In the morning Wesley woke up early and it all slowly came back to him through a slight haze. He looked down at the sleeping gem in his arms and kissed the top of her head tenderly before carefully untangling himself from her grasp. He tucked her in gently to let her continue to sleep. He got up and grabbed a fresh towel from the bathroom and wrapped himself up in it securely. He was going to go see Mr. Lance, the scoundrel. He glanced back at the sleeping form of Lacey and smiled again fondly. On the pad of paper found in any hotel room he scribbled a small note and tucked it on top of her personal items in her bag, where she'd find it. "Lacey, I went to go see about clean clothes. I'll see you soon. Love, Wes" With that, he left quietly and hurried down the hallway to pound on Lance's door.
Lance yawned and stretched in his now empty bed. Cindy left in the wee hours of the morning, having a job that she had to get ready for. Opening one eye, he looked at the door before grumping out loudly, half a mumble, "Come back later ... I'm still sleeping!"
Wes growled and pounded on the door again. "Lance! You rogue! Open the damned door!"
Lance's laughter could be heard on the other side of the door. "Hell no! First tell me where you slept, and if you're in a good mood first!"
Wesley scowled and glared at his friend through the door. So it WAS planned. The bastard. He snorted. "Fine! I'm standing here in a towel. I slept with Lacey. Now open the fuckin' door. Before I beat it down."
Lance grinned, wrestled on a pair of jeans as he staggered to the door and opened it before his best friend caused a major scene and got them kicked out of the place. "Slept with Lacey, didja? How'd that happen?" he smirked, opening the door wide.
Wes glared at him agitatedly. "I knew it was planned. You bastard. Move." He shoved Lance aside. He wasn't about to give the man the victory he wanted. He grabbed the small tote he'd brought along for the weekend and plopped it on the bed, and unzipped it to pull out a fresh set of clothes.
Lance laughed at he staggered back and watched Wes move across the room to gather his things. Closing the door, he plopped back down on the unmade bed and couldn't help but ask, "So ... how mad are ya? Or are ya really happy, and not just wanting to admit it?"
Wesley glared at his friend. The encounter between he and Lacey had been a good one. Having it all planned on Lance's part irked him. But... the good shove had worked. He snorted and unfolded his shirt, laying it out on the bed. "I didn't think about bringing anything, and she's not on birth control. That answer your question?"
Lance tried hard not to laugh but failed. "Oh shit ... you gotta be fuckin' kidding me!" He laughed and then tried to stop, failing and fell off the bed in the process. "Oh man, I'm sorry! I didn't even think about that shit."
"Eh... it was alright. Just not exactly what either of us wanted," he couldn't help but chuckle at his friend's response. So he'd expected the intimate encounter, the sneak.
Lance grinned up at Wes from the floor. It was obvious that whatever had happened had been good. Wesley was as radiant as a man can get. "I'm glad I could help," he grinned and pushed himself off the floor, stretching and yawning. "You needed it. Hell, you wanted it ... you just didn't know it."
Wesley eyed Lance again and just snorted in response.
Lance grinned and moved to his own bag and rummaged around for a minute before tossing a couple of wrapped condoms onto the bed and Wes' things. "Now, you've got no good excuse," he grinned and plopped back down on the bed, stretching out with a yawn. "What time is it? I'm sure it's too early for you to be here, leaving her in that hotel room all alone."
Wesley looked at the condoms and chuckled. "Thanks Lance." He tucked them into his bag, along with his clothes again. "It's four thirty. Woke up with a dream. A good dream for a change."
Lance rubbed his eyes and then looked over at his friend. "A dream huh? What kind of dream?"
He zipped up his bag. "Not sure, exactly. Jus' had this feeling of... I dunno how to say it... completeness? Somethin' I haven' felt in a long time."
Lance grinned and then waved to the door, knowing that if he continued to push his friend for more answers than that, he wouldn't be able to figure it out for himself. "Git yer ass outta here and back down to that gal. I got some beauty rest to catch up on so I can look perty for tonight's finals."
Wesley lifted his bag and grinned at his friend again. "Thanks Lance." And he left it at that. He was still in a towel... but that was alright. Hardly anybody in their right mind was up at 4:30 in the morning. And if they were, they deserved to see a half-naked man scurrying down the walk to Lacey's room. He hated to wake her up, but he hadn't thought to grab the room key and he knocked gently.
Lacey shifted in the bed, reaching for Wesley. When she didn't feel him, her head popped up and she looked around. Okay, did she just dream last night? As the second knock came, she peered at the clock. 4:30? What the hell? She pulled herself out of bed and found that she was naked. Blinking a little, she realized she hadn't been dreaming, but Wesley was nowhere to be seen either. Grabbing a sheet, she drew it up in front of her as she padded to the door, drawing aside the curtain right next to it and saw Wesley standing there in a towel and holding his bag. Grinning, she unlocked the door and opened it wide. "I was starting to think last night was just a dream."
He grinned and stepped inside, tossing his bag to the bed and he wrapped her up in his arms to plant a firm kiss to her lips. "Left ya a note in case ya woke up. Jus' went ta go git my clothes."
Lacey's arms enfolded him close as their lips met again and she murmured softly against them, running her fingers up his back to tangle in his hair. "You didn't kill Lance, did you? Do I need to help you hide a body?"
He grinned and guided her back to the bed to enjoy the early morning cuddling he'd almost missed and tucked her hair back from her face. "Nope. Close call, though. He's bleeding from mortal wounds."
Lacey laughed as the fell onto the bed again, pulling him close with a soft yawn. If this was his normal schedule, she had a lot of adjustments to get used to. "Hopefully he'll make it," she murmured as she cuddled up next to him, pressing soft kisses to his neck as her body pressed against his.
He murmured in pleasure as she nestled against him, and he held her close, letting her cuddle and drift back to sleep. He was too awake, and his mind was moving too fast, and too many directions to fall back asleep. How could this feel so right? He'd hardly known the girl a week. It'd only been three years since Anne.
Lacey drifted back to sleep again, nestled in his arms, a soft smile on her lips as one hand rested on his chest, her soft breathing almost in time with his and a slender, smooth leg tucked between his, slightly bent at the knee. She seemed to fit perfectly against him and she slept soundly as he lay awake holding her.
'Oh Anne... God I miss you.' he thought quietly as he held another woman in his arms, feeling somewhat guilty about it. He knew he shouldn't, but it'd been only three years. Was three years enough? The fear and ache pulled at him as me mulled things over in the early morning light. Finally, his troubled thoughts turned to last night and the wonderful feelings he'd felt at the hands of this woman. He couldn't let her go tomorrow.
As Wesley lay there wrestling with his feelings, a hazy apparition seemed to appear in the mirror. It didn't take long, though, to figure out who exactly it was, that same familiar smile on her face that encouraged him as Anne's face was clearly found in the mirror, gazing lovingly at Wesley and the girl laying in his arms. Pain tugged at his heart.
Wesley reached up to wipe the tears from his eyes as he saw Anne appear. She often did in his daydreams and his dreams when he slept. She had appeared less often in the recent past as he had begun to heal some. She just smiled at him, her eyes drifting from his handsome face to the girl in his arms. Her mouth never moved but he could hear her voice clearly in his ear, "Shhh my Love. It's time. Time to let go."
'I can't, Anne...' He argued softly, more tears appearing in his eyes and he wiped them away. 'I can't forget you.' His voice was pained and his heart torn. The guilt of holding another woman was eating at him too.
'But I'll always be here. Don't you feel me in her? She's the one. I have brought her to you.' Anne's eyes met Wesley's through the mirror and then reached to touch the sleeping form of Lacey in the reflection of the mirror with a tender smile. 'It's okay to love again.'
