Pacey tapped the steering wheel in time to the classic rock tune that scratched its way out of the speakers as they waited outside Jen's house. Jack was staring down into the engine and spouting off words that made a vague amount of sense in that Pacey thought he'd heard them in a movie once or twice. Drue had found a towel in the trunk and was trying to settle comfortably on the back seat when the sound of a screen door caught his attention.

"Well, well. Ain't they cute."

Pacey glanced over toward the Leery house reluctantly. Joey and Dawson were headed in their direction. He sighed and shook his head slightly. "Hey."

Joey gave him a half-hearted wave as Dawson looked over the car. "Whose is this?"

"Mine."

"Wow. When'd you get it?"

"When I got back to town."

"We're taking a road trip. You guys wanna come?" Drue leaned on the edge of the back door and smiled at both of them. "I mean, there's plenty of room in this boat."

"Actually, I can't." Dawson shook his head. "My parents would kill me if I ended up dead when they've just paid for the first year of college."

"My driving abilities appreciate that compliment." Pacey didn't look at Dawson, his gaze drifting to Joey despite his desire to look anywhere else. "What about you, Jo? Feel like putting your life in my hands?"

"Hey, I'm sitting in the back seat," Drue reminded him. "My hands are the ones she's got to worry about."

Jen smacked Drue across the back side of his head. "She's not the one that should worry."

He pulled away from the door and settled back, wincing as he realized she'd moved the towel at the exact moment the spring pierced his jeans again. "Hey!"

"Aw. Poor baby." Jen crawled over him and sat in the middle of the back seat. "C'mon, Jo. Don't leave me alone with these three. I need some sisterly solidarity. Some female companionship. Some estrogen to combat the testosterone."

"Where are you going?"

"Just for a drive." Jen looked up at her innocently, her blonde hair framing her face. "We should be back tonight, right guys?"

"Oh, of course." Drue nodded emphatically. "Shouldn't be gone more than a couple of hours."

"You think we could stop downtown? I need to stop somewhere."

"Sure." Pacey didn't look at her as he revved the engine. "But it's now or never. We've got to get going if we're gonna get back." Jack shut the hood and moved back to the body of the car. He waited until Joey shrugged before climbing into the back seat.

"Take the front, Jo."

"Okay." She glanced over her shoulder at Dawson. "I'll call you tonight, okay?"

"Sure." He didn't look at Pacey as he gave Joey a small hug. "Later."

"So, where are we going?" Pacey's voice was low, as if they were having a private conversation, separate from the good-natured teasing that was coming from the back seat.

"I just…well…uh…" She blushed a deep red and looked down at her hands. "I need to go to Victoria's Secret."

Drue clasped Joey on the shoulder. "Right on! Now this is a road trip."

Jen grabbed him and yanked him back into his seat. "Sit."

"Sure." Pacey didn't look at her. "Got some lingerie you can't wait to pick up? Something slinky and sexy to pay back the loan?"

"What?"

He shook his head. "Nothing. Sorry. I've got no right."

"I have to return something for Bessie. Not that it's any of your business."

"I'm sorry."

"Besides, they carry things that women might wear even if they weren't involved in some sort of sexual relationship. And I really appreciate the assassination of my character involved in the assumption that I'm sleeping with Dawson to pay him back for the money."

"I'm sorry. I'm just a little…" He shrugged and pulled into a parking lot. "Here ya go. You want us to wait?"

She looked at him for a long time, allowing herself to notice that he looked sad and tired. "Are you rescinding your road trip invitation?"

"Pacey didn't invite you." Jen stood up and climbed over Drue's lap, making sure to dig her knee into his upper thigh. He slapped her ass as she passed over him as she climbed out of the car and stood next to Joey. "I did. And you're still coming."

The three guys watched as the girls linked arms and headed into the small mall area. They sat there for a few moments until Drue shook his head. "They're seriously deluded if they think I'm waiting in the car while the two hottest girls in Capeside are leafing through silky unmentionables." He pushed off the seat and climbed out of the car. "Stay here if you want, losers. But I'm going in."

Pacey and Jack sat there for a few more minutes as Drue disappeared after Joey and Jen. Pacey turned slightly and looked at Jack over the back of the seat. "I should just stay right here, shouldn't I? I mean, going in there is just like a slow form of torture, right? Because she's not mine. And she's not going to be mine again. I blew that and she blew that and the thought of her running her fingers over something silky or lacy or satiny is just going to give me a hard on I can't do anything with. Right?"

"Right."

"But I'm going in there, aren't I?"

"You sure are."

"You comin' with me?"

"I've got no interest in seeing women's lingerie or seeing Joey and Jen looking at it."

"Drue'd be funny to watch."

"Not funny enough."

"There's a leather shop next door."

"The blond guy still work there?"

"Only one way to find out."

Jen's hip rested lightly against one of the table displays as she crossed her arms in front of her chest. "So."

"So?" Joey didn't look over at her as she continued looking through a rack of floor length nightgowns.

"What's going on? How weird is it to have Pacey here and have to deal with him post-breakup? How freaky is it to hang out with Dawson in front of him?"

"Nothing is going on with me and Dawson."

"And you'll notice that I didn't say anything was." Jen raised her eyebrow, curiosity aroused. "But I'm certainly wondering now. Was there more to the pre-California kiss than you alluded?"

"It was just a kiss. One time. No big deal."

"Mmm-hmmm."

"Seriously. We've both moved on. We're heading to college, starting new lives. The last thing we want is to hold each other back. It was about letting go." Joey shrugged and moved to a different display. "We're just friends."

"And you and Pacey?"

"Who knows? Pacey made a decision and he broke up with me. He ended things."

"They don't seem ended." Jen moved away from the other girl, rifling through a display of silky panties. She picked up a leopard print pair. "You think Drue would like these?"

Joey smiled. "I think he'd look ever so sexy in them." Her grin faded. "They are ended though. Whether I want them to be or not."

Jen was about to respond when Drue walked up carrying something see-through. "What are the odds that you'd wear this for me?"

"Slim to none."

"But there is a chance?"

"See that over there?" Jen pointed out a lacy negligee that was nothing more than a lace bra and thong.

Drue groaned low in his throat. "Uh-huh."

"I'll wear this when you wear that." Drue stared down at the flimsy outfit in his hand then at the one she'd pointed out. "You're seriously considering this?" Her eyebrows shot up. "I may have to reconsider dating you, Valentine."

"I was hoping you'd be impressed with my desire to see you in this and reconsider making a purchase."

"Keep dreaming." Jen smiled as he sighed in defeat and slumped back to the rack to hang his selection back up. She looked away from him, unable to keep from smiling, and back at Joey. "So, do you want them to be or not?"

Joey shrugged and looked toward the door of the shop where Pacey was standing. Jack was across the hall, staring at the guy redoing the window display. "Sometimes I'm glad. Pacey and I were…sometimes I think we could last forever. Other times I'm surprised we lasted as long as we did."

"But you love him."

"I always will."

"Okay, Jack. I don't want to begrudge you the time you want to spend ogling the guy in leather pants. You're a young man in the prime of your life. But so am I. So I'll be where the scantily clad women are."

Jack waved at him half-heartedly, not looking away from the window as Pacey shoved his hands in his pockets and walked across the hall. He entered the shop, smiling at Drue's renewed attempts to negotiate with Jen.

Strolling slowly through the shop, he couldn't help but think thoughts of Joey and lingerie and Joey in lingerie that he'd tried very hard to push from his mind. Closing his eyes, he sighed.

"Hey."

He squeezed his eyes shut tight for a second before opening them and smiling at her. "Hey."

"What would you say is my best color?"

"Any. All." He swallowed hard. "Why do you ask?"

She shrugged. "I was going to pick up a few things." Her easy going look changed. "And not for any questionable reason."

"I've already apologized," Pacey reminded her softly. "And honestly, is either of us surprised when I react badly to the thought of Dawson?"

Joey smirked. "No. Not really."

"Especially considering the way I found out about your little rendezvous in his bedroom window."

"You know, that damn kiss meant more to the rest of you than it did to either of us." She glared at him. "I understand that the concept of friendship…"

"You kiss all your friends?"

She stopped mid-rant. "What?"

"I mean when you take off to Boston and we go our separate ways, are we destined to have a sweet, lingering kiss?" He moved closer, invading her personal space.

Joey didn't move, facing him down. "Don't you find it amusing that you broke up with me, and we're not a couple anymore, but you're still upset that I might be seeing someone else?"

Pacey's face turned to stone, his voice dropping down low in a reflection of pain. "You and Dawson had been apart for over a year. You didn't even let my fucking corpse turn cold."

Joey watched him storm away, anger in every line of his body. Jen slowly walked up to her. "What happened?"

"Nothing." Joey set her stuff down. "Let's just go."

"Whatever it was, I'm sure he didn't mean it."

"And I'm absolutely sure that he did."

"Turn left."

"There's no road."

"Just turn." Jen reached forward from the back seat, trying to grab the wheel as Pacey turned it, sending them bumping down a rough, dirt road.

"So help me, Lindley, this better not damage my car."

"How could you even tell?"

"Aren't you funny." Pacey smirked in her general direction as they bumped over rocks and roots before entering a large clearing on the edge of a lake. "Jesus, Lindley. How'd you find out about this?"

"Hang out with the football team, and you learn a few tricks."

"Yeah, but rarely are they of the geographical bent," Drue stated flatly.

"I didn't know about this," Jack informed her, ignoring Drue's bout of jealousy. "And I was on the football team."

Drue watched Jen climb over the car door and hop onto the ground. "They were probably afraid you'd think they were puttin' the moves on you." Drue followed her out as Pacey killed the engine. "You were a threat to their manliness."

Pacey got out and tossed the keys to Drue who was standing beside the trunk. "Get the beer and the blankets."

"Because I'm your servant?"

"Sure. If that's your thing." He looped his arm around Jen's shoulders. "So, still afraid of my car?"

"Your car is serviceable."

"Lots of things about me are serviceable, baby." He growled suggestively at her before releasing her and heading toward the water. Jen laughed and moved back toward the car where Joey was hanging back, standing on the opposite side and staring out toward the water.

"You comin', Jo?"

"What?" She shook her head and forced her eyes away from the grayish blue. "Yeah." She walked toward the back of the car and took one of the blankets from Drue as he and Jack hefted the cooler between them. Pacey was standing at the water's edge as they joined him.

"Shall we set up camp?" Jack set his end of the cooler on the ground and took two ends of the blanket from Joey. "And I do use the term loosely, as our camp consists of a blanket and beer."

"You require more?" Pacey lifted the lid and passed a beer to Drue, then to Jen. He waited until Joey and Jack had settled the blanket on the ground before offering one to each of them. "I mean, honestly, our founding fathers survived on less. We're living in the ranks of the privileged. I mean, this is top-notch beer we're talking about." He popped his open and took a long drink, the cool liquid beating back some of the heat of the day.

"Pacey likes to wax eloquent before he gets too drunk to string two sentences together." Jen smiled up at him as she took a drink from her own bottle.

"I'll have you know that I'm extremely eloquent when I'm drunk, Miss Lindley. Verbose even."

"Well, well." Jen saluted him with the beer. "Here's to rapid-fire banter then."

They all settled into drinking, making their way through their first beers quickly, struggling with the movement of lifting the bottles in the sluggish heat of the day. "Has it been this hot all day?"

"Can't tell in the convertible," Pacey tugged his shirt off and wiped his forehead with it. "One of the advantages to top-down technology."

"Speaking of top down," Drue took a long pull from his bottle and tossed it to the side. "What do you guys say to something a little topless?"

"Such as?"

"Skinny-dipping." Drue smiled and nodded in the direction of the lake.

"Right." Jen nodded. "To cool off."

"Exactly."

"Bullshit."

He gave her an exaggerated hurt look. "Tell me again how dating you means you're nicer to me?"

"I don't recall ever agreeing to that." Jen reached over and took his hand, squeezing it softly.

"Anyway…"

"What's in it for the rest of us, Drue?" Pacey took another drink, purposefully avoiding everyone's eyes. "I mean, Joey's seen me, Jack and Jen naked. Between gym class and…other activities, I've seen the three of them in their birthday suits. The only one here who looks to benefit from the flesh fest is you, in a desire to see Miss Lindley's more than considerable charms."

"You say that like it's a bad thing." Drue dodged Jen's attempted punch. "But in all honesty, it's about the fact that it's 110 in the shade, and some cool water sounds pretty damn nice."

"As completely and morally wrong as it is, I'm siding with Drue." Joey nudged Jack, then stood up and pulled her shirt over her head. Jack, who had been lying with his head in her lap, moved off and, with an expression of surprise and embarrassment, joined everyone else in watching her stand up. "I'll be in the water."

The four of them continued to sit there in stunned silence for a few moments until Jen spoke. "Well, there's a hard act to follow." She pulled her tank top off and tossed it into Drue's lap. "You comin', Valentine?"

"Undoubtedly before the day is out."

Pacey shrugged and stood up, finishing off his beer. "Don't think that I'm abandoning the two of you for the more ample charms of the two nubile and half-dressed ladies at the water's edge."

"But that's exactly what you're doing?"

Pacey kicked off his shoes and headed across the blanket. "Oh yeah."

Joey ducked behind the stand of trees that lined the lake and stripped off the rest of her clothes. Jen joined her soon after and did the same. "You must be really hot."

"It is hot." Joey's voice was non-committal. "Look, I know two of those guys are my ex-boyfriends, but I've had two beers, I'm hot, and I'm tired of being so damned good all the time. So, please," Joey sighed. "Just let me have some fun?"

"I was just wondering how much fun you wanted to have." Jen motioned over her shoulder to where they could see Pacey through the trees, bare-chested and unfastening his shorts. "And if I was going to be required to stop you."

Joey forced her gaze from Pacey as Jack and Drue joined him. "There are five of us, Jen. I'll be fine."

"You know the big joke about famous last words?" Joey looked pointedly at Joey as she nodded. "It's funny for a reason."

Drue sank down into the cool water with a sigh of relief. "Miss Lindley, may I compliment you on your excellent choice of tour guide destination?"

"And I you on an excellent choice of recreational activities." She swam closer to him, treading water just a few inches away.

"Sometimes, I manage to think with my brain." He smiled and grabbed her hand, pulling her up against him. The cool water had hardened her nipples, now pressed against his bare chest. "Though this is quite easily something my dick could have come up with."

"Yeah," she laughed softly as she wrapped one of her legs around his, sinking them slightly deeper in the water and, more importantly, bringing the rest of their bodies into contact. "So I see."

Drue closed his eyes for a second. "You know the goal of this was to cool down, but it seems to be having the opposite effect."

Jen's damp fingers touched his lips, parted and breathless. "I could move."

Drue grinned and slid both of his hands over her hips and down the small of her back to settle on the curve of her ass. "You could try."

Joey dove under the water and swam over to Jack. He smiled at her as she broke through the surface, shoving a handful of water in her face. "Come to feel sorry for the lone homosexual?"

"I was," she laughed as she blinked water out of her face. Shoving some in his direction, she sighed. "Actually, I was trying to get away from the lovebirds…or lustbirds…or whatever it actually is that they are."

"Wasn't so long ago, you were just as sickening."

"All the reminder I need of that is right over there." She nodded in Pacey's direction. Jack followed her gaze to the small dock in the middle of the lake where Pacey lay, facedown.

"Well, the Caribbean certainly did wonders for his tan."

"His full-body tan," Joey commented lightly.

"Have you been practicing? It almost sounds like it doesn't bother you."

"I just wonder what else he worked on down there. The boat, his tan…"

"You mean who else?" Jack looked back at her. "You've got visions of one-night stands dancing through your head, Jo. Admit it."

"I just…I know we're not together, and I know we don't owe each other anything, but there's this voice in my head that keeps demanding to know if he found someone else. If he slept with her. If she reminded him of me."

"Would it help to know?"

"No." She sighed and leaned back, soaking her hair. As she straightened, she couldn't help but watch as Pacey stood up and dove back into the water. "Damn," she muttered softly.

Jack nodded. "Yeah."

"Jack!"

"Oh, come on! You expected me not to look?" He smirked at her. "The whole point is to look."

"I didn't look at Drue."

Jack tsked. "You should have. It's nice to know the boy has at least one redeeming quality."

"Jack!" Joey slapped him on the arm, trying not to laugh.

"I mean, he's not in my league…"

"Well," Joey nodded. "Of course not. Who is?" She paused for a moment then both of them laughed. "Pacey."

"What?"

Jack pressed his lips together in an effort not to laugh as Pacey swam up to them. "Nothing. Just…nothing."

"God. Comparing dick size again, weren't you, Jack?" He shook his head sadly. "One of these days you'll learn that it's really more about what you do with it."

"I already know that, Pacey." Jack grinned and moved backwards. "Nobody knows more about how important what you do with it is than a gay man."

"More information than either of us needed to know, don't you think, Jo?"

She nodded. "I'm afraid he's right, Jack."

Jack shrugged. "I'm getting waterlogged. I'll see you guys back on dry land." He swam off, leaving the two of them moving awkwardly around one another.

Joey watched him as he put distance between them. "I'm sorry. About what I said."

"Consider it forgotten."

"Nothing is ever forgotten. You remember everything. Remember?"

He clenched his teeth, his jaw tightening. "Trust me, I'm more than happy to forget the lingering images in my mind of you and Dawson making out in front of his bedroom window."

"We both apologized for that."

"You apologized because I saw it. What he didn't apologize for was the fact that it was even on the fucking video tape, not to mention the fact that it even happened."

"I didn't know."

"I know that." He shook his head. "I don't want to fight with you, Jo. So let's just chalk this one up to experience, all right? And we'll just go our separate ways like we planned. You don't even have to give me the requisite Potter goodbye kiss."

"What if I want to?"

Her words froze him, halfway turned from her. His blood rushed through his body, unsure of whether to fuel his pounding heart or his sudden erection. "What?"

"What if I want to kiss you goodbye?" She bit her lower lip and looked everywhere but at him in desperation. "What if I want to just kiss you?"

"I'd say you're either drunk or have heatstroke."

She swam over to him and touched his shoulder, feeling the tense muscles beneath his heated skin. "All kissing Dawson managed to do was make me realize what I had with you. Dawson and I are like…there's nothing there, Pacey. There's friendship and the love that stems from that, but there's no fire. Nothing inside me melted when he touched me, nothing inside me…when he kissed me, I felt like Joey. When you kiss me…when you kissed me," she put the emphasis on the past tense, putting some distance between them, even as she moved closer, her breasts against his back. "Just touching you made me feel alive, Pacey. Kissing you made me want to die of pleasure."

He closed his eyes and tried to concentrate on his breathing, not willing to speak or do anything to shatter the eerie quiet that seemed to follow her confession. "I can't do this again, Joey."

"We won't do it again, Pacey. We'll do it different. We'll be different. I needed that goodbye from Dawson. I needed to put it all to rest and close the book. Before it was all just words and I needed it to be action. Maybe we both did." She let her hand slide down his arm while the other one wrapped around his waist, her fingertips brushing the tip of his cock. Her hand reached his and their fingers entangled, twining together as her lips brushed his neck. "No Dawson between us this time, Pacey. I don't need his permission to love you."

"You never did."

"But I thought I did." She nibbled his earlobe. "And now I know better. I'm free." He turned his head and she stared at his lips, full and hungry for her. The tip of his tongue parted them and he struggled to breathe.

"I can't do this, Joey."

"Why not? What's stopping you?"

"I'm not in love with you anymore."

Drue bent his head and ran his tongue along Jen's collarbone, up the length of her neck, ending at her earlobe. "God, I love the way you taste."

She didn't say anything in response as her hand slipped through the water and between them, wrapping around his swollen cock. Drue gasped quietly, his teeth sinking lightly in the soft flesh. "You haven't tasted anything yet."

"You're trying to kill me, aren't you?" He whispered the words huskily into her ear, moving down to the hollow behind it.

"As tempting as that is," her hand moved lazily along his erection, "I've found that I kinda like you alive." She moved closer, guiding the tip of his cock between her thighs and brushing it across the silky strands of hair that moved through the slight current. "Though I am currently questioning my sanity."

Drue sucked lightly at her neck, one hand threaded through her hair. They were sinking rapidly in the water, and he held her against him as his feet finally touched ground, the water just above his chin. Jen slid her leg up around his waist and Drue gasped as he felt slick folds of warm flesh part around him. "Jen, honey…"

"Shut up, Drue," she moaned softly, wrapping her other leg around him and pulling him closer. He slipped inside her fully, easily, shivering despite the heat of the day. His knees trembled below the surface of the water, the sunlight casting reflections that blinded them both.

"You son of a bitch!"

Jen turned her head and pulled away from Drue as Joey's slap echoed through the clearing. Jack looked up from the shore, getting to his feet quickly. "We should go."

"I really fucking hate your friends," Drue muttered under his breath as he moved behind her, swimming reluctantly in Joey and Pacey's direction.

Tears stung her eyes, and she swiped them away. "Then what the fuck have you been like this for? Why do you even give a shit if I kiss Dawson? Why shouldn't I be able to fuck him if I want? Is that what you did this summer, Pacey? Did you fucking screw every bare-breasted whore you came across on your island adventure."

"No." His face was stiff. "Not every one of them."

"You son of a bitch!" She slapped him, then shoved him, putting distance between them. "I fucking hate you." She turned and found herself in Jen's arms, the blonde comforting her as she cried.

Jen glared at Pacey over Joey's shoulder. Pacey met her gaze coolly for a moment before shrugging and turning away and heading back to shore.

Jack didn't watch Pacey dress, though he did stand next to him. "What are you doing?"

"Dressing. Something tells me that even the thinnest layer of protection is going to be a good thing."

"You want to tell me what happened out there?"

"How much do you know about the kiss that she and Dawson shared?"

"Not much. I know it happened."

"And how do you know?"

"Jen mentioned it."

"And how did Jen know?"

"I don't…"

"The day after I got back from the boat, I ran into Jen and Dawson. They were schlepping around town. He'd apparently just gotten in as well, and they were hanging out since Joey was busy at the B&B and you were doing something with Tobey before he took off for Stanford." He ran his hands through his hair, tossing off droplets. "So we decide to go to Dawson's because it's so freakin' hot, and we sit in his room and throw in a movie that he made for his project at USC. He rewinds the tape, and there it is."

"What is?"

"Him and Joey. Kissing. Talking and then kissing. In perfect frame, like he set it up beforehand, orchestrated the whole fucking thing. I don't know that he did. I'd like to think this was just another monumental film mistake that affected my life, much like his early pornographic work. But I had to sit there, me and Jen and Dawson, all watching with varying degrees of horror. And then Joey walked in. Right as they locked lips."

"Oh. Shit."

"Yeah. And I walked out to the sound of their rapid-fire explanations, trying to justify the kissing and the touching and the goddamned complete disregard for the year she and I had spent together. So yeah, I'm a little fucking touchy when she wants to kiss me and tells me that now that she's really, honestly, totally, completely free of Dawson, she can love me."

"Oh."

Pacey looked up and out across the water, watching as Jen, Joey, and Drue slowly moved toward shore. "Especially when all I want to do is take her back."

Jen picked up the blanket that Jack had set next to her clothes and offered it to Joey. When she didn't take it, Jen sighed and carried it over to her, wrapping it around her body and drying her off. "Get dressed."

"He said he doesn't love me anymore."

"Yeah, well, he's a guy. Odds say he's lying through his fucking teeth. Get dressed."

Joey shook her head. "You didn't see him. I can tell when he's lying and he wasn't."

"Joey?" Jen waited until the other girl looked at her. "Shut up. He's so fucking in love with you it's not even funny. It's sad and pathetic and it's really starting to piss me off that it's interfering with my love life."

"What?"

"Look, Pacey is like…king of the defenses. You're the queen and he's the king. And he's concerned that you're going to rip his heart out through his balls one more time. So he's playing it cautious. You didn't see the way he looked when you turned away from him. Okay? So just get your clothes on and then take him somewhere and talk to him. And don't." Jen glared at her. "Don't even think about trying to have sex with him, because if you do that, you're just going to undermine everything that you want to save, okay?"

"Talk to him."

"Yes. And, for God's sake, don't bring up Dawson."

Drue watched as Jack gathered up all the damp blankets and headed toward the car. Looking around and not seeing either Joey or Pacey, he grabbed Jen's hand and led her a short distance away, ignoring her sputtered protests. Out of Jack's earshot, he sat down at the base of one of the large trees that made up the edge of the clearing. Leaning back against the trunk, he motioned for Jen. She moved to join him, settling between his legs and leaning back against his chest. "So, am I ever going to get to see you naked without your friends around?"

"We're a pretty close-knit group," she turned her head and smiled at him over her shoulder. "It could never happen."

He slid his arms around her waist, his fingertips dangling just over the zipper of her shorts. His breath was warm on her skin, as his whispered words seemed to dance along her nerve endings. "I want to finish what we started out there, Jen. I want to be inside you and feel you around me; I want to push up into you until my balls are resting against the hot, pink skin of your pussy. I wanna hear you cry my name as I thrust into you over and over and over." He let his lips trail over her shoulder, tracing the edge of her tank top. "I want to come inside you, baby."

"Drue," she moaned his name quietly, squirming against him. His cock was hard against her back, and she fought against the instinct to turn around and straddle him and dry hump him until she felt the hot flush of relief. "Stop."

"Stop?" He kept kissing her, telltale touches that traced over her skin, barely touching her, but leaving flames of desire in their wake. "Or don't stop?"

"God, don't stop." She arched her back and turned her head, finding his lips eager to meet hers. His tongue pushed past her parted lips and dove into her mouth. She sucked on it, pulling it deeper as she shifted slightly, turning so that she was sitting sideways, both her legs draped over one of his.

Her hand slid around the back of his head, tangling in his short, dark hair as his hands moved over her body. One grazed over her breast, the hard nipple brushing his palm and eliciting a low groan from them both. The other moved across her back, rubbing the silky skin beneath her shirt.

"I want to have slow, passionate sex with you so hot it makes our fucking bones melt." He spoke the words into the kiss as his hand slid down off her breast and between her legs.

"Je…sus, Drue…"

He kissed her again, hard, before pulling away. All he wanted to do was lay her down and do what he'd offered, but the sight of Jack, sitting on the trunk of the car, trying not to look in their direction, forced a quiet expletive from him.

"What's wrong?"

He got to his feet and reached down, shifting his erection to a more comfortable spot before helping her to her feet. "Your goddamned friends."

Joey placed her hand on the tree he was leaning against, walking around it slowly. "You left before I got back to shore."

"I didn't particularly want to be around when you came out of the water completely naked. Though I'm sure Drue appreciated the eyeful of you and Jen rising like some mismatched Venus…es. Veni?"

She smiled, feeling tears threaten. "I don't actually know the plural to that."

"And I expected you to, because you're so much smarter than I am, right?"

"That's not…" She sighed and shook her head. "Pacey? Look, I'm sorry. For everything. For every time I hurt you, for everything I said or did that might have made you feel like I thought you weren't worthy of me, for every lie I told, for everything I didn't say."

He couldn't stop the small smile that ghosted across his lips. "You done?"

She shook her head and moved around to stand in front of him. "No. Not really." She bit her lower lip and looked up at him, her lashes still damp from the lake and her tears. "Pacey…" She lifted her shirt off again and dropped it on the ground. While he watched her with hooded eyes, she unfastened her bra. "I offered myself to him once, because I thought it was the only way to prove I had feelings for him. He turned me down that night, for which I'm eternally grateful."

"Because it means that your first time wasn't a grope-fest in Dawson's bedroom while the strip club was going on downstairs?"

"Because that night he sent you to me. And that was the beginning of the best time of my life." She slid her shorts over her hips and let them fall to the ground. His eyes drifted down her body as she hooked her thumbs in the waistband of her panties and pushed them to the ground. "I can't make you any promises, because I know you won't believe them. There's too much between us, too many words that didn't end up meaning what we thought they meant. But I love you…and I want to start again."

"So you're offering me what, Jo? Your body?" He didn't stop her hands as she unbuttoned his shorts, then eased the zipper down. "Because that's not enough."

"My body," she nodded. "And more. I want you to have everything I am, Pacey. Nothing held back in reserve. The girl you sat on the dock with that night…she couldn't have stood before you like this. I can. I am. I…I love you, Pacey."

"And Dawson?" He closed his eyes for a brief second as she slid his shorts and boxers down his legs. "What about him, Jo?"

Her hand stroked his upper thigh, her eyes watching as his body responded to her touch. "He's my friend. That's what that kiss meant, Pacey. That's what it proved."

He looked away from her, staring out at the water. "I don't know if I can do this all again, Jo."

She wrapped her hand around his erection and stroked him, her free hand capturing his chin and turning him to look at her, pulling him close enough to kiss. "You think I'm giving you a choice?"

Jack smirked slightly as Jen slid onto the trunk of the car beside him. "What?"

"Nothing."

"I know you, Jack McPhee. And I know that morally superior look far too well, so just say what you want to say and get it over with so that I can lambaste you with some past indiscretion and even the score."

"I'm not saying anything." He looked over to where Drue was standing beside the lake and started whistling tunelessly.

Jen smacked him on the arm, "Stop it."

"What?"

"Okay, this fucking innocent act is annoying."

"Really? Or are you just slightly sexually frustrated?"

"He felt sorry for you."

"He shouldn't have. I've been enjoying the show."

Jen shoved him hard, forcing him off the car. She followed him onto the ground, tackling him on the soft grass. "You're a dead man, McPhee."

"Why? Because you two were all hot and bothered in my general vicinity?" He dodged her ineffectual punch and laughed, grabbing both her hands and holding her still above him. "Just be careful."

She stared down at him, the teasing gone out of his face. "What do you mean?"

"People like Drue…"

"People like Drue?" Her question was dangerous, her voice laced with suspicion.

"I don't want you to get hurt. That's all I'm trying to say."

"And you think he's going to hurt me?" She shrugged off his grip and got off of him. "Why? Why do you think that?"

"Leopards don't change their spots, Jen. Look at what he's done in the time he's been here. He got you in trouble with the law, tried to get you hooked on drugs again, he sent Andie to the hospital…"

"And here I thought that one was my fault."

He refused to rise to the bait. "He did his damnedest to split up Joey and Pacey, and I'm just worried that he's going to hurt you." Jack got up and stood in front of her, his fingers tilting her chin up so she was forced to look at him. "I'm not saying that he will; I just want you to be careful, Jen."

She didn't say anything for a long moment, simply held his gaze. "Are you finished?"

Jack sighed. "Yeah."

"Good. I'll have you know that Drue has been nothing but good to me since the night of the prom and he's done his level best to be a damned good boyfriend. He hasn't pressured me at all, Jack. He's been a complete gentleman about everything, especially sex, and I can't believe that you're just assuming all these things about him."

"I'm not assuming anything, Jen. I think you've got blinders on when it comes to him because he's treating you the way you want to be treated and he's the first guy who isn't gay to do it."

She stepped back, stunned as if he'd slapped her. Jack closed his eyes and cursed under his breath, knowing instinctively that he'd gone too far.

"Jen…"

"No. You're right. Just tell me this, Jack. Why did you ask him to take me to the prom?"

"It was a stupid revenge thing. I didn't actually expect you to like him. Or have a good time."

"So you were trying to ruin my senior prom?"

"That's not what I…Jen."

"I'm just trying to get this clear. You offered him money to take me to the prom, money that he turned down, right?"

"Yes."

"Because maybe he just wanted to be there with me?"

"Because maybe he knew you'd get so drunk it'd be easy to get you out of your dress."

Her hand shot out, slapping him soundly across the cheek. "I don't believe you," she hissed at him, tears of anger clouding her eyes. "You fucking prick."

"Jen…"

"Fuck you, Jack." She turned and walked away, heading toward Drue. He was looking in their direction, his hands held behind his back as he watched her approach.

"Lover's spat?"

She glared at him as she stopped, her arms crossed over his chest. "Just shut up."

He reached out and touched her elbow, stroking it with one fingertip. "C'mere."

"No."

His hand cupped around her elbow and turned her so that her back was to his chest and she was facing in Jack's direction. "See him?"

"Drue…"

"Whatever he just said about me, it's not true. I'm not just trying to get into your pants, and I'm not trying to ruin your life." His words were whispered against her hair like breezy, comforting kisses. "I like you very much, Jen Lindley. And I enjoy just about everything we do together."

"Just about everything?" She struggled to fight the smile that threatened.

"Well, I'm not all that thrilled with knitting, I have to admit."

She giggled then tried to be stern. "Drue."

"Do I want to strip you naked and have amazing, mind-blowing sex with you? Yeah. I think we'd both know I was lying if I said otherwise. But that's not why I'm with you. I could have sex if that was all I wanted."

He wrapped his arms around her waist. "Jack's just trying to protect you. I understand that, and you should too."

"Why are you being so mature? Shouldn't you want to kick his ass?"

"Is that what this is about? You want the two of us to fight over you?" He chuckled, and the sound sent shivers down her spine. "Honey, he'd kick my ass without even trying."

"Nah. You'd fight dirty."

"Well, naturally. But he's bigger than me, he's stronger than me, and he's got the psychological advantage that gay men have over straight men when it comes to physical grappling. The little man in my head is scared of him touching me."

"You're such a creep."

"I'm only thinking of Jack here. I'd hate to have to disappoint him when I told him all my manly attributes are dedicated to you."

She tilted her head back and grinned up at him, his blue eyes reflecting the smile back at her. "I'm very afraid that I have serious crush on you, Drue Valentine."

"Well, thank goodness for that. It was gonna suck if I'd been doing all this bullshitting for nothing." He kissed the tip of her nose. "Now, shall we go make nice with Jack while Pacey and Joey are off rutting in the bushes?"

"She promised me she was just going to talk to him."

Drue shook his head as he took her hand and started back toward the car. "And you believed her? You really are monumentally naïve."

Pacey caught Joey's hand and stilled it, taking a deep breath to combat the throbbing of his pulse. "No."

"No?"

He pulled her hand away and shook his head, pushing her just enough to put distance between them. "No."

"But…"

"No." He gathered his shorts and pulled them back on, fastening them without looking at her. Bending down, he grabbed his shirt and tugged it back over his head, despite the heat. "Joey, I can't go through this all again, okay? It's just…I don't want to be the guy you're with because you're lonely. I don't want to be just someone you need because you don't want to be alone."

"Is that what you think?" The words were stiff, imitating the line of her body as she grabbed for her discarded clothes. "I think that this has absolutely nothing to do with me."

"You're wrong."

"Maybe. But I see it in your eyes, Jo. I'm not saying you don't believe you love me. But I don't think you're quite sure of what love is. Love isn't what we had last year, Jo. Maybe we were working toward it, but everything we worked for came crashing down. We can't just start up again like nothing's happened, like nothing changed, like we didn't destroy each other just a little bit."

"So how do we start?"

"I don't know. I'm not sure I want to know. I…I love you, Joey. I love you so much it eats away at me inside. I want to be able to make love to you and hold you and do all those things that couples do. But we're not even close to being a couple. And I can't go back to pretending that we are."

"What do I have to do to prove to you that he's out of my life?"

"Nothing, Jo. You don't have to *do* anything. Just let your life happen and, if we're meant to be, we'll be. We didn't plan it the first time and, for a while, it worked out pretty well."

"So I have to wait for you to decide that you want to be with me again?"

"No, Jo. You have to wait until I see that you're ready to be with me again." He turned back toward the car. "We should be heading back."

"We're not done here."

"Yeah, Jo. I'm afraid we are."

The ride home was quiet and tense. Jack was avoiding Jen's gaze as much as possible, knowing, even if Drue didn't, that she was still furious over his comments. Joey refused to even look in Pacey's direction and Drue was sitting as close as he could to the side of the car in order to avoid any kind of contact with any of them. Except for the soft grip he had on Jen's hand, gently stroking her smooth skin.

"You know what this reminds me of?" He was just as startled as the others as the words left his mouth.

"What?" Joey snapped.

"Prom night. Questionable car, half the people involved not talking or looking at one another. You guys really know how to show someone a good time."

Everyone in the back seat flew forward as Pacey slammed on the brakes. "Get out."

"What?"

"Get the fuck out of my questionable car." He didn't turn, didn't look at Drue or Jen, who he knew was glaring at him angrily. "Just get out and walk home."

"Pacey," Jen shook her head slowly.

"I'm serious Valentine. Get your slimy ass out of my car."

"He goes, I go." Jen met Pacey's eyes in the rear-view mirror. "I'm dead serious here, Pacey."

He sat there for a long moment, tapping the steering wheel. "One more word out of him, Jen and I kick his ass to the curb. Even if you go with him."

She nodded and gave Drue a long look. He shrugged guiltily and leaned against the side of the car, his arms crossed over his chest. The car started moving again, stopping suddenly as Joey started laughing.

"Jo?" Jack leaned forward and looked at her over the back of her seat. "What's so funny?"

"Nothing," she had trouble speaking, her breath short as she continued to laugh, the strangled sounds soon turning to sobs. "Nothing."

Pacey watched wordlessly as she buried her head in her hands and turned away from them all, curling up against the car door. He closed his eyes and inhaled sharply, cursing under his breath as he started the car again, driving them all home to the soft sound of Joey's tears.

"You sure you want dropped off here, Lindley? I can take you home?"

"Here's fine. I'm staying with Jack while his dad's out of town."

Pacey stopped the car outside of Jack's house and sat there as Jen, Jack, and Drue climbed out. Jen put her hand on his arm and he looked up at her in the fading daylight. "What?"

"She does love you."

He looked over at Joey's sleeping form and sighed. She'd fallen asleep about halfway home, and he'd done his best to ignore her the entire time. "Love isn't enough, Jen. You know that. She's got too many issues, and so do I."

"But she loves you and you love her. And that's worthwhile. Maybe you should stop fighting her so you can both start fighting for a relationship."

"I can't compete with Dawson."

"She's already decided that you and Dawson are on completely separate playing fields. She's not in love with him anymore, Pacey. She knows that now."

"I thought she knew it a year ago."

"No, all she knew then was that she was in love with you." She kissed the top of his head then ruffled his hair. "Don't you want it to work out?" She walked away without looking back at him, knowing his gaze was locked on Joey.

Drue was leaning against his car watching her as she approached. She tilted her head slightly, the question in her eyes. He shook his head, jingling his keys to emphasize his point.

"You're leaving?"

"I'm not going to follow you into his house, Jen. I understand why he feels the way he feels."

"That doesn't mean that he's right. In fact, he's wrong."

"But it is his house. And so," he shrugged. "I'll see you tomorrow, okay?"

She leaned into him, resting her head on his chest. "I don't want you to go. We can watch a movie. Do other stuff that would show him that you're interested in me for other stuff."

"Jen, nothing I do is going to change Jack's opinion of me. We both know that, even if I'm the only one who's willing to admit it. Now give me a kiss, woman, and then go inside and dream about me, okay?"

"Who the fuck do you think you a…" the rest of the word was swallowed by his kiss, his tongue slipping into her open mouth as his hand wound around her body and lifted her up against him. Several minutes later, he set her back on the ground and smiled down at her.

"Don't fucking argue."

"Oooh-kay." She nodded and stumbled back, his hand catching her before she fell. "Go inside."

"And dream."

"Noooo problem on that one." She walked toward the house in a daze, her fingers settled against her swollen lips.

"Potter?" Pacey touched her shoulder gently, shaking her. She mumbled something and turned away from him, hunching closer to the door. He sighed and shook her a little more. "Come on, Jo. You're home."

"Le me, lone."

Closing his eyes, Pacey offered up a silent prayer before climbing out of the car and walking around to the passenger side. Holding her in place with one hand, he opened the door with the other and leaned down to lift her out. Her arm instinctively slipped around his neck as he held her, heading toward the front door of the B&B.

"Need some help?"

Pacey stopped at the foot of the stairs and raised his eyes to Dawson's. He was sitting on the porch swing, rocking slowly back and forth. "Nah. I got her."

"Wear her out?"

"Sex with four other people will do that to you." Pacey moved up the stairs and set her gently on her feet, supporting her weight against his body. "You here for a reason?"

"Just making sure she got home okay."

"You her guardian now?"

"No." Dawson shook his head, his hands stuffed deep in his pockets. "Just looking out for a friend."

"That's what she thinks you are." Pacey's arm tightened slightly around Joey's waist. "But you don't think that, do you? That kiss meant the beginning to you, no matter that she thinks it meant the end."

"That kiss was between us, and it really shouldn't matter to you one way or the other what it meant. She wasn't your girlfriend at the time, Pace. Wasn't that what you told me all last spring?"

"I have no problem whatsoever with you having a thing with Joey, Dawson. Because you're absolutely right. She and I weren't together. But I have a problem with you thinking you've got yourself a girlfriend if Joey's got other ideas about what you mean to each other."

"I would never hurt Joey."

"That's a lie." Pacey said the words quietly, but the strength behind them told Dawson that he had no intention of letting it pass unnoticed. "We both know that, so don't think you're the better man here, Dawson. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to put Joey to bed."

"You won't mind if I wait out here while you do, do you?"

"I've never in my life taken advantage of a woman while she was half-asleep, Dawson. Although, according to Jen, you have. Or at least you tried."

Drue shut off the TV and climbed off his bed, slowly making his way to his window. He pulled back the curtains and raised his eyebrow as he lifted the glass. "What are you doing?"

"Clinging to some sort of tree. I'm not sure what kind. But I do know that I'm terrified of letting go, so if you want me to end up in your bedroom, you're going to have to help. However, if you want to see me plunge to my death from a height I don't even want to contemplate, just keep crackin' wise and you'll get your wish."

He reached out and helped guide her into his window. "There are ladders."

"You know what a bitch it is to haul a ladder across town? Especially when you're walking?"

"What about your Grams' car?"

"I didn't want anyone to know I was gone." She brushed bark off her tank top then her arms, hissing when she touched her elbow. "Ouch."

"Lemme see." Drue lifted her arm and winced at the long scratch, beaded with blood. "Come on."

"What?"

"I'm going to get you cleaned up before you get gangrene or something." He led her into his bathroom, kicking dirty clothes out of the way of the sink. "And don't say a word about the housekeeping, okay? I wasn't exactly expecting company."

"As long as I don't find myself face to face with your mother, I'm not going to say a word."

"She's gone."

"You mean I could have knocked on the front door?" She groaned softly. "Shit."

"This was much more romantic." Drue wet a washcloth with warm water, rubbing one end of it against the bar of soap. "I feel all a-swoon."

"Hmmph." Jen slumped against the counter as he raised her arm and washed her cut slowly. The soap stung and she hissed again. "Ouch. Again."

"Sorry." His gaze was intent as he cleaned it then began rubbing small, gentle circles along the length of the scratch with the wet end of the cloth. When he reached the end of it, he realized he was just inches from the swell of her breast. "I think I've got some sort of antibiotic somewhere. Neosporin or something. And Mom's got Valium, although I don't know that it wards off anything other than my father."

"It feels fine."

"No pain?" His fingers were massaging the flesh around the red mark, moving over the tender skin.

"A little."

"I could kiss it, make it better." He looked up at her, a grin threatening at the corners of his mouth. "If you think that would help at all."

"It might."

Instead of kissing it, he stood up and moved behind her, looking at her in the mirror. "God, you're beautiful." She shook her head and he caught a handful of golden curls. "Every time I see you, I want to do unspeakable things to you."

"Unspeakable, huh?" Her voice was deeper, her breath caught in her throat. "Things like chop me into little bits and serve me for Thanksgiving dinner? Or things like…"

"Things like tie you down to my bed and lick every inch of your skin." He bent his head and kissed her neck as he pushed her hair out of the way. Jen watched him in the mirror as he moved, their gazes locked.

"Oh. I like yours better."

"Yeah," he nodded, still kissing her, still watching her, the words hot on her neck. "Mine doesn't scare the shit out of me."

She giggled, the soft sound turning into a gasp as his hands moved around her waist. Making sure he was still looking at their reflection, Jen reached for the hem of her tank top and pulled it up, feeling him leave her just long enough for her to lift it over her head.

His eyes fixed on hers, Drue raised his hands and cupped her breasts, touching the hard nipples with his thumbs. "You know, I'm beginning to think you only want me for sex, Lindley."

"Would you have a problem with that?"

"In the long run?" He shrugged, moving his forefingers to trap the firm tips. "Maybe. Tonight?" He pressed his erection against her, using his hands to hold her body to his. "No fucking way."

She moaned as he bit her neck lightly, his hands curved around her breasts. She tilted her head back slightly, still keeping eye contact. She unfastened her jeans and pushed them off her hips, shifting her body so that they'd slide down, rubbing against his erection the entire time. He groaned deeply and let one hand slide down her stomach, slipping underneath the satin of her panties.

His breath was coming hard and fast as his fingers parted the wet flesh, finding her clit easily. He touched it lightly, barely brushing across it, his tongue wetting his lips as he felt her body arch away from him, arch up for him.

Jen reached back, wrapping her arms around his neck. She licked the pulse throbbing at the base of his neck. "Drue?"

"Yeah?" He panted huskily.

"I really need you to fuck me."

He shuddered behind her and stepped back slightly, tearing his shirt over his head. She watched him in the mirror, her eyes moving off his face to his slim chest, his tapered waist and his hands fumbling with his belt. He finally got it unfastened, shoving his jeans and boxers down to the floor before moving back behind her.

His cock brushed against the silky curves of her ass as she hooked her fingers in the waistband of her panties and slid them down slowly, bending slightly so that her ass pressed tightly against him. "Fuuuck," he breathed, his hand running along the top of her thighs as she straightened.

"That's the plan," she nodded slowly, smiling at him sexily. "If you're up to it?"

"So up, darlin'." He reached past her, his body tight against hers, and opened the bathroom cabinet, pulling out a box of condoms. As he opened it and pulled one out, she shut the cabinet and watched him as he looked down, sliding it along the length of his shaft.

He looked up at her, her slow smile like liquid as she leaned forward. "I want to watch."

He ran his hands along her sides, up to the swell of her breasts before going over her shoulders and down the length of her back. His hands rested on her ass, his tongue between his lips as he watched the reflection of her chest, rising and falling with each rapid breath. He moved one hand upward to rest in the small of her back, pushing her forward slightly.

Her hips lifted as he ran his cock along the wet flesh before pushing forward, sliding inside her. She let out a soft sound as he filled her, her hands curling around sink, her teeth clenched as he stood there behind her, not moving.

The bathroom was filled with the sounds of hot, expelled air, heavy with desire and expectation. Drue stared at her, his blue eyes dark as they met hers. Bracing his hands on the sink just behind hers, he started thrusting slowly, struggling to keep his eyes open as her body collided with his.

Her arms trembled as she leaned further forward, urging him deeper. Drue released the counter, holding her hips as he pushed into her, his breath hitching as he held her, one arm snaking around her waist, his fingers weaving through the silky, blonde hair to her clit.

"Oh…God…" she panted, her forehead resting on the mirror as he continued to grind against her, whispering her name repeatedly until he fell into her, still thrusting as he came.

Pacey lay Joey on the bed and stepped back, leaning against the wall next to her door. He trapped his hands behind him, watching her as she shifted on the quilt. "Jesus, Jo." He whispered the words softly. "I wish I had some fucking clue about what to do."

"Come here."

He watched her sit up, pulling her knees to her chest like she always did when she felt small or threatened. "I can't do that, Jo."

"Why not?"

"Because I've already told you I have no intention whatsoever of resolving any of this with sex."

"You don't think we could just talk?"

He smiled ruefully. "After today? Absolutely not."

She nodded. "Whether you believe me or not, Pace, I still love you."

"I don't doubt that you love me, Jo."

"Then why?"

He ignored the tears in her voice as he edged closer to the door. "Because I don't doubt that you love him either."

Drue moved away from Jen slowly, disposing of the condom as he did so. He was still watching her in the mirror as she turned on the sink, splashing cool water on her flushed face. "Just as a warning…" He paused as she looked up, not wanting to meet her eyes. "This is the part I really suck at."

"What's that?" Her voice was soft as she turned around and faced him.

"The after part." He shrugged and bent down to pick up his clothes, shoving everything into his hamper as he moved into the bedroom. "The flirting and the sex are no problem. It's this crap that…" He stopped at her look as she folded her arms across her chest. "Shouldn't be called crap."

"There's a step in the right direction."

"I'm not good at this. I don't…" He shrugged and sat down on his bed, trying not to pay attention to her naked body as she moved beside him. "I've never been in a relationship. I mean one that didn't start and end with sex. So, you know, this is sort of new…and I really suck at it."

"No," she got on her knees and faced him, capturing his chin and turning it so that he was looking at her. "You're doing fine."

"I am?"

She nodded her head and leaned in, nibbling on his full, bottom lip. "Just fine."

He kissed her softly, his hand caressing her cheek. "Yeah?"

She grabbed his shoulders and pushed him onto the bed, landing on top of him. Her smile widened as her breasts settled against his chest. "Oh yeah."

Pacey closed the door quietly behind him, turning just in time to catch Dawson's right hook square to his jaw. He fell back against the porch swing, smacking his head on the wooden slats. "You son of a fucking bitch." He got to his feet and charged him, his momentum carrying them both over the porch railing and onto the lawn.

They rolled away from each other, both staggering to their feet. They were both panting, eyes narrowed in the pale moonlight. "You fucked her again, didn't you, you bastard?" Dawson's fists were curled up in front of his chest, his anger driving him closer to Pacey. "You just can't keep your goddamn dick in your pants."

"You mean I can't keep it out of hers, right?" Pacey took a swing, just glancing off Dawson's cheekbone.

"You want to know what happened after that kiss, Pacey?" Dawson moved in and swung, missing him. "After we spent got tired of standing up, we moved to the bed and made out for hours." He dodged another of Pacey's blows. "And then I undressed her and I fucked her. I fucked her until she begged me to stop…"

"Yeah? What'd that take? All of five fucking seconds?" Pacey moved in quickly and caught Dawson hard across the nose. He fell back, his hand pressed against his nose to stop the blood. Pacey bounced on the balls of his feet, ready to swing again. "You wouldn't know how to fuck her, Dawson. And I can tell you this, if you really knew anything about Joey Potter, if you really gave a shit about her and her feelings, you would know it's absolutely impossible to fuck her."

"Yeah?" Dawson whipped his hand away, sending a spray of blood out toward Pacey. He moved quickly, a quick jab to his jaw and a solid punch to Pacey's midsection sending him onto the ground. "Why's that? She too fucking pristine to spread her legs?"

"No." Pacey got to his feet, his tongue feeling where his lip was split, tasting blood. "Because Joey will only have sex with someone she loves." He glanced toward the porch quickly, still keeping an eye on Dawson. "Right, Jo?"

"Right."

Dawson whirled around, his eyes wide with shock and fear. "Jo…"

"I really think you need to go home, Dawson." She had her arms crossed in front of her chest, her whole body language radiating a subtle kind of rage.

"Jo, I…"

"Now."

He closed his eyes and nodded once, shouldering Pacey out of the way as he went past. Pacey waited until he hit the dock before moving over to the porch. He stood beside the railing and winced. "I guess I've got some carpentry work to do in the morning, huh?"

"Yeah."

"I probably want to get to bed then, get an early start."

"That'd be best."

"You got a bed you're not using?"

"No." She shook her head, watching him as he walked up onto the porch. "But I do have one that I am."

"You know," Drue rose up on his elbows, looking down at his hands for a moment before turning his gaze to Jen. "This is going to do nothing to convince Jack that I'm after more than your body."

She shrugged and rolled onto her side, her hand trailing over his back before it disappeared under the sheet. "What if I'm only after you for your body?"

"I'm surprisingly okay with that." He nodded his head before settling back on the bed, turning over so that she could curl up on his chest.

"Don't worry about Jack."

"I can't help it. Something about the fact that he can kick my ass just be looking at me makes me a little cautious." He stroked her hair with a gentle hand. "Not that I wouldn't fight and die for you, you know."

"Wow. Really?"

"Well, I'd be willing to get a little bloody…but only for the comforting you'd be obliged to do afterwards."

"I don't think Jack would resort to killing you."

"Just maiming me seriously?"

"Yeah." She moved closer to him, her hand running over the dark hair sprinkled across his chest. "You know it doesn't matter what he thinks, right?"

"Mmmm?"

"The only thing that matters is what I think." She moved over on top of him, straddling his lower stomach, her ass resting lightly against his cock.

"Yeah?" He reached up and cupped her breasts, caressing the creamy flesh. "And what do you think?"

"I think that I'm perfectly okay with you wanting me for my body."

He captured her nipples and toyed with them, watching her as her eyes glazed over with desire. "What if I want you for more than that?"

"Well, I'm available for knitting lessons on Thursday afternoons." She gasped as he pinched the taut peaks lightly. "And just about anything else."

He moved his hands to her sides, sliding them down to the small of her back and pulling her against him. Her head was above his, just inches away. "Good."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah. Because there's a whole lot of things I want you for."

Her voice was breathless. "Like what?"

His hand tangled in her hair and brought her mouth to his. "Like this."

Pacey shifted nervously, trying not to look at the bed. Joey smiled at him and laughed softly. "You've been in my room before."

His tongue played with the split in his lips. "Never when I was bleeding profusely."

"I could get something." She gestured toward the door. "A cold cloth. A…" h=Her next suggestion was cut off as he pulled her against him, finding her lips with his effortlessly. Joey's hands shook as she touched his face, barely making contact with his skin.

Pacey groaned and slid his hands up her arms to her shoulders, squeezing gently before he released her, only to frame her face, his thumbs stroking her cheekbones. Joey shivered at his touch, her mouth opening up under his as he slipped his tongue past parted lips.

They pulled away, her lower lip trembling as they stared at one another as wide-eyed and surprised as they'd been after the kiss that had started everything. She reached out and touched his lower lip softly. The split looked darker now, flushed with blood in the swollen flesh. "What the hell was that?" She asked him quietly.

"A kiss," his voice rumbled from somewhere deep inside his chest. He touched her cheek, his thumb sweeping across the sharp line of her cheekbone, the skin dusted softly with pink.

"The first of many?" Her voice was soft and unsure.

"I don't know that you can count that as our first, Jo." He continued touching her, his fingers moving over her face as if in an effort to memorize her, softly caressing her flushed skin. "We're kind of past all the firsts."

"Have we passed the first time I admit I totally fucked this up and I'm sorry and all I want to do is find a way to make it up to you?" She closed her eyes as his fingers brushed over her eyelids, his thumb sweeping over the long lashes. "Where I tell you how much I regret not letting you know how important you were…are to me and how much of an idiot I was for letting Dawson come between us?"

He didn't respond and she opened her eyes, looking up at him questioningly. He smiled softly, tilting his head and leaning in, his lips barely touching hers. "Jo?"

"Yeah?"

"Tonight? Can we not mention Dawson again?" His laugh was quiet but not humorous, a sharp edge of pain behind it. "Or, you know, ever would be good too."

She nodded, stepping away from him and grabbing the bottom of her t-shirt, pulling it over her head. "I can do that."

He let loose a soft whimper as she let the shirt fall to the floor. Emboldened by the quiet sound, she pushed the boxers she wore to the ground and stepped out of them. She bit her lower lip, standing in front of him naked, her hands clenching and unclenching nervously at her sides.

She forced her eyes up to his, unreadable in the dim light. Taking a deep breath, she reached out her hand and watched him, waiting. Pacey shook his head slightly, knowing that he should know better, as he stepped forward, taking her hand.

Joey moved closer to him, her hands going to his shirt. She smoothed them across the flat planes of his chest, over his shoulders and down his arms. She took his hands and squeezed them lightly before moving back to his chest and running her fingers down his stomach. She felt his body tense as her fingers curled into the material of his t-shirt, tugging it from his jeans.

She moved it up his body, her hands touching his warm skin as she slid the fabric up. He grabbed it and tugged it off his body. Her hands contracted slightly, scraping the sensitive skin that surrounded his nipples. Pacey shuddered and brought his arms down, his hands trapping hers for a second before he let them fall to his sides.

"Why are you shaking?" She whispered the words, laughing just as quietly as she realized her voice was trembling too. "You've done this before. We've done this before."

He didn't answer her as her hands slid down his bare chest to his belt buckle, unfastening it and pushing the leather out of the way. She watched her hands as she undid his fly, unable to meet his eyes in the silence. Licking her lips, she hooked her hands under the denim and pushed them down. He kicked off his shoes as he stepped out of the jeans, standing in front of her in his boxer briefs and socks.

She stopped, her hands hovering near him but not touching. Pacey looked at the floor between them for a long moment before sighing. Joey stepped back, afraid the moment was lost and he was leaving. Instead, he eased the boxers over his erection and shoved them down his legs. Free of them, he moved into her, his momentum carrying them both down onto the bed.

He kissed her, nothing tentative this time, his tongue pressing into her mouth as she parted her lips for him. He winced as her teeth came in contact with his busted lip, then deepened the kiss, his arms wrapping around her body and holding her close.

"God, Jo, I've missed you," he whispered into her open mouth, his tongue tasting her lips and the tip of her tongue. "So fucking much."

She nodded, bringing him back into the kiss, licking the cut that split his lip. He groaned and pulled away from her, sitting on the edge of the bed. She sat up as well, her hand lightly touching his back, pulling it away as he flinched. "Pace?"

"I keep seeing you kissing him." His voice was agonized. "I keep trying not to see it, and it's there in my fucking head."

"It didn't mean anything."

"So you say. And I believe you." He looked at her with a sad smile. "I want to believe you."

"You should. You can." She got off the bed and knelt between his legs. Her hands moved over his firm thighs, ruffling the dark hair as she stared up into his eyes. "You have to."

"Yeah?"

She nodded, tears standing in her eyes. "Yeah." Her hands moved higher, her thumbs stroking the softer flesh of his inner thighs. She leaned in and kissed his stomach, her tongue sweeping across the dark hairs there before she lowered her head to the tip of his cock, brushing her tongue over it. "Please?" She asked quietly as she wrapped her lips around his thick shaft.

Pacey's hips arched off the bed as her warm, wet mouth surrounded him, his fingers curling into the quilt. Joey's hands slid up until they were settled in the junction of his hips, her thumbs stroking the silky flesh and wiry hair at the base of his cock. He raised one hand to her head, threading it through her long hair.

One hand moved down, wrapping around the base of his cock, holding him as she moved her mouth up to the head, sucking hard at the aching tip. Pacey bit his lower lip as he wound her hair around his hand, his hips moving up with every movement of her mouth.

He watched her as she pulled away, licking her lips as she reached down, sliding his socks off of him. She took one of his feet in her hands, rubbing the sole before lifting it up and placing a soft kiss in the arch, her tongue darting out against the soft flesh. He moaned softly, starting as her teeth nibbled their way up to his ankle.

Her hand slid up and settled against the skin of his stomach, pushing him back flat onto the bed as she worked her way up his body back to the throbbing pulse of his cock. He was shivering by the time she wrapped her hand around it, his skin riddled with goosebumps.

Her tongue darted out, curling around the tip and tasting the clear moisture gathered there. Her eyes were hooded as she raised them, watching him watch her from his reclined position. Holding his gaze, she gave him a sly smile before wrapping her entire mouth around him again and swallowing his length.

His groan of pleasure changed to a startled gasp as her teeth grazed lightly over the hard flesh, his balls tightening as she cupped them in her hands. She released his cock and moved downward, wrapping her lips around his balls and sucking lightly.

"Holy…Jo…"

His voice sounded far away and foreign through the pounding of her pulse. Moving back on her heels for a moment, she looked at him then moved forward, her tongue sliding up his cock as she got to her feet. Without pausing, she was astride him, the crush of her thighs moving his legs together as she sat poised on his lap, the raw heat of her body pushing down on him.

Her hands rested on his lower stomach, sliding higher as she stretched out along his body, her breasts resting on his chest, his cock trapped between them. She reached for his hands and moved his arms above him, stretching him even farther, his body arching up slightly to meet hers. Her lips hovered over his, her tongue darting out to wet them. His lips parted, offering her entrance. "Believe me?"

His groan came from deep inside of him as he turned his wrists and captured her hands, bringing them down behind her back. Her breasts crushed against him and he leaned into her, the kiss hot and deep as his tongue pushed into the warm cavern of her mouth. She broke the kiss, catching his lower lip gently between her teeth and sucking on it, the metallic hint of blood on her tongue.

Pacey ground up into her, staining her skin with the slick hint of his excitement. He talked against her kiss, his words as low and warm as his skin. "Jo."

She shook her head and released him, shrugging off the loose grip of his hands as she sat up again. Her nipples were tight peaks, standing out darkly against rosy skin. His hands lifted to touch them, massaging the flesh slowly.

She raised herself up, moving forward so that the tip of his cock was poised at her opening. She caught his eyes and held them as she slid onto him slowly, shuddering with the effort of holding back. Pacey's hands trembled on her skin as he teased the nipples to an aching hardness, rolling the tips between his fingers. Joey straddled him, fighting for breath as he filled her, neither of them moving, both of them wanting nothing more than to start the steady rhythm.

Joey ran her fingers down Pacey's chest, her nails scraping at his skin. His head rolled back and he closed his eyes tightly before forcing himself into a sitting position and capturing one of her nipples between his hungry lips. Her arms wrapped around his shoulders, closing around his neck and holding him to her breast as she arched her back, moving slowly along his cock.

He kissed his way over to the other breast, treating the second nipple with the same sultry care he'd given the first. She released a soft rush of breath that stirred his hair as she sank back down onto him, the rough hair on his thighs brushing the delicate skin of hers. Pacey muttered softly against her breast before pulling away and laying back on the bed, letting his hands slide down to hers.

She entwined their fingers, using him for support as she started moving in earnest, raising up until just the tip of his cock was inside her before sliding down, impaling herself with the inches of hard flesh. They rocked together, falling into rhythms they'd thought forgotten. She released his hands, needing to touch him. She felt the heavy breaths through his skin, felt the warmth of the sun that seemed to linger on him.

His hands moved to her stomach, tracing illicit patterns of distraction around her navel before letting one finger slide down to her clit, teasing it softly with feathery touches. Joey's body sought for pressure, grinding down onto him. Pacey obliged her, his thumb a steady force against the frazzled nerves as he thrust his hips up to meet her.

She grabbed at him, at air, at nothing, as her lips parted in a soundless gasp, the hot rush of her orgasm flooding around him. He watched her tongue dart out and groaned, moving both hands to her hips, despite her soft noise of dismay, and held them, pulling her down against him as he arched off the bed, feeling her muscles surrounding him, pulsing with her climax, pushing him closer to his own.

Joey reached behind her, her nails just barely touching the flushed skin of his balls, scraping lightly, causing his body to jerk and sending him spiraling over the edge after her.

They sat there in a sort of stunned silence for a long while until Joey slid off of him slowly, crossing her arms over her chest as she made her way to the opposite side of the bed. Pacey watched her without standing, only getting to his feet when she grabbed the edge of the sheet. She smiled weakly. "Night, Pacey."

"Night." He didn't anything more as he walked around to the other side. "You want me to get…dressed or something?"

"No."

He nodded and slid under the covers, keeping distance between them. Joey made a soft sound, something like a laugh as she moved over to him. She looked down at him, her eyes shining in the pale moonlight. "You'll be here in the morning, won't you?"

"Do you want me here?"

"Yeah." She nodded, her nervousness showing as she bit her lower lip.

He raised one hand and freed her lip from between her teeth, rubbing the swollen, pink flesh with his thumb. "Then there's nowhere I'd rather be."

09/24/01