the end, he opened his eyes. Liam stared at him, with an unreadable expression.
�May I ask you a favor?� he said, all of a sudden. �This is something I have been pondering ever since I saw you this morning, at the airport�
Spike stared back, surprised. Yes, he recalled that long glance�but he was amazed the other recalled it too. He asked himself whether this had anything to do with Buffy and the obvious attention she provoked in men.
Liam smiled.
�May I draw a picture of you?�
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HOT SHIVER