PART 1

Joey stood at Pacey's door, fist poised to knock, but couldn't seem to make herself do it. She knew it was late, but she saw the lights on from across the street, so she decided to take a chance and see if he would talk to her. Jack was crashing at Jen's tonight after attending some Boston Bay event, so Joey knew Pacey would be alone.

They hadn't spoken since the night of Harley's dance nearly a week ago. After Joey told him she didn't feel it anymore with him, Pacey had literally walked out of her life without looking back. Yes, he had come back to dance with her, but it wasn't like junior year when they were happy to be in each other's arms. Instead, it was tense, sad, and felt really final. His total lack of communication since then worried her. However, she had been busy with trying to get her relationship with Eddie back on track, studying, and working, so she figured giving things between her and Pacey time to settle would be a good idea. She hadn't expected complete silence for this long given what he said about not walking out the door if he didn't like her choice, though, and it worried her. She needed Pacey in her life in a way that she never needed Dawson. What if she'd thrown their friendship away, too?

Before she could knock, however, the door opened just a crack and Joey heard voices behind it.

"You don't have to go yet, do you?" Pacey asked huskily. "We were just getting started."

"I know, but my boyfriend's plane is landing at Logan in 30 minutes and I have to be there to meet him."

"Can't you tell him an interview went long or something?" he pouted.

Silence. Then Joey heard the reporter giggle. Yes, giggle. "Pacey… Stop it. You know I can't think when you do that. And I really have to go."

He grumbled. "Fine. You win." Then, Joey heard humor infuse back into his voice as he added, "I knew this was too good to be true. You're way out of my league anyway, woman."

Joey heard more making out followed by a sultry, "He leaves again on Monday."

"Mmm. Well then I'll see you then," he said as he opened the door fully, giving Joey an eyeful of the two of them.

The Reporter was fully dressed, but her hair was mussed and her clothes were askew and wrinkled while Pacey was wearing only a pair of jeans slung low on his hips, his sailboat boxers poking out above the waistband. When Joey saw them inhaling each other, a wave of intense jealousy washed over her worse than what she'd ever experienced and she clamped her hands together in front of her to stop from reaching out and pulling that bimbo away from him. She cleared her throat.

Pacey and The Reporter jumped apart guiltily and he stared at her, clearly surprised by her presence. "Joey, what are you doing here?"

Joey ignored him and faced The Reporter. "A little late for an interview, isn't it?" she asked, voice sugary sweet.

The woman just smiled. "I do my best work at night."

"I imagine it's tough to write when you're flat on your back."

The woman brought an index finger to her temple. "It's all up here. My mind's a steel trap. The notes are just a backup."

Joey rolled her eyes and the two women stared each other down for a few seconds until The Reporter broke eye contact. "I have to go. I'll see you Monday. Looks like you're going to have your hands full here anyway, Pace."

Despite Joey standing there, Pacey leaned in and kissed her softly on the lips. "Bye, Sadia."

After the woman left, Pacey turned to face Joey and crossed his arms. Voice hard, he asked, "Was there something you wanted?"

"I want to talk to you." She paused. "About us."

Pacey took a step back into the apartment and reached for the handle of the door as he said, "There is no 'us'. It's late and I have to work tomorrow. If you want to talk, call first."

When he went to close the door in her face, Joey sprang into action and lodged her body in the doorway so he couldn't close it. "So it's too late to talk, but not to screw, huh?" she retorted in a huff of anger over being dismissed.

He thought a moment. Suddenly, he grabbed her by the arm and hauled her into the room, slamming the door behind him. Then he backed her against it and pressed his half naked body against her. "Now that you mention it, yeah. You offering?"

Joey cursed the electrical current whizzing through her body. She had told Pacey she didn't feel it anymore, but that wasn't the truth. She still felt the gravitational pull she had tried so hard to push aside. The fact that she felt it too much was the real reason she'd put the kibosh on things between them. No one made her feel the way Pacey did. Which also meant no one could destroy her the way Pacey could. Getting over him once was hard enough. She wasn't sure she could do it again. Eddie was the safer choice. Joey raised her hands onto his naked chest and pushed with all her might. "Pervert," she hissed.

Unfortunately, her push did little to dislodge him from his position. He was still too close. And smelling and looking too good. He let go of her upper arms and grabbed her wrists, pulling her hands from his chest. Then, he quickly raised her arms above her head and pinned them against the door. He closed the remaining inches between them and then whispered, "Prude," right before capturing her lips in a searing kiss.

None of the few kisses they'd shared during their little redux were like this. With the exception of their office makeout session, where their hormones just took over briefly, all their kisses had been tentative, soft, and romantic. But this one was different. It was demanding, possessive, and laced with undercurrents of the anger and hurt she now knew Pacey was feeling over what happened between them. Instead of shying away from his sensual assault, Joey volleyed back, putting all her bottled up emotions into their kiss. Jealousy over seeing him with Sadia. Anger of over his radio silence. Sadness over how things ended.

Suddenly, Pacey pulled away from the kiss and began nibbling her earlobe. "Tell me to stop, Jo," he whispered raggedly before trailing kisses down her neck.

Since he still had her hands pinned above her head, Joey pressed her hips into his. "Don't stop, Pace." This was probably a huge mistake. And it more likely than not wouldn't end well in the harsh light of day. But, as Joey's skin tingled from Pacey's kisses, she didn't give a damn. It had been so long since she felt this alive.

Her response must have pulled him from his lust-induced drunkenness because he abruptly released her hands and pushed himself away from her. Once there was at least foot between them, he bent over and put his hands on his knees as he gasped for air. A few seconds later, he stood upright. Joey could tell he'd tempered his desire and replaced it with emotional walls by the set of his face and the pattern of his breathing. "Get out, Joey," he commanded through clenched teeth..

Joey brought her arms down from the door. She used one hand to lock to doorknob and the other to push herself away. She shook her head slowly and took a step forward, which caused Pacey to take a step back. They continued their game of cat and mouse until Pacey butted up against the couch and had nowhere else to go without turning on her and fleeing. When she was about to step into his space once again he held his hands up to stop her. "Don't come any closer."

Joey unbuttoned and dropped her orange trench coat onto the floor. "Or, what?" she asked with a smirk.

"Or I swear to God that I can't be held accountable for what's going to happen here tonight."

"And what do you think is going to happen, Pace? I just came to talk."

"I told you that I'm not in the mood for talking, Jo. So, unless you're here to fuck, then I suggest you pick up your coat, put it back on, and leave. Right now."

Joey could read Pacey like a book. He would never force himself on her. His statement was crude because he was trying to scare her away and because he was hurting from the way things ended between them. But the fact that he stopped at all meant that he was still her Pacey. He was, as usual, leaving the choice up to her. She could turn around and walk away from him or she could stay and things would happen between them that they could never take back. Whether those things would prove good or bad for their future was still up in the air.

Joey stepped forward.

~zzzzzzz~

"Why didn't you leave, Jo?" Pacey whispered across the bed, which might as well have been the Grand Canyon for as far apart as they were laying. He was on one edge of the queen size mattress and she was on the other. He was laying on his back, hands tucked under his head as he stared at the ceiling with the sheet barely covering him while Joey was curled in a ball by the other edge of the bed facing the wall as she clasped the sheet to cover her sweat-soaked body.

"I couldn't," was her only answer, soft as a whisper.

"Why?" he pressed. "You told me at the dance that you didn't feel it anymore between us, yet here you are." He shifted to his side to face the middle of the bed. "So, I ask again - why?"

Joey was silent for so long that he thought she was faking sleep to get out of answering the question, but then she turned around to face him, revealing tear-streaked eyes. "Gravity," was all she said, but it was enough for Pacey to realize what she meant. The gravitational pull they developed in junior year never went away. They had just learned how to push it aside and pretend it had.

"So, what now?"

Joey swiped at a tear in her eye. "I don't know, Pace. I just don't know."

"C'mere, Potter," he said as a reached out and pulled her into his embrace. She resisted at first but then melted into his arms when he said, "Get some sleep. We'll figure out the rest later."

He planted a light kiss on the top of her head, held her tight, and then drifted off into slumber himself.

~zzzzzzz~

Joey woke up in Pacey's bed minus Pacey. As she felt around the empty space beside her, Joey's hands closed on a piece of paper. She picked it up and read it.

Had to head to work for an early meeting. I'll call you later so we can talk. Help yourself to anything you need in the meantime.

Joey groaned and rubbed the sleep from her eyes. She looked around the room and saw that Pacey had brought all of her clothes inside. At least she wouldn't have to parade around the apartment naked looking for all her clothing. She couldn't help but smile at his consideration.

Today Joey was glad that Pacey had moved into the master suite once Emma had returned to England because that meant he had his own bathroom. After grabbing a quick shower, she donned her underwear and jeans from the night before, but rummaged through Pacey's dresser until she found a Bruin's t-shirt. After slipping it over her head and putting on her sneakers, she folded up her Hell's Kitchen shirt and put it in the pocket of her coat. Joey threw the coat over her arm and, with a last look around the room, opened the door, and stepped out into the apartment. Since it was still early, she could probably sneak in a bowl of cereal and some coffee before heading back to the dorm to change.

However, once she stepped out of the room and closed the door behind her, she heard a male voice say. "Well isn't this interesting?"

Joey whirled around in shock to find Jack and Jen, who'd been sitting at the island eating breakfast, staring at her with smirks on their faces. A "Shit" escaped her lips before she could stop it and Jen raised an eyebrow at her slip-up.

"Hey, guys, what are you doing here?" she asked nonchalantly.

"Well, I live here," Jack responded.

"And I'm having breakfast with my bestie," Jen added. "What are you doing here?"

Joey opened her mouth, but no words came out. "I … ah... "

As she struggled for an answer, Jen hopped down off the stool she'd been sitting on and walked over to the counter to pour Joey a cup of coffee. She reached out with the mug and Joey closed the distance between them to grab it from her. As she sipped, the two resumed their conversation about the event the night before, apparently content to wait until she came up with a lame excuse even though they probably already knew the real reason she was there.

Feeling a bit naughty, Joey offered the truth, "Ex sex."

The two went silent again and stared at her open-mouthed, clearly surprised she fessed up. She finished her coffee, sat the mug down, and then grabbed a muffin. "I have to run. I have class. Please don't tell anyone, okay?"

"Our lips are sealed," Jen responded. "On one condition."

"What's that?"

"Was it as good as you remember?" Jack asked.

Joey laughed at their nosiness. Then she smiled and said, "It was even better."

Afterward, she walked out of the apartment and closed the door behind her to head back to Worthington leaving Jack and Jen to gossip with each other about last night's events.

~zzzzzzz~

When Joey got back to her dorm, her good mood vanished at the sight of Audrey and Eddie engaged in a stare-down, arms crossed on opposite beds.

Audrey saw her first. "Bunny! You're here!"

Before she could answer, Eddie ran over and pulled her into a tight hug. "Where the hell were you Joey? I was worried sick when you didn't come home last night."

Joey completely forgot about Eddie. She felt a major pang of guilt for cheating on Eddie with Pacey last night, but brushed it aside. "I crashed at Jack's. It was really late when I left the bar and I was exhausted."

Joey heard Audrey's intake of breath at that statement, but Joey caught her eye and implored her not to comment. She needed to get rid of Eddie, who had made himself at home since their reconciliation, so she could change out of Pacey's shirt. "Eddie, would you go grab us some coffee and donuts while I catch up with Audrey?" She asked sweetly.

"Sure." He gave her a quick kiss on the cheek, glared at Audrey, and then left.

Once he was gone, Joey unbuttoned and shucked her coat, hugged Audrey and tried to engage her in conversation as she got her stuff ready for class. But Audrey stopped her. "Are you gonna tell him you slept with Pacey?"

"What? We didn't…"

"Bunny, you're wearing his shirt."

"I just borrowed it. I spilled something on mine last night."

Audrey rolled her eyes. "Nice try, Joey, but I'm not buying it. If you had crashed 'at Jack's' then you would have come home in one of his shirts, not Pacey's. I'd venture to guess Jack wasn't even there."

"He was," Joey offered weakly. "This morning when I left."

"But not last night."

Joey blushed. "No, not then."

Audrey rubbed her hands together excitedly. "Ohh! I knew it! How was it?"

"What?"

"The ex sex!" Audrey exclaimed. Then she added, "I wanna know what I'm in for."

Her comment made Joey come to attention. "What?!" She asked with a hint of jealousy.

"Ex sex with Pacey. How was it? I taught him a few things, you know."

When Audrey winked, the jealousy disappeared and Joey laughed. "I missed you, Aud."

"I missed you too, Bunny." She paused. "So, are you gonna tell Eddie?"

Joey sighed and shook her head. "I don't know what I'm gonna do."