Angel tried to ignore the telephone but it was persistent. He grabbed the phone violently and growled into it, “What!?”

“You're in a mood”, came Wesley's collected voice from the other end.

“Wesley”, he sighed and sat down to the couch.

“I left you several messages last night and today. Where have you been?”

“Darla”, Angel stated like it would explain everything, unfortunately it usually did. But he wasn't ready to tell Wesley about Buffy, maybe to Gunn or Doyle but with Wesley he would never hear the end of it, he would be jumping in joy that Angelus O'Reilly had finally been caught. He wasn't ready to hear it all, and only way to avoid it would be to tell the truth why he was after her and he knew Wesley's sometimes prudish ways wouldn't approve him just marrying for money.

“Is she in town?” Wesley's question interrupted his train of thought.

“At the moment. She's going to Europe on vacation.”

“Vacation from what? She hasn't worked in years”, Wesley said, it was no secret that he didn't like Darla.

“Didn't ask”, Angel answered not caring to continue the topic.

“Well, now that I have finally caught up with you, the guys and I were wondering if you'd like to join us at the club tonight”, Wesley asked. Angel glanced at the clock and sighed.

“Okay, I'll meet you there.”

“Nine o'clock”, Wesley informed but it was barely audible as Angel was already hanging up the phone. He threw the phone to the couch and headed to the bathroom, shedding his clothes on the way. After a quick shower, shaving and thorough fixing of his hair, he put on his usual clubbing outfit and headed out.

At the club he got in right past the long line and with little trouble found his way to their usual table where Wesley, Gunn and Doyle were already waiting. “Look whose crawled out of his crypt”, Gunn said as he sat to the table.

“Fuck you too”, Angel shot back without malice and took a comfortable position in his seat while he scanned the dance floor.

“Thinking of ditching us already, are we, Angel?” Doyle asked, amusement clear in his voice.

“I see Cordelia Chase at the bar”, Angel said casually and immediately Doyle's head whipped around to look at the bar. Without taking his eyes off the brunette, he downed his beer and got off the table.

“See you later, lads”, he said and headed towards the bar. The group looked after their friend and Gunn shook his head in amusement.

“How long has he been after Cordelia?” he questioned.

“Quite some time now. He believes he is softening her up”, Wesley answered turning his gaze away from Doyle and to Angel, noticing that his eyes were fixed on the dance floor. He followed his friends gaze, finding a petite blond that had to be Angel's next target. The young woman sent a blinding smile at their way, or more like to Angel, and Angel got up from the table.

“I'll see you guys later”, he said and stalked to the dance floor, looking very much like a large predator.

“He ditched us already”, Gunn stated and watched as Angel leaned closer to the blond whispering something to her ear.

“It appears so”, Wesley conceded.

“Five bucks we won't see him again tonight.”

“You're on”, Wesley agreed. The men turned to look back at Angel but he and the blond had disappeared.

Half an hour later Angel returned to the table with a fresh drink in hand. “Pay up”, Wesley said and snapped his fingers at Gunn who grudgingly pulled the bill out of his pocket.

“So where'd you disappear to?” Gunn asked not ready to admit his defeat.

“This place has nice bathrooms”, Angel just stated like it explained everything. And Gunn and Wesley knew him well enough that it did explain enough. Gunn handed Wesley the five dollar bill and drowned his sorrow into his drink.

“Doyle scored yet?” Angel asked only half interested. The group turned to look at the bar where Doyle and Cordelia were standing, Doyle was talking and Cordelia wearing a somewhat irritated look on her face.

“No, but that doesn't stop him from trying”, Gunn chuckled.

“He isn't well off enough for miss Chase, he is just waisting his time. I think he should be looking for someone with better character”, Wesley stated.

“Who cares about her character, she's got a great body. But then again, she can't keep her mouth shut even for a minute”, Angel said and turned his gaze away from his friend and the brunette.

“Yes, she is quite talkative”, Wesley conceded.

“That's a nice way to put it”, Gunn commented grimacing at the memory when he had confronted the woman.

Angel tuned out the conversation and looked at his watch, sighing in boredom. “Excuse me”, he said and got off the table.

“You don't think he's going after another one, do you?” Gunn asked Wesley and Angel chose to ignore it, making his way to a more quiet part of the club. He pulled out his phone and waited for the answer. Finally there was an answer.

“Did I wake you?” Angel asked with a crooked smile at the thought of her in the big bed with her hair all tousled and a sheet wrapped around her, showing off her curves.

“I haven't got so far. I'm still at the gallery”, Buffy answered and his fantasy evaporated.

“Do you ever do anything but work?” he questioned with a frown.

“It's just busy now that the show is coming up. Where are you? It's so noisy in there.”

“I'm just meeting some friends at a club. Hey, do you have any plans for tomorrow night?”

“No, I was planning on staying...” she didn't get further when he interrupted her.

“No you're not, I'm taking you out. You're gonna have a night off from work”, he informed her and he could hear the sigh from the other end.

“Angel”, she breathed out in protest. He truly liked the way she said his name.

“You're not talking me out of it. You need a night off and I'm gonna be your tour guide”, he said with a smirk. He could hear her shuffling some papers and sighing in surrender, his triumphant smile widened.

“Fine, I'll go out with you”, she gave up.

“I could stop by there now”, Angel offered raising his eyebrow suggestively even though it was lost in telephone conversation. She laughed but shot him down.

“No, I think I'm gonna just head home now, go to bed.”

“I could come keep you company, it's a big bed.”

He lazily leaned against the wall, listening to the silence on the other end. She was briefly considering it, but managed to shake the thoughts off her head, chastising herself.

“I think I can manage to sleep on my own. But I guess, I better get going so I can get some hours of sleep before I have to get back here”, she stated.

“Okay, drive safely. I'll come and take you lunch tomorrow. Night”, he said and hung up before she could protest. He pocketed the phone and went back to the table where Doyle had reappeared.

“You didn't manage to swoon her off her feet yet?” he questioned with a smirk and sat down.

“Not yet. But there's a definite crack on the ice. Won't be long now”, Doyle answered and the group laughed.

“By the way, where'd you disappear off to?” Gunn asked grinning conspiratorially.

“Just had to make a phone call, nothing special”, he shrugged it off, not noticing the suspicious look Wesley was giving him.

Angel made sure none of his friends would be at the club. He had called Wesley who assured him he'd be home working on a case, Gunn was tailing his client's cheating wife as Doyle was tracking Cordelia, so Angel didn't have any worry of running into them.

He walked to the gallery door and looked inside. A smile crossed his face as he saw Buffy struggling with one of paintings with a frown marring her face. He knocked on the door and she spun around to look, the frown was replaced with a beautiful smile as she spotted him. The painting was forgotten as she grabbed her purse and walked to the door. Quickly she set the burglar alarm and stepped outside before securely locking the door.

“Hey”, she greeted turning her attention to him.

“Hey. You look beautiful”, he said and pressed a lingering kiss to her forehead. Her eyes closed on their own accord as his lips brushed against her skin. She could definitely fall for this man.

He pulled back and led her to his car.

“So where are you taking me?” she questioned as he pulled off the driveway.

“Soon you'll see”, he answered with a grin.

Buffy was more than a little surprised when he took her to a nightclub, but she was pleasantly surprised since it felt like she hadn't been dancing in ages. More accurately not since the night she met Angel. He led her to an empty table but didn't sit down himself.

“I'm gonna get us drinks. What would you like?”

“Surprise me. Just not anything with...” she started to say but he finished for her, “...alcohol. I know.”

She gave him a smile which he returned before going to the bar. While waiting for him, she pulled out her agenda book from her purse and made quick notes on tomorrows page.

“This was supposed to be a night off”, Angel's voice reminded her and slightly startled she lifted her gaze to him, giving him a sheepish smile.

“Just getting stuff off my mind. Look, putting work away now”, she said and put the book back to her purse. Angel sat next to her and set her drink in front of her.

“Good, cause I'm not planning on sharing you tonight”, he said with a low seductive voice that made her loose her breath. She took the glass and drank down half of it, trying to calm herself. She didn't understand what was going on with her, she felt like a teenager again and it was all because of the incredibly sexy man sitting next to her. Angel noticed her unease and decided on different tactics, he couldn't afford to scare her away.

“We haven't really talked about this much but I was just thinking. How have you been feeling? You know, all the movies show morning sickness as the sign of pregnancy”, he changed the subject and Buffy started laughing. He just looked at her not understanding what was so funny.

“What?” he demanded little put off, he wasn't used to people laughing at him.

“It's just funny, talking about my pregnancy at a nightclub”, she answered giggling again. He smiled at her, now understanding the reason she was amused.

“And no, I don't have morning sickness. Thank God. Mom's told me enough horror stories of the time she was expecting me”, she answered the question, the smile was still tucking at her lips.

“We should really talk about our situation, but you're right, this really isn't the right place to have the conversation”, he stated.

“Angelus? I thought it was you”, came Wesley's voice from next to the table and both occupants turned to look at the man, a frown appearing to Angel's face.

“Hello”, Wesley greeted Buffy, then turned to Angel. “Aren't you going to introduce me to your lady friend?” He knew not to call Angelus by his nickname while he had company outside of his inner circle.

“Buffy, this is my soon to be former friend Wesley Wyndham-Pryce. Wes, this is Buffy Summers”, Angel introduced them, sending glares at Wesley's way but he just ignored them and offered his hand to Buffy.

“Nice to meet you, miss Summers”, he said politely and shook her hand.

“You too. But just call me Buffy”, she said back with a smile.

“I thought you had a case to work on”, Angel stated still glaring at his friend.

“I do. I'm here to meet my client, though I don't understand why she wanted to meet me here”, Wesley answered.

“I'll leave you boys to talk, I have to visit the ladies room”, Buffy said and got off the table. “I'll be right back”, she whispered to Angel before leaving.

Both men looked after her and it was Wesley that broke the silence. “She seems like a nice girl. Not your usual type though.”

Angel turned to look at his friend, not happy how the night had turned out. “She is”, he stated, answering both questions.

“Does she know that you are not looking for more than a night of fun?”

“Why the sudden interest in my affairs?” Angel snapped at him.

“You're quite high strung tonight”, Wesley drawled but his attention was drawn away from Angel as he spotted his client by the bar.

“Well, I have to go meet my client. Forgive me if I will not introduce you but you might whisk her away before our business is done. Have a nice evening with Buffy”, he said and headed to the bar. Angel followed him with his gaze, his eyes settling on a young woman dressed to kill. But he had no doubt Wesley was there on business, he would never do something as unethical as having an affair with a client, but Angel didn't have such preservations. He actually had had affairs with several of his clients, a fact that had not made his grandfather a happy man. He chuckled at the thought.

“What's so funny?” Buffy asked as she sat next to him. He turned to look at her, not loosing the crooked smile.

“Oh, just something Wesley said”, he played it off.

“He's gone already?” she questioned and looked around herself, finally finding him on the bar with a woman dressed for seduction. “How long have you two known each other? He didn't seem to mind the glares you were sending his way.”

“We used to be neighbors when I was a kid”, he answered and Buffy could see from his expression that he didn't like remembering the time.

“Too bad he abandoned us to talk to miss cleavage, I would have liked to pump him for information about you”, she said with a mischievous smile.

“Hey, I'm an open book”, he protested.

“Yeah, right”, she scoffed and turned to look at the dance floor with longing. “Let's dance”, she said and before he could protest, she grabbed his hand and pulled him with her to the dance floor.

“I'm not much of a dancer”, he said but every complaint vanished from his mind as she wrapped her arms around his shoulders and started moving to the semi-slow music. He pulled her flush against his body and started moving with her.

At the bar Wesley tuned out Mrs Johnston's voice and turned his gaze to the dance floor, to his surprise finding Angel and Buffy wrapped up in each other. Angel leaned closer to her and said something to her ear, making her laugh. If he didn't know any better, he could actually mistake them as a couple. With an inaudible sigh he turned his attention back to Mrs Johnston.