Skin I Want To Kiss
Part One

by Kaytee
 

Disclaimer:  Not mine.  But ask them, they like me better.

Author’s Note:  This is set sometime in the spring, after A Winter’s Tale.  Meaning, they’ve done the deed already. 

Thank you: Big friggin thank you to my beta baby bijal, who puts up with so damn much.

Rating:  NC-17 (later on)

Distribution:  Ask me first.

Few cars passed her along the back road she drove along, which was good because the last thing Joey Potter needed was to be blinded by on-coming headlights.  It was hard enough to see, what with the sky in the process of falling.  The rain was coming down in sheets, faster and harder than the old pick-up truck's wipers could handle. 

Capeside, Massachusetts had been buckling down the hatches for days now, in preparation for the storm blowing in off the Atlantic.  The B&B was booked solid, five couples having decided that this weekend was the absolute best weekend to get away.  Her sister, Bessie, and her sister's boyfriend, Bodie, combined to total twelve adults.  The children they'd brought along, combined with her nephew, Alex, totaled seven.

She'd helped out all she could.  She'd gotten guests whatever beverage they'd requested, she'd cleaned the bathroom every hour on the hour.  Joey had helped cook both breakfast and lunch, cleaned the kitchen afterward, and she'd entertained the children for hours with both books and videos. 

As the day wore on without a single drop of the predicted storm, tempers had flared and voices were raised.  People wanted to do what they came to Capeside to do:  take pictures and marvel at the ocean.  Children wanted to go outside and play on the creek.  News reports had continually delayed the time the storm was predicted to begin, and the heavy gray clouds that had obliterated the sun's rays for days began to seriously annoy the guests.

When the noise level had begun to grow to deafening levels, she'd taken Alex and hidden away in her bedroom.  Joey had rested on her bed and tried to catch up on the reading she'd been assigned while Alex used the time to snuggle up beside her and take a nap.  When some rotten child's piercing cry woke him, the look he'd given her said it all.  He'd wanted out, and so did she.

Turned out the rotten crying child was a sick crying child, with what looked to be the beginnings of whooping cough.  Bessie had come into her room with Alex's diaper/overnight bag bulging, with his coat and boots in hand, asking her to take him with her and go to her boyfriend's house.

Which is how she wound up en route to Pacey's with Alex in tow when the storm that loomed over the sleepy little coastal town finally broke.

Joey spared a fleeting glance to Alex when she heard a soft whimper.  "It's gonna be just fine, Alex.  We're just a few miles from Pacey's house.  And we'll have lots of fun."

"Pathey . . ."

A smile sprang unbidden to her lips and Joey's lungs drew the deepest breath she'd taken since the rain started.  Concentrating on the road and driving about fifteen miles an hour, she let the image of her boyfriend chase away her fear.  Well, most of it.  "Pacey," she confirmed.

She had to pull over to the side of the road for a few moments when the rain made it impossible to continue.  The wind bent the weaker tree limbs, and from what she was able to make out, there was an unsecured, unmanned canoe floating down the creek.  "We're just stopping for a minute, sweetie.  It's alright."

When the storm lessened little by little, she pulled back onto the road and inched her way to Pacey.  Thank God for Alex's sweet, trusting disposition, which caused him to keep quiet throughout the ride.  Joey prayed that he'd remain that way and not let the wind and the pouring rain scare him as much as it was scaring her.

Every light was burning when she finally pulled into his drive.  She unbuckled Alex and hefted the toddler, sliding the diaper bag's strap around her neck.  Pulling Alex's hood over his head, she held him against her chest as she took a deep breath and opened the door, making a run for it.

The front door flung open moments before her hand could reach the knob, and in an instant they were out of the rain and the wind and the cold.  Strong arms wrapped around her, familiar lips briefly touched her own as Pacey Witter hugged her as tightly as he could with Alex cocooned between them.

"When the storm began, Bessie called and asked if you'd made it yet," he said after a moment, easing back a little.  "I've been worried out of my mind, watching the road for you.  I was about to come after you."

"I didn't think to call you before I came because we really wanted out of there, especially when one of the kids got sick," Joey began, the lingering fingers of fear loosening their grip around her heart.  "It's okay that we came, right?"

Pacey smoothed away the dripping locks of hair hanging in her face, leaning in to plant a gentle kiss on her forehead.  "Of course it's okay.  Better than okay.  Wonderful, even."

"Thank you," she said softly, half of her mouth tugging upward into a sweet smile.  They were about to kiss when Alex squirmed between them, lifting his head from Joey's breastbone.

Taking Alex from her arms, Pacey brought him to his chest and nuzzled Alex's nose with his own, eliciting a giggle.  "Pathey," the child greeted him happily.

"Hey there, little man," Pacey said, rubbing the baby's back.   To Joey he said, "You should go change into some dry clothes.  I'll call Bessie and tell her that you made it."

Joey nodded and headed upstairs to the small bedroom and he and his sister were renovating for him.  When they'd begun renting the old beach house, the owner had given up restoring the house long ago, having finished only one of the three bedrooms.  The rent was cheaper if they took it as is, which was why Pacey slept on the couch downstairs and kept his stuff in the decrepit remains of what used to be a nice-sized bedroom.

When she flipped the light switch, a bare bulb illuminated the room from the light fixture in the ceiling that had somehow lost the shading.  The second story of the house wasn't heated, the downstairs only when absolutely necessary, which left the room chilly.  Goosebumps spread across her flesh as she stepped toward his dresser.

She found what she was looking for easily.  Shivering as she undressed, she slipped into a pair of his plaid flannel boxers and a faded blue t-shirt.  The cold chilled her wet skin, and she found a towel in the pile of clean laundry lying folded in the basket in the corner.  Long ago she’d stopped thinking of his home as odd.

When she came downstairs rubbing her soaking hair with a towel, Pacey was changing the baby’s diaper on the living room floor.  A vinyl changing pad beneath the child’s rump prevented any accidents to the carpet, threadbare as it was.  Leaning against the arch of the doorway, Joey watched the two interact with each other.  She covered her mouth to stifle a laugh at the expression on Pacey’s face when he pulled the tabs to open the diaper, immediately leaning back on his heels and resting his hands on his thighs.  That’s when he looked up and saw her.

“And what, pray tell, do you find so amusing?”

“Just you,” she assured him with a wink.

Pacey smiled as he returned his attention to the child lying on the carpet in front of him, cleaning Alex up and putting a clean diaper on him.  “Oh, is that all?” 

“Well no, Alex is kind of amusing, also,” Joey grinned as the baby giggled, Pacey tickling his belly as he redressed him.  Having been wrapped up in his coat and and held against Joey’s chest, his clothes weren’t at all wet, while the rain had drenched everything of Joey’s not covered by her rain jacket.   “Did you call Bessie?”

“I got a busy signal both times,” he said, snapping up the snugglie Alex wore.  “You might want to try again.”

Joey nodded and headed for the kitchen.  Picking up the receiver from the phone mounted on the wall, she pressed Memory One and waited for someone to pick up.

She didn’t have to wait long.  Cutting off the first ring, Joey heard her sister’s panicked voice.  “Joey?”

“We’re fine, Bessie, we’re okay,” Joey rushed to reassure her. 

“Thank God!” Bessie’s sigh of relief was loud and clear.  “When I called and you hadn’t gotten there yet . . .  if something happened to either of you . . . “

“Bessie, it’s okay, Alex and I are in great hands,” she said, twirling the phone line nervously around her finger.  Hearing Bessie in distress was never her favorite thing in the whole wide world.

The line was quiet for a moment, and Joey could hear the rowdy guests in the background.  Finally, Bessie said, “Speaking of those great hands you’re in . . . I don’t want the two of you blinding my child.  Don’t bring Alex home with irreparable emotional scars.”

Joey laughed outright, and Bessie joined her after a few moments.  “I’d better go, Jo,” she said.  “Kiss my baby goodnight for me.  I love you both.”

“Love you too, Bessie.”

Joey hung up the phone, turning to find Pacey walking into the kitchen with Alex braced against his side.  After throwing away the soiled diaper, he washed his hands and leaned against the counter.

“Looks like someone’s a little sleepy,” Pacey commented as the baby rested his head against his shoulder.  Alex’s lips formed an O as he yawned, his eyes closing for a moment.

“It’s been a hard day for him,” Joey said.  “The B&B is packed and there are seven children under the age of ten staying with us.  More if you count some of the so-called adults.”

“Have you eaten yet?”

Joey shook her head, tucking a lock of damp hair behind her ear.  “We had lunch around one and then he and I hid out in my room until Bessie asked me to take Alex and go to your house.  Alex was sawing logs, and I guess he still had some more nap in him.”

“A Potter who snores?” Pacey grinned mischieviously.  “Surely you jest.”

The corners of her mouth tilted downward into a pout, her hazel eyes acquiring a puppy-dog expression.  “Are you making fun of me?”

“Well . . . “

“After the day I’ve had?”

“Uh . . . “

“After I drove here in the scary pouring rain?  You wouldn‘t really pick on me, would you?”

Pacey considered her for a moment before answering.

“Absolutely.”

Joey’s pout slipped from her face immediately, her eyes narrowing.  “You’re heartless.”

“Only because you’ve stolen it, my dear,” he said, tilting his head to the side and oozing charm from every pore.

Her attempt to refrain from responding in kind was a futile one.  Her mouth twisted as she tried to keep from grinning, but her eyes betrayed her.  The hazel depths sparkled, caught in his gaze, and the towel fell from her fingertips to the floor.  As the moment stretched between them, so did a soft smile across her face.

“You dropped something,” he pointed out helpfully.

“Oh, shut up.”

“Make me.”

Joey snorted derisively.  “Didn’t we just celebrate your eighteenth birthday a few weeks ago?”

“You‘re right, I shouldn‘t try to tease you into kissing me,” he agreed, nodding decisively.  Pushing off from the counter, he slowly closed the distance between them.  “I’m far too mature for that.”

“I’m glad you see it my way,” she said, not making any effort to move as he stepped into her personal space.  “Though, for the record, Pacey?”

Close enough for her to feel the warmth of his body heat, Pacey leaned in even closer.  His mouth nearly brushed hers as he asked, “Yeah, Potter?”

“Teasing is not without its merits.”

He was about to kiss her when Alex began to giggle.  And giggle.  Which caused Joey to dissolve into her own fit of giggles. 

With a dramatic sigh, he hitched the baby a little higher.  Fixing the boy with a stern glare that only seemed to delight him further, Pacey said, “You’re not supposed to be laughing at me, you’re supposed to be learning from me!  Did you see how she was about to melt?”

Alex’s answer was unintelligible, a mixture of far too many vowels and syllables to be understood, but Pacey nodded in agreement anyway.  “Exactly!  Her heart was all aflutter, I’m telling you.  I have quite an effect on the ladies.”

Joey stuck her thumbs in her ears and waved her fingers, crossing her eyes at Alex.  “Makes me crazy.”

__
 

The power flickered momentarily, causing the overhead light to dim before brightening immediately.  Outside, the rain continued to pound mercilessly against the battered old beach house.  From where he stood at the sink straining a pot of macaroni, Pacey looked up toward the light and then over to Joey.

“I wonder how long it’ll be before the power goes out,” he said.  After transferring the macaroni from the strainer back into the pot, he checked the side of the box again.

“Probably any minute now,” Joey answered flatly.  “And all you need is a splash of milk, a few tablespoons of butter, and the cheese mix.  Just stir it together, it‘s not hard.”

Picking up on her tone, he glanced over at her as she sliced a hot dog into pieces a two-year-old could easily manage.  “What’s wrong?”

“You do realize that Alex isn’t fond of the dark, right?” 

Working the Blue’s Clues pacifier in his mouth, Alex stared silently up at them from where he sat on the kitchen floor when both turned to look at him.

“Well, maybe the power will hold until after dinner.  He goes to bed around eight, right?” Pacey asked as he stirred the cheese into the pot of macaroni.

Joey sighed, and reached down to heft the baby as the crack of lightening reverberated throughout the house.  Alex’s head immediately found her shoulder and she patted his back soothingly.  He was shaking slightly, the noises bothering him.

“He’s very sleepy, so we might be able to get him down sooner, probably after dinner.  But the storm is big and scary and the thunder will probably wake him up every time,” she said, swaying slightly as Alex toyed with the ends of her hair.

“He’ll be alright,” Pacey reassured her as he flipped one of the sizzling burgers. “We’ll get him to sleep and if he does wake up . . . well, he can sleep with us, I guess.”

Joey closed her eyes and let out a frustrated breath.  “Where is he going to sleep?  I never thought of that.”

“We have a crib,” he shrugged.  “The basement is being used to store Kerri’s furniture until she gets back on her feet.  In fact, I think we have two cribs.”

She contemplated him silently for a moment, amazement clearly written across her face.  “Hey, I have to work on Thursday and I have two major assignments due the next day.  Can you pull a solution out of thin air for me?”

“Sorry, no can do, honey,” he said, shaking his head resolutely.  She didn’t miss the mischievous gleam in his eyes, however.  “First magical solution’s free.  After that, I work for sexual favors.”

“Like what, exactly?  What do I get solved if . . . “ Joey trailed off, a thoughtful expression on her face. 

“If what?” Pacey asked immediately.  “If you did what?  What?”

“Is flashing considered a sexual favor?”

It was Pacey’s turn to look thoughtful.  “I don’t think so, but I’d certainly be appreciative nonetheless.”

“Appreciative enough to fix the defroster on my truck?”

“Nah,” Pacey shook his head.  “Not that appreciative.”

Joey toyed with the hem of the oversized t-shirt, offering tantalizing glimpses of her bare stomach.  “How appreciative?”

“Appreciative enough to cook your dinner, at any rate.”

“You’d do that for me anyway.”

“Well . . . yes,” he shrugged.  “But you wouldn’t flash me, anyway.  Especially with Alex in the room.  You‘re entirely too modest.”

“Oh yeah?”  A quick glance to the baby revealed him to be completely engrossed in freeing his feet from the nuisance of socks.

Pacey returned his attention to the stove.  “Yeah,” he responded, a grin evident in his tone.

“Hey, Pacey.”

“What?” he asked, fully expecting to be greeted by the sight of bare breasts when he turned, only to be completely taken by surprise.

“You mooned me!  You’re mooning me!”

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