Chapter 9: It's Getting Closer
Things got worse as the days continued up to the wedding. Paul kept a close eye on Joey, staying as close as he could to her all the time. He privately checked her cell phone, called to check up on her at the office and even followed her once in awhile during her lunch hour. He hated acting like this, barely recognizing who he was, but he knew something was going on. Every day her phone would ring, causing her to excuse herself to take this "work call" and talk in hushed tones in another room. She suddenly had dinner meetings and plans just about every night, disappearing for hours and one night not coming home until 6 a.m., sneaking in like a teenager and crawling in to bed, hoping he wouldn't notice. Joey could tell that Paul was acting differently, but she was so blindsided by spending all this time with Dawson, that she was naïve to his private actions. Joey felt horrible about lying and deceiving Paul all the time, lying about the phone calls, work dinners and extra hours at the office, but she couldn't help herself. She hated being away from Dawson and found herself lying more and more to Paul as the wedding got closer. Her extra hours and meetings usually consisted of meeting Dawson at private restaurants at odd locations in Boston or at movie theaters during the day, only half watching the movies because they would be making out in the back. They talked by phone and e- mail all day long, but even that wasn't enough. They agreed not to stay over at each other's place or sleep together again until everything with Sara and Paul was dealt with, but that got to be harder and harder to deal with as they spent more time together, feeling the sexual tension build again. Sure they could kiss and make out, but no matter what, they had to stop sometime and that proved to be harder than either one of them thought. One day, Joey left work for lunch, telling an interested Paul that she had to meet some friends to talk about wedding stuff, but she was actually headed out to Carlisle Park again to meet Dawson. Running a bit late, she jogged over to the benches and found him waiting with sandwiches. He smiled as he saw her approach the benches, giving her a quick hug and kiss on the lips.
"I missed you," he whispered, leaning in to kiss her ear and neck as she began to eat her sandwich.
"Dawson I spoke to you twice this morning before lunch," she laughed, pushing him away playfully but leaning in for another quick kiss. "But I missed you too." They talked the entire lunch, laughing and holding hands, just enjoying their time together. Dawson kept secret Sara's actions over the last few days. She had become so possessive and obsessed with his actions at all times that he found himself pulling further away from her. Dawson knew that he had to tell her it was over between them, but he and Joey had not talked about their future together so he held off for a bit. He also neglected to tell her about his morning conversation with Paul, when he ordered him to stay away from Joey.
"Joey I hate to kill this great time together, but we need to talk about our situation," he said nervously, not wanting to start a fight with her. She hung her head and nodded, knowing somehow that this was coming. "Sara knows that something is going on here and I have to tell her it's over because I don't want to marry her Jo, I just want us to be able to be together and not have to lie to anyone about us. You're getting married in two days and I don't even know if you plan on calling it off!" He was right, the wedding was getting close and she still didn't completely know what to do.
"I hate lying all the time Dawson," she whispered, taking his hand in hers. "I hate lying to Paul and everyone around us but I hate being away from you more and I miss you whenever we are apart." His heart soared when he heard this because he knew he felt the same way. He hated the lying, but he hated being away from her more. "I need to talk to Paul Dawson and then I'll know what to do." She smiled at him weakly and rested her hand on his shoulder, just enjoying the private moment between them, completely unaware that Paul was hiding behind a newspaper not far away, watching the entire exchange.
That night Paul lied to Joey, just like she had been doing to him all this time, and said he had to stop back at the office for some paperwork that he needed the next day. Joey's little friend did not listen to his warning earlier on the phone and now Paul knew what he said was true, she didn't love him anymore because she was having some sort of affair with this guy from the diner. Cursing to himself about all the lies, Paul parked his car in front of an apartment building and waited for a moment, wondering to himself if he was really about to do this. He watched as the man from the park approached the building, watching him enter the building and head upstairs to an apartment in the corner of the third floor. Taking a deep breath, he followed him inside and quietly approached the apartment door that he watched from enter from outside. Knocking softly on the door, the man's eye grew when he saw who was standing at his door.
"What do you want?" he asked nervously, holding his cell phone in his hand. Paul looked at it for a minute, grabbing it from his hand and seeing Joey's cell phone number on the display.
"I didn't want to do this but you didn't listen to me," Paul said coldly, throwing the cell phone over the man's shoulder and punching him across the face. Stumbling back in shock, Paul hit him again, causing him to fall to the ground, still in a daze. Wiping the blood from his nose and jaw, he looked up at Paul for a minute before he kicked him in the stomach and ribs a few times, until he passed out and then he left, closing the door softly behind him.
Things got worse as the days continued up to the wedding. Paul kept a close eye on Joey, staying as close as he could to her all the time. He privately checked her cell phone, called to check up on her at the office and even followed her once in awhile during her lunch hour. He hated acting like this, barely recognizing who he was, but he knew something was going on. Every day her phone would ring, causing her to excuse herself to take this "work call" and talk in hushed tones in another room. She suddenly had dinner meetings and plans just about every night, disappearing for hours and one night not coming home until 6 a.m., sneaking in like a teenager and crawling in to bed, hoping he wouldn't notice. Joey could tell that Paul was acting differently, but she was so blindsided by spending all this time with Dawson, that she was naïve to his private actions. Joey felt horrible about lying and deceiving Paul all the time, lying about the phone calls, work dinners and extra hours at the office, but she couldn't help herself. She hated being away from Dawson and found herself lying more and more to Paul as the wedding got closer. Her extra hours and meetings usually consisted of meeting Dawson at private restaurants at odd locations in Boston or at movie theaters during the day, only half watching the movies because they would be making out in the back. They talked by phone and e- mail all day long, but even that wasn't enough. They agreed not to stay over at each other's place or sleep together again until everything with Sara and Paul was dealt with, but that got to be harder and harder to deal with as they spent more time together, feeling the sexual tension build again. Sure they could kiss and make out, but no matter what, they had to stop sometime and that proved to be harder than either one of them thought. One day, Joey left work for lunch, telling an interested Paul that she had to meet some friends to talk about wedding stuff, but she was actually headed out to Carlisle Park again to meet Dawson. Running a bit late, she jogged over to the benches and found him waiting with sandwiches. He smiled as he saw her approach the benches, giving her a quick hug and kiss on the lips.
"I missed you," he whispered, leaning in to kiss her ear and neck as she began to eat her sandwich.
"Dawson I spoke to you twice this morning before lunch," she laughed, pushing him away playfully but leaning in for another quick kiss. "But I missed you too." They talked the entire lunch, laughing and holding hands, just enjoying their time together. Dawson kept secret Sara's actions over the last few days. She had become so possessive and obsessed with his actions at all times that he found himself pulling further away from her. Dawson knew that he had to tell her it was over between them, but he and Joey had not talked about their future together so he held off for a bit. He also neglected to tell her about his morning conversation with Paul, when he ordered him to stay away from Joey.
"Joey I hate to kill this great time together, but we need to talk about our situation," he said nervously, not wanting to start a fight with her. She hung her head and nodded, knowing somehow that this was coming. "Sara knows that something is going on here and I have to tell her it's over because I don't want to marry her Jo, I just want us to be able to be together and not have to lie to anyone about us. You're getting married in two days and I don't even know if you plan on calling it off!" He was right, the wedding was getting close and she still didn't completely know what to do.
"I hate lying all the time Dawson," she whispered, taking his hand in hers. "I hate lying to Paul and everyone around us but I hate being away from you more and I miss you whenever we are apart." His heart soared when he heard this because he knew he felt the same way. He hated the lying, but he hated being away from her more. "I need to talk to Paul Dawson and then I'll know what to do." She smiled at him weakly and rested her hand on his shoulder, just enjoying the private moment between them, completely unaware that Paul was hiding behind a newspaper not far away, watching the entire exchange.
That night Paul lied to Joey, just like she had been doing to him all this time, and said he had to stop back at the office for some paperwork that he needed the next day. Joey's little friend did not listen to his warning earlier on the phone and now Paul knew what he said was true, she didn't love him anymore because she was having some sort of affair with this guy from the diner. Cursing to himself about all the lies, Paul parked his car in front of an apartment building and waited for a moment, wondering to himself if he was really about to do this. He watched as the man from the park approached the building, watching him enter the building and head upstairs to an apartment in the corner of the third floor. Taking a deep breath, he followed him inside and quietly approached the apartment door that he watched from enter from outside. Knocking softly on the door, the man's eye grew when he saw who was standing at his door.
"What do you want?" he asked nervously, holding his cell phone in his hand. Paul looked at it for a minute, grabbing it from his hand and seeing Joey's cell phone number on the display.
"I didn't want to do this but you didn't listen to me," Paul said coldly, throwing the cell phone over the man's shoulder and punching him across the face. Stumbling back in shock, Paul hit him again, causing him to fall to the ground, still in a daze. Wiping the blood from his nose and jaw, he looked up at Paul for a minute before he kicked him in the stomach and ribs a few times, until he passed out and then he left, closing the door softly behind him.
