Chapter Nine
Joey mopped up the small stream of blood flowing from Lauren's nose. She apologised a few times but Lauren was dismissive, insisting that it wasn't her fault. Finally, Lauren looked up at her.
"And you still think she doesn't have problems?" she asked.
"What did you say to her?" Joey demanded.
"I didn't say anything," Lauren lied.
"Then why did she go for you?"
"Because she's crazy?"
"She's not crazy. This isn't like her," Joey insisted.
She grabbed her stuff and left the boat.
Emotional, Charlie ended up at the Surf Club and ordered two beers in one go. Downing half of the first one, she sat back and closed her eyes. If Joey's anger at her and protection of Lauren had confirmed anything, it was that there was more to that kiss than Charlie had hoped. She felt like an idiot for trusting her and buying into her lies. Swigging from her bottle, she wondered exactly what was going on between them and how long it had been going on for. How could Joey have lied to her? How cruel was she that she'd make up some story about taking her away on a trip just to cover all the overtime she'd been getting up to with Lauren? It didn't make sense. Sighing heavily, she looked around the Surf Club, hoping to spot someone she knew. Nobody was around except for the 'avalanche of lesbians' as Joey had labelled them. Suddenly she realised that one of them had caught her eye and smiled at her. A little surprised, she smiled back, not realising that she had accidentally signalled for her to come over.
Joey rushed back home, only to find that Charlie wasn't there and the rest of the house had already turned in. Frustrated, she tried to wrack her brains about where she might have got to. Joey already felt terrible that she had shouted at Charlie. She'd just been so stunned to see her lose her temper like that. And violence terrified her. She turned when she heard movement. Ruby stood sleepily in the doorway to the living room.
"Did you make up with Charlie?" the younger girl asked.
"No, I made things worse," Joey sighed.
Ruby groaned.
"Can't you guys just kiss and make up?" she asked. "I swear I won't complain if I find random items of underwear lying around."
"I wish."
She glanced at her watch and frowned. Where was Charlie? She decided to try and find her.
The dark haired girl sitting beside Charlie was entertaining and attractive. Her hair was short and spiky and she had an eyebrow piercing that was strangely endearing.
"So, what are you doing here all alone?" the girl, Karen, asked.
"Honestly?"
Karen nodded.
"I just had a bust up with my girlfriend," Charlie admitted.
"Oh dear."
Karen moved her arm so that it was resting on the back of the couch, carefully behind Charlie's head.
"Do you want to talk about it?" she asked.
"I think she's cheating on me," Charlie blurted out, wondering why she was talking about this to a perfect stranger.
"Is she insane?" Karen said.
Charlie laughed.
"I mean… to cheat on someone as beautiful as you? She must have problems."
"I wish I could stop thinking about it," Charlie said, swallowing the rest of her second beer.
"Well, I could always try and take your mind off it," Karen whispered.
She leaned in close so their mouths were almost touching. Charlie closed her eyes. It would be so easy to go for it, to lose herself in a stranger whose attention was solely on her. But just as she felt Karen get too close, she opened her eyes and pulled back.
"I'm sorry," she said. "I can't."
Karen sighed and nodded. She stood up.
"Well, if you change your mind, come and find me," she said.
After an hour of walking around in the dark and becoming more fretful, Joey gave up and returned home. She headed straight to the bedroom, preparing for a sleepless night when she stopped and realised that Charlie was sitting on the bed in tears. Joey's love overrode every other feeling she had. She rushed straight over.
"I've been looking everywhere for you," she said.
"Including Lauren's mouth?" Charlie shot back, although she didn't have the energy for much venom.
Joey blanched.
"What… what do you mean?" she asked tightly.
"I saw you kissing her! And then… then I was perfectly within my rights to confront her and took her side over mine!"
"You punched her in the face!" Joey pointed out. "You realise she could press charges for assault for that? You could lose your job."
"She deserved it."
"Nobody deserves violence," Joey said stubbornly.
"You kissed her."
"I didn't."
"Don't lie to me, Joey! I saw you!"
Joey hung her head, trying to grapple with all the jumbled thoughts whirling around in her brain.
"It wasn't like that," she said.
"How the hell else could it have been?" Charlie wanted to know. "I've been driving myself crazy all these weeks. I've believed in you. I've tried to tell myself over and over again that you'd never do that to me and this whole time… this whole time you…"
Charlie rubbed her face, unable to continue.
"She tried to kiss me," Joey said. "And I wouldn't let her."
"That's not how it looked to me," Charlie said.
"It's how it was, I swear."
"So your lips never touched?"
Joey looked away and then back again.
"I thought so," Charlie accused.
"It was a fraction of a second, I swear. I'm sorry. I didn't see it coming. She came at me so fast and I couldn't stop her," Joey said desperately.
The aching lump was back in her throat.
"I don't believe you," Charlie admitted. "I want to but… between that and all the things she said to me, not to mention how you took her side over mine."
Joey let her tears fall, wondering how on earth she'd got into this mess. She reached for Charlie's hands. Both women were trembling.
"I'm telling you the truth, Charlie. I wouldn't lie to you. I've never lied to you! Please?"
"Will you quit your job?" Charlie asked.
Joey sighed.
"If that's what it takes," she said after some extended silence.
"I almost kissed someone tonight too."
Joey looked up quickly. Charlie wondered why on earth she'd opened her mouth.
"What?" Joey said meekly.
"I got hit on by some girl."
She wanted Joey to know how she'd felt; how painful it was when the person you love, strayed.
"And you went for it?" Joey asked, breaking contact.
"Almost."
"Why?"
"Because I thought you'd…"
"So you thought you'd pay me back?"
"As far as I knew you'd been sleeping with Lauren behind my back for weeks!" Charlie protested.
"Well, I wasn't! And you should have known that. You should have trusted me and talked to me about it. But no, you don't do that, do you? You kiss other women and assault my boss instead."
"I didn't kiss her," Charlie said urgently, when she realised that Joey was walking out on her again.
Joey turned back looking devastated.
"I couldn't do it," she said. "I love you too much."
"Too little, too late," Joey replied.
Then she left.
