“Potter, what are you doing?” Pacey murmured, watching the intensity on Joey’s face as she traced the muscles on his chest with her index finger.

She shrugged continuing her idle tracing. “Nothing.”

He regarded her through hooded eyes; her dark hair was tousled and it fell around her bare shoulders in sexy waves. He lifted his fingers to run them through the silken strands. Her red lips were swollen and parted as she concentrated on his body, her cheeks still flushed from their activities minutes before. He hadn’t seen anything more beautiful in his life.

She bit her lip and trailed her finger over a small scar he had on his arm. “How’d you get that?”

His brow furrowed as he tried to remember, “I think it was a rusty nail. I was out in the shed behind the house, I guess I had to have been around twelve.” He didn’t mention the fact he was there because he was hiding from his father, “It was dark out and I didn’t see it sticking out from a piece of wood until it was as too late.”

She smiled faintly and lightly brushed her lips against the scar. “So tell me were you this annoying when you were growing up?”

“According to my family, friends, teachers, and neighbors.” He smiled. “But that doesn’t mean it’s true.”

She grinned, her brown eyes filled with amusement. “I can just imagine.”

“You know,” he turned on his side to face her, a teasing smile on his face. “I’m beginning to think you don’t have a very good opinion of me.”

“What makes you think that?”

“You keep telling me I’m annoying.”

A playful smile crossed her lips. “Which you are.”

He gave her a swift kiss, “And what about me do you find so obnoxious?”

“It’s a long list,” she said gravely.

“Yeah?” He placed a few light kisses along her jaw, “Hit me with the top five.”

She raised an eyebrow. “Think you can handle it?”

“Yeah, you’re always telling me I have an over inflated ego. I think I can take a little criticism. Especially when it’s coming from you.”

“Are you sure?”

“Uh huh.”

She tilted her head thoughtfully and studied him carefully. “Hmm...” She sighed after a moment. “I can’t think of anything, you’ve somehow endeared yourself to me.”

“I’ve what?” He pulled back a little to look into her eyes. “Are you saying you’ve gone soft on me, Potter?”

A long, overdrawn sigh and she frowned. “It’s a sad day. Hopefully it’ll pass.”

“I hope it doesn’t.” He murmured sincerely.

She smirked. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“That means,” he brushed a few locks of her hair away from her face. “That I like that you like me.”

She smiled. “Well, then, I really like you.”

“Then when are you going to take the initiative and kiss me first?” He asked with a soft smile.

“Now that I’m going to have to think about.”

“It could be worse I suppose.” He kissed her neck, “You could not let me kiss you at all.”

“Good point.”

His lips explored a path along the column of her neck; she had the sweetest skin he’d ever tasted. Just as he was about to devour the hollow of her collarbone, the high pitch ring of his cell phone interrupted his task. “Damn.”

Joey sighed and reached for the closest article of clothing. “You should probably get that.”

He pouted, “Do I have to?”

“You never know who it could be.”

He groaned and rolled off the edge of the bed to search out his phone. He found it under her sheer bra on the small table in the corner. “Hello?”

She cast a faint smile in his direction before climbing off the bed and beginning to gather their clothes from various pieces of furniture that filled the room. It seemed like there were only so many days they had left with each other and she was doing her best to enjoy their every moment now that she knew she was in love with him. She had found herself doing things she normally wouldn’t and it was fun and exciting. She absolutely loved every bit of it.

“Hey, D-- No, I haven’t.” He started pacing as he nodded into the phone. “Yeah, I know that, but-” A muscle jumped in his jaw. “You don’t know what you’re talking about. Just because I--”

Joey bit the inside of her cheek and cast a concerned look toward Pacey. She wondered who he was talking to, then she frowned at her obvious eavesdropping so she began to fold her clothes on a chair.

“Leave Andie out of this!” he demanded, clenching his hand at his side. “She did nothing wrong.” There was a lengthy pause. “No, no, of course your right. Of course it was all my fault.” He said sarcastically. “I can’t believe you. You’d rather I just throw away my career, right!”

Joey’s eyes widened in surprise and she cast another look toward Pacey.

“Why the fuck did you bother calling anyway?” His lips were set in a rock hard line. “Well, I guess I’ll just have to thank her. At least someone cares how I’m doing.” He swallowed, his Adam’s apple bobbing, “I see. I’ll send her the money.”

The corners of her mouth turned down even more and she disappeared inside the bathroom.

He snorted, “You’re never gonna get it are you!? Andie didn’t leave me because I was screwing around on her. She left me because she didn’t love me!” His face paled as his father said something into the phone. “Gee, thanks. That’s exactly the kind of thing a son wants to hear from his father.” There was a pause as Pacey sat down on the edge of the bed with a thump. “No, I can’t blame you, seeing as I’m such a fuck up, right?” He frowned, “You didn’t have to say it.”

Joey shut the bathroom door so she wouldn’t have to hear anymore.

“Yeah, no.” He ran a hand through his hair, “Of course I’m sleeping with everything in a tight shirt and short skirt. You taught me well,” he sneered. There was a pause, “Yes, as a matter of fact there is. And she’s nothing like Andie, nothing like Mom, nothing like Tamara.” He shook his head in exasperation. “When are you going to let it go!? I was fifteen!” There was a long silence as Pacey visibly deflated, listening to his father’s lecture. “Are we done now? You’ve degraded me and gotten money from me, this is usually where you tell me not to fuck up and hang up.” He was quiet, “Well, that’s new...Yeah. Yeah. Whatever. I know. Bye.” He hit end on the phone, and let it fall on the mattress beside him and cradled his head in his hands.

Joey peeked her head outside the bathroom door, checking to see if Pacey was off the phone yet.

“I’m--I’m sorry about that, Joey.” He muttered, not looking up at her.

She timidly came the rest of the way out of the bathroom. “It’s okay...”

He lifted his head, forcing the conversation with his father out of his mind. “You look sexy in that,” he gestured listlessly at his uniform she had slipped into. The hem just reached mid-thigh, and she’d left the top two buttons undone.

“Thanks.” She managed a small smile and moved to sit beside him. “Do you want to talk about it?”

“What’s to talk about?” He shrugged, “You shouldn’t have been exposed to that.”

“Who was it?” she questioned quietly.

He wanted to lie, he wanted to lie to her so bad. “My Dad,” he admitted, averting his eyes from hers.

“Oh...” She nibbled on her lower lip and she cautiously placed a hand on his shoulder. “You know if you want to talk about it...”

He forced a weak smile, “No one wants to hear the $14 million dollar man complain about how his father doesn’t love him.”

She leaned over and kissed the corner of his mouth. “I do.”

He smiled softly at her, wondering how he’d gotten so lucky to have her in his life. “Not much to say. My dad’s just always hated me.” He tried to shrug it off. “I get a phone call like that at least once a week.”

“Must be tough,” she commented lightly.

“I’ve learned to keep my distance.”

“Oh.”

“I don’t know why...even after all these years he can still get to me.”

A corner of her mouth turned down sadly. “What was it like growing up?”

“I spent every moment I could get on the field just so I wouldn’t have to be at home. Even my brother and sisters managed to make me feel like an outsider.”

She just frowned, not really knowing what to say.

“Not what you wanted to hear?” The words were supposed to be sarcastic, but only came out sounding sad. He turned away from her and lay back on the bed, pulling the sheet over his naked torso.

She slowly moved to lie beside him. “What about your mother?”

“She drank,” he said, his voice hollow. “And when she wasn’t drunk, she fawned over my sisters. Doug and I were of no interest to her.”

She swallowed not wanting it to seem like she was prying, she was just genuinely curious and concerned. “So you and your brother weren’t close?”

“There were ten years between us and he was essentially my father’s lap dog, so no.” He frowned, “I shouldn’t be talking about this.”

“Why not?”

He turned his head to look at her. “So I had a bad childhood. That’s no reason for me to bitch and moan when I’m making $14 million and there are people starving in Somalia.”

She almost smiled. “So, it doesn’t make your problems any less real.”

“I should be over it by now.”

“There’s nothing wrong if you’re not.”

There was something about this woman, the spit-fire reporter he hated, the sexy woman he desired, and the caring soul he-- There was something about her that made him want to share everything with her and see if she’d still be there in the morning.

He wanted her to be.

He turned his head to look at her. “I’m not,” he mumbled. “I don’t think I’ll ever be.”

“Some times talking about it helps,” she suggested softly.

“Do you really want to know?”

She placed her hand over his and gave it a soft squeeze. “I wouldn’t have asked otherwise.”

He looked up at the ceiling, finding that he words came easier if he wasn’t watching her. “You know that scar you asked about? I got it because I was trying to hide from him.” His brow furrowed, “He didn’t hit very often, but when he did...”

Her heart went out to him. It was hard to believe that the strong and incredible man in front of her used to be hurt and vulnerable little boy, and probably some part of him still was. She squeezed his hand tightly it just made her love him even more.

“I’m not entirely sure when it started. But I always knew my father disliked me. I was the fifth kid when four was enough. I don’t think he started to hate me until I started playing ball. The better I got, the worse he treated me.” He tightened his fingers around her hand almost imperceptibly.

“My sisters used to try and stand up for me, but then he turned his wrath on them. So it was easier for them to ignore me, and they discovered the worse they treated me, the better he treated them.”

She swallowed and bit down on her lip. She couldn’t imagine what that must have been like.

He told her about the rest of his childhood, turning to baseball for comfort. The longer he talked the easier it became. “Now I get a phone call once a week, and all he has to say is that I’m not good enough. He brings up Andie, and things that happened a decade ago. I don’t know why I don’t just hang up on him...I guess I’m hoping that just once he’ll call me and say, ‘Son, I’m proud to be your father and I love you.’“ He rolled his eyes at himself, a hollow smirk on his face, “I’ll probably die wishing for someone to tell me that.”

She rested her head on his chest and gave him a small hug. She raised her head and smiled at him sadly before kissing him softly. “Thank you.”

He returned the kiss, and gave her a bewildered look. “You’re welcome, but for what?”

“For sharing that with me.” She kissed him again and ran a hand through his short, brown hair overwhelmed with emotion. “I love you.” She’d always thought the words would be hard to say but it came out so naturally. It just felt absolutely right.

He wanted to believe her, he wanted to believe this spunky reporter with a heart of gold loved him. Her brown eyes seemed to shine as she looked into his...and he did believe her. His eyes stung with the realization that maybe he wasn’t so unlovable. Rather than do something foolish like cry, he cupped the back of her neck and pulled her into a heart-pounding kiss. Gentle and sensual, he let himself go and gave up his heart in that kiss.