The smell of freshly cooked pancakes slowly awoke Pacey from his slumber. Rolling over he reached across the other side of the bed, out of pure habit, finding it cold, he rose from the bed. He stretched before following his nose into the kitchen.
Joey stood flipping pancakes by the stove, oblivious to his presence. Still clad in pajamas she reached up to scratch her head, her hair tied into a messy bun still showing signs of sleep. Pacey smiled watching her; there weren't many chances he got lately to just watch her, peacefully. He missed everything about her.
He moved slowly towards her, standing right behind, wrapping his arms around her waist before she could protest. She jumped at the familiar contact, relaxing and feeling flustered at the same time. She bit down on her lower lip, as they stood together a moment in silence, watching the pancake cook together.
�I think its burning.�
Pacey mumbled into exposed neck, as he leant down to lay a soft kiss there. Joey involuntarily closed her eyes a moment, basking in the warmth that his lips left on her skin.
�Huh?�
Pacey chuckled, reaching around her to turn the stove off. Joey frowned, letting go of the utensil in her hand and turning around in Pacey�s arms.
�Hey.�
�Hey.�
All thoughts that were in Joey�s head moments before flew out the moment their eyes met.
�You cooked breakfast.�
�I tried too.�
�You never cook breakfast.�
�I know.�
She smiled then and that�s all it took for him to lean forward an inch or two and places a soft but familiar kiss on her lips. Joey let the kiss linger a moment, before pulling back. When their eyes met again, it wasn�t the same as before.
�You can�t do that Pacey, not anymore.�
�Why not? I love you and you love me.�
�We aren�t together anymore.�
�You�re still my wife.�
Silence fell over them for a moment. Joey signed looking down, gently pushing Paceys arms off her. Pacey nodded silent in defeat taking a step away from her.
�Pace, please don�t make this situation harder than it already is.�
�I know, I sorry I mentioned it.�
Joey silently agreed in her head, turning back to the frying pan, she decided to throw the last pancake out. Moving over to the waste bin, Pacey watched her.
�But don�t you� don�t you think we should�..at least�. I mean with everything that�s happened�.�
Joey bit her lip, as she heard the sorrow in his mumbles, she slowly turned to face him again, there eyes meet.
�I�we..�
�You know what, forget I said anything.�
Pacey just as quickly dismissed the conversation as Joey had done moments before. The emotions that had been shredded in the past couple of days were enough for the both of them to handle. Opening that can of worms again, in the moment of time that they were in, it didn�t seem right. It didn�t feel right.
Silence surrounding them again, as Joey moved awkward around her own kitchen, pulling plates and glasses from the cupboards, orange juice and syrup from the fridge. Pacey watched helpless from the sidelines as she went about setting the table up for breakfast.
�Could you..�
�Huh.�
Pacey�s eyes darted up from the floor to Joey, who pointed towards the draw with the cutlery it behind him. He nodded silently understanding, neatly arranging the cutlery on the table for three.
Joey left the room a moment, as Pacey observed his work. Noticing the pancakes on the counter, he brought them to the table, placing them in centre, carefully. Looking up he watched as Joey came back into the room, holding soft cushions in her hands. Pacey moved out of her way as she placed one on top of the other on the chair at the head of the table.
Straightening her stance, she stood still a moment. Briefly closing her eyes, hoping if she could take a couple of deep breaths it would give her some strength. She knew exactly what she wanted to say and how to say but when she turned around to face me, everything sort of seemed to fade away, the bad and good, leaving only them.
�Would you mind getting Amy, she�s down by the dock.�
Her gaze faulted, focusing on her shoes rather than him. She didn�t see him nod, but she felt his presence as he brushed pass her and out the back door. Biting down on her lower lip, she felt like crying again. She couldn�t do it. When it came to the crunch line, she was weak and scared, but mostly scared.
Raising a hand to cover her eyes, she leant against the table. Her bottom lip quivered and she started to tremble.
For three months she had been fine with everything. She had handled the consequences of her actions. She thought she had said all she had wanted to say.
For three months she had thought it was all over. That chapter in her life over for good, once and for all and she had tried convinced herself that it was.
