Beyond the Pale

Joey Potter gazed furtively around Capeside’s largest drugstore. She didn’t see anyone she knew. She strolled along the aisles, pretending to browse aimlessly. She tossed a magazine from one of the racks near the front of the store into her shopping basket. In the shampoo aisle, she added a bottle of conditioner. Finally, she reached her true destination: the feminine hygiene/birth control aisle.

Joey stood in complete puzzlement in front of the condom display. Why had she never thought about any of this before? Ribbed? What in the world did that mean? Lubricated or non-lubricated? Extra-large? Joey smirked. She probably should have asked Pacey what she should get, but she wanted to surprise him. Keep it simple, she thought. She quickly plucked a box of regular, non-lubricated Trojans from the rack and slid it underneath the magazine in her basket.

Some sixth sense made Joey turn from the birth control products to face the feminine hygiene section; she pretended to be engrossed in the text on the box of mini pads she’d just picked up as Abby Morgan strolled down the aisle with a shopping basket hooked over her arm. “Well,” she said snidely, “if it isn’t Capeside’s next unwed motherhood statistic.”

Joey stole a furtive glance at her own basket to make sure her preventative measures were well hidden, then she looked at Abby. Why was this bitchy barracuda so determined to make her life miserable? School had been out for a month. Didn’t the girl have anything better to do? An idea occurred to Joey. She tossed the mini pads into her basket and said, “I think I finally have you figured out.”

Abby smiled. “Do tell.”

“The reason why you spend so much time nosing into other people’s business,” Joey said airily, “is because you don’t have a life of your own.”

Abby’s cheeks flushed. She tried to hide it, but Joey could tell she’d hit a nerve. “You wish,” Abby said hotly.

“I know,” Joey said. She wished she’d realized two months ago that standing up to Abby was all she needed to do. Joey leaned closer to the shorter girl, who was watching her with wide blue eyes. “Stay away from me, stay away from Pacey, and if I hear that you’re spreading any more dirt about us, I’ll find you and slap the shit out of you. Got it?” Joey smiled sweetly.

“You can’t talk to me like that,” Abby snapped.

“Guess what? I just did,” Joey said. “Oh, and Abby? I’d lose the Hershey bars if I were you. They’re not helping your case any.”

Abby was speechless for once as Joey stalked away. Scowling darkly, she scooped the candy out of her basket and slammed it down on the shelf next to the tampons.

~o~

“I was so embarrassed,” Joey said to Tori on the phone.

Tori lounged idly on her plush, rose-colored carpet, her head on Dawson’s lap. He was watching her adoringly. “Why?” Tori asked.

“The cashier was this old lady with white hair,” Joey complained. “I bet I turned purple! It took her soooo long to ring me up. I thought she was gonna give me a birds-and-bees lecture.”

“If buying them embarrasses you,” Tori said matter-of-factly, “maybe you’re too young.”

Dawson cocked a quizzical eyebrow at her. Tori smiled at him.

“Thank you, oh wise one,” Joey said sarcastically. “I’m a whole year older than you!”

“Like that matters,” Tori said, turning her head to one side as Dawson began stroking the soft skin of her neck. “Really, truly…is this what you want?”

“Yes,” Joey said without hesitation.

“Then you have my blessing,” Tori said grandly.

Joey burst out laughing. “Thanks, I needed that,” she said finally.

Tori shivered as Dawson’s fingers grazed her earlobe. “I have to go,” she said. “I have things to do.”

“I bet,” Joey said shrewdly. “Don’t corrupt my poor, dear friend Dawson too much, okay?”

“You got it,” Tori said, pushing the ‘off’ button on her cordless phone.

“Was that Jo?” Dawson asked.

Tori sat up next to her boyfriend. “Yeah. She had to tell me about her condom buying expedition.”

Dawson knew that Joey and Pacey hadn’t really had sex, because Tori had told him. He looked worried. “I don’t know if she’s ready for this,” he said.

“She seems to think she is,” Tori pointed out. “It’s an individual decision.”

Dawson was quiet. He laced his fingers with Tori’s and finally asked, “Have you?”

Tori wasn’t sure what she should say. She’d probably seen more penises than the average family doctor, but she’d never technically had sex. She looked at Dawson. “No,” she said.

Dawson seemed relieved. Tori pondered the perversity of the average guy. They all wanted to have sex, but they also wanted to be every girl’s first. They couldn’t have it both ways. “Me either,” he said.

So she’d pegged him correctly: gorgeous but untouched. Waiting for that special someone? That made him even more desirable in her eyes. “At least she’s going to be safe,” Tori said.

“Yeah,” Dawson said. He looked like he had more to say, but Tori leaned closer and kissed him softly.

Losing interest in the conversation, Dawson put his arms around her and gently parted her lips with his tongue. Before long, they were lying full-length on the floor, and they had both completely forgotten about Joey and her sexual decisions.

Nothing, Tori thought fiercely, is going to mess this up!

~o~

Joey squirmed impatiently on Pacey’s bed, restraining a bored sigh. Her boyfriend was completely engrossed in a rerun of the ‘X-Files’. Here we are, she thought. Chief Psycho and Son are working all night. We are completely alone in Pacey’s unlighted bedroom. And he’s watching T.V. Of course, she reminded herself, Pacey didn’t know that this was the night she had decided to have sex with him.

Joey looked around. Somehow, Pacey’s boudoir didn’t quite put her in the mood for romance. Dust, papers and stacks of magazines shared space on his desk. His dresser was piled with wadded-up clothes, several belts and the small T.V. set. His bedspread was blue and had seen its best days years ago. If they did get naked, she would have tiny lines on her butt from the raised stripe pattern. Joey snickered.

Pacey glanced at her. “What?”

“Nothing,” Joey said demurely. She rested her hand over her shorts pocket, where her little surprise was tucked.

After what seemed like an interminable time, the X-Files ended. “So,” Pacey said, shifting the remote control from hand to hand, “what do you wanna watch now?”

“Your face,” Joey said sexily, “about half an inch from mine.”

Pacey grinned. “Well, o-kay!” He clicked the T.V. off, tossed the remote aside, and pulled Joey on top of him. Her hair fell around his face like a curtain. “Is this good?” he whispered.

Joey wriggled around, ostensibly getting comfortable. Pacey hitched in his breath. “Closer,” she said softly.

Pacey nuzzled her neck and kissed his way up the side of her face, using one hand to untuck her t-shirt from her shorts. He traced the edge of her lip with his tongue. “Better?” he murmured.

Joey replied by sucking his lower lip into her mouth, enjoying the taste of him. Their mouths met in a deeper kiss, and she pressed against his growing hardness as he explored her body through her clothes. His hands traced the contours of her behind and moved up to her lower back, where they lingered on the bare skin underneath her shirt.

“Pacey,” Joey whispered, squirming against him, “it’s hot in here.”

“You’re tellin’ me,” Pacey said fervently.

Joey pulled her shirt over her head and tossed it to the floor. “Take your shirt off,” she requested.

Pacey obeyed her slowly, taking a few moments to stare at the creamy bare skin she’d just exposed in the moonlight. He rolled over, taking Joey with him. She lay underneath him, raising her face to kiss him as he unhooked her bra.

Their open-mouthed kisses grew hotter, and they rubbed against each other feverishly. Joey took hold of Pacey’s hand and stuffed it down into her shorts pocket. He broke away from her mouth when his fingers encountered the wrapped condom, and, breathing heavily, he asked, “Does this mean what I think it means?”

Joey smiled at him. “Yes.”

“Are you sure?” Pacey wanted to know.

“Yes,” Joey said again.

Pacey looked into her eyes until he was satisfied that she meant it. He smiled at her, and she drew in her breath as he went for the snap on her shorts. He fumbled it open, and he had just started pulling down her zipper when the bedroom door thudded open and a loud voice exclaimed, “Busted! Stone cold!”

“Oh, hell,” Pacey said tiredly. He blocked the view of Joey’s bare chest with his body and glanced over his shoulder at his brother.

“I knew you two were up to no good,” Doug said smugly. His gaze was fastened on Joey’s mortified face.

“I thought you were at work,” Pacey said angrily. He could feel his erection fading like a bad memory.

“That’s what I wanted you to think,” Doug said, leaning against the doorframe as if he were settling in for a nice long visit. “You little bastard...screwing around under Dad’s own roof.”

Joey had recovered her equilibrium, and she glared at Doug over Pacey’s shoulder. “So it’s okay for you but not for him?” she asked. Her eyes locked with his, and they both knew she was remembering the night she’d come here looking for Pacey and caught him with some barfly.

“I’m not seventeen years old,” Doug said, smirking.

“Whatever,” Pacey said. “Why don’t you be decent and get outta here so we can get dressed?” He could kill his brother for embarrassing Joey. Asshole!

“Decency isn’t in my vocabulary,” Doug said, but he withdrew, closing the door behind him.

Joey stared into Pacey’s eyes. “Tomorrow night,” she whispered. “It’s tourist season. Bess and Bodie will be gone until late.” She smiled. “We’ll try this again.”

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