Chapter Three
Warily she followed Angelo into the diner. They were heading off to work together and when he'd suggested dropping in for breakfast she hadn't been able to think of an excuse not to. She had been avoiding the place for days, knowing that Joey would be there most of the time, and she especially dreaded the thought of Joey seeing her with Angelo.
They sat and Charlie watched nervously as Joey delivered plates to a nearby table, looking like a natural as she juggled the meals and smiled at the customers. Charlie's heart beat a little harder at the sight of Joey, and she knew that it wasn't just nerves that made her feel that way. She was wearing black jeans and a tight blue t-shirt with her usual sneakers, and her hair was loose around her shoulders. Charlie took in the details, noting the way her shirt clung to her. She looked a little tired, but her skin still looked healthy and soft, and her eyes still held their warmth. Charlie looked back at Angelo, worried that he might have noticed her staring, but fortunately for her he was immersed in the morning paper.
Joey glanced over at their table and did a faint double take, moving her eyes over Angelo with interest. He was okay looking, she supposed, if that were your thing.
There was no way around it, she was the only waitress on shift and she would have to serve them. She put on her game face and marched up to the table with her notepad in hand. A small part of her enjoyed watching Charlie squirm, she had to admit. Charlie should know her well herself to realise that she wasn't going to give them away, but then again Charlie was pretty uptight in general.
"Hey guys, what can I get you?"
Angelo looked up at her and grinned, a little too cheekily for her liking.
"Can I have the big breakfast and a flat white please?"
"For sure," she said, writing it down and pausing to wait for Charlie's order, not making eye contact with her.
"Um. Can I have the raison toast and a coffee as well. Thanks." There was a tremor in her voice and Joey pretended not to hear it, nodding and walking away as quickly as she could.
Angelo returned to the paper and Charlie stared after Joey. She knew that she needed to tell Angelo who Joey was soon, before he found out some other way, but she simply could not bring herself to do it. Today didn't seem like the right time. For once she felt lucky to know that Angelo was a bit of an outsider. If he wasn't then somebody would have told him about Joey being back. Sometimes lately she walked into rooms and felt as though people had been talking about her. Maybe she was being paranoid, but she also knew what the gossip in this small town was like. It wasn't as though Summer Bay had a thriving gay scene, and someone like her having a lesbian affair was too juicy for people to not talk about. She was starting to feel like she singlehandedly kept the rumour mill going. Between dating Joey, then Angelo, and then the revelations about Ruby – it was enough material to keep Colleen going for a very long time. Shit, she had barely even thought about that. She wondered if Joey had heard yet about Ruby, and what she thought.
Joey brought out their coffees and again barely looked at her. Joey leaned over her to put Angelo's coffee on the table and Charlie closed her eyes for a moment, because the other woman was close enough to touch. She could smell her shampoo, and her sense memory kicked into overdrive. She played with the froth on top of her coffee with her spoon, aware of Joey's presence as she moved around the room.
This was even worse than she could have imagined and she decided then and there that she needed to try to talk to Joey again soon. They needed to clear the air if they were going to be running into each other like this all of the time.
With their loaded plates in her hands, Joey came over again, announcing the dishes as she put them on the table.
Angelo grinned up at her again. "Thanks." Charlie almost held her breath, hoping that Angelo wouldn't strike up a conversation with her. Joey was grinning down at Angelo, her dimples showing, but Charlie knew her well enough to see that the smile wasn't reaching her eyes.
"You're welcome," she said, turning to go. Angelo tucked into his breakfast.
"Wonder who she is, I haven't seen her around before," he said, spooning eggs onto his toast.
Charlie didn't answer, filling her mouth with breakfast so that she wouldn't have to say anything. She wasn't prepared to lie and pretend she didn't know Joey, but she wasn't about to say who she was either. Angelo had always been insecure about the fact that her last partner had been a woman, and they spoke about it as little as possible. She couldn't imagine how insufferable he might be if he could put a face to Joey's name.
Is this going to rear its head again? She remembered him asking. Yep, he was going to freak out, she was sure of it. He would find out eventually of course, and be mad at her for hiding who Joey was right now, but she'd deal with that later.
** ** **
All day she felt like she was moving around in a fog. She couldn't stop replaying the morning in her mind, the way Joey couldn't even look at her. She desperately wanted to speak to Joey right away, to apologise for putting her in the position of seeing her with Angelo, even though she was sure that Joey would just act like she didn't care again.
There had been a moment. She couldn't stop obsessing about it. As she'd been leaving, and Angelo had been walking in front of her, she'd looked sideways to steal one last glance at Joey. Joey had looked towards her at the same time. It had only been for a few seconds, but Charlie had looked into her brown eyes and it was as though a current of electricity had passed between them. Her stomach had fluttered in response, and the world had dropped away for one beautiful second.
Then Joey had looked away pointedly, and she had no choice but to keep moving.
Angelo poked his head into her office and she jumped, she'd been a million miles away.
"Do you want to have dinner tonight?" he asked.
She played with her pen, heart sinking, and wishing she'd already prepared an excuse. Being with him tonight was the last thing that she felt like. If she spent any time with him she knew she'd be obliged to tell him exactly who Joey was, and she didn't feel like fighting about it tonight.
"Actually I might just get some takeaway or something. Lots of paperwork to catch up on," she said, holding up a few papers for evidence.
"I can meet you afterwards? Or I'll bring some in and we can eat while you take a break?" he suggested.
"Thanks, but I'm really tired. I might just finish up here and go to bed," she said crossing over the room to kiss his cheek, hating it because she knew that she was just doing it to placate him.
He held her and rubbed her back. "You seem stressed, you could do with a good rest. Don't work too late, hey? I'll see you tomorrow."
She nodded against his shoulder, feeling guilty as hell. When he'd gone she forced herself to work late, completing work she didn't even really need to do, trying to make truth out of her lies. When she felt as though she'd punished herself enough she wiped her tired eyes and left the office.
