Author's note: Thanks for sticking with this story. It takes commitment to read 17 chapters before getting a first kiss! Haha. Sorry this update took so long, but enough with the talk. Let's see what these kids are up to now.
Joey stirred from her much-too-short slumber. She opened one eye and was greeted by the rising sun. Confused, she quickly sat up, immediately regretting the movement. Her head felt like a cement block, and her entire body ached. Trying to get her bearings, Joey looked around her to find that she had spent the night on the dock. Suddenly she heard a low, sleepy voice call for her, "Jo?" She followed the voice to its source, and discovered that it belonged to a sleepy male with unruly hair. Joey hadn't just spent the night on the dock; she spent the night with Pacey!
A flood of panic washed over Joey as she struggled to her feet. "Pacey, wake up! It's morning," she exclaimed. Pacey slowly sat up from his spot on the deck, but Joey was already up moving frantically. "Bessie is going to kill me!" she added.
Pacey watched her for a second before recognizing that she had every intention of leaving him on that dock. "Wait, Jo," Pacey said as he scrambled to pick everything up from the dock. "I'll walk you home."
"You really think that's a good idea, Pacey?" Joey questioned loudly. "If I don't get home before Bessie wakes up, she will kill you too."
"Well then put your shoes on, woman. Let's go!" Pacey urged.
Pacey thought walking Joey home was the right thing to do. He never wanted anything bad to happen to her, so he would gladly take some of the blame for their night out. Also, he sensed that Joey was panicking, and the truth was that he was nervous about what that meant. Pacey was worried that Other Joey was solely responsible for the events of last night. Now that it was daylight, he knew that Joey rethinking all of her previous decisions was a very real possibility. Daylight meant thoughts of Dawson, of the boy she was actually supposed to be with; or worse yet, thoughts that kissing Pacey was nothing but an alcohol-induced impulse because clearly he wasn't good enough for her. That's why Pacey was so adamant that they not kiss while under the influence. His feelings were too involved to brush off a kiss that to him meant the realization of a desire that had been steadily growing for weeks, but maybe hadn't even occurred to her until Other Joey made an appearance. His heart was only recently mended, and he had intended to protect himself from future pain. Nevertheless, Joey had made it so easy for him to fall for her. Now he had no choice but to deal with the repercussions of a night that had surpassed his fantasy.
Joey, exploiting the long stride her legs afforded her, walked swiftly ahead of Pacey. In theory she wanted to be right next to him, or better yet still on the dock, but it was daylight now. It was the morning after the most exhilarating kiss, well kisses, of her life. Daylight meant a return to overanalyzing everything, to being just little Joey Potter, who was accustomed to doing what was expected of her. Kissing Pacey Witter was definitely not on the list of expected Joey behavior; yet it had felt so right. Joey needed time to figure out the implications of what enjoying a night kissing Pacey meant, but for now she shifted all of her energy to the monumental task of getting back into her house without being detected. Making sense of those butterflies in her stomach put there by the boy who was supposed to be her enemy would have to wait.
"Joey where have you been?! I was worried sick when I got up with Alexander only to find that you hadn't been home!" Joey had barely made it in the door before Bessie's yelling commenced. "Are you hung over? You look like hell," she accused.
"Bessie …" Bodie said quietly urging Bessie to breathe before escalating the situation.
"Fine," Bessie said in frustration. Taking a deep breath, she tried to channel her partner's calmness. "I'm glad you're home safely, Joey," she managed. Then, turning her attention to the boy next to her, Bessie added, "Pacey, you have some serious guts showing your face here after being out all night with my little sister."
"Look, Bess …" Pacey began.
"Save it, Pacey," Bessie instructed. "I'm sure whatever elaborate story you have prepared is quite entertaining, but spare us all the torture." Softening slightly, Bessie continued, "I respect that you brought Joey home. Now unless you want me to call your parents to inform them of what their son has been up to, you better get home."
"But …" Pacey tried to interject.
"If you even mention the word pancakes, I swear I will personally make your life miserable," Bessie threatened. "Joey, go ahead and walk Pacey out. Bodie and I need to talk about what to do with you," she demanded.
"C'mon, Pace," Joey said opening the front door. Dejected, Pacey followed her outside. He had been looking forward to Bodie's fresh pancakes since he first enjoyed the leftovers, but he also wasn't ready to say goodbye to Joey. He didn't want their night to end. "Thanks for coming back with me," she stated quietly.
"Of course, Jo. I'm sorry we fell asleep," he offered.
"You are?" Joey asked quietly, her unease quickly overwhelming her.
"No, I mean, I'm happy that we spent the night together. I'm just sorry that you're going to get in trouble," Pacey quickly clarified while urging himself to relax.
"Yeah, there's likely to be more yelling," she agreed avoiding the subject of their night together. "I guess you better get home too."
"I suppose," Pacey shrugged. "Though I'm pretty sure Doug hasn't even noticed I'm not home. Or if he has, then he's probably happy to have a Saturday morning to himself. I frequently get in the way of his morning diva fest," he explained with a nervous chuckled. Pacey reluctantly opened the driver's side door to his car. He loitered a moment trying to determine the appropriate goodbye: should they kiss, hug, high-five? He wanted to pull her into his arms to kiss her, but was wary of sending Joey into further panic. Deciding to take the safe route, Pacey turned to enter the Witter Wagoneer.
"Hey, Pace," Joey said halting his movement. "I had a good time last night," she offered with a blush.
A smile spread across Pacey's face, "Me too, Jo. Met too." Recognizing that he should also offer her something too, Pacey added, "If Bessie ever lets you out of the house again, you should come by True Love. I owe you some work-free art time."
Joey's face lit up in a lop-sided smile. "That sounds good, Pacey," she said as she turned to leave. Not yet ready to face the lecture waiting for her inside, she decided to prolong the inevitable. She walked toward the mailbox with a renewed bounce in her step. Pacey, pretending to be busy inside the car, watched her open the mailbox.
"It's here! Oh my god, Pacey, it's finally here," Joey squealed.
Pacey quickly exited the car to meet her in the yard. "What's here? What are you talking about, Potter?" he questioned.
"The insurance check, dummy! Now we can actually start on the B&B," she exclaimed.
"That's great, Jo!" Pacey replied as Joey jumped into his arms. He grinned broadly as he spun a jubilant Joey around in the air. After sharing a moment of pure joy, Pacey set her feet on the ground. They looked into each other's eyes and leaned in to share the all-important second kiss.
"What is all the yelling out here?!" Bessie asked coming out of the house, and effectively stopping the two from the kiss they had both been thinking about since they woke up that morning. "Seriously, Joey, I'm trying to be patient and understanding over here, but you are really pushing it."
Feeling an instance of discomforted at having her sister find her in Pacey's arms, Joey wiggled free to explain her behavior. "Bessie, it's here! The insurance check is here, so we can start on the B&B!" she responded with excitement.
"Oh my god!" Bessie said joining Joey in the yelling. She jogged to meet her sister in a loving embrace. Pacey's heart warmed watching the too-often stressed and worried sisters share a moment of excitement and relief. He joined Bodie who was also smiling from his spot on the porch where he observed the events in his yard. "Pacey, you're staying for breakfast. Joey I'm giving you this one reprieve because I don't want to be mad today. Today we celebrate," Bessie explained. The unorthodox family of older sister, boyfriend, nephew, younger sister, and not-yet-boyfriend-but-more-than-friend retreated inside to enjoy a celebration breakfast. Each of them was filled with anxious anticipation that the paper with numbers on it represented a new beginning, the possibility of fulfilling a dream. Well, each of them except Alexander who was simply hungry and excited to play with the young man who had been spending so much time at his house lately.
After enjoying a light-hearted and delicious breakfast, the Potter sisters found themselves alone in the kitchen having volunteered for cleaning duty. Refusing to be too much of a softy, Bessie had sent Pacey home after he ate a gigantic stack of pancakes. Bodie was in the process of putting Alexander down for his morning nap. Sensing the opportunity to ask her sister for advice, Joey silently prepared for a potentially embarrassing conversation. "Bess, do you think you can be just my sister, and not my guardian, for a second?" she asked putting another plate in the sink.
"Hmm …" Bessie considered her request. "Yes, I suppose I can do that."
"Good. So Pacey and I went to a party last night," Joey began. "And you were right earlier, I did drink," she explained tentatively before deciding that Bessie was staying true to her word. "We had a lot of fun, and well … he just," Joey stammered.
"Mind if I take a guess?" Bessie asked. Joey nodded her head welcoming the assistance. "You had a lot of fun, and your usual banter turned flirty."
"Yes!" Joey admitted. "And then flirting became more fun than anything. He just looked really good for some reason."
"Joey, it's OK to admit that you're attracted to Pacey. He's a good looking kid," Bessie suggested. Noticing the flush that came over her sister, she continued the conversation. "So what happened?"
"We kissed," Joey responded. "We kissed a lot actually."
Requiring clarification, and deciding that a big sister needed to know, Bessie asked, "Were you drunk?"
"No. Pacey said we couldn't kiss when I was drunk. The kissing came later after we stopped drinking," Joey explained.
"I knew I liked that boy for a reason," Bessie said relieved. "So what can I help you with, Jo?"
"Well, I just never thought I'd be kissing Pacey. I mean we've been enemies for so long. Of course, we've become friends this year, but still. I definitely never thought I'd enjoy kissing him this much."
"So the kissing was good then?" Bessie asked always wanting details.
"Very good. Even better than when …" Joey began.
"Than when you kissed Dawson?" Bessie suggested. Joey smirked in uncomfortable agreement. "It's clear that the two of you have chemistry, which understandably makes for good kissing."
"What do you mean, clear?" Joey asked.
"I mean the sexual tension is palpable, Jo. If it wasn't, then wouldn't I be surprised that the two of you kissed?"
"I guess so, but I'm pretty sure that Dawson would be surprised," Joey added.
"You know I love Dawson. And I know you've had people telling you your whole life that the two of you were made for each other, but here's the thing, Jo. Whatever is or is not between you and Pacey, is between the two of you. It really doesn't involve Dawson. You still need to be sensitive of his feelings, but maybe figure things out with Pacey first before you go concerning yourself with others," Bessie suggested.
"Ugh, you make it sound so easy," Joey said revealing her adolescence. Bessie gave her sister a knowing smile as she handed her a towel to wipe down the table.