Twenty minutes later, he found her dressed and washing the bowls of ice cream after she'd finished cleaning the living room. He offered her a smile, "That was quick. Did we leave any permanent damage to the couch?"

She shook her head. "I don't think so."

"Good," he nodded. After sufficiently freezing the desire from his body, he'd slipped into a pair of jeans and a dark blue tank top, not bothering with socks or shoes.

She placed the last bowl on the dish rack when she was done and shut off the water, wiping her hands on the towel by the sink. "I think I'm going to go lay down. It's been a long day."

"Okay," he nodded despondently, "Good night."

"Night."

He debated the wisdom of following after her, she was obviously in a severely pissed off mood. But on the other hand, they'd come a long way since their dinner out with Dawson and Jen, and he didn't want to lose the progress they'd made. So, he'd made some lame excuses, but all that really mattered was the end result--her stopping before the damage could be done.

Pacey arrived at his apartment door after a long day at work. Ever since the bathroom incident, as he'd come to think of it, two days ago he'd given Joey some space, sensing her anger over the fact he had yet to have an orgasm with her. Part of him wanted to straighten the whole thing out and take her on the closest available surface. The other part of him wasn't going to comprimise his morals.

The first time, he'd refused to come because he didn't want to cheapen his love for her by using her for sexual gratification. As far as he was concerned, she could use him all she wanted, but he wasn't about to give her any reason to think he was just using her for sex. The only way he could convince her of that was obviously not to orgasm. Of course, it would have been far easier to just have refrained from having sex altogether. But Pacey was nothing if not masochistic.

And then, she'd told him about Christian and everything he'd put her through. It became less about wanting her to know he loved her and more about wanting her to love him back before he crossed that last threshold between them.

The whole thing probably wouldn't make sense to anyone, he could barely figure it out himself. But that wasn't going to stop him from clinging to the idea.

He turned the corner and stopped up short as he spotted the tall man waiting at the door, a bouquet of two dozen roses, clutched in his palms. There was no mistaking the dark-haired, green eyed man in front of him. Despite the fact they'd only met once, Pacey knew his handsome features as though they'd been friends for years.

At the sound of the other man's approach, Christian turned to the side, and received a solid punch to the jaw, his head jerking back as the impact sent him stumbling into the wall. "Stay the hell away from our apartment you fucking asshole." He didn't cast the man a second glance as he unlocked the door and slammed it shut behind him.

Joey came out of her room, running a hand through her hair and pulling on her coat while she adjusted her purse. She stopped when she saw Pacey and glanced toward the door. "I'm going out for a little while."

"Out?" He arched an eyebrow at her dressy attire, fighting back a wave of suspicion.

"That's what I said." She smiled faintly and headed for the door.

With crossed arms and a frown, he watched her open the door to see Christian leaning against the wall, his roses crushed and his eye starting to swell.

Joey's eyes widened in surprise and she rushed to Christian's side to help him. "Oh my God, what happened?"

"Your Neanderthal roommate happened, that's what." He scowled brushing her hand away.

Joey glared at Pacey over her shoulder and then cupped Christian's face in her hand so she could get a good look at his eye. "Maybe we should put some ice on that."

"What the hell is he doing here, Joey?" Pacey demanded, coming up behind them.

Joey bit the inside of her cheek. "We were going to get some coffee."

"Why?" He demanded, his eyes hard as granite as he stared down at Christian, towering over the other man by a good five inches.

"What the hell does it matter to you?" Christian sneered, not the least bit intimidated by the other man.

Pacey took a threatening step forward, "It matters a hell of a lot to me. She matters a hell of a lot more to me than she ever did to you."

Joey immediately stepped between them and took the crushed roses from Christian. She handed them to Pacey and gave him a pointed look. "Can you put these in water?"

Pacey ignored her, too riled up at this point to just calmly leave them alone together. "What more do you have to say to her? What could you possibly say to make up for leading her on, huh? Cause I'd really like to hear it."

Joey glared and pushed him back toward the apartment, forgetting about the roses. "Stop it, Pacey. It's none of your business."

"How could you agree to see this guy again, Joey?" He fixed her with an indecipherable look. "Didn't he hurt you bad enough the first time?"

"Stay out of it." He clenched his jaw, staring her down. "I'm serious." She gave him a final shove and grabbed Christian's hand. "Come on, let's go."

With narrowed eyes he watched them walk away. He was sorely tempted to tackle Christian to the ground as the former tossed a triumphant smirk over his shoulder.

Pacey waited for her return, ignoring the evening news blaring on the television set. As soon as he heard the click of the door opening, he switched the TV off and rose to meet her. He instantly regretted the action.

Joey stopped suddenly at the door, turning away from Christian. "You're still awake?"

Words seem to have failed him, and he backed away from them and the victorious look in Christian’s eyes. "I was just getting ready for bed."

"Oh." She glanced toward Christian while she closed the door behind them. "I was just going to make Christian some coffee. It's late and he has to drive."

"Uh huh." He clearly didn't buy her explanation. "We're out of everything except decaf."

"Decaf is great." Christian threw in. "I love decaf."

Joey smiled. "I guess that just works out perfectly then."

"Yeah, perfect," Pacey echoed, tension evident in his voice and stance. "Have a good night." He headed down the hall with determination.

"You too," Joey called after him.

Something that sounded remarkably similar to "Like hell," echoed back down the hall just before he closed his bedroom door.

Joey ran a hand through her disheveled hair and muffled a yawn as she headed into the kitchen the next morning. She smiled inwardly at the thought of what happened the night before as she headed straight for the coffee pot.

Pacey emerged from the bathroom after a long shower. The fatigue was clearly evident on his face, he hadn't been able to sleep much during the night due to the commotion in Joey's room, and then after, when all he could think about was her and Christian together. His step faltered as his eyes landed on Joey, "So, when's the wedding?"

"June twenty-third," she said wryly while she busied herself making coffee.

"So soon. You'll have trouble booking a band. Not to mention a caterer."

"Maybe we'll elope."

He took his time getting the milk from the refrigerator and pouring himself a bowl of cereal. "That's always an option."

"Pretty tempting."

"I heard Vegas was great this time of year. But sadly, bigamy is still quite illegal there."

She reached for two coffee mugs. "He left his wife."

"Of course he did." He said indulgently.

"He wants me to come back to work."

"Of course, you were an asset to his company." He cast her a politely curious look, "I hope you at least got a raise out of it."

She nodded as she poured the freshly brewed coffee into the mugs. "And a new office."

"Ahh, moving up in the world."

"Plus, he actually makes love to me." She grabbed the two mugs and headed to her room.

The abruptness of that statement caught him off guard and he choked on his fruitloops. "Excuse me?"

"You heard what I said," Joey called over her shoulder before shutting the door to her room.

Joey smiled as she handed Christian his mug of coffee. "Here. Just the way you like it."

"I may like decaf, but it really doesn't compare to the caffinated stuff." He took the mug and blew across the surface before taking a sip. "So when can we expect you back at the office?" He asked, completely businesslike.

She shrugged setting down her mug on her bedside table before sitting on the bed. "I'm not sure. Maybe Monday?"

"So soon," he smiled widely. "That's great."

"This won't cause any problems will it?"

"What wont?" He took another drink of coffee and scanned the room for his clothes.

"Any of this."

"No," he shook his head distracted, "Everyone is looking forward to having you back."

"Are you sure?"

"Would I say so if I wasn't?" He grumbled.

She rolled her eyes with a small sigh. "So what are your plans for the rest of the day?"

"Work, errands, and then dinner with the kids."

"Oh...Do you want to get together later?"

"Hmm..." He looked deep in thought, "I don't think today is good. Tomorrow maybe. I can probably come over after I put the kids to bed."

She smiled slyly lifting her shirt over her head. "Think you can stay a little longer?"

"Actually," he glanced at the clock on the bedside table, ignoring her blatant invitation. "I just have time for the coffee. I need to go home and change still."

She frowned sliding her shirt back down. "Oh."

"Listen," he slid out of the bed, "Give the office a call, my new secretary....God, what's her name... Anyway, she'll go through all the new paperwork with you."

Joey smiled in bemusement. "You have a new secretary?"

"Yeah, Sylvia's her name I think," he nodded as he set aside his coffee to slip into his clothes. "She blonde, fresh out of college."

"Interesting."

"She'll work out, I think." He snapped his pants and set to work on the buttons of his shirt.

"You might scare her off," Joey said with a wink. "You can't even remember the poor girl's name."

He didn't register the humor in her tone, "I doubt she's scared of me." He tucked his shirt into his pants and slipped his wallet into his pocket.

She smiled faintly. "Probably not."

He found his shoes and socks and slipped into them. "I'll call you soon, okay?" He rose and picked up his jacket.

"Okay."

Sliding his arms through the jacket he headed for the door, "Bye Joey."

"Bye," she said softly.

He closed her door behind him, and whistled to himself as he walked through the apartment to the front door. He waved a hand to acknowledge the scowling Pacey, "Good morning, Percy."

"Not ‘till you're gone it wont be," he muttered. "You can show yourself out."

Christian merely grinned at his adversary and resumed his cheerful whistling as he left the apartment.

Pacey came home later than usual, and the unfamiliar sound of nails clicking on the hardwood floor echoed into the apartment. "Shhhh," he tried to hush the rambunctious cocker spaniel as he closed the door.

Joey raised her eyes from the paperwork she was going over in surprise and glanced toward her closed bedroom door. She set her work down, climbed to her feet and headed to the door before peeking her head out. "Pacey is that you?"

"Um, yeah." His words were followed by a suspicious high pitched bark.

She arched an eyebrow. "What was that?"

He smiled sheepishly as she rounded the corner and came face to face with him and the golden cocker spaniel puppy he held by a leash. "Surprise?"

She grinned and knelt down beside the rambunctious puppy. "Oh my, aren't you the cutest thing," she cooed while she rubbed its coat. The puppy yipped excitedly and Joey's grin widened. "Oh, yes are."

Pacey smiled, "Very cute."

She pulled the dog into her arms and giggled while it squirmed and licked her chin. "You're just too cute," she purred rubbing behind its ears.

Smiling, he leaned down and unhooked the leash and hung it on the coat rack on the wall. "You'll be happy to know she's house trained too."

"Where'd you get her?" she asked, setting the dog on the floor and petting her one last time before letting her loose to explore.

"The Humane Society downtown." He picked up the two grocery bags on the floor that contained various pet supplies and headed for the kitchen. "Being the runt of the litter, I thought she needed a good home."

"She's adorable," Joey sighed.

"The heartbreakers always are," he said breezily, unpacking dog food, flea medication and chew toys. "I figure these will get you through until you move out."

She looked up from the dog in surprise and climbed to her feet. "What?"

"She's yours, Joey. I figure I should give you something that will remind you of me, and a dog seemed to fit the bill." He moved to the counter and pulled out two bowls, one for food and another for water.

"For when I move?"

"Yes." He replied shortly.

She glanced toward the dog who was preoccupied with a spot on the rug before turning back to Pacey. "Are you kicking me out?"

"Aren't you moving in with Christian?" he made a face as he said the other man's name.

"Not unless you know something I don't."

He blinked, "So you aren't getting back together with Mr. I'm-the-king-of-the-world?"

She shrugged. "We're taking things slowly."

"Uh huh." He turned on the faucet and filled one of the bowls with water, placing it in the corner. The puppy scurried across the floor, her feet slipping out from under her on the slippery linoleum. "So what are you going to name her?"

Joey smiled softly as she gazed down at the dog. "Gabby."

Soulful chocolate eyes lifted up from the water dish to look at Joey at the sound of her new name. "Seems like she likes it." Pacey said as he stood.

Joey's smile grew faint and she leaned against the counter, folding her arms across her chest. "Thanks."

He shrugged a shoulder, "Whatever."

"No, really, I love her."

"I knew you would," he said simply, a regretful smile on his face.

She smiled and sighed. "I'll take her for a walk later."

"We should probably get her to a vet too, she needs shots and a check up."

She nodded. "That'd be a good idea."

Sensing they were talking about her, Gabby stopped drinking and ran over to Joey, putting her oversized puppy paws up on her leg, her little tail wagging furiously.

"Hey baby." Joey grinned and leaned over to pet her head.

"I see I made the right choice," Pacey smiled faintly. "Something tells me the Great Dane I was considering wouldn't have been as big a hit."

"I can't believe you got a dog."

"I know, aren't I just full of surprises?"

She smiled weakly. "Yeah."

He let out a sigh, refusing to wonder about the look in her eyes. "What are you doing for dinner tonight?"

She shrugged. "I'll probably make something."

"Christian not coming over?" He couldn't stop himself from asking.

She shook her head. "He has plans."

"Too bad for him." After a moment's thought, he started for his bedroom. "I guess you're eating alone then, I have a date," he called over his shoulder.

"Okay." Joey smiled down at Gabby. "Looks like it's just us girls tonight."

The dog let out a happy yelp an scampered out the kitchen to explore the rest of the apartment. Joey laughed lightly and headed over to the refrigerator. She frowned maybe she should just order out.

Christian rose from Joey's bed kicking Gabby aside as he scanned the floor for his clothes. Joey sat up in bed and reached for Gabby when she heard her whimper. She picked her up and held her in her arms. "Aww girl, what's wrong?"

"Don't you find it a little creepy to have a dog in here while you're sleeping?"

"I don't see why I should find it creepy." She scratched behind Gabby's ear.

He made a face of disgust, "You baby her."

"She's adorable. How can you not love that face?" Joey teased as she held Gabby up for Christian.

He rolled his eyes, "Easily,"

"Well, I love her."

"She smells."

"She does not."

He pulled up his pants, and reached for his sweater, "All dogs smell."

"She smells like a dog," Joey said with a roll of her eyes. "But she doesn't stink."

He shrugged, "Next time, lets just leave her outside."

"I don't see what the big deal is."

"She's creepy." He shook his head. Gabby growled at him, "See."

Joey frowned. "She's usually pretty friendly."

"Hmmm," he frowned. "I'll see you at work tomorrow."

She raised an eyebrow. "No kiss good-bye?"

He sighed, and crossed the room to her bed, leaning forward and kissing her lips dispassionately. Gabby snarled at him.

Joey tried to calm Gabby down and pulled away with a shake of her head. "You should go."

He glared at the dog. "Yeah."

Joey set Gabby down on the floor after she heard the front door close signaling Christian's departure. She placed soft kiss on top of her head before sliding off the bed. "I know. He's being an asshole." She sighed and headed to the bathroom to take a shower. "Just let me get dressed and then I'll feed you and take you for a walk."

As she reached for the doorknob, the door swung open, bringing her face to face with a Pacey's chest, glistening with drops of water. Only, he wasn't looking at her, he was smiling over his shoulder at a blonde wrapped in one of Joey's favorite terry cloth towels.

"I'll, um, just come back when you're finished." Joey's face flushed slightly and she took a step back before returning to her room.

No matter how hard he pushed down the guilt rising in the pit of his stomach, he couldn't help but want to go after her and explain. He stared hard at her bedroom door as he led Laura back to his room. There was no explanation, at least not one that she'd want to hear. And it's not like he owed her one either. If she was allowed to fuck Christian without any remorse, then he should be able to sleep with someone without feeling like he was breaking her heart. It was only fair.

But life just wasn't fair. He had to use all the will power he had to keep from going into her room and apologizing. He was sick of this, he told himself. He wasn't going to let her walk all over him, use him, and toss him aside like a dirty rag after she'd mopped up her need. No. Not anymore.

Joey laughed as she unclipped Gabby's leash and let her run into the apartment after their walk. The poor little dog kept on tripping over her feet in her excitement. Joey pulled off her coat and hung it on the coat rack along with Gabby's leash for later, when she took her out again.

"Hey girl," Pacey smiled as Gabby leaped onto the couch beside him and wiggled onto his lap, trying to lick his chin. She was too excited to make much contact and lapped at the air. "Did you have a good walk?"

"She did," Joey commented coming into the room. "She barked at some birds and then ran behind my legs to hide when they started to fly." She grinned and scratched under Gabby's jaw. "Some fierce guard dog you are, huh?" In the last few days, he’d become quite good at pretending everything was like it was before he told her he loved her.

She flicked her tongue to lick Joey's hand. "She'd probably hide under the bed if we ever had a break in."

"Or lick the burglar to death."

Pacey rubbed her tummy lightly. "It's a good thing she's so cute, or I'd have to return her for a fiercer breed."

"She can be tough." Joey smiled. "Right girl? Show him your growl."

"She growls?" he met Joey's eyes for the first time since that morning.

She nodded. "She was growling at Christian earlier."

"She actually growled at him?" He sounded surprised. Then smiled at the dog, "Good girl."

Joey rolled her eyes and sighed, plopping down on the armchair. "She doesn't like him much for some reason."

"She has good taste, that's all." He scratched her tummy.

"Christian's just not much of a dog person."

"Who wouldn't love this face?" He asked, just as Gabby leaped from his lap, deciding to chase a dust bunny under the coffee table.

"I asked him that same question."

"See, she has good taste not liking him." He turned back to the TV, where the seventh inning stretch of a Mariners-Yankees game had just ended.

She glanced over at the television. "Who's winning?"

"It was tied at zero," He made a face, "until Jeter completely blew a double play which allowed Ichiro to score."

"Ooh, Jeter's cute."

He rolled his eyes, "Leave it to a woman to make baseball about who's cutest."

"Oh, bite me."

Gabby popped her head out from under the table and patted over to Pacey. He patted his lap and she jumped up onto it, "Really, baseball's all about strategy. It's the perfect combination of team and individual achievement. No other sport plays a hundred and sixty games a season."

Joey yawned.

He shook his head in remorse, "I forgot, love of sports is locating only on the Y-chromosome."

"I guess that's a small price females have to pay for intelligence."

"Har har," he absently petted Gabby as she settled beside him on the couch, her head resting on his thigh.

She smiled. "It's true."

"Some intelligence," He muttered under his breath. "At least Gabby understands the importance of a Yankees game, don't ya girl?"

"Little harlot."

He laughed, "She just knows the value of what she's got when she sees it. I think she knew I was a pushover as soon as I laid eyes on her."

"Hmph. I feed her. I walk her. And this is the thanks I get."

He shrugged a shoulder, a pleased smile on his face. "What can I say? I'm irresistible."

"Whatever."

"Oh, come on!" he scowled at the television. "That was a ball!"

"I think I'm gonna go to my room and leave you two to your baseball," Joey said climbing to her feet.

"Yeah," he waved a hand distractedly.

She bit back a smile. "Then I'm going to get naked and take out my vibrator."

He was glad his back was to her at this point, "Christian not doing his job right?"

"All men can't be you Pacey," she shot over her shoulder before disappearing into her room.

He sighed, and met Gabby's big brown eyes. "What was that supposed to mean?"