Joey called him early the next morning, apologizing profusely for falling
asleep on him and thanking him for carrying her upstairs and cleaning up
the living room and dining room. After a few minutes of chatter she invited
him to join her and Matthew for a walk in Central Park that afternoon if he
wasn't busy. Because it was still warm outside, there was a children's
carnival in the park and she wanted to take Matthew over for awhile and
then have a picnic. He agreed immediately, trying not to sound overly
anxious when all night he was wondering when he could see her again. They
agreed to meet at the park and go into the carnival grounds from there, but
their plans left him just enough time to shower, change and jump on the
subway to get from his Chelsea apartment building to Central Park.
Making his way through the park's walkways and following the crowd of parents also heading to the carnival, he quickly stopped to buy some flowers from a street vendor and a small child's toy he saw in a store window yesterday after his drink with Joey. He noticed her immediately out of the crowd of parents also meeting people outside the event. She was dressed casually in a floral skirt, sandals and shirt with a Jean jacket tied around her waist, fidgeting with something on Matthew's stroller. Scanning the crowd of people for him, she picked him out immediately and waved, trying to maintain her huge smile and excitement about him joining them.
"Hey Dawson I'm so glad you could make it," she breathed, pulling him into a hug, noticing the flowers and bag. "What have you got there?"
"Well I thought since you're bringing lunch for us that I would at least bring something," he said, trying not to sound dumb. "So I grabbed these flowers for you but then so I didn't show preference so I brought a little something for Matthew as well." He opened the bag and produced an E.T. toy, similar to the one he had, noticing Joey smile and placing it next to the sleeping baby in the stroller.
"That was very thoughtful Dawson, thank you," she said, smelling the flowers and strapping in the toy next to her son so it wouldn't get lost while they were walking. "That's very sweet." Sharing at each other for a minute she hugged him again and placed a soft kiss on his cheek, causing him to nervously place his arms around her as well, trying not to act awkwardly around her.
"Well now that I got my thank you, why don't we get going," he said with a smile and walked beside her as they went in.
The entire afternoon flew by. Although Matthew slept through most of the carnival, Dawson and Joey had the most fun walking around, looking at the booths and clowns and children's activities, acting almost like kids themselves. Dawson played some games, managing to win Joey a stuffed teddy bear and a few other small trinkets to take with her. While walking around they talked more, about family and friends, catching up on what everyone else was doing.
At one point they were so engrossed in their conversation that Dawson almost ran into another family, which was only diverted thanks to Joey grabbing his hand and jerking him closer to her, causing a spark to fly through both of them and was followed by a nervous giggle and pause in conversation. When Matthew woke up, Joey carried him while Dawson pushed the stroller and even offered to hold him for awhile to give her a break, which she gladly accepted. Despite an initial cry, Matthew settled in his arms, staring at him contently and grabbing on to his cheeks or T-shirt with his little fingers.
After covering the carnival grounds a few times, they settled outside of the grounds under a tree for a picnic that Joey brought a long. Dawson eagerly held Matthew as Joey set up their lunch/dinner, watching him in wonder, amazed by how much he looked like Joey and how comfortable he felt holding him. Watching him as she set up, Joey was also affected by his repor with her son, acting so lovingly and attentively with him, something Kyle never really did when he was around. Dawson acted so comfortable with Matthew, holding him close but holding him up to look at the world around him, shielding him when the sun was in his eyes and bouncing him around when he was fussy.
"Okay we're all set," she said finally, settling herself under the shade and opening up the food for everyone. With her approval, Dawson set Matthew on the blanket, watching him crawl around, grabbing onto the blanket, making his way around the food and moving between Dawson and Joey, who continued to talk, never really taking their eyes off him. "You're really good with him Dawson, you have a knack with kids."
"Yeah well being older when Lily was born gave me tons of practice," he said, watching Matthew crawl over to Joey, who pulled him on her lap to feed him some baby food. "He looks just like you Jo, it's really amazing."
"Yeah poor kid," she laughed, putting spoonful of food into his reluctant mouth.
"Yeah well when he gets older and sees how hot is mom is, he'll be grateful he takes after you," Dawson slipped, blushing a bit when he realized again that his inner monologue was slipping out of his mouth. They shared a quick glance, Joey also blushing, but with a smug smile.
"Well thank you, that's very sweet," she whispered, trying to focus her attention on her son again.
"What are you doing Wednesday night?" Dawson asked, putting his food down and offering with his hands to hold Matthew so Joey could eat.
"Wednesday? Well off the top of my head nothing, but I'd have to check, why?" she asked, handing Matthew over to Dawson.
"Well the network is having a party to unveil their new shows for the season and it's a big thing at a hotel in Times Square and I was wondering if maybe you'd want to go with me," he asked. She stirred for a minute. "There's dinner and a presentation and then drinks and dancing in the ballroom, I've seen some of the plans for it and it looks like it's going to be really nice and fun."
"You mean go with you like a date?" she asked, noticing he was squirming a bit.
"No, well you'd be my date to the party but it's two old friends going out to have a good time, and have a night on the town," he said nervously, trying not to sound so nervous. She eyed him curiously with a little devilish spark in her eye.
"So it's just friends, not a date?" she said, watching him squirm some more, getting more nervous.
"Joey if I was asking you on a date you can bet that I wouldn't want to take you to a place where I'd have to share your attention with anyone but Matthew here," he said confidently. They stared at each other for a minute before she smiled smugly and moved closer to take Matthew back.
"Okay that sounds like fun," she said. "Pick me up at my house and I'll make sure to get a sitter for Matthew." He nodded, masking his excitement that she agreed to go with him. When Matthew began fussing again, ready for his afternoon nap, they agreed to go, walking together to the end of the park.
"So I had fun today, a really nice time actually," he said, shuffling his feet a bit. "Do you want me to help you get that stuff in a cab or anything?" The amount of stuff in the stroller decreased a bit after their lunch, but with the teddy bears and trinkets he won at the carnival, it was still pretty full.
"I think we're okay, did you want to come over for dinner again?" she asked, causing his heart to soar for a minute, only to remember it was Sunday and he still didn't have his notes and outlines done for a meeting with his bosses tomorrow.
"I can't, I have to do some work for a meeting tomorrow morning and I haven't started yet so I can't," he said sadly, noticing a twinge of disappointment in her face as well. "If I didn't have this stupid meeting tomorrow I would take you up on that.can I get a rain check?"
"Of course," she said, holding her hand up to flag down a cab. "So I'll see you Wednesday then."
"Yeah, um I'll call you beforehand though and set up when I'll pick you up and everything," he said nervously. A cab quickly pulled up to the curb and Dawson helped her remove Matthew from the stroller before placing it in the trunk and getting settled in the cab. They stared at each other for a minute, almost unsure of what to say now that they were splitting up for the next few days.
"Thanks for today Dawson I had a nice time," she said as he closed the door. "You have my number so I'll talk to you during the week, good luck with your meeting tomorrow." Giving him a wave, the cab slowly pulled away from the curb, causing him to hold back what he was going to yell back, managing only a small wave as the cab blended in with the hundreds of others on the street.
Making his way through the park's walkways and following the crowd of parents also heading to the carnival, he quickly stopped to buy some flowers from a street vendor and a small child's toy he saw in a store window yesterday after his drink with Joey. He noticed her immediately out of the crowd of parents also meeting people outside the event. She was dressed casually in a floral skirt, sandals and shirt with a Jean jacket tied around her waist, fidgeting with something on Matthew's stroller. Scanning the crowd of people for him, she picked him out immediately and waved, trying to maintain her huge smile and excitement about him joining them.
"Hey Dawson I'm so glad you could make it," she breathed, pulling him into a hug, noticing the flowers and bag. "What have you got there?"
"Well I thought since you're bringing lunch for us that I would at least bring something," he said, trying not to sound dumb. "So I grabbed these flowers for you but then so I didn't show preference so I brought a little something for Matthew as well." He opened the bag and produced an E.T. toy, similar to the one he had, noticing Joey smile and placing it next to the sleeping baby in the stroller.
"That was very thoughtful Dawson, thank you," she said, smelling the flowers and strapping in the toy next to her son so it wouldn't get lost while they were walking. "That's very sweet." Sharing at each other for a minute she hugged him again and placed a soft kiss on his cheek, causing him to nervously place his arms around her as well, trying not to act awkwardly around her.
"Well now that I got my thank you, why don't we get going," he said with a smile and walked beside her as they went in.
The entire afternoon flew by. Although Matthew slept through most of the carnival, Dawson and Joey had the most fun walking around, looking at the booths and clowns and children's activities, acting almost like kids themselves. Dawson played some games, managing to win Joey a stuffed teddy bear and a few other small trinkets to take with her. While walking around they talked more, about family and friends, catching up on what everyone else was doing.
At one point they were so engrossed in their conversation that Dawson almost ran into another family, which was only diverted thanks to Joey grabbing his hand and jerking him closer to her, causing a spark to fly through both of them and was followed by a nervous giggle and pause in conversation. When Matthew woke up, Joey carried him while Dawson pushed the stroller and even offered to hold him for awhile to give her a break, which she gladly accepted. Despite an initial cry, Matthew settled in his arms, staring at him contently and grabbing on to his cheeks or T-shirt with his little fingers.
After covering the carnival grounds a few times, they settled outside of the grounds under a tree for a picnic that Joey brought a long. Dawson eagerly held Matthew as Joey set up their lunch/dinner, watching him in wonder, amazed by how much he looked like Joey and how comfortable he felt holding him. Watching him as she set up, Joey was also affected by his repor with her son, acting so lovingly and attentively with him, something Kyle never really did when he was around. Dawson acted so comfortable with Matthew, holding him close but holding him up to look at the world around him, shielding him when the sun was in his eyes and bouncing him around when he was fussy.
"Okay we're all set," she said finally, settling herself under the shade and opening up the food for everyone. With her approval, Dawson set Matthew on the blanket, watching him crawl around, grabbing onto the blanket, making his way around the food and moving between Dawson and Joey, who continued to talk, never really taking their eyes off him. "You're really good with him Dawson, you have a knack with kids."
"Yeah well being older when Lily was born gave me tons of practice," he said, watching Matthew crawl over to Joey, who pulled him on her lap to feed him some baby food. "He looks just like you Jo, it's really amazing."
"Yeah poor kid," she laughed, putting spoonful of food into his reluctant mouth.
"Yeah well when he gets older and sees how hot is mom is, he'll be grateful he takes after you," Dawson slipped, blushing a bit when he realized again that his inner monologue was slipping out of his mouth. They shared a quick glance, Joey also blushing, but with a smug smile.
"Well thank you, that's very sweet," she whispered, trying to focus her attention on her son again.
"What are you doing Wednesday night?" Dawson asked, putting his food down and offering with his hands to hold Matthew so Joey could eat.
"Wednesday? Well off the top of my head nothing, but I'd have to check, why?" she asked, handing Matthew over to Dawson.
"Well the network is having a party to unveil their new shows for the season and it's a big thing at a hotel in Times Square and I was wondering if maybe you'd want to go with me," he asked. She stirred for a minute. "There's dinner and a presentation and then drinks and dancing in the ballroom, I've seen some of the plans for it and it looks like it's going to be really nice and fun."
"You mean go with you like a date?" she asked, noticing he was squirming a bit.
"No, well you'd be my date to the party but it's two old friends going out to have a good time, and have a night on the town," he said nervously, trying not to sound so nervous. She eyed him curiously with a little devilish spark in her eye.
"So it's just friends, not a date?" she said, watching him squirm some more, getting more nervous.
"Joey if I was asking you on a date you can bet that I wouldn't want to take you to a place where I'd have to share your attention with anyone but Matthew here," he said confidently. They stared at each other for a minute before she smiled smugly and moved closer to take Matthew back.
"Okay that sounds like fun," she said. "Pick me up at my house and I'll make sure to get a sitter for Matthew." He nodded, masking his excitement that she agreed to go with him. When Matthew began fussing again, ready for his afternoon nap, they agreed to go, walking together to the end of the park.
"So I had fun today, a really nice time actually," he said, shuffling his feet a bit. "Do you want me to help you get that stuff in a cab or anything?" The amount of stuff in the stroller decreased a bit after their lunch, but with the teddy bears and trinkets he won at the carnival, it was still pretty full.
"I think we're okay, did you want to come over for dinner again?" she asked, causing his heart to soar for a minute, only to remember it was Sunday and he still didn't have his notes and outlines done for a meeting with his bosses tomorrow.
"I can't, I have to do some work for a meeting tomorrow morning and I haven't started yet so I can't," he said sadly, noticing a twinge of disappointment in her face as well. "If I didn't have this stupid meeting tomorrow I would take you up on that.can I get a rain check?"
"Of course," she said, holding her hand up to flag down a cab. "So I'll see you Wednesday then."
"Yeah, um I'll call you beforehand though and set up when I'll pick you up and everything," he said nervously. A cab quickly pulled up to the curb and Dawson helped her remove Matthew from the stroller before placing it in the trunk and getting settled in the cab. They stared at each other for a minute, almost unsure of what to say now that they were splitting up for the next few days.
"Thanks for today Dawson I had a nice time," she said as he closed the door. "You have my number so I'll talk to you during the week, good luck with your meeting tomorrow." Giving him a wave, the cab slowly pulled away from the curb, causing him to hold back what he was going to yell back, managing only a small wave as the cab blended in with the hundreds of others on the street.
