Disclaimer: I do not own Dawson's Creek. This story is a work of fiction.
Joey woke up to see Pacey watching her intently. He gave her a lazy smile, his eyes still on hers. She gave him a sleepy smile before stretching. Things had been a lot better for them since she had quit her job. She wished that she had done it sooner. Pacey propped his head up on one of his hands before taking her left hand in his. He ran his fingers over hers lightly, watching as his fingers moved across her hand.
"What are you doing?" she questioned.
"I'm just thinking," he mumbled.
"About what?" she broached.
"I was wondering if you'd be up for going away for the weekend."
"Where did you want to go?"
"Wherever, it doesn't matter as long as I'm with you."
"Are we finally celebrating my quitting my job?"
"You could say that," he said with a lopsided smile.
"When can we leave?"
"That depends; how fast can you pack?"
"I can be ready in an hour. But I'll need you to tell me what I need to pack."
"Enough clothes to last a few days, sandals and your bathing suit. I'll take care of everything else."
"In that case I can be ready in half an hour. I love it when you make things easy for me," she said, leaning over to kiss him quickly.
"Just don't expect it to happen all the time."
"You wouldn't be you if you didn't make things difficult for everyone else," she teased.
She threw the covers off of her then made her way to the closet. She packed while Pacey went out to the front room. He was on his computer when she came out of the room twenty minutes later with a lone bag slung on her shoulder.
She went into the kitchen to make herself a cup of coffee while Pacey continued working on the computer. He could be heard moving around in their room as she read the paper. He came into the kitchen just as she set the paper aside. He sat across from her, picking up the sports section. She let him read while she busied herself with looking for something to make for breakfast.
"Don't worry about making anything; I'm taking you out to breakfast. Just let me check the Red Sox scores."
"I'm not going to argue with that," she said before closing the refrigerator door.
They left half an hour later and made their way to Joey's favorite coffee shop.
"When you said that you were taking me out to breakfast I figured that you were taking me to the restaurant. Why are you trying to woo me? You've already got me," she said with a teasing look.
"You're the kind of girl who needs to be swept off of her feet often. Are you complaining?" he challenged.
"God no, carry on," she said dramatically.
He shook his head with a smile. He was thankful that he had given him a second chance. Heaven knows that he had made a mess of things the first time; he wasn't going to make that mistake again.
XXXX
After a leisurely walk through Central Park, Pacey and Joey had gone back to the apartment to get their bags. Pacey hailed them a taxi which took them to the marina on the Hudson River. Joey followed Pacey, silently wondering what was going on. They stopped at a small yacht and Pacey started the meticulous work of checking everything so that it was safe.
"Where did the boat come from?"
"It belongs to somebody who comes into the restaurant. They were nice enough to let me borrow it," he said not looking up as he untied the boat from the dock.
"Who's going to look after the restaurant?"
"I do have two assistant managers that are more than capable of running things. I am entitled to take some time off."
"That is true. You do work pretty hard," she said as she tossed her bag over the side of the boat.
They were on the boat twenty minutes later. While Pacey continued checking the boat Joey leaned against the boat railing watching him. She helped him with the jib and the sails before he started the boat. She came to stand behind him with her arms wrapped around his waist and her chin resting on his shoulder as he pulled them away from the dock. The sun reflected off the water sending prisms of light bouncing in every direction.
"Thank you for this," she said against his ear.
"You're welcome Jo," he said before kissing the corner of her mouth.
The boat moved slowly through the water with a gentle breeze pulling at the sails. The sky above them was blue with not a cloud in sight. The sun beat down on them, warming them. It was a perfect day for sailing. Joey hoped that the entire trip was like this.
XXXX
After throwing anchor that night in Nantucket Pacey went grocery shopping while Joey readied what they had on board the boat. She was putting the corn on the boil when he ducked into the cabin. He kissed her cheek soundly making her smile before setting the bags that he had brought in on the counter.
Joey watched him out of the corner of her eye as she chopped vegetables for a salad. He pulled out two small lobsters and a sack of potatoes and a small takeout container which contents she could not decipher along with a package wrapped in wax paper. By the time he was done a carton of eggs were put in the refrigerator along with a bottle of wine. She turned to face him with her arms folded over her chest casually.
"What's in the container?"
"Fish guts," he said not looking up from basting the potatoes with butter.
"Excuse me?" she asked, startled.
"I figured we could get some fishing in," he said passively.
"I have never used anything other than a plastic worm, and you expect to touch fish guts?" she asked, disgusted.
"I can bait your hook if you want," he offered with a shrug.
"I'd say that it's mandatory," she confirmed.
He nodded, suppressing a smile. He knew that she would say that. Joey might not be a girly girl, but she drew the line at touching slimy, creepy, crawly or dead things. He put the potatoes in the oven after wrapping in aluminum foil. He went to work on the lobster silently as Joey finished the salad.
Joey sat on the deck watching the sun set. She poured herself a glass of wine, enjoying the quiet. Pacey watched her from the stairs with a content smile. He was glad that she hadn't asked a bunch of questions when he mentioned to her that they were going away for the weekend. He had planned on her putting up a fight. He should have known that that she wouldn't.
She had changed so much in the five years that he hadn't seen her. She was more relaxed, and tending to let things roll off her shoulders a lot easier than she used to. Whatever had made her change, he was glad that it had happened.
XXXX
For the second day in a row Joey woke to see Pacey watching her. This morning he watched her in wonder, not realizing that she was awake. She closed her eyes once more with a tranquil smile, deciding to let him stare at her a little longer. She could smell coffee brewing from the kitchen through the open door to the cabin. She breathed deep, letting the smell of the coffee, the ocean and Pacey envelope her.
She had come to associate the scent that Pacey gave off with the ocean and the sun mixed into one. She would never be able to spend a day at the beach without thinking of him ever again. She opened her eyes with a content sigh to see him still staring at her.
Her hand reached for his as if it had a mind of its own. He squeezed her hand gently in response with a small smile. She took him in, noticing that his other hand was balled into a fist. She reached for it instinctively and he shook his head to stop her. He sat up, pulling her with him. She held the sheet over her naked body to ward off the early morning chilly breeze from the window just over her shoulder.
"I love you so much," he said in wonder.
"I love you too," she said giving him an imploring look.
"Do you love me enough to give me whatever I want?"
"I knew that there was a catch," she said with a teasing dramatic eye roll.
"You don't even know what I'm going to ask you to do," he said with a lopsided smile.
"If you're going to ask me if I'll clean the fish today you can forget it," she said evenly.
"I would never ask you to do that," he said with a chuckle.
"Then what do you want me to do?" she asked curiously.
"I want you to marry me," he said, his smile widening.
He opened his hand slowly when Joey's eyes widened in surprise. She looked down to see a white gold ring with a half carat diamond lying in the palm of his hand. She let out a breathy laugh as her eyes met his. He gave her an expectant look, waiting for her answer. She nodded her head quickly before holding her hand out. He slipped the ring on her finger than she launched herself at him.
He landed against the pillows with her in his arms. She was grinning down at him. She hadn't expected him to ask her to marry him. Less than four months ago the idea of someone asking her to marry them had caused her to panic. Christopher hadn't been the right person for her; it was time that she admitted it. Pacey coming back into her life had made her realize that.
He brushed her hair over her shoulder before placing his hands on her shoulders. She closed the gap between them and he brushed his lips to hers. He kissed her gently before she laid her head on his shoulder, her body flush against his. He ran his hands down her back to rest at the small of her back. The sounds of birds calling from outside was the only sound as the boat rocked gently.
If they somehow managed to get stranded they wouldn't care. They had each other, they didn't need anything else.
