KEY WEST

By Rachel

 

 

Pacey woke up from a dream. He was still floating when he felt Joey stir beside him. In the heat of the morning, he had never felt more comfortable…lying there, snuggled against the girl of his dreams, as they venture south in his boat on the open seas on a summer adventure.

 

Joey grumbled slightly as she started to wake.

Pacey smiled and leaned down over her, kissing her face softly.

“Hi,” She whispered sleepily as her big brown eyes fluttered open.

“Sleep well?”

“Mmm…yeah.” Joey sat up and stretched.

“Any good dreams?” Pacey asked mischievously.

“Oh, yeah!” Joey purred as she pulled him to her. “Real good dreams…”

“No more Dawson-nightmares?”

“Nope…”

“Good.”

They started kissing.

 

They’d left Capeside nearly two weeks ago.

True Love sailed off into the sunset and they were on it. They had docked overnight, port by port, eating in the morning, then sailing again late into the afternoon on their way to the Florida Keys. Pacey had always dreamed of escaping to Key West, but he had never thought Joey would agree to come with him.

 

But she did.

 

To his utter amazement, she did.

She chose him, and they left, and for once in a long, long time, everything felt right.

“Rebuilding this boat was the best decision I ever made…” He said between kisses.

“Really?” She asked again and again as their lips caressed.

“Well…second best decision. The first was kissing you.”

“Coming with you was the best decision I ever made,” She stopped kissing him and stared into his eyes. “I mean it… I’ve never felt freer.”

Pacey’s heart welled. He leaned in and kissed her deeply, the two of them dropping back to their sleeping bag.

 

Joey rose from the cabin into the bright sunlight and took a deep breath. The sea air filled her with a new lust for life. She pulled her hair back from her face and closed her eyes, raising her chin to the sky as she soaked in the heat of the sun.

She took another deep breath, letting her hair fall free, and held her arms out as she twirled around in a circle on the deck.

“Careful!” Pacey laughed as he came up behind her and she almost stumbled into him.

“Sorry!” She grinned in embarrassment. “It’s just…” She rubbed the side of her face self-consciously. She felt silly…like a little kid. “I…I’m so excited to finally be here.”

“I know, me too.”

“You probably think I’m silly, don’t you?” Joey laughed, nervously tucking a strand of hair behind her ear.

“Joey,” Pacey groaned, taking her in his arms. “Stop doing that to yourself.”

“Doing what?”

“This,” He laughed, touching her hair. “You nervously tucking your hair back…questioning yourself…doubting yourself. It’s not you. There’s no reason to doubt yourself…I don’t doubt you.”

Pacey always said the right thing. Joey smiled, pleased by what he said, and took a deep breath.

“You’re so good for me…”

Pacey didn’t say anything; he just smiled.

Joey found herself so completely comfortable in his presence that everything else just melted away. She stared at him, transfixed on his bright blue eyes, and lost herself in them.

“You ready to eat?” He asked.

“What?”

“Are you ready to go and eat?”

“Oh…” She smiled, taking his hand. “Let’s go.

 

The Florida Keys were beautiful.

It was quite different from the little New England town of Capeside where they lived. The atmosphere was much more carefree and Joey felt herself growing addicted to it.

There were no judgmental stares from the snooty townspeople…there was no impending work to do…there were no sheets to change at the B&B, no guests to serve…and Joey didn’t feel compelled to keep her gaze to the ground as she walked.

She found something in Key West that she didn’t know she had: Self Confidence.

Whether or not it was the weather, or something in the water, or just the fact that she was holding Pacey’s hand; Joey didn’t know… But she wasn’t worried about it.  She loved this newfound inner strength, and she wasn’t about to waste one second of it overanalyzing things…after all, wasn’t that why she had left Capeside in the first place?

 

Pacey stared at her over breakfast. Joey smiled coyly, flirting with her eyes, and their game of footsies almost disrupted the entire restaurant as it became more and more furious beneath the table.

“Ow!” Pacey winced as Joey inadvertently kicked him in the shin.

“Sorry!” She whispered giddily. She looked around…only a few people were staring.

Pacey winced again, though smiling as he rubbed his sore spot. “That’s gonna leave a mark…”

“I’m sorry,” Joey repeated sincerely.

“That’s okay.”

“I guess I got a little carried away,”

“That’s alright…I like your abuse.”

“You do?” Joey asked mischievously.

“Yeah,” Pacey smiled.

 

As the waitress came and sat their plates before them; an omelet and toast for Pacey, and pancakes and fruit for Jo; Joey slipped off her sandal and started running her bare toe up his leg. Pacey’s eyes shot up to hers and they engaged in an intriguing staring contest.

“Anything else?” The waitress asked.

“No,” Pacey said, suddenly breaking the gaze to look up at her. “We’re fine, thanks.”

“Sure, sugar! Enjoy!”

 

“She called you ‘sugar’,” Joey smirked as she started cutting her pancakes.

“Yeah, I noticed that…”

“Should I be upset?” Joey asked innocently.

“Over what?”

“Over the waitress flirting with my man?”

“She wasn’t…I’m you’re man?” Pacey looked up. Joey was watching him with wide shiny eyes. “I’m your man, Potter?”

“Yeah…” She mumbled. She glanced up at him and found a dumbstruck look on his face. “What!”

“Should we be picking out china patterns yet?”

“Hardly,” Joey gushed, looking away.

“Okay… Just checking.”

 

Pacey smiled as he cut into his omelet.

She thought of him as ‘her man’…

 

 

They spent the first part of the day hanging out at the beach.

Pacey sat on his towel watching Joey standing at the water’s edge only a few yards away. She was in her blue bikini. Pacey appreciation for that bikini grew every time he saw her in it. The way it hugged her, covering the most miniscule amount of skin possible…her long, dark hair pinned up from her shoulders, showing off the nape of her neck…  He found himself loving that neck. And those long, tan legs. And her straight back and narrow hips…

Pacey took a deep breath to control his thoughts…He loved watching her, but it wasn’t the smartest thing to do out here in public wearing only his swim trunks and shades…

 

He suddenly realized he was not the only one watching her.

 

Pacey sat up as a group of locals passed by. One of them dropped back from the group and started talking to her. Pacey caught himself frowning with jealousy as he inadvertently leaned forward to watch. He held his breath, but then exhaled in relief as he realized Joey’s disinterest in the guy.

She was being polite, Pacey could tell; smiling and chatting, but not offering any inkling of anything else. She wasn’t interested.

And the local boy knew it.

He said a farewell before departing; his head not quite as high as it had been when he had first approached. Pacey almost felt sorry for the guy. He had been on the receiving end of that rejection a number of times himself…and it was always a low blow when Joey Potter turned you down.

Pacey was still staring when Joey turned around and smiled sheepishly at him. He smiled back and she turned back to the water, kicking at the waves as they pooled around her feet. Pacey sat back on his towel watching her proudly. He was still in awe at the gods for allowing him this opportunity to be so close to her. She was definitely a gift from heaven…

 

Joey smiled again to herself as again and again the cool, salty water slapped at her skin. The water here in the Florida Keys was so clear compared to the dark, cold Atlantic back home. You could see straight to the bottom; the shells, the sand… The water was warmer too, and the sky reflected a zillion colors off the brilliant turquoise bay.

Joey never found so much beauty with the ocean

 

Pacey was so cute, she thought, grinning from ear to ear. She could sense his jealousy when the local boy had approached her, and she liked it. She also like the way he calmly allowed her to handle herself without getting up and coming over and making his presence known…

That’s what Dawson would have done, she thought, frowning.

Pacey was so different from Dawson…in every way but it was a good different.

She still loved Dawson, and presumed she always would the way two childhood friends do; though it seemed nothing compared to how she felt right now falling for Pacey Witter. She was falling faster than she thought she could.

Was it really love? It wasn’t time to know yet.

Being away was giving her the chance to finally think.

Every day, ever morning, when Joey woke up to Pacey’s smiling face…his warm body…he kisses… Every morning sent her one leap farther into true love and she felt so lucky to be experiencing it.

And she was experiencing it on her own… No one was forcing her. No one was telling her how far and how fast things should be; when it was time, and when it wasn’t; no one was forcing her to deal with anything. No one was forcing her to be in love…to choose

Joey would learn her path soon enough, and the fact that it didn’t scare her anymore made her realize even more so how right her decision to leave Capeside and come here with Pacey… to Key West…really was.

Being in Key West, just her and Pacey, was fun. For once in her life, she was allowed to have fun without unsolvable problems staring her in the face. Joey never wanted to lose this freedom… She had searched for it so long and so desperately in so many places, in all the wrong places, and now, ironically enough, it was Pacey who was able to give it to her.

This she thanked him for the most…it was the greatest gift she had ever received.

She had found out so much about herself within the last few weeks. No longer lost and spinning out of control, she was able to face things and face who she was… She knew exactly who she was.

She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, squishing the wet sand beneath her toes. Another cold splash encircled her as a wave reached the shore. Everything but the sound of the crackling sea foam and braking waves left her. The wind whispered around her and the sun warmed her face, and she took a deep look inside herself.

Another cold splash brought her back to reality, and eyes still closed, she sighed.

“What are you thinking about?”

Joey looked over, startled at his voice and found Pacey beside her. She looked down and took his hand in hers. He watched her curiously.

 

Joey smiled.

 

“Oh, nothing.”

 

 

That afternoon was spent at the local Laundromat, watching their clothes tumble dry through the glass door of the dryer. Joey, now dressed in dark denim Capri’s, a yellow tank top and white sneakers, sat silently reading a glamour magazine. Pacey sat beside her, twiddling his thumbs and tapping the floor with his foot.

“Bored much?” Joey asked, not looking up from the article she was reading.

“Yeah,” He mumbled.

“They’ll be dry soon.”

 

Pacey looked around the bare building, searching for anything to distract him… But there wasn’t. They was nothing in this Coin-op laundry but industrial sized washers and dryers, and out of order vending machine, and a laundry detergent dispenser.

He looked back to the clothes tumbling in the dryer. Around and around they went…just in circles. He watched it for about two seconds before again losing interest. He heaved a sigh, and sat back in his hair. He looked over at Joey, and slowly reached up, brushing her hair aside from her should. He leaned over and started to kiss it.

“I’m trying to read this,” She teased, still not looking up from the magazine. Pacey scowled and sat back in his seat. After another moment passed, he leaned over again, looking over her shoulder, curious to see just what it was that was so interesting to her.

“Stop looking over my shoulder.” Joey mumbled, holding her magazine to the side so he couldn’t see what was in it.

“I’m bored,” He whined, leaning over farther. Joey shook her head matter-of-factly.

“Well, that’s too bad, now isn’t it?” She scolded. “I offered to bring a magazine for you, but you didn’t want it… You said ‘I don’t wanna read all that girly stuff!’ and now look at you! You’re ready to bounce off the walls!”

Pacey snatched playfully at the magazine, but Joey shoved him back I his chair.

“Nah, huh uh!” She warned. “I’m not about to give up this magazine to you, so just forget it!”

“Argh!” Pacey groaned, tapping his foot harder. Joey glanced at him out of the corner of her eye. He rubbed a hand through his hair and heaved another sigh. It was amusing her to see him so pent up with energy. She smirked before lowering her eyes back to her page.

 

 

To be continued…