The memories of the night sizzled in her skin, crackling all the way down to her toes. Pacey�s touches scorched her fingers, left her lips parted in anticipation.
my mama said �A lady aint what she wears, but what she knows�
misconception, mass deception
Joey cranked the music up, loud enough to block out his damn cheerful humming. Louder still to drown out the padding of his footfalls throughout the B&B, blaring it when she realized he was pacing in front of her door again.
aint nothing that i�m certain of
Pacey rested a hand against the wood between them, flattening his palm on the cool surface.
He sighed and pushed off the door, backing away a few steps. When his back hit the wall on the other side, he remembered their night in an all too heated rush.
**
�Jo-� His eyes opened wide in surprise, all words stopped by her mouth, demanding his. He was backed against the wall, her small hands grasping his shoulder blades, her hips pressed flush with his.
In the briefest of moments he had the time to smirk and think �this is new� before Joey was practically climbing him, one leg lifting up to his hip, the other extended as she leaned up to him on tiptoe.
He clutched her thigh, pulling her higher, his other hand reaching around to copy the actions of the first, hiking her up around his waist. Pacey only regretted he didn�t have a free hand to caress the soft skin of her cheek as they kissed. He missed that.
He pulled away a breath and was floored at the beauty of Joey in that exact moment. Lips swollen, eyes blazing, simply gorgeous. Assured. It took his breath completely and he swallowed hard at the sight.
�Pace?� Uncertainty flashed over her eyes like a shadow and her thumb brushed over his bottom lip in question.
So much had already been left unsaid, but-he caught her lips with his, grasped her hips harder and pulled her to his-to her bed.
He leaned over her, slowly dropping open mouthed kisses down her clavicle.
Pacey�s blue eyes glinted with mischief. He stroked her thigh in slow circles, almost casually unbuttoning his dress shirt with his free hand.
She watched him with drowsy eyes, groaning when he finally removed his shirt and turned his back to her to fold the damn thing. Joey bit down on her lip at the sight of Pacey�s golden skin, the muscles moving in his back as he leaned over to remove his shoes.
He grinned, feeling her impatience behind him, hearing the exaggerated sighs, the annoyed rustle of sheets. He stood to unzip his pants and went slack jawed when Joey pressed herself against his back, naked.
�Beat you,� she purred, her breath hot in his ear. He turned with a gulp to find her, kneeling on his bed, hands on her hips and well...nothing else on her hips or anywhere else.
�That you,� he began, shivering as Joey undid his belt buckle swiftly, pulling him to her at the same time, �did.�
She tugged his pants and boxers to the ground swiftly, smiling in satisfaction at Pacey, flustered and nude before her.
Raising an eyebrow, a slight leer played on her lips as she brushed her index finger against his erection from tip to base.
Dropping her hand, she pressed her lips together briefly. �Where do you keep your condoms?�
He lifted his bright blue gaze to hers, unsure of what to say. �I-�
She cocked her head to one side, peeved. �I didn�t expect you to be celibate post breakup, Pace. Come on, where are they?�
He surprised her by reaching around to Joey�s bedside table and producing a shiny foil wrapped packet from the back of the top drawer. He held it out to her and she took it in trembling fingers.
Joey was quiet and she seemed to be deciding something. She glanced up at Pacey, then back at her bed, down to the object in her hand again. When she finally met his eyes once more, she looked like she�d been slapped.
It took a moment for him to understand that look. �What you�re thinking-no. Jo, I wouldn�t.� He rushed the words out, sincerity and panic in his tone. �Not in your bed. Christ, not in your home. I just-I didn�t want Alex to find these.� It was a lame excuse, but he was reluctant to offer her more just yet.
She was silent a second more and seemed appeased. The sound of their breathing and the tearing of the foil filled the room. She stared up at him and licked her suddenly dry lips. Leaning towards him, she pressed a kiss to his chin. Another landed softly on his bottom lip. Her tongue traced over his mouth, parting his lips open.
She slid the condom over him carefully, cautiously approaching him, a hand finally reaching out to cup his cheek.
Pacey�s eyes smoldered as he backed her onto the bed again. When her finally reached down to touch her, slowly slid inside her with a shudder-
**
The music shut off abruptly, interrupting Pacey�s reverie. He groaned and knocked on her door impatiently.
�Joey, open up!�
�I�m not here,� came the sullen reply.
�That is beyond a doubt the lamest excuse ever, Potter.� He knocked again. �Open up. C�mon, it�s big talk time.�
�No.�
�Joey,� he started, trying to sound reasonable, �you don�t even have a lock on that door. There�s really nothing stopping me from just coming on in.�
He heard scraping on the floor that sounded a lot like-like- �Joey! What the hell are you doing?!?�
He pushed at the door, only able to open it a sliver of the way. Peeking in he could see a tendril of dark hair and the side of one denim clad hip.
�I pushed my dresser in front of the door.� Her voice was calm.
�You-you-you-� Pacey sputtered.
�Me. Me. Me.� Joey answered, scowling at the one blue eye she could make out through the sliver of opened door. �Thanks for the reminder about the lock, Witter.�
He sighed, leaning back against the wall opposite her doorway. �Are we still not speaking to each other?�
She frowned at the almost closed door, flopping back on her bed.
�Jo, you�ve got to talk to me sometime,� Pacey pleaded. �We�re living in the same house. For a month. Please?�
�I don�t want to talk to you, Pacey,� she said. She stared at her picture of them on her table. She traced a finger around his face.
�But you will, right? If I keep following you around, bugging the hell out of you, what else can you do, but talk to me?� He grinned hopefully, even though he knew from his place in the hallway, talking to a door that he hardly had reason to hope for anything.
�Don�t.�
�Aw, the beginnings of a conversation.� He stepped towards the door again at the emotion evident in her voice. He was getting to her. �How civilized of you, love.�
�Pacey!� She threw her pillow at the door, turning the photograph face down on her table.
�Joey!� He peeked at her through the crack in the door, struggling to find her eyes.
�Stop it.� She slammed the sliver of the door closed again. Joey paced her room, staring at the dresser barricading her door. �Stop trying to make things what they were. The whole bantering thing. It�s ridiculous.�
�But I miss bantering with you.�
�I don�t miss you and I�ve got work to do, excuse me,� she shot back, pulling a notebook out of her suitcase and tossing it on her desk. A pencil rolled off her desk at the action. She picked it up, her grip tightening around it. The tip cracked off when she attempted to write something, her anger humming inside her. This was just all too much.
Pacey was silent for a moment, his hand pressing against the cold wood door. �What about last week?�
�A mistake.� Joey got up from her desk, sending the chair toppling. She hauled the dresser back out of the way finally, adrenaline rushing through her. �I�ve said that a billion and two times. I wrote it down on a post-it note. I scrawled it on a postcard and had it mailed to you. I bought a personals ad in the newspaper to say as much. Need I employ skywriters?�
She threw the door open, nearly sending him toppling into her arms.
Pacey was met with a Joey he hadn�t seen since high school. Hair falling out of a messy ponytail, eyes raging at him. She tightened her lips into a bitter smile. He grinned dumbly, holding a hand out in greeting. �Hey, Jo.�
She stepped back, crossing her arms, eyes narrowing. �It was a big fat mistake.�
He smiled at her, unfazed. �You love me.�
�I really don�t.� Joey glanced away from his fixed gaze. She could get too easily lost in those eyes. She took another step back, frowning as Pacey closed the distance, his hands framing her face gently.
�I love you.�
�That�s too bad.�
�That�s too bad?� Pacey dropped his hands, stung. �Jo, we made love last week. We had mind blowing sex and we spent the next morning lazing around in each others� arms. We are in love with each other. Hell, True Love�s on the verge of resurfacing just to get that through your thick skull!� He waved his hands in the air and Joey fought the urge to grin at his dramatics.
�Forget about it,� she whispered.
�What?�
�Pacey, you were right to break up with me.� Joey wrapped her arms around her middle. �You were. It was the best thing for the two of us. Can�t you see that? I mean...you�re happy now. There are pictures all over this house of you with your family. Happy. And I�m pretty okay too. When I�m not here. This is just stupid. Why go back over the same mistakes? I love you and I want the best for you, believe me. But, True Love sank. And as tired as it is, I think that was a pretty apt metaphor for our relationship. No one�s meant to be with anyone else.� Her voice broke and she steeled herself against his beautiful blue eyes. �Certainly not us. So just back off, okay?
�No.�
�Fine, back to radio silence then. Have a nice life.� She pushed him out into the hallway and slammed the door.
�Joey! Damn you!�
**
�We should have more to say to each other.� Jen watched a moth chase the moonlight that danced along a ripple in the murky creek water. She leaned over and bumped Joey�s shoulder, a smile curving her lips.
Joey scraped a fingernail along the dock. The two girls sat at the edge of the Potter�s dock, their legs swinging in time with the breeze, allowing the night to pass silently.
An hour had already come and gone since Jen had made her way over, finding Joey on the dock and sitting down next to her. She listened to the soft breathing from her silent friend. �How do you like California, Joey?�
�Yeah. I�ve got these nutball roommates and a good job. The city is amazing.�
Jen smiled. �Sounds good. Tell me more.�
�Nothing more to tell.�
�Tell me about the city, the ocean, the boys. What classes do you take?�
�San Diego�s this big city, right? But it still feels like a small town. There are lots of little neighborhoods, lots of surf towns around the county. The ocean is warmer, the beaches have more sand. And people have bonfires. Gabe and I even went to Black�s Beach once, where everyone goes nude. He burned so badly.� She laughed at the memory. �I had to rub Noxema on his ass that night.�
�Gabe?�
Joey bit her lip, staring up at the stars. �Ex-boyfriend.�
�Are you two still friends?�
�Friends,� she said, a guilty smirk tugging at her lips, �with benefits.�
Jen�s eyes widened in surprise. �Joey Potter! You lucky bitch. Is he cute?�
She nodded. �Dark brown hair. Gray eyes. He�s tall, broad shouldered. But kind of thin.�
�Not the muscle bound type, huh?�
�No, not Gabriel.� She giggled, her voice warm. �He�s not all that inclined towards athletics. Or gyms.�
�So how�d you two meet? Did he sweep you off your feet? Is he good in bed? Why did you break up?�
Joey held up a hand, laughing. �Too many questions. We met in class. Freshman year, American Lit. He tripped over my foot on the way down the aisle in a big lecture room. Fell down the stairs. Rolled, actually.�
�You�re lying.�
She shook her head. �No, really. He was all bruised and blushing �cause he was so embarrassed. He coerced me into our first date, kept bringing up how I�d nearly killed him.�
�So the answer to the second question is a no?�
�Not many guys sweep you off your feet,� she murmured evenly.
�Some do.�
�Yeah,� she smiled wistfully. �But not Gabe. He was more of a dogged pursuit kind of guy. Sitting in front of my door with weeds pulled from the quad.� Jen raised an eyebrow. �Actual weeds. Said he was attempting to beautify the campus for me.�
Joey picked up a pebble and gingerly tossed it, watching the stone skip along the creek. �Yes.�
Jen glanced over at her, mouth opened to question her.
�He�s good in bed.�
�One more question to go.�
Joey took a deep breath, shrugging. �Gabe�s the best. But...� she stopped, searching for the simplest way to explain. �I wasn�t over Pacey.�
�But you are now?� Jen�s tone was disbelieving.
�Yeah,� she said, swallowing. �I�m over Pacey. I mean, I was over...god, I really hate...shit.�
�You still love him.�
�More than I thought possible,� she admitted. �I wish he wasn�t so sure about us.�
�Why?�
�What if we just lose each other all over again? I could just go home and lick some superficial wounds right now.�
�Or this time it could be right. Pacey could be the one.�
�That�d be nice, wouldn�t it?� Joey grinned, her eyes shutting like a child making a birthday wish.
A ringing could be heard faintly from the B&B. Alex appeared on the porch, the cordless phone in his small hands.
�Aunt Joey?� He skipped on a foot restlessly.
�Yeah?� Her head turned to him, her tone gentle. �Who�s on the phone, Alex?�
He blinked at her, then held the phone up to his ear. �Who�s it?� He yelled. Not waiting for an answer he held the phone out to her again. �Here.�
Joey stood slowly, biting her lip to keep from laughing. Brushing her skirt off, she stepped over to her nephew, taking the phone from him and ruffling his hair with her free hand. �Potter�s Bed and Breakfast. Josephine Potter, speaking.�
�Well hello, Josephine Potter, speaking.� Her jaw dropped open a bit. Jen stared curiously. �Josie? Is it okay I called?�
�Yeah,� she said, a hand flying to her messy hair, combing it between her fingers. �How you doing, Gabe?�
�Good. You?� Joey turned her back to Jen, sidestepping Alex�s reach to tickle her as well. Covering the phone with her palm, she glared at her nephew. �Alexander, inside.� He scowled and ran into the house, slamming the door behind him. �Gabe, why�re you calling?�
�Always the modicum of good manners, I see. I-Keri...she gave me the number.� He cleared his throat, adding hesitantly, �She said you were down.�
�I�m fine.�
�Right,� he murmured doubtfully. �Hanging out with all your old friends that never call you, in a town you never visit. Must be a blast.�
�A blast,� she echoed. Jen moved behind Joey, making her jump. She sighed softly when Jen smiled and gently patted her shoulder. �How�s your summer going?�
�Fantabulous, Josephine. As always. I�ve got a good one for you.�
�One what?� She grinned, her tongue running over her teeth. �Not another quote.�
�An excellent quotation. From The Simpsons. �Romance is dead. It was acquired in a hostile takeover by Hallmark and Disney, homogenized, then sold off piece by piece.��
�Hmm. That makes sense.�
�I thought you�d like it.�
�Yeah,� she said, smiling at Jen shyly, as if they were meeting for the first time. Jen winked at her and signaled for her to get off the phone. �I�m surprised at the source though.�
�I�m more than just a fountain of useless literary knowledge,� he said, laughing, �I�m also a geyser of ridiculous television trivia.�
�Whatever.� She rolled her eyes.
�Yeah. So, in conclusion, love is overrated and sex pacts are where it�s at,� he said firmly. �Jo?�
�What?�
�Just...do what�s right for you,� he murmured sincerely, �and don�t get too maudlin about it.�
�I promise.� She pressed the button to turn off the phone, meeting Jen�s gaze hopefully. �What do you say we head downtown for some shopping and empty small talk?�
Jen eyed Joey carefully. �Sounds okay to me.� She held her keys out. �I�ll drive.�
