"Okay whose wedding is this again and how do we know them?" Joey asked as she helped Dawson unpack the car.

"It's Shirley and Ryan Robson wedding, they're contributors to film festivals and independent directors, they gave me some money to show my film about you, Pacey and me three years ago and we've kept in touch since," Dawson said, carrying her bags.

The house was located in East Hampton, a few hours from New York City. The Robson family was extremely wealthy and had a sprawling estate over several acres, including a large Victorian mansion they renovated prior to the wedding. There was the main house, where the guests would stay, as well as a location set up near the bluff overlooking a beach for the ceremony. Joey gaped at the scene in front of her, suddenly feeling a bit overwhelmed and insecure.

"Dawson Leery you're here," Shirley squealed when she saw Dawson and Joey come around the house into the back yard.

"Shirley congratulations it's so good to see you again," Dawson laughed as she threw her arms around him, hugging him tightly. "Oh my goodness who is this Dawson, she's stunning."

"Oh this is Joey my."Dawson started, looking at Joey who was now also in a tight embrace in Shirley.

"Girlfriend, I'm Dawson's girlfriend," Joey finished, throwing him a sympathetic smile.

"Girlfriend eh? Well we'll have to share this with my husband-to-be," Shirley squealed, watching as Joey put her arm around Dawson's waist and gave him a kiss on the cheek. "Okay well take your bags inside and find where your room is and then join us outside for drinks!"

Their room was the corner back room of the house. They giggled when they saw how narrow the hallway was to their room, with barely enough shoulder room for Dawson and Joey to make it down the hall with their bags. The room was stunning, lots of natural light, lots of windows and a large king- size bed and chairs and tables in the room.

"It reminds me of one of the B&B rooms," Joey breathed, taking in the light and scene before them. Throwing her bag on the floor, she jumped on the bed and felt how soft and cloud-like it felt.

"So we'll sleep left to right," Dawson started, feeling a bit nervous suddenly about sleeping in the same bed with her, playing boyfriend and girlfriend for two days.

"Same as always," Joey smiled, closing her eyes.

"Won't you boyfriend get jealous," Dawson muttered, thinking Joey couldn't hear him.

"Dawson Jason knows I'm here with you and he knows how close we are," Joey sighed, rolling her eyes behind his back. "Besides we've slept in the same bed before many times, there's no reason why this would be different."

"Right, nothing is different," Dawson whispered, looking over his shoulder at her and giving her a weak smile.

"Besides this weekend is our chance to hang out and have fun together, just you and me because we don't see each other all that much," she smiled, moving behind him and putting her arm around his shoulder.

"Well whose fault is that?" he joked, feeling her punch his arm playfully.

"Okay so it's mostly my fault but now it's only Dawson and Joey for the next 48 hours so brush up on your adoring boyfriend skills so we can show them just how perfect we are for one another," Joey laughed, kissing his cheek softly before running the in the bathroom to change her shirt.

The remainder of the days activities included drinks and appetizers and mingling among the hundred or so guests that were invited for the weekend. Saturday was the wedding and then reception and Sunday was brunch and departure. Friday night was great. Dawson introduced Joey as his girlfriend to everyone and neither one missed a beat, kissing each other's cheeks, holding hands or Dawson placing his hand loving on Joey's hip. He got her drinks, retrieved her coat when she was cold and even let her sit on his lap with his arms around her waist when their table had one missing chair.

They got so caught up in the act of boyfriend and girlfriend that they started flirting and tempting one another, testing to see how far the other would go. They would stand close together, Dawson's hand gently tracing up and down her back, watching her try and maintain a composed demeanor. Joey would sit on his lap, leaning in so their lips were only a few centimeters apart and then pull away. The final nail in the coffin though was when Joey would purposely squirm on his lap, causing his to groan and reposition her, throwing her warning look which she returned with a flirty look and smile. Sitting on his lap while they chatted with other guests, someone finally about them as a couple. How long have then been together? How did they meet? Dawson panicked for a minute but Joey, never missing a beat, jumped in.

"Okay let me settle this sweetheart," Joey laughed, putting her second glass of wine down on the table, still sitting firmly on Dawson's lap. "We've been together for three years but have known each other forever. Childhood friends, Dawson was my first love but after years of back and forth we just decided to stay friends. But then three years ago things started to just change again, working on his movie and then my subsequent departure to Paris for three months, but all it took was one look from him at the airport and I was head over heels in love again. I will just say that absence makes the heart grow fonder and everything after that point is just a blur, a happy lovely blur." People at the table sighed romantically and gushed at the story, but Dawson watched Joey's face when she said it, seeing the far off look on her face and her red cheeks, remembering back to that day when he picked her up at the airport.

"That is so romantic, you guys are so cute together," Sarah, one of the guests gushed. "So three years together, any plans for marriage?" Joey nearly choked on her wine and Dawson jumped in to spare her.

"Well we're still a bit young, but Joey doesn't want to marry me," Dawson laughed, watching her turn around in horror.

"No sweet-pea I think you have that wrong, you said you didn't want to get married because you still needed to sew some wild oats and get over that case of herpes a one night fling gave him," Joey laughed, watching everyone else break into laughter and Dawson begin to tickle her sides.

"Okay I think my girlfriend has had more than enough to drink and is tired from a long day so we have to turn in," Dawson said nervously, removing the glass from Joey's hand and standing to throw her over his shoulder, causing her to laugh hysterically. "Yeah she was kidding about the herpes thing and I don't have to sew any final oats of bachelorhood, this woman is more than enough for me." Hearing one more round of compliments and gushing, they were off.

"Dawson I'm not drunk, just playful, put me down," Joey giggled as he carried her up the stairs and down the narrow hallway.

"Joey we're almost there so just settle down," he said, opening their bedroom door. "By the way, I've seen you drunk and playful and you're leaning a bit more toward drunk tonight."

"Okay but you haven't seen me playful in a long time my friend, I mean boyfriend, so you can't really judge that one anymore," Joey laughed as Dawson flopped her down on the bed, shutting the door and then jumping on the bed with her. Both laid in silence for a minute, just staring at the ceiling.

"I'm really glad you're here Joey," Dawson whispered, turning his head to look at her.

"Me too, I had a lot of fun today," she breathed, turning to look at him too. "Sorry about the herpes thing, I got a bit carried away."

"It's fine, if anything you've just saved me from being set up on blind dates by these people in the future," he laughed, turning to lay on his side.

"Come on Dawson they can't set you up, you're in a long-term, loving relationship, they ate it up with a spoon down there," Joey laughed, giving him a playful shove.

"Yeah they did," he said softly, brushing a piece of hair from her face, staring at each other in silence, not needing to say a thing.

"Well you better get some sleep because you will be called upon to dance with me tomorrow at the wedding reception, no excuses," Joey whispered, moving slowly closer to him.

"I think I can handle that," he breathed, getting caught up in the moment, the mood, and the atmosphere around him. All the playfulness suddenly disappeared between them and they just stared at one another getting lost in each other. After a few minutes, Joey playfully pushed him on his back and leaned her head on his shoulder and her hand on his stomach.

"Goodnight Dawson," she said softly, leaning up to kiss his cheek, smelling his cologne.

"Goodnight Joey," he breathed, closing his eyes and falling asleep immediately.

They overslept the next morning, waking up only 45 minutes before the ceremony was about to begin. Panicking, they shared the bathroom, Joey putting on her makeup and pining up her hair while Dawson shaved. Dressing quickly in her simple spaghetti-strapped green dress and black wrap, Joey helped Dawson with his tie as they ran out the door and down the stairs. The ceremony was held outside in the backyard of the grounds. There was a gazebo at the alter that was decorated with flowers and overlooked the beach below them. Running over to the ceremony, hearing the music about to start, Dawson grabbed Joey's hand, lacing his fingers through hers and led her over to two empty chairs. Flustered and warm from running over there, Joey fidgeted with her dress while Dawson smoothed out his suit.

"You look really beautiful today," Dawson whispered in her ear as they turned to watch the procession begin. She looked at him over her shoulder, mouthing, "thank you," and gave him a wink before returning her gaze to the bridesmaids. After the wedding, Joey and Dawson walked with the guests back to the house, where the reception was going to take place. Still holding hands, Joey dragged him over to a table with the people they chatted with the previous evening.

"Oh it's the happy couple, did you guys get a late start today?" Sarah's husband Tim asked, shaking Dawson's hand.

"Yes we did, my poor Dawson was so tired last night that I let him sleep a bit too late today," Joey said, sitting down at the table and placing her hand on his knee.

"Well hey we have some cameras here at the table for some entertainment, Dawson, Joey you guys get together for a picture," Sarah said, motioning for them to move closer together.

"Okay but make sure we get a copy of it, I don't remember the last time I had a new one taken of us," Dawson laughed, feeling Joey's arms wrap around his waist and her chin rest on his shoulder. He could smell her perfume and body wash and the wind made one of her curls tickle the side of his face.

"Okay.one.two.three," Sarah said, taking the picture on "three." "You guys that will look so cute, I'll definitely send Dawson a copy." Dawson turned to look at Joey, whose face was still close to his, causing their noses to be only centimeters apart.

"Guys the music and dancing is starting, let's go," Tim said, grabbing Sarah's hand and noticing Joey and Dawson pull back from each other quickly.

"Sweetheart I did promise you a dance," Dawson said, removing her wrap and his jacket before taking her hand and leading her to the dance floor.

Because there were mostly couples at the wedding, the DJ played mostly slow songs. The initial distance between Dawson and Joey as they danced began to disappear and eventually she had her arms wrapped around his neck and they danced cheek-to-cheek. Looking over her shoulder to see the sun setting, Dawson pulled back and grabbed her hand to go back to the table.

"Grab my coat and I'll be right back," Dawson said, leaving before Joey could question him. He returned moments later with a contraband bottle of wine and two glasses, motioning for her to sneak out of the reception and follow him, which she did.

It was much cooler now as the evening arrived so Joey placed Dawson's jacket on her shoulders, wrapping the jacket around her body, smelling his cologne again on the jacket.

"Dawson where are we going?" Joey asked, dragging slightly behind him.

"Just trust me, I'm going to show you something amazing," he said cryptically, taking her hand and leading her out to the rocks near the end of the bluff.

"What's going on?" she said, taking one of the glasses from him and sitting on the rocks.

"I wanted to show you what a real sunset looks like outside of New York," Dawson said, pausing to take in the scene before pouring some wine for them. The entire sky was beginning to fill with deep hues of pink, yellow and orange, gently bouncing off the water.

"This is so beautiful, I almost forgot what a real sunset looks like," Joey breathed, shivering a bit from the cool wind. Without a word, Dawson sat next to her on the rock, pouring some wine for her and then pulling her close to help shelter her from the wind. Resting her back against him, Dawson felt himself wrap an arm around her unconsciously. They enjoyed the scene before them and each other's company, just sitting and enjoying the silence between them.

"If I get married, I want to do it outside of the city, a nice scene like this, you don't get a view like this in New York," Dawson said softly, breaking the silence.

"You're right," Joey said, leaning on him a bit more. "You better hope your future wife agrees with you."

"Fortunately I don't have to worry about that for a long time, I can't even get a date," Dawson laughed, taking a sip of wine.

"You won't have to worry about finding someone Dawson, women will flock to you when you announce you're looking for a girlfriend," Joey laughed.

"Oh really? What else will happen?" he said playfully, pouring more wine.

"Hmmm let's see I'll end up being your answering service, fighting off all your women and we'll have to book lunch together like three weeks in advance because women will occupy your every lunch and dinner time break," Joey laughed, finishing her glass of wine. "And then you'll pick the one you want, you'll start living together, get married and forget all about me."

"I'd never forget about you Joey, you're my best friend, you're." he started, wondering if he should continue, considering the amount of liquor and lack of food they consumed.

"What Dawson, finish your sentence," Joey asked softly, sitting up to turn and look at him.

"You're my companion, confidant, you're.everything," Dawson breathed, looking her right in the eyes.

"I wanted to kiss you that day at the airport, when you came to pick me up," Joey confessed, blushing slightly. "I was so anxious to see you and hear about what you'd been up to and that look in your eye when you saw me get off the plane, I started to swoon again."

"It's okay I wanted to kiss you too, I also wanted to kiss you that night in my room, right before you left for France when we were laying on my bed," Dawson confessed, holding one of her hands. "You looked so pretty just laying there, looking at me. It took like all of my strength not to reach over and kiss you."

"It's okay, I wanted to kiss you too," Joey giggled. "It's amazing that after everything that has happened, after all the hurt, misunderstandings and time apart, look at how close we are now."

"I know, but even when things were bad and we weren't speaking, I knew it would work out," Dawson said softly, rubbing her hand. "After all this Joey, I know we'll survive anything."

"Do you ever wonder what it would have been like if we stayed together or if we got our real chance?" Joey asked, looking away for a minute.

"Yeah I think about it a lot, but all of those what-ifs don't matter right now because I like this, I like where we ended up," Dawson said, tilting her head up to look her in the eyes again. "I wouldn't give up hope yet either for our chance Jo, I have a feeling this is far from over."

Maybe it was the alcohol or the sun setting or the heart-to-heart that made Joey snap, but she did. Without breaking her stare from Dawson, she placed her hands gently on his face and moved closer, leaning in so their lips were only centimeters apart again. But this time instead of pulling away like she did the day before when they teased one another, she leaned in and kissed him softly on the lips, letting them linger together as her hands slid down to his shoulders. After a minute she pulled back slightly, opening her eyes and being confronted with Dawson's open eyes, clouded with want. Seeing the look in his eyes, she leaned in again and kissed him softly, feeling his hands gently wrap around her waist again before Dawson leaned in to the kiss as well, this time deepening the kiss, kissing her bottom lip before separating her lips gently with his tongue. Something in the back on Joey's head said this was wrong but that voice soon disappeared as she got lost in his touch and kiss, which turned more passionate with every minute. At that moment, it just felt right.

The long hidden romantic lingering feelings for one another exploded with that kiss. Finally breaking away from the out of control kisses for air, Dawson looked at Joey's swollen lips and eyes, which had the same cloudy look of desire. Running his finger across her lips, he leaned in again to kiss her, wanting nothing more than to kiss and hold her, but she pulled away. Confused, he watched as she stood up and looked at him, smiling weakly before grabbing his hand, lacing her fingers in his and leading him back to the house with a brisk walk. Dodging the guests and people at the reception, Joey dragged Dawson back to the house, kissing him deeply as they approached the stairs. Pulling back to look at her face, Dawson saw her smile again and kissed her softly before grabbing her hand and dragging her up the stairs, stopping to share quick kisses and giggles the entire way. Pushing him against the closed door, Dawson struggled to find the knob, barely getting it open before picking Joey up and carrying her in, kicking the door shut.

Carrying her over to the bed, Joey continued to kiss his neck and earlobe, trying to undo his tie with one hand. Laying her gently on the neatly made bedspread, she didn't even pause before pulling him down on top of her, wrapping their legs together and leaning in for another kiss, which Dawson hesitated to do.

"What's wrong?" Joey whispered, tracing her finger on his cheek.

"Are you sure?" he asked softly, hoping she would say yes.

"Yes I am, please, don't you feel something here, this whole weekend.the last few years," Joey whispered, leaning in for him.

"I love you Joey, I always have, I have for a long time.but."Dawson started, feeling his heart race.

"But nothing.I love you too Dawson, I've felt this for a long time.please kiss me," she pleaded, looking at him with her Bambi eyes again.

"I love you," he breathed, leaning in to kiss her, feeling everything else fade away.