Pacey pulled away a little to look at her. "What?"

She tilted up her head and met his gaze with steady, serious eyes. "I'm ready,
Pacey. I want this."

He searched her face, raising his hands to hold the sides of her head. He couldn't
breathe. His heart felt like it would swell until his chest exploded. "Jo…"

Joey cut him off by kissing him lightly on the lips. "I've given it a lot of thought,
Pacey," she whispered. "This isn't just some careless impulse." She took charge
again, deepening the kiss before he had a chance to reply. She nipped at his lower
lip, sucking it gently.

This time he challenged her for control, his tongue invading her mouth to tease and
explore. The pool water lapped gently around them as they inched toward the edge.
Joey guided him until his back pressed against the cool tiles, her hands going up to
rest on his chest.

Pacey struggled to keep his brain from clouding over. She said she was ready, and
with Joey Potter out to seduce him there was nothing in the world he wanted more
than to lose control.

One of her hands slid down his chest to hold his arousal, touching the hard flesh
lightly through the thin fabric of his boxers. Pacey groaned and broke the kiss,
struggling for breath. He leaned his forehead against hers and held her gaze. "We'll
take it slow, okay? One thing at a time?"

She nodded then smiled. "Getting rusty at this, Mr. Witter?"

He chuckled, taking her hand to pull her out of the pool. "Is that a challenge, Ms.
Potter?" He grabbed their clothes from the ground and made her put on the shirt he'd
been wearing in bed.

Joey shrugged and gave him an innocent look. "Only for those who feel threatened."

Pacey shook his head as they walked back to their room holding hands. "The only
time I can get you to shut up is when I kiss you, isn't it, Potter?"

"Not that it's even much of a ki - "

He cut her off, giving her a quick kiss as he closed the door to their room. "Shut up,
Potter."

**********

She was already in bed when he finished his shower, lying on her stomach with her
chin propped on one hand, watching TV with the volume turned low.

"'My Boyfriend Ran Off with a Transvestite'" He read the topic of the Jerry Springer
rerun aloud while drying his hair with a towel. "Riveting stuff, Jo."

She smiled sweetly at him. "Sorry, Pace, this was the closest thing they had to
porno."

"Doesn't matter. I've probably seen everything, anyway. My Screen Play gig does
have its perks, you know." He grinned when she stuck out her tongue at him.

Joey moved to lie on her back when he went back into the bathroom, listening to the
sounds he made. One thing at a time. Her heart danced with anticipation. She
knew she wanted this, wanted Pacey to be her first. She knew it from the way she
felt when he touched her or even just looked at her in that intense way of his. She'd
never felt this way with anyone - not AJ, not…

She pushed aside thoughts of Dawson, and everything else that lay in wait for them
in Capeside. It still hurt to think that she'd basically alienated herself from the only
friends she had. Jen was probably going to be helping Dawson deal with his issues,
Andie might possibly hate her for going off with the ex-boyfriend she was still in love
with, Jack had to stand by his sister, and Dawson - Joey bit her lip.

She didn't know how she'd deal with coming face to face with Dawson again. A
subtle pain weighed heavily in her chest as she remembered the look on his face
when he told her to go to Pacey. Whatever had happened the few weeks before she
left Capeside, whatever trace of resentment she felt toward Dawson for making her
choose, he was still one of the people who mattered a lot in her life.

"Hey," Pacey had come out of the bathroom and was standing over her, his
expression betraying concern. "Got bored with the transvestites?"

She looked up at him, upside-down from her position on the bed. "Hey." She smiled
and tugged at his hand. "C'mere."

He leaned down to kiss her, their mouths adjusting to the new position. She pulled
him and never broke contact as he moved to lie beside her. "Where were we?" She
whispered between kisses.

Pacey traced a path of soft, moist kisses to the part where her jaw met her ear and
licked at the sensitive skin, then continued downward, nipping at her neck and collar
bone. Joey grabbed the edge of his shirt and impatiently pulled it off. Hers followed
his to the floor a few seconds later. "You're killing me, Potter," Pacey whispered
against her skin, chuckling a little.

He lingered at the spot between her breasts, taking the skin between his lips and
sucking gently. She moved restlessly on the bed, loving what he was doing but at
the same time wanting more. Finally he moved, licking at the flesh of her left breast
before taking the nipple into his mouth. He did the same with the other breast, then
moved further down, dipping his tongue into her navel.

Joey had to bite her lip hard to keep from moaning when he continued his descent,
gently parting her with his fingers so that he could lick and suck in a slow, maddening
rhythm. Her hands curled into fists as she felt the pressure in her abdomen build,
then peak and explode, making her feel like she was floating on air, her skin tingling
all over.

Her eyes were closed as she felt him move to lie beside her again and rest his arm on
her stomach. They lay in silence for several minutes, their heads near the edge of
the bed, their feet near the headboard. Pacey stole glances at her, knowing that she
was still awake, wondering what she was thinking.

They'd made out a lot in the past three months, but he had never done this. Not
until she'd claimed she was ready. And now he was still half afraid that he'd gone too
far, crossed a line that would make her run screaming in the opposite direction. He
closed his eyes and wondered if it had been a good idea for them to put off talking
about what they were going to do once they were back home.

Joey had insisted that the summer was supposed to be theirs and theirs alone, and
that nothing should prevent them from enjoying each other's company, no dark cloud
should keep them from having fun. So they'd forgotten about everything that led to
her following him to the pier and saying that she wanted to come with him, deciding
to deal with it when they got back.

"Pacey?"

He opened his eyes at the feel of her fingers lightly touching his face. She was
looking at him, and his heart constricted in his chest. The pre-dawn sun bathed her
skin in pale pink. He loved her, and he hoped to God that things would work
themselves out once they were home. "Yeah?" His voice sounded rough.

"I'm scared."

He knew what she meant in a hearbeat. "Me too, Jo."