Chapter 4: True Feelings

For the next few days, Dawson and Joey were completely inseparable. They spent all day together, walking along the ocean, relaxing by the pool and on the beach, walking through town and eating meals together. They only time they were apart was when they slept, Joey stayed in her honeymoon suite while Dawson slept in his regular room a few floors down. Joey loved spending so much time with Dawson, he was funny, sweet, smart and compassionate. He made her feel so alive and special when they were together, like she was the only person around. She felt so at ease and happy with him, happier than she had been in a long time. There was something about him that she never felt for Paul or anyone else, she felt.whole, but she didn't know how he felt about her. Well, Dawson felt the same way about her. She was so smart, funny and beautiful, he felt himself forgetting more and more about Sara and his life waiting in Boston. Ever since he met her, he wondered if Joey was his lost great love, the one he had not met yet. They both could feel the sparks between them, every time they touched they could feel it. As hard as they tried to fight it, the sexual tension and attraction between them was growing and by their fourth day as "friends," they could barely stand to be around one another and not be able to act on what they felt. One night at their usual dinner, the hotel had a band play on a large dance floor around the tables. Dawson saw Joey watching people dancing and slowly stood up and extended his hand to her.

"Want to dance?" he said, throwing his napkin on the table. She looked at him and smiled.

"Yes," she breathed, taking his hand and letting him hold it as they walked to the dance floor. As the music continued to play, neither one of them said a thing. Joey closed her eyes as they swayed back and forth, following the music that filled the restaurant. After a few minutes, Joey let go of Dawson's hand and wrapped her arms around his neck, resting her head softly on his shoulder. He felt his heart race as he traced his hand down her back and rest around her waist, feeling her body shiver again at the feel of his touch. He loved being with her and now holding her so close to him was almost too much. He wanted to kiss her, touch her, hold her like this all the time, but she was engaged and would return to Paul soon enough.

"Joey," he whispered, pulling back for a minute, looking at her deep brown eyes. "I don't think we should do this."

"Dawson please, we're friends, friends dance," she stammered, trying to stop whatever she felt he was about to say.

"No Joey we're not friends," he said flatly. "Joey there's something more here and I think you know what I'm saying. The first time I met you I felt the spark and I see the look on your face the last few days whenever my hand brushes yours or we touch by accident. There's something here and I know you feel it too and I can't keep spending all this time with you when I can't kiss you or touch you because that's all that I want to do and it's driving me crazy."

"Dawson I told you that I'm engaged." she started, avoiding his piercing stare.

"And I told you that I have a girlfriend but I can't seem to help how I feel about you," he said, feeling the frustration rise in his chest. "And I could just forget about all this if I thought you didn't feel the same way, but I don't think that's true Jo, is it?" Joey pulled away from him and rubbed her forehead. She couldn't help the way she felt too, but there were so many things that stopped her from doing what she felt in her heart.

"You don't know what you feel right now Dawson, okay you miss your girlfriend and I'm just here." she started, staring at him, knowing what she was saying was a lie.

"Joey I don't miss my girlfriend," he said flatly. "I don't miss her because you make me feel things she has never made me feel. You make me feel whole, you make me feel alive and happier than Sara or anyone else has made me feel. Tell me you feel nothing when we're together." Joey panicked and felt completely speechless. She wanted to tell him how she felt, that she wanted to be with him too, that Paul never made her feel as alive as she felt when she was with him, but she was scared.

"I'm sorry Dawson," she sighed, trying not to tear up in front of him. Hearing him breathe deeply, she turned and left, grabbing her purse and running up to her room. That night Joey couldn't sleep. Every time she closed her eyes she saw the look on Dawson's face when she left the restaurant and it made her feel sick to her stomach. He had feelings for her and she knew she felt the same way about him, she had known it from the first time they talked, but she was afraid to give into this new feeling. No one, not even Paul, made her feel what Dawson did and she wasn't sure if she could test those feelings, only to leave in a little over a week and return to her old life as if nothing happened. After tossing and turning until 2 a.m., Joey finally sighed and put on her slippers, grabbing her room key and walked down to Dawson's room. She had to see him, tell him how she felt before it drove her crazy. She stared at his door for a minute and knocked softly, wondering if he was awake at this time of night. She waited for a minute and was about to leave when he opened the door, pausing to see who it was. His eyes opened a bit when he saw her and he opened the door a bit more to see her better.

"What's up?" he whispered, curious as to what brought her to his door. She looked tired but beautiful in her pajamas with her brown hair messily tied up on top of her head. With a weak smile, she hesitated and paused before looking him in the eyes.

"I'm sorry about earlier tonight," she said softly, not breaking the stare with his eyes. "You were right though, I do feel something when I'm with you. I feel the sparks and I feel this tension between us and I hate it because I want to be with you but there's all this stuff."

"What do you feel right now?" he asked, opening the door a bit more.

"I feel alone and I've felt that way for awhile now, but when I'm with you, you make me feel.whole," she stammered, feeling the nerves and butterflies build in her stomach. "But you're right Dawson, I can't keep doing this either, the whole friends routine when there's something else going on." They stared at each other for a minute when Dawson walked over to her in the hall and cupped her face in his hands. Without a word from either one of them, he paused before leaning in to kiss her. The kiss was so soft that it felt like a dream, but after a moment he pulled back and looked deep in her eyes. The intensity in his eyes made her knees weak and she wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him in for another kiss, this time more passionate. Feeling her reach for him again, he wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her closer to him, the passionate and desire growing between them with each kiss. Soon the kisses between them were so intense and passionate that Dawson had to pull back to breathe. They looked at each other for a minute and smiled, Dawson taking her hand and leading her back in his room with him.

He barely had the door closed when she pulled him back into another passionate kiss, wrapping her arms around him, wanting to feel him close to her again. The sparks continued to fly between them as they kissed, the kisses growing more passionate and lustful with each one. They broke apart again and Joey went and laid down on his bed as he locked the door, making sure the "do not disturb" sign was on the handle outside. He made his way to her, reaching out for her as she lowered him down on the bed. They looked into each other's eyes for a minute, knowing that they were feeling the same thing. Their kisses started softly again but soon the feelings of lust and desire took over and only grew in intensity as Joey pulled his shirt over his head, throwing it to the ground before removing her pajama top. Sensing where this could go, Dawson pulled away from her for a minute and looked her right in the eye.

"Do you want me to stop?" he muttered, his lips sore from their kissing, but aching for more.

"No," she breathed, running her fingers through his hair and placing his hand gently on her breast, the moonlight bouncing off her fair olive skin. He looked at her for a minute, taking in the sight of her. She smiled weakly, pulling him back to her lips where their kisses resumed and the feelings between them grew and grew with every kiss and touch until they made love for the first time, leaving both of them exhausted and gasping for air. After a minute, Dawson reached for her, pulling her in his arms, holding her as close as he could. She felt so good in his arms that he couldn't believe there was life without her, a life without this feeling of happiness and contentment. Joey nestled herself tightly in his grasp and kissed his chest a few times. She had never felt so happy and safe with anyone but him and she didn't want to leave him or his grasp again.

"That was." he breathed, still struggling to regain his composure after the most amazing sex he ever had. No woman ever made him feel what he felt when he was with Joey, it was almost like he was a different person.

"I know.it was amazing, almost like a dream," she whispered, rolling to look at his face, covered in sweat and a goofy smile. Her brown hair was also damp, clinging to her neck and face. He smiled and brushed the hair out of her face, looking in her deep eyes.

"If that was a dream, I don't want to wake up," he said, lacing his fingers through hers, kissing her hand gently.

"Dawson what happens now?" Joey whispered, wiping a few beads of sweat from his forehead. She wanted to feel bad for what she did, cheating on poor Paul, who never did anything to deserve a cheating fiancée who couldn't seem to resist this guy. "What happens when we leave Hawaii and go back to our life in Boston?" Dawson looked at her for a minute, wondering the same thing she was. The thought of losing her and going back to someone else made him feel sick, but he didn't want to lose this moment, this moment together.

"I don't know Joey, but let's concentrate on the now instead of what will happen later on, let's focus on what we feel right now together," he said, knowing that the issue would come up again, but they would deal with that later. She smiled and nodded, leaning in to kiss him again, rolling him over on her, wanting to feel him against her again, which he didn't deny her.