"Pacey, where the hell have you been?" Doug asked pointedly before Pacey was even able to close the door.
"Oh hey, Dougie. I didn't know you cared. What a sweetheart," Pacey replied with a smile.
"Now is really not the time to be cute, Pacey," Doug began. "I didn't ask for you to stay here, remember? But since you have somehow become my responsibility, you owe me an explanation. There are rules you know, Pacey," he explained in frustration.
"OK, sorry Doug. You know I went out last night," he started. Doug nodded waiting impatiently for the explanation he felt due. "Well, we accidentally fell asleep on the dock. I would have been back right after walking Joey home, but they got great news while I was there, and invited me for breakfast."
Doug tried to remain stern, but Pacey's good mood was infectious. "Fell asleep on the dock? And where were you before that?" he questioned.
"We went to a party," Pacey responded.
"At the golf course? You guys must have left right before we broke up that party. Good thing, otherwise you would have been spending the night in the lock up," Doug informed him. Pacey walked to the kitchen for a drink of milk. "Use a glass, little brother," Doug instructed as his mood continued to soften.
"Hey Doug, do you think you can be just my brother for a minute and not Deputy Witter?" Pacey asked returning the milk jug to the refrigerator without using a glass.
"I guess I can do that. What's going on, Pace?"
"You see, here's the thing, Dougie. Joey and I … we kissed," Pacey explained. Doug nodded his head knowingly, trying to hide the smirk that was growing on his face. "And before you ask, no, she wasn't drunk."
The smile quickly disappearing from his face, Doug said, "I would never ask you that, Pacey. You may be a lot of things … unmotivated, messy, smart ass … but you would never take advantage of someone like that."
"Too bad Dawson didn't see it that way," Pacey said quietly. He was still upset by their interaction last night.
"Forget about Dawson for now," Doug encouraged. "How was the kiss?"
"Doug, man ... the kisses," he began adding the plural for emphasis, "were great. She actually asked me to kiss her."
"And being the gentleman that you are, you obliged," Doug finished with a chuckle.
"Naturally," Pacey confirmed with a grin.
"So what's the problem?"
"Neither of us has acknowledged it since. And I could tell that she was panicking earlier. I just don't want to lose her," Pacey admitted.
"Take a breath, little brother. You just finished having breakfast with the girl, you haven't lost her." Pacey, taking his brother's advice literally, took a deep breath. "What do you want?" Doug asked simply. Recognizing Pacey's confused face, he clarified, "Do you want to just be friends with Joey? Do you want to kiss her again?"
"Honestly, I don't think I can not kiss her again," Pacey confessed.
"Sounds like you know how you feel. Now you just need to find out how Joey feels."
"You do know Joey, right?" Pacey asked sarcastically. "Nothing with that girl is that easy."
Doug laughed and patted his brother on the back. "My suggestion, little brother? Start by taking a shower. You smell terrible."
Pacey had taken his brother's advice to take a shower. Feeling refreshed, but still puzzled by his current predicament, he headed back to True Love in hopes of gaining some clarity. He also hoped that Joey would at some point join him there. He set to work below deck trying to focus on the task at hand. Memories of Joey kept creeping into his mind: the strawberry smell of her hair; the way her body felt against his; and the soft moans that escaped her as they kissed. After an hour of going through the motions of working while daydreaming about Joey, he heard footsteps on the deck above him. His heart skipped a beat when he saw her legs appear as she walked down the stairs to join him.
"Hey Pace," Joey said with a timid smile.
"Hey Jo," he responded allowing himself to smile from ear to ear.
"Whatcha working on?" she asked as she moved beside him. All coherent thoughts flew out of Pacey's head as his body responded to her close proximity.
Finally realizing that he should say something, Pacey managed to shrug his shoulders, "Not much. Mainly trying to decide the layout for my girl down here."
"So what do you have so far?"
"Well, I think I'm going to keep the head here," he said gesturing toward the stern.
"Makes sense. Are you planning to put in a bed?" Joey asked innocently. Sensing the sexual tension that was growing between them, she turned a dark shade of red.
Pacey swallowed hard, trying to stop the images of Joey on a bed – or rather what he would like to do to her on a bed – from taking over all rational thinking. "I want to, but I'm not sure where it might fit."
"Hmm …" Joey said considering the problem. "What if you hung a hammock or something? That way you could have somewhere comfortable to sleep, but could also undo it during the day to make more space."
Pacey contemplated her suggestion. "That's a great idea, Jo! I could use the supports that are already here," he said pointing toward the beams next to her. A silence filled the small space between them. "Oh, I almost forgot, I got you something," Pacey said reaching for a bag behind him.
"You got me something? Why?" Joey asked uneasily.
"You know, to mark the occurrence of our second kiss," Pacey smirked relishing Joey's reaction. Her mouth dropped open, and her cheeks flushed. "I'm kidding. I got this awhile ago, but wanted to wait to give it to you until you got the B&B money." Joey sheepishly took the bag from Pacey's hand. "It's nothing big or anything. I just saw it, and thought of you," he explained.
"I'm quite impressed with your wrapping job, Witter," Joey teased. She pulled out the contents of the bag, which were covered by newspaper. She slowly unwrapped the newspaper to reveal a porcelain dish. Joey carefully ran her fingers over the delicate flower pattern. "It's beautiful, Pacey," she observed quietly.
"I saw it in the window of that antique shop by Screen Play. I thought it would be nice to have something to put your Mom's treats in for B&B guests to enjoy," Pacey explained. His eyes turned to Joey, hoping she liked his gift. He was surprised to see a small tear roll down her cheek. "Oh, Jo, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to make you cry," he said as he tenderly brushed the tear off her face. Joey carefully set the dish on the bench behind her.
"Thank you, Pacey. That was extremely thoughtful of you. I love it," Joey said as she wrapped her arms around him in a tight hug. She stayed in Pacey's arms for a moment breathing in his scent as she tried to calm her emotions.
"I'm glad you like it," he stated simply as his hand reflexively ran through her hair. Joey rested her head on Pacey's shoulder. "I'd be happy to volunteer to taste test options for filling the dish."
"Oh you would, would you?" Joey asked raising her head.
"Yep. I mean, it's a tough job, but someone's gotta do it. We want to make sure you're serving your guests only the best."
"You're just such a giver, Pacey," Joey said with a light-hearted roll of her eyes.
"Precisely, Potter." Then, like magnets, their lips were drawn together. Neither could say who initiated the kiss, but it was electric. This kiss was softer, and gentler than last night's, but no less satisfying.
"I guess we have chemistry in the daylight too, huh?" Joey suggested breathlessly.
"I'd say that's the understatement of the year," Pacey agreed with a smile.