Down Twisted
by drkdreamer
Chapter 5
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8:25 a.m.
Alexandra Robert's was standing in her kitchen staring intently at the contents of her fridge. She'd been up since 5:30 and, as promised, had cleaned out a space in the bedroom closet for her upcoming guests. After excising, her thoughts had, logically, turned towards what to make for dinner. Usually, this was a simple prospect but, today was different. Alex had been standing in the fridge's wan light for a full 30 minutes already and was beginning to get pissed off at the whole situation.
Fuck it all, the woman sardonically thought, next time I'll make damn sure to ask what kinda food my guests like to eat.
In complete desperation, Alex opened the meat tray and found her salvation. Her searching gaze had alight upon the package of chicken breasts and that was when the deep craving began to occur.
Crispy fried chicken, her brain began to whisper, yeah, baby, sounds damn good to me!
An ironically sweet smile crossed the woman's face because she knew the dinner she was planning was the exact same one that used to grace her Grandma's table every Sunday since her youth. With that pleasant thought rebounding around inside her brain, Alex then opened the vegetable tray and with drew 4 medium sized cucumbers. The Southerner was humming to herself as she proceeded to walk over to the kitchen sink to sit the veggies down. Knowing she needed the white vinegar, she began to search for that tangy liquid. Alexandra found it quite bizarre that the vinegar was finally located under the kitchen sink.
Well, thought the dark woman, this just proves I'm certainly NOT in the South anymore!
Before doing anything to the cucumbers, Alex hunted up one, large, white onion. She put it next to the other veggies and then turned her energies to finding a nice, sharp knife. Since there happened to be a block of knives sitting just to the left of her coffee pot, this was no problem. The dark woman, being true to her nature, passed over everything to select the big Chef's knife. It was her favorite kitchen utensil and her movements where deft as she first peeled, then sliced the cucumbers into half inch rounds. Unthinkingly, the still humming woman reached up to the overhead cabinet and removed a fairly large bowel. Alex was wholly unaware that she began to harmonize with herself as she then sliced both ends from the onion. Had anyonelse in her age group been listening, they would have recognized the tune as '74's "Soulful Woman" by Kenny O'Dell.
"You lay out, fool around, finally you lose her
And all your lies, and alibis, will fail to move her
And nowadays, you never know, who's gonna blow your cover
You better start in, cleaning house, of those closet lovers.
And I'm not talking about tomorrow
No, I'm talking about today.
You might get another chance with her
If it ain't already to late.
And you know, she just might forgive you
If she does, you better walk the line,
Or your gonna lose that soulful woman
And she's gonna be mine.
You outta know, what goes on, when she doesn't get her lovin'
The night's alone, don't make a home, she'll go out lookin'.
So stand by, let it ride, when love starts fading
She'll walk on, out the door and I'm gonna be waiting.
And I'm not talking about tomorrow
No, I'm talking about today.
You might get another chance with her
If it ain't already to late.
And you know, she just might forgive you
If she does, you better walk the line,
Or your gonna lose that soulful woman
And she's gonna be mine.
Oh, such a soulful woman,
Um, such a soulful woman.
By the song's end, Alex had chopped the onion into the exact same size as the cucumbers. She then proceeded to sweep both veggies into the bowel and cover them with cold, tap water. Alex Robert's twisted the vinegar open but did not yet pour it. While she preferred her cucumbers and onions to be so tart they'd pucker your lips into a tight bow, she just didn't know how Buffy and Willow would like theirs. Opting for the safe course, Alex added exactly half of the vinegar she was normally accustomed too and threw in a good helping of salt-n-pepper to boot.
The dark Southerner couldn't resist smiling hugely as she got out a spoon to stir the mixture. Once done, the woman dipped her ring finger in to give the liquid a quick taste.
Definately think a little more vinegar is called for, she thought to herself.
After adding it, another taste confirmed this to be the right choice. The gray eyed woman was smiling as she walked over and set the bowel atop the stove. Alex decided, quite suddenly, to just go ahead and assemble to dry ingredients for the bird. The breasts were kind of large and numbered six, she fully intended to fry them all. Knowing from previous experience, that this could be an extremely messing job, Alexandra Roberts hunkered down to get a large, plastic Ziploc bag from underneath the kitchen sink. The quick glance towards her wristwatch told the woman she better make haste with the dinner preparations. Alex rushed to dump two cups of all-purpose flour, salt, pepper and some Greek seasoning into the bag. After doing so, she set the bag on the counter top and withdrew a big, cast iron skillet from the stove's interior. She left it sitting atop the stove and, hurriedly, walked out her front door.
Gotta remember to pick up some buttermilk and something for dessert before I return home tonight, was her last thought as Alex began her sweep of the suburban streets.
At precisely 12:25, Buffy and Willow came strolling up into the driveway. Both where carrying suitcases and the teens where simply overjoyed that Alex had previously given them the keys to the front door. It had turned off to be quite a humid day and Buffy relished the fact that, soon, they'd be inside the coolness of the Southerner's home. It was Willow, in fact, who unlocked the door and ushered them into the blessedly cool house. The teenagers remained silent as they walked into the hallway and then turned to head for Alexandra Robert's closed bedroom door. Upon opening it, both girl's where utterly riveted by the double bed that so dominated the space.
For one, terrifyingly long moment, neither the blonde nor the redhead could feel themselves breathe yet alone move from the spot in which they stood. The Slayer's fist clenched at her sides as she tried to control the rising tide of overtly sexual images that her brain was spewing forth, there was also a tiny part of herself that shouting out for even more and Buffy was shocked at herself. The compact blonde shut her eyes, desperate to shut out the voice that was hammering at the insides of her mind. Opposite her, the Wiccan was struck dumb by the wholly tantalizing image of seeing herself bend her best friend back against the pristine blue bedcovers and ravishing every square inch of Buffy Summer's body. This was too much for either girl to process and the suitcases dropped, loudly, to the floor. That sound snapped Buffy and Willow from those images that where rapidly shutting down their thought processes. The Slayer was ashamed of her sojourn into lust and -- without glancing Will's way -- turned her gaze to the bedroom window. Willow chose a different path and her pensive eyes locked upon the cherry wood picture frame that stood atop the dresser to her right. Something about that picture seemed to be calling out to her and Willow didn't seem to realize she was moving towards the dresser. Getting her first good look at that photo caused Willow Rosenberg to gasp out loud in stunned astonishment. Buffy, hearing that sound, instantly turned to see what was up with her bud. She was surprised to find Will staring open mouthed at the picture the other girl held within her hands.
"Wills, you okay?"
The slender redheaded girl never responded to the question and Buffy had no other recourse but to walk over and look to see what was the matter with her best friend. The Slayer's hazel eyes widened as she stared at the laughing figure that was clearly a younger Alex Roberts.
But who, she couldn't help wondering, is that hottie holding you in his arms?
The picture showed the figures of the boy and girl standing in a field of waist deep wild flowers on some long ago afternoon day. This Alex was almost unbelievable to either teen, she looked both supremely happy and genuinely relaxed standing there in that gorgeous boy's loose embrace.
He really is a true looker, thought Willow to herself, no doubt about it.
He towered above Alex, she guessed he stood either 5'10 or 5'11 in his stocking feet. He had thick looking, wavy black curls that fell to the nape of his neck and it framed a face that was almost frightening in its perfection. Both the Slayer and Wiccan couldn't really believe they where staring into a visage that had not one thing outta place. From the top of his broad forehead, to the perfectly straight nose, down to those full shaped, red lips and buff cheekbones, he was simply one of the most beautiful men Buffy and Willow had ever laid eyes on!
Speaking of eyes, thought the blonde, he's certainly got a pretty pair.
The boy's gaze was the sublime shade of blue-green and the sheer depth of love shining out from those eyes as he stared down at Alex warmed Buffy's heart.
Just once, her brain whispered, I'd really love for someone to look at me like that.
Willow realized they'd been standing there way too long and put the photo back into it's rightful place. Questioning green stared into muted hazel as the girl's gave serious thought to the picture.
"God, Will, who do you think he is?" The other girl shrugged, "I dunno, Buffy. Maybe we should just ask Alex tonight at dinner."
That's my brilliant Will, thought the Slayer, she always knows just the right thing to say.
"Your probably right," said Buffy, "what say we get unpacked, Wills?"
It took them less than 30 minutes to get their respective clothing into the closet and, as she shut her suitcase, Willow realized she'd left something important at home.
"I can't believe it but I left my laptop back at the old homestead! Think we have time to swing back there, Buffy, before going to look for Skyton?"
"I don't think so, Willow; we need to go hunting fairly quickly. Maybe, when we get back tonigt, Alex will drive you over if ya ask her nicely."
"Right you are," said the grinning Hacker," lets jet, Buffy."
The teens then proceeded to leave rather quickly but not before locking up the house, just like they knew Alex would want them to do. At 4:45, Alex came rolling back home. As she was digging the car keys from her short's pocket, her sensitive ears picked up the low tread of another's footsteps.
"Hey, can ya do me a favor, Alex?"
The voice belonged to Willow, a sweaty, tired looking Willow Rosenberg. The older woman cocked up her left eyebrow as she looked at the younger girl.
"You done for today, yes?"
"Yeah," said the red head," I'm solo now because Buffy had to go meet Giles for some slaying practice. She'll be back here by 8:00 at the latest. She wants to make a quick sweep by the local cemeteries before we eat dinner. That ok with you, Alex?"
"It's cool, Willow. Whatcha need me for, sugar?"
The dark woman was highly amused by the faint blush that covered the pretty redhead's face. Wisely, though, she refrained from commenting upon it.
"I left my laptop computer at home this morning because I was rushing around, and I was wondering if you'd mind running me back over there so I can pick it up?"
Willow was glad to witness the snarky grin that soon covered the Southerner's face.
"Not a prob, Darlin'. I needed to make a quick run to the store for some dinner supplies, anyways. Want to come with me or should I just swing back around to pick you up when I'm done?"
It was agreed that Will would accompany Alex to the local store. They set off on their journey feeling slightly better after a fruitless day of searching. By 6:00, Willow and Alex where back inside the comfortably, cool house. The dark woman was putting the groceries away while the teen took her computer into the bedroom. Alex was happily grinning as she put the fresh strawberries and Reddi-Whip in the fridge. She decided, after first shooting down the idea of her Mom's sour cream and cinnamon cake or Velveeta fudge, that a light dessert was called for tonight and that strawberry shortcake was a perfect choice for after dinner sweetness. The Angel food cake was already sitting on the kitchen table, Alex slapped a hand to her forehead as she realized she'd forgotten that the fruit needed to be macerated before use. When the Wiccan came back into the kitchen, she found the older woman stirring a heaping helping of sugar into the cut berries.
"I take it we're about to cook dinner now, Alex?" That woman made sure to set the sugared fruit in front of the cake before answering.