Okay big thanks to rebeldivaluv for betaing this for me. I'm kinda having fun with this one! Leave me some love if you want me to post more!
Pacey sighed as he watched Joey casually lean forward and grab her drink.
"Hey Jo, did I hurt your feelings earlier?" he asked hesitantly. She met his eyes, opened her mouth slightly and then closed it. She reached down and dramatically pulled off one of her socks.
"Did you really mean what you said?" she asked as she tossed her sock on the floor.
Pacey gave her an apologetic smile and removed one of his socks. He met her eyes and softly whispered "I'm sorry."
She shrugged her shoulders and took another drink. "Next?"
"Hmmm…okay. We are seriously playing this? Fine…have you ever had an orgasm?" he asked, his face suddenly impish.
"Pacey!" Joey exclaimed as she grabbed her other sock and tossed it on the floor, her face turning bright red.
"I don't think I need to ask you that question back. Although…there is something I've been dying to know. Is it true? Did you actually sleep with Ms. Jacobs?"
Pacey coughed as he swallowed his drink wrong. And then he removed his other sock.
"You're really not going to answer that one?" Joey asked in a small voice.
Pacey shrugged his shoulders. "I guess not."
"Somehow I thought we'd have less trouble telling the truth to each other," Joey said softly.
"Okay how 'bout this one. What'd you get on our math test you wouldn't show me last week?"
Joey winced. "I got a seventy."
Pacey's mouth dropped. "You what?"
"Yeah why… what'd you get?"
"A sixtyfive," he sighed.
"Pacey, we studied for that test all week…. What happened?"
"What always happens. My dad...alcohol…screaming…me sleeping in my car. But this is what we expect from me." Pacey shrugged. "But what happened with you?"
Joey tucked her hair behind her ears. "It's possible sometimes I am a kid. We had a huge thunderstorm that night and I couldn't sleep all night."
"Oh that's right," Pacey said. "I remember you looked weird that day. I thought it was cuz Dawson and Jen were all over each other in class."
Joey rolled her eyes. "So, you want to tell me who you like?"
"Who I like?" Pacey repeated slowly.
"Yes. Like who do you want to go out with?" she said rolling her eyes.
"I've been thinking about asking that new girl Andie out," Pacey said reluctantly.
"Oh…really?" Joey asked in surprise.
"Yes…what why? You think I'm too much of a screw up to date her? You think that because she's smart and beautiful she can do better than me?" Pacey asked harshly.
"Woah Pacey, calm down," Joey said gently, surprised at his anger. "I just thought you said she was annoying. I don't think any of those other things!"
"Oh…okay sorry. Perhaps I was a tad over sensitive? I'm going to make myself another drink, you want one?"
Joey eyed her drink and quickly chugged the remainder, handing her glass to Pacey once she finished. He took her glass from her hand and tucked it in the nook of his arm. He picked up the flashlight and turned it on. "Don't go anywhere," he teased as he winked at her.
She sat in the darkness staring at her naked feet. She mentally took stock of the rest of her outfit: a robe, a shirt, her bra, her pajama shorts and her underwear. Only one more question and then she'd have to start telling him the truth.
Pacey entered the room and scanned her body with the flashlight. "Just making sure you didn't add any extra clothing."
"Oh shut up and give me my drink," Joey said reaching out her hand.
"Yes ma'am," Pacey said placing her glass in her hand. He sat down next to her on the couch.
"So… an easy one. Who do you like?"
She took a deep breath and slowly removed her robe and placed it next to her. "Or… not so easy."
Pacey rolled his eyes. "Right. Because this is a secret. Got it. I can't believe you wasted your robe on this one."
Joey shrugged her shoulders and took another drink. "Okay so…you want to tell me what you did that got you in-house suspension all week?"
"Nope…I don't," Pacey said tightly. He removed his shirt, dramatically placing it on top of her robe. Him sitting shirtless next to her seemed strangely intimate. She allowed her eyes to quickly scan his body, noting how strong his chest looked, before she turned her attention back to her drink.
"So...maybe I'll put some wood on the fire? If we're getting naked it really should be warmer in here," he suggested; noting her stiff, awkward posture.
"I don't want to know anything about your wood," Joey teased, relaxing as Pacey got up and walked over to the fireplace.
Joey watched Pacey's silhouette in front of the fire, his muscles flexing in the candlelight. "Just use the fire starter log," Joey laughed as Pacey started building a sophisticated wood teepee. She slowly sipped her drink while he lit the Firestarter and piled a couple logs in a less intricate teepee.
"Wow you're quite the pro," she said watching as the fire grew.
"I've had lots of practice camping lately," Pacey mumbled as he made his way back to the couch.
"How often are you not sleeping at home?" she asked as he reached to the table and grabbed his drink.
He shrugged his shoulders. "Sounds like about as often as you're on your own here? What's going on with this?"
Joey took a deep breath. "I never knew having a baby was so hard. I tried to help out when I could but I think it was just too much for them. They've been with Bodie's family in Ayer. His mom takes care of Alex there. Bessie drops in to check in on things here and at the Ice House, but she's only slept here a couple times. She hasn't once talked about when we will open for the season, she's not interviewing staff like she normally is at this time of year. She keeps asking if I'm okay being on my own for a couple of days, and I keep saying yes. I'm scared if I tell her I'm not okay, she's going to tell me she wants to move."
"You can't move," Pacey said quickly, his gaze meeting hers longer than he meant to.
"It's pretty ridiculous that you were here almost every night last week, and you left to go sleep at Dawson's or in your car and I was here alone." She held his eyes as she spoke.
"Are you saying you wish I'd spent the night, Potter? Is it possible I've actually grown on you?" he asked, hitting her arm with his elbow.
"Like a fungus, Pace…like a fungus." She scowled at him.
"Well, I am a fun guy," he said with mock seriousness.
Joey rolled her eyes. "Wow. Okay suddenly going back to your ridiculous game is appealing."
"Hmm okay. Have you ever masturbated?" Pacey fired off.
"So, um…back to mushrooms…" Joey said as she slowly removed her shirt. She could feel Pacey's eyes on her as she tossed it on the floor.
"What?" she asked crossly.
He shook his head. "You know we don't have to play this, right? I mean, if you're uncomfortable, we can stop."
Joey let out a small laugh. "You realize my bikini probably shows more skin than my bra. I'm not uncomfortable. And obviously you're fine because I've got nothing you want to see."
"Right," he said slowly, grabbing a pillow and putting it in his lap.
"So," Joey said, turning to face him, pushing her breasts together slightly as she did so. "When was the last time you jerked off?"
"Fuck," Pacey muttered. He stood up and turned his back to her and slowly removed his sweatpants; grateful he had opted to leave his boxers on under them. Only at the moment he was really wishing he had worn something that would maybe hide his situation a bit better from Joey. He quickly sat down and returned the pillow to his lap.
"When was the last time you masturbated?" he asked, knowing full well she wouldn't answer.
She took a long drink before she finally turned to him. "Wait… didn't you say you can't ask the same question twice?"
Pacey laughed. "I was hoping you drank enough you forgot."
"Nope. So what were you doing in the bathroom so long earlier?" Joey ventured.
"You can't ask the same question twice Jo," Pacey reminded her, mocking her tone.
"I didn't…I asked you if you...Ewww, gross, Pacey. What is wrong with you?" Joey groaned in disgust.
"So I guess we can consider that question answered. And I think that's enough on that topic. So want to tell me what got you so upset after the movie?" Pacey asked carefully.
Joey took a deep breath. She reached around to unhook her bra, but paused and then slowly returned her hands to her lap. "It's not what you think…"
"And what do I think?" Pacey asked, fiddling with the pillow in his lap.
"You think I'm upset because I have feelings for Dawson and that seeing him and Jen back together is making me jealous," she said flatly.
He tossed her a knowing smile. "Uh huh… are you getting to the part where I'm wrong?"
"It's not like that. I don't feel that way about him. Maybe I did, but not anymore. It's just… the list of people who care about me is very short. I mean…it's very possible that Dawson is the only person left on that list. It's not about him dumping his soda on me and being too busy making out with Jen to not care. It's that he just doesn't care. And if he doesn't care..." her voice trailed off as she met Pacey's surprised eyes.
"Okay, first of all, let's be clear. Dawson does care about you. His penis may have him a bit distracted, but if you needed him he would be there for you in a second. And he's not the only person who cares about you. The Leerys care about you. Bessie and Bodie care about you. I'm sure they are struggling with you being here alone, but know that you would want to stay here. And there are other people who could care about you, if you'd let them in. And Jo…I hope you know…I care about you?" He held her eyes as he reached forward and touched her leg gently. They both looked down at his hand on her leg and he instantly moved it away.
"You?" she scoffed.
"Do… do you really think I don't care about you?"" he asked, his eyes hurt and concerned.
Joey swallowed, not expecting the emotion.
"Sometimes I think you do," she said slowly.
"So those times I drove you to see your dad? The times I've driven by here just to see if you needed a ride? All the time we've spent together? Especially the past month. You really think I don't care about you?" his voice cracked as he spoke and Joey realized just how much her comment had hurt him.
She shrugged his shoulders. "Yes there's all of that. There's also every time you've made a horrible comment about me, my body, cruelly teased me about liking Dawson. Do you have any idea how hurtful all those comments are to me?"
"Wait, what?" Pacey asked in surprise.
"The year I got my first bikini, I showed up to the beach, and you made some horrible comment about how bikinis were made for girls with boobs. And then that same day you told me I had no ass. And from that day on… every time I thought we were friends, suddenly you'd say something awful to me."
Pacey cringing as he listened to her description of events.
"There was one time last year we were wrestling for the remote, and I had you pinned. And you threw me off of you, like I was a piece of trash, and didn't speak to me for a week. Is this how someone who cares about me acts?"
Pacey put his hands to his head. "I don't know if the answer makes things better or worse."
"How can it make things worse?" Joey asked, spreading her hands in confusion.
"Raging hard on," he mumbled, keeping his head in his hands.
"What?" she asked, sure she had misunderstood him.
He put his hands down and faced her. "That day you showed up in your bikini, you looked amazing, and I had an instant hard on. I just… said something nasty and walked away so you wouldn't know."
"Pacey!" Joey shrieked, a blush rising to her face.
"That time we were wrestling? I thought you had felt it, and I avoided you for a week because I was embarrassed. I never realized how nasty it must have seemed from your point of view; it was just me being embarrassed because of my body's reaction to you. I have always cared about you," he offered intensely. His eyes seeking out hers, looking for her reaction. He was anticipating a right hook.
"Are you mad? Do you want me to leave?" he asked, moving uncomfortably in his seat.
"The answer made things better actually." she blushed. "But what's your excuse for more recently? Telling me I didn't have an ass when we filmed Dawson's movie. Rather nastily telling me my boobs weren't worth looking at tonight?"
"Raging hard on?" he offered, laughing a bit self-consciously.
"Me? I gave you a hard on… tonight?" she asked doubtfully.
"You. You're giving me a hard on…right now," he sighed. He looked at her timidly.
"You're fucking with me, right?" she asked.
"Oh no…come sit in my lap, and you'll find that I am in no way fucking with you," he laughed.
She stood up and walked to the front of where he was sitting on the couch and looked him in the eye. "Prove it."