Chapter 2 – Pass the Time Away
Spike was
getting dizzy; seriously dizzy, as he watched Buffy’s fork swing and slash
through the space around her head. He rested his chin on his palm and tried to
concentrate on her mouth instead but that lead to things he didn’t really want
to think about just yet. So, his gaze moved upwards to her eyes. They sparkled
even in the light of the dingy diner as she told him about his shipmates. It
seemed she had known most of them for years.
“So, Wesley
was broken hearted when Fred married Charles and moved to
Her tongue
darted out to catch a drop of vanilla ice cream at the corner of her mouth and
Spike fidgeted in his seat. He wondered how anyone could be as sexy as Buffy
was yet be totally unaffected by it. Most of the women he knew were trying to
fit into a certain ideal of sexy and always fell short. Buffy was a natural even
as he had watched her consume a bacon cheeseburger, french fries and now a
piece of pie. And she ate it all without a whimper of how it would affect her
weight.
“Angel said
that the two of you dated,” Spike hinted, hoping she would let him know how
tight the bond was between them. And that would let him know how seriously he
had to take Angel’s warnings to stay away from her.
“Yeah. We
did in high school,” Buffy answered, putting her fork down. “It was more
because neither of us was dating anyone else at the time and we didn’t want to
go through senior year activities alone. We broke up two weeks after graduation
when he signed onto the Darla.”
“I take it
the two of you have known each other for quite awhile.”
“I’ve known
Angel and Faith, his sister, my whole life,” Buffy answered, dipping into the
melting ice cream with her finger and licking it clean. “My parents are friends
with his parents.”
That was
his answer. Stay away, far away from Buffy or he’d have a whole community down
on his head. Spike leaned back in the booth and contemplated the petite blonde
across from him. He figured it was a shame that he couldn’t pursue a mutually
satisfactory sexual relationship with her. With her innate sensuality he’d bet
she was a firecracker in bed.
May as well
take a nibble before he threw her back and he grabbed her hand as she went for
more ice cream. Those green eyes grew wider the closer he brought her finger to
his mouth. She didn’t pull back as his lips closed over her vanilla flavored
index finger and sucked it deep into his mouth. She whimpered and he wanted to
growl in manly pride as he teased that digit with his tongue. Maybe she was
worth the trouble.
“I thought
I told you to stay away from her,” Angel said, breaking the spell between them.
There was a
small popping noise as Buffy pulled her finger from his mouth. She turned a
bright red as she ducked her head.
“Somebody
was following her home,” Spike explained, smirking up at his shipmate. “I
protected her. She was hungry and I was feeding her.”
“Looked
more like she was feeding you,” Angel snapped, grabbing Buffy’s arm and pulling
her out of the booth. “Sit over there.”
Spike
ignored Buffy’s request for him to move over as she slid in next to him. Her
body was painfully only about an inch away from him. It was so close but yet
too far away. After seeing Buffy trying to keep from touching him and Angel
glaring at him, Spike gave up, turned slightly until he was tucked in the
corner with his arm along the back of the booth. The silky strands of her hair
brushed against his fingers when she moved and it was enough for now.
“Spike, I’d
like you to meet Faith, Angel’s sister,” Buffy said. “Faith this is Spike.”
For the
first time Spike looked at the pretty brunette that had slid in beside Angel.
He’d figure that she was Angel’s date for the evening and wasn’t worth paying
attention to.
“Nice to
meet you, Faith,” Spike said, smiling and nodding at her.
“Hello,”
Faith purred, leaning on her forearms so that her breasts almost tumbled from
her top. “Angel didn’t tell me that he had someone new on the crew.”
“Yep,
signed on when they were in
“Welcome to
Sunnydale. So, you played Buffy’s hero tonight?”
“Something
like that. Not that she needs it,” Spike said, rubbing the bruise on his chin
from Buffy’s punch.
“Sorry
about that,” Buffy said, smiling up at him.
“What did
you do to make her punch you?” Angel asked, looking even more pissed than he
had before. “Are you all right, Buffy?”
“I’m fine,
Angel. Calm down,” Buffy explained. “There was a creep at the bar tonight and
Spike was trying to keep the guy from following me. I thought he was the creep
therefore the bruise on his chin.”
“Most
action you’ve seen in a while, huh, B? Did the creep ask you for a date and you
freaked out because it’s been awhile since you’ve been asked?”
The tension
between the two girls was getting thicker by the moment. Spike considered
intervening on Buffy’s behalf but waited. He wanted to see how much fire she
really had. Besides Angel was rolling his eyes indicating that this was an old
fight and he didn’t even want to deal with it. Spike smirked as Buffy sat up
straighter and her eyes were shooting sparks now. This was going to be good, a
little catfight to add to an already interesting Saturday night. And he thought
he was going to be bored when he came ashore.
“Well, at
least I don’t have a sign out saying open slip for any ship that wants one,”
Buffy volleyed. “Free by the hour.”
There was
an indelicate snort to accompany an eye roll from Faith. Her arms crossed under
her breasts as she leaned back in the booth. A hair toss and she was ready.
“At least I
know how to keep a man happy so he doesn’t stray.”
“You don’t
keep them long enough for them to stray,” Buffy declared after taking a deep
breath. Her fingers were planted on the edge of the table. “You just send them
home to their wives and girlfriends when you’re done.”
“Don’t
blame that on me,” Faith spat. “Riley would never have come to me if you’d
unclench those legs of yours.”
“Faith,”
Angel interrupted, “Shut up now.”
This wasn’t
just a tiff between old friends because Buffy’s eyes were filling up with
tears. Faith had drawn blood and was going to go for the kill. She leaned on
the table again, picked up Buffy’s discarded fork and dove into her pie
spearing a cherry. The small fruit was waved under Spike’s nose.
“That’s
right, sailor, any action you were hoping of getting, you won’t,” Faith
taunted. “Buffy is just one little cherry pie. Aren’t ya B?”
Buffy was
humiliated. Her face was a deep red as she fought back the tears that glistened
on her eyelashes. Spike had definite empathy for her. The pain had to be
similar to when his first girlfriend had dumped him in front of everyone at a
party. He sighed and tucked a lock of hair behind her ear. His knuckles
caressed her cheek before looking at the girl he wished wasn’t Angel’s sister
so he could say what he really wanted to say.
“I think
it’s admirable when a woman holds her virtue in high regard,” Spike said
softly, his hand rested on Buffy’s shoulder now. “A girl like that is a rare
find and the bloke who eventually wins Buffy’s heart and body is very lucky.
Now, if the two of you will excuse us, I’m going to walk her home.”
“We’ll talk
later,” Angel said.
”Right then,” Spike said. “Good night to you both and it was nice to have met
you Faith.”
Once they
were outside, Buffy slipped her hand into his as they walked toward her house.
He wasn’t sure what she meant by it except maybe thanks. She didn’t say a word
and seemed lost in thought somewhere and he was content to let her be.
“Here we
are,” Buffy said.
Surprised
that they were there, Spike looked up and found that they were standing in
front of a bookstore. The sign said, Giles
New and Used Books, and underneath that was printed the words, Rare and Collectible Books Our Specialty.
“You live
in a bookstore?”
“No,” Buffy
said, smiling. “It’s my father’s store. We live in an apartment on the second
floor.”
“Ah, that’s
convenient.”
She moved
to the first step on the staircase and seemed to be waiting. Spike looked at
her for a moment before realizing she was waiting for a good night kiss. He had
wanted it earlier but now he was reluctant to take what she was offering. Buffy
deserved someone who would love and cherish her. He wasn’t that guy even if she
was looking at him like he was her hero, even if he had been taking care of her
all night and it had felt good. Good to be her protector and even better to be
at her side. Spike took her hands in his and hated the crestfallen look on her
face as if she knew what he was going to say.
“Take a
deep breath, Luv.”
For a
moment she looked at him like he was crazy but then with a smile did as he
requested.
“What do
you smell?”
“Besides
you,” Buffy said, with a laugh. “The ocean.”
“I like
you, Pet, I really do but that’s got first claim on me. It was a choice I had
to make to survive. My life, my lover and my lady is the sea.”
Her fingers
drifted along his cheeks and slowly one outlined his lips. She nodded as her
hand fell to her side again.
“I
understand,” Buffy whispered. “I don’t date sailors.”
Relief
flooded him as he grinned up at her. No histrionics, or guilt, just
understanding from someone who knew sailors too well to ever try to make a land
grubber out of them. All he had to do was turn and walk away. There wouldn’t be
any hard feelings between them. This night would just be a pleasant interlude
for them to talk about when the Darla
returned.
And for
some reason he didn’t understand he heard himself ask, “So, do you want to go
to the movies this afternoon?”
To further
confuse the decision they had just made, Buffy didn’t turn him down. She agreed
and told him to be there by one before she ran up the stairs and into the
apartment. Spike was excited and figuring out how long before he’d see her
again as he headed back to the ship.
To be continued…
