She opened the door and was surprised as the scent of lavender assailed her senses. Several candles softly illuminated the entire apartment. The soothing sound of violins was playing from the stereo. Dozens of lilies filled the room, in every imaginable color.

"Pacey?"

"Hey, you." Pacey smiled, walking slowly toward her. He was still in his work clothes. "Did you and Jen have fun?"

"What's this?" She couldn't stop smiling.

"What I said last night, Jo… I only meant that I want this to be perfect for you." He stopped in front of her, hesitation etched in his face. "You probably want to kill me right now, though, don't you?"

Tears pricked at the back of her eyes. "Oh, my God," was all she could say, walking straight into his arms. "I hate you." She told him with a watery smile.

He chuckled, stroking her hair. "I'm sorry, Jo." He whispered gruffly.

"You even got lilies," Joey said in wonder. How did he know what kind of flower she liked? She wiped the tears away with her hands. "Oh, Pacey." Her heart swelled in her chest. "You and Jen were in on this, weren't you?"

"Well, I needed time to set this up… perfection takes time, you know. Even if it is a little on the cheesy side." He grinned, his arms still around her. "Now, close your eyes."

She shot him a quizzical look, smiling, and did as he asked. "Okay."

Pacey took her hand and guided her from the living room, glancing back several times to make sure that she wasn't peeking. "Okay, stop." He whispered. She stopped walking and stood there patiently, inhaling his scent. It was a mixture of the smell of clean laundry and his own unique male Pacey smell, making her sigh blissfully.

"Keep 'em closed," he said. She felt him begin to unbutton her shirt.

She laughed. "Pacey…"

"Shh," she heard the smile in his voice. "Trust me."

Joey stood obediently while he undressed her, her skin flushing hotly as he gently took off her top and unzipped her pants. He kneeled in front of her and placed her hands on his shoulders, lending support so that he could pull it off her legs without her falling to the floor.

She had on nothing but underwear. "Um…" she began nervously, feeling a little embarrassed now. She felt warm all over, cool air rushing over her bare skin. "Can I open my eyes now, please?" She pleaded.

"Nope." He answered, his hands lightly unclasping her bra. He began to kiss her to distract her from her embarrassment, his lips brushing against her forehead, her nose, her cheeks. He stopped when she stood naked in front of him, her underwear in lacy puddles on the floor. "God, you're beautiful, Jo." He whispered.

He lifted her from the floor and she shrieked in surprise, her arms going around his neck automatically. "Pacey!" She laughed. "What are you doing?"

He slowly lowered her until she felt the tickle of bubbles on her skin. She sighed as she sank into the warm water, smiling. "Now you can open your eyes." He said.

Pacey had lit more candles in the bathroom, the flickering glow casting a golden hue on them. The tub overflowed with the thick froth of her bubble bath. He folded a towel and placed it on the floor so that he could kneel beside her, then rolled up the sleeves of his light blue dress shirt.

"What are you doing?" She asked again.

"Giving you a bath." He grinned. "You stink, Jo." He took her pouf from its hanger and squeezed a generous amount of her raspberry-scented body wash on it.

"Haha." She retorted, then sobered. "You don't have to do this - "

"Shh." His hands disappeared into the bubbles. "I want to." She felt him scrub her abdomen gently, moving slowly up between her breasts, to her neck.

"Okay," she breathed out. The warmth in her body was beginning to pool in the pit of her stomach. Her skin felt intensely sensitive, tingling wherever he touched her. The scrubbing proceeded back down. She bit her lip to keep from protesting when he bypassed her breasts, going straight to her legs. He took one and lifted it out of the water, running the pouf along its entire length until he got to her foot. He massaged it, fingers circling firmly on her sole. He gave it a little kiss before picking up the pouf again, beginning with the other leg.

He was driving her crazy. She wanted him to do something, [I]anything[/I], to relieve the ache that was beginning to throb between her legs. "Pacey," she started with determination, taking hold of his forearms. "It's starting to feel lonely in here." She pulled him into the tub with her, not caring that he was still fully dressed.

"Hey!" Pacey laughed. "I wasn't done with you, Potter." He sat in the opposite end of the tub, his legs resting along the sides of her hips.

"I don't care." She leaned across the bubbles and kissed him hungrily, her tongue slipping between his lips to duel with his. Her hands moved down his chest to his lap and stopped on his growing arousal, its hardness causing her to break the kiss and look at him mischievously.

"I think we're clean enough." He declared, taking her in his arms again and carrying her, both of them soaking wet, into her bedroom.

He lay her gently on the bed and fell beside her. His kiss was urgent, searching, as she peeled off his shirt and pulled down his pants, reveling in the feel of his slick skin against hers. He licked her neck and moved down to lavish attention on her breasts, his tongue going around and around her nipples until she was moaning with pleasure.

She reached down to hold his hardness, her fingers wrapping around him. She stroked his shaft and felt wonder at his reaction to her touch. "Joey," he murmured roughly, his lips brushing against her navel.

His fingers found the liquid heat at the apex of her thighs. Her back arched up from the bed as he explored her there, inserting one of his fingers into her moist tightness. He moved down and licked her most sensitive spot, his tongue flicking up and down before he began to suck. She moaned, the pressure at the pit of her stomach building and building until she had to bite her lip to keep from screaming as waves of incredible pleasure overtook her.

She was breathing deeply, her heart rate still going triple time, when she pulled him up and kissed him deeply. "Now, Pacey." She pleaded with hooded eyes. "[I]Please[/I]."

He combed back her damp hair with his fingers and moved above her, his face a mask of concentration as he tried to reign in his arousal. "I'm sorry, Jo," he apologized in advance for the pain he knew he was going to cause her.

Joey nodded, her eyes filling with tears as she watched him try as gently as he could to penetrate her tight passage. She raised her head to kiss him and gasped softly as he pushed all the way in, his hot hardness filling her in a way that she thought would break her apart.

"Jo," he said worriedly, holding himself still and brushing away her tears with his fingers. "Are you okay?" His eyes were dark with restrained passion and concern, his forehead dampening a little with sweat as he fought to hold himself back. "I'm so sorry…"

She shook her head, smiling through the tears and holding his face in her hands. "I love you."

Pacey kissed her and began to move, their bodies building a rhythm until her whole being felt taut, ready to splinter into a million pieces. They moved together, feeling like they were floating up into the air above the rest of the world, and not caring as long as they were with each other. Joey cried out his name as surge after surge of pure bliss exploded within her, her body squeezing and stroking him until he too found release.

He moved to his side and took her with him while their heartbeats returned to normal, the most intimate parts of their bodies still connected. They lay in silence, both content to just be in one another's arms.