A Matter of Convenience, Chapter 6
A/N: Currently, I hate Joey. The only thing that allows me to continue this story without killing her off is the fact that it is AU. I feel the overwhelming need to bitch slap her for being such a ridiculous idiot. If only...
Pacey did paperwork on their coffee table while Joey flipped channels.
"Ugh, I hate this show," she muttered finally, flipping the remote to the empty seat between them.
"So why watch it?"
Joey shrugged, "It's on."
Pacey glanced at the clock, "And it just happens to be starting exactly now?"
Joey met his eyes, unwavering, "That's right."
He smirked, "Okay."
"Have you ever seen it?" she asked.
"Main girl's hot," he grinned.
Joey rolled her eyes, "Speaking of hot women, don't you have a date?"
"Not until later, we're meeting at the club."
"Club?" Joey raised her eyebrows, "Our club?"
"There a problem with that?" Pacey asked, ignoring her use of 'our.'
"Well, yeah...if you plan to write off your date as a business expenditure!"
"Ohh..." Pacey grinned, "That's a good idea."
Joey snorted, focusing on on her hated TV show. She chuckled as an attractive young man began speaking, "I love this guy."
Pacey raised an eyebrow, "Really? I would've pinned you as a fan of the other guy...the one with the weird name...?"
Joey smirked, "That describes pretty much everyone on this show, I'm gonna need more specifics."
"Uhh...the blonde guy?" he reached for straws. He would have mentioned the ridiculous size of the kid's forehead, but given her boyfriend, her reaction to such a comment was unpredictable.
Joey made a face, "And WHY would I like HIM?!? He's a manipulative asshole. And his forehead's the size of Texas."
"Isn't that what you go for?" Pacey raised an eyebrow.
"Pacey," Joey rolled her eyes, "When it comes to size, it isn't a forehead I'm interested in."
Pacey grinned, "Oh really..."
"Down, cowboy," she rolled her eyes, sighing as her TV boy declared his love for the main girl.
Pacey wrinkled his nose, "He's gonna get screwed over."
"Shut up," Joey kicked him, her eyes never leaving the screen, "They're in love."
"It's hopeless, Jo."
"Why?" Joey looked about to cry, "They're so good together!"
"So?" Pacey asked.
"SO?" Joey sputtered, "They make each other happy and the other guy just makes her miserable!"
"And they are entertaining, rather than just talking incessantly until you want to shoot yourself in the foot repeatedly?" Pacey nodded, he'd been there.
Joey frowned, "I thought you didn't watch this show."
"Never said that," Pacey smiled.
"So you don't think it'll work out?" she asked, frowning.
"Never," Pacey shook his head.
"Oh," her face fell.
"He's not the romantic lead, Jo," he tried to explain.
"YES, he is! The other guy's a dick, how is that romantic?" Joey cried in frustration.
Pacey shrugged, "So Hollywood doesn't understand romance, does THAT mean it will work out somehow?"
"That's why I hate this show," Joey muttered.
Alarmed, Pacey glanced her direction, "Please tell me that the terrible writing and inane dialogue also has something to do with it."
"That goes without saying. UGH," Joey repeated her earlier statement, flicking off the TV. "Why can't they just let the people with the best chemistry, that are obviously in love...just BE together and be done with it?"
Pacey sighed at the naivete of his young wife. "Joey, they know who they want to hook up in the first episode. Chemistry has nothing to do with it."
"Hate this show," she muttered again.
Nodding sympathetically, Pacey went back to his paperwork.
Stupid show.
***
"What can I get for you guys?" Joey asked, approaching Pacey and his date and flicking a quick glance over the woman. Clearly a skank.
"Hey, Jo," Pacey frowne, "I didn't know you worked tonight."
"Kim called in sick," she shrugged, "What can I do for you?"
Pacey opened his mouth to answer, but seemed to think better of it.
"Mmm...I feel for a Fuzzy Navel," the woman smiled.
"That bodes well," Joey smirked.
Pacey glared at her, "Guiness."
"Be right back," she smiled, rolling her eyes as the girl asked who she was. It didn't seem likely he'd share they were married.
Married. Joey made a face. It hadn't seemed like as much of a sacrifice when she was with Dawson.
But now..how would she explain that to another guy?
"Sure, I live with my husband...but we're not like that...so you wanna stay over? Seriously, it'll be fun, we've got a jacuzi in the master bathroom." Joey rolled her eyes and grabbed their drinks. It would be a lot easier to explain away if Pacey could at least be unnattractive or in some way repulsive.
She got back to their table in time to hear the woman whining. "But I wanna see your place!"
Slut.
Joey pasted a smile on her face.
"My roommate trashed the place," Pacey shrugged, "Peed on the carpet and all that."
"Oh really?!" Joey glared at him, setting their drinks on the table with controlled care, "Just when did I do THAT?"
The blonde's eyes widened, "You...you live together?"
Pacey looked from his wife to his date in alarm, hastening toward damage control, "We don't LIVE together, live together."
"Different rooms," Joey agreed, "He's not my boyfriend."
The girl started breathing again, in relief, "Then why didn't you tell me that, PAY-CEE?" she whined, the sound grating on Joey's ear as she shuddered. "And why would you say that about your roomie?"
Joey smiled sweetly at Pacey, "I'm his wife, actually."
Blondie's eyes grew larger than before, "But..."
"Til death to us part," Pacey confirmed, his emphasis on the death.
"But why-"
"Oh, honey, it's okay," Joey smiled, "We have an open marriage."
"Extremely open," Pacey confirmed, his lips twitching slightly, "The only thing is...Jo likes to watch. That's cool with you, right?"
The girl's mouth dropped and Joey's eyes swung to Pacey in alarm.
"Sweetie, it's okay," he smiled reassuringly at Joey, his eyes alight with evil, "You can admit what you like. Lena's open-minded about this kind of stuff, right?" Pacey turned to girl he hadn't seen fit to introduce before.
"I-er," Lena cleared her throat, looking from Pacey to Joey, "Actually, I have to work early tomorrow, so I should be getting home...but I'll call you sometime."
She got up quickly, scurrying to the door.
"I like to WATCH?!?" Joey glared at him.
"You can admit it," Pacey grinned.
"That's disgusting!"
"You started it, baby," he grinned, "That was fun...you wanna do it again?"
Joey made a face, "Don't you care that she'll never call you again?"
"Nah," Pacey waved his hand dismissively, "Just met her...pretty boring."
"She didn't seem too picky, though, that must have been nice."
"I don't know," Pacey shrugged, "I'm not sure I really want to be seen with the type of person who'd want me."
Joey nodded, "Understandable."
"You married me, though, and that's a lot worse."
"For money, though," she reminded him, "it's different."
"Ahh...true enough. Hey, when do you get that FAFSA thing back?"
Joey shrugged, "Who knows?"
"Hey baby," the guy at the next table called to Joey, "How long's it gonna be?"
Joey clenched her teeth, "Excuse me a second, Pace."
"Sit down," he told her, stepping up to the next table.
"Hello, Gentleman," Pacey smiled, "Anything I can help you with?"
"Nah, man, just spread the wealth and send sweet cheeks over here," he laughed at himself. "She is a waitress, ya know, she's got a job to do."
"Well, I own this Club, so I'm pretty aware of her job. We were just discussing the clientele. Anything we could improve?" Pacey watched him.
"Oh, she could improve her service, if you know what I'm saying," the young man leered, ignoring the sharp nudges from his friends beside him.
Pacey smiled tightly, leaning over to look the guy straight in the eye, "Treat my waitresses with respect. Especially that one."
Finally nervous, the young man swallowed, "She's yours?"
"My wife," Pacey nodded, "But we wouldn't have a problem with you anyway, would we?"
Rapid head shaking was his only answer.
Pacey smiled, "Enjoy your evening, gentleman."
He sat back down with Joey, who smiled.
"So..." Pacey looked back at her, "You ever think about switching to bartender?"
***
"So how's marriage treating you?" Jen grinned, walking into Joey's kitchen.
Jo shrugged, "I might be a bartender."
"Really? You know how?"
"Nope."
"So Pacey's just gonna train you or what?"
Joey nodded, "Basically."
"Interesting. Why?"
Shrugging, Joey grabbed a couple glasses. "Something to drink?"
"Ohh...do you have one of those artificial sport shakes?"
Joey smirked, "Chocolate or Vanilla?"
"Ahh, my angel...hmm...Vanilla. I don't need the chocolate if you know what I mean," she winked.
Joey gasped, "And here I thought you were insatiable?"
"As did I," Jen smiled, "Meet the new Jen. Satiated."
"Impressive," Joey nodded, pouring their drinks.
"Until I see him, that is," Jen corrected herself.
"So I'm the newlywed and you're on your Honeymoon. Seem a little unfair to anyone else?"
"Hey, nothings stopping you," Jen pointed out, "Well...except Dawson."
Joey shook her head, "Definitely not Dawson."
Jen frowned, "What? Since when?"
"Since I call him to tell him I'm cheating."
Jen's eyebrows shop up, "This marriage more than meets the eye?"
"WHAT? NO!" Joey sputtered, "It's not Pacey."
"Then who?"
"Don't know yet, actually," Joey frowned, "Can you introduce me to someone?"
Jen shook her head, "Rewind, honey...why are you cheating on Dawson?"
"He did it first," Joey muttered defensively.
"What? When?"
"Before he left."
"With who?"
"His roommate," Joey said softly, watching Jen's reaction.
"But isn't his roommate--"
Joey nodded as understanding dawned on Jen's face and her eyes widened. "OH God... Jo, I'm so sorry."
"It's okay," Joey shrugged it off, "I just don't want people to know...they might think-"
"You didn't turn him, Joey, this has nothing to do with you! And he has no excuse for cheating on you."
"Oh, I let him know that," Joey assured her.
Jen chuckled slightly.
"What?"
"Sure does explain a LOT, though, doesn't it?"
Joey laughed, "I KNOW! Doesn't it?!?"
"So did you guys ever..." Jen gestured.
"No," Joey shook her head, "I loved the way he was never demanding..."
Jen launged and Joey rolled her eyes.
"I'm such a moron."
"You're not, Jo, he seemed to really care about you...,ayube he thought you could 'cure' him or some shit."
Joey snorted, "Whatever, I just want people to think I got over him...couldn't take the distance or something."
"Sure," Jen nodded, "I can set you up with someone."
"You know, let's just go out dancing tonight...I'm sure I can find someone."
"Hah," Jen grinned, "You just don't want to bother with 'em later, don't think I don't know what you're doing."
"True," Joey smiled, "Hey, I could try out the 'Sorry, I'm married.' "
Jen laughed, "Nice."
"Very convienent, I agree."
"Jo..." Jen frowned slightly, "Why did you never bring it up?"
"Bring what up?"
"Sex."
"What do you mean?" Joey asked in confusion.
"Well, if CJ held out on me for more than two days, I'd be going crazy... You've been seeing Dawson almost three years..."
Joey opened her mouth to answer, but closed it again, shrugging off the question.
"You didn't want him either," Jen smirked.
"Well, YOU contemplate having sex with Dawson!" Joey snapped, annoyed.
Jen laughed gleefully, "Eww! No, I have a much more satisfying reality to think about."
"Bitch," Joey muttered.
Jen smiled, "So what are you gonna wear to end your relationship with the gay man?"
"What would you recommend?"
"Cleavage," Jen smiled.
Joey shook her head, "Sorry, silly question."
"Very," Jen agreed.
A/N: Currently, I hate Joey. The only thing that allows me to continue this story without killing her off is the fact that it is AU. I feel the overwhelming need to bitch slap her for being such a ridiculous idiot. If only...
Pacey did paperwork on their coffee table while Joey flipped channels.
"Ugh, I hate this show," she muttered finally, flipping the remote to the empty seat between them.
"So why watch it?"
Joey shrugged, "It's on."
Pacey glanced at the clock, "And it just happens to be starting exactly now?"
Joey met his eyes, unwavering, "That's right."
He smirked, "Okay."
"Have you ever seen it?" she asked.
"Main girl's hot," he grinned.
Joey rolled her eyes, "Speaking of hot women, don't you have a date?"
"Not until later, we're meeting at the club."
"Club?" Joey raised her eyebrows, "Our club?"
"There a problem with that?" Pacey asked, ignoring her use of 'our.'
"Well, yeah...if you plan to write off your date as a business expenditure!"
"Ohh..." Pacey grinned, "That's a good idea."
Joey snorted, focusing on on her hated TV show. She chuckled as an attractive young man began speaking, "I love this guy."
Pacey raised an eyebrow, "Really? I would've pinned you as a fan of the other guy...the one with the weird name...?"
Joey smirked, "That describes pretty much everyone on this show, I'm gonna need more specifics."
"Uhh...the blonde guy?" he reached for straws. He would have mentioned the ridiculous size of the kid's forehead, but given her boyfriend, her reaction to such a comment was unpredictable.
Joey made a face, "And WHY would I like HIM?!? He's a manipulative asshole. And his forehead's the size of Texas."
"Isn't that what you go for?" Pacey raised an eyebrow.
"Pacey," Joey rolled her eyes, "When it comes to size, it isn't a forehead I'm interested in."
Pacey grinned, "Oh really..."
"Down, cowboy," she rolled her eyes, sighing as her TV boy declared his love for the main girl.
Pacey wrinkled his nose, "He's gonna get screwed over."
"Shut up," Joey kicked him, her eyes never leaving the screen, "They're in love."
"It's hopeless, Jo."
"Why?" Joey looked about to cry, "They're so good together!"
"So?" Pacey asked.
"SO?" Joey sputtered, "They make each other happy and the other guy just makes her miserable!"
"And they are entertaining, rather than just talking incessantly until you want to shoot yourself in the foot repeatedly?" Pacey nodded, he'd been there.
Joey frowned, "I thought you didn't watch this show."
"Never said that," Pacey smiled.
"So you don't think it'll work out?" she asked, frowning.
"Never," Pacey shook his head.
"Oh," her face fell.
"He's not the romantic lead, Jo," he tried to explain.
"YES, he is! The other guy's a dick, how is that romantic?" Joey cried in frustration.
Pacey shrugged, "So Hollywood doesn't understand romance, does THAT mean it will work out somehow?"
"That's why I hate this show," Joey muttered.
Alarmed, Pacey glanced her direction, "Please tell me that the terrible writing and inane dialogue also has something to do with it."
"That goes without saying. UGH," Joey repeated her earlier statement, flicking off the TV. "Why can't they just let the people with the best chemistry, that are obviously in love...just BE together and be done with it?"
Pacey sighed at the naivete of his young wife. "Joey, they know who they want to hook up in the first episode. Chemistry has nothing to do with it."
"Hate this show," she muttered again.
Nodding sympathetically, Pacey went back to his paperwork.
Stupid show.
***
"What can I get for you guys?" Joey asked, approaching Pacey and his date and flicking a quick glance over the woman. Clearly a skank.
"Hey, Jo," Pacey frowne, "I didn't know you worked tonight."
"Kim called in sick," she shrugged, "What can I do for you?"
Pacey opened his mouth to answer, but seemed to think better of it.
"Mmm...I feel for a Fuzzy Navel," the woman smiled.
"That bodes well," Joey smirked.
Pacey glared at her, "Guiness."
"Be right back," she smiled, rolling her eyes as the girl asked who she was. It didn't seem likely he'd share they were married.
Married. Joey made a face. It hadn't seemed like as much of a sacrifice when she was with Dawson.
But now..how would she explain that to another guy?
"Sure, I live with my husband...but we're not like that...so you wanna stay over? Seriously, it'll be fun, we've got a jacuzi in the master bathroom." Joey rolled her eyes and grabbed their drinks. It would be a lot easier to explain away if Pacey could at least be unnattractive or in some way repulsive.
She got back to their table in time to hear the woman whining. "But I wanna see your place!"
Slut.
Joey pasted a smile on her face.
"My roommate trashed the place," Pacey shrugged, "Peed on the carpet and all that."
"Oh really?!" Joey glared at him, setting their drinks on the table with controlled care, "Just when did I do THAT?"
The blonde's eyes widened, "You...you live together?"
Pacey looked from his wife to his date in alarm, hastening toward damage control, "We don't LIVE together, live together."
"Different rooms," Joey agreed, "He's not my boyfriend."
The girl started breathing again, in relief, "Then why didn't you tell me that, PAY-CEE?" she whined, the sound grating on Joey's ear as she shuddered. "And why would you say that about your roomie?"
Joey smiled sweetly at Pacey, "I'm his wife, actually."
Blondie's eyes grew larger than before, "But..."
"Til death to us part," Pacey confirmed, his emphasis on the death.
"But why-"
"Oh, honey, it's okay," Joey smiled, "We have an open marriage."
"Extremely open," Pacey confirmed, his lips twitching slightly, "The only thing is...Jo likes to watch. That's cool with you, right?"
The girl's mouth dropped and Joey's eyes swung to Pacey in alarm.
"Sweetie, it's okay," he smiled reassuringly at Joey, his eyes alight with evil, "You can admit what you like. Lena's open-minded about this kind of stuff, right?" Pacey turned to girl he hadn't seen fit to introduce before.
"I-er," Lena cleared her throat, looking from Pacey to Joey, "Actually, I have to work early tomorrow, so I should be getting home...but I'll call you sometime."
She got up quickly, scurrying to the door.
"I like to WATCH?!?" Joey glared at him.
"You can admit it," Pacey grinned.
"That's disgusting!"
"You started it, baby," he grinned, "That was fun...you wanna do it again?"
Joey made a face, "Don't you care that she'll never call you again?"
"Nah," Pacey waved his hand dismissively, "Just met her...pretty boring."
"She didn't seem too picky, though, that must have been nice."
"I don't know," Pacey shrugged, "I'm not sure I really want to be seen with the type of person who'd want me."
Joey nodded, "Understandable."
"You married me, though, and that's a lot worse."
"For money, though," she reminded him, "it's different."
"Ahh...true enough. Hey, when do you get that FAFSA thing back?"
Joey shrugged, "Who knows?"
"Hey baby," the guy at the next table called to Joey, "How long's it gonna be?"
Joey clenched her teeth, "Excuse me a second, Pace."
"Sit down," he told her, stepping up to the next table.
"Hello, Gentleman," Pacey smiled, "Anything I can help you with?"
"Nah, man, just spread the wealth and send sweet cheeks over here," he laughed at himself. "She is a waitress, ya know, she's got a job to do."
"Well, I own this Club, so I'm pretty aware of her job. We were just discussing the clientele. Anything we could improve?" Pacey watched him.
"Oh, she could improve her service, if you know what I'm saying," the young man leered, ignoring the sharp nudges from his friends beside him.
Pacey smiled tightly, leaning over to look the guy straight in the eye, "Treat my waitresses with respect. Especially that one."
Finally nervous, the young man swallowed, "She's yours?"
"My wife," Pacey nodded, "But we wouldn't have a problem with you anyway, would we?"
Rapid head shaking was his only answer.
Pacey smiled, "Enjoy your evening, gentleman."
He sat back down with Joey, who smiled.
"So..." Pacey looked back at her, "You ever think about switching to bartender?"
***
"So how's marriage treating you?" Jen grinned, walking into Joey's kitchen.
Jo shrugged, "I might be a bartender."
"Really? You know how?"
"Nope."
"So Pacey's just gonna train you or what?"
Joey nodded, "Basically."
"Interesting. Why?"
Shrugging, Joey grabbed a couple glasses. "Something to drink?"
"Ohh...do you have one of those artificial sport shakes?"
Joey smirked, "Chocolate or Vanilla?"
"Ahh, my angel...hmm...Vanilla. I don't need the chocolate if you know what I mean," she winked.
Joey gasped, "And here I thought you were insatiable?"
"As did I," Jen smiled, "Meet the new Jen. Satiated."
"Impressive," Joey nodded, pouring their drinks.
"Until I see him, that is," Jen corrected herself.
"So I'm the newlywed and you're on your Honeymoon. Seem a little unfair to anyone else?"
"Hey, nothings stopping you," Jen pointed out, "Well...except Dawson."
Joey shook her head, "Definitely not Dawson."
Jen frowned, "What? Since when?"
"Since I call him to tell him I'm cheating."
Jen's eyebrows shop up, "This marriage more than meets the eye?"
"WHAT? NO!" Joey sputtered, "It's not Pacey."
"Then who?"
"Don't know yet, actually," Joey frowned, "Can you introduce me to someone?"
Jen shook her head, "Rewind, honey...why are you cheating on Dawson?"
"He did it first," Joey muttered defensively.
"What? When?"
"Before he left."
"With who?"
"His roommate," Joey said softly, watching Jen's reaction.
"But isn't his roommate--"
Joey nodded as understanding dawned on Jen's face and her eyes widened. "OH God... Jo, I'm so sorry."
"It's okay," Joey shrugged it off, "I just don't want people to know...they might think-"
"You didn't turn him, Joey, this has nothing to do with you! And he has no excuse for cheating on you."
"Oh, I let him know that," Joey assured her.
Jen chuckled slightly.
"What?"
"Sure does explain a LOT, though, doesn't it?"
Joey laughed, "I KNOW! Doesn't it?!?"
"So did you guys ever..." Jen gestured.
"No," Joey shook her head, "I loved the way he was never demanding..."
Jen launged and Joey rolled her eyes.
"I'm such a moron."
"You're not, Jo, he seemed to really care about you...,ayube he thought you could 'cure' him or some shit."
Joey snorted, "Whatever, I just want people to think I got over him...couldn't take the distance or something."
"Sure," Jen nodded, "I can set you up with someone."
"You know, let's just go out dancing tonight...I'm sure I can find someone."
"Hah," Jen grinned, "You just don't want to bother with 'em later, don't think I don't know what you're doing."
"True," Joey smiled, "Hey, I could try out the 'Sorry, I'm married.' "
Jen laughed, "Nice."
"Very convienent, I agree."
"Jo..." Jen frowned slightly, "Why did you never bring it up?"
"Bring what up?"
"Sex."
"What do you mean?" Joey asked in confusion.
"Well, if CJ held out on me for more than two days, I'd be going crazy... You've been seeing Dawson almost three years..."
Joey opened her mouth to answer, but closed it again, shrugging off the question.
"You didn't want him either," Jen smirked.
"Well, YOU contemplate having sex with Dawson!" Joey snapped, annoyed.
Jen laughed gleefully, "Eww! No, I have a much more satisfying reality to think about."
"Bitch," Joey muttered.
Jen smiled, "So what are you gonna wear to end your relationship with the gay man?"
"What would you recommend?"
"Cleavage," Jen smiled.
Joey shook her head, "Sorry, silly question."
"Very," Jen agreed.
