Slowly Angel opened his eyes but quickly closed them again as the light seemed to shoot through his brain. Few moments later he tried again and only then noticed the feminine body pressed against his chest. He also noticed that his arms were wrapped around her and that his hand was under her top, cupping her breast. A mischievous smirk rose to his lips. He pulled his hand away, he didn't feel like getting slapped by her first thing in the morning, but that didn't stop him from brushing his thumb against her nipple. As he felt her stirring, he snuggled against her neck and closed his eyes, pretending to be asleep.

Buffy started to wake and for a moment she had to think back to the night before because she could feel a firm body against her back and a pair of strong arms wrapped around her waist. Carefully she shifted away but he tightened his hold and pulled her back, pressing a soft kiss to the nape of her neck. Her eyes closed on their own accord and she cursed her body for reacting so easily to him.

"Angel", she whispered.

"Yes?" he murmured against her skin, his hot breath sending shivers running through her body. He was wide awake, every part of him, but he did his best to seem like he was still half asleep.

"I need to get up. I have to go to work today, you know", she said and started to slide towards the edge of the bed but again she was pulled back.

"Call in sick", he whispered into her ear and she giggled, turning in his arms.

"You might have a hang over but I don't. I still have a big show to put together", she said and suddenly it hit how close he was. Her eyes wandered down to his lips, they were so close and so kissable. She didn't know that he was thinking the same thing. But she found the strength to pull back and sit to the edge, trying to control her thoughts.

"Umm... There's an extra toothbrush in the bathroom cabinet and you probably want to take a shower, the clean towels are in the closet", she gladly changed the subject.

"You could join me. I might need someone to wash my back", he smirked and took a lazy position, lying on his side, propped up against his arm. She turned to look at him, why did he have to look so sinfully good first thing in the morning. It would be so easy to just push him to his back and lick that deliciously muscled chest of his. 'Bad, Buffy!' she chastised herself.

"You don't give up, do you? Even when you're having a hang over", she said shaking her head incredulously. She had to admit the invitation was luring but she pushed the thought down, she may be softening towards him and even considering of having something more with him but they were still moving too fast, they hadn't even had one date.

"I'll make some coffee", she stated and got off the bed, grabbing her robe from the chair. He watched her in appreciation, too bad she covered the sight of her backside in the short boxers, but he wasn't complaining, the silk garment clung to her curves deliciously.

She headed towards the door but was stopped by his voice. "My offer still stands."

She turned around to look at him, he had gotten off the bed and was still wearing nothing but the black boxers that did very little to hide his growing erection. She couldn't help but think he had a gorgeous body and apparently the offer wasn't the only thing standing. Quickly she brought her eyes back to his face.

"Maybe another time", she stated and quickly fled the room as she realized what she had just said. Angel chuckled as he watched her go. He turned around and went to the bathroom, maybe the shower would help with the slight hang over and other things.

After a quick shower, Angel grabbed his clothes and headed downstairs, still fastening his belt as he stepped into the kitchen. He leaned against the doorframe as he watched her breaking eggs with a frown on her face, obviously she wasn't the next Martha Stewart. He pulled away from the door and walked further into the room, stopping right behind her.

"Why don't I make the breakfast", he suggested, whispering into her ear. He placed his hands on the counter, trapping her between his arms and he felt her posture stiffening. The closeness of him was making her loose focus, she had done a lot of thinking while he was in the shower, and not all of it had been picturing him under the stream of water. But now that he was close enough for her to feel the heat of his body, she couldn't remember what she had decided earlier.

She made the mistake of turning around, coming face to face with his bare chest that peeked from under his open shirt. 'This is bad. Very bad. Too close. Bad thoughts! Why does he have to look so damn sexy in the morning?!' She tried to calm her thoughts but it was in vain. How easy would it be just let the shirt fall off and lick the hard flesh. 'Bad thoughts! Bad!' she chastised herself and quickly ducked under his arm to safety.

"Coffee?" she asked, surprised how calm her voice was, the exact opposite of her nerves.

"Sure", he answered, suppressing the smirk that threatened to form on his lips. He busied himself with starting the breakfast as Buffy occupied her mind by grabbing a cup from the cabinet and filling it with coffee before turning to him. She just realized she didn't know how he drank his coffee.

"How do you like your coffee?"

"Just black", he answered and she handed him the cup. "Thanks", he said as he grabbed the cup and took a sip. "This is great coffee", he complimented and was rewarded with a beaming smile.

"Thanks. It's the only thing I can cook. Well, make. I can do eatable food but that's as far as it goes."

He chuckled and took another drink of his coffee. "Then it's a good thing I like to cook, you can handle the coffee", he stated, only realizing what he had said after her eyes widened.

"Umm... I guess it is", she said awkwardly, not sure how she was supposed to answer to that. Maybe it was just her imagination, or maybe not. She sat down to the table and sipped at her coffee while watching him cook, he looked right at home even in her small kitchen.

When the food was ready, he divided it on two plated and set the other in front of her before sitting down across the table from her. "There's something I want to ask you", he said and Buffy lifted her gaze to him while digging into the food.

"Sure. What's the what?"

"Does Faith collect knives?" he asked and she let out a short laugh.

"Yeah. Why do you ask?" she asked amusement clear in her voice.

"Just thought she mentioned it last night, it's a little hazy on some parts", he played it off. He couldn't help but think that she looked beautiful as she smiled and he had the urge to protect her so the smile wouldn't fade. But it did as she slowly drifted back to reality.

"We should talk", she stated looking at him almost shyly. Angel nodded in agreement, they needed to get to common ground, especially because of the night before his craving for her had only grown. Now he regretted some of the things he had said while being drunk but he also had a feeling his words might have softened her towards him.

"Buffy, I want to..." he started to say when he was interrupted by the ringing of the doorbell.

"Sorry. It's probably Faith", she said with a apologetic smile and got off the table, hurrying to the door. She opened it, revealing Faith just as she had suspected.

"Mornin', B", she greeted walking past Buffy, straight into the kitchen for her morning coffee. She stopped dead on her tracks at the door as she saw Angelus O'Reilly sitting on the table. It was a sight she hadn't been expecting, especially in the same clothes as he had been the night before. A smirk rose to her lips. Guess Buffy got over her fears and led the stud to the bedroom.

"Am I interrupting something?" she questioned with a raised eyebrow as Buffy walked into the room.

"We were just having some breakfast and keep your mind out of the gutter", Buffy answered, she knew perfectly well what it looked like. For some reason, that she didn't want to look too closely into, she was glad that Angel had buttoned up his shirt, hiding the delectable naked skin from Faith's eyes. She sat down to the table and gave Angel an apologetic smile. It seemed they had to postpone their talk.

"Did I say anything?" Faith asked innocently and grabbed a piece of omelet from Buffy's plate before she took a cup from the cabinet and filled it with coffee.

"No, but you were thinking", Buffy stated. Faith gave her an mischievous smile and sat down to the table, stealing another slice from Buffy's plate. "Hungry?" Buffy questioned with a raised eyebrow.

"No, I already had breakfast. This is delicious", Faith shrugged and stole yet another slice, chewing it happily.

"Angel made it", Buffy stated sending a smile to the man.

"Ooh, a man of many talents. It's good to know you're not limited into the..." Faith was silenced when Buffy kicked her under the table, her face reddening in embarrassment. She glanced at Angel but he was only smirking in amusement.

Angel glanced at his watch, he still needed to stop by at his apartment before going to work and it seemed like he wasn't going to have any alone-time with Buffy at the time. He got off the table and rinsed his plate and coffee cup before placing them into the dishwasher.

"I think I should take off. I still have to stop at home before going to the office", he said and Buffy got off the table.

"Oh, I'll see you to the door."

Buffy walked him to the door but he didn't make a move to leave. "I'll pick you up for lunch", he said.

"Okay, we'll do the talking thing then. I'm sorry I didn't warn you about Faith. I thought she would be nursing a hang over or something, she doesn't come every morning, you know", she said leaning to the doorframe and looking at him almost shyly.

"It's okay. If she hadn't come, I might have tried to convince you to skip work", he stated before glancing towards the kitchen door, confirming that Faith wasn't in a line of sight, gently he took a hold of her arm and pulled her closer. Slowly he leaned down, giving her every opportunity to back down, and kissed her. First softly, but as she responded to the kiss, he got more bold and deepened the kiss, running his tongue over her lips asking entrance. He backed her against the wall and let his hands wander down her sides to her waist, his fingers disappearing under her shirt but not going further.

Gently she pushed him back, steadying her breath and trying to calm her thoughts. "Umm... I'll see you later", she said breathlessly, glancing towards the kitchen door to make sure Faith's smirking face wasn't anywhere on sight.

"Yeah, later", he whispered into her ear, brushing his lips against her ear before walking out the door. A smirk rose to his lips as he walked to his car, he knew he was knocking down her walls and in no time he would have her in his bed and his ring in her finger.

Buffy shook herself from the haze he had caused and closed the door, returning to the kitchen. "I see you enjoyed the breakfast", Buffy stated with a crooked smile as she noticed her plate had gotten empty while she had been gone.

"It was getting cold", Faith explained innocently. Buffy chuckled and shaking her head, she cleaned the table.

"So, start talking", Faith said looking at her friend.

"What?" Buffy asked acting innocent, she knew what Faith meant and what she probably thought. Faith rolled her eyes.

"Drop the act, you were just groping with Angelus at the door so something must've happened."

Buffy spun around to look at Faith with a surprised expression. "You saw us?" she questioned but noticed her mistake as Faith started laughing gleefully. "You were just guessing", she added with a frown.

"Yeah. And you just spilled the beans so start talking. Was it as great as you remembered? If he was, you should keep him. A great cook and beast in bed, what more can you ask?"

It was Buffy's turn to roll her eyes. Sometimes Faith had a one track mind. "Nothing happened last night", she swore and Faith raised an questioning eyebrow, clearly not believing her. "Really. He came here drunk and I put him to bed."

Faith didn't drop her gaze till Buffy finally confessed. "Okay, there was some kissing involved but nothing more. He was drunk, it would have been wrong to go further."

"So you have been thinking about going further?"

Buffy sat down with a sigh and turned her gaze to Faith, looking miserable. "Yeah. When I'm around him I feel like a hormone driven teenager. And he said some things last night that... I might want to have a relationship with him but I need to know what he wants. I know I feel something for him, the two days I didn't see him was like putting bamboo sticks under my nails. But what if he doesn't feel the same" She groaned and fell against the table, burying her face in her arms. Why did it have to be so complicated?

Faith looked at her friend with sympathy written all over her face, she had never seen Buffy so tangled up over a guy, not even Riley who with she spent two years.

Lunchtime couldn't come fast enough for Angel and he practically ran out of the office. Okay, he left early but he still managed to do more work than he did on a normal day. He drove to the gallery and picked up Buffy, taking her to his place. She was a little surprised by his choice of place but agreed it was a good idea, they would at least have complete privacy.

Buffy sitting on the tabletop, watching as he cooked, she really could watch him for hours. It should be illegal to look so good while doing something so domestic as making lunch. He turned around with a crooked smile on his lips and stepped to stand between her legs.

"I've been thinking", he started and she nodded, encouraging him to continue. "Would you go out with me?" he shot the question and she looked at him confused.

"Huh?"

He smiled at the expression on her face, he couldn't help but think she looked adorable. Adorable? It wasn't even a word in his vocabulary, what was happening to him?

"As in a date", he clarified but she still looked confused, he had caught her completely off guard.

"A date?"

He chuckled. "I want to go out with you, Buffy. I want to have something more with you."

She didn't know what to say. He had actually said what she hoped, that he wanted to be with her, not just take her into bed. A small smile tucked at her lips and only then she noticed he was still waiting for an answer or at least some kind of a reaction.

"As in date-date?" she asked and his crooked grin changed into a smile.

"Yes, as in date-date. So what do you say?"

"Okay", she answered with a nod.

"You have to walk me through it, I haven't been on a date for over ten years", he stated with a crooked smile that made her weak on the knees, it was a good things she was sitting down.

"That's hard to believe", she answered with a teasing smile.

"I've had dinner with women but I've never had a girlfriend", he confessed, he thought it was better to leave out that he never had wanted one because he didn't want to be tied down to one woman. He lifted his hand and ran his knuckles down her cheek, smoothing his thumb over her lower lip. He could actually see himself being with her, he knew he wouldn't stop seeing other women but the thought of sharing his life with her didn't scare him one bit.

"Tonight. Will you go out with me tonight, to our official first date?" he asked and all she could do was nod, his touch was wreaking havoc on her ability to concentrate. She closed her eyes, gathering herself up before opening them and staring into his eyes.

"Angel", she started, her voice only a whisper. He let his fingers trail down her neck, his touch causing the short hairs on the back of her neck stand on end. "Angel, I need to know if you're serious. I know we've known each other only for a short time but..." she started to say, suddenly afraid that she was making a mistake. If he now had such a strong affect on her, how would it be if she let him into her heart.

"Buffy", he interrupted, her eyes flew to his. "I'm serious about us. You make me feel things no one else has ever caused in me. - And suddenly I'm having a haunting deja vu feeling I've said that to you before."

A smile rose to her lips, and it wasn't just from the relief that he wasn't just after to get her into bed. "Yeah, you said something along those lines while you were wobbling in my living room last night", she said with a smirk.

"But someone promised me lunch, I'm starving", she added and he chuckled, stepping back.

"I guess I did", he stated and went to set the table. She jumped down from the counter but her leg twisted and she staggered, falling against Angel's chest. Angel took a hold of her arms to steady her but in the process he pulled her more against himself.

"Oops, I'm a little clumsy today", she said embarrassed and slowly untangled herself from his arms, already missing the feel of them as she stepped back. As on cue, her stomach rumbled, reminding them why they were there. He chuckled, looking down to her stomach before lifting his eyes to hers.

"I think I remember promising you food", he said and led her to the table.