Spike snorted. “Not bloody likely!” He glared at her as she kept giggling.
“Sorry.” She tried to stay serious. “So, what is it my daughter wanted you to ask me? If it’s about me buying her a rhino again, just forget it, it’s not happening.”
He pretended to be shocked. “You’re telling me you don’t want a rhino sleeping in the bath tub?” Buffy just rolled her eyes. “Actually, it’s not about a rhino. And it’s not about Hannah, it’s about me. I was just wondering if you…” He hesitated, suddenly convinced that if he asked her out, she’d turn him down for sure. “If you wanted to…” He looked around, desperate to come up with something. “…ride the ferris wheel with me.”
Buffy looked a little confused for a moment, then gave him a wide smile. “I haven’t done that for years, I even forgot the zoo had one. I always loved when I was on top!” Then she frowned. “That didn’t come out right, did it?” He raised his eyebrows, and now it was her turn to blush. She hurried to change the subject; “Anyway, I’d love to go. Why don’t you go and buy the tickets, and I’ll go let Hannah know where we’re going.”
“Sure… okay.” Silently cursing himself for his stupidity, Spike went to buy the tickets. Why couldn’t he just had asked Buffy what he really wanted to ask her? And what had he been thinking when he’d suggested the bloody ferris wheel?! He’d been panicking, just saying the first thing that came to his mind. Why couldn’t he just had looked in the other direction, now he had to take Buffy riding that damn thing, and he was absolutely terrified of heights!
“Oh my God, Spike, look! You can see all the way to the ocean, isn’t it beautiful?” Buffy was beaming at him, and he tried to smile at her, although it came out more like a grimace.
“Bloody amazing, pet.” He stubbornly kept his eyes on the floor, refusing to look up. Why was the soddin’ ride taking so long? Maybe something was wrong, and they would be stuck up here for hours. What the bloody hell had he gotten himself into?! This was hell, no question about it.
“You’re not looking!” Buffy pouted. Had they been anywhere else, he probably would’ve found that amusing, but now, he didn’t even react.
“I did. Very quickly. You probably just didn’t notice.”
She frowned. “You did not!”
“Did too! And what’s to look at, anyway? You’ve seen one bleedin’ ocean, you’ve seen them all.” Oh bollocks, he was going to die! And all because he was such a coward that he couldn’t just go ahead and ask Buffy out. He really was an idiot!
“Spike?” Buffy suddenly sounded amused. “Are you afraid of heights?”
He snorted. “Me? Afraid? Hell no!” He was way beyond afraid by now, he was bloody terrified.
Buffy gave him a doubtful look. “Then why are your eyes closed?”
Spike’s eyes snapped open. “I’m not afraid! I’m just… bored. Yeah. This is boring, no point in looking then, is there?” She raised her eyebrows, trying hard not to giggle. He rolled his eyes. “Fine! I’m afraid, alright! Happy now?”
“Aww!” She had a huge grin on her face. “I never would’ve guessed. That’s so cute!” He glared at her. “Sorry. Not cute. No.” Buffy tried to stay serious, pretending to zip her lips closed. Then she got a confused expression on her face. “Wait, if you’re so afraid of heights, why did you wanna do this in the first place? It doesn’t make any sense.”
“Sure it does. It makes perfectly sense. Because…” He stopped, a miserable look on his face. “Because I’m a bloody idiot.”
Buffy couldn’t help but smile. “No, you’re not. But seriously, there’s nothing to be afraid of. These things are perfectly safe, we’ll be back on the ground in no time. Besides…” She suddenly got a mischievous look on her face. “…sometimes, it has its advantages to be high above ground like this, away from all prying eyes.”
He looked at her in confusion. “And what’s that?”
“Well…” Spike waited for her to go on. The last thing he’d expected her to do was leaning over and kiss him, softly on the lips. But she did. The kiss only lasted for a couple of seconds, or so he thought. It could’ve been hours, because the moment her lips touched his, he lost all track of time. Then she pulled back, leaving him to stare at her in shock. “What…? Why…?”
She gave him an innocent smile. “Look, we’re on our way down.”
“What?” He looked to where she was pointing, realizing that she was right. “Oh, yeah. Thank God!” Then he glanced at her, clearing his throat. “I mean… this was nothing!”
Buffy rolled her eyes. “Right!” She gave him a curious look. “Do you mind explaining to me why we’re up here? Not that I mind, but…” She shrugged.
Suddenly he felt very stupid. “I panicked, okay? I was going to ask you something else, but then I…” He looked away, not wanting her to see how embarrassed he was.
“Okay. What were you really going to ask me?” Buffy looked at him, waiting for him to answer.
Spike swallowed. “Well, I just wanted to ask you if…” He took a deep breath. “Ifyouwantedtohavedinnerwithmesometime.”
Buffy frowned. “What?”
He rolled his eyes. “Oh bloody hell! I said, I wanted to ask you if you wanted to have dinner with me some time.” She just looked at him, then opened her mouth to say something, but he beat her to it. “You don’t have to! I mean, you don’t have to feel like you… I don’t mind if you don’t…”
“Spike!” Buffy stopped him in his ramblings. “I’d love to have dinner with you. When? Is tomorrow night too soon?”
TBC