Title- Camp Flutie
Rated- PG for now. Hehe… =) I’ll let you know when it get’s NC-17 cause you just know that’s coming! (um, no pun intended)
Summary- This one time, at regular camp, Willow and her friends…
Notes- Absolutely half AU, timeline is all wonky but takes place after the first year of college. Oz and Willow did break up but he didn’t leave. Tara never came to Sunnydale (I know, blasphemy! But wait, you KNOW she’s in this fic, hello this is me writing!) Some characters from Buffyverse are in here but a little different.
Danka- to MC for her feedback editing type of stuff and telling me when something didn’t make sense to her. But I must admit I’ve done revisions without her looking over them again so feedback from everyone very much welcome.
Hope you like my sillyness!
***************
The one and a half hour ride to Camp Flutie was a miserable experience for Willow Rosenberg. Not only had her best friend Xander thrown up two times in a travel bag right beside her, but also Buffy and Riley decided to suck face the whole trip while sitting in the seat in front of her. Willow knew it was an omen, a bad omen. This summer, camp was going to suck even if this year they were the camp counselors on their way to their three day orientation.
It wasn’t that Willow minded going to camp. She liked getting away from Sunnydale and everything Hellmouth-y in her town. Giles noted how summers were always slow for demons and hence slow for the Scooby gang and their demon slaying. Besides, if anything “end of the world” were to happen they were only a phone call away.
With her two best friends and her best friends’ boyfriend, a couple other people from Sunnydale were also joining in the happening fun. Along with some others from home Oz, Cordelia, Harmony, and Anya were in for the ride.
Willow sighed thinking about her ex boyfriend sitting with his best friend Devon a few rows in front of her. At least things with Oz were good, their split last year having been amicable and all. And the redhead certainly didn’t want to think about the group of girls that constantly chided and taunted her. She just hoped they wouldn’t do it in front of her campers.
She and Buffy were co-counselors for the summer even though everyone else had been given other tasks helping run the camp. Xander, of course, would be working in the kitchen. Riley would run the sports activities with his pal Forrest. Oz and Devon were both in charge of the “radio station” and anything techie for the plays and dances throughout the session. Willow didn’t understand why they were running the station with the loud speaker since that basically meant waking up everyone in the morning and announcing the schedule throughout the day. Back at home the sun had passed its zenith by the time those two ever woke up.
Cordelia was in charge of arts and crafts, Harmony in charge of the theater and choir for some reason, and Anya, well, Willow didn’t know what Anya would be doing just yet. Perhaps staring at Xander all summer and following him around like a love struck puppy as she normally did.
“How you doin’ there, Will?” Xander asked appearing like he was about to throw up again.
“I should be asking you.” She grinned back.
“Buses. Man, I can’t stand this. Would have rather used my skateboard.”
“I’m sure we’re almost there.” She tried to comfort him even though Willow had no clue. All the trees looked alike to her and it’d been the same trees since they left Sunnydale. There had been a couple of hills too but that wasn’t the point.
Not two minutes after Willow spoke, the big yellow bus pulled into a long driveway up to the camp area. Some kids on the bus began to cheer while others burped and did under the arm fart noises. One kid in particular sitting alone near the back exit was very excited. Jonathon was looking forward to the fact that as a counselor he would have kids looking up to him rather than down. Unless they were taller then him, he was a short little guy. Like Willow, he too was always made fun of but unlike Willow he really didn’t have good friends to back him up.
The Scoobs, as they called themselves, were a tight group: Buffy, Willow, Xander were always looking out for each other. Buffy’s whole destiny as the Vampire Slayer, the one girl in all the world with the strength to kill vampires and demons, was shared with the Scoobs ever since moving to Sunnydale four years earlier. Boyfriends and girlfriends came and went but the core three were a threat to be reckoned with. And who could forget Giles, Buffy’s watcher sent by the Slayer’s council from England to watch over the Slayer and teach her. Well, try to teach her since Buffy was not one to follow commands very much.
Willow took in a deep breath as the clearing presented the layout of the camp. Not that bad, Willow thought, everything seemed to be within decent walking distance. Walking was something she really didn’t want to spend her summer doing. She already did that back home patrolling every night with the Scoobs.
She saw the mess hall and the theater, and she already knew there were toilets and sinks in each cabin but the showers were in an adjacent building. As long as there were no Daddy Long Legs crawling about in her cabin she’d be fine. She hated spiders with a passion right below her hatred of frogs.
As the bus unloaded with humans and their luggage, Willow helped walk Xander to a nearby tree where he proceeded to throw up one last time. Last year had been his record, he upchucked seven times. Last summer also had been their last hurrah as campers with, among many other things, the freedom to raid other cabins in the middle of the night. This year they were the ones thwarting raids, and stopping the food fights and catching the underage smoochies behind the cabins.
“Hello, everybody I am Doug Flutie, camp moderator. Welcome to Camp Flutie.” A dorky looking kinda man announced as he walked up to the group of twenty. Next to him stood a detached uppity woman with a load of papers in her hands.
“We know who you are, moron!” someone said loud enough he was heard by all.
Mr. Flutie looked amongst the gathered and knew exactly who it was. After all, the British accent gave him away. “William, I anticipate better behavior from you. This year you are a counselor, a leader, you all are. I expect you to behave in a civilized, adult fashion.”
“Well, my parents are adults and they certainly aren’t civilized.” Another recent arrival retorted.
Mr. Flutie simply sighed. “We are to meet at the cafeteria in exactly one hour. Until then settle in cabins, get to know your neighbors, etc, etc, etc. You all did bring the packets I mailed you, right?”
A loud murmur ran through the crowd and most shook their heads. Mr. Flutie rolled his eyes, “Miss Post here has all your cabins assignments and camp maps. Please don’t lose them. Again. See you at lunch.”
***************
Willow dreaded the fact that this year Xander would be the one in charge of the kitchen staff. She wasn’t looking forward to finding actual bugs in the bug juice and mystery meat Wednesdays was not her idea of funny. Probably due to the fact that he hadn’t prepared this particular meal, Willow felt comfortable and ate her burger with no worries.
As her eyes scanned the mess hall she tried to block out Buffy’s constant chatter.
“And Riley thinks making out in the forest is so romantic.” The Slayer continued on and on. “Like-”
“Who’s that?” Willow interrupted as her eyes gazed a little too long on a blue eyed blonde girl across the room. She hadn’t been in the bus, Willow would have certainly noticed her then, and she wasn’t a camper from last year. She would have noticed that too.
Buffy took a bite of her burger and replied, “Oh, that’s Karen. Or is it Taryn? I don’t remember. She was out in the forest and accidentally walked in on me and Riley while we were getting it on with the smoochies.”
Willow didn’t answer back, she just kept staring. The blonde was the most breathtaking girl she’d ever seen. It seemed she carried a halo over her head, like an angel. Her lips were… Willow suddenly realized that she’d never had thoughts like these before. Ok, maybe a couple of times before but she was Oz’s girlfriend. Or had been. She went out with Oz and she’d been in love with Xander, like, forever…
Buffy carried on, “I think she said she’s the new riding instructor. Can we say birkenstocks and granola?”
“What the hell does that mean?” Willow turned to her in a little disturbed by Buffy’s flippant remark.
“Uh, nothing. She looks like she’s a hippie. That’s all. Geez.” Buffy took another bite of her burger.
Willow dropped it. “What happened to Donnie?” she asked wondering about last years riding instructor.
“Booted, I bet.”
“Oh.”
Oblivious to Willow’s staring, Buffy continued on with her story, “So then…”
***************
Willow loved Buffy. She was her best friend, saved her life plenty of times while out on patrol on when she’d get kidnapped by some monster, she shared her pain during times of heartaches but if Buffy did not shut up about her and Riley the redhead was about ready to stand up and walk away. Buffy’s non stop *me* talk was driving the redhead insane and it took a lot to make her annoyed. Actually, Willow did exactly that. Politely she excused herself and went to return her plates and tray.
The redhead made sure to inconspicuously take the long way, the way that would take her past Taryn, or Karen. She hoped to find out her real name soon but till then she looked more like a Taryn than a Karen to her.
The blonde was sitting alone, reading a book, towards the edge of her table. Willow noticed she had hardly touched her lunch. Just an apple was eaten. If Willow had any courage she would have asked her why she hadn’t eaten anything. She also would have asked her what book she was reading. One thing Willow absolutely adored more than her laptop computer were books. Willow was a bookworm and very, very proud of it. Well, unless she was being made fun of because of it. But she was still proud nonetheless.
As she proceeded to walk past the blonde, Willow prayed to all the deities she had memorized during her study of Wicca to not trip and make a fool of herself. Her prayers were soon replaced when her sense of smell overtook her. Vanilla. Vanilla everywhere. The girl smelled like vanilla.
“Willow!” Cordelia said in her typical Cordelia like tone when addressing the redhead. It was one of pure bitch and abject boredom.
She looked over at Cordelia and shook her head slightly. “Oh god no,” Willow moaned under her breath. She didn’t feel like being made fun of yet again by her childhood acquaintance. “Hey, Cordy.”
“Yeah. Whatever. Look, you speak Xander speak, right? Tell the boy that I have my meals sent to me daily and that they *need* to be refrigerated. I will not be subjected to this crap, especially since he’s the one in charge of the kitchen this summer. Got it?”
“Well, did you tell him?” she asked not really caring. She just wanted Cordelia to disappear.
“Well, duh, I told him. I just wanted to you make sure he understands that if he messes with me in any way, shape of form this summer I will sue him.”
Willow rolled her eyes a little and sighed. “Fine.” She waited until Cordelia had walked past her to whisper, “I hope he spits in them.”
A low giggle brought her back to reality. Willow suddenly recognized where she was and what she had been doing. She looked over to her left and saw the shyest yet cutest smile she had ever seen in her life radiating from the mysterious blonde. Their eyes connected for a second and Willow was entranced by how blue they were. Like the ocean, endless.
Even though her heart was palpitating and she was a nervous wreck, she couldn’t help it and managed to twitter out a simple, “Hey.”
“H-hi.” The blonde replied as she nervously drew her lower lip under with her teeth.
The innocent display made Willow’s hear skip a beat and she would berate herself afterwards for what she did next. “I, uh… I gotta go.” With that Willow took off toward the front of the mess hall and loudly dropped her tray and plates into the bin.
As she walked back to Buffy she couldn’t help but think it was always the same with her. Whenever she found someone that intrigued her she’d shy up and words that usually came effortless to her in her mastery of babbling were blocked. Her brain functioned the same exact way every the time. She’d garble, maybe say a few vowel sounds and then run away. Just like she had done right now.
As she sat at the table with Buffy she wanted more than anything to look over to the blonde and see if she was looking at her. Yeah, looking at her like she was a freak, Willow thought. That smile though…
Buffy’s voice interrupted her daydream. “Did I tell you what Riley is planning for the banquet?”
Thoughts of the blonde faded as Willow tried to do the best friend thing again and try to listen this time. It was the longest five minutes of her life until the call for the round robins to begin came.
***************
For the next three hours all the counselors were split up into groups, and went from activity to activity getting to know the instructor and the agenda for the rest of the session. Rules were explained, games were illustrated. The counselors even played some of the games as icebreakers. Not that they needed them since everyone pretty much knew each other already from last year or Sunnydale.
At the archery field Willow knew she would never be an archer when she grew up. Not that she wanted to either. But it was pretty embarrassing to have every single arrow miss even the huge stack of hay ten feet in front of her.
“Willow,” Oz walked up, hands in pockets, “shoulders down.”
“I’m trying. I’m all tense-y.” she said as she loaded up again.
“Massage?”
Willow grinned, “Thanks, but no.” She focused on the bullseye once more as she drew her bow and arrow down.
“So, who are you going to banquet with this year?” he nonchalantly asked as he stood next to her and watched.
Willow missed again. “The session hasn’t even begun and you’re already thinking about that?” she turned her head to look at him.
“I like to be prepared.”
The redhead knew it was just Oz’s quirky sense of humor, she knew he wasn’t asking her to the dance. After all he’d been the one to break up with her last year out of the blue. For weeks she hadn’t understood why he’d broken up with her after a year and a half of dating. And truth be told she still didn’t know, but a few months afterwards they became friends again and he’d even help once in a while with the patrolling and research fests the Scoobs would have to help Buffy.
Willow’s eyes traveled beyond Oz towards a figure in the hilly background. The blonde was riding a horse followed by a group of riders. Willow couldn’t believe she felt both excited and scared at the same time. See, Willow was petrified of horses due to an accident on her fourth birthday she’d tried to forget. Leave it to fate to have the girl she was crushing on be a riding instructor who spent her days surrounded by big, tall, teeth-that could-take-your-arm-off horses.
“She’s good.” Oz remarked after following Willow’s gaze.
“Yeah.”
“And pretty.” He added.
“Yeah.” Willow unconsciously agreed with a sweet sigh. Confused once she realized what she’d said she looked at Oz again. “What?”
Oz just smirked.
“Look, Willow, I made five bullseyes in a row!” Buffy prided out loud.
Willow broke the mutual stare fest only to anxiously look at Oz again. His expression hadn’t changed. Quickly she turned her attention to Buffy and proceeded to congratulate her.
***************
Before Willow knew it was time for the horseback riding lesson. Buffy had to basically drag the redhead near the stables. She was careful not to use her full strength on her thin friend. Having the super human strength she had she could break her bones and that would not be camp fun for either of them.
“No, please.” Willow entreated as she tried to squirm out of her best friends’ grasp. So many thoughts were running through her mind but she couldn’t formulate a sentence. She knew if she started to talk a babble fest would begin and she wouldn’t be able to stop. And, the conflicting feeling weren’t helping either. She was scared of the horses but still wanted to see the new riding instructor. She was torn between fear and hope.
“You are a counselor! What kind of a role model are you if you don’t go in there and learn to ride horses?”
“Buffy, I-“
“Is there a problem?” A familiar voice asked from behind the two friends.
Buffy turned around to the voice. “Karen, uh, Taryn-“
“Tara.” The girl corrected her as she nervously grinned at the two of them.
“Right. Sorry. I didn’t- My co-counselor and best friend Willow here is petrified of horses.” Buffy nudged Willow to stand up straight.
Willow’s mind was still on the girls name. Tara. So earthly and goddess-y. She hadn’t noticed both were staring at her. “Huh?” she asked as she became a bit breathless when her eyes connected with Tara’s.
“Your horse phobia.” Buffy spelled out for her.
“Bad… birthday. Pony thing.” Willow succeeded to say. If she could have kicked herself for sounding so silly she would have.
Tara simply nodded. “Y-yeah, pony’s can be crazy. But these horses are the s-sweetest in the world. I give you my word.”
Hearing that attestation comforted Willow, “Really? Cause horses, I don’t like them.” She admitted.
She realized she may have hurt Tara’s feelings when the blonde replied, “W-well, um, I’m sure Buffy can bring your campers alone if you don’t like the horses.” her voice lowered with every word.
“No!” Willow shouted a bit too loudly. ‘I- I want to come. I want to like the horsies and ride them. I want to like them a lot. I just…” She saw Tara’s lopsided grin and her heart melted. “I just don’t know where to start.”
Buffy slid her arm with Willow’s, “Well, you’re still about 20 paces from the stable so lets get a move on it.” and they walked ahead to the stable.
***************
It had been five minutes and Willow was still standing about ten feet away from the horse assigned to her. All the other counselors were bonding with their horses, stroking their coat, feeding them, some even mounting up saddles. Hers just stared at her with his beady brown eyes and long lashes. Willow swore he looked bored. Or was it a she? Curious, she bent over slightly to get a better look.
“Are you ok?” Tara timidly asked as she walked up to Willow.
The redhead jumped. “Ohmygod!” She held her hand over her heart. “Don’t sneak up on people with horse phobias in a stable surrounded with horses that cause phobias!” Willow finally smiled when her breathing calmed down to let her know she was kidding.
Tara giggled. “Sorry.”
“My fault. I was just…” Willow shrugged her shoulders nervously. “I’m working on it.”
“On what?” Tara asked as she looked at the petite redhead.
“On closing the gap between me and the horse and petting her.”
“It’s a he.” Tara replied as a matter of fact.
“Oh? I didn’t see- You know, I wouldn’t know what to look for down there anyway. I mean I do. Everything has something down there ya know and boys have a distinct- They have things. Certain things that- Oh god. Stop me now, please.” Willow blushed furiously.
“Ok.” Tara smirked as she watched Willow squirm. “Give me your hand.” She softly stated.
Willow was quite confused by the request. “What?”
Tara held her right hand out to Willow. “Your hand.”
Tentatively, Willow reached over and clasped the blondes’ hand. She didn’t know what to expect. Where her white palms going to feel soft? Where they as sweaty as she feared hers were? Was there going to be finger lacing?
With some of her questions answered Tara simply led Willow closer to the stable door. One step, two steps, three steps…
‘Ok, heart starting to palpitate again’ Willow thought. She just couldn’t figure out if it was from Tara’s soft and caring touch or from the closer they got to the horse with their forward movement.
“Relax.” Tara whispered quietly and lightly squeezed her hand as they stopped about a foot away from the pen. The horse was still standing towards the back simply staring at the two girls standing in his enclosed area’s doorway.
After seeing the horse hadn’t really budged closer to them, Willow looked over at Tara and nodded. She gave herself that moment to Tara and the blonde received the message loud and clear. Tara slowly raised both their arms and turned Willow’s hand up, facing the roof of the stable. Then, she quickly moved her hand underneath Willows’ and held it firmly from underneath the small wrist, her thumb in the middle of Willow's M on her palm.
Willow giggled nervously as Tara called the horse to them with a low clicking sound. “Shh…” Tara voiced very softly, dangerously close to Willow’s ear.
She’d been so preoccupied by the blondes hand holding hers that she never noticed Tara was now standing behind her and a bit to the side so she could see the horse in front of them. Willow registered she was actually calling the horse to them with her own hand and the sounds. Then, she realized the horse was actually moving towards them.
Her knees were turning into jelly as she took in everything that was happening, both the Tara thumb gently caressing her hand and the horsie walking to her. She could feel Tara’s heart beating and it was very bizarre since their bodies weren’t actually touching.
The horse promptly walked over to the two. Willow’s hand was kept in place by Tara, her body blocked from running away by the blonde. Willow thought all she had left was to let the horse bite her fingers off and closed her eyes waiting in anticipation. ‘What a romantic way to lose a digit’, she thought. But the pain never came. What came was a couple of ticklish whiskers and a very, very soft snout sniffing the palm. A large gooey tongue darted out to lick it.
Willow beamed as she opened her eyes and saw the horse was not biting her at all. This was making her very, very happy. She looked over to Tara and as soon as their smiles and eyes connected a current ran through the both of them. Startled by the intensity of the encounter both girls jumped away from each other and the horse was scared off back into his pen neighing loudly.
Buffy noticed the commotion from afar and ran over to them. “Will! Are you ok? Did he bite you?”
Willow looked at her hand, front and back. All fingers were there. “ No.” she replied in wonder. She looked at Tara who seemed as surprised as she was.
“I, uh…” Tara looked at Willow again and then to Buffy. “I don’t- I don’t know. He, he didn’t bite… I’m, um, I’m going to go check on the o-others.” Tara mentioned and walked away with her eyes looking down at the ground. Willow watched her leave.
Buffy noticed how Tara was blushing. She looked over at Willow and saw she was too. “What the hell just happened?” Buffy asked.
Willow’s gaze turned back to Buffy and she slowly smiled. “I touched a horse.” She said as she looked at her hand in awe. She could still feel the energy crackling from Tara’s touch.
“Welcome to the club. Are you sure you’re all right?” Buffy asked again.
“Yeah… When’s the next round?” Willow changed the topic once she ran her fingers through her hair hoping Tara’s lingering touch would not be erased. She nervously fiddled with her shirt and looked at Buffy.
The slayer eyed her but let it go. “Twenty minutes. Arts and crafts.”
“Good. Good.” Willow said quite distracted. Her mind was still processing everything that had happened with the blonde. “I could use another macaroni necklace.”
***************
Dinnertime was upon them and Willow still couldn’t shake the afternoon experience with Tara from her mind. She’d been thinking about it non stop the rest of the day. Her whole body tingled as she looked forward to seeing her again. It wasn’t just a crush, Willow knew, it was something else. Something deeper, something powerful, magical. Willow’s eyes widened. Magic.
“Earth to Willow.” Buffy tapped on her arm slightly.
“What?” Willow turned to her a bit dazed. Was Tara a witch as well?
“You’ve been scanning the room since we sat down. Who are you looking for? Oz?” Before Willow could reply Buffy saw Riley and shouted out to him to come over to them.
Riley, trailed by Xander on a break from his duty, walked over tray in hands and sat down with the two girls. “Hey.” He said as he kissed Buffy on the lips. “How was your day?”
As their conversation faded in the background Willow turned to Xander. She noticed he wasn’t eating. “Aren’t you eating?”
“No, I know what’s in the food.” Willow was about ready to spit out her spaghetti and meatballs and Xander noticed. He laughed as he watched her gag. “I’m kidding, Will. I ate already. All day actually. Everything here is sterilized. Is that the right word?” His eyes wandered over to Cordelia’s table. As usual she was surrounded by her posse of followers. “Man, Cordy just gets hotter every year.”
Willow rolled her eyes as she swallowed her food. She took a quick sip of her juice and replied, “Ewww.” to the Cordelia comment.
Suddenly her eyes registered Tara entering the dining hall with Oz. He courteously held the door open for her and she smiled her adorable shy smile. She felt a pang of jealousy and furrowed her brow.
Xander saw this. “What’s a matter, Will, getting jealous? I thought you and Oz were done.”
Willow nodded. “We are. We’re still friends. I’m not jealous.”
“Hey Oz!” the redhead heard Riley call out to him and wave his hand to come over.
Oz nodded and mentioned something to the blonde, she nodded slightly and trailed behind him towards the table.
“Oz, my man, how goes it?” Riley shook the shorter guys hand. “Hey, Tara.” He said as the two newcomers sat down.
“Tara, you know Buffy and Xander, and Willow, right?” Oz asked as he spoke of the others.
“Yes.” Was all Tara mouthed as Buffy and Xander smiled and bopped their heads up and down in agreement.
Willow quickly averted her eyes to her plate and realized without warning she wasn’t hungry anymore. The room suddenly got hot and her head began to spin just a teeny bit. She tentatively lifted her eyes to look at the blonde and was a bit relieved to find the shy girl had actually joined in conversation with her friends. Not that Willow could hear the conversation around her. She’d gone deaf all of the sudden and her eyes only registered the blonde sitting in front of her.
Suddenly Tara’s eyes connected with hers and Willow let out a squeak having been caught in her starefest. “What?” she tried to play off as if she’d just misunderstood something. Or maybe if the gods were being benevolent that evening someone had actually asked her a question and she’d been too far gone in Taraland to process it. Either way Willow registered Tara’s adorable grin and sighed. “What?” she asked again, this time a bit more controlled.
“Yeah, Will, private lessons are just what you need.” Buffy said as she ran her fingers through Riley’s hair. “Face your fear.”
“Lessons?” She asked getting even more confused by the minute.
Oz looked at her funny, “I suggested Tara give you lessons during our breaks after lunch.”
Willow glanced over at Tara whose eyes were lowered. Willow knew she was uncomfortable, she felt it. “I’m sure Tara’s busy and all. I mean a stable full of horsies- that’s a lot of horsies and work. She shouldn’t waste her time with me. The horsies have their horsie needs to be taken care of.”
Tara’s eyes darted up. “I-I- wouldn’t mind.”
“You sure?” Willow asked her worried that Tara was just being sweet.
“Company would be nice.” She quietly voiced.
“Human company.” Xander added as he stole a meatball from Willow's plate with his fingers.
The two girls smiled bashfully at one another as the rest of the gang continued on to other topics.
***************
The next eighteen hours seemed endless to Willow. The rest of the day and evening she spent in a Tara daze, not really paying attention at all the different orientation functions that she attended with Buffy. She figured she knew all the camp rules, safety instructions and emergency protocol since she was most definitely one of the few counselors that actually read the manual before coming to orientation. She even brought it with her.
After lunch, Buffy had held Willow up at the dining hall to talk about some of the cabin decorations she was going to go make during the break. Willow ooh’d and nodded not really paying attention to her best friend. She honestly didn’t care what they looked like, she just wanted to see Tara again. They hadn’t lunched together since the camp staff was off doing the obstacle courses throughout the campgrounds to build solidarity within the group and so they had a cook out in the field. The counselors would be doing it the following morning and Willow was not looking forward to waking up at five a.m., climbing walls in the forest or participating in the “trust fall”.
Willow candidly thought about the two hours that she would spend with Tara alone as she headed towards the stables. Suddenly the redhead frowned as a thought popped up. She couldn’t forget the horses no matter how much it made her tummy woozy. But if she had to be around horses just to be able to spend the time with Tara she’d do it. She needed to figure out a way to have them meet elsewhere as well.
Although she was already fifteen minutes late, she slowly walked up to the barn, lost in thoughts of silky blonde hair and doe shaped blue eyes. Ruby red lips and… Willow tripped on an overgrown root three paces from her destination and stumbled forward falling face first to the ground.
“Ugh,” she cried as she rose up and wiped the dirt off her hand with her jeans. “Brilliant, Willow. Just brilliant.” She chided herself under her breath. Leave it to Willow Rosenberg to sure know how to make an entrance.
At last she reached the stable and called out lightly, “Tara?” as she stood by the exceedingly large doorframe.
“In here.” Came a soft voice from inside.
“Hey, it’s Willow.” She muttered as she entered cautiously. “Willow… with the horse phobia.” She murmured aloud. ‘You dummy’, she chided herself. She’d read somewhere horses could feel emotions and these sure did, they began to snort in response to her.
As Tara appeared from an empty pen near the back of the stables, Willow thought she looked so cute with her tousled blouse and some stray hay attached to her jeans. There was even some hay in her hair. “Shhh,” Tara admonished the horses with an even cuter furrowed brow. As she slowly walked up to her Willow watched Tara run her fingers through her hair looking for any dried grass.
“Hi.” The blonde smiled once she reached Willow and threw aside some of the hitchhiking hay with a small grin. She proceeded to pull her hair into a ponytail.
“Hi.” Willow said again. “You have some hay on your chest,” she mentioned with a smile as she extended her hand to grab it. Her eyes widened when she realized that her hands were moving all on their own and she had to have been staring somewhere in particular to notice the stray feed. She quickly retracted her hand and said, “I’m sorry. I noticed that because you have some hay on your chest and not because I was… I wasn’t looking- I…“ She shook her head not knowing how to remedy her lack of discretion. Nervously, she held her hands behind her back.
Tara suppressed a smile as she looked down and fanned the hay away. “Thank you.”
“Sure.”
Both girls stood in place a bit restless, Willow rocking back and forth from foot to foot as Tara crossed and uncrossed her arms over her body.
“Y-you don’t have to do this,” the blonde spoke first, “We can pretend.”
“Pretend?” Willow didn’t understand what she meant.
“The h-horses. The stables. You d-don’t have to… be here.” Tara gazed at the ground.
Willow smiled shyly as soon as Tara’s eyes connected with hers. “I want to.” Willow saw Tara grin and her body relax a bit. “I’m sorry I’m late. Buffy was, um… Buffy was talking, as usual. Not that that is all she does. It’s just…” Willow held her breath not knowing what to say.
“She seems very nice.” Tara mentioned breaking the silence.
“She is. She’s my best friend it’s just sometimes… you know?” Tara’s blank stare answered her question. “Sometimes it’s just too much. I like quiet. Sometimes. But it’s hard to get quiet, my mind is always on, always thinking, always doing things… As is my mouth right now apparently. Sorry.” Willow quickly rolled her eyes as she lightly shook her head and sighed.
Tara smiled at the redheads babble. “Quiet is good. But so is talking. Sometimes.” Tara chuckled a bit.
“Yeah.” Willow grinned. She didn’t want it to be quiet with Tara. She wanted to hear her voice, watch her giggle, tell her stories… She didn’t understand the response she had with the blonde, she felt as if she knew Tara already and they were simply catching up on old times. But that wasn’t the case at all. They had met yesterday. They touched yesterday. “You felt it too, right? I wasn’t making that up?” she blurted out as soon as her green eyes connected with Tara’s blues.
Tara silently nodded as looked at her own right hand. It seemed to Willow that she even caressed it. “You’re a w-witch.” Tara softly stated her eyes not looking at her for the moment.
Willow quickly shook her head. “Oh, no. No. I just… I’m not… I don’t think I am. I mean, I’ve thought about it before but I’ve never-“
“Hey.” Oz’s voice suddenly rose up from behind the redhead as his left hand touched one of her shoulders.
“Oz, hi!” Willow jumped around startled by the newcomer. She quickly looked over to the blonde. “This is Oz.” Then, she remembered them walking into the dining hall together and shook her head slightly. “Oh, but you know him already, huh?” Her mind engrossed in the awkward moment asked Tara out of the blue, “Did you know Oz and I used to date? Last year. But not anymore. We’re still friends though. But no longer dating. Good friends.”
The blonde looked over at Oz and smirked. “He told me.”
Oz himself was a bit mystified by the comment. “Random much?” he asked as he pulled back a bit.
“What are you doing here?” Willow asked quite confused by his sudden appearance. She rubbed her palms on her jeans again just to do something with them. “I fell earlier.” She explained. “Lot’s of dirt on the ground.”
“Hence the saying, ‘the ground is dirty’” Oz joked.
Willow nervously laughed out loud. “Oh, you’re so funny, Oz… What are you doing here?” she asked trying not to be so accusatory about it but it came out that way none the less.
“Just came to check up on you. See how everything was going. Making sure you still had all your limbs.” Willows eyes widened at the last statement. “Relax, Willow,” Oz lovingly touched her face, “I’m kidding.”
Willow sighed in relief. “Right.”
Oz’s gaze turned to Tara and quickly clasped his hands together. “So, everything good?” He asked both of them.
“Yeah.” Willow nodded quite animated. “Yay for horsies.” She added courageously.
“Yes.” Tara added as she grinned at Willow’s comment.
Oz nodded and looked at both again. “Well, you two have fun then. See ya later.” the former boyfriend said as he turned to walk away.
“Bye.” Both girls uttered at the same time.
AS soon as Oz was out of view, Willow looked over at Tara and was about to say something but stopped herself and nervously wiggled her arms besides her. She was such a dork! Why did she say that about Oz? About the magic? She *was* a witch. Ok, not a very good one but she was still a witch. ‘A witch is a witch is a witch,’ she reminded herself.
“I think w-we should stick to the plan.” Tara interrupted her thoughts.
“Plan?”
“Help me clean out the pen?” Tara asked a bit hesitant as she motioned to the enclosure she had come out of.
Willow instantly nodded. “Yes. Of course… The horse isn’t in there right?”
Tara giggled, “No.”
“Oh.” Willow smiled. She’d only heard it a few times but already knew she loved Tara’s giggle. “Good.”
***************
The next two days of orientation flew by for the redhead. Willow thoughts forever clouded by a certain blonde. Whenever they were together they stuck to business though. No mentioning of electric jolts, or magic, or other things that accounted for their deep gazes and shy smiles. Just simple getting to know you chit chat was discussed as Tara taught Willow about horses and horseback riding.
Willow still refused to get on a horse but at least she was getting more and more comfortable around them. As Tara explained each horses individual personality and how to work with them Willow’s understanding of them increased. She was no longer afraid of them and didn’t see them anymore as just really big ponies. She even learned how to properly attach a saddle in case one day she went crazy and randomly decided she wanted to ride one of the horses with Tara.
The more they talked during their short visits together, Willow noticed how Tara had a certain way of looking at the world that Willow found endearing. She was smart and sweet. And, Tara grew to like the quirky redhead more every minute, her funny faces, her incessant babbling. However Willow noticed Tara hardly spoke about herself or her family. She could talk hours about a novel she’d read or a painting she loved but never anything too personal.
Willow had inexplicably told her everything about her life, about Sunnydale and the Hellmouth and Buffy, and there would be times Willow would ask the blonde a direct question and Tara would give her an evasive answer, changing the subject right afterwards. Willow didn’t know if Tara knew she knew but Willow wasn’t one to press either. She knew that if the blonde wanted to talk to her she would.
On the third day of orientation Willow was slowly raking up some hay in one of the stalls when she looked over at Tara standing across the barn from her. The blonde had on the cutest confused look on her face as she tried figuring out how in the world one of the stirrups got entangled like that with the saddle.
Willow smiled widely as she rested her chin on the top of the rake and stared at her friend. “I’m so glad you’re here. Donnie, he was the instructor last year- he could be such an ass sometimes. I didn’t like him.”
Tara giggled as she held her hand over her mouth and revealed, “Yeah, my brother can be a pain.”
Willow suddenly dropped the rake and it clamored loudly on the ground. Some horses snorted in fright. “Oh my god! I’m sorry. I didn’t-“
Tara quickly walked up to her and gently touched her forearm. “Don’t worry about it.”
“No, I’m so sorry.” Willow reached over and held her hand over the blondes’. “I- I insert my foot in my mouth all the time. I didn’t know. I mean, I shouldn’t have said that anyhow but-”
“Willow, it’s ok.” She sweetly squeezed Willow’s forearm. “These are our horses. We rent them out to the camp. It’s one of our barns.” She explained as she began to feel Willow softly, ever so softly, stroking her thin fingers with her thumb. “That’s w-why I’m here.” She finished realizing that this was their first caress.
‘So that is why the horse came when Tara called it. It knew her. They know her. They trust her’, Willow thought. “I’m very glad you’re here.” Willow sighed as she looked at Tara, her thumbs never ceasing their movement. Tara’s fingers were so soft, her grip so tender.
“Me too.” the blonde smiled shyly.
Off in the distance the tower bell bellowed out the after lunch break was over. Willow looked out towards the campgrounds and sighed. She didn’t want to leave. Her campers would be arriving in the morning and she was afraid everything would change. She’d had a little bit of heaven the last three days with Tara.
Tara delicately retracted her hand from under Willow’s and crossed her arms over her chest. “I guess I’ll see you then.” She murmured quietly.
Willow looked into her eyes and pleaded with them, “I don’t want to go.” She said, her voice laced with sadness.
Tara chuckled lightly once she realized Willow said what she’d been thinking herself, she didn’t want her to go either. She looked up to Willow she replied, “I don’t want you to go.”
“Why don’t you ever go to the bonfires?” the redhead asked completely off topic. The nightly bonfires were a camp tradition for counselors and staffers after lights out. Willow only went to the bonfire by the open field because as a counselor this year she was allowed to go and thought that was cool. Well, that, and the hopes of seeing Tara again. But Tara hadn’t come the last three nights and she figured this was a great way to hang out with her away from horses and stables and such.
“I, uh, I don’t sleep on campus. My house is a few minutes away.”
‘No wonder,’ Willow thought to herself. She had exhausted all venues sans blatantly asking her or stalking to figure out where the blonde was staying on campus. Counselors had their own cabins with their campers but most of the extra curricular instructors had little huts off towards the edge of the camp. It was a tight nit group of outsiders, and even though Willow knew most of them she never traveled there.
“Well, if you wanted to, you know, go to the bonfire tonight or some other night, I’m sure you can stay with me and Buffy. She snores though.” Willow tried to keep her tone light even though her throat was aching for Tara to accept.
Tara grinned again, she couldn’t believe Willow had invited her to sleep over. She was thrilled by the idea and slowly nodded. “But not tonight.” She added as she frowned slightly.
Willow’s smile faded. “Why not?”
“I need clothes and stuff. You know.”
“Right.” Willow grinned. She heard the second bell chime. Oh, how she wished it would go away and that she didn’t have to leave. But she did have to go and although it broke her heart she downheartedly mentioned, “I should go. I’m way late.”
“Yes.”
Answers like that made Willow bubble with glee inside. Who said ‘yes’ anymore? Only her, only Tara.
Awkwardly, both just stood there wondering how this goodbye would transpire. Willow gathered up all her courage and tentatively raised her arms up and moved forward capturing Tara in a sweet embrace. Tara lovingly squeezed her back as soon as the redhead enveloped all her senses. She noticed how their hearts beat strongly against their chests at the simple hug. Slowly pulling back she lovingly kissed Willow’s cheek, surprised by her own actions.
“Bye.” She said a hushed tone as her warm breath caressed the redheads ear.
Willow’s heart was beating so hard and fast she was afraid she’d just keel over and die. “Bye.” She answered breathlessly as she began to slowly and painfully walk away, hands still holding on to one another and gradually parting in mid air.
***************
The next day the campers arrived at seven in the morning, and for the next six hours Willow had no time to rest. The eight 15 years olds she and Buffy were in charge of were too much to handle. So and so wanted a top bunk that was already taken by the time she’d lugged her two ton duffel bags to the cabin, another one wanted to call her parents already to take her home. One girl was complaining about the decorations Buffy had spent hours doing during saying it made the cabin look like her blind grandmothers house. Another one wanted to know exactly how far the boys’ cabins were and so on. They also spent an hour rearranging bunk beds and drawers, and setting up the boom box one girl brought while they spent another hour just confiscating all the items the girls had with them that were not allowed on campus such as junk food and fireworks.
By lunchtime Willow wanted out. She couldn’t believe Buffy convinced her to be a camp counselor this summer rather than taking courses at the university. But at least camp had Tara. She wanted to just run up to the stable and spend all day with Tara. Tara made the world disappear, time stopped when with her.
As she saw Tara enter the dining hall with a group of staffers her heart melted. With a smile on her face she watched as Tara scanned the room looking for her. As she observed her Willow thought about how much she wanted to run her fingers though her long blonde hair, how she wanted to caress her cheeks and look into her deep blue eyes, kiss her lips and hold her close. When their eyes met Willow felt her body get hot all over. Blushing, she waved her over to her table.
Now that the campers had arrived each cabin had an assigned table, even the staff. Tara looked over to where she had been assigned and it was completely in the opposite side of the room. She frowned slightly as she walked over to Willow who’d since stood up by the dining table waiting for her.
“I’m so far away.” Tara childishly kidded as she reached the redhead and stood in front of her.
Willow smiled again and shook her head. Tara was never far away. “Wanna sit?” she asked as she inhaled Tara’s scent. No matter what, Tara always smelled like vanilla. Even in the stables surrounded by horses and hay she smelled like vanilla.
“I don’t think I should.” Tara answered a bit troubled.
“Why not?” Willow asked even though she pretty much knew the reason.
“Coming through,” one of Willow’s campers, Jenn, said as she rushed in between the two girls and sat down in the middle of the table. Lunch today was ‘buffet style’ peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for all. All the kids were lined up in the front of the cafeteria waiting to make their lunches and it was total chaos.
Two more girls sat down at the table before Tara looked over at Willow and half smiled. “I’ll see you later… maybe?” she asked hoping she’d see her during the break. She knew Willow was extremely busy and she didn’t want to push.
Willow was heartbroken, “I’ll try. I can’t promise. I still…” She sadly frowned as she looked over to her table now holding three more of her girls.
Tara nodded, she understood. “Well, bye.” She half waved as she smiled at Willow. Her eyes remained with the green ones a bit longer before she turned away.
Willow wanted to say something else as she watched her walk away. But she didn’t, she couldn’t, she simply sighed and sat down at the edge of her table, watching as the blonde disappeared in the disorder of the dining hall.
***************
The following days passed extremely fast for Willow. She was so busy simply trying to do her job with the campers, playing the adult, settling them in, helping them bond and live peacefully together that the only times she saw Tara was when it was her groups turn to go horseback riding. And that had only been three times that week.
They had spoken a bit, smiled, and giggled a lot but Tara was insistent about not letting any of the kids get hurt and so their talks were always unfortunately cut short whenever the actual training began. Willow still refused to ride with them and instead did some of Tara’s chores in the stables while the blonde was off horseback riding with her campers and Buffy.
The only way Willow could think of to communicate more with Tara was through letters, letters she wrote to her at night. They started out as typical silly letters but ended up being very Willow like with much babble and many tangents. Tara’s replies were just the same. Hers sometimes even included little drawings and favorite verses from poems or novels. Both girls were so open in their letters that sometimes they’d blush just looking at each other the next time they met, knowing the secrets they were sharing.
Something that worried Willow was the fact Tara hadn’t yet come to one of the counselor bonfires, and she was beginning to think it was all her fault. She was so wrapped up helping her kids out that she never had the time to pass by after lunch anymore and invite her again to come and sleep over.
But Fridays at camp were different. They had a three hour break instead of two after lunch and this Friday Willow hurried to take care of everything her campers needed by the second hour. She rushed over to the stables leaving Buffy in charge of everything.
“Tara?” She breathlessly announced her presence once inside.
“Willow?”
Willow looked up to find the blonde was on a barrack of the roof reading one of her books. Tara smiled down at her as she bit her lower lip.
Willow sighed at the sight. “Hi.” Her eyes never gazed elsewhere as the blonde lowered herself to the ground with a bit of dexterity. Willow noticed her tight jeans cupped her backside really well. She had such a nice bum. Willow proceeded to open her mouth in shock and mentally scold herself.
Tara smiled as she walked up to the redhead trying to get strands of hay off her clothes. “Hi.” She then registered the flushed look on her friends face. “Are you ok?”
“Oh god yes. I mean, sorry! I’m just being-” Willow waved her hands in the air dismissing herself. “I’m sorry I haven’t been able to pass by sooner. My kids are so crazy. Two of them have the chickenpox and another one is so homesick already she’s tried to run away twice. And then-“ suddenly Tara’s fingers gently pressed up against her lips quieting the redhead.
“I understand.” Was all she said.
Willow knew Tara understood, she always did, and without realizing it Willow lovingly kissed the blondes fingertips in acknowledgment. Amazed she had done such a bold thing she hesitated to look up into the blue eyes staring at her. She could feel Tara’s eyes upon her and slowly lifted her gaze. Tara’s overwhelmed look quickly changed as she drew her lips into a smile and sighed. She slowly caressed Willow’s lips with her fingers only to have the redhead kiss them again.
Deliberately their bodies gravitated towards each other and Willow reached out to gently cup Tara’s face with her hands. Her skin was so soft, so velvety, so beautiful. She delicately caressed the high cheekbones with her thumbs while Tara’s fingers traveled down from the redhead’s lips towards her throat, tickling Willow in all the right spots.
Closer and closer their faces leaned. Almost there, almost kissing. Eyes were connected with eyes and their breathing was now the same slow rate.
“Willow!!!” Buffy yelled as she ran up the dirt road to the stable.
Both girls practically flew away from each other. Tara even stumbled over as she backed up into a stack of hay.
“Tara?” Willow asked rushing over to her concerned. She helped Tara balance herself out again and shook some of the hay off her.
“Willow!” Buffy yelled again, and once inside the barn she saw her. What she saw was her best friend gently rubbing the blondes’ lower back. Her eyes popped wide open. “Uh…”
Willow noticed her confused expression right away and explained. “Hay.”
“Hey.” Buffy said still a bit baffled.
Willow totally caught her drift and held up some of the hay she’d gathered from Tara’s back and hair. “Hay!” she said a bit more forcefully this time.
“Ooooh,” Buffy nodded and quickly got down to business. “Will, I think Jamie broke her arm.”
Jamie was Willow’s favorite camper, really shy and bookish like Willow. She was also tormented by a small group of girls at the camp and Willow loved being able to stand up for her since she was a counselor after all.
The redhead wondered if the camp nurse had the capabilities to x-ray Jamie’s arm or if they had to take her to a doctor in the nearby town. “Did you take her to Miss Calendar?”
“Yeah, but she’s crying for you. That’s why I ran all the way over here.” The Slayer replied. Tara noticed Buffy wasn’t breathing unevenly and hadn’t even broken a sweat. If that had been her she’d be so out of breath she’d probably pant the words out. But sometimes she did that naturally.
“Oh.” Willow’s heart ached. She looked over at Tara who nodded and silently told her it was all right for her to go. Willow turned back to Buffy and said, “I’ll be right there, you go ahead.”
“Fine. Hi, Tara. Bye, Tara.” Buffy said as she took of running back to the camp.
Once Willow noticed Buffy was far enough away she looked over at Tara, “I…”
“Go.” The blonde whispered.
“Are you ok?” the redhead asked. Tara nodded shyly again her eyes never leaving the green ones in front of her. “Will you come tonight? Please? T-to the bonfire.” Willow briskly asked. Tara giggled softly as she nodded her head again. “Great!” Willow exclaimed. “Great.” She said again trying to hide her delighted emotions, but it didn’t work. Tara grinned, she loved giddy Willow. “I’ll see you later then.” Willow said as she backed away.
Tara sadly smiled as her eyes lowered to the ground. Before she realized it Willow’s hands were quickly and gently holding her face up again and her lips were pressing against hers. Willow was kissing her. Tara hardly had anytime to process everything before Willow kissed her one last time before pulling back. “Bye.” she smiled at Tara as she walked backwards and out the barn.
Tara was too dazed to reply, all she could do was smile.
***************
There was only a half-hour left to the bonfire and Tara still hadn’t arrived. Willow was beginning to get restless. Her whole afternoon went by so slowly knowing that later that evening she would be able to stare into those eyes again and maybe even kiss her once more. Not only could she still feel the touch of Tara’s lips on her own but the tingle in her belly hadn’t ceased yet. Still, Tara hadn’t arrived and it was nearing the midnight hour.
“What time is it?” She asked Buffy as her eyes scanned the group of counselors and staff gathered around the bonfire.
“Not even a minute since the last time you asked.” Buffy answered.
All of a sudden, Willow felt it. She knew Tara was around and looked for her in their surroundings. She found her standing near the clearing of the bonfire area talking with Oz. She was smiling at something he was saying. Her eyes darted to Willow connecting with hers for a second before she looked back at Oz.
“Were is Riley with the marshmallows?” Buffy huffed.
“Uh huh.” Willow replied as she kept staring over at Tara and Oz. Why did she always see them together?
Buffy noticed Willow was not paying her any mind and followed her gaze. “What are you staring at? Oh, Oz and Tara. Are we a wee bit jealous, laddie?” she asked trying to sound like a leprechaun. And, to be honest, it worked.
Willow finally pried her eyes away. “No.” she said trying to sound sincere and finished it off with a roll of her eyes.
Buffy didn’t want to get into a *listen to me* lecture mode but did none the less. She turned over to Willow and spoke, “Look, it’s ok to still have feelings for Oz… and stuff. I will always love Angel. And-”
“Hey.” Tara announced as she walked up to the two best friends.
Willow’s eyes connected with Tara’s as she stood up from the log she and Buffy were sitting on. “Hi.” She twitted out. Tara looked incredibly stunning by the firelight.
“I –I wont be able to stay long.” The blonde frowned a bit unsettled.
“Why not?” Willow asked, worried.
“I just c-cant.” Tara looked over to the fire for a split second.
Buffy was growing tired of being ignored. “Hi, Tara.” She finally said with one of her knowing smiles.
“Hi.” The blonde looked down at her and smiled shyly.
Buffy stood up and patted her behind to get the dirt off. “I’m going to go find marshmallows. Silly boyfriend is taking forever. What are they good for?” she kidded as she walked away.
Once Buffy left, Willow motioned for the two of them to sit down and they did. “Thanks for coming.” She said. It took all her strength to not reach out and cusp the other girl’s hands.
“Of course.” Tara looked over to her and smiled. The uneasiness of a few second ago had passed. “How is Jamie?” she asked sincerely.
“Her elbow is sprained but at least she can stay at camp.” Willow mentioned.
“I’m glad she’s ok.” Tara brightened up as she looked at Willow.
Willow wanted to reach out and hold her close. She wanted to hold her hand and play with her fingers. She wanted to-
“Is this what all you guys do every night?” Tara asked as she looked at the milieu. Some counselors were talking, other staff members were singing and playing guitars. Couples were snuggled up together roasting marshmallows or kissing and groping openly.
Willow nodded. “Pretty much. Lights out is a ten and the raids don’t usually start until after midnight so we’ve got about two hours to kill. Someone thought bonfires and marshmallows were a good idea about ten years ago since this is now tradition and all... How do you and Oz know each other? You two seem so chummy.” She asked trying not to sound too jealous.
The fire transfixed Tara’s gaze. “We met last year. He’s really cool.”
Willow was shocked by the disclosure. “Last year?! But you weren’t here last year. We’re you?” she asked bewildered by all this.
Tara grinned as she turned her face to Willow. “Yes.”
“But , I…”
“I got sick the first week and had to go home.” Tara explained.
Willow didn’t believe it. “No.”
This time Tara laughed out loud. “I’m not kidding. I got Mono.”
“For real?”
“Yes.”
Willow shook her head. “And to think you met Oz and not me.”
“Fate’s funny that way.” Tara mentioned as she gazed at the crackling fire once more.
Before Willow could respond to that statement Riley walked up and asked for Buffy’s whereabouts.
“Went off looking for marshmallows.” the redhead told him.
“I’ve got them right here! She’s so impatient sometimes.” He mumbled as he wandered off to find his girlfriend.
Willow looked at Tara again and opened her mouth to speak. Instead a rough voice came from behind them.
“Tara?!” Donnie asked as he wandered up to his sister. “What the hell are you doing here? If dad finds out-“
Tara quickly stood up and shook her head at her brother. “I w-was just leaving. I’m leaving.”
“Tara, what?” Willow stood up not knowing what was going on. All she knew was she’d never liked Donnie before and seeing the fright in Tara’s eyes made her hate him now.
“You better run home before he realizes you’re not there.” He looked over to Willow and recognized her. “Rosenberg. She who pretended to be allergic to hay last year just because she’s scared of itty bitty horses.” His guttural laugh curled the redhead’s fingers into a fist. “And you’re hanging out with my sister? She put a spell on you?” he asked her in a hushed tone.
“D-Donnie, shut up.” Tara finally stood up to him. She looked at Willow for a second and then back at her brother.
Donnie was a bit surprised to hear her talk to him like that. He chortled and shook his head. “Whatever. It’s your butt, not mine.” His eyes wandered behind Tara. “Hmm, marshmallows… See ya home later lil’ sis.” He said as he took off.
Willow noticed Tara’s eyes followed her brother, “Ugh, he’s such an ass!” Tara finally uttered as she shook her head and rolled her eyes. “You’re so lucky you don’t have any siblings.” She said as she looked back over to Willow. The blonde was still frowning but her features were softening again. Her eye connected with Willow’s questioning ones. “Willow… I-I should go.” She gently said.
“Go?!” Willow’s heart was breaking. “But you just got here. And tomorrow Saturday so I won’t see you until Monday... Tara, I don’t think I can wait that long.” Her voice was a bit despairing but she didn’t care. Willow knew she was being foolish but she didn’t want her to go. They didn’t have round robins on the weekends and the most of the staff was allowed to come and go as they pleased. And Willow believed that since Tara lived a few minutes away she’d probably not hang around the camp at all on the weekend. She wanted to see Tara again. She wanted to be with her, talk and laugh. She wanted to hold Tara close and protect her. She wanted to slap her silly brother for trying to intimidate Tara.
Tara smiled and thought for a moment. “Do you have a break tomorrow?” Willow nodded wondering what this meant. “Meet me at the Wilkins Cabin after lunch then.”
Willow’s eyes widened. She knew all about that abandoned cabin in the woods. “Wilkins? But, isn’t that haunted?”
Tara smirked. “No. My brother started that rumor years ago so he could take girls there and not be interrup- uh, I-I’m totally digging a hole for myself aren’t I?” she asked shaking her head in her hands. Willow finally grinned. “I didn’t mean it like that. I just meant we could meet there. I want to take you somewhere. Else.”
“Where?”
“You’ll find out tomorrow.” Tara coyly smiled as she turned to leave.
“Tara, wait!” Willow grabbed her hand. “Let me walk you home. Please.” She said even though she had no clue where exactly home was.
The blonde grinned as she squeezed her hand. “I have a car.”
“Let me walk you to your car then.” Willow amended her statement, longing in her eyes.
Tara smiled as she nodded. She couldn’t deny Willow anything when she looked at her like that.
***************
With the sound of the bonfire and its participants behind them, the two girls walked through the camp in silence not really needing to talk. They were in the presence of one another and that was satisfyingly enough.
The night was absolutely gorgeous, lots of stars could be seen in the sky, a gentle breeze cooled them and there were hardly any mosquitoes biting. The kiddy cabins were on the opposite side of the camp, and most of the staff was at the bonfire so Willow knew they were pretty much on their own.
As they walked Willow cuddled up further into Tara and wrapped her arm around the blondes’ waist, settling her head above her bosom. Tara didn’t know who had made the first move into the precious embrace but it didn’t matter, she treasured being this close to Willow even for the few minutes it took to walk to the parking lot.
As they neared the front of the camp, Tara lovingly kissed the redhead’s temple and whispered the redhead’s name softly. She looked over towards Tara as they stopped walking in front of a small, black pick up truck. Willow slowly drew up her right hand to caress the blonde’s cheek, touching her at a leisurely pace with her fingers, memorizing the curves as her fingertips trailed over her face. Once their eyes connected she instantly captured Tara’s lips in a kiss. “Don’t go yet.” She pleaded as she placed her hand over Tara’s heart. “Please.”
Tara didnt know what to say. She never wanted to leave Willows embrace but knew Donnie was right. If her father found out she had snuck out I have to go. But I will see you tomorrow. She kissed Willow.
This time it was more urgent, more passionate as tentative gentle pecks of lips on lips deepened as seconds continued. Mouths opened and tongues explored as hearts raced and breathing became an issue. Neither wanted to part, wanting to stretch out the few seconds they had left into infinity. Their bodies aching for more contact but knew it wouldnt come just yet.
Their feeling for one another simmered inside and made it harder to let go and say goodnight. Willows body burned and she knew Taras did too. A mouth captured a moan as a hand traveled down someones back. Fingers caressed jaw lines and others ran through soft hair.
Tara. Willow pressed her body up against the girl who more than openly welcomed her. Willow took a deep breath as her lips kissed Taras neck and collarbone. Missing the taste of Tara, her mouth returned to the blondes lips.
Time seemed to last forever but reluctantly Tara finally pulled herself away from Willows loving hands and looked as if she were about to cry. Her gaze lowered to the ground as her heart ached knowing that she had to leave.
Whats wrong? The redhead asked as her lips continued to kiss over the side of Taras face, her hands moving up to cup it.
I have to go. Tara mentioned softly as kissed Willow once more, her voice hushed by her unearthed emotions.
Ill see you tomorrow. The redhead said in between the captures of Taras lips with her own. Promise me.
I promise. The blonde said under her breath as she kissed Willows lips again. I promise.
Willow nibbled on the blondes lower lips one last time. She looked into her eyes and smiled. Ill see you tomorrow.
Tara quickly kissed the redhead one more time and let go. As she opened her car door both giggled in the moment and Willow kissed her again before letting Tara sit down and turn on her car. Drive safely. She added.
Spice 
WE WANT MORE!!! 
) WE WANT MORE!!! WE WANT MORE!!! ... 
