Miles and miles later he slowed the car a bit.

"What are you doing?"

"I saw a sign back there." He watched for the next one, spotted it and turned off onto a lookout point, parking with the nose of the car pointed towards the edge of the cliff.

They got out of the car and walked to the restraining wall. The wind was strong. It ruffled Giles' short hair but grabbed hold of Cordelia's chestnut locks and whipped them back from her face. She pulled a scarf from her purse and used it to tie her hair into a ponytail.

Giles was drawn to the ocean. Most of his life had been spent in cities and in libraries and museums in the heart of those cities, and on archaeological expeditions to the Middle East back in his other life. Before coming to Sunnydale, he hadn't spent a lot of time anywhere near the ocean and never this particular one. Maybe it came from living a landlocked life, but the ocean called to him.

He leaned on the metal railing and stared out at the white capped waves, inhaling the fresh stinging air.

Cordelia did the same for a while, staying silent far longer than she ever had in Giles' recollection. Then she turned her back on the vista, and braced her elbows on the rail behind her. She stared at him. Aware of her scrutiny, he focussed his attention on Nature until he could no longer ignore her.

"What is it, Cordelia?" he asked, impatience displacing his unease under her gaze.

"Do you ever go out on dates?" she asked bluntly -- typical Cordelia Chase style.

The question annoyed him. "Oh yes. I had a date just the other night. Scheduled it in between helping fight off that giant rodent in the sewers and researching the next threat from the Hellmouth. A wonderful dinner at a bistro then we went dancing in the cemetery. The ghost of Benny Goodman provided the music. It was, all in all, a lovely evening."

"Okay! Geez, I get your point." Cordelia frowned at him.

He stared back at her. He was angry, more with himself than with her, for letting his temper get the better of him. The real answer was no. He didn't go out on dates. He didn't do anything remotely fun or normal anymore. He hadn't in such a very long time that he forgot what it was like to relax in the company of a woman, and simply forget the reality of his world.

He pushed his glasses up on the bridge of his nose. "I'm sorry, Cordelia. I shouldn't take it out on you."

Tilting her head to one side, she asked, "Why do you pretend to be someone you're not?"

He blinked at her.

"I mean, you always come across as this man who has devoted his entire life to fighting Evil."

Very succinctly, he said, "I have devoted my life to fighting Evil."

"Well, sure, but do you have to act like you're Mr. I'm Not Important, the Slayer is the Hero?" She pushed away from the railing, walked away, swung around and continued, gesturing with her hands, "And before you say, 'That's the way it is,' or some other garbage, let me tell you something. You do so much for Buffy and The Cause. You need to take time for yourself. Otherwise, some day soon, you're gonna crack."

Giles worked his jaw, trying to get it to unclench. Sometimes he did feel the way she described. He despised that feeling. It was like he wasn't in control of his own life. Staring at the ground, he asked, "Why do you care?"

"You asked me that already -- a while ago. Remember? Is your memory going? Is that what happens when you get older? I so do not want to get like that. If I do I hope someone pulls the plug on me."

"Pulls the plug...?" he began, then gave it up. He couldn't compete with Cordelia's brand of logic. "You talk too much."

She looked closely at him. "Are you mad at me? Are you gonna lose your temper? Because if you are, don't go Ripper on me."

"Go...Ripper...?"

"Yeah, if you turn psycho I'm going back to Sunnydale alone and you can walk back."

"Cordelia..."

She stared directly at him, a smile playing across her lips.

It infuriated him. Anger boiled up inside. It was, he realized later, more a reaction to all that she had said about his life or lack of one, but it was definitely the smile that set him off.

He grabbed her by the elbows and jerked her towards him. Her smile broadened.

He realized then that she was deliberately baiting him, teasing him to get a reaction of some kind.

"You gonna kiss me or not?" she asked, still smiling.

"You little vixen," he hissed, his gaze going to her mouth.

Cordelia's eyes widened, perhaps responding to the newly stoked fire in him, and her lips parted. She moistened them with the tip of her tongue, running it along the the edge of her top lip then the bottom. Giles followed it with his eyes, fascinated. He bent his head. Their mouths were so close he could feel her soft breath on his face. Cordy's eyes closed. She tilted her face up to his expectantly. Giles held her like that a second longer, wanting to follow through on the sudden desire charging through him. Then he released her and stepped back.

Cordelia's eyes flew open.

"Why didn't you kiss me?" she demanded.

A smile that was not quite a smirk flitted across Giles' face.

He moved away.

"Oh, I get it. This is payback for me insulting your wardrobe and... and... your stuffy Watcherly ways. Isn't it?"

He didn't answer.

Cordelia's eyes narrowed. Her hands, balled into fists, went to her hips. "You're playing mind games with me. Well, let me tell you something, mister, no one messes with the mind of Cordelia Chase! You'd better apologize or you _will_ find yourself walking ho... Oomph!"

Giles grabbed her arms, jerked her up against him and kissed her hard.

As he eased up, he sucked her bottom lip into his mouth, letting it slide from between his teeth.

He let go of her.

Cordelia stepped back and wobbled. She grabbed at him, her fingers clamping onto his wrists. He took a step towards her, supporting her.

"You talk too much, Cordelia," he repeated.

"Shut up! Kiss me like that again."

Gathering her into his arms, he fastened his mouth on hers, easing it open with his tongue and moved in deeper. Cordelia clutched the back of his head, holding him to her. The pressure of her fingers hurt, but Giles ignored it. He dropped one hand to her hip while the other arm encircled her back. Another moment and he had both arms wrapped tightly around her.

Cordelia fit into his arms like she'd been created just for that purpose. He was the mold and she was the liquid, mercurial and molten. The sun beat down on them, warming Giles' back while Cordelia pressed against him, heating up the rest of him inside and out.

They surfaced. Cordy leaned into the circle of his embrace. Her forehead rested against his chest, tucked in under his chin. Her fingers were hooked into his shirt, twisting the material, her knuckles hollowing his ribs. Giles nuzzled her hair, the herbal scent from her shampoo tantalizing his nose.

"Um."

"Yes?"

"That was... wow! Where'd you learn to kiss like that? No. Don't tell me. I don't want to know in case I get jealous and believe me, you don't want me to get jealous. Me jealous is not a good thing... Mmmm."

Giles cut her off with another kiss. He wrapped his arms around her waist, needing to get closer. Cordelia was already welded to him, her heel hooked around his ankle. He was forced to take a wide stance to support both of them.

When they broke apart, Giles was panting and Cordelia's chest heaved. He watched it move.

"That. Was. Good." Cordy's hair had escaped the scarf and blew wildly across her eyes. She shoved it back automatically.

Giles was bereft of speech. He could tell her that what had just happened was a mistake, but that would be a lie. It had felt so right.

"Do you swim?"

The question made no sense to him in his present state.

Apparently his befuddlement showed. "Let me re-phrase that. _Can_ you swim?"

"Ye-es. I can swim."

"I have a pool. At home." She sidled closer to him, tracing the line of his jaw with her fingertips. "My parents are in Switzerland for two more weeks and the maid has the weekend off. You could come over. We could swim, order out for pizza or something, and... maybe spend the rest of the weekend together."

He battled his conscience for all of two seconds. "No."

Cordelia's disappointment showed before she could cover it up. She glanced away. "Oh. Well, if you don't want to..."

Giles turned her head back to him with a gentle finger under her chin. "No to the pizza. I'm sure we can find something...better."

That bright smile reappeared and he matched it.

"Let's go," she whispered.

They got back in the car. Giles drove again. As he steered the Sebring back onto the highway headed towards Sunnydale, Cordelia curled up in the passenger seat and studied him.

"I take it back."

"Take what back?"

"You're not the minivan type. You need a sports car with a lot of horsepower and a lot of miles ahead of you. A Jaguar. You would definitely look good behind the wheel of a Jaguar."

Pleased with her description, he grinned at her then shifted gears and floored the accelerator.

"I wouldn't say no to a Jag."

Cordelia laughed delightedly.

~ end of part two ~