Author's Note: This chapter contains sexually explicit material.
February 4. Sunday morning dawned bright and beautiful, and its light had begun to fill the room when Joey opened her eyes. She turned on her side and gazed at the man sleeping next to her, and for the millionth time sent up a prayer of thanks. She snuggled closer to him and her hand went to his chest, feeling the steady heartbeat underneath her palm.
"I love you so much," she whispered.
She listened to his slow, even breathing, and marveled at how handsome he was. Totally relaxed in his sleep, his eyes were closed, dark lashes falling against his face, and his lips were slightly curved into a smile. He was like an angel. A wonderful angel who'd shown her some deliciously wicked things. She was content to lay there for some minutes, just watching him sleep. Then she looked at the digital clock next to the opened box of condoms on his bedside table. They had just over an hour to shower, pack up, and be at the bus.
She leaned over her sleeping boyfriend so that her breath stirred the brown hair near his ear. "Wake up," she whispered.
Instead, he smiled in his sleep and reached to pull her down on top of him. Joey studied his face. When he was asleep, Pacey's face was so smooth and serene, and he looked so much younger than he was. She wondered what his son would look like. A little boy with blue eyes and brown curls. Their son. A wave of tenderness swept over her, and she leaned over and kissed his lips ever so gently.
He kissed her back without ever opening his eyes. "I want you with me for the rest of my life," he murmured.
That was just where she wanted to be. She kissed him again, letting the kiss deepen until his eyes opened and looked up at her with muted passion, two dark, blue pools. Her breasts were just above his face and he kissed both of them. She drew a breath, remembering last night and wanting him all over again. His morning erection was rock hard against her leg and she moved on him, straddling his hips. She reached for a condom, quickly discarding the wrapper, and sheathed him before taking him inside her.
Pacey grinned sleepily up at her. Her heat felt like tight, wet heaven around him. "Using me for your own pleasure, Josephine?"
"And yours," she answered with a smile, and then began to ride him, making slow, sweet love to him, and then fast and hard, until they both climaxed.
"That was quick," he said, his body shuddering with pleasurable aftershocks.
She slid off him. "After the past two nights… I just can't get enough of you, but I also can't take all day."
"Please do." He stroked her hair tenderly.
She kissed him and then got out of bed. "We have to be at the buses by ten-forty-five, remember? We gotta get moving."
Pacey frowned and sat up. "Time to go home," he sighed.
Later, once they were satisfied that they had everything packed up and weren't leaving anything behind, they left the cabin behind and started making their way to the two chartered buses at the front of the lodge. They were barely going to make it. As they approached, they saw most of their classmates had already boarded, all except for Drue Valentine, who appeared to be arguing with Mr. Kasdan.
"Get on the bus, punk. And where are Joey Potter and Pacey Witter? Do I honestly have to go looking for them? We don't have time for this."
"They're probably off somewhere sucking face. It's disgusting, isn't it?"
Watching Drue get onto the bus suddenly made Joey's stomach twist into knots. "Pace, do you think he told everyone?" she asked quietly, feeling a sense of panic start to rise. "You know… about seeing us at the drug store yesterday?"
"I suppose we'll find out when we get on." Pacey's hand tightened protectively around hers as they moved closer. "We're here, Mr. Kasdan."
The teacher turned and eyed them with disapproval. "Just exactly what part of, 'be at the buses at ten-forty-five so we can leave at eleven am sharp,' were you not listening to, Mr. Witter?"
"Well, we're here, aren't we?" he snarked.
"Get on the bus, Pacey," Mr. Kasdan ordered.
Without another word, he placed his and Joey's duffel bags in the open luggage compartment on their assigned bus, and then they boarded. To their relief, there was no reaction to their appearance by their classmates. No cheers, whistles, or vulgar remarks, which was a good sign that, for whatever reason, Drue had kept his mouth shut. Much to their grateful surprise, Jen and Jack had also saved them seats. Even better, Drue and Anna were seated together several rows behind them at the back.
Once they were sitting, Pacey's brown paper shopping bag full of snacks and other things to occupy them on the bus ride set down at their feet, Joey leaned forward. "So, how was your weekend?" she asked.
"Pretty good," Jen replied. "Well… other than having a bruised foot, and then Mr. Kasdan catching me getting rid of all the empty mini bottles of alcohol after we raided the locked mini bar Friday night."
Her eyes went wide. "What?"
Jen shook her head. "You'd think he'd be happy I was doing my part to save the planet by recycling."
"You got drunk?"
"Oh, yeah. Big time. So did Jack."
He nodded. "Sometimes you just gotta make your own fun." Then his mouth curved into a grin. "So, uh, how was your weekend, Joey? We didn't really see you and Pacey too much. You missed a raucous game of Truth or Dare by the hot tubs last night."
Blushing, she thrust her tongue in her cheek as she shook her head. "We were busy."
"Gettin' busy, you said?"
She laughed. "Oh, my God. Shut up, Jack."
It wasn't long before they were on the road, making the southward journey back to Capeside. Pacey and Joey sat huddled together, keeping their voices low, snacking on the candy bars he'd gotten from the drug store the night before. When they crossed state lines from Vermont into Massachusetts, Drue stood up and started walking down the center aisle, passing out pieces of paper to everyone.
"Okay, folks. It's time for our post-game wrap up."
When he reached them, he handed over two sheets of paper and two pencils without a word and kept on going. Brows knitting, Joey looked down at the paper.
CAPESIDE HIGH SENIOR CLASS POST-SKI TRIP SEX QUIZ
1) Were you a virgin before the ski trip? (If no, skip to #6)
2) Did you lose your virginity on the ski trip? (If no, skip to #19)
3) How did it feel?
4) Do you wish you'd waited longer? Or done it sooner?
5) What, if anything, would you have done differently?
6) Did you have non-virginity-losing sex on the ski trip? (If no, skip to #19)
7) How many times did you have sex on the ski trip?
8) How many people did you have sex with on the ski trip?
9) How many of your sexual experiences were casual hookups?
10) Did you give oral sex on the ski trip?
11) Did you receive oral sex on the ski trip?
12) How many orgasms did you have?
13) How many sexual positions did you try?
14) Is there a chance you might be pregnant or gotten someone pregnant?
15) Do you regret any of the sex you had?
16) Was the ski trip sex the best sex you've ever had? Was it the worst?
17) Do you plan to have more sex with anyone you slept with on the ski trip?
18) Are you in love with anyone who went on the ski trip?
19) Do you wish that you had?
20) What are you thinking about right now?
Joey blushed furiously, and looked at Pacey. His face had gone red, too. He chuckled and crumpled up his paper. "Hey, I answered the first one, and you didn't," he said, and then grinned. "I'd say it's your turn, Potter."
She pursed her lips. "You just want to know my answers."
"Well, of course I do!"
"You already know them, though."
He shrugged. "Still. It wouldn't hurt to see it in writing. Maybe I'll frame it and hang it on my bedroom wall."
"What, like an award?" She laughed, and then quietly considered the quiz for a moment. "But doesn't it have to be given back to Drue? Like hell am I going to let him read it."
"Then don't let him."
Smirking, she leaned into her boyfriend and started moving her pencil across the paper.
Pacey bent his head near hers and read down the paper as she answered each question one by one. "Perfect and wonderful and amazing, huh?"
She smirked. "You know it was."
He continued reading her answers as she wrote them. He moved closer. "Mmm-hmm," he said huskily into her ear.
She instantly warmed at the lust in his voice, and her body clenched. "Stop," she whispered as she wrote.
Then his eyes went wide, his finger moving to tap the paper. "Really? That many?"
Joey gaped. "You were there."
"Yeah, but… there were definitely some moments where I'm pretty sure I lost consciousness."
She burst into a fit of quiet giggles. She continued to write her answers while her boyfriend provided a running commentary.
"Let's hope not, but I honestly think we're good. No need to rush out and buy diapers anytime soon."
"Mmm, I certainly hope so. A lot more."
Nearly ten minutes later, Drue started coming up the center aisle to collect everyone's quiz answers. When he reached their seat, Joey smiled and started to hand it over. His eyes widened with surprise, and he stared at her with a greedy, triumphant look, as if he couldn't believe his good luck at procuring her answers. Then her face hardened and she arched her brows as she pulled her hand back. Fixing him with a pointed stare, she folded the paper in half and inserted into Pacey's brown shopping bag on the floor between their feet. Drue frowned at her, and stared at the bag for a moment. Then without a word, he walked off to collect papers from their other classmates.
When they stopped for lunch at the McDonald's in Marlborough, everyone disembarked the buses and dined under the golden arches for almost an hour. They were soon back on the road, and just before four o'clock in the afternoon, the buses were pulling into the Capeside High School parking lot. As previously agreed, Gretchen was there to pick them up.
"Hey, guys," she greeted them with a smile. "So, how was the ski trip?"
"Well, I managed to stay out of jail," Pacey replied. "No one's hair caught on fire, and… I'm pretty sure Joey isn't pregnant."
Her face went red and she pursed her lips. "Yep. Nothing as wild and crazy happened as when you went, apparently."
Gretchen's gaze flickered between them, searching their faces, one corner of her mouth curving up, and Pacey inwardly groaned at his sister's keen sense of perception. "Well, I'm glad you both stayed out trouble. Did you have a good time?"
She wished she would stop blushing. "Yeah, it was… good."
Pacey nodded, swallowing. "Yeah, you know… it was… it was good. Just… just a weekend." The look on Gretchen's face wasn't comforting. "Anyway, let's get going. Joey's gotta be back at her house."
"I actually have a test to study for," she frowned. "Not to mention a big assignment due. Only the sadists who work in the math department would schedule both homework and a test the day after the senior trip."
Once their bags were in the trunk of the Land Rover, they were heading for the Potter B&B. Try as she might, Joey couldn't stop herself from blushing. She resolutely stared out the window, avoiding Gretchen's gaze in the rearview mirror, biting her lip to try and stop herself from grinning like a fool. Pacey tapped his hands on his thighs as he peered out the front passenger window, trying to look anywhere but at his sister.
Gretchen's eyes kept flickering between them, and then she grinned widely. "You two are so cute."
"Don't," Pacey warned, throwing her a hard look and shaking his head, his face going even redder.
Joey let her gaze meet his sister's in the mirror, and she frowned at her realization. "You know, don't you?"
"That you guys did it? Well, I had only guessed, but you just confirmed it."
"Oh, God," Pacey groaned, hanging his head.
His sister laughed. "It honestly wasn't that hard to figure out. You've both been blushing since the parking lot, and neither of you have been able to stop smiling for more than twenty seconds. Completely different vibe than our car ride on Friday morning, I must say." She laughed again.
Pacey and Joey grimaced.
"Aww, come on, you guys," Gretchen pleaded. "I'm your sister," she said to him, before glancing at Joey in the mirror. "And a friend-slash-older-sister-type figure in your life. I love you both, and I know exactly what you're feeling, but you don't need to be embarrassed. I think it's really sweet, and I'm very happy that you both look so happy. And if you're worried that I'm going to open my big fat mouth, well don't. I was a teenager in high school once, too. And besides, the last thing in the world I want to do is discuss my little brother's sex life with anyone." She scrunched up her face and shuddered.
"But I'll tell you something: if you're thinking you'll be able to keep this a secret from the world at large, well… let's just say when I was in high school, it really wasn't that hard to guess which couples were having sex and which ones weren't."
Joey's face flushed hotter, butterflies of embarrassment still fluttering in the pit of her stomach. Pacey shook his head and sighed, turning once again to stare out the window.
When they reached her house, he carried her duffel bag up as he walked her to her back porch. Once they were standing in front of her door, he dropped the bag and pulled her into his arms. "I suppose we're not gonna see each other until the morning."
"True, but we'll see each other all day tomorrow. I'll be there bright and early to pick you up for school, and you know Monday's my day off. So, I'll have all afternoon and evening free to be with you."
"I wish we were gonna be sleeping next to each other tonight," he said quietly. "It feels like when we got off the boat. It's gonna be weird to sleep without you there."
She pouted. "I know, me too. Who knows when we'll be able to again?"
"We'll figure something out. Or… well, hey… I mean, you are eighteen, so you could just move out and come live with me and Gretchen."
She laughed. "Yeah, that would go over like a lead balloon. Bessie would throttle me. And can you imagine what kids in school would say?"
He snorted, pulling her tighter against him. "They'd probably think I knocked you up and that your sister threw you out of the house."
"Probably? Try definitely."
"And the non-appearance of a baby bump would make them all eat their words, and choke on the power of our love." Her face scrunched up, and he laughed. "Anyway, speaking of Bessie… are you going to tell her?" he asked quietly, lowering his voice.
"Tell her about what?"
"Duh. About you and me on the ski trip."
She gaped. "Of course not."
"Well, what if she asks?"
"Then I will tell her the same exact thing I've been telling her since we stepped off the boat in September: it's none of her business. Sex is private, and what happens between you and me, stays between you and me."
"While part of me would love to tell the entire world what I did this weekend and who I did it with, yes, sex is private. It's very private, and it will stay between you and me… and Gretchen… and Jen and Jack… and, oh yeah, Drue Valentine."
She grimaced. "So, how long before he blabs, do you think?"
"I'm sure he'll eventually spread it to the entire senior class… including, if not especially, Dawson," he frowned, before dropping his arms and stepping back from her. "Ah, the proverbial final nail in the proverbial coffin."
"What is?"
"The cruel twist of fate that was your virginity being stolen by one Pacey J. Witter, and now cannot be given to your soulmate, as it rightfully should've been."
"This again? Really, Pacey? First of all, my virginity wasn't a gift to be given or stolen. Technically, it's just a thin membrane, and a biological state of sexual inexperience. Personally, losing my virginity was wholly a decision I needed to make about myself. And as Jen would say, the entire concept of idealistic virginity being a gift to men is just a tool to keep women in their place."
"Again, you're making my point."
She gave him a patient look. "Also… Dawson is not my soulmate, Pacey."
"Yeah? Try telling him that."
It felt like they'd had this conversation a hundred times. She huffed and shoved her hands in her coat pockets. "I actually think the three of us are in a really good place. Dawson and I are friends again. He's been nothing but nice to you for a while now, like actually making an effort. So… I kind of doubt it would bother him at this point."
He blinked. "Do you hear yourself, Jo? Dawson wouldn't care that you had sex with me? In what world? He'll never speak to me again for the rest of his life."
Sighing, he wasn't sure how he felt about that, and hadn't yet come to a definitive conclusion about how he felt about Dawson's friendship. He still didn't know whether he wanted it or not, or whether Dawson truly even wanted to be friends, despite outward appearances. There had definitely been moments over the past month where things almost felt back to normal, as though nothing had ever come between them, and it had felt nice to have that back. Yet Dawson would then inevitably do or say something that would fill him with doubt about his motives and sincerity.
"If you really think that's how he'll react, then let's just hope he doesn't find out. And if he does, then…" She shrugged. "I mean, so what if he does? It won't change anything. I'm sure he suspects, anyway."
"You know, I would just like to be able to have sex with my girlfriend, whom I adore, without having to hide the fact and walk on eggshells around the guy. But at the same time, I really don't want to have to deal with the soap operatic repercussions of him finding out."
She reached forward and grasped his arms. "Pace, just think about this for a minute. Dawson and I dated for two months sophomore year, and then we broke up. We got back together, dated for two months, and then broke up again, and that was almost two years ago. What happened last spring was… horrible, and I never want to go through anything like that again, but the three of us have come a long way since then. We've all moved on. We're past it.
"Also, you and I have been together for practically eight months. We're in love, we're happy, and he sees that every day. Any reasonable person would probably have come to the conclusion that we were already doing it by now."
"Reasonable? Dawson? Mr. All Roads Lead Back To Me?"
She threw him a look. "Pacey, if anyone is reasonable, it's Dawson Leery."
"Under normal circumstances, yes… but not when it comes to you, which is the whole point. He has never been reasonable where you're concerned."
Stepping closer, she wrapped her arms around his waist and pulled him against her. She could see Pacey getting upset and didn't want to end their weekend like this. "Do you remember that beautiful gift Dawson gave me? The picture of us he took at his parents' Christmas party? He knows how much I love you, Pacey, and he knows how much you love me. He wouldn't have given me that gift if it still bothered him. And Dawson would know that being in love and being in a serious, committed relationship would likely include sex. He would at the very least assume it was a possibility, and he gave me that gift, anyway."
He heaved a sigh, his lingering doubts about Dawson's true motives behind that gift plaguing his thoughts.
"I know you don't want to hurt Dawson, and I know you don't want a repeat of the melodrama that we went through last spring. I don't either, and I admit that this development could certainly hurt him if he was still in love with me, but I honestly don't think he is, Pace. We're friends, we're only ever going to be friends, and I believe he's accepted that. And I'm pretty sure he's still majorly crushing on your sister. He talks about her all the time. It's pretty much all he talks about: Gretchen and Mr. Brooks."
He made a noncommittal sound.
She hugged him tighter. "I don't want to end the weekend like this."
"Like what?"
"This. You standing there with a frown on your face."
Pacey looked down at her, his gaze warm and tender, and brushed some loose strands of her hair back behind an ear. Then Joey lifted her lips to his and kissed his frown away.
Once they said their goodbyes, she stepped inside the house, her duffel bag over her shoulder, and was immediately greeted by Bessie and Alexander, who were very happy to see her back home. After depositing her bag in her bedroom, she helped her sister get ready for supper. There were some guests at the house, but only two of their regulars: an older retired couple from Manchester-by-the-Sea who had been staying at the B&B every other month since last June when their divorced daughter and her five children moved to Capeside.
It wasn't long before they all sat down at the dining table, where she and Bessie had brought over the meatloaf, mashed potatoes, and roasted carrots. Joey felt pleased that her sister was in such a good mood, despite having to care for guests without both her and Pacey all weekend, and that she hadn't been the recipient of one long look or underhanded remark regarding what may or may not have happened while she was in Vermont.
When the meal was over, she stood at the kitchen sink washing the dishes while her sister dried them and put them away in the cabinets. As she handed off some dripping wet forks, she caught her sister smiling at her. "What?"
"You seem different," Bessie said.
"I do?"
"Yeah. You look different, too."
She smiled awkwardly and went back to focusing on the dishes. "In what way?"
Her sister shrugged. "I don't know. It's not a bad different. It's a good different. You've been glowing since you walked in the door. You seem… more relaxed, calmer, like some sort of inner peace has come over you. You look… really happy and content."
Joey laughed. "As opposed to what?"
"Your usual stressed out and frazzled state of affairs. I mean, just last week you were practically jumping out of your skin and couldn't sit still for longer a minute."
"Oh. Well, I was probably just excited about the senior trip and time was moving too slow."
"Hmm."
They were silent for several more minutes, washing and drying dishes. Then Bessie spoke again. "Did something happen on the ski trip?"
She willed her face to not turn red, and failed. "What do you mean? Lots of things happened. Didn't I tell you that Jen bruised her foot and then got busted by Mr. Kasdan for raiding the mini bar? And that a rather scintillating round of Truth or Dare has probably made the entire Yearbook Club implode?"
"I don't mean what happened to your friends, Joey. I have this feeling that something happened with you. Now, you don't have to answer me if you don't want to, 'cause lord knows you'll just tell me it's none of my business if I even ask."
She thought for a moment. Gretchen had easily figured it out, and she supposed trying to keep it a secret from her own sister for the rest of the school year would probably be a fool's errand, especially if she and Pacey were going to try to make future plans to spend nights together. "Go ahead and ask me, Bess," she said, turning to look her full in the face.
Her sister hesitated, and then took a deep breath. "Did you sleep with Pacey on the ski trip?"
"Yes."
Bessie's eyes widened as if surprised to get such a straightforward answer. "Well… okay," she breathed calmly, nodding her head as she took in this new information.
She smirked at the appealing thought of making her sister immediately regret her nosiness. "Quite a few times, actually."
Her sister closed her eyes and threw her hands up, turning away from her to face the counter. "Okay, okay!"
"Would you like any more details? The positions we tried?"
Bessie pursed her lips and turned to give her a hard look.
"Hey, you asked," Joey shrugged, inwardly gloating at her sister's discomfort. "And just so you know… thanks, in part, to my birth control warehouse, we were very safe and responsible. So, there's no need for you to worry."
"No need for me to worry? Ha!"
"Bessie, I'm eighteen, and so is Pacey. My graduation is pretty much guaranteed at this point, he's doing phenomenal in school and so I'm positive he'll graduate, too. And I'm sure I'll get into a good college, whether it's Worthington or somewhere else. What's there to worry about?"
Her sister looked her over for a moment. "You really are calm and relaxed about this, aren't you? Well, you both do have a lot going for you, so don't risk it all over foolish and reckless behavior. Please don't forget how easy it would be for all those good things to disappear into thin air with one positive pregnancy test, young lady."
"Which is why birth control is not only smart, but necessary. Thank you for your advice, Bessie."
"Yes, well, Pacey may very well have been agreeable to wearing a condom if that's what it took for your relationship to become physical, but I know teenage boys, Joey. And not just boys, grown men. Eventually they'll try anything and everything to get out of having to wear one, which is something you should be seriously concerned about. I'm sure there will come a point, sooner or later, when Pacey will try to persuade you to give up the condoms."
"You obviously don't know Pacey very well if that's what you think." If only her sister knew that she was the one to be concerned about in that area, and not her boyfriend. She'd probably have an aneurysm. Joey sighed. "Are you gonna tell Bodie about me and Pacey on the ski trip?"
Bessie looked away and dispersed the dried silverware into their drawer. "You know I will."
She shrugged again, not surprised. It didn't matter. She knew Bodie's reaction to this development in her life would be a lot more reasonable than Bessie's. The dishes done, she started to move away from the sink and out of the kitchen.
"Please just be careful, Jo," her sister said as she walked away, sounding truly worried and almost afraid. "Don't get so caught up in this that you lose sight of everything else."
"I am always careful, Bessie," Joey muttered as she reached her bedroom doorway, before closing it shut behind her.
After she'd spent over two hours at her desk, bent over her AP Calculus homework, the phone rang, and a few moments later, Bessie called out for her. Hoping it was Pacey calling, she hurried out of her room and into the kitchen to see her sister holding the cordless out with her hand covering the receiver. "It's Dawson," she told her in a hushed voice.
Unable to help it, her stomach filled with nerves as she reached for the phone. "Hello?"
"Hey, Joey."
"Hi, Dawson. Um… how are you?"
"Uh, not good, actually. These past few days have sucked in ways I didn't think possible."
She frowned. "I'm sorry. I take it Mr. Brooks passed away?" she asked, and then walked away from Bessie's curious stare to shut herself up in her bedroom.
He sighed into the phone. "Yeah. I know you know he wasn't doing well, but, uh, you'll never believe this…" He sighed again. "Well, Mr. Brooks made me his Power of Attorney, and so I had to make the decision to keep him on life support, or not."
She dropped on the edge of her bed, her mouth falling open. "Oh, my God, Dawson. How… I mean… what did you do?"
"It was one of the hardest things I've ever had to do, and I hope I don't have to do anything like that again. And I was calling because… well, are you busy? I kinda wanted talk to you about this stuff in person, but I'm not about to ask you to come over and climb my ladder. You wanna meet downtown, or something?"
"No, I'm not busy. Of course, I can meet. How about the, uh…" She was trying to think what would be open this late on a Sunday. "The Crown & Anchor?"
"Sure. Uh, in half an hour?"
"I'll be there."
It wasn't long before the two friends were seated in a booth at the downtown bar and grill, with cups of coffee in front of them. Joey removed her coat and laid it on the seat next to her before looking up to meet Dawson's gaze. "It's been a long time since I've been in this place," she told him.
"Yeah, same. It had to have been… junior year."
She smiled, remembering. "The Barefoot in the Park after party."
Dawson laughed. "That's right. That freshman… what's his name? Oh, Henry Parker. He threatened to throw himself from the rafters."
"Jen sure attracts some interesting characters."
"I'm guessing you're including me in there," he joked. "At least I never threatened to seriously injure myself when things went downhill for us."
She smiled and took a sip of her hot coffee. "I'm so sorry about everything you had to go through over the weekend. I know how much Mr. Brooks meant to you, and to be the one to make such a serious, intense decision for someone else… I don't know if that's something I could've done. I'm sorry I wasn't around while you were dealing with all this."
"It's okay. My parents have been very supportive. And Gretchen, too. She basically held my hand through it."
"Gretchen was with you at the hospital?"
"Yeah. She's become a really good friend."
Joey smiled. "I know. I think that's great."
Dawson smiled back at her. "Yeah, it is. But um… I don't get to say it so much anymore, but I hope you know you're still my best friend. You always were. You'll always be my best friend, no matter where you are, where your life may take you, and no matter who you're with…"
"You'll always have a piece of my heart?" she grinned.
"Something like that."
"Yeah. Doesn't have to be a huge piece."
"No, no, no," he laughed. "Not a huge piece. Just, you know, a tiny piece."
She laughed as she lifted her coffee cup, taking a sip.
"Which is probably why I called you, Joey. You're the most important person in my life. I needed to talk to somebody, and you were the first person I thought of. I've never had to deal with anything like what happened with Mr. Brooks. My mom's dad died when I was two, and my dad's parents both died before I was even born. I just… I've never had anyone I care about die before. And I guess I just really wanted to talk you because, well… you'd understand."
"Because I lost my mom."
He sighed. "You're the only person I know who's dealt with anything even remotely like this, and at the same time I know what you went through is nothing like this at all. So, for me to even compare the two situations…"
"It's okay, Dawson. I get it. It's hard to lose the people we love. No one wants to say goodbye, and death… well, you're saying goodbye forever. It's not easy to wrap your head around the fact that you're just not going to see this person anymore. That they're just gone from your life and they're never coming back. And depending on who they were to you and just how much of your life was wrapped up in that person, the hole they leave behind can be very hard to fill. But time goes on, and if you're lucky, like I am, to have people in your life who shower you with love and friendship, it makes everything… not as painful anymore. You might think at the time that you'll never be happy again, but life finds a way."
"When did Joey Potter become so wise beyond her years?" he smiled.
"A long time ago. I'm the oldest teenager in Capeside."
He took a sip of his coffee. "I'd say you're right. Can I tell you something? It's not exactly a secret, but I haven't told anyone yet."
"Of course."
"Mr. Brooks put me in his will."
Her mouth fell open. "Really? Does that mean…?"
"Mm-hmm. That he left me money? Yeah."
"You're kidding me."
"I could not be kidding you less."
"What are you gonna do with it?"
Dawson took a deep breath. "Apparently, I have to do something great with it. The proviso in his will reads, and I quote, 'Mr. Leery, this is the money with which one achieves greatness. So, don't go blowing it on booze and women. But should that be your choice, make sure it's great women and great booze.'"
She snorted. "No pressure there."
"I guess I could… pay my entire college tuition."
"Um, are we talking about your average liberal arts school tuition, or are we talkin NYU Film School money?"
"All four years of a top-notch film school, completely paid for."
Her eyes went wide. "Oh, my God. That's… that's a lot of money. That's like… two hundred thousand dollars. You could make a movie."
"Yeah, I could. It feels weird talking about how I would spend, though. It'd be one thing if I had won the lottery, but this…"
"I understand."
He smiled. "Anyway, uh, enough about me and my miserable weekend. How was the ski trip?"
She clenched her teeth, willing herself not to turn red in the face. "Oh, you know, it was nice. It was good just to get out of this town for a few days."
"Did I miss anything exciting?"
"Um… Jen bruised her foot. Ashley G and Ashley H got in a huge fight with Erin Myers while playing Truth or Dare, and now the fate of our Yearbook hangs in the balance."
Dawson snorted. "Ah, well, as Brooks was fond of saying, 'I'll alert the media.' You and Pacey have fun?"
Never before in her life had she wished so hard that her face wasn't an open book. "Yeah, like I said, we had a nice time."
"That's it? Nice? The infamous Capeside ski trip? Known far and wide as a mecca of wild hot tub parties, overflowing with booze, and not to mention, sexual debauchery? I mean, it's played out as far as senior trips go, but I'm sure it was more exciting than nice. Nothing wild and crazy happened? That's kind of a disappointment. Gretchen had so many stories from when she went."
"Well, I can tell you that I personally did not attend any wild parties in any hot tubs, drink alcohol, or engage in… debauchery."
"I meant about our class in general. Of course, you wouldn't. Drinking and sexual exploits are just not in Joey Potter's repertoire."
She threw him a look, her brows knitting. "Are you forgetting the multiple times I've gotten drunk at parties, Dawson?"
He laughed. "Well, true. But sex is another matter. You wouldn't really do something so cliché and predictable as lose your virginity on the ski trip, would you?" He laughed again.
His tone was teasing, as though he was confident that she would never do such a thing. She bristled, irritated that he still thought he knew her so well, as if she was still fifteen years old and hadn't grown, hadn't changed. It had been obvious to her for a while now that he no longer knew her as well as he used to, even if he apparently thought otherwise.
Joey looked at him, tempted to do or say something that would shake that annoying surety he had. "How do you know I haven't already lost it a long time ago?"
"Because I know you, and I think I'd be able to tell."
"What, just by looking at me?"
He gave a casual shrug and drank from his coffee cup. She frowned at his arrogant confidence, at the cynically raised eyebrow.
"I'm sorry, Joey," he said, catching the look on her face. "I don't really need to look at you to know the truth. I know the truth in my heart."
"And what does your heart tell you, Dawson?"
"It tells me that Joey Potter is the same girl she's always been. The girl who views sex as a monumental, life-changing event, something sacred and important. A girl who knows the decision to lose her virginity isn't something to take lightly. A girl who values the high standards she set for herself. A girl who honors the promises she's made to herself."
"That's what it tells you, huh?"
"You said it yourself, Joey. Sophomore year, remember? You told me sex isn't about the perfect setting or the perfect timing. It's about the perfect person, and I know you're someone who would wait for the perfect person."
A sense of indignation began to simmer inside her. "You're right, Dawson. I am."
He smiled, and let out a sigh that sounded an awful lot like relief to her. But then the smile faltered when he took in the look on her face. "I'm sorry. I know sex has never been your favorite topic of conversation, and mine neither, really, but, I mean, we are best friends, so you could certainly talk to me about this stuff if you wanted to…"
That was honestly the last thing on earth she wanted to do. "Well, it's kind of personal, don't you think?"
"It's very personal, you're right. I should know better than to invade your privacy." He sighed. "Look, I'm sorry. I apologize. I have no right to hold you to anything that we might have said in the past. I really do want you to be happy, and to live your life and enjoy everything that goes along with that. And… and…" He sighed again. "Look, I know that sometimes you make a promise and you mean it at the time, but then life gets in the way and it makes it impossible to keep. So, I just want you to know that it's okay. I'm not going to hold you to whatever you may have promised before."
Promises they made in the tenth grade? Was he serious? When was he going to grow up? And why did it seem like his true feelings were actually the opposite of what he was saying? Was he trying to guilt trip her? Joey pursed her lips as her eyes hardened.
"Well, thank you for giving me your permission to sleep with Pacey, Dawson," she said icily, her tone dripping with sarcasm. "Now we can finally do it."
"I didn't mean it like that, Jo."
"Sure, you didn't."
"Well, have you?"
"Have I what?"
"Slept with Pacey."
"Can't you tell just by looking at me? I mean, you tell me, oh wise one."
He sighed and closed his eyes, pressing his fingers between his brows.
She now worried that Pacey had been right about those soap operatic repercussions. They were all finally, finally, in a good place. Things finally felt right again. The fact that they could sit here at this table at all and talk like nothing awful had ever happened between them. The fact that Dawson more often than not joined her and Pacey for lunch in the cafeteria now, that he took an interest in Pacey again, and in ways that had nothing at all to do with her. Just last week, the sight of the two of them walking down the hallway at school together, talking and smiling, had filled her heart with such happiness.
She didn't want Dawson to be angry with Pacey, didn't want this to ruin everything between them all over again. She just wanted them to be friends, wanted them all to be friends like they used to be. She knew how much the two boys had meant to each other, and for them to throw it all away, and over her…
She wasn't worth it.
"Dawson, if you can give me one good reason for why that's any of your business, I'll answer the question."
She knew he didn't have one, and she knew he knew it, too.
"You're right. I apologize. It's none of my business. I won't ask you anything so personal again. I'm sorry."
All of a sudden, she wondered if Mr. Brooks' death had been the real reason he'd wanted to talk to her tonight, or if that was just a jumping off point to get down to what he'd truly wanted to talk about: her and Pacey on the ski trip. She wanted nothing more than to change the subject.
"It's okay. Let's talk about something else. So, you've been hanging out with Gretchen a lot. Are you sure you're still just friends? Nothing happening there?" She arched her brows.
Dawson laughed, and then started to talk about his friendship with Pacey's sister. Joey felt relieved they were able to finish their evening at the Crown & Anchor without any tension or awkwardness. As she walked to her truck in the parking lot, she wondered at the enigma that was the state of their friendship. At times, things felt so right between them, like she finally had her friend back, and felt like things were better than she ever thought they possibly could be.
Then there were moments like earlier tonight when it was obvious that he still thought things were the same, like they were still fifteen years old, and there was no one in her life more important than him. She remembered his confident tone, at the way his smile became a bit arrogant, as if he knew more than she did, as if he knew her better than she knew herself.
Which was one of the biggest reasons their romantic relationship went down in flames.
In fact, their romantic relationship fell apart as soon as it became clear to him that she was her own person, with her own dreams and aspirations, with her own free will and nature. She'd since realized that Dawson had never truly wanted her. He'd wanted the idea of her, and the idea of her was fiction, a role he needed her to play. She was real—too real—and didn't fit inside the role he'd created for her in his own mind, and whenever she stepped outside that role, it was a huge problem with him.
They never really clicked once their relationship became romantic. They didn't fit. She'd wanted them to. She had wanted it to feel right. She'd convinced herself she'd wanted it because Dawson was exactly the kind of person that she'd thought she was supposed to want.
He wasn't rash or reckless. He wasn't irresponsible and unpredictable. He didn't have a conscious and unconscious raw sexuality simmering beneath the composed surface of his words and glances, that drew female attention like a magnet just by the way he walked into a room. He was safe. Her heart would be safe. There was nothing for her to worry about with him.
But her desire to avoid a broken heart, to live a life without any fear and uncertainty, and to have the safe predictability of a future clearly mapped out in front of her with no twists or turns in the road, did not true love make.
As she drove down Main Street, Joey wanted nothing more than to head for the beach house. She didn't want to be alone tonight. She wanted Pacey to hold her. She wanted him to make love to her, and then she'd tell him about Bessie and Dawson, and then he'd tell her it would be all right. But it was getting late, it was a school night, and she had more studying to do for her test tomorrow. Going to see Pacey right now would, no doubt in her sister's mind, be considered foolish and reckless behavior. The responsible, practical, Joey-Potter-thing-to-do would be to just go home. The thought made her frown. Still, she went home.
A little later, she lay in bed trying to study, but her mind kept drifting. She couldn't stop thinking about Pacey, longing to be with him, wanting him. She replayed the weekend over and over again in her mind, her body warming and becoming wet with her memories. She was now starting to regret she hadn't just driven to his house to get some relief from the constant yearning for him. She wanted to feel his hands on her. His mouth on her. She craved the weight of him on top of her, the fullness of him inside her. The explosion of ecstasy he gave her each time had been more incredible than anything she'd imagined in all her fantasies leading up to the ski trip.
Was this what people meant by having a "healthy sex drive?" She'd never thought it would feel quite so… driven. It was if the desire he roused in her when they were together—and the level grew higher each time—stayed with her long after. Right there, just beneath the surface. Sneaking out along with every thought of him at any given moment, making her skin feel flushed and her lips hungry to be kissed by him. Only by him.
Just when she started to doze, a tapping at her window stilled her awake. She turned to look, and it sounded as though someone was trying to open it. Why hadn't she remembered to lock it? She hopped out of bed, reaching for something to use as a weapon, but then she saw who it was.
"Pacey," she said in shock as she came closer to the now-open window.
"This is harder than I remembered it to be." He looked at her. She was a sight for sore eyes, standing there scantily clad in a tank top and panties. He grinned and pointed at her weapon as he climbed in. "What were you planning to do, Potter? Bore your intruder into submission?"
She looked at the copy of Cracking the AP Calculus Advanced Placement Exam in her hand and shrugged. "It was that or lubing you to death with my hand lotion."
"That sounds promising."
She shook her head, watching him close the window. She'd been hesitant earlier to be rash, to go with her heart's desire and see him, and instead forced herself to be responsible and go home. And here he was, being rash and reckless enough for the both of them. "You're crazy," she laughed.
"At one time I'd have disagreed." He stood in front of her and grazed her bottom lip with his forefinger. "But, yeah, you're right. I'm out of my mind."
Sinking both hands into her hair, he tilted her head back and pressed his mouth to hers. Dropping the book on the floor, she pulled his head down for better contact, kissing him greedily. She heard someone moan and realized the sound came from her. Panting, he broke their passionate kiss. His thumbs caressed her cheekbones before sliding down her neck to rest on her shoulders.
"Your hands are cold." She shivered, but she knew it was more from his touch and not the coldness of his hands. His hands may have been chilled but his gaze as he looked over her was scorching.
"You can warm them up." He fingered the spaghetti strap of her tank top. Pacey dropped to his knees, hands around her waist, and kissed a path around her navel, his tongue caressing her soft skin. "I've been thinking about you all night, and dying to see you. I couldn't wait another minute," he said, and then dipped his tongue into her belly button. She was sheer perfection.
She clutched his shoulders, dazed by the shock of pleasure shooting through her body. "We have to be quiet," she urged.
He hummed. "We? I think you mean you."
"Please. You're louder than me."
Pacey laughed. "Hmm… well, maybe we're equally noisy."
"Right. So, we need to be quiet."
"Debatable. You have the only bedroom on the first floor. Everyone else sleeps upstairs. If I recall from the reservation book, the only people here are Mr. and Mrs. Garrigan, and I doubt they wear their hearing aids to bed. Also, it's after ten o'clock, so Bessie's fast asleep, and Bodie won't be home until sometime around two, as it's Sunday and he stays late with the sous chef to plan next week's specials."
"You've got it all figured out, don't you? Have you forgotten about the lightly-sleeping toddler upstairs?"
"No, but I really don't want to think about him at the moment."
He placed a kiss on each of her hips before placing one in the center. He gazed up at her, his hands rubbing up and down the backs of her thighs. "God, these legs," he sighed appreciatively. Slowly, with his dark and intent blue eyes still connected with hers, he pressed his lips right over where she throbbed most. As he kissed and licked and nibbled through the damp fabric, she thought for sure she was going to die.
Joey gasped, her hips arching forward with a will of their own. His tongue and teeth worked her gently but persistently. Finally, she couldn't stand it anymore. "Take it off," she commanded.
Pacey yanked down her panties and sunk his tongue into her. She didn't know who was taken more by surprise by her orgasm—him or her. She cried out, biting her lip to stifle it, dizzy as each wave of pleasure crested through her. He lifted his head and scooped her in his arms. He kissed her, walking blindly to her bed. She tasted herself on him and moaned into his mouth.
He followed her down onto the mattress and covered her with his body. "Is this the same bed you've always had, Jo? Next time you can sneak into my room. At least my mattress doesn't sag."
"Shut up, Pacey." She kissed her way up the soft yet firm column of his neck. He smelled so good—comfortingly familiar and exciting at the same time.
"You may not be concerned right now, Jo, but in the morning when your back is all kinked up, you'll realize I was right."
"I'll give you kinky." She rolled over, which made them both topple to the floor.
"Oof!" he said when she landed on top of him.
"Whoops," she giggled. "Oh well. Nice hard support for your back." Joey sat up and stripped off her tank top. "You should be fine now."
Underneath her, Pacey went still. The amusement in his eyes faded, becoming replaced with heat, carnal and intense. He was entranced by the sight of her naked above him. He wanted the warm embrace of her arms, of her long, slender legs wrapped around him. He wanted to revel in her caresses, and sate his desire in the softness of her body as she called out his name in ecstasy.
"I have too many clothes on," he pointed out.
"I was noticing that myself, Pace."
She unbuttoned his coat, pulling it up and off his arms, before doing the same with his bowling shirt and the long-sleeved shirt underneath. Joey bent down and kissed her way across his bare chest, earning her a sharp gasp. "Shh," she chided, not bothering to look up. "We have to be quiet, remember?"
"Quiet. Right." Not that it mattered, since her room was on a completely different floor and on the opposite side of the house as the others. As long as they didn't scream at the top of their lungs… which, at this point, he was now starting to think was a possibility. He hissed as she unsnapped his jeans and slid her hands inside.
She stopped when her fingers met bare hard flesh. "No underwear?"
Pacey gave her a wicked grin. "Seemed excessive tonight."
"Good thinking." She pushed down his jeans, staring at the long, thick length of him. Scooting down, she took him all the way in her mouth before she sucked the tip. By the way he groaned and clutched her hair, she figured he liked it, so she did it again. And again.
"Joey." He wrapped his hand in her hair and gently tugged. She lifted her head. "While I'd really like you to do that to me again… save it for another time. Right now, I just want inside you."
"I want that, too." She straddled herself over his hips.
"My wallet," he said, his voice tight with lust.
She grinned and reached behind her for his jeans that were bunched up around his calves. She pulled the wallet from the left back pocket and took out a condom. She unwrapped it, placed it at the head of his cock, and rolled it over him. Then she leaned forward and rested her hands on his chest as he moved into position. He kissed her as she lowered herself onto him, capturing her moan with his mouth as she stretched to accommodate his girth.
When he was fully inside her, he clenched his jaw, straining against the overload of sensation. She felt so warm, so wet, and so fucking tight, and he was so worked up, that his mouth just started talking. "Ride me, Joey," he groaned. "Oh, baby… love me."
Her eyes rolled, and she sat back and began sliding up and down on him. He held her hips, guiding her, moving her in a smooth, sensual rhythm, fighting the urge to go off just at the sight of her. He wanted her breasts in his mouth, and was about to tell her to lean forward, when she dropped her head back and offered them to him.
Pacey didn't hesitate. Sitting up, putting his back up against her bed, one hand gripping her hip to control her grinding movements, he sucked her nipple into his mouth. She cried out. He murmured against her skin. "We have to be quiet, Jo, remember?"
"Do we?"
He grinned as he scraped his teeth against the taut peak of her breast. "Yeah. Or I can stop."
"Bastard." She smiled and squeezed herself around him, loving the feel of him so hard and full inside her.
"Okay, maybe I won't stop," he said, panting.
"I thought that might change your mind."
Her arms around his shoulders, her fingers were in his hair, gripping him. He placed his hand on the small of her back to guide her rhythm over his lap. He forged a trail of kisses along her jaw to her ear. He kissed her earlobe and then sucked that soft, sensitive spot behind it where her pulse beat wildly. "Pacey… do you know what you're doing to me?" she whimpered, lust burning through her body.
He shifted to lay again on his back, and then took charge of their rhythm, thrusting up into her with smooth, deep strokes. Still riding him, she let out a stifled cry and closed her eyes, and he knew she was getting close. He reached up and brushed her hair from her face. "Look at me. I want to watch you when you come."
She laughed breathlessly. She could feel the rush of pleasure coursing through her with every thrust, building towards an intense release. "Keep it up and you won't have to wait long."
He grinned, and wanting her face close to his, pulled her down to him. "I don't think that'll be a problem."
It wasn't.
She said his name again, urgently, and he knew she was at the edge. She whimpered, and that sound, plus the exquisite look on her face, told him she was about to go over it, and he could sense she was going to drive him right over, too. "Joey," he said, his voice a husky whisper of desire in her ear, knowing exactly what he was doing to her. "You're gripping my cock so tight. You're going to come, aren't you? I can feel it. Let me feel it, baby. Make me come."
Pacey covered her mouth a split second before Joey screamed. She plunged head first into a deep abyss of pleasure—sinking, swimming, lost to everything except the feel of him going harder and faster. She contracted so tight around him, pulling him deeper inside, the juices from her orgasm covering his throbbing cock, he quickly followed her into the abyss of pleasure, and then it was her turn to cover his mouth. They moved together, gasping and riding through the aftershocks, until she finally came to a stop and collapsed on his chest.
They lay there for a long time, skin to skin, hearts pounding, whispering words of love and affection.
After a while, Joey broke the quiet. She perked her head up. "How's your back?" she grinned. "Any kinks?"
He chuckled. With a finger, Pacey brushed a lock of hair out of her eyes and tucked it behind an ear. "My back is fine, thank you."
"I need to tell you something," she said quietly.
"Yeah?"
"Yeah. Well, two things. First, I told Bessie about us."
His mouth fell open and then he laughed breathlessly in disbelief. "Really? Why? I mean, I don't mind that you did, but you seemed so adamant that you weren't going to."
She shrugged. "She knew something was up, and she asked me, and… I told. Keeping something so huge a secret didn't really seem possible, at least under my own roof." Her lips curved into a smirk. "Well, we should probably keep rendezvous like this one under wraps, as I don't want Bessie bolting my window shut, but, you know, generally speaking."
"Okay," he chuckled. "And how did she react?"
"Exactly like you would expect Bessie to react."
He pursed his lips. "So, I can expect some mean looks coming my way in the future?" He shook his head. "The Witter boy, that reckless troublemaker. He's bad news. Not like the Leery boy. He comes from a good family. He's so nice and polite. Never gets in any trouble. He'd never knock up our precious Joey and ruin her life."
She rolled her eyes, fighting a grin. "Bessie didn't say a single thing about Dawson, just so you know."
"Okay, so, what's the second thing you need to tell me? Are you taking an ad out in the paper and printing your sex quiz answers?"
She laughed, briefly wondering just where those answers were before remembering they'd been left in Pacey's brown paper shopping bag. Then she hesitated, both wanting and not wanting to tell him at the same time. Her inner debate quickly tipped the balance in favor of honesty. "Well, speaking of Dawson, someone else also asked me the same question earlier—if you and I slept together on the ski trip."
Pacey searched her face, the disappointed look in her eyes. He wasn't surprised in the slightest. "Of course, he did. And what did you say?"
"Well, I was annoyed and getting angry, so I told him it was none of his business."
"Where was this? Did he stop by here, or something?"
She shook her head. "He called me and asked me to meet him somewhere to talk, so I met him at the Crown & Anchor. He acted like he wanted to talk about Mr. Brooks, who died over the weekend, by the way, if you didn't know that yet. Dawson does seem upset over it. And he did want to talk about Mr. Brooks. For the most part, that was the dominant topic. But then, of course, the conversation steered towards the ski trip, and…"
Joey sighed, feeling herself getting irritated all over again. "He thinks I'm still that fifteen-year-old girl who's scared of growing up, who can't make any big life decisions without his input, like he's… he's…"
"Like he's still the most important person in your life and that everything you do should revolve around him somehow?"
She frowned, knowing he was right, and was quiet a moment.
It was becoming more and more obvious to Pacey that Dawson was just never going to grow up and accept reality. Not that he was surprised at this. The guy was a dreamer with his head in the clouds, after all. He knew how Dawson's mind worked. Pacey knew he believed there was always, or almost always, some way around the reality of things to make everything fit inside the movie he wanted his life to be. Fate or destiny would always turn out in his favor.
He also knew that meant Dawson wasn't going to give up on Joey, at least for a long while. To his surprise, he didn't feel threatened or even all that angry about it. Pacey felt more sure than ever of her love and commitment to him.
"Anyway, Pace, I think you might've been right earlier about those soap operatic repercussions, and now I don't know what to do. I don't want us to go backwards, back to that place where we were all hurt and angry and not speaking to each other."
"Sure, Potter, now you tell me all this after you've had your way with me," he snarked, shaking his head with faux disapproval.
She smirked. "Well, I wasn't about to ruin the mood. And hey, you're the one who climbed through my window, remember?"
Pacey rubbed her back affectionately. "As for what to do about Dawson, well, you told him it was none of his business, right? Do you think he's going to ask again?"
"I don't think so."
"Then… let him mind his own business and come to his own conclusions. I mean, as time goes on, the idea that we're not having sex will eventually seem utterly ridiculous, even to Dawson. And if that realization makes him angry, and he decides not to speak to us just because we're happy, then…" He sighed. "Then do we even need a friend like that, Jo? Honestly? You don't deserve to be treated as though you've done anything wrong because you haven't. You have nothing to feel bad about, even if he wants you to."
She looked into his eyes, his gaze filled with warmth and love. She knew Pacey was right, yet she still didn't want to lose her friendship with Dawson all over again, not after she'd finally gotten it back. "I don't feel bad about it, and I know I haven't done anything wrong. Nothing has ever felt more right."
Hauling her higher on his chest, Pacey gave her a fierce kiss. But the fierceness mellowed quickly. "You taste so good, Joey," he whispered hoarsely. "You feel so good." His hands began to glide up and down her body. "You feel so good on top of me, your skin against mine."
She agreed. Her breasts were pillowed by the soft firmness of his chest. Her thighs, straddling his, knew their sinewed strength. He felt so good beneath her that her body began a slow rocking while her mouth inched over his nose, his cheek, and down to the warm, bare skin of his neck.
"You smell so good," she whispered against his throat. He smelled soapy and warm, with a musk of sex and clean sweat.
Pacey grinned in pure delight. He breathed in her scent. She smelled good, too, and he wanted to make love to her for the rest of his life. Joey was the only woman for him, now and always, and he prayed things between them could stay like this forever.
"Pacey?" Her voice was muffled against his chest.
"What is it, sweetheart?"
Blushing, she kept her face buried, inwardly chiding herself at feeling somewhat shy and embarrassed. "I want you again."
He laughed in continued delight.
Joey lifted her head to look at him. "What's so funny?"
"You. Good God, woman. You're insatiable."
"Is that a bad thing?" she smirked.
"No, not at all. I mean, it's exhausting, but no, it's not bad. It's the opposite of bad, actually."
"Does that mean you want me again, too?"
He arched his hips against hers. "What do you think?"
She grinned, her eyes sparkling with humor. "I think yes, but I also don't want you to think that I'm only after your body."
Pacey didn't laugh this time. He smiled tenderly, his fingers moving to caress her face. His expression was soft and filled with wonder. "What I think, Potter, is that I'm the luckiest and happiest man alive."
Then he reached for his wallet on the floor next to him, and pulled out another condom.
Her eyes went wide, a surprised smile spreading across her face. "You brought two?"
"I brought two. Something told me I'd need to come prepared."
Giggling, Joey pressed her lips to his and kissed him with all the love and happiness exploding inside her, a perfect ending to their weekend of bliss.