Chapter 3: Familiar Faces

Dawson strolled in to the hotel restaurant the next morning, removing his sunglasses and scanning the crowd for Joey, the woman he met last night. He barely slept the night before, unable to get the image of her out his head and he spent most of the night trying to figure out what it was that he felt when he touched her. Sara called to make sure he got there okay and apologize for their fight, but he couldn't focus on their conversation because all he could think about was this woman he met for a few minutes but couldn't get out of his head. Allowing other guests to go in front of him, he continued to scan the crowd, looking for her, hoping she would be there. After a few minutes moving around to get a good look at the entire restaurant, he found her sitting on the porch, staring out at the ocean with coffee in front of her. She was even more beautiful in the natural light, which bounced off her long brown hair pulled back in a ponytail. He cut through the crowd and hesitantly approached her table, wondering if she would remember him.

"Is this seat taken?" he finally asked after watching her for a minute. He didn't know why he constantly stared at her, but he couldn't help it. She snapped back into reality, looking at him in shock and then slowly shook her head. He sat across from her and they looked at each other nervously, unsure what to say.

"I'm sorry I left in such a hurry last night, I ah was tired," she said, obviously nervous around him.

"It's okay, I ah was pretty beat too," he lied, trying to get through the nervous tension. He ordered breakfast and thought of what he could say to cut the tension that was building around him. "So are you here by yourself?"

"Yeah, I was supposed to be on my honeymoon right now, but um things didn't work out so I'm here by myself and he's back in Boston," she said softly, handing him the cream for his coffee. Dawson felt his heart soar for a minute. She was single and here by herself, this was great.

"Oh really?" he said, trying to sound too happy. "You guys called of the engagement?"

"Ah no not really" she said, trying to avoid his stare. "Um there were all these problems before the wedding so we decided to postpone it and then when I get back we'll start planning again you know so everything's right." She saw him try to hide his disappointment and she partially wished that she never told him about Paul and the whole wedding thing. "Are you here with someone?"

"No I'm not," he muttered, still trying to hide his disappointment. Of course she was engaged, he thought, all the good ones are. "My girlfriend and I were supposed to be here together, but she's been on this hard-core, 'let's get married' kick right now and ah I thought it was time for me to get a breather." He peeked at her for a minute and saw her look a bit disappointed that he was taken as well.

"You don't want to marry her?" Joey asked, taking a sip of her coffee.

"I really don't know," he sighed, feeling a sense of relief that he could talk to someone about this. "We've only been together a little over a year and now she wants a full commitment or nothing at all and I just feel really pressured all of a sudden. I care a lot about her, but I don't know, I just have this feeling sometimes that there's someone out there for me that I haven't met yet. The great love of my life." Joey felt her heart soar when he said that. She felt the same way about Paul.

"I feel the same way," she said, with a hint of excitement in her voice. "I love my fiancé but sometimes I just wonder if he's it, if he's 'the one' for me or not. That played a small part too in us postponing our wedding plans." They smiled and looked at each other for a minute. It had been so long since either of them had a confidant to talk about their problems and fears with and now they felt like they had something in common. During the rest of breakfast, they talked more about their jobs, their families and life. Joey was so easy to talk to that Dawson found himself telling her things he normally didn't talk about with anyone, even Sara and Dawson was so funny and easygoing that Joey felt completely comfortable with him. He didn't judge her or lecture her, he just listened and laughed, still staring at her with his deep eyes. When the check came, they both paused for a minute, unsure if they really wanted such a lovely time to end.

"So look, I'm here by myself and would hate to spend the entire time in isolation," Dawson said, feeling as nervous as he was when he asked a girl out for the first time. "So yeah ah I'm wondering if maybe you would like to have dinner or something tonight, strictly as friends."

Joey laughed and looked at him shyly. "That sounds like fun, yeah I would like that a lot," she said, looking at him happily. "You know ah I have to run into town to do a bit of shopping, you could um join me if you like and then do dinner later." Dawson's heart soared again and he nodded immediately.

"Yeah that would be great," he breathed, seeing a smile spread across her face.

Their entire day together was amazing. They took a car into town and spent the entire afternoon walking through the streets, browsing at shops and street vendors and talking almost non-stop about everything. Dawson told her about his obsession with film and movies and Joey told him about her side job as an artist. They laughed and teased each other like old friends all day. Dawson held her packages while they shopped and both felt so comfortable around one another, despite the lingering sexual tension and attraction. A few times while walking through heavy crowds, Dawson's hand brushed against hers, causing both of them to pull back for a minute and regain their composure. Sometimes being so close to him made Joey feel weak and tempted to lean in and kiss him, but she resisted. Listening to her laugh at his jokes and hit his arm softly made his heart race. Being so close to her for so long was amazing and he didn't want it to end. After a few hours shopping, they returned to the hotel and separated to get ready for dinner. It took forever for them to finally go their separate ways, still talking and laughing, unwilling to leave just yet. After another half- hour of talking though, they finally left, promising to meet at the restaurant in an hour.

Joey dashed into her room and pulled out all her sundresses and nicer outfits, trying to decide what to wear. She suddenly felt like she was sixteen again, unable to find anything "suitable" to wear for a causal dinner with a new friend. The decision time took so long that after four dresses, she settled on her black J.Crew dress and pulled her hair back in a low ponytail. She wasn't a knockout but she was so anxious to see him again that she just threw on some sandals and ran downstairs to meet him. Only a few minutes late, she found him waiting for her at a table, dressed in khakis and a dress shirt, smiling wide when he saw her stroll in.

"You look great," he breathed, taking in the sight in front of him.

"Thanks, you too," she blushed. He pulled the chair out for her and sat down across from her again. They talked again throughout dinner, barely finishing their food because they talked so much. They playfully argued about movies and Dawson's apparent obsession with Steven Spielburg, but they never ran out of things to talk about and share with one another. As the evening wore on too, they moved their chairs closer to one another, until they were shoulder to shoulder, turning slightly to face one another and talk more. After two hours of talking and trying to finish their food, Joey checked her watch and sighed. It was after nine and Paul was calling tonight to talk and see how things were going. She promised him the day before that she would be around to talk and catch up, which meant she had to go. Sensing a change in her attitude, Dawson stopped mid-sentence and looked at her curiously.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

"Paul, my fiancé is calling tonight and I promised him I would be there to talk." she started, hating the fact that she had to go.

"No it's okay, really," he said assuringly, both of them lying. "I should go too, I mean Sara, my girlfriend will probably be calling too, so I should get back." Joey nodded and they didn't say a thing when they paid and walked about to the elevators. "You know I think I'm going to go for a walk," he said when the elevator doors opened and Joey began to walk in. His statement caused her to stop and stare at him nervously.

"Okay," she muttered, pressing the DOOR OPEN button, hoping he would join her. He shuffled his feet for a minute and just as the door was about to close, he stopped it, seeing a wide-eyed Joey staring at him intently, wondering what he would do.

"Would you like to have breakfast tomorrow?" he asked, trying to think of a way to see her again. She smiled and nodded quickly, obviously relieved. "Okay then, how about ten o'clock, right here?"

"Sounds great," she said, trying to hide her excitement. "Goodnight Dawson." He smiled and waved, watching the doors close again. He took a deep breath and walked outside for a nice stroll by the ocean.