Joey grinned at AJ taking a sip of the bottled water she went to buy earlier after the heat had become a little less than bearable outside. She had decided to stay instead of going back to the hotel as she had planned. “So this wasn’t as bad as I originally thought it would be.”

He smiled charmingly at her, “What part?”

“Pretty much all of it.”

He chuckled, “Well, I’m certainly glad you were assigned this column.”

“I guess I’m kind of coming to appreciate it myself.”

“Yeah?”

She offered him a small smile. “Yeah.”

“So, how is today’s article coming? You’re not gonna have to pull another all-nighter, are you?”

“No, I think I actually have a pretty good idea on what I’m going to focus on.” She brushed her hair behind her ear.

“Hmm,” he tilted his head slightly, looking at her through the corner of his eye. “I don’t suppose you’d wanna stop by my room for a drink tonight would you?”

She gently bit her lower lip. “I wouldn’t mind.”

“Say, around eight?” He suggested.

“Sounds great.” Sounds great? She repeated in her mind. Oh dear, she had just rhymed in an incredibly lame response.

He gave her a quick kiss on the cheek. “I’ve gotta run,” he told her. “I’m supposed to be stretching.”

She grinned crookedly. “Okay.”

He took off at a jog back towards a group of men throwing balls back and forth. “I’ll see you tonight,” he called over his shoulder.

She smiled trying to contain her elation and gave him a small wave. “Until tonight.”

~*~

Pacey sat back on one of the benches in the locker room as his team mates trailed in to hit the showers. He planned to join them, but first he had a little business to tend too. His torso was bare, except for the towel slung over his shoulder.

AJ came in from the field and headed for the shower, thinking of the evening he was going to have with Joey Potter. The woman was a freaking goddess with legs that didn’t seem to quit and he’d been entertaining the idea of those legs wrapped around him for quite a while. Now it seemed he finally had his chance.

Pacey rose when he spotted AJ enter the locker room and head for his locker. “Can I have a word with you?” he asked, his words were polite, his tone was severe.

AJ raised his head pulled away from his thoughts and looked at Pacey distrustfully. “What about?”

“You have a girl, right? Back home?” It wasn’t a question.

AJ shrugged opening his locker. “What’s it to you?”

“Nothing to me. But I’m sure it means everything to Joey Potter.”

“Yeah, whatever.”

Pacey clamped a hand on AJ’s shoulder, forcing the boy’s eyes to meet his. “I don’t think you understand. Stay. Away. From. Her.”

AJ shrugged off his arm angrily. “Why should I?”

“You have a fucking fiancé!”

“What happens between Joey and I is none of your damn business.”

“I’m *making* it my business. Stay the fuck away from her, or you’re going to regret it.” He didn’t offer him another chance to argue, and strode away to the showers.

AJ glared after him before turning back to his locker. Who did Pacey Witter think he is?

~*~

Joey ran a hand through her hair and smoothed imaginary wrinkles out of her dress before knocking on AJ’s door with nervous anticipation.

It opened almost immediately to reveal AJ’s scowling face. “Hi.” He didn’t step back to offer her access.

Her smile dimmed slightly. “Um, hey.”

“Listen, it’s probably not a good idea for this to happen.” He grumbled.

She frowned. “What? Why?”

He rolled his eyes, “Why don’t you ask your boyfriend?”

“My boyfriend?” Joey repeated dumbly.

He pointed to the door of Pacey’s hotel room with an angry look on his face.

“Pacey? What does he have to do with any of this?”

“He’s the one who told me to stay away from you,” he smiled sardonically. At the very least, he might be able to get Pacey in trouble. “It was like he thinks he owns you. Just because of that pathetic article you’re writing about him.”

Joey’s eyes narrowed. “Well, he doesn’t.”

AJ shrugged, “I’m not willing to risk it.” He forced a regretful smile to his face, “I’m sorry, Jo.”

“Risk what? There’s nothing to risk. Pacey doesn’t own me.”

He just shook his head, “I’m sorry.”

Her face fell. “Are you sure there’s nothing I can say that can change your mind?”

“No,” he sighed. “Just tell Pacey that it was a nice attempt to get me kicked from the team.”

“What was?”

“That’s what he threatened me with.” AJ answered sadly. “I’m so sorry, Jo. If it weren’t for him...believe me...I’d have you in here in an instant.”

“I...” Joey’s voice trailed off at loss of what to say.

“Goodnight, Joey.” He whispered sadly, stepping back to close his door.

Joey bit her lip and curled her hands into tight fists at her sides. Pacey was going to die. She stormed over to his room.

Pacey paused the tape in the VCR; something the batting coach had given him of his at bats last season, telling him to watch his hands mid-swing. He’d suggested that if he kept them moving, he’d get better placement on his hits. He walked over to the door, wondering who the hell was pounding so viciously on it.

Joey’s eyes narrowed into angry slits when he opened the door. “You!”

“What?” He wondered, stepping back at the fury in her eyes.

“What did you say to AJ?!”

He frowned, “What did he tell you?”

“You threatened to get him kicked off the team if he-” she released an exasperated growl, too angry to continue.

“I what?” He repeated dumbfounded.

She pointed a finger at him accusingly. “You know what you did!”

“I told him to stay away from you, that’s all.” He held his hands up innocently.

“Why?!”

“He didn’t tell you?!” He asked in disbelief, his distaste for AJ growing.

“Tell me what? That you threatened him?!”

“I didn’t threaten him! I just told him to stay away from you or he’d regret it.”

“Why’d you tell him to stay away from me?”

“Because,” he shifted his weight. He so did *not* want to be telling her this.

She clenched her jaw. “That’s not an answer.”

“He’s got a fiancé, Joey.”

“He what?” Joey asked thinking she hadn’t heard him right.

“He’s engaged.” He told her, forcing back the urge to go to her side.

She exhaled sharply, the words beginning to sink in and all the fight left her replaced with overwhelming depression. “Oh.” She turned around and headed into her room, slamming the door behind her.

He hated that crestfallen look on her face; he followed her and knocked on the door.

Joey wiped at her eyes quickly hating herself for even shedding tears. She was so stupid. She should have known better. “Go away!” she called in response to the knock on her door.

“Joey? Please, let me in.”

“No!”

“Potter... Come on.”

She sniffled. “Why should I?”

“Because, you need someone...and I’m the only one here.”

“I don’t need anyone.”

“Potter, quit being so stubborn!”

She bit the inside of her cheek. “The door is open.”

He rolled his eyes at his own stupidity, and turned the handle stepping inside the room. He spotted her lying on the bed, her back to him, and her deep red dress caught around her legs. Quietly, he went into the elaborate bathroom and took a complementary glass filling it with cool water and grabbing one of the washcloths folded on the counter. He returned to Joey, placed both items on the bedside table beside her, and sat down on the edge of the bed.

“You really liked him, huh?”

“No.”

“No?”

“Of course I didn’t, I mean I’m lying on my bed here like a pathetic loser because I didn’t like him.”

He smiled weakly, “You never let the sarcasm go, do you?”

“Ask a stupid question...”

“Yeah, yeah.” He tugged at her arm, helping her to sit up. He dipped a corner of the washcloth in the cool water, and used it to wipe the tears from her cheek. “What did you see in him, anyway?”

“I thought he was nice,” she muttered. “Obviously I was wrong.”

“First impressions are deceiving,” he said simply, his voice rumbling in his throat, as he wiped the streaks of mascara from her face.

She sighed. “Good thing I didn’t sleep with him.”

“Would you have?” he wondered.

“I thought about it.” She shrugged. “But I don’t know.”

He dropped his hand from the curve of her face. “You’re too good for him, anyway.”

“And that makes me feel so much better.”

“Hey, I’m trying here, Jo.”

She smiled faintly. “I guess it’s better than nothing.”

“You should really feel bad for his wife to be, she’s the one who’s promised to marry that creep.”

She flopped back down to her back bouncing lightly. “Men suck.”

He kept himself from mentioning exactly what things men liked to suck. “Uh-huh, we do,” He agreed instead.

“Really good for nothing,” she sighed staring up at her ceiling. “Not even sex.”

He blinked, “Excuse me?” Amusement tinged his voice.

“What?”

“Men suck at sex?”

“Your point?”

“Can you defend that assessment?” he wondered.

Joey raised an eyebrow and nodded knowingly. “Oh, I get it now you’re all insulted since we’ve slept together before so I might as well tell you the truth. It really wasn’t that good,” she lied.

“It wasn’t?” He pursed his lips, “O-kay...”

“I know it might be hard for that ego of yours to take.”

“I’m, uh, sorry, then.” He said uncomfortably. “What...exactly...was, um...bad?”

“What I’m forced to fill out a survey now?”

“We could talk about AJ lying to you instead.”

“What’s left to talk about?”

“Okay, so come on...tell me what I did wrong,” he ignored her.

She tilted her head sympathetically. “I’m sorry but it was so bad I’ve already blocked the traumatizing experience from memory.”

“Pfft.”

She looked at him curiously. “What?”

“It couldn’t have been that bad.”

“What would you know about it anyway?”

“For it to have been such a traumatizing experience, you wouldn’t have enjoyed it all.”

“Yeah, but why rehash bad memories?”

“Because I’d like to know what did wrong so I can improve next time.”

“Ever heard the saying, ‘can’t teach an old dog tricks’?”

“I’m neither a dog, nor old.”

“Besides, I have better things to do with my time.”

“Like mope in your room.” He pouted, “Come on, I think you owe it to the next woman I sleep with.”

“And how do you figure that?”

“You wouldn’t want the next woman to be scarred for life, now would you?” He asked innocently. “So what was it? Too fast? Too slow? Not enough foreplay? Was I too small?”

She laughed. “You can’t be serious?”

He shrugged a shoulder, a playful smile on his face, “I dunno, maybe you’re used to something bigger.”

“So I guess I can now add immaturity to your list of detriments.”

“You’re making a list now?”

“There are just so many.”

He chuckled, “You still haven’t told me what it was. Too awkward? You like it rough? There wasn’t any cuddling? Or was I too big?”

“Just let it go.”

“See, this isn’t something a guy can just ‘let go’. You can’t tell me I was bad in bed and expect me to just let it go.” His smile faltered, “I didn’t...hurt you, or anything, did I?”

She released an exasperated breath partly because of annoyance and partly because thinking about it had her bothered. “Just forget I said anything.”

“Did I hurt you?”

She rolled her eyes. “No.”

“Okay, consider the subject dropped.” He shifted back so he was lying across her bed.

“You know, you can feel free to leave now.”

He tucked folded his hands under his head, “How’s today’s article coming?”

She sighed of the opinion that he wasn’t planning on leaving and turned on her side. “For once it’s done early.”

“Is it getting easier to write? Or are you still struggling with the finer aspects of baseball?”

“Actually, for once it wasn’t really that bad.”

He smiled, “I’m glad. If you ever have any questions...”

“I’ll be sure to ask Will, since he offered and doesn’t suffer from ADD.” She grinned.

“Hey, I was exercising,” He said with a smirk. “That had nothing to do with ADD whatsoever.”

Joey lifted her head slightly and ran her eyes over his body. “Good because it’s not like you don’t need it.”

He rolled his eyes, knowing perfectly well that his body was in prime condition. “Right, there’s always that little flab that needs getting rid of.”

Flab? Joey wasn’t sure there was an ounce of fat on that well muscled body but she’d never admit to that. “Oh, of course.”

He wanted to touch her, he decided, watching her out of the corner of his eye. He couldn’t find it in him to blame AJ for wanting her...even at her most prim and professional, she exuded mystery. And sexuality.

But then, that could just be him. Having known the taste of her mouth, he couldn’t seem to get her out of his mind. It bothered him to think that their one encounter hadn’t been as pleasurable for her as it was for him. Then again, she could be lying. That’s exactly the kind of thing she’d do to try to bring him down another notch. The girl had it in her head that it was her sole responsibility to strip him of his ego.

He just wished she’d strip him of a few other things while she was at it.

Joey stifled a yawn and turned onto her back. “So what time is it? A watch didn’t exactly go well with this outfit.”

“Quarter to nine,” he answered, turning his head so he could see her. In the drama of her storming into his room and what followed, he hadn’t really taken the time to appreciate what she was wearing. His eyes devoured the silk of her dress, and the skin that the material didn’t cover. It wasn’t particularly revealing, the skirt ended just below her knees, and the cut of the collar was modest. It was something he wouldn’t have minded his sister going out in, unless, of course, his sister managed to look just as sexy in it.

“If it wasn’t so pathetically early I’d just go to bed, so maybe I’ll just go downstairs to the bar.” She frowned another thing she’d like to do is go over there and break AJ’s nose but she couldn’t muster the enthusiasm right now.

He was quiet for a moment, debating the wisdom of joining her. He shouldn’t, it was not a good idea to get too involved in her life. For the most part, she didn’t even like him. And he didn’t like her either. Plus, she was only going to be around for a month; then back to her regular job at the Globe. Then he’d be caught up in the baseball season. A sport that she hated, no less. No; anything more than a one-night stand would be a bad idea. He’d just go back to his room and finishing watching that tape, do his two hundred pushups and one hundred sit ups and go to bed. “Want some company?”

She smirked. “Yeah, that’s the point of going down there.”

He sat up, “Alright, then. I’ll leave you to enjoy your evening.”

“Goodnight then.”

“Yeah right,” he muttered under his breath as he stood up and headed for the door. “Goodnight, my ass.” Louder, he called over his shoulder, “You too, Potter.”

“Planning on it.”

He let the door click shut behind him before running a hand down his face. Joey equaled evil reporter woman. Best that he remembers that and forget the hurt look in her eyes when he told her AJ was engaged. He let out along sigh before walking back to his room.

Joey knocked on Pacey’s door an hour later. “You know, I figured drinking was overrated so I went with real fattening stuff instead.” She held up the bags of junk food she’d bought at the Seven-Eleven, this was the second night in a row she ended up going in so dressed up that she’d actually gotten a discount because they felt bad for her. “I got a great deal, there’s ice cream, soda, potato chips, popcorn, and cake. It’d be really depressing to it eat it all by myself.”

He gave her a soft smile and stepped away from the door to let her in. “There’s nothing more depressing then pigging out alone,” he agreed.

“Besides,” she said walking in, “if I do end up eating most of it I can just say it was you.”

He chuckled, “And I’d let you get away with it too.”

“Ha, so this was a good idea.” She smiled.

He nodded, taking the bag from her and putting it on the small dining table, “So what delicious things have you brought me?”

She shrugged. “Feel free to peruse and see if there’s anything you’d like.”

He pulled out the ice cream first, “Chunky Monkey? I figured you for more of a Cherry Garcia kinda girl.”

“Figured wrong then.”

“Guess I did,” he pulled out the next few items. “Salt and Vinegar chips...7-up...chocolate cake...movie style popcorn...Doritos...” He looked up at her, “Woman, you’re a Goddess,” he said reverently, holding up a package of Twinkies.

Joey didn’t like at least half the things in there. What had possessed her to buy it? “Oh, you can have it.”

He walked to the small kitchenette and grabbed two spoons. “Better start with the ice cream.”

“Good idea.”

He handed her a spoon, grabbed the ice cream sodas and the bag of Doritos, and sat on the floor at the base of the bed, gesturing for her to join him facing the TV.

Joey reached into the bag and pulled out the small bottle of chocolate syrup she had bought before she joined him. “Can’t have ice cream without it.”

He smiled at her. “There’s no such thing as too much chocolate, right?” he reached across the bed for the remote. ‘I don’t think you’ll wanna watch this.” The TV set was frozen on an image of him about to take a swing.

She snickered. “I’ll just keep any comments to myself.”

“I’m not so egocentric that I want to watch myself constantly. The batting coach thinks I can improve my swing by keeping my hands loose and wanted me to watch.” He hit stop on the tape and handed her the remote.

She scooped up a big chunk of ice cream and began to lick the spoon clean. “It’s your television. You can choose.”

He swallowed and looked away from her. “If you don’t choose, you’re running the risk of sitting here and watching ESPN.”

She shrugged pulling the spoon from her lips and gathering another spoonful of ice cream. “I trust you.”

He groaned, “Well, when you say that, I can’t watch it.”

She raised an eyebrow and popped open the top of the chocolate syrup carefully began to spread it over the ice cream on her spoon. “What?”

“ESPN. Stay with me here, Potter.” He watched as she loaded her spoon with even more chocolate.

She smiled setting the bottle of syrup down when she was done. “That’s good then.”

He took the remote back from her and flipped through the channels until he found a movie. “This okay?”

“Eh,” she looked up from her ice cream to glance at the screen. “It’s okay.”

“Feel free to change it,” he took his own spoon and got a mouthful of ice cream.

“O-kay...” She picked up the chocolate syrup and began to douse her ice cream again.

An hour and a half later the credits were rolling, the ice cream was gone, along with all but half a bag of Salt and Vinegar chips and the last piece of cake. “Well, Pacey surveyed the mess around them. “I’d say we pigged out in extravagant style.”

She groaned. “If I ever have any kind of ice cream again it’d be too soon.”

He stood up and glanced at the clock, it was almost one. “Damn, how did it get so late?” He wondered as he stooped down to gather the garbage.

She yawned and tried to stand up. “I don’t know.”

He offered her his hand to help her stand and pulled her up with a little too much force, pulling her flush against his chest.

Joey’s eyes widened in surprise and she quickly moved away. “Um, thanks for the help.”

“Yeah, no problem.” He mumbled, reaching down for the rest of the garbage, he took it into the kitchen.

“I’m going to head to my room now, so goodnight.”

“G’night, Potter.” He said, following her to the door. “Sleep well.”

“Yeah, you too.”

He nodded, “I will.”

“Okay then.”

“Goodnight,” he leaned against the edge of the door.

She smiled. “Yeah, you said that already.”

“I did, didn’t I?” He smiled awkwardly.

She laughed lightly. “Yeah, you did but it’s late. I forgive you.”

“Well, as long as I have your forgiveness...” he teased faintly.

The corner of her mouth turned up in a faint smile. “Yeah...I’ll see you tomorrow or later even because it’s already one and you probably get up early, so I should go. Bye.” She turned and headed for her room.

He stepped out into the hall to watch her go, he wanted to make sure she got to her room safely. They were in a freaking hotel, he thought, not downtown Los Angeles. When did he become so concerned about her safety? “I’ll see ya tomorrow, Jo.” He said loud enough for her to hear just as she was about to open her door.

She let out an amused chuckle. “Yeah...okay.”

He smiled at her once more, before going into his room, wondering what the hell he was thinking.