Chapter Twenty One
"Well, do you want to go?" Nate asked.
"I don't know," Joey said.
The idea of spending time with Charlie again was very appealing. However, the fact that she was feeling familiar flutterings of the love she'd once felt of her, freaked her out.
"Would spending time with her be pleasurable?" Nate coaxed.
Joey couldn't help but grin.
"I'll take that as a yes," her husband said.
Joey looked immediately panicked.
"But it shouldn't be pleasurable," she protested. "This is a woman who cheated on me. She screwed a guy behind my back and then lied to my face. And that was on top of what I'd already been through – you know, the whole rape and attempted murder thing."
She shuddered at the memory.
"I was messed up enough as it was and she toyed with my feelings," she continued. "She exploited them and she made an already difficult situation even worse. And then when I finally thought we were getting somewhere, she betrayed me. And she didn't fight for me to stay either."
"You didn't want her to fight for you, did you?" Nate asked curiously.
"I don't know," Joey admitted. "I mean, granted, I did say I'd be home again in three months. And did she even notice? No. She was too busy screwing the local murderer to notice that I'd stayed away."
She pulled a face as bitterness took over.
"Okay, maybe spending time with her wouldn't be as pleasurable as you thought," Nate remarked.
Joey sighed loudly and leant back in her seat.
"That's the thing though," she said. "Even after all of that, the idea of seeing her this weekend is still heavenly. I still..."
She sighed again, the words getting stuck in her throat.
"You still love her," Nate clarified.
She turned to gaze at him, wondering, not for the first time, why they both had to be gay. If Nate was her husband in the traditional sense then perhaps Charlie wouldn't even be an issue.
"I'm officially the most pathetic woman on the planet," Joey said unhappily.
"No, you're not," Nate assured her. "You can't help how you feel, Joey. Maybe saying yes to this date would be a good idea. At least then, you can figure out what you want."
"A date is way too scary," Joey said.
"Okay, well, if you see her on Saturday then you'll have to have the little monster with you. That would change the dynamics, wouldn't it? It wouldn't really be a date if you brought the baby."
"What are you doing on Saturday?" Joey asked curiously, aware that he wasn't working.
"I have a date," Nate said proudly.
"Shoe shop guy?" Joey asked, aware that they had spent a bit of time together recently.
"Yep," he said.
The couple high-fived.
"So, what are you going to do about Charlie?" Nate nudged.
Charlie leapt on her phone the moment it beeped. Her heart pounded as she saw that Joey had replied to her message. In the living room, Leah and Ruby exchanged curiously glances.
"I'm betting Joey," Leah said.
"Maybe Brax?" Ruby teased.
Charlie glared at her.
"Joey," the teenager concluded.
Charlie smiled, reading the text to herself: Hi Charlie. I'd love to see you this weekend. How about Saturday? I'm not sure I'm comfortable calling it a date and I'll have Joshua with me because Nate's out with his latest man candy. But yes, I'd like to see you. J xxx
"So...?" Leah prompted when Charlie continued to look rather swoony.
"We're spending time together on Saturday," the police officer said. "Me, Joey and Joshua."
"That kid was so cute," Leah said.
"Yep," Charlie replied.
"I bet she thinks Joey's cuter," Ruby teased.
Charlie offered a mock glare before turning her attention back to her phone. She tried not to be disappointed that it wasn't a date but she was encouraged that Joey had accepted the invitation at all. That had to be progress, right? And the fact that Joey seemed happy to allow Charlie to spend time with her son was also a good thing, as far as she could tell.
"In all seriousness," Ruby said. "Do you think you and Joey might get back together?"
"I want to have any part in her life that I'm allowed to," Charlie said honestly.
Next time… Joshua embarrasses Joey on their day with Charlie…