Chapter 2: Introductions

Joey sighed and glanced out her window at the marvelous view in front of her. It was her second day in Hawaii and the view from her hotel room still took her breath away 24 hours after her arrival. It was raining when Paul dropped her at Boston's airport, giving her a quick hug and kiss goodbye, whispering, "I love you," in her ear as they hugged. The flight from Boston to Los Angeles was a nightmare, full of turbulence and screaming kids, although she was fortunate and slept most of the flight from Los Angeles to Honolulu, where it was warm and sunny when she arrived. The locals gave her a beautiful peach and pink lei to wear, welcoming her to the island and a hotel driver was waiting for her, taking her to the hotel that overlooked the ocean. The hotel managers were kind and didn't ask why only one person would be staying in the honeymoon suite, but Joey didn't really care if they asked either way, she just wanted to relax. The honeymoon suite was amazing, with a large king size bed, porch that looked out onto the ocean and a whole living room, dining room and kitchen set up in the room. The suite was bigger than her and Paul's first apartment in Boston after college! Exhausted from the trip and numerous time zone changes, Joey crashed early that night, sleep soundly for the first time in the last few weeks. Now it was the second day in the two and half-week trip and she sat on the porch, looking out on the ocean with her cup of coffee and morning paper, wondering what she would do that day.

Dawson was also exhausted from his trip. After another argument with Sara, he was forced to take a cab to the Boston airport, almost missing the flight. The flight was bumpy and long, but he couldn't bring himself to fall asleep. Part of him felt guilty about his latest fight with Sara and the other part of him couldn't wait to get to Hawaii and begin to relax and spend time by himself. He had two weeks to figure out if he loved Sara enough to marry her, and decide if he could live without perhaps finding his one true love. Both were difficult questions and he knew he would need that time to figure everything out. A hotel driver took him to the hotel and he sighed at the sight of the ocean from his hotel room. Sara would have complained the whole time, that the room wasn't big enough or they didn't offer turn down service at night. The thought of her raspy, whiny voice started to irritate him, but he shook his head and reminded himself that she wasn't here. It was just him.

After a long day on the beach, catching up on some reading, Joey sauntered back to the hotel and noticed that a luau was taking place on the hotel deck. Contemplating what she should do, she walked up to the hotel deck and scanned the crowd. There were a lot of couples there, chatting and socializing with one another and Joey had a sudden urge to leave right away. The last thing she needed was to be surrounded by happy couples, flirting and making eyes at one another, just killing time before they would dash back up to the room together. With a sigh, she made her way to the bar and found an empty chair, immediately opening her book again and immersing herself in the story she began on the beach.

Dawson sighed when he saw all the couples at the hotel luau. He did not want to be around happy couples, talking about how they met, when they're getting married (if they were engaged) and why they can't live without each other. That was the last thing he needed right now, more pressure. He made his way to the bar and found an empty chair next to a woman reading a book, barely touching the daiquiri in front of her. He couldn't see her face, but she had the longest, sexiest legs he had ever seen. Trying not to stare, he sat in the chair next to her and noticed her playing with a thin strand of long dark hair as she read, twisting the hair slowly around her finger and then letting it fall loose against the side of her face.

Joey could feel someone staring at her, but she didn't know what to do. She could yell at him and tell him to take a picture, but she didn't know for sure if he was really looking at her. And she couldn't look out the corner of her eye, giving the satisfaction that she wanted to look at him too. When she felt his gaze fade, she slowly turned her head and looked at him briefly. He was very handsome, short blonde hair, strong jaw and nose. He almost reminded her of a model with his handsome good looks and muscular arms, but she quickly snapped her head back to her book when he threw another glance in her direction. Caught, Joey felt her cheeks burn with embarrassment.

"Hi there," he said softly, looking at her again, finally cutting the tension with conversation. Tucking her hair behind her ears and shutting her book, she smiled and faced him.

"Hi there," she said, suddenly feeling embarrassed that those were the only words she could get out of her mouth. They stared at each other for a minute, not really knowing what to say next. For the first time in years Joey felt a sudden rush of nervousness. She was completely tongue-tied and couldn't decide what to say to carry on the conversation.

"So where are you from?" they said in unison, looking back at one another. Realizing what they did, Joey laughed and swiveled in her chair to face him better. Dawson laughed and paused, waiting to her to jump back in the conversation. "I'm sorry," he said with a smile. "You first." "I'm from Boston," she said slyly, stirring her drink slowly.

"Me too," he laughed. What luck, he thought.

"Really?" she said, surprised at the coincidence. "I work in publishing there and I'm just here on vacation for a few weeks, you know time to get out of the city for awhile."

"Yeah I know what you mean," he said, also swiveling his chair to face her. She was really pretty, he thought. Her deep brown eyes were like the ocean. He could see himself getting lost in them if given the opportunity. "I'm a teacher in Boston and this is the first real vacation I've had in awhile so I thought I would get as far from the city as I could for awhile." She laughed and took a sip of her drink. He couldn't help but stare at her full lips. They have to be as soft as pillows, he thought, suddenly tempted to lean in and kiss her.

Joey could feel him staring at her and she felt like a teenager all over again. She was so nervous that she didn't know what to do or say. No man had ever made her feel like that, not even Paul. There was something about this guy that made her feel like a kid, nervous and anxious for what would happen next. As she turned her stare back to him, she saw him lean in and her stomach started doing flip-flops, butterflies building in her stomach, making her feel weak. He's going to kiss me, she thought, and she didn't want to stop him. She turned her head to lean in as well, eagerly anticipating the feel of his lips against hers, closing her eyes and placing her hand on his thigh.

Noticing a small bug in her hair, Dawson broke his stare from her, leaning in to pull it out her hair and trying to resist kissing her. As he leaned in though, he saw her turn toward him and close her eyes and he wondered if she wanted him to kiss her. Why else would she do that? He paused and wondered what he should do, should he kiss her or not? After a moment of thought, he brushed the bug out of her hair and let his hand trace slowly down the side of her face, feeling her hand softly resting on his thigh. When his hand traced along her face, he felt this bolt of electricity shoot through his hand and his entire body, shocking him for a minute. Her skin was so soft and warm and just touch of her skin against his made his knees shake, something that he never felt before.

Joey felt a shock run through her body when his hand traced along the side of her face. She was a bit embarrassed that he didn't kiss her, but the feeling that ran through her when his hand touched her face was enough to make her collapse right there. Her knees felt weak and she felt a chill run down her spine causing her to shiver for a second. He pulled his hand away when he felt her shiver and she opened her eyes to see them only a few inches apart from one another, with his other hand on top of hers. Her heart was racing and she could see the nervousness in his eyes, which were staring right into hers. His eyes were the purest shade of blue, almost matching the color of the ocean and the more she looked at him, the more she got lost in them, feeling all the nervousness and anxiety fade away.

"I have to go," she whispered, pulling her hand from his quickly and gathering up her book, throwing some money on the bar. She wanted to stay with him, but she knew that if she did, something bad would happen, or something good, but her thoughts suddenly turned to Paul and she panicked. Dawson snapped back into reality and looked at her in shock for a second. Whoever this woman was, he didn't want her to go, or if she did, he had to get at least her name. There was something about her that excited him, made him feel something that no other woman made him feel and he had to see her again.

"Wait," he shouted as she slid off the chair and made her way through the crowd. Because of the music, she couldn't hear him, so he slid of his chair, throwing some money on the bar and ran after her. After calling for her several times, he caught her elbow and she spun around to see him standing behind her. "Can you at least tell me your name?" He saw her soften and smile smugly.

"My name is Joey," she said, extending her hand to him.

"Hi Joey, I'm Dawson," he said softly, taking her hand, both feeling another spark run through them. They just looked at each other, still holding onto each other's hands, but their minds racing. After a minute, Joey pulled away and turned to leave, but this time, Dawson didn't follow her. He stayed in the crowd for a minute and watched her go, trying to figure out what this feeling was and what it meant.