Eventually, Joey succumbed to a brief sleep. It was interrupted around dawn by frenzied scratching at her door. She was pretty sure that it was Cat Stevens, not Pacey, but she waited for the howling meow, just to be sure.

Creeping from under the covers, she opened the door a crack.

"Go! Go away!" She whispered as Cat Stevens paced by the entry.

"Reeeoooww," Cat crooned.

"Shhhh" Joey didn't want to wake Pacey.

Reaching through the opening, Joey outstreched her arm to attempt a gentle steer away. Cat, sensing her object stupidity, waited for that exact opportunity to dip below her crouched body and squeeze through the gap in the door.

"Hey. Out!" Joey said.

He leaped into her bed in a grand jeté and landed soundlessly on the covers. Kneading the sheet for optimum snuggleability, he then swirled himself into a tight cinnamon roll and glared at her. His downy fur begged to be touched, but his level gaze at Joey warned her to reconsider.

She climbed back between the sheets, legs avoiding the lump now in residence, and began to mindlessly scroll on her phone.

Typing out a message to Jen, she pressed send.

You won't believe what I did last night.

Instantly, the phone vibrated in her hand, and Jen's name appeared on the screen. The time difference in LA meant Jen would be wide awake.

Joey burrowed under the duvet for noise protection and swiped to answer.

"Hey," she whispered.

"Joey?"

"Yeah, it's me."

"Where the hell are you? Why are you whispering?"

Joey brought the phone hard up against her mouth. "I'm at someone's place."

"What?"

"I'm at someone's place."

"Holy shit! Joey, are you at a guy's place?"

She mumbled in the affirmative, fixing the sheets into a tent over her head for a little more breathing space. Cat shifted his roll slightly, peeved at the impertinence.

"Please tell me you finally had some decent sex?"

"No. It's not like that."

"What do you mean, it's not like that? Are you at some random guy's house for a sleepover?"

"You remember the guy I told you about from the bar last week, who pretended to be my fiance so that creep would back off?"

"The handsome one, with the ridiculous clothes?"

"Did I say handsome?" She whispered even quieter.

"Anyway- " Jen spurred her on.

"I met him again at the speed dating Bessie forced me into, and we chatted, had a few beers. Anyway, we sort of came to an agreement to hang out, pretend we're rebounding with each other to get everyone off our backs."

The line went quiet.

"Jen?"

"Why?" she finally responded.

"He's just been through a terrible breakup, and well, you know my story."

"No," Jen clarified. " Why are you pretending to have sex and not actually having sex with him?"

"He's not in a great place right now, and I'm-"

Jen interrupted. "So, why are you whispering?"

"I'm in his spare room."

A snigger came down the line.

"Is he some kind of psycho?" She asked.

"No, not at all."

"Is he hideously ugly?"

"No!"

"Does he collect American Girl Dolls and live with his mother?"

"No."

There was a pause. "So he's a decent, fuckable guy?"

"Well, I guess he is. Yes."

"So instead of actually having sex with this single man, who, in your own words, is fuckable, you are sleeping in his spare room to create a farce for Bessie?"

"Well, it's not just that-" Joey scrambled to quantify her decision-making process.

Jen interrupted again. "You know, the very point of a rebound is to hook up with someone to find out if you're ready, right? The people hooking up are supposed to still feel a little haunted by their ex. You're supposed to make mistakes, and feel a little uncomfortable being with someone new and regretting it a bit. That's the entire point."

Joey mumbled in the affirmative.

"I'm not saying it's a terrible idea, Joey, I'm just saying instead of focusing on what Bessie wants you to do, really you need to be focusing on what you want to do and maybe, sleeping with this guy might be the healing you need."

Joey sighed and Cat Stevens seemed to sigh along with her.

"Can I make a prediction?" Jen asked.

"I feel like you're going to make one, regardless of my answer."

"You're going to end up inadvertently having sex with this guy."

"No," Joey whispered louder. "He's not ready."

"Just because he's not ready doesn't mean he doesn't want to sleep with you too, Joey."

"I think you're wrong," Joey replied, with a little less conviction.

"Okay. But just for posterity I'm going to text you my prediction, in words, so you have it time stamped and dated and then, in a week or two you can look back at it and say 'oh Jennifer, my queen, you were right, you are always right.'"

Joey shook her head, "If that makes you feel better."

"Yes, yes it will." Jen cackled.

"I better go. He can probably hear me talking through the wall."

"Yeah, perhaps because he's listening to the crazy woman who chooses to sleep in the spare room and not in his warm, cozy love nest?"

"How do you know it's warm and cozy?"

"Joey. You are missing the point. How many years have you gone without an orgasm?"

Joey lowers her voice even more.

"Many." her thighs clench at the mention of it.

"For the sake of your sexual sanity, you need to find someone to scratch the itch."

"What if it wasn't Dawson? What if it's me? What if there's something wrong with me?"

"Trust me, it's Dawson."

The blankets fell against Joey's face. She was too agitated to lift them off her skin.

"One last question," Jen leveled.

"Sure," said Joey, like she had a choice.

"Did he lend you his clothes to sleep over in?"

Joey bit her lip. "Yes."

Jen cackled into the phone. "You're going to get it, Joey Potter!"

"Oh, shut up!" Joey teased in return, hanging up on her friend's laughter.

A text message came through almost immediately.

I predict that you, Joey Potter, will have steamy, bodice ripping sex with this man by August 1st. Signed. The honorable Jennifer Lindley.

Joey's face finally escaped the blanket fort, and she sucked in lungfuls of fresh air.

Snuggled into Cat Stevens, like a breathing hot water bottle against her calf, Joey fell back asleep. She awoke hours later to a text buzz of her phone. It was Jen. Again.

Have you had sex with him yet?

Joey furiously typed a reply.

I haven't even left the bed!

So that's a yes?

Joey muted her phone, noticing that during her sleep Cat had snuck up the bed, resting against her waist. He and Joey had reached an unspoken snuggle-truce. Joey wasn't game to breach the rules and try to pet him. She valued the skin on her arm too much.

Lazily, she gazed around the bare walls. What did this room look like before Pacey's ex had stripped it of every single furnishing? There were empty gold picture hooks and the indent of furniture legs in the cream carpet.

Maybe it was a study, with a desk? Or a spare room for when they had friends and family stay over? Had they once imagined this might be a room for a newborn, back when the relationship was in its prime?

Now it was just four walls, white paint, a window with shutters filtering the morning sun.

Noises sounded from downstairs. The aroma of food drifted up, rousing her stomach. Without disturbing Cat, she slipped from the sheets, arranged her hair into a high ponytail and padded in search of the smell.

Only when reaching the bottom of the staircase did she realize there were multiple voices in the kitchen. Not just Pacey's.

Three faces all pivoted in her direction. Pacey, Jack and Doug.

Pacey was bent over the cooktop, tending to pancakes. Doug and Jack were standing by the chairless counter, leaning against the marble, coffee cups in hand.

"Joey?" Jack called, surprised.

"Hi guys." Joey gave a soft wave, holding back her panic.

It was a fake-rebound ambush.

She was wearing Pacey's clothes after just waltzing down from the direction of his room. As much as they'd come to this arrangement, she'd hardly expected to be thrust into it the moment she awoke. There were yet to cement plans regarding how exactly this would play out.

The way that Doug took in her attire, he had swiftly reached his own conclusions. There had been oodles of sex here last night. Allegedly.

"I went to the grocery store this morning to buy ingredients for pancakes. Then I realized I didn't have a frypan either, so I got one of those too. Hungry?" Pacey asked.

Joey nodded, feeling exposed.

"They're good," said Jack, scraping the dregs of maple syrup from a paper plate with a plastic fork.

Pacey literally had nothing in this house.

Doug said, "Sorry to crash your morning. Pacey wasn't answering his phone last night."

"Or this morning." Jack finished his sentence.

The detritus of the night before was still on the counter. A dozen bottles of beer, an empty Skittles package, fluorescent orange Dorito crumbs. The makings of strange late-night agreements.

Pacey chuckled over the frypan, "Translation. Pacey didn't answer the phone, so we stopped by for a welfare check, convinced he had downed a bottle of Ambien while watching The Notebook."

Doug continued, " and we needed to finalize some arrangements for the bachelor party."

"Are you having two separate parties?" Joey asked.

They shook their heads in time, like bobbleheadded twins.

"Just the one. Double the fun!" said Jack.

"We were just reminding Pacey that we want a classy affair. It's cheese-boards and chinos, not hot wings and strippers."

Pacey said, "Auditions for strippers are somewhat less appealing when they're all males."

"Let's not discount it completely," Joey said with a devious grin. "I suppose I could interview them, as a service to you two, of course."

Doug looked between them. "No strippers."

Pacey winked at Joey over the hotplate.

"As the best man, my role is to organize your bachelor party and organize it I will."

Pancakes bubbled in the pan and Pacey seamlessly flipped them all, revealing golden tops. He then spun around, fixed a mug of coffee, and passed it to Joey.

"Coffee with cream. Strong, no sugar," he sang.

Joey took it with thanks and wandered to the window, looking out at the summer glare. The backyard was deep and backed onto rows of Red Maple trees, the grass neatly mown, a picnic table sat under the huge oak, its canopy a perfect cover from the heat.

Doug appeared by her side while Jack and Pacey chatted.

"I'm so glad you're here, Joey," he said. "We are about to submit the final seating plan and Pacey won't give us a straight answer. Are you coming to the wedding?"

She eyed Pacey with a panicked look.

"When is it again?"

"Three weeks away."

Their arrangement had been two weeks.

Joey didn't reply immediately, unsure if her being at the wedding was something that Pacey wanted. The wedding would be outside the scope of their agreement.

Doug looked out into the garden.

"I think he'd really appreciate you there… considering."

Joey sipped her coffee, raising an eyebrow. "Considering what?"

"Andie," Doug replied in a hushed tone.

Joey gripped her coffee cup a little harder. "She'll be there? Why?"

Doug examined her curiously, as though he was seeing through her, seeing through their facade.

"Andie is Jack's sister."

And suddenly, it all made sense. Pacey couldn't escape Andie if he tried. No wonder he was stuck in a loop, unable to move on. He was about to be tied to her for life. Their failed relationship would haunt him at every Christmas, birthday and family gathering.

"Count me in," answered Joey on the fly.

Doug smiled.

Pacey crossed the room to Joey with a floppy paper plate loaded with pancakes and a grin. He put a warm hand on Joey's shoulder, leaned down and placed a kiss on her exposed collarbone, where his Bruins shirt had slipped down, exposing her tanned skin.

The move in itself was nothing. A beat in time. A casual morning kiss for the audience after a night of assumed lovemaking. It shouldn 't be erotic.

But it definitely was.

"Nice outfit," he muttered.

Joey peered up at Pacey wide eyed. He returned an easygoing smile, collected his own plate of pancakes, drowning them in maple syrup until they were floating.

"Are you trying to reenact the Titanic?" She asked, finding her voice.

Pacey used the side of the fork to cut into the wet flesh. "I do believe that my maple syrup distribution is fair and just," he licked his lips, slowly.

Of course, they were on. The rebound performance had officially begun, there was a subtle shift in the air.

Joey ate the pancakes. Naturally, they were ridiculously delicious.

"What are you two planning for today?" asked Jack, finishing his coffee, dumping the dregs into the fancy sink.

Pacey shrugged. "I'm working from three until close."

Doug said, "Well, I'm going to propose that Joey, you take Pacey furniture shopping. Please. He's been putting it off for weeks, living in this empty bachelor pad, refusing assistance."

Pacey scoffed at his brother with a mouthful of pancakes. "Minimalism. A valid design technique. Look it up."

Joey glanced at Pacey. "What do you say, babe ? Do you trust my taste enough to let me assist in home decoration?"

"I don't know babe, what is your take on cottagecore?" Something in his eyes had changed. They were ardent, reaching out to her as if they were magnets seeking their poles.

"All I know, babe, is that a couch would be nice. Snuggles on the director's chair are hardly the epitome of romance," she said, voice shaking.

Pacey inched closer.

"True, it's hard to Netflix and chill on the floor, don't you agree?"

She ignored the flash of imagery his description elicited, instead rounding the counter and rinsing her empty mug, scrubbing at it with ferocity.

Pacey tossed his plate into the trash and appeared behind her, gently resting against his own clothes, on her body. His skin was warm, even through the fabric.

"Don't you agree, babe?" he whispered into Joey's ear as Jack and Doug observed, simultaneously pretending they were not.

Joey mumbled incoherently, working an invisible stain. His fingers swept her waist and his breath was hot against her neck. It was sweet. Like the gallon of maple syrup he just consumed.

"Don't you agree?" he whispered again, only for her. She couldn't see him, but she could hear the grin on his face.

"Uh-huh," she finally forced out.

Pacey pulled away.

Joey had never smoked, but suddenly needed a cigarette.

Jack and Doug exchanged a glance. "Well, we'll leave you two to do your furniture shopping. Thanks for breakfast, Pacey."

Moving towards the door, they said their goodbyes. Both Jack and Doug hugged Joey, each of them squeezing her a little tighter than was the norm.

With their departure, the atmosphere shifted. Pacey's eyes softened, reverting to his normal green hue. The Pacey from last night had returned, even if he was a shade more awkward now that their audience had left, the curtain drawn on his performance.

"You're good at that!" she said, collecting the beer bottles for recycling.

"Honestly. I've never done anything like that before. I was just making it up as I went along."

"You fooled them."

She almost added that he'd fooled her, but she reconsidered.

"That was the point, right?"

"Yeah, of course."

"Did you hire strippers for them?"

Pacey raised a finger to his lips in secret. "Will you taddle?"

"I am a vault."

"Is that so?"

Joey said, "My secret keeping abilities are second to none." She mimed locking her lips and throwing away the key.

"Well, if that's the case, then yes, I have hired strippers."

Joey laughed, "They're absolutely going to kill you."

"Not when they see the hunky policeman I've paid the deposit on. They've got one each, so they don't even have to share."

"You hired cop strippers for the town Sheriff?"

Pacey bobbed his eyebrows in response. Joey shook her head and wiped down the counters.

"Do you really want to go shopping with me?" He cocked his head to the side.

"Your need for furniture is urgent. I'm happy to lend a hand."

"I could do with a female perspective. Bachelor Pacey might inadvertently buy nothing but leather lay-z-boys with built in LED lights and posters of pin-up girls."

"Gross. You also need crockery. Plates, forks, cups. The basics."

"I know." he seemed to squirm at the mention of it.

They tidied the last of the breakfast remains in companionable silence.

Joey skipped back up the stairs.

In the spare room, Joey took off Pacey's clothes and squeezed into her dress. A black dress on a Friday night was glamorous. At 11am on a Saturday morning, it bore street-walker vibes.

Cat Stevens had disappeared, but when Joey made the bed, his spot was still warm.

Teetering downstairs, Pacey was waiting for her, scrolling through his phone.

She offered the folded, used clothes. "I can take these home and wash them."

Pacey shook his head, "it's fine, just leave them."

She dropped the pile on the counter.

"Do you mind doing me back up?"

Joey spun to reveal her open back, holding her breath.

"Um. Sure." Pacey pulled the zipper without fanfare and briskly moved away from her. "Sorry that our first outing as a couple was unplanned."

She turned around to face him. "That's okay."

"And I'm sorry I kissed you. It was a quick decision on the fly." He couldn't meet her eyes. She couldn't bring herself to think about it, even if her arm inadvertently reached up to brush the spot on her shoulder.

"It's fine. It comes with the territory. We've gotta sell it, right?"

"Exactly."

"I wasn't sure where you stood on PDA. Going forward, do you want to hold back a bit more, or was that okay?"

Joey swallowed. "It was fine."

The truth was, Joey hadn't considered that this deal would involve public displays of affection. That Pacey would touch her, possibly hold her hand, that his bare skin might collide with her own.

"I think I might need to go back to Bessie's to change. This isn't exactly furniture shopping attire."

He raised an eyebrow. "It really should be."

"I've got to get the car. You're welcome to come along. I can drive."

"Sure."

They walked back to Joey's car near the hall. Glancing in the windows, they could find no evidence of the speed dating paraphernalia. L-O-V-E was gone from the walls, and all the chairs were stacked up on the side of the room.

"Do you think anyone found their true love connection ?" Pacey asked.

"For Tina's sake, I hope so."

The rental Ford Focus was waiting in the parking lot, its interior baking in the sun. They climbed inside and Pacey pulled the seat to allow himself more legroom. They rolled the windows down to escape the oppressive heat.

Joey drove through Capeside, past the Rialto, the grocery store, the array of specialty stores and the gaggle of tourists swarming the streets in their pale linens.

Pacey watched out the window. Joey pushed her hair out of her face as the warm wind whipped it into her eyes.

They pulled up at Bessie's house, Joey's fingers white knuckled on the steering wheel, and her underarms damp. Daylight had questioned their grand plans. Bessie was a hawk. She knew Joey, faking anything around her was going to be a difficult task. Fabricating their relationship around Doug and Jack was different. She didn't know them.

She turned off the ignition and faced Pacey. "Maybe this isn't a good idea."

Shock clouded his face.

Joey elaborated, "Bessie is going to know I'm lying."

Pacey remained calm. "If you've changed your mind, I understand. I won't make you do this, but Jo, this isn't anything serious, remember? It's just a casual thing, that's it."

His eyes locked on hers, reassuring. "A few weeks. You don't even need to tell her anything outright. Just let her assume. My presence alone should be enough for her to draw conclusions."

The porch was empty. A few of the guests' cars lined the west side of the house. Bessie was probably inside, making beds or cleaning. Joey couldn't take her eyes off the front door.

"Would you feel better with some rules?" Pacey asked.

"Maybe."

"I feel like Joey Potter is a rules girl."

"You're not wrong." She laughed nervously.

"Okay, rule one. We have a time limit. Let's make it official. Two weeks. It's enough time to establish a relationship, not enough time for it to get serious or any family to get too attached."

Joey stretched her jaw. "Um. So Doug asked me if I could come to the wedding. Again."

Pacey sighed, "He told you that Andie would be there?"

Joey nodded. "If you don't want me there, I completely understand. I just thought with Andie you might want to-"

Pacey reached out, laying a hand on her arm. "Honestly, if you came to the wedding, it would be incredible. She is bringing him. "

"Shall we make it three weeks, then?" She asked.

"Deal."

"Okay, rule two. Keep the secret. Naturally, this avoids anyone slipping and ruining it, thus keeping our reputations intact as well. Keeping the secret also applies to after the deal is done."

Joey nodded, but didn't mention that she already confided in Jen. Best friends usually didn't count for these things.

"Rule three. We keep our story straight and as close to the truth as possible. We only met recently, at the Icehouse, then again at speed-dating. The rest is history."

Pacey tapped the stubble on his chin, trying to think of any other contingencies.

"Rule four. If anyone wants out of any situation at any time, they just have to say so and the deal is off."

Joey bit her lip.

"Rule five. We keep public displays of affection PG, naturally. I don't want to do anything that makes you uncomfortable."

Joey squeezed her legs together and let her mind drift back to the feel of him pressed against her back. She glanced at the house.

"Is there anything else?" Pacey asked.

"Can we make a rule that at the end of our fake relationship we stay friends? I've had to leave all my friends in LA. I could do with someone in town to talk to?"

He shifted in the seat and waited until she made eye contact. "Jo, of course."

The front door opened and Bessie stuck her head out, watching the car with curiosity.

"Are you ready?" Pacey reached across the handbrake, squeezing Joey's hand reassuringly.

"Let's do this."

They made their way towards the porch. Pacey in his t-shirt and jeans, Joey in her little black dress and pumps. Bessie had come outside to watch the display with a wry grin.

Joey tried to walk gracefully. Heels on grass were hardly a lesson in deportment. Her calves twinged in complaint.

"Good to see you finally return, Joey," she remarked.

Joey bowed her head and tucked a stray hair behind her ear. She might be in her thirties, but living in Bessie's house made her feel like a child.

Bessie turned her attention to Pacey.

"Well, well, well, of all the people to do a walk of shame with in Capeside! Pacey Witter, you couldn't wait until I set you two up and then get all the credit for this?"

He held up his arms. "Would you wait? Look at her!" Pacey motioned to Joey. His eyes shifted darker again, back to playing the part.

Bessie nudged him on the shoulder and opened the door, inviting them to enter.

"Did you have a fun night?" she asked.

"Yes," Joey was rigid. "I'm just coming to get changed. I'm taking Pacey furniture shopping," said Joey.

Bessie simply raised her eyebrows, and Joey disappeared down the hall. She flung open her suitcase and found some denim shorts, a white tank top, and Keds. When she slipped them on her sore feet sung happily. She ran a brush through her hair.

The hum of conversation murmured down to Joey's ears. She didn't make a conscious effort to hear what was being said between them, unsure she wanted to know.

Reappearing in the lounge, Bessie and Pacey stopped talking and turned to her, eyes flicking from her face to her shoes.

"Have fun, kids," said Bessie.

Joey stood beside Pacey and he slipped his hand behind her back, resting it on her hip.

"What time is curfew again?" He teased Bessie. Joey stood like a statue, the weight of his touch keeping her tethered to earth.

"If she's going out with you, Pacey, Nine pm."

"Nine-thirty," he bargained. Work began in the afternoon. All of this was for show. Make believe. Pretending to banter with Bessie. Pretending to want to touch Joey.

"Don't make me reconsider you as a setup!" Bessie threatened, finger outstretched.

"I would never dream of it."

Pacey turned, pivoting Joey in the car's direction. He gave her hip a light squeeze before dropping his arm and threading his fingers into hers.

They bundled back into the rental which had already grown sticky with heat and their contact ceased.

"Relax, Jo. It's done. Bessie believed us hook, line and sinker. The hard work is done."

Joey gripped the steering wheel and hit the ignition. "Sorry, I'm a terrible fake-rebound."

"Hey, you're the best one I've ever had."

Pacey gave her directions to the nearest furniture store. Joey made the requisite lefts and rights while her phone buzzed merrily in her handbag.

A message from Jen waited to be read.

Just touching base. Have you had sex yet?