Driving to Distraction - Chapter 2

Three hours later and they were speeding down a highway again. Buffy was amazed at how Spike just kept driving and driving. It was as though he was on a mission with a short deadline and if he didn’t make it, the world blew up or something equally as horrific.

Looking over at the girl in his passenger seat, Spike just had to arch a brow at her. He couldn’t figure her out. Judging from the Jackie Onassis style Gucci sunglasses that were hiding half of her small face and the apartment he’d picked her up outside of, she was clearly loaded. But that wasn’t what was bothering him—money meant nothing.

A single question had been buzzing around his skull since he’d first seen her and where she lived.

If she was so rich, why was she slumming it across country with him?

As far as he could see, she should have been flying to California first class rather than enduring a week’s worth of driving in a car that was liable to breakdown at some point during the journey. So why wasn’t she?

He almost smiled when he realised what it was. She was going to college, was eighteen and fresh out of high school, meaning this could only be one thing.

She was trying to be a grown up.

He wondered if she’d be in such a hurry if she knew what the world had in store for her.

“Cheerleader, right?” His words cut the silence and he gripped the steering wheel a little tighter as she wriggled in her seat uncomfortably. Surely, she couldn’t think they could go the whole time without speaking to each other? They hadn’t spoken for over seven hours and his concentration was already waning. He couldn’t last an entire journey like this.

“Maybe. Yes.”

“Don’t tell me, girlfriend of the quarterback, popular, rich little bitch?” His heart told him to be nice, his brain told him to be nasty. He went for somewhere in between the two—indifference with a side order of sardonic.

Buffy tried not to look offended by his reference to her. “Absolutely.”

“So if life is so sweet, why are you running away?”

“I’m not running away. I’m going to college.” She said flatly, slightly offended by his presumption.

“On the other side of the country, as far away from your family and boyfriend as possible?”

“College.” Buffy replied then raised her head defiantly as she looked at him. He was tapping the steering wheel again, hands loosely gripping it. “And he isn’t my boyfriend any more.”

“I see.” Spike grinned and revved the engine as he kicked the speed up a notch, enjoying how easy it was to get her to talk.

“And I happen to have friends and family in Sunnydale. I grew up in LA.” His attitude riled her. What gave him the right to judge her? He didn’t know her and there was no way she was going to tell this jerk anything else about her. She could go a few thousand miles without having to talk, couldn’t she?

“Mmhmm…” Pulling his sunglasses off, Spike chanced a look at her. He froze as their eyes met and she swallowed hard.

She was right—they were beautiful. They were twin pools of twilight blue staring into hers. She shifted uneasily as he squinted slightly and caused her mouth to go dry. She caved.

“And…” Locked in his eyes, she couldn’t believe she was about to share something like this with something like him. She hadn’t even told her dad. “He dumped me…for another girl…”

“Oh…can’t blame him.” Spike grinned wide at her, and then returned his concentration to the road. He swerved in between two trucks and came out into the fast lane.

Buffy pushed her feet against the dashboard and gripped onto the seat for dear life as the horns blared at them.

“You’re psychotic.”

With a witty retort ready to tumble from his mouth, Spike finally looked her over properly for the first time.

The words fled his lips.

He stared at her. She had her feet firmly pressed against the dash as she braced herself, her long bronzed legs tensed. Eyes following them upwards, he smiled at the sight of her slender thighs and how her small skirt had fallen backwards slightly, revealing to him the start of her left buttock.

Pulling his eyes away, he moved them swiftly to her face. She was staring straight ahead with her lips parted as she panted and it caused him to swallow as his mouth went dry. This girl, this chit shouldn’t be able to do this to him. Feeling his heartbeat accelerating as she turned her head to look at him, he cursed himself. She was just some peppy little bitch, another bint, a means of getting across the country.

All sound drowning out, he stared at her mouth just as it opened wide in what looked like a scream and her face contorted in fear.

Head snapping around, Spike looked up only to see a truck about to cut him up. Pulling the steering wheel hard to the left, he narrowly avoided the back of the trailer and swerved again until they were settled in the middle lane. Seeing a junction coming up, he pulled off and stopped.

As he put the car into park, Buffy leapt up and started hitting him wildly with everything she had. She pounded her fists down on him until he caught hold of both of them, squeezing her wrists tightly until they ached. Looking down at him as he panted up at her, she realised her wrists weren’t the only thing aching; her thighs were too and not in a bad way. Letting her eyes trace every peak and valley of the taut muscles in his arms, she finally settled her eyes on his and willed her heartbeat to even out. She’d really never seen anything like them. They pulled her in so quickly that she felt as though she was drowning. They looked brighter now—clear blue but stormy at the same time.

“Settle down.” He ground out and she came back to reality.

“Fucking psycho.” She spat the words as she tried to yank her arms away from him, causing him to chuckle before tightening his grip.

The harder he held her, the quicker her heart pounded against her ribs.

“Harsh words from such a good little girl.” He grinned at her and she struggled again, her emerald green eyes sparkling in defiance of him.

Spike stared deeply into them, memorising every fleck of gold that danced in amongst the green. Caught in her gaze, he didn’t realise he’d started squeezing her wrists harder.

“Let me go.” She ground out.

When he saw the panic in her eyes, he relented and told himself he didn’t care that he’d hurt her. He didn’t care about anything any more. She bit her lip and his brows knit for a second at her hurt expression.

He couldn’t believe he was going to apologise to her—this girl of all people had him feeling guilty. “Didn’t mean to scare you back there.”

“Didn’t scare me. I just don’t appreciate you trying to kill me.” Feeling his grip loosen, Buffy pulled her eyes away from his as she slinked into her seat, as far away from him as possible.

“You wanna get some coffee?” Smiling at her, he thought tiredness was the most reasonable excuse for the near accident—going with ‘I was staring at you’ probably would have resulted in another slapping fit.

“Fine. Not like I have a choice.” She folded her arms and realised that he was the first guy to ask her out for coffee.

Rejoining the highway, Spike kept his concentration on the road, driving at a more reasonable seventy miles per hour.

Buffy huffed a few times at what she thought was still a dangerous speed and he just rolled his eyes.

Staring out of the window into the distance, she noticed it was starting to get dark. Spike had been driving solidly for over ten hours now and she knew he would be tired even if he didn’t show it.

“Maybe we should stop at the next place with a motel so we can eat and get some sleep? If you can make it that far.”

“I can keep going longer than you’ve ever imagined, love.” He shot her a sly smile and her eyes widened at his insinuation.

“Pig.”

“We’ll stop at the next place I can get some kip at, you can pay for gas.” Reading her looks clearly, Spike realised she wasn’t going to be doing much driving. It was fine by him. The thought of her driving his car sent shudders up his spine.

Buffy just nodded and returned to staring out of the window. Who is this guy? He reads me like I’m transparent. Am I as shallow as Riley said? So shallow that everything shows on the surface?


As they swung into the gas station, Buffy hopped out of the car and mumbled something about getting rooms. Spike watched her go, arching a brow as she smoothed the back of her skirt down over her buttocks. Taking hold of the gas hose, he slammed the nozzle into the tank and growled as he thought about her.

As Buffy walked back out into the evening air a few minutes later, she heaved a sigh—this was going to be awkward. Walking over to the car, she watched Spike as he leaned against the bonnet and lit up a cigarette.

This guy really didn’t care about life.

“Are you mental?” Buffy plucked the cigarette from his lips and shook her head as she ground it into the asphalt with her toe.

“What?” Spike frowned down at her and for a second she found herself caught in his eyes again. They were darker now in the fading light.

“Hello? Gasoline? Smoking? Ring any bells.”

“Plenty.” He grinned and pushed off from the car.

Buffy’s eyes widened. He doesn’t care if he blows himself up? What is wrong with him?

“Umm…” She started but trailed off when he spun round to face her.

“Another lecture?” Spike jammed his hands into his pockets and let his head fall backwards as he sighed. The stars were beautiful tonight, but what did he care?

“No…just…the motel…” Buffy stumbled along and Spike’s head snapped down to look at her inquisitively, causing her to blurt the rest out. “Only has one room available.”

“And?” He shrugged and then it dawned on him. Taking a single stride towards her, he closed the gap and purred down at her. “Gonna share with me?”

Buffy felt her breath catch in her throat as he tilted his head slightly. There was something seriously wrong with her. It was the only viable reason she could think of for the feelings he stirred in her.

“Yes…” Casting her eyes to the floor, she felt her cheeks burn up. What was happening to her? It wasn’t like he was the first guy to look at her, not even the first guy to look at her like that, but when he did it made her skin hot and flushed.

Without saying anything, Spike backed away from her and slipped into the car. Gunning the engine back into life, he reversed fast and swung the Desoto around hard so it was facing the car park. Buffy watched open mouthed as he did this, dust rising in the air as he wheel spun before heading into the only available space.

Attitude, when you look it up there should be a picture of him next to it. Buffy started walking towards the motel room while staring at the keys in her hands. This was a bad idea and she knew it.

Unlocking the motel room door, she turned around to see Spike smoking again and staring at her unabashedly. As she pushed the door open, she gave the cigarette a dirty look and he put it out with his fingertips, not even flinching.

“You know, you need a good seeing to.” She froze mid step as she said it. Turning with deer caught in headlights eyes, she saw his face darken into a mischievous grin.

“Really?”

“I meant like psychologically. Like therapy…” Backing away from him as he kicked the door closed, she tried to swallow but found that she couldn’t.

Staring at her, Spike was starting to lose patience. She was driving him crazy. Flopping down onto the bed, he flicked the TV on and propped his head up on his arm.

“So I’ve been told.” He grinned and she looked visibly relieved as she flitted about the room not knowing what else to do.

“William?”

“Spike…” He smiled at her and she averted her eyes.

“Spike?” Bringing her eyes back to his, she stuck her chin out defiantly and steadied herself, trying to hide the fact that her heartbeat was rocketing and she felt giddy. “Want first shower?”

“Sure thing.” Wiggling his eyebrows at her, he sauntered into the bathroom.

Not even bothering to shut the door properly, he turned the shower on, stripped off and ducked under the water.

He roared. “Bloody hell!”

“What?” Buffy shot up and dashed to the door, her eyes almost popping out of her head at the sight of him completely naked.

“Hey!” Spike looked affronted as his hands raced to cover himself.

“You shouted! I thought something was wrong…I really didn’t mean…oh God.” Her face crumpled as she whined, her cheeks blazing.

“Water’s cold.” Giving her an apologetic look, he shrugged.

“Didn’t look cold…” She couldn’t stop her mouth from vocalising her thoughts. She covered it with her hand. Rooted to the spot, she stared at his hands and then up at his face. His eyes were as wide as hers. She felt like throwing up but settled for whining again as she panicked. “Oh God.”

For a moment, they just stared at each other. Spike with cold water running over his naked body and his hands grasping himself tight to stop the urge growing there. Buffy blushing violently as she imagined him totally naked again.

“I’m…going…I’ll be in here…” Backing out of the door, she kept her eyes locked with his as something inside her made her talk. “If you need me…no…not need…I…oh God…”

Spike chuckled as he heard her whine as she disappeared from view. Sliding the glass door shut, he let go of himself and turned the heat up in the shower, thinking about the slight blonde in the other room.

Buffy fell onto her back on the bed. Grabbing a pillow, she held it over her face and whined. In the darkness of her closed eyes, she replayed the scene of Spike naked in the shower and chewed her lip.

Tucking the towel in around his waist, Spike grabbed his clothes and headed back into the bedroom. He stopped when he saw Buffy. She was still laying on her back on the bed with the pillow over her face. Leaning over, he tapped the pillow and she peered out from under it, her face still showing signs of embarrassment.

“Nice and warm in there now, love, left it running for you.” Smiling at her, he couldn’t help thinking that she was probably more innocent than she let on.

All Buffy could manage was a crooked smile before dashing into the bathroom and slamming the door shut. Back pressed against it, she rolled her eyes shut and imagined Spike in the shower again—this time with her and he kept calling her ‘love’. She shook her head to rid it of the images and stripped down. Stepping into the shower, she paused when there was a knock at the door.

“What?” She ground out.

“Need another towel, this ones all soaked.” Spike leaned against the doorway and smiled wickedly as he ran his fingers over the door, listening hard for the sound of water bouncing off her.

“Tough luck, you’ll have to wait.” Not budging, Buffy felt proud of herself as she lathered up her body and hummed a little tune. As she heard him huff, she felt victorious.


Dried off and dressed, she edged the door open and peered around it. He was lying on the bed snoring softly with both hands tucked behind his head. Her curiosity taking control, she looked him over. He was still only wearing a towel around his waist and it didn’t leave much to the imagination. Every bump and curve was pronounced. She marvelled at how his pale skin was tightly stretched over his compact muscles. Riley never looked like this. He was just built, nothing athletic looking about him. The guy lying sound asleep in front of her had tone and shape, along with contours she didn’t think existed.

She sat on the edge of the bed and let her eyes trace every contour of his face as he slept. He twitched slightly and she smiled at him. When he was asleep, he was bearable, pleasant, and definitely hot.

Tearing her eyes away, she stared blankly at the TV and poked him in the ribs. He growled slightly and brought his hand down to scratch where she’d poked. Looking around at him again, his scratching only served to bring his scars to her attention. She couldn’t believe how many there were. He must have been in more fights than Bruce Lee in those movies. Biting her lip hard, she tentatively reached out to touch the scar that trisected his left eyebrow and gasped as his hand caught her wrist.

“Do tell a fella what exactly you’re up to?” Opening his eyes, he saw Buffy panic and let her hand go.

“Just trying to wake you up.” As an excuse, Buffy held up the dry towel she’d placed on the end of the bed.

“Couldn’t just let me sleep?” Spike stretched out on the bed and yawned. Buffy turned away in embarrassment, and just in case she got another free show.

“Not like you haven’t seen it already, pet. Though in my defence, the water was cold.” Grinning cockily, Spike placed his hands behind his head again and watched her blush. “Hungry?”

“No.” Came Buffy’s quick reply while she kept her eyes fixed on the floor.

“Tired?” Spike arched his back slightly.

She swallowed hard.

“No.”

“Not very talkative, pet.” He sat up and swung his legs over the edge of the bed so he was next to her. Slapping his hand down on her thigh, he smiled. “I’ll get dressed and we’ll eat.”

Buffy lost her ability to speak. She just stared at his hand on her thigh and tried to ignore how it was making her skin hum and tingle with prickly heat. As Spike stood, he trailed his hand off her leg and she swallowed noisily. Bad bad bad bad bad…think unsexy thoughts…apples…oranges…naked Spike…noooo…oh God…

Standing up fast, Buffy imagined walking over to him where he stood slipping his jeans on with his back to her. He would turn slightly at her approach, just in time for her to run her hand around the back of his neck and bring his lips to hers in a soft kiss that quickly turned passionate.

As Spike turned and frowned questioningly at her, she made a small noise and bolted out of the door. He shrugged and dressed fast.

Stepping out into the cold night air, he took a deep breath and sighed it out. This was his time, darkness enveloping him and a sense of solitude. Screwing his eyes shut, he thought about Buffy and went off in search of her. She wasn’t hard to find, she was sat on the bonnet of his car looking miserable.

“Hey.” He went for the gentle approach. Things were getting a little too complicated and they hadn’t even been near each other 24 hours yet.

“Hey.” She raised her eyes to his and kept her composure. “Needed some fresh air.”

“Right.” He watched her rubbing her arms as they turned to gooseflesh. Heaving a sigh, he started in the direction of the diner.

Her eyes following him as he walked away, Buffy was amazed by his restraint. He hadn’t even shouted at her for sitting on his car. Sliding off the bonnet, she wrapped her arms around herself as she headed for the diner.

Sitting down opposite him in a booth, she got the feeling that their histories were about to become the theme of their conversation.

Spike let his eyes rest on her hands. She was picking little pieces off her paper napkin and screwing them up into balls.

“Californian then?” Leaning back in his seat, he found his confidence somewhere around his toes and dragged it back up to his stomach. Talk nice and don’t let her affect you. You don’t really care…don’t care about anything…

“Born and bred.” Buffy mimicked his move but shifted slightly when her shoe touched his boot. “You?”

“London, north, Camden Town to be precise…” Not understanding his need to tell her exactly where he was from, Spike trailed off and fidgeted with the sugar shaker, cursing himself all the while.

“A town? In London…but I thought it was a city?” Buffy screwed her face up and when he grinned she realised she’d said something stupid.

“Not a real town, love, just called Camden Town.”

“Oh…well, I’ve never been to London, or um…England…but I’m sure it was a lovely area.” Buffy smiled broadly and but then stopped when he gave her a confused look.

“You really haven’t been there then…” He chuckled softly.

“Not lovely?”

“Little rough, pet. Not too bad though, just enough to make you love the place.” Grinning to himself, he stared past her to the far wall.

Catching the faraway look in his eyes, she realised that he was mostly show, covering up the real him in layers of bravado and lies. She smiled warmly as he focussed back on her and when he smiled back at her, she couldn’t believe the intensity of it. His whole face softened into it as his eyes sparkled at her. Her own smile widening until it couldn’t stretch any further, she felt satisfied that they weren’t so different—they both used lies to hide the real person they locked away inside.

As the waitress placed the two plates down in front of them, it broke the trance they’d found themselves in. Buffy looked down at her plate and when she looked up at him slyly, she swore he was blushing. Feeling a pull inside her, Buffy wanted to know more about him. He was an enigma wrapped up in lollipops and cigarettes. Finding out the real him was going to be interesting, and maybe a little fun.

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