"You doubt I could kick some potential rapist's ass?"

"No. I just doubt you'd wait until a month and a half after the fact to mention it to anyone." He kept surveying the landscape, walking a little faster than normal.

"Yes and no. Some creepy guy hit on me and I blew him off." She grinned, matching his stride easily. "What about yours?"

"Karen lives about 10 minutes from the restaurant. It would take longer to get the car going than it would for her to walk." He shrugged. "But I have been to some disturbing diners in my life. Did I ever tell you about this place called The Ice House?"

She smacked his arm then bumped into him, half shoving him off the sidewalk toward the street. "As I recall, you ate an awful lot of free food at that particularly disturbing diner."

"Well, the food was good. It was the waitressing staff that I found to be a little unnerving." He grinned at her, winking as well. "So, creeps and potential rapists aside, have there been any guys in Joey Potter's life? Other than Dawson?"

"There isn't even a Dawson in Joey Potter's life." She smirked and shrugged. "There's school. And schoolwork."

"Nice to know some things don't change."

"You don't think I've changed?"

He stopped and looked her over, his eyes traveling along her body slowly. One corner of his mouth curled into a smile as he captured her chin in his hand. "I think you've gotten thinner."

"Implying too thin?"

Pacey shrugged. "Men may like their supermodels and actresses to border on anorexic, but they like the real women in their lives to have a little meat on their bones. Makes all the fun stuff less dangerous."

"And Karen? Does she have a little meat on her bones?"

"I thought you didn't want to have that particular conversation."

"Is she your new girlfriend?"

"No." He shook his head and sighed. "She's not. She's not even a potential girlfriend. She has, in fact, left town in an express desire to avoid that specific fate."

"I tried that." Joey sighed dramatically. "And what did you do? You followed me."

Pacey laughed and wrapped his arm around her shoulder. "Admit it, Potter, you're thrilled I'm here."

"Only because I didn't want to walk home alone."

"Because you were scared."

"I wasn't scared."

"You were so scared." Pacey removed his arm, but let his hand slide down to capture hers. "I've never seen eyes so big. You'd think you'd handle this stuff better given Dawson's penchant for horror movies and bad gags on Friday the thirteenth."

"You have to admit that Grams's story was a little…" She glared at him. "You were just as scared."

"Nah."

"You were. Your knuckles were white from hanging onto the sofa."

"You're imagining things, Potter."

"Oh yeah? Then why are we walking so fast?"

He slowed down, shrugging. "We can slow it down."

Joey shivered, though not from the cold. His voice ran along her spine like liquid, pooling somewhere south of her stomach. "I'd also like to note that you changed the subject."

"What subject?"

"Karen."

"What do you want to know, Joey?"

"She's not your girlfriend?"

"Isn't. Wasn't. Never will be." He looked up at the sky quickly before giving her a smile. "There is no way on earth that Karen Torres will ever be mine."

"Does that upset you?"

"No." He shrugged. "It might have if she hadn't gotten herself out of a bad situation, but since she did, it doesn't."

"Always the white knight, huh?"

"Well, I think the white's getting a little tarnished." He winked at her. "They don't normally find my involvement in their lives an impetus to leave town."

"I don't know. Andie did. Tamara did." Joey grinned at him. "I did too. Although I did actually wait until after you'd gone to do it."

"I appreciate that." He opened the main door of the dorm for her and pulled it closed tightly behind them. "My ego can only take so much abuse."

"Explain to me why you're hanging around with me then?" She stopped and sighed. "Well, this is my stop."

"You want me to check out under the bed and see if there are any monsters?"

"Is that some cheap excuse to get in my bedroom?" Joey unlocked the door and looked inside, noting the lack of Audrey huddled under her covers. "Or are you just scared to walk all the way back to the boat all by your lonesome?"

"I'm not afraid of anything."

"Yeah?" When he nodded, she smiled. "Good. So come in here and check under the beds, in the closets and in the bathroom."

"I knew you were scared." He brushed past her, walking into the room and switching on the lights. Joey watched from the doorway as he lifted the bedspread on Audrey's bed then on hers, opened the closet doors then snapped on the light in the bathroom. "All clear."

"That's a relief." Joey laughed softly. "So now I guess you're going to walk home, all alone, in the dark? And climb on that boat, all dark and shadowy?"

"It does have electricity."

"But can you switch on that light before some guy jumps out at you, wrestles you to the ground and slits your throat?"

Pacey raised an eyebrow. "Is this the fate you're hoping will befall me, Jo? I thought I'd made up for the way we broke up."

She laughed and sat on the bed. "You think I'd wish such a thing on you, Pacey?"

He looked at her through narrowed eyes. "Yes." Laughing, he grabbed the doorknob. "Okay, Potter. I'm heading out."

"Don't."

"What?" He turned slowly and looked at her, her knees drawn up to her chest, her arms wrapped around them.

"Don't go?"

"It's perfectly safe here, Jo. No boogey men; rapists; creepy guys; dead, gay frat ghosts; killer mannequins or anything else that tonight might have put into your head." He smiled at her, tilting his head slightly. "I wouldn't leave you here alone if I didn't think you were safe."

"It's not me that I'm worried about. I just don't think you should be out there all alone."

"I'm a big boy, Jo."

"I know." She made a face as he leered at her. "Shut up. I didn't mean like that."

"Oh, you know you did." Pacey growled and took a step toward her, grinning as she shrieked. "I'll be fine."

"I'm going to worry the entire time you're gone. Just stay."

"Where am I gonna sleep?"

"Audrey's not home."

"Yet. But when the psycho blonde starts kicking my ass, how am I going to explain that I wasn't trying to hit on her, I was just sleeping here because you were freaked out by a ghost story."

Joey looked down at the floor, chewing her lower lip. "Go."

He moved over to the bed and sank down beside her. "I'll stay." Her dark eyes met his, filtered through the strands of her hair.

"Yeah?"

"Yeah." He nodded through air thick with sudden tension. "But I'm not risking Audrey's wrath."

"I wouldn't ask that of you." She smiled and nodded toward the pillows. "We could share this."

"It's a little small for two people, don't you think?"

"Audrey manages to fit two people on hers all the time."

"I would imagine that's because they're on top of each other and not lying side by side." He shook his head. "I know you're not this innocent, Potter."

"I'll have you know that I've perfected guileless naiveté to an art form." She giggled softly. "And I can convince any guy on campus that I just fell off the turnip truck."

"You been doing that a lot lately?"

"Falling off turnip trucks?"

"Convincing guys that you're innocent and luring them back here to your lair." His tone was light, but the question was anything but harmless.

"Only my professor."

"Taking a page from my book of conquests, Jo?"

She shrugged, not meeting his eyes. "That depends. Did you and Miss Jacobs just have bizarre conversations that could be construed as flirting and then go about your lives?"

"Not really." He shook his head, staring down at his knees. "We did talk…eventually. But mostly we had sex."

"Hmm. I knew I was doing something wrong. Dammit." She laughed softly, her head tilted slightly so she could watch him. "I guess I should have gotten the rule book."

"Just listen to the Police song, Jo. It's all right there." His body tensed as her fingers skated over his jeans, his breath tight in his chest. "Jo?"

She bit her lower lip, teeth sinking into the supple flesh. "Yeah?" she whispered.

"Wha…" He cleared his throat to bring his voice back to normal. "What are you doing?"

She shook her head, watching her fingers move over his thigh as if they belonged to someone else. "I'm not sure," she admitted, feeling like she was telling the truth for the first time in a long time. "I don't think I've been sure of myself since graduation."

He lifted his eyes away from her fingers, meeting her gaze as he raised his head. "Joey?"

"I'm scared, Pacey."

He licked his lips nervously, his blue eyes searching hers. "Of what?"

She leaned into him, her lips finding his, her tongue slipping past them into his mouth. He made a low sound in his throat as he raised one hand to her face, tracing the curve of her cheek with the pad of his thumb as he kissed her, letting the taste of her wash through him. Joey pulled back, breathing his breath for a long moment. "Of this. I'm scared to death of this."

He nodded, his forehead pressed to hers. "Me too," he muttered against her lips as she kissed him again, her tongue trying to capture the words in his mouth before they slipped out. His tongue touched hers, pushing in and running along the roof of her mouth until she caught it, sucking hard as she leaned back on the bed, pulling him down on top of her.

He moved over her, his body held above hers on trembling arms as he felt her legs part, letting him settle easily between them. He closed his eyes on a wave of emotion, the feel of her around him achingly familiar and foreign all at once. He didn't speak as she broke the kiss, their ragged breathing the only sound in the room.

Nothing happened forever as they lay there in silence, staring at each other through frightened eyes, swimming in unspeakable emotion. Joey swallowed hard, her eyelashes fluttering on her cheeks as she closed her eyes, took a deep breath and wrapped her legs around his, pulling his body closer.

With a groan, Pacey dove to her mouth, his lips parting hers, his tongue pushing into her mouth hungrily. Joey arched up to him, her hips grinding against his, the length of his erection hard between them.

He lowered himself to his elbows and framed her face with his hands, the dark tendrils of her hair weaving through his fingers as he held her, tilting her head just slightly for better access, his hips thrusting to the sound of her hair rasping on the comforter.

Joey gasped softly, biting at his lips as he pulled away, one hand leaving her hair to pull his jacket off, shrugging out of it as quickly as he could. Joey's hands were immediately on his shirt, tugging it up his body then slipping under the material to his undershirt, yanking it free of his pants.

He pulled away from her long enough to work both shirts over his head, tossing them behind him to the floor. Joey wiggled beneath him, worming out of her shirts as well, pushing them up over her head toward the top of the bed. He slid one arm beneath her, pressing her breasts against his chest as he rolled them onto their sides, his other hand unfastening her bra easily.

Rolling her back onto her back, he pulled the flimsy material off of her and tossed it aside, not caring where it landed as he lowered his mouth to her breast, his lips closing around one firm mound of flesh as his free hand covered the other, massaging the milky skin.

Joey bit her lower lip and tilted her head back, her hands moving over his shoulders and down his arms to his elbows then back up again, kneading the skin, urging him wordlessly to touch her, feel her, taste her. His hand eased to the bottom of her breast, cupping it lightly as his thumb and forefinger found her nipple, teasing the hard tip until it stood, a rosy peak cresting over creamy flesh.

A shock of cool air painted goosebumps on her skin as Pacey's mouth lifted, moving to the other breast and replacing the heat of his lips with his other hand. A soft mewl of pleasure broke past Joey's parted lips, lingering in the air with the hurried scent of desire. Her hips ground upward, finding his, trapping his cock where he lay between her legs.

Pacey hissed and his hand slipped down from her breast, over her stomach to her waist, grazing over them denim of her jeans. She gasped softly, arching higher at the tempting contact, easing back onto the bed as his fingers left her skin to wrap around his belt, working it free from the buckle.

Joey groaned as the back of his hand continued to brush her skin and clothes as he worked his jeans loose. She moved beneath him, unable to stop her body from reacting to his touch, wanting more than just the casual grazes. Her hands moved from his shoulders to his back, nails digging into the tanned skin as he released a relieved sigh, working his jeans down his body with one hand.

She scraped the length of his back down to his ass, where she pushed at the boxer briefs that clung to his skin. She fought with his clothes as his mouth feasted on her, moving from one breast to another, sucking and teasing the swollen tips as she muttered under her breath, damning his clothes as she used her legs and hands to force them to comply with her whispered 'Off. Off. Off.'

Pacey pulled away from her, sliding off the bed and kicking his pants and boxers to the floor. He wrenched off his shoes as she dug at her own zipper, wriggling her pants and underwear down her legs and letting them drop as she sat up and grabbed at his waist, pulling him back down to her.

Grunting softly, Pacey burrowed into the hollow of her shoulder, breathing sharply against her neck as she trapped him with her legs again, skin on skin, the soft hairs at the apex of her thighs cradling his cock. Wrenching away, he practically fell on the floor as he got to his feet, reaching down and digging through the pile of his clothes. Joey panted as she watched him, grabbing the condom wrapper out of his hand as soon as he freed it from his wallet.

The foil crinkled as she ripped it open, tossing the silver packet to the side before placing the latex at the tip of his shaft and sliding it down, her eyes fixed on her movements as Pacey drew in his breath, his legs trembling dangerously. Feeling her hands spread out on his skin at the base of his cock, he caught her shoulders and pushed her back, his hand snaking between her legs, two fingers brushing past her clit before sliding inside her.

Joey arched up, her hips moving in a steady thrust, rising up to meet his hand as he pumped his fingers in and out of her, his thumb reaching up to tease her clit as he lowered his head and suckled her right breast. Her hands were in his hair, tugging and pulling and coaxing him, trying to control him as he kept thrusting deeper until she lost control, her muscles tightening as the rush of her orgasm coated his fingers.

Without waiting for her to relax, he moved up her body and pressed his cock inside her, sliding into the tight opening slowly and easily. His wet hand clutched at the bedspread as she parted her legs farther to accommodate him, bringing her feet flat on the bed, her knees up at his waist. His legs supported hers as he looked down at her, staring at her parted lips and closed eyes, listening to her ragged breathing as he thrust into her, paused, pulled back and thrust again.

The soft moan of pleasure was all he needed, altering his pacing. With every soft sound she made, his strokes sped up until his hips were practically glued to hers, sweat and come and heat melding them together as he rose up, his hands sliding from her knees, down her thighs to cup her ass and lift her up to him. He rocked forward relentlessly, pushing into her with no conscious thought. Joey's hands clenched at her sides, her gaze glassy as she stared up at him, her dark hair clinging to her skin, glowing with perspiration.

Her sudden gasp snapped his eyes back into focus, staring down at her now and seeing her. A small groan of pleasure rumbled through him as her muscles clenched around him, another orgasm threatening. He tilted his head back, feeling sweat beading on his body as he continued thrusting, slowing now as each one seemed to push deeper inside her until he froze, feeling the harsh pulsing wrapped around him, trapped inside the condom.

Joey lay there without breathing as he came, her whole body concentrated on the feel of him, the fulfillment of him. His fingers digging into her ass seemed suddenly gentle as he relaxed, sighing quietly as he began moving again, his pace much less frantic. She watched him as his hands moved up her body, curving under her back and she shrieked in surprise as he lifted her, pulling her up onto his thighs. The shrill sound melted into a shock of pleasure as he thrust up into her and she came, her legs and arms wrapping around him so tight she wasn't sure where she ended and he began.

Easing Joey back onto the bed, Pacey carefully disengaged their bodies, holding the base of the condom as he slipped out of her. He nodded toward the bathroom and headed there, almost tripping over his shoes as he made his way toward the door.

He disposed of the condom and washed his hands, glancing at himself in the mirror for just a moment as he did so. Shaking his head, he dried his hands and walked back into the bedroom. Joey was sprawled out on the bed, already asleep, her body relaxed. She shivered slightly in the cold and he grabbed a blanket off her desk chair, draping it over her before gathering up his clothes and quickly getting dressed.

Leaning over her, he gave her a soft kiss on the forehead, smiling when she sighed and smiled, mumbling something under her breath. Shrugging into his jacket, he slipped out of the room and headed out of the dorm toward home.

He glanced back over his shoulder at the imposing building, fighting the temptation to walk back into the room, crawl into bed with Joey, and be there when she woke up. Shaking his head, he continued walking in the direction of his boat. He was better off facing a boat filled with boogey men; rapists; creepy policemen; dead, gay frat ghosts; or killer mannequins.

Some things were far more frightening.

01/05/03