After their afternoon in the park, Joey was more than happy that she didn't
have to wait until Wednesday to talk or see Dawson again. He ended up
calling her Sunday night to chat, bored from working on his outline and
notes for work and they ended up spending most of the night on the phone,
pausing only for Joey to place Matthew in his crib and settle him in for
bed. Then he called again Monday night to chat and settle up plans for
Wednesday, saying he would pick her up at six and they would go to the
Marriott Marquis hotel in the heart of Times Square where the party was
being held. After plans for Wednesday were settled, they again spent hours
on the phone, talking about their day and people they worked with. Joey was
back in the office for a few days to tie up a project she just finished so
she filled him in on work stuff and was easily reminded why she enjoyed
working out of the house with Matthew more than her office building.
Tuesday they met for lunch at his office, giving her and Matthew the grand tour along with a nice lunch in his large office. When it came time to go, they shared their usual hug and kiss on the cheek, but Dawson didn't want her to leave after they finished lunch, enjoying her company as always. All the guys in his office raised their eyebrows in surprise to see him with Joey, watching their straight-laced, tough co-worker turn into this whipped lovesick puppy. Despite his assurances that he was not in love with her and they were only friends, no one bought it, let alone Dawson. She called him for a change on Tuesday to say she was set with a sitter, but they couldn't talk for long because Matthew was fussy and crawling like crazy all over the house. He played it off as cool, her having to go, sharing her attention with her son, but he hated it when they had to hang up and wait until the next day to talk. He wished more than anything he was over there with her, playing with Matthew or just being near her, being able to hear her laugh or the sound of her voice. But tomorrow night was the party and he would get to have her with him in person for hours, enjoying as much time with her as possible.
Dawson ran up the steps of her townhouse Wednesday evening at six as promised with a bouquet of roses in his hand, courtesy of the floral shop outside of his apartment building. Before ringing the bell he quickly adjusted his tie and ran his fingers through his hair, trying to look his best and prepare himself for whatever ensemble she chose for that evenings event. The door opened again before his finger touched the buzzer and he looked up to see a young woman holding Matthew in her arms, smiling at him and opening the door for him, introducing herself as Sarah from Joey's office. Apparently they were old friends and she babysat for Joey once in awhile. Shaking her hand, she continued to grin at him and lead him into the living room, staring at him, making him very uncomfortable.
"Is ah Joey almost ready?" he asked, hoping she would stop staring at him and making him feel so uncomfortable any moment now.
"Yeah she'll be down in a minute," she said, staring at him still. "I'm sorry Dawson I don't mean to stare but you're like this urban legend around the office. Joey talked about you all the time but none of us actually believed you existed! It's just nice to finally see the man behind all the stories." He smiled and thanked her, feeling his cheeks flush red, wondering what Joey exactly told them about him. "She looks really pretty by the way, I haven't seen her go all out or get this worked up, not even with Kyle." Dawson's head shot up with curiosity, wondering what that comment meant completely.
"Sarah is Dawson here yet?" Joey called from the stairs, making her shadow noticeable from the top of the stairs, but unable to see what she actually looked like.
"Yes he is Jo, hurry up," Sarah called, watching Matthew reach for Dawson, wanting to be held. She looked at Dawson and rolled her eyes. "Typical Joey, taking forever to get ready and then making the guy wait," she laughed, taking the flowers and letting Dawson hold Matthew for a few minutes, watching happily as he tickled the baby's cheeks and played with his chubby feet, making the toddler laugh and squeal.
Paying close attention to Matthew, Dawson's concentration was broken only by the motion of someone coming down the stairs, diverting his attention there. Joey floated down the stairs in a stunning black silk evening dress with thin spaghetti straps and a slightly low front, letting some of her cleavage show completely exposing her back. The dress was very fitted, gently laying over her body. Her hair was swept up in a sleek bun and she wore a simple diamond necklace and matching earrings. Sarah squealed when she came down the stairs and Dawson felt his jaw drop to the floor, causing Matthew, who wasn't paying attention, to try and grab onto his lip. Grabbing a shawl that was thrown over the banister, she smiled and made her way over to them, stopping for a minute to re-adjust the strap on her heels.
"Matthew doesn't Mommy look pretty?" Sarah asked, taking Matthew back in her arms, turning him so he could see her. With a small gurgle both women laughed, Dawson probably would have laughed if he could formulate a complete thought at that second.
"Dawson are you okay?" Joey asked, seeing his expression had not changed in the last few minutes.
"Yes, fine, we should go," he stammered, looking around for a minute for his coat, realizing he had not even taken it off when he arrived. Both women exchanged glances, winking at one another. "You look..amazing," he stammered, patting his breast pocket to make sure he had his wallet.
"Thank you," she said softly, taking his hand and kissing Matthew on the head and winking at Sarah again while leading him out the door.
The entire cab ride over was fairly quiet on Dawson's part with Joey providing most of the conversation, pointing out things on the cab ride to Times Square. When they arrived at the hotel, he paid the driver and quickly got out of the cab and ran to open her door, taking her hand to help her out and escort her inside for the party. Entering through the hotel's large glass doors, they began to see other couples dressed formally, heading to the escalators to make their way up to the ballroom, where the event was taking place.
Waiting to be checked in for the event, Joey peeked into the ballroom, widening her eyes when she saw the huge ornate ceiling and elaborate table settings that covered most of the room. Her job rarely let her attend large, elaborate events like this and she was almost overwhelmed by her surroundings and the people dressed as elegantly and fashionably as they were. Men were dressed in tuxes or designer suits and women wore formal dresses, showing off their jewelry and well coifed hair. The chill from the heavily air conditioned room caused her to wrap the shawl tighter around her and felt Dawson's hand settle on the small of her back to lead her into the room, causing another chill to run down her spine. After finding their table and dropping her shawl off at the table, they began to mingle with the other people already at the party.
"You look really nice tonight," Dawson said softly, handing her a glass of wine and putting his arm around her to give her a small hug. He saw the embarrassed look on her face, looking away from his glance for a minute like she always did.
"You know that's like the second time you've said that in the last hour," she laughed, giving him a playful nudge.
"And I'll probably say it again before we leave," he said with a smile, clinking glasses with her. "So Sarah seems nice."
"Leery I had a feeling you could for sure be here," a tall gentleman said, reaching for Dawson's hand and shaking it violently. "You know I was wondering if I could steal you away for a few minutes to talk shop.well hello there, I don't believe we've met before," the man said, finally noticing Joey standing next to Dawson, holding his arm. The man looked her up and down slowly, noticing as well her dress and appearance, making his date look a bit less desirable.
"Joey this is Ron Statley, he works in marketing for the network and will be working with me as we get closer to debuting the show I'm working on," Dawson said, shooting Ron a private death stare to stop ogling his date. "Ron this is Joey, a very old and dear friend of mine."
"Hello there lovely, it's such a change to see Dawson out with a woman and a lovely one at that, we all had bets that he didn't actually know any women," Ron laughed, shaking Joey's had as violently as he did Dawson's, taking her by surprise for a minute.
"Well then I guess you were wrong then weren't you?" she said with a sweet smile. "I think I'm going to call and check on Matthew, I'll be back." With another sweet smile she turned and disappeared into the crowd, making her way to the phones.
"Who's Matthew?" Ron asked, staring still at the path she took out of the ballroom.
"Her son," Dawson said, taking another drink, staring at him annoyed.
"She a mom Leery?" he laughed. "Interesting taste, not at all what I had you pegged for. She's rather lovely though, what does her husband think of her stepping out on the town in a dress like that with an old friend?"
"She doesn't have a husband, she's single mother and she's off limits Ron, she is way out of your league and I don't want to see you near her," Dawson warned, noticing the look on his co-workers face.
"Wait she's the one that had lunch in your office this week isn't she?" Ron said, putting two-and-two together. "I heard from some of the guys in your area that this woman and her son came in on Tuesday and had lunch with you, causing you to act like some lovesick teenager, a far cry from the man we're used to dealing with. You like her don't you?"
"First of all you don't know what you're talking about and second yes I like her, we're old friends and that's it," Dawson said, feeling a bit suffocated and uncomfortable suddenly. "My private life Ron is just that, private, and the people I associate with and or enjoy spending time with are none of your business."
"Hey man who are you kidding?" Ron laughed, noticing Dawson look at Joey re- entering the ballroom, noticing other men throwing side glances her way as she dug through her purse. "I had that same look in my eye when I met my first wife years ago and trust me there are few people who make you get that look, just so you know." Rolling his eyes, Dawson excused himself and made his way back over to her.
"Is Matthew doing okay?" he asked, still reeling a bit from his private conversation with Ron.
"Fine, just being an over-anxious mother," she laughed, rolling her eyes and taking his hand to go back to their table as the presentation was about to begin.
The presentation from the network executives dragged on after dinner, not that it mattered much to Dawson or Joey, who spent most of the presentation privately talking at their table or throwing side glances at one another when the other was trying to look interested in the presentation. Sensing Dawson was dreadfully bored after two hours, Joey squeezed his hand and motioned for him to follow her, saying they had to check in with her son again. Dragging him out of the ballroom, shawl in hand, he seemed confused when she wrapped it around her shoulders and dragged him toward the escalators.
"Joey what are we doing?" he asked.
"We're busting out of here Dawson," she said, leading him with her out the back entrance. "I've been watching you for the last forty-five minutes and if we stayed there another minute you would have fallen asleep or passed out from boredom so we're taking off."
"Yeah you're right, I'll take you home," he said with a bittersweet tone. He did want to escape the dreadful presentation, but he would have stayed only to delay taking her home. Catching up with her, still holding onto her hand, she stopped for a minute to take her cell phone out of her purse.
"We're not going home yet," she said, dialing a number on her phone. "I did not spend all afternoon getting dressed up for you to be home by eight. I'm calling Sarah to see how late she can stay and then you're taking me out for a nice dessert and maybe dancing." He smiled to himself, watching her walk off for a minute, talking into her cell phone. After a few minutes she walked back, depositing her phone in her purse again. "We're set, she can stay until midnight so let's party Dawson."
"I know just the place," he said, taking her hand and walking quickly down the sidewalk toward Rockefeller Center. Rushing through the streets, Joey dragging slightly behind because of her shoes, Dawson led her through Rockefeller Center and over to the GE/NBC building, just making the elevator up to the Rainbow Room.
"The Rainbow Room? Dawson that's too much, really," she said in protest, slightly hoping he would insist that they stay. In her years in New York, she didn't make it up there to have dinner and dance. Pacey, Kyle or Christopher were never interested in going, but it was still a private dream to go there and dance an evening away.
"Jo I've been wanting to go here since I moved to New York and I can't think of anyone else I would rather do this with than you," he said, leaving her for a moment to talk to the host, motioning for her to join him after a minute. They were escorted to a table for two that looked over the dance floor, which was faintly lit by soft blue lights and was covered with people. After ordering drinks and dessert, Dawson watched for a minute as Joey's face lit up, watching the people dance.
"Dawson would you dance with me?" she breathed, looking back at him after a few minutes. He smiled and stood, extending his hand for her. Taking it, he led her to the dance floor, where they began to dance in rhythm with the other couples. A bit nervous at first, holding her hand and placing his hand on her hip, they swayed together to the soft live music that filled the room. They were easily the most overdressed couple in the room, but they made quite the pair, moving to well together, fitting with one another like a glove. Looking at one another with a smile, she moved closer, resting her cheek to his, allowing him to hold her closer, getting lost in the music and her own thoughts.
"I used to beg Kyle to come here with me for an evening, just to dance and see the views of the city," she said, looking around the room.
"Why didn't he bring you here? Two left feet?" he said, feeling her giggle a bit.
"I don't know actually," she said, remembering back to those times. "I always asked him, begged him to take me here for our anniversary or for Valentine's Day, but he kept making up excuses and we never made it. It's okay though because I doubt it would have been as wonderful as this." He smiled to himself, taking a moment to breathe in her perfume, getting lost as well in the music, enjoying the feel of her in his arms, not having to say a thing.
They danced for hours, stopping to enjoy their drink and food before shooting each other that look and making them head back out there to dance to the music. As midnight drew closer though, Joey had to stop their fun, reminding him that she head back to relieve Sarah, who was already staying later than she anticipated when she agreed to baby-sit. He helped her with her shawl, walking together to the elevator and waiting outside for a cab. The tone suddenly changed on the way home, becoming more quiet and peaceful. Joey rested her head on his shoulder with her arm linked in his while he hand rested on her knee.
"You looked really beautiful in this light," he said softly, causing her to smile. "See I told you I'd tell you how nice you looked one more time tonight."
"Yes you did," she whispered, moving closer to him. "You clean up pretty good too, much more than I remembered." He laughed and kissed her forehead. As the cab pulled up to the sidewalk of her townhouse, Dawson asked the driver to wait a few minutes, getting out with Joey and walking her half way up the stairs to say goodnight.
"I had a nice time this evening, thank you for going with me and getting me out of there," he smiled, watching her shiver in the cool night air. He offered her his coat, wrapping it around her cool shoulders.
"I had a really nice time too Dawson, thank you for everything," she said, moving down a step to be closer to him. They stared at each other for a minute, suddenly unsure about what they should say. "Here you can have your coat back, I can just run inside."
"No it's okay, I can get it from you later," he said, wondering if she caught his true intention.
"You'll have to just come over to get it, or I can drop it off," she said, giving him a sly look. Their moment was interrupted though with the honk of the cab's horn, the driver getting annoyed.
"I should go," he said, unable to move, staring at her face in the sidewalk light.
"Yeah you should, we'll get together and do movie night or something this weekend maybe," she said, sounding nervous.
"I can't, it's my mom's birthday and I have to go back to Capeside for a few days for her party, you could come with though I know she would love to see you," he said, hoping she would say yes.
"Thanks but Matthew has play dates this weekend with some friends.but tell her and Lily I said hi," she whispered, as disappointed as he was. "So we'll get together again later then, good night Dawson."
"Goodnight," he said, watching her turn to head inside with his coat. "Hey Jo can I ask you a question?"
"Sure," she said, moving back to him.
"If I were to do something right now, would you hate me?" he asked, his mind racing.
"No," she said simply, wondering what he was thinking.
"Okay good," he said, hoping up the stairs that separated them and hesitated for a minute, unsure if he had the gall to actually do what he was thinking. With his mouth slightly open, looking at the confused look on her face, he took a deep breath and leaned in, kissing her softly on the lips, feeling her momentarily tense up before relaxing and placing her hand softly on his face. He pulled away after a minute, looking at her in the eye before smiling and backing off, walking back down the stairs and into the cab, watching the shocked yet pleased look on her face as she stood on the stoop, watching him leave.
Tuesday they met for lunch at his office, giving her and Matthew the grand tour along with a nice lunch in his large office. When it came time to go, they shared their usual hug and kiss on the cheek, but Dawson didn't want her to leave after they finished lunch, enjoying her company as always. All the guys in his office raised their eyebrows in surprise to see him with Joey, watching their straight-laced, tough co-worker turn into this whipped lovesick puppy. Despite his assurances that he was not in love with her and they were only friends, no one bought it, let alone Dawson. She called him for a change on Tuesday to say she was set with a sitter, but they couldn't talk for long because Matthew was fussy and crawling like crazy all over the house. He played it off as cool, her having to go, sharing her attention with her son, but he hated it when they had to hang up and wait until the next day to talk. He wished more than anything he was over there with her, playing with Matthew or just being near her, being able to hear her laugh or the sound of her voice. But tomorrow night was the party and he would get to have her with him in person for hours, enjoying as much time with her as possible.
Dawson ran up the steps of her townhouse Wednesday evening at six as promised with a bouquet of roses in his hand, courtesy of the floral shop outside of his apartment building. Before ringing the bell he quickly adjusted his tie and ran his fingers through his hair, trying to look his best and prepare himself for whatever ensemble she chose for that evenings event. The door opened again before his finger touched the buzzer and he looked up to see a young woman holding Matthew in her arms, smiling at him and opening the door for him, introducing herself as Sarah from Joey's office. Apparently they were old friends and she babysat for Joey once in awhile. Shaking her hand, she continued to grin at him and lead him into the living room, staring at him, making him very uncomfortable.
"Is ah Joey almost ready?" he asked, hoping she would stop staring at him and making him feel so uncomfortable any moment now.
"Yeah she'll be down in a minute," she said, staring at him still. "I'm sorry Dawson I don't mean to stare but you're like this urban legend around the office. Joey talked about you all the time but none of us actually believed you existed! It's just nice to finally see the man behind all the stories." He smiled and thanked her, feeling his cheeks flush red, wondering what Joey exactly told them about him. "She looks really pretty by the way, I haven't seen her go all out or get this worked up, not even with Kyle." Dawson's head shot up with curiosity, wondering what that comment meant completely.
"Sarah is Dawson here yet?" Joey called from the stairs, making her shadow noticeable from the top of the stairs, but unable to see what she actually looked like.
"Yes he is Jo, hurry up," Sarah called, watching Matthew reach for Dawson, wanting to be held. She looked at Dawson and rolled her eyes. "Typical Joey, taking forever to get ready and then making the guy wait," she laughed, taking the flowers and letting Dawson hold Matthew for a few minutes, watching happily as he tickled the baby's cheeks and played with his chubby feet, making the toddler laugh and squeal.
Paying close attention to Matthew, Dawson's concentration was broken only by the motion of someone coming down the stairs, diverting his attention there. Joey floated down the stairs in a stunning black silk evening dress with thin spaghetti straps and a slightly low front, letting some of her cleavage show completely exposing her back. The dress was very fitted, gently laying over her body. Her hair was swept up in a sleek bun and she wore a simple diamond necklace and matching earrings. Sarah squealed when she came down the stairs and Dawson felt his jaw drop to the floor, causing Matthew, who wasn't paying attention, to try and grab onto his lip. Grabbing a shawl that was thrown over the banister, she smiled and made her way over to them, stopping for a minute to re-adjust the strap on her heels.
"Matthew doesn't Mommy look pretty?" Sarah asked, taking Matthew back in her arms, turning him so he could see her. With a small gurgle both women laughed, Dawson probably would have laughed if he could formulate a complete thought at that second.
"Dawson are you okay?" Joey asked, seeing his expression had not changed in the last few minutes.
"Yes, fine, we should go," he stammered, looking around for a minute for his coat, realizing he had not even taken it off when he arrived. Both women exchanged glances, winking at one another. "You look..amazing," he stammered, patting his breast pocket to make sure he had his wallet.
"Thank you," she said softly, taking his hand and kissing Matthew on the head and winking at Sarah again while leading him out the door.
The entire cab ride over was fairly quiet on Dawson's part with Joey providing most of the conversation, pointing out things on the cab ride to Times Square. When they arrived at the hotel, he paid the driver and quickly got out of the cab and ran to open her door, taking her hand to help her out and escort her inside for the party. Entering through the hotel's large glass doors, they began to see other couples dressed formally, heading to the escalators to make their way up to the ballroom, where the event was taking place.
Waiting to be checked in for the event, Joey peeked into the ballroom, widening her eyes when she saw the huge ornate ceiling and elaborate table settings that covered most of the room. Her job rarely let her attend large, elaborate events like this and she was almost overwhelmed by her surroundings and the people dressed as elegantly and fashionably as they were. Men were dressed in tuxes or designer suits and women wore formal dresses, showing off their jewelry and well coifed hair. The chill from the heavily air conditioned room caused her to wrap the shawl tighter around her and felt Dawson's hand settle on the small of her back to lead her into the room, causing another chill to run down her spine. After finding their table and dropping her shawl off at the table, they began to mingle with the other people already at the party.
"You look really nice tonight," Dawson said softly, handing her a glass of wine and putting his arm around her to give her a small hug. He saw the embarrassed look on her face, looking away from his glance for a minute like she always did.
"You know that's like the second time you've said that in the last hour," she laughed, giving him a playful nudge.
"And I'll probably say it again before we leave," he said with a smile, clinking glasses with her. "So Sarah seems nice."
"Leery I had a feeling you could for sure be here," a tall gentleman said, reaching for Dawson's hand and shaking it violently. "You know I was wondering if I could steal you away for a few minutes to talk shop.well hello there, I don't believe we've met before," the man said, finally noticing Joey standing next to Dawson, holding his arm. The man looked her up and down slowly, noticing as well her dress and appearance, making his date look a bit less desirable.
"Joey this is Ron Statley, he works in marketing for the network and will be working with me as we get closer to debuting the show I'm working on," Dawson said, shooting Ron a private death stare to stop ogling his date. "Ron this is Joey, a very old and dear friend of mine."
"Hello there lovely, it's such a change to see Dawson out with a woman and a lovely one at that, we all had bets that he didn't actually know any women," Ron laughed, shaking Joey's had as violently as he did Dawson's, taking her by surprise for a minute.
"Well then I guess you were wrong then weren't you?" she said with a sweet smile. "I think I'm going to call and check on Matthew, I'll be back." With another sweet smile she turned and disappeared into the crowd, making her way to the phones.
"Who's Matthew?" Ron asked, staring still at the path she took out of the ballroom.
"Her son," Dawson said, taking another drink, staring at him annoyed.
"She a mom Leery?" he laughed. "Interesting taste, not at all what I had you pegged for. She's rather lovely though, what does her husband think of her stepping out on the town in a dress like that with an old friend?"
"She doesn't have a husband, she's single mother and she's off limits Ron, she is way out of your league and I don't want to see you near her," Dawson warned, noticing the look on his co-workers face.
"Wait she's the one that had lunch in your office this week isn't she?" Ron said, putting two-and-two together. "I heard from some of the guys in your area that this woman and her son came in on Tuesday and had lunch with you, causing you to act like some lovesick teenager, a far cry from the man we're used to dealing with. You like her don't you?"
"First of all you don't know what you're talking about and second yes I like her, we're old friends and that's it," Dawson said, feeling a bit suffocated and uncomfortable suddenly. "My private life Ron is just that, private, and the people I associate with and or enjoy spending time with are none of your business."
"Hey man who are you kidding?" Ron laughed, noticing Dawson look at Joey re- entering the ballroom, noticing other men throwing side glances her way as she dug through her purse. "I had that same look in my eye when I met my first wife years ago and trust me there are few people who make you get that look, just so you know." Rolling his eyes, Dawson excused himself and made his way back over to her.
"Is Matthew doing okay?" he asked, still reeling a bit from his private conversation with Ron.
"Fine, just being an over-anxious mother," she laughed, rolling her eyes and taking his hand to go back to their table as the presentation was about to begin.
The presentation from the network executives dragged on after dinner, not that it mattered much to Dawson or Joey, who spent most of the presentation privately talking at their table or throwing side glances at one another when the other was trying to look interested in the presentation. Sensing Dawson was dreadfully bored after two hours, Joey squeezed his hand and motioned for him to follow her, saying they had to check in with her son again. Dragging him out of the ballroom, shawl in hand, he seemed confused when she wrapped it around her shoulders and dragged him toward the escalators.
"Joey what are we doing?" he asked.
"We're busting out of here Dawson," she said, leading him with her out the back entrance. "I've been watching you for the last forty-five minutes and if we stayed there another minute you would have fallen asleep or passed out from boredom so we're taking off."
"Yeah you're right, I'll take you home," he said with a bittersweet tone. He did want to escape the dreadful presentation, but he would have stayed only to delay taking her home. Catching up with her, still holding onto her hand, she stopped for a minute to take her cell phone out of her purse.
"We're not going home yet," she said, dialing a number on her phone. "I did not spend all afternoon getting dressed up for you to be home by eight. I'm calling Sarah to see how late she can stay and then you're taking me out for a nice dessert and maybe dancing." He smiled to himself, watching her walk off for a minute, talking into her cell phone. After a few minutes she walked back, depositing her phone in her purse again. "We're set, she can stay until midnight so let's party Dawson."
"I know just the place," he said, taking her hand and walking quickly down the sidewalk toward Rockefeller Center. Rushing through the streets, Joey dragging slightly behind because of her shoes, Dawson led her through Rockefeller Center and over to the GE/NBC building, just making the elevator up to the Rainbow Room.
"The Rainbow Room? Dawson that's too much, really," she said in protest, slightly hoping he would insist that they stay. In her years in New York, she didn't make it up there to have dinner and dance. Pacey, Kyle or Christopher were never interested in going, but it was still a private dream to go there and dance an evening away.
"Jo I've been wanting to go here since I moved to New York and I can't think of anyone else I would rather do this with than you," he said, leaving her for a moment to talk to the host, motioning for her to join him after a minute. They were escorted to a table for two that looked over the dance floor, which was faintly lit by soft blue lights and was covered with people. After ordering drinks and dessert, Dawson watched for a minute as Joey's face lit up, watching the people dance.
"Dawson would you dance with me?" she breathed, looking back at him after a few minutes. He smiled and stood, extending his hand for her. Taking it, he led her to the dance floor, where they began to dance in rhythm with the other couples. A bit nervous at first, holding her hand and placing his hand on her hip, they swayed together to the soft live music that filled the room. They were easily the most overdressed couple in the room, but they made quite the pair, moving to well together, fitting with one another like a glove. Looking at one another with a smile, she moved closer, resting her cheek to his, allowing him to hold her closer, getting lost in the music and her own thoughts.
"I used to beg Kyle to come here with me for an evening, just to dance and see the views of the city," she said, looking around the room.
"Why didn't he bring you here? Two left feet?" he said, feeling her giggle a bit.
"I don't know actually," she said, remembering back to those times. "I always asked him, begged him to take me here for our anniversary or for Valentine's Day, but he kept making up excuses and we never made it. It's okay though because I doubt it would have been as wonderful as this." He smiled to himself, taking a moment to breathe in her perfume, getting lost as well in the music, enjoying the feel of her in his arms, not having to say a thing.
They danced for hours, stopping to enjoy their drink and food before shooting each other that look and making them head back out there to dance to the music. As midnight drew closer though, Joey had to stop their fun, reminding him that she head back to relieve Sarah, who was already staying later than she anticipated when she agreed to baby-sit. He helped her with her shawl, walking together to the elevator and waiting outside for a cab. The tone suddenly changed on the way home, becoming more quiet and peaceful. Joey rested her head on his shoulder with her arm linked in his while he hand rested on her knee.
"You looked really beautiful in this light," he said softly, causing her to smile. "See I told you I'd tell you how nice you looked one more time tonight."
"Yes you did," she whispered, moving closer to him. "You clean up pretty good too, much more than I remembered." He laughed and kissed her forehead. As the cab pulled up to the sidewalk of her townhouse, Dawson asked the driver to wait a few minutes, getting out with Joey and walking her half way up the stairs to say goodnight.
"I had a nice time this evening, thank you for going with me and getting me out of there," he smiled, watching her shiver in the cool night air. He offered her his coat, wrapping it around her cool shoulders.
"I had a really nice time too Dawson, thank you for everything," she said, moving down a step to be closer to him. They stared at each other for a minute, suddenly unsure about what they should say. "Here you can have your coat back, I can just run inside."
"No it's okay, I can get it from you later," he said, wondering if she caught his true intention.
"You'll have to just come over to get it, or I can drop it off," she said, giving him a sly look. Their moment was interrupted though with the honk of the cab's horn, the driver getting annoyed.
"I should go," he said, unable to move, staring at her face in the sidewalk light.
"Yeah you should, we'll get together and do movie night or something this weekend maybe," she said, sounding nervous.
"I can't, it's my mom's birthday and I have to go back to Capeside for a few days for her party, you could come with though I know she would love to see you," he said, hoping she would say yes.
"Thanks but Matthew has play dates this weekend with some friends.but tell her and Lily I said hi," she whispered, as disappointed as he was. "So we'll get together again later then, good night Dawson."
"Goodnight," he said, watching her turn to head inside with his coat. "Hey Jo can I ask you a question?"
"Sure," she said, moving back to him.
"If I were to do something right now, would you hate me?" he asked, his mind racing.
"No," she said simply, wondering what he was thinking.
"Okay good," he said, hoping up the stairs that separated them and hesitated for a minute, unsure if he had the gall to actually do what he was thinking. With his mouth slightly open, looking at the confused look on her face, he took a deep breath and leaned in, kissing her softly on the lips, feeling her momentarily tense up before relaxing and placing her hand softly on his face. He pulled away after a minute, looking at her in the eye before smiling and backing off, walking back down the stairs and into the cab, watching the shocked yet pleased look on her face as she stood on the stoop, watching him leave.
