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Part 3
Cordelia fit the key in the lock at Angel Investigations and swiftly opened the door. Riley held it open for her as she walked through and switched on the light. He was quite the gentleman, she had to give him that. He'd held the door for her at the entrance to the building, too.
Riley looked around curiously. "Angel Investigations, huh?" he murmured to himself. "The name is pretty lame."
Cordelia shrugged and went to check the answering machine. "Angel's idea."
"Obviously," he remarked. "I thought it would be different, like those old fifties detective agencies with the name stenciled on the door and the frosted glass..."
"News flash, Fish Boy. This is the nineties," Cordelia said as she looked up, seeing Riley staring intently past her at the elevator that led to Angel's apartment. "You stay. I'll go get Buffy."
"No," Riley said, taking a step toward her. "I want to come."
"Riley. Stay," she said, her tone silencing his protests. "I'll be right back. With Buffy. Have some day-old coffee or something." She gestured at the coffee machine in distaste before walking over to the door leading to the stairs. She threw him a final glance over her shoulder before disappearing downstairs.
Cordelia walked quietly into Angel's apartment, taking note of the darkness. The love birds were probably still sleeping... Creeping into the bedroom, she saw Buffy and Angel curled up together in bed, Angel's arm thrown over Buffy's body in a possessive manner and Buffy's back pressed firmly into his unyielding chest. She could tell, even with the sheet that was thankfully covering them, that both weren't wearing anything. Cordelia hated to wake them, but the last thing any of them needed was Riley Finn walking downstairs to find his beloved girlfriend sleeping with another guy.
"Buffy," Cordelia hissed, trying not to wake Angel. She knew he was cranky in the morning if he was woken up... The Slayer stirred but remained asleep, snuggling closer to Angel in the process. Cordelia rolled her eyes, even in sleep they couldn't seem to get enough of each other.
"Buffy!" Her voice got Buffy's attention, and she groggily rolled over and peered up at Cordelia.
"'s too early for school, Mom. Ten more minutes." The brunette sighed and gave up being quiet.
"Buffy! Wake up! Your little boyfriend from Iowa is here and he wants to make with the smoochies!" Buffy sat up abruptly, clutching the sheet to her bare chest. She ran a hand through her blond hair and looked up at her friend.
"What?!" she whispered, her eyes darting around nervously. Angel rolled over, away from her, and she quickly looked around the room for an article of clothing. Cordelia stalked over to Angel's closet and pulled one of his shirts out, tossing it at the blond.
"Put this on, get some clothes and get your ass upstairs." That said, she marched out of the bedroom to let Buffy get dressed. She was surprised to see the Slayer on her heels when she walked into the living room.
Buffy buttoned the shirt unevenly, not bothering to fix the messed up buttons. "Did you say Riley was here? Riley Finn? My boyfriend?"
"Um...unless I'm having a senior moment--which I'm not, because I'm only eighteen--yeah, that's what I said."
Before Buffy could reply, footsteps were heard on the stairs. The girls looked up, Buffy with panic written clearly on her face. She tried to smooth her hair out and fix herself to look presentable--which was impossible, considering she was wearing a shirt that barely reached her mid-thigh. Blindly, she ran in the direction of the bedroom, hoping to find her dress from last night on the floor where Angel had dropped it.
"Buffy!" Riley called as he stepped off the last stair and looked up at her. His face fell when he saw her wearing a man's shirt and nothing else. He gaped and she sighed.
"Riley. Hi. Look, this *really* isn't a good time, why don't you go upstairs and I'll get dressed and then--"
He pointed at her. "You're not wearing anything under that." She tugged at the hem, desperately hoping it covered her.
"Obviously," Cordelia said under her breath, leaning against the doorframe of the kitchen with her arms crossed.
"Yeah, uh...I was going to take a shower?" she said pleadingly. Riley didn't buy it in the least.
"A bathrobe usually helps. And why would you be taking a shower in your ex-boyfriend's apartment when your friend has a perfectly good one and you've been staying with her for the past week?"
"Okay," Buffy sighed. "Riley...um...we need to talk."
"Yeah, I'd say we do," he agreed, crossing his arms over his chest.
"Buffy?" Angel called as he stumbled out of the bedroom in his bathrobe. "Who're you talking to?" He rubbed a hand over his eyes and blearily looked up to see Riley staring at him coldly. He turned to Buffy. "What's he doing here?"
"I think the more important question is what are you doing here? Obviously not wearing any clothes either," Riley snapped. His gaze was furious and Buffy winced at his tone. Angel tugged the sash of his robe tighter and grumblingly kissed Buffy on the cheek before heading to the kitchen for coffee.
Riley watched the whole exchange with fire in his eyes. "I never pegged you as the cheating type, Buffy."
"Look, Riley, this isn't what it looks like." At his glare, she threw her hands up in the air in defeat. "Okay, so it is. Look, stuff happened. Lots of stuff. Angel and I are back together. There's no other way of saying it. I'm sorry."
"You're sorry?!" Riley leered. "Sorry for betraying me? Sorry for ruining my trust in you? Sorry for f***ing another guy when you were supposed to be honoring me?!"
"Hey!" Angel snarled, walking out of the kitchen with a steaming mug in his hands. "That's my girlfriend you're talking to, and as long as you're in *my* home you'll show her some respect."
"She doesn't deserve respect! She cheated on me! With her ex-boyfriend!"
"You know, *she* is standing in the room and *she* does NOT appreciate your tone," Buffy snapped. She took a step towards Riley. "Look, Riley, I'm really sorry but I can't change the way I feel. I love Angel. I always have and I always will."
"That doesn't make what you did right," Riley shot back. Buffy threw her hands up in mock defeat.
"Did I say that? No. I know it doesn't make it right, but those are the facts. I wish it could be different, but you know what? It can't."
"Why not?" Riley demanded.
"I think she went over that already," Angel said. "She loves me. I love her. This relationship is only big enough for two people, sorry."
"You did this, didn't you? You brainwashed her or something...you took her away from me!"
Angel laughed. "Please. She was always mine, we just had some issues to work out."
"Okay," Buffy said, throwing Angel a look. "This whole male-pride thing is very entertaining and all, but there's nothing left to say. Riley, we're over." She unclasped the necklace he had given her for Christmas and thrust it at him. "Sorry I ruined your trip."
Riley stared at her hand and the necklace that lay in it. Suddenly he reached out and drew her to him, kissing her hard on the mouth. Shrieking in rage, she pulled away sputtering.
"Okay, that's it," Angel growled, stalking over to Riley and standing protectively in front of Buffy. "I think you need to leave."
"I'm not leaving unless Buffy comes with me."
Buffy laughed. "What part of 'we're over' don't you understand?" she asked, shaking her head. "I'm with Angel. Move on with your life."
Riley took a step towards her, but stopped when he saw Angel clench his hands into fists. "If you stay with him, you're throwing your life away. Come with me, Buffy, you know I'm better for you."
"Okay, you know what? You need to get over yourself. NOW. And get the hell out of here before I rip you apart for being the idiot that you are. I don't know what I ever saw in you, Riley."
Riley stared at her long and hard. "And I don't know why I ever got with a girl who let Parker Abrams sweet-talk her into bed."
With those words, he was gone.
Buffy stared after him in horror, her mouth hanging open in shock. Caught up in the passion of the moment, she didn't even realize how deeply those words had cut until she was sobbing as all the old guilt came rushing back. Angel enveloped her in his strong arms immediately, crushing her to his chest and caressing her hair as she cried.
She pulled away and wiped the rest of her tears from her face. "Sorry," she said with a sheepish grin. "I thought we were past the me-crying-all-over-you-all-the-time part of our relationship. Guess I was wrong."
"Was it me and what I said?" Angel asked, searching the hazel eyes he loved so for answers. She shook her head.
"No, that was so sweet of you. It was the Parker thing...it still hurts," she whispered. Angel nodded and held her against his chest again. She wrapped her arms around him and sighed.
"I know, baby, I know. But you don't have to think about that anymore, because we're together and he'll never bother us or you again," Angel murmured, nuzzling her neck. Buffy nodded, comforted by him.
"Well, that sure was fun," Cordelia said as she walked over to them. "I'm gonna go upstairs and make sure the creep has left. Then I have some people to call. We still on for Ashlynn's tonight?"
The couple nodded. Cordelia smiled at them and quickly left, leaving the two alone. Angel bent down, kissing Buffy softly, easing away all her pain. She responded eagerly, wrapping her arms around his neck.
"Let's spend the day in bed," he whispered against her neck. "We need to get rid of the memories of Riley."
Buffy giggled, seeming to be her old self again. "I like the way you think," she replied, allowing Angel to sweep her off her feet and carry her into the bedroom. All thoughts of her ex-boyfriend flew from her mind like Angel promised as they once again lost themselves in each other.