Chapter Seven

The following evening, Charlie and Joey were sat at a table in the Diner with Hugo and Tash. The two friends sat beside each other with their dates opposite them.

"Your dive business sounds really interesting," Tash said to Hugo. "I might have to book a lesson."

"Well, I can definitely discount friends," Hugo replied.

He looked a Charlie.

"Would you be interested?"

"No thanks," Charlie said.

"Yes, she would," Joey objected. "Charlie, we are learning to adore the sea, aren't we?"

Charlie giggled and nodded. Joey was determined that her own passion for boats and the water would be infectious. And there was very little that Charlie wouldn't grant her.

"We'll book a lesson," she decided.

She caught a vague look of suspicion on Tash's face and wasn't sure if she ought to be worried or triumphant.

"So, how long have you two been friends?" the sales assistant asked.

"A couple of months," Charlie and Joey both replied.

Then they laughed.

"Are you sure?" Hugo joked. "Because you're already acting like twins!"

They all laughed again.

"We do spend a lot of time together," Joey conceded. "Charlie helped me through a pretty awful time."

"What happened?" Tash wondered.

Joey hesitated and glanced at Charlie.

"My brother threw me out of our house," she decided to share.

"How come?" Hugo asked.

"He's homophobic," Joey explained. "But Charlie took me in and she helped me move into my new place. I couldn't have done any of this without her."

She smiled affectionately at her friend. Tash noticed.

"That's pretty cool," she said, although her expression didn't match her words. "What do you do for a living, Joey?"

"I'm look for work down on the docks," Joey told her. "And Charlie's a police officer."

Hugo smirked. He had quite a fondness for Charlie in uniform and some fantasies he hoped to fulfil one day.

"Hey, maybe you two should team up," Tash said to Joey and Hugo.

Charlie winced at the idea of losing yet more time with her best friend. She felt bad about it but she was desperate for things not to work out with Joey's potential new girlfriend.

"Maybe!" Hugo chuckled.

"She's quite the boat genius," Charlie said. "She might outsmart you, Hugo."

"I'm up for the challenge," Hugo decided.

"I'll let you know," Joey told him.

She turned back to Tash.

"So, what do you do in your spare time?" she asked.

"I like to paint," Tash said. "You know, do creative things. And I'm a demon for exercise."

Joey grinned.

"You have to race this one across the beach with this one," Joey said, nudging Charlie. "She's such a sore loser!"

"I am not!" Charlie protested.

"Yes, you are!" Joey insisted.

"I'm just a bad winner," Charlie told her. "Because I never lose!"

"You always lose!" Joey laughed. "I'm the reigning champion of beach runs."

"For now," Charlie said.

Tash cleared her throat, snapping Charlie and Joey back to attention. As usual, they had escaped into their own little world.

"Sorry," Charlie said. "We get kind of competitive."

"We noticed!" Hugo remarked without sounding unhappy.

"Sorry," Joey reiterated.

"Okay guys, here are your starters," Leah announced, bringing over four plates.

Everyone thanked her. Charlie immediately swapped the beetroot in her salad for the cucumber on Joey's. They hadn't even needed to communicate.

"You're like Will and Grace," Tash commented.

Both girls looked confused.

"How well you know each other," she explained. "It's kind of scary!"

"Yeah, something tells me nobody can date one without the other," Hugo said.

Charlie shuddered internally as Hugo leered. She knew exactly what thoughts were in his head. And they were not dreams that would come true. She flushed at the image of getting intimate with Joey – without anyone else there.

"We're not dysfunctional," she said quickly. "We don't do everything together."

"Just most things," Joey added.

"Exactly," Charlie said. "Just most things."

"So, are you bisexual?" Tash asked Charlie, who choked on her drink.

"Excuse me?" she managed. "No, I'm not. I'm straight."

Joey attempted not to frown. She knew nothing would ever happen between her and Charlie but the regular reminders that Charlie only like men always made her feel a bit tender.

"Sorry," Tash said. "I just wondered if you were a bit more than friends…"

Charlie looked horrified, which irritated Joey. Hugo felt like his fantasy was on the verge of becoming true.

"We're just best friends," Charlie said quickly.

"Not more than that," Joey replied with less gusto.

"I'm straight," Charlie reminded her again.


Next time… Charlie kisses Hugo while Tash has some things to say to Joey…