"You snore, you know."

Pacey opened one eye to look at Joey, who was lying in bed beside him. She was on
her side, hands under her cheek, looking at him with an amused expression on her
face.

"Can't a guy even get some sleep around you, Potter?" He closed his eye again and
turned away from her, feigning annoyance.

"He could if he'd let me sleep, which is something you've failed to do because of
that infernal racket you keep creating."

"Yeah, well, at least I don't talk in my sleep."

"I do not talk in my sleep!"

He looked over his shoulder at her and raised an eyebrow.

"I don't talk in my sleep, Pacey," she insisted. Her expression changed from amused
to annoyed to uncertain in a matter of minutes. "Do I?"

He chuckled softly and turned back to face her, brushing his thumb lightly against
her cheekbone. The skin on her cheeks had turned a dark pink from all the time
they'd been spending in the sun while on his boat. "No, Potter. You don't," he
whispered.

Summer was almost over and they were on their way back to Capeside. He'd spent
every day with her, but it still never failed to amaze him, how lucky he was.

"What time is it, anyway?" He asked.

"3:42." She smiled. "Sorry," she added when he groaned. "I couldn't sleep."

"What's on your mind, Jo?" He looked at her intently, his eyes a clear blue now.
They'd gotten so used to sleeping - literally sleeping - with each other that
middle-of-the-night conversations were almost a habit. He watched her face in the
dim moonlight that came in between the motel curtains.

Joey looked at him quietly. He knew what she was thinking. He'd been thinking the
same thing himself. The closer they got to getting back home, the more the fears
and doubts nagged at him, making him wish that he could just freeze time so they'd
be this way forever.

She touched a finger gently to his lips. "There isn't anything you haven't done, is
there?"

Pacey took her hand and kissed it, then rested their linked hands on the space
between them. He knew she didn't mean the question literally. There were plenty of
things he hadn't done. She was talking about his habit of acting first and thinking
later. He chuckled again. "I've never had cybersex."

She grinned at him and pushed herself up on an elbow. "Wanna know something I
haven't done?"

"What?"

"I've never gone skinny dipping in a motel pool." She threw him a mischievous look
before darting up from the bed and heading out the door.

"Wha - shit! Potter! Come back here!"

**********

Joey slipped off the loose pair of sweats she'd been wearing as pajamas and went
into the pool in her panties and tank top, careful to make as little noise as possible.
She was pretty sure that the few guests who were staying at the motel were fast
asleep, but she wasn't taking any chances.

She watched Pacey come out of their first floor room and stride quickly toward her
with a stern expression on his face. She smiled and pushed herself to the far end of
the pool with a backstroke, her eyes looking up at a perfect, star-filled sky.

She'd lain in bed with him and tried to sleep, knowing that this was probably the last
night on solid ground she'd get to spend with him before they reached Capeside.
They didn't exactly have a lot left in terms of finances, and the motel had been a
splurge. But her head had been too full of thoughts for her to be able to drift off, and
she decided to watch him sleep instead.

Three months together, and she still hadn't gotten tired of looking at him. He'd
looked so vulnerable while he slept, she'd felt a sudden urge to take him in her arms
and feel him hold her forever. How was it possible that she could fall so in love with
him in so short a time?

She knew he was worried about what was going to happen when they got back. She
saw it in his eyes when he asked her what was on her mind. She'd thought about it a
lot lately, too, but she felt like a coward for even worrying about it. Pacey, on the
other hand, had the ability to go ahead and do what he wanted as soon as he knew
what it was.

Aside from that, though, there'd been something else she was thinking when she
woke him…

A hand grabbed her leg from under the water, making her shriek in surprise. Her head
dipped below the water and she felt herself being pulled. She came up for air and
sputtered, coming face to face with Pacey.

"I thought you wanted to go skinny dipping, hm?" He grinned and combed her hair
away from her face with his fingers.

She smiled back, resting her hands on his chest. He had nothing but boxers on. "You
first."

A few seconds passed before he gave her a quizzical look. "What's with the sudden
adventurous streak, Joey?"

She touched his cheek. "I've been learning from an expert all summer."

He grinned again. "Must've been a brilliant teacher."

"Oh, he was. He taught me a lot of things."

"Like what?"

Joey held his face gently and stood on her toes to reach him. "Like this," she
whispered before kissing him. She licked his lips slowly, tasting the chlorinated water
from the pool. Her tongue teased and flirted, inviting his lips to give her access.

Pacey pulled her tight against him. His lips parted to let her tongue slide into his
mouth, gliding and tangling against his own. Her arms rested on his shoulders as she
pulled closer and pressed her breasts against his chest.

They were both breathless when the kiss ended, Pacey's arms tightening around her
back. Joey kept her head against his, her lips brushing against his ear as she
whispered.

"I want you to teach me more, Pacey."