“You took long enough.” Renee Wilton huffed out as soon as she saw Pacey exit his car. A tall, leggy redhead in her forties, she followed him toward the restaurant.
“Sorry,” he apologized. “Class went a little long.”
“Lucky for you, Daniel hasn’t returned from his delivery yet.”
“I am very interested in the job, if he hasn’t yet hired anyone.”
“No, the host position is still open. He’s still willing to have you learn the ropes in the kitchen once the course is over.”
Pacey wasn’t sure how he’d ended up so interested in cooking. It was one of those activities that just seemed to keep popping up. On the cruise ships, he had a tendency to hang around the staff in the kitchen when not on duty. In time, he’d be observing their actions, becoming more fascinated. He had kept it in the back of his mind when it came to settling down in Boston. Renee and Daniel advertised their restaurant Gemini Centre in the brochures for the tour Pacey worked on, which was how they’d met.
“Consider me the new host, if you need it.” They had already cut back hours at Boston Harbor, so it wouldn’t be a huge loss on either side for Pacey to quit.
Renee smiled appreciatively. “A wise decision. Daniel will be so thrilled.”
Joey was walking past the restaurants en route to Hell’s Kitchen when she noticed Pacey talking to an attractive woman. She snuck closer to get a better view.
It wasn’t any of her business if Pacey was getting involved with anyone. Still, it seemed messy. Joey watched the body language of the pair, chuckling and smiling from both of them.
She could hear the lady say, “I wouldn’t be concerned about Daniel’s reaction. You have a way of charming the ladies, so at least half the clientele will be thrilled.”
Joey raised an eyebrow, wanting this lady to back away. To stop holding onto Pacey’s arm as she talked. To stop standing so seductively. To just stop these games.
Pacey replied, “As long as it means I can finally claim a permanent residence, this job will be a step up.”
Permanent? Pacey was staying in town? He would be working here, not the ship? Joey walked quickly past the restaurant, careful not to get anyone’s attention as she headed to work. She wanted nothing more than to erase from her mind that moment of jealousy she just felt.
* * * * *
Thursday, 9:56pm
Jen returned from a long day of classes and work. She wanted nothing more than to take a shower and slink into bed.
One look at the porch and she saw that as impossible. Keith was sitting on the wicker chair waiting for her. She had given up hope of seeing him or her watch after three days. It was now five days later and she still couldn’t tell if letting him know she was in his room was the correct move. He was looking down at his boots, playing with the watch band between his fingers, and hadn’t seen her arrive.
“You found my watch! I’ve been searching everywhere for it.”
He handed her the watch, not impressed with the fakeness of her reaction. He asked flatly, “Why were you in my room?”
Maybe he really didn‘t know the purpose. “Brendan led me there.”
The revelation was hardly a surprise, now sure that the folder was the goal. “And by ‘there’, you mean my personal property.”
Jen flinched, now sure he did know and that was the reason he took so long. She quickly explained, “It was his idea so if you’re angry, direct it at him. It helped if that means anything to you. Everything made sense. I’m sor…”
Keith cut her off, “Why didn’t you just ask me?”
“It was a reasonable conclusion, given the facts.”
“Right.” He looked up at her, she surprised by the hurt in his eyes. His next words were spoken carefully, making sure there was no misinterpretation. “Do you mean it was reasonable to believe that I’m fucking evil incarnate? I have my faults but if you seriously believed I could belittle religion or death that way, then you already have an unpleasant image. It doesn’t matter what happened in my past because you already despised me and just needed the facts to back it up. Your point was to have me remember those words by making them as harsh as possible. Am I supposed to forgive because you made a mistake? Am I supposed to forget that what you said actually stung?”
Keith stood up and walked past Jen, who was too stunned to speak. She turned around to watch him head down the road.
* * * * *
Thursday, 11:58pm
Joey sat on the floor looking around her bedroom. Everything was scattered in arbitrary piles. It shouldn’t have been this hard to pack for a simple trip to Capeside.
There was a knock at her door. “Come in,” she called out over her shoulder.
Brendan walked in, about to say something when he saw the mess. “Was Audrey looking for an outfit from your closet again?”
“I’m packing. I hadn’t noticed how cluttered this place was until now.”
“Is everything okay?”
“Everything’s fine,” Joey snapped.
“Obviously.” He rolled his eyes, then sat down on her bed. “Is the problem back home?”
“What?” She turned around to face him, surprised by the question. “No, um, home’s okay. The usual headaches associated with a business and a toddler.”
Brendan slid down on the floor next to her. “So what’s making you so tense?”
“I am not tense!” She narrowed her eyes, focusing on the suitcase in front of her.
“Stop folding for a minute. You have until morning to pack. There’s time.” He shifted behind her and began rubbing her shoulders.
“What makes you think that you’re not the cause of said tension?” Joey tried not to smile as she tilted her head back to face him.
“Because you’re not stopping me,” he said as he needled the muscles in her shoulders.
“You’re doing a good job. I’d let Keith continue if it felt that good.”
“Good to know,” he replied wryly.
Joey raised her head back up. “I’m not sure what to do.” She debated how much she should tell him, the mere words probably able to ruin everything. Finally, she let out a deep breath and explained, “I ran into Pacey today. He was out with this woman who kind of reminded me of Tamara Jacobs, a former teacher of ours who he dated in high school.”
“Wouldn’t that be kind of illegal?”
“There was a trial that basically ran her out of town. Anyway, so I’m watching the two of them head to this ritzy restaurant and I just can’t seem to keep my eyes off of them. Then another man appears. It’s her husband, I suppose.”
“Pacey’s her boy toy?”
“No, see, that’s just it. This was a job offer. There was nothing special about Pacey and the woman being together. Why the hell do I care anyway? If Pacey wants that sexy Susan Sarandon look-a-like, that’s his business.”
“If he’s interested in this woman, that’s his dilemma. Pacey will have to deal with the husband eventually.” He wanted to keep thinking of this as a possible affair, as opposed to the non-relationship Joey presumed.
“I guess that’s true. But there’s something else. You see, the night at his apartment, before we went to the club, the topic of being in love came up. Pacey stated that he didn’t want to say anything on the topic as long as I was attached. Which now has me anxious. What if, after all this time, he’s still in love with me? I don’t know how to deal with that.”
Brendan closed his eyes, needing to push away the concern that Joey was too interested in a declaration that didn’t yet exist. It explained why she hadn’t approached him about what he said that night. Though it wasn’t the way he intended for her to find out, Brendan did mean it when he said he had been falling for her. Joey never did say it back, he regretfully realized, and now the reason why was hitting him. “If you don’t feel the same way, there’s nothing you can do about it.”
Joey leaned back into Brendan’s body. “I really don’t know how I feel about him anymore. I recall how I felt for him. Times have changed. I’m not the Joey Potter he knew in high school.”
“Pacey’s not expecting you to reciprocate those feelings,” Brendan replied weakly, seeing the situation worsening by the minute.
Joey grabbed hold of Brendan’s hand still on her shoulder and threaded her fingers through his. “I realize that. He knows that I’ve moved on and doesn’t want me to backtrack. Still, it’s hard thinking about him and not wondering how things could have been if I hadn’t fucked up everything.”
“I thought you said that Pacey had the issues back then.”
“He did. That doesn’t mean there weren’t steps I could have taken so it wouldn’t have exploded the way it did. Maybe I blocked out that part of the relationship.” Joey sat up and faced Brendan. “What difference does any of this make? So Pacey still loves me. Who cares? I don’t care about some guy who may or may not love me. There is no Pacey as far as we’re concerned. We’re together and it’s not like he’d try to break us up.”
Brendan knew that last part was accurate. Though he was more worried that Joey didn’t particularly care how he felt about her. “Very true.” He barely got those words out as Joey shoved him. “What was that for?”
“You had to think about it,” she teased, as she lowered her mouth to his and kissed him. “But I’ll try to overlook it this time.” Joey gave an enticing smile, then continued feeding the hunger.
Normally, Brendan loved her smile but now it felt like torture. The beautiful woman in front of him and he just the guy who happened to fall under its spell. “You should finish packing.” He tried to get Joey off of him but wasn’t succeeding.
Joey ignored him as she continued kissing him while undoing the button of his jeans. “I could throw everything in at the last second,” she said breathlessly.
Brendan closed his eyes, knowing that he wanted her desperately but this couldn’t happen tonight. He gently pushed on Joey’s shoulder. “I mean it. You have a early train and need some sleep.” This time, Joey backed up, letting him stand. “If I don’t see you in the morning, have a pleasant trip.”
Joey observed him leaving the room. She collapsed back on the floor, not sure where she had gone wrong.
* * * * *
Friday, 5:23pm
Traffic was heavy, as expected at this time of day. Scott tapped his fingers along to the music blaring from the speakers as Jen read a book.
“Have you planned everything for tonight?” Jen asked when Scott reached a red light. It had been long overdue that Scott and Jack were able to spend a quiet evening just the two of them. Usually they tried to work around Scott’s sister’s schedule but they hadn’t succeeded lately.
“I think so.” He pointed to the backseat. “Movies, order from Lil’s, Sarah leaving town for the weekend.”
“Joey wanted to know if you rented the film she suggested.”
“No, I’m not watching Rules of Attraction ever and most certainly not tonight. Do I really need to defend that decision? It seems a valid position to me.”
Jen held her hands up. “No need to convince me. I’m only the messenger.” It was easier to deal with Jack breaking away from her knowing he had found a guy who loved him. It had been just over six months since Jack started dating Scott and nine months since Jen became friends with him. But it’d felt like Jen had known him for years.
Sure, to her, the two didn’t seem like a match at first. Jen had learned her lesson when it came to trying to fix Jack up with guys she thought were perfect. Scott didn’t fit that mold - in fact, she couldn’t tolerate his uptight ways around work for the first few months there. It wasn’t until he’d offered her a ride home after a late night that she realized she’d misjudged him. Jen hadn’t even realized Scott was gay until she invited him for a night out with Audrey and her boyfriend at the time.
It had begun to drizzle, so Scott was focused back on the road when Jen exclaimed suddenly, “I can’t figure it out. How come I continuously sabotage my love life?”
Scott flashed her a quick look before watching the other cars. “What are you talking about?”
“I fucked up so badly with Keith that even an apology wasn’t sufficient. I was so certain that he was playing me for a fool that I couldn’t think rationally. I let my defenses up after the lie about the kiss. Everything from there was twisted into a conclusion, which rationalized my foolishness. If you could have seen the hurt and anger…”
“You forget one little detail,” Scott interrupted before Jen could continue blaming herself. “You’re making it sound like Keith feels as strongly about you as you do about him. The truth is Keith’s with Audrey. He’s still with Audrey. How much could you really affect him if another woman is in his arms?” He then noticed where he drove. “Damn, I missed the exit. I’ll have to get off at the next ramp.”
Large dollops of rain pelted the window. Jen slouched back in the chair, resuming reading her book. “I guess you’re right.”
* * * * *
Friday, 9:00 pm
“Hey Pacey,” Lisa Sheridan called out as she saw him exit his car. She had just opened up her umbrella, wanting to get to her car immediately.
“Lisa,” he greeted his next-door neighbor. “How was your day in front of the computer?”
“Personal,” she winked at him. Then she pointed in the direction of the entrance, where someone was sitting on a bench. “You have company. Relationship troubles.”
“Thanks.”
He couldn’t make out the person in this dark, murky night; the light by the door needed to be replaced as well. Pacey turned around to see Lisa was already out of the parking lot, his last refuge gone. He could return to his car and leave. And do what? Drive around all night? Jack was at Scott’s so he’d never seen the person either.
He thought he’d recognize Joey even if in the gloom. But Lisa did say relationship troubles. Did he really want to hear about Joey’s relationship problems?
“Hello?” he called out as he cautiously approached. “Were you looking for me?”
* * * * *
Friday, 9:02pm
Audrey checked her reflection in the mirror. Keith would be returning from work any minute and she wanted to be ready.
The phone rang. Thinking it was possible he would be late, Audrey picked up. “Hello, honey,” she purred.
“Uh, hi,” Jack replied awkwardly.
Audrey coughed. “Sorry about that.”
“Huh? Oh, yeah. No problem.”
She noticed that Jack didn’t sound like his normally upbeat self. “Is something wrong?”
The door opened and Audrey twirled around as she watched Keith enter. He was absently hanging up his coat and Audrey was taking the opportunity to check him out when he wasn’t looking. Not that she had to hide it, just more fun this way. Jack replied, “Well, I’m calling from the hospital parking lot…”
Audrey turned back around, forgetting about her earlier musing. “Oh my God. What happened?” Keith watched from the other end of the room as Audrey’s face scrunched up, distressed.
Jack stifled back the tears as he told her, “Jen and Scott were in a car accident. Another car was speeding onto the highway and lost control on the slick road, ramming into the back of his car. Scott will be okay, I think, but Jen’s in surgery right now.”
