She lowered her eyes to the table, "Honestly?" She toyed with the napkin before looking up at him, her voice soft, "I think it’s the most romantic place I’ve ever been."

He stood, holding his hand out for her, "Dance with me."

She took his hand, her skirt climbing higher as she slid from the booth. "There isn’t any music, Pacey."

"You wait right here," he winked as he left her standing in the middle of the dance floor and walked to the jukebox across the room, fishing his wallet out. Punching several keys, he selected the song he wanted. Smiling, he returned to her. "May I have this dance?" He asked.

"Hotel California?" She questioned as she recognized the chords of the song. "You chose Hotel California?"

He smiled sheepishly, "I pressed the wrong button."

Raising her arms to rest on his shoulders, she smiled, "I love Hotel California."

"Convenient for me, huh?" He drew her closer, his hands settling on her lower back. Her skin was warm beneath the thin material of her shirt, and he thought he’d probably give anything to feel her with his bare hands. "I thought you said you weren’t gonna dance with me tonight?"

"You’re lucky," she shrugged, gazing up at him. "It’s the eyes, I’m a sucker for your eyes."

"I’ll thank my mother for giving me them." He smiled, swaying with her to the music. "So, you’re an eye woman, hmm? What else pushes your buttons?"

"Honesty." She started, fingering the material of his shirt as they danced. "Humor. Intelligence."

"Are these in alphabetical order?" His eyes twinkled as he smiled.

"A great smile," she added. "Broad shoulders. Passion."

His eyes widened slightly, "Passion, huh? I can pretty much guarantee that any man in your presence is going to be passionate."

"I don’t mean about sex," she lowered her voice on the last word. "I mean about life. I want a man who loves life. Who can draw me out of my shell and inspire me to take risks. One who can step outside and smile because the sun is shining and the sky is blue."

"Someone who appreciates the simpler things in life." He paraphrased.

"Exactly." The corner of her mouth curved into that half smile he was beginning to fall in love with, "And it wouldn’t hurt if he were passionate between the sheets."

"Hmmm," he slowly caressed the line of her spine as they danced. "And by your estimation, am I any of those things?"

"So far, you rate a ninety-nine percent."

"It’s the sheets thing, huh?" He teased. "You know, you wont find that out unless we—"

"Yeah," she cut him off, placing her finger over his lips. "I know. You don’t have to say it."

His eyes darkened as he parted his lips, sucking her index finger into the hot heat of his mouth. Her eyes widened in surprise, and then clouded with desire as his tongue swirled around the tip. She swallowed thickly, shivering faintly as he bit down lightly before releasing her finger.

"I…uh…" She shook herself, her eyes falling closed so she could regain her composure. "A hundred percent, definitely."

His smile was proud, but strained. "A perfect score and I haven’t even kissed you yet."

"You want to?" She asked.

"Oh, hell yes."

"What’s stopping you?" She wondered softly, her eyes intently watching his.

"I’m waiting for the perfect moment."

"Perfection is overrated, Pacey." He was amused to hear the grumpy frustration in her voice.

"Careful there, Jo. I might actually start thinking you want me to kiss you." She pouted playfully at him.

He suppressed a shudder as her nails scraped lightly over his neck. "What else turns you on about a woman?"

"Smile, most definitely," he smiled steadily into her eyes. "And legs. Legs over breasts any day."

She giggled, "She’d have to be pretty flexible to pull off that move."

"Har har," he rolled his dyes. "I prefer legs to breasts is all I’m saying. Yours in particular. Although, you’ve got a nice set of both."

"Flatterer."

"Complaining?"

"No." She moved in closer to him, resting her head on his shoulder, her face just a breath away from his neck. Feeling as though he were on top of the world, he folded her into his arms comfortably to finish their dance.

As it turned out, they danced through several more songs, specifically chosen by Joey, who claimed he couldn’t be trusted around the jukebox. In return, he alternately praised and teased her choice of music. The bar had slowly started to fill, but the patronage was relatively quiet and didn’t intrude on the little world Joey and Pacey and conjured for themselves.

He left her at the booth to buy another round of drinks. Ordering a second Jack Daniel’s for himself and another three-olive martini for her, he waited for Rod to make the drinks, looking back at Joey through the faint haze of cigarette smoke and poor lighting.

"Made a friend tonight, huh, Pace?" Rod asked lightly, spearing the olives through a tooth pic.

"I hope I’ve made more than that." He tilted his head, an amused smile on his face as she blushed, having caught him watching her. "It’s the damnedest thing. I woke up today, and it was just like any other New York morning. Hell, my biggest concern was whether we’d get the new table cloths in before opening. I had no clue I’d meet someone who…" He couldn’t seem to find the right words to complete that thought.

"Life is like that, my friend." Rod placed the drinks in front of Pacey, "You never know when something life altering is going to come your way."

"Thanks," Pacey slipped him a twenty to pay for the drinks, leaving the change behind as he returned to Joey. "It occurs to me," he said, depositing her glass in front of her and taking the seat across the table. "It’s a Monday night, where are your friends?"

She took a long sip of her martini, licking the clinging drop from her lips. "Can’t say that I’m disappointed they didn’t show." She smiled before continuing, "Let’s see, Emily is on her honeymoon in Vegas. Liz is at home nursing two children with chicken pox and Audrey…well, Audrey’s just a tad on the flaky side."

"You’ve known these women long?" He wondered, leaning back against the worn leather to listen. She had such an expressive face, and her smile…her smile was going to be his downfall.

"Since college. We were in the same sorority." She held up her hand, "And before you make some comment about how I don’t strike you as the sorority type, you’re right. We were the girls who sat in the back of the house meetings making fun of the rest. Liz and I were there to get volunteer hours that were requirements for our scholarships. Emily was a legacy and her parents refused to pay for college unless she stayed in the house. And Audrey, she was there for two reasons and two reasons only. Boys and booze."

"Audrey sounds like a riot."

"Yeah, she started a few of those," Joey grinned.

"A man eater?"

"You could say that. She still is. She’ll never admit it, but she’s really just searching for the right man."

"And you?"

She lowered her eyes to the table. "I’m more or less searching my soul at this point. You know how it is, you reach a turning point and you wonder if you’ve made the right choices in your life. That you’re doing the right thing."

"Come to any sort of conclusion?" He asked, curiosity getting the better of his manners.

"Not really."

"Maybe I can help?"

She laughed, shaking her head, "I seriously doubt that, Pacey."

"I can try."

Her smile was faint, "A few hours ago, I was just…doubting myself. The choices I’ve made."

"I think everyone does from time to time."

"True, but now, I’m focusing on the choices I’m going to make. Which is, frankly, disconcerting, because I thought I’d had my future pretty much planned out."

"What exactly do these future choices entail?"

"Either I take a risk for once in my life, despite the fact it’s certifiably crazy. Or run for my life and never look back."

He chuckled, "Why?"

"Because you’re the risk, Pacey. And you’re a stranger, and I shouldn’t…"

"Correct me if I’m wrong, but we’ve had a few drinks, played some pool and danced. I’m not quite seeing the risk here."

"The risk isn’t in what we’ve done, it’s—" She stopped.

"It’s in how you feel." He finished for her, her surprised eyes shot up to meet his. "I’m not a mind reader, Jo. It’s just that I’m feeling the same thing." Their eye held for several long moments, emotion leaping across the table between them. "Against my better judgment, have you ever been in love?"

"Why is that against your better judgment?" she broke the emotional hold between them and finished off her drink.

"Because I somehow know the answer I’m going to get isn’t the one I want."

"Jealous?" She arched a surprised brow.

"Yeah, pretty much," He admitted with a grin.

"God, you’re cute."

His smile widened, "Thank you, but answer the question."

"Yes and no."

"You’ll have to elaborate, Joey." He took a sip of his drink, watching her face in the dim light to read the emotion there.

"I thought I was. He was sweet, sincere, handsome. We kinda fell into the relationship. We were comfortable with one another, happy. It was good." She nodded her head, as thought she were convincing herself.

"So what happened?"

"That’s just it. Nothing. No click, no spark, no fireworks." She paused, her voice lowering to a shy whisper, "I want that, Pacey."

"And is it possible you feel those sparks with me?"

"Entirely too possible," she nodded her head. "I just never believed that those feelings were real, you know? I always thought this kind of chemistry was all Hollywood hype. Only found in movies and books. Quite honestly, it’s scaring the shit out of me."

His smile was reassuring. "Why’s that?"

"I’m not…not really a passionate person." She said hesitantly.

"I don’t believe that for a second. You radiate sensuality. You look like the kind of woman God made for passion."

"Looks can be deceiving." And she didn’t add to that.

"Let’s say that you weren’t passionate before—which I still refused to believe—who’s to say that hasn’t changed?"

"That’s what’s scary, what if I have?"

"Now why is that scary?" His brow creased in confusion.

"It’s not, exactly," she refused to look at him. "It just changes everything I’ve thought of myself."

"They say whatever doesn’t kill you only makes you stronger," he told her simply. "You just have to ask yourself whether you want to take the risk or not."

She sighed, "I wonder who ‘they’ is."

"All those people wiser than ourselves."

"So in your case," she teased, "The general population?"