Chapter Ten
"Settle down or get the hell out of my house," Joey warned, having prised Brax and Angelo apart.
Angelo was immediately annoyed that she only speaking to him. He hadn't been the only one fighting.
"Technically, I'm not in your house," he pointed out.
"Do you think I'm in the mood for technicalities?" Joey snapped. "You're on my property. And I'm telling you now that there are rules to follow here, the most important of which is no violence. Especially not in front of my sister who I know is standing right behind me instead of staying in the lounge with Charlie, like I told her to."
She turned her head and raised an eyebrow at Ruby who looked particularly meek. Turning back to Angelo, Joey glared.
"Are you listening to me?" she demanded.
"He started it," Angelo said, not caring that he sounded like a child.
"I doubt that," Joey replied. "He's painfully aware of the rules."
Brax shifted a little. Joey had indeed made in extremely clear that no fights were to be had around Ruby. He'd spoken in a distinctly higher pitch for a few hours after that particular lesson and it wasn't something he wanted to repeat.
"So, play nicely or get out."
"This barbeque was fucking boring anyway!" Angelo said, storming towards the back gate.
"And don't swear in front of kids either!" Joey yelled after him.
Brax couldn't help but laugh. Joey tried not to look too triumphant as she turned back to Ruby and Charlie. She eyed her sister.
"I thought I told you to stay inside," she said, hands on hips.
"Well, you obviously knew I wouldn't be able to resist," Ruby pointed out, fluttering her eyelashes in a bid to look innocent.
Joey chuckled and let her go back to Casey.
"I tried to convince her to stay inside," Charlie said. "But she was pretty stubborn about it. It must run in the family!"
Joey chuckled and took her hand, finally remembering that they had been heading out on a drinks run.
"You know, you're pretty hot when you're all masterful like that," Charlie commented as they walked through the house and out of the front door together.
"Only when I'm masterful?" Joey asked in mock horror.
Charlie giggled and slipped an arm around her waist.
"Okay," she conceded. "You're hot all the time."
Joey paused and pulled her into her arms for a kiss.
The evening drew in and Charlie and Joey were curled up on a bench together, enjoying chatting with Joey's friends. Charlie was surprised at how comfortable she felt around Joey, not to mention how coupley. It wasn't how she usually behaved. She wasn't the kind of person to let people get close to her. But it was like Joey changed all the rules of her heart. Suddenly, she had found someone that she cared for, trusted and wanted to be with. It wasn't exactly what Charlie had moved to the coast to achieve but she was happy to have found someone that already meant so much to her.
"So, um... did you bring your toothbrush and PJ's?" Joey asked as casually as possible.
Inside, her heart was hammering away in her chest with surprise nerves.
"My...?" Charlie asked in amusement.
She flushed when she realised what Joey meant.
"Um... no, but um... well, I could, uh..."
"You still have a toothbrush here," Joey remembered. "So, if you wanted to stay you could use that. If you wanted to. You don't have to. I mean, I'm not expecting anything, although, I wouldn't say no and..."
Charlie kissed her, cutting off the ramble.
"What about pyjamas?" she asked when they parted.
"No, sorry," Joey said seriously. "I can't provide those."
"You want me to sleep in my clothes?" Charlie asked in mock horror.
"Nope," Joey smirked. "I definitely don't want that!"
She grinned wickedly. Charlie laughed.
"Okay," she said. "But you'd better not be wearing clothes either."
"I don't plan on it," Joey promised.
Having sent their guests home and Ruby to bed, Charlie and Joey found themselves alone in Joey's bedroom. Feeling suddenly shy, Joey reached out and stroked Charlie's hair before leaning in to kiss her. Charlie returned the pressure on her lips, pulling Joey in closer. Their kiss became more heated as they tumbled back onto the bed together. Joey immediately began to fumble with Charlie's clothes. She paused before she pulled her t-shirt off and looked into Charlie's eyes.
"You definitely want this?" she checked. "I'm not rushing things?"
"I want this," Charlie assured her. "I... I really care about you."
Joey smiled and kissed her again.
"I care about you too," she admitted. "Almost more than I'm comfortable with."
Charlie looked momentarily worried.
"I just... I don't do relationships all that well," Joey explained a little awkwardly. "I care about you more than I've cared about any other woman and it's really only been a few days. I'm worried about stuffing things up."
Charlie smiled, making Joey giggle by kissing the tip of her nose.
"I vote that we don't over-think anything," she said. "We both suck at relationships but maybe together, something might work. I like you. You like me. Let's just see what happens, okay?"
Joey nodded, pulling Charlie immediately closer and resuming her eagerness to shed her of her clothes. When her partner was half undressed, Joey flipped her onto her back, kissing her way down her body until she reached the top of her shorts. Making short work of them, she kissed her way back up her body, moving into focus on her breasts. Charlie looked up at the ceiling as she felt Joey's warm lips and tongue teasing her. She felt thrills shoot through her at an alarming rate. Her body and her soul surrendered to her new lover completely.
It was late when Charlie and Joey snuggled up beneath the blankets together. They kissed tenderly in the dark.
"You're amazing," Charlie breathed between kisses.
"You're pretty incredible yourself, Charlie," Joey replied. "That was... wow."
"It was very wow," Charlie agreed with a grin.
Joey kissed her again, trailing her lips along her jaw, down her neck and onto her collarbone. Charlie shivered in delight. Joey happily returned to her lips.
"So, will I get to see you again?" Joey asked hopefully. "You know, not to get all mushy or anything but I'd really like to."
"I'd like to as well," Charlie said honestly.
Joey beamed at her. Charlie told her that she was adorable.
"Don't tell anyone," Joey giggled. "I'll lose my street cred!"
"Your secret dies with me!" Charlie promised.
They kissed again and again, letting each one linger longer than the first.
"So, what are you plans for tomorrow?" the police officer eventually asked.
"Work," Joey said. "I start at nine. You?"
"I start work at eleven," Charlie told her.
"Oh, well, maybe I can get held up temporarily in that case!" Joey said.
Charlie laughed, wondering if she would get into trouble.
"I'll throw a couple of hours onto my shift. Nobody will mind. They're used to me getting distracted."
"Oh, really?" Charlie remarked with interest.
Joey flushed and quickly assured her that it wasn't usually with women, and it definitely wasn't with anyone even nearly comparable to her. Charlie rewarded her with a kiss.
"I have to get up and take Ruby and Casey to school," Joey ventured, shifting to rest her head on Charlie's shoulder. "But I'm all yours after that."
"You drive them to school?" Charlie asked.
"Oh, please don't start," Joey said a little defensively. "Brett's always laying into me about mollycoddling Ruby but it's a half an hour walk and I do let her walk home, I just want to be able to give her the best start to the day. I don't want her to be tired before her lessons even start. I..."
Charlie interrupted her with a firm kiss on the lips.
"I wasn't criticising," she said, with their lips still touching.
Joey blushed and apologised.
"It's a bit of a sensitive subject," she admitted.
"So I gather," Charlie replied.
"I just... I want to do my best for her, you know? She hasn't exactly had the easiest life."
"Because of your parents?"
"Yeah," Joey sighed. "Brett and I had to fight so hard to keep her with us. I was only eighteen and far too young and inexperienced to be considered as a parent but I had to be. I couldn't let her go back into care, not after everything."
Charlie froze.
"Back into care?" she asked.
Joey nodded and snuggled a little closer, unaware of Charlie's anxiety.
"My parents adopted her when she was three," she explained. "Her real Mum abandoned her when she was barely a month old. It messed her up pretty badly, especially when my parents disappeared. She felt like she'd been abandoned all over again. So I have to do my best for her. I have to take care of her and make sure that she knows every day that she's loved, and that regardless of blood, she is my sister. We're family. No matter what."
Charlie nodded a little stiffly, mumbling that that was nice.
"Are you okay?" Joey asked curiously, lifting her head.
"Yeah," Charlie said, plastering a smile on her face. "Just tired. You wore me out!"
Joey giggled and kissed her one more time before promising to let her get some sleep at last.
Next time… Charlie tries to find out more about Ruby…