It was a warm night at the Bronze. The three slayerettes were supposed to be meeting at the night club, as they did every Friday night, but Buffy had a not-so-secret rendezvous with a certain vampire. Thus there were only two who sat glumly at the table, looking at their drinks and thinking. Xander was thinking about how much he was hating Angel at that moment, and Willow was wondering about the �almost kiss�.
She had failed miserably for the past week to talk to Xander about it, and instead she had decided she�d take matters into her own hands. Willow had put on a short purple dress and heels to impress him, but had chickened out. She took off the heels and wore slip-on flats instead. Then she had worn a heavy green jumper over the top of the dress. She was wondering if Xander would ask her to dance, of if he�d just smoulder in his jealousy all night.
< And if he�s not playing the green eyed monster, he�s giving all the other girls in the Bronze �the eyes�. You know that look, the �hey there, wanna dance?� eyes. And they�re all saying �No! As if.� Poor Xander. What am I saying? He�s the one getting himself in trouble. > She sighed quietly, as to not disturb her company. < Ok, I�ve got to do something. I�m sick of being �one of the guys� and never measuring up to the �all powerful Buffy�. This is it. >
All of a sudden, Willow stood up and said, �Lets dance.� Xander looked up for a moment, then put his chin back on his hand.
�Come *on*! I�m not asking twice.� Willow pulled her green jumper over her head, and flung it onto the chair. She grabbed Xander�s hand and pulled him towards the dance floor. < What am I doing!? > Meanwhile, Xander had been jolted back to reality.
�What?� He cried out, and he saw Willow dressed in a short, beautiful purple dress which complimented her hair. Very short. < What�s she doing? > He obliged and followed her onto the dance floor. < When did Willow become this aggressive? It�s...actually quite a good thing! > On the dance floor, Willow began to move, trying to get the rhythm of the music into her mind.
< Ok, don�t chicken out. Just...dance like you do when you�re alone in your room, pretending Xander�s there. > Willow got the rhythm in her hips a little awkwardly, but it was a good sign that no one was pointing and laughing. She actually got to enjoy the expression on Xander�s face. It was quite funny.
The music was good. Loud, but good. Some band from school was playing, and Xander could see that a lot of students were enjoying the music. He saw Cordelia, Harmony and Adisia trying to flirt with some seniors, but they were being ignored. He smiled to himself. Xander was actually having fun as he watched his best friend dance. Something about the way she danced, the way her hips moved, something made his insides feel a little wobbly.
Willow occasionally closed her eyes, hardly believing she was actually on the dance floor, dancing with Xander, and not being completely nervous and stiff. The music was giving her confidence. She actually moved in a little closer to Xander while dancing. And he was, surprisingly, not dancing like a spaz. Nor did he back away.
�So...� Xander began. Willow looked up at him, her green eyes sparkling and she smiled. He felt himself get very hot. Everywhere. �So, what�s with this?� He did some wild dance moves that made Willow laugh, and he felt good about himself.
�This dancing?� She raised her eyebrows. He could barely hear her over the music. �Aren�t you...enjoying yourself?� A flicker of hesitation crossed her flushed, pretty face.
�Oh, no! It�s great.� He assured her, not knowing if he was consciously inching closer to the writhing body of his best friend. Not knowing why he was getting hot from dancing close to Willow. He couldn�t tear his eyes away from the rhythmic moves of Willow�s body, as it slowly became more fluid, more feminine, more sexual.
Xander danced to the beat of the music as best he could. He didn�t seem to be able to concentrate on thinking about all the things he�d been moping about before. Instead, he was busily trying to keep up with Willow�s impromptu dance. The way she smiled sweetly and closed her eyes every few moments was making his insides skip. < Will usually hates dancing. I wonder why she�s doing this. > He was getting hot in his jumper and cargo�s. He tried not to stare at his best friends hems as they danced over her thighs.
Willow revelled in Xander�s grin. It had returned after a few days of being AWOL. She could feel the heat between their two bodies, but she couldn�t believe it. For once in her entire life, she was confident in front of a crowd of people. But all she knew was the close presence of Xander. The *very* close presence.
Xander knew if he looked at Willow dancing in front of him anymore, he�d do something *very* embarrassing for both himself and the auburn haired girl. Instead, he looked around at the crowds again. Nestled in the company of her two well dressed friends, was Cordelia Chase again. She appeared to be having bad luck with the company of senior and college boys. The school snob was actually looking straight at Xander and Willow dancing with a strange expression. Something...churned in her. And Xander almost burst out laughing when he realised it was *envy*!
Before he could do anything about it, Cordelia saw him looking at her, and she turned away in humiliation. Xander smiled, feeling the hotness leave his body briefly. When he looked back at Willow, he started to burn up again. < Oh Willow, where have you been hiding this woman? You�re making me... whoa! Don�t go there Harris! This is *Willow*. Best friend Willow. Study buddy Willow. Hottie Willow! Ye Gods... > He saw her bite her lower lip, in a sweet girlish way as the song wound up.
He coughed as they slowly made their way off the dance floor. He watched as the skirt of her dress swished gently behind her. She sat down at their table while he got refills of their drinks. When he sat back down, her breath had gotten back to normal.
�So...� Xander began again. Willow gratefully took the drink. Taking a few sips, she looked up at him.
�Sorry about...about making you dance,� apologised Willow. �I don�t know what- I wasn�t really thinking or-�
�Don�t apologise! I- liked dancing with you. I mean, ye Gods! You�re a helluva dancer...� Xander smiled at his best friend, watching her blush.
�I didn�t mean to...�
�Well, what ever you meant, all I know is that-� Xander stopped. �I mean, it�s very different. And...I like it. Too. I mean, I like both Willows. A lot.� Willow almost started to laugh as she saw Xander struggle with his words.
�Good. Because I like to actually know what you�re thinking.�
�Willow, you *always* know what I�m thinking.�
�I don�t always know. I mean, there�s the whole Buffy fiasco, and the ice cream...� she trailed off, half embarrassed.
�Oh.� He said softly. �Buffy who?� Xander grinned again, making life a little better. �It�s... just an immaturity thing. I�m- getting over it.�
�I�m glad. It�s just that after all this time, I- I didn�t know where we stand.�
Xander looked at the beautiful face of his best friend. His best friend that suddenly was acting like a woman. Making him react as if she was a woman. Making him feel...hot all the time.
�Stand? Its a little hard to tell where we stand when-� Xander was interrupted.
�Don�t sit then. Lets stand up.� Willow rose and Xander did too. She pulled him towards the dance floor again, and he stumbled over in agreement. It was a slower song. After a few awkward moments while they both tried to adjust to the music, Willow decided to put her arms up around Xander�s neck, while he pulled her a little closer with his arms wrapping around her lithe waist. They manage to ease into time and they moved to the beat.
Neither spoke, just breathing slowly and feeling the heat of the other. Slowly, Xander moved his mouth to Willow�s ear.
�I�m sorry about the ice cream... I wasn�t sure....� he whispered softly. Willow furrowed her brow. Standing on her toes, she whispered, � You weren�t sure what?�
�I wasn�t sure...if it was just me wanting to kiss you, or if you wanted it too...�
Turning her head slightly, she saw Xander�s honest eyes gazing deeply into hers. She leaned closer to him, meeting his lips softly in a kiss. He could feel and taste the sweetness of Willow on her lips and in his mouth, and he kissed her back. She felt her mouth burn with the taste of Xander as their passion melded. After the ecstasy in Willow�s body tingled through all her veins, they ended the kiss.
�I�ve wanted it.�
�And I�ve wanted you.�
Willow tucked her chin shyly on Xander�s shoulder and he nestled close. Then they closed their eyes and let the slow music wash over them.