Guys,
Xtr75, lol, 'poor Charlie' has been a frequent comment to me since I posted the last chapter. Wonder if they'll steer clear of the booze on Saturday?
Kazintaz, aww, thank you! Yes, a hard time for them both. But it's only been a couple of weeks, so, when she thinks about it, I'm sure Charlie will appreciate how Joey feels, and accepts that it will happen, when Joey is 100% comfortable.
AJ. :-)
Chapter 54
During the night, Charlie had a somewhat fitful sleep, waking up a couple of times, in a cold sweat, thinking that Joey had left her, and that the last two weeks had been a mere dream.
When she woke with a start, breathing quickly, she also woke Joey up, when she involuntarily shuddered against her.
The first time, Joey asked her in a whisper if she was OK. Charlie said she was, and she just had a bad dream.
Joey enveloped her with her warm body, pulling her close, holding her tight, trying to make up for the previous evening. "I love you Charlie." She whispered into the night.
Charlie sighed deeply, and happily. "I love you too Jo." She whispered back, as she relaxed again in Joeys embrace.
The second time, Joey was again upset that the previous evening must have had such an effect on Charlie.
"Darling, I love you. I'm sorry that I've upset you." She whispered sadly.
Charlie gulped, trying to blink away her tears in the darkness. "It's fine Jo." She rasped. "You're here with me again. That's more than I could ever have hoped for." She gulped again. "I've waited two years. I can wait some more." She stated.
Joey squeezed her slightly. "I don't think that I can wait another two years." She smiled in the darkness.
Charlie chuckled and sniffled. "That would be a bit much, now we're back together again."
Joey was pleased that Charlie seemed to be joking a bit now. "It sure would." Joey chuckled.
They both sighed deeply. Charlie turned around in Joeys arms, and they faced each other in the dark. They wrapped their arms around each other, and cuddled up together.
"Try and get some sleep darling." Joey said softly. "I'm not going anywhere."
Charlie sighed again. "I know." She paused. "And neither am I."
They kissed tenderly.
"Night Charlie." Joey whispered.
"Night Jo." Charlie replied.
They fell asleep in each others arms again. Joey hoped that Charlie didn't wake up again, with all the stress on her mind.
Fortunately, it was the alarm that woke them up the next time.
They stirred, still wrapped in each others arms, as the alarm beeped mercilessly at them.
They released each other, and Charlie switched the alarm onto snooze.
She turned back towards Joey, rather shyly. "Morning sweetie." She said.
"Morning darling." Joey said softly, smiling at Charlies sudden shyness.
They kissed tenderly, before holding each other again.
"I'm glad you didn't wake up again." Joey said softly.
"Me too." Charlie sighed.
"I'm sorry I caused you to have bad dreams."
"It's not your fault sweetie." Charlie smiled at Joey. "I just over think things sometimes, and can't switch off."
"Even so." Joey said softly. "I don't want to cause you any pain or distress."
Charlie smiled at Joeys kind words. "I know you don't sweetie." She replied softly.
The alarm went off again. Charlie switched it off. "I guess that means we have to get up." Joey sighed.
"Can't we just stay here like this all day?" Charlie smiled.
"I wish." Joey chuckled.
They kissed softly, and they got up. "Shower and then brekkie then sweetie?"
"Sounds good." Joey replied.
"You go shower, and I'll make a start on brekkie, and shower after brekkie."
"You sure?"
"Yep. You shower first." Charlie smiled.
Joey tidied up after breakfast, while Charlie showered and got dressed. Then they headed off for their appointments with Michael, in Charlies little blue car.
At her next session with Michael, Charlie wanted to talk through her anxiety about Joey still not wanting to sleep with her yet.
"You must understand Charlie, that Joey is probably still slightly anxious herself, that she will let you into her life completely again, and she may have her heart broken again." He said softly.
"I won't do that ever again." Charlie said emotionally, wiping the tears off her face.
"I know Charlie." Michael smiled. "And I'm sure Joey knows that too. But, you must remember, she must be scared and worried for her own wellbeing, should it happen again. It's only natural."
Charlie nodded. "Yeah I guess."
"And maybe Joey feels that by sleeping together, making love together, making that ultimate deep connection again, if it falls apart again, there may be no way back for her this time."
Charlie looked at Michael, and pondered about what he'd said. "Yes. I see your point." She said quietly.
"Has she said anything to you about why she'd not slept with you?"
"Not really. Just that we will sleep with each other when we're both ready." Charlie shrugged.
"So, basically, she's told you that she's still not ready."
"I guess." Cried Charlie. "So she still must think I'll let her down."
"If she thought that, she wouldn't have risked another chance by going out with you again."
"But she hasn't slept with me has she." Stated Charlie.
"But she said she will, hasn't she."
"I suppose." Charlie nodded, wiping her tears away. "Yes."
"And just because she hasn't slept with you, doesn't mean she doesn't want to be with you. She's even said as much. I mean, she's going out with you. You've said you're kissing and having heavy make-out sessions."
"Yeah. That's true." Charlie pondered. "And she wants us to sleep in the same bed together. And, she wants to be with me, you know, long term."
"There you go then." Michael smiled. "I know it's hard for you. But it's hard for Joey too. And neither of you should risk a lifetime of happiness, by sleeping together too soon, and maybe regretting it."
"I guess you have a point." Charlie smiled. "We have the rest of our lives to spend making love haven't we." She blushed.
Michael nodded. "Exactly." He said. "You know she loves you. It's more than obvious to everyone." He smiled.
Charlie blushed. "Yeah." She chuckled, and played with her finger nails. "Yeah it is."
"Well then." Michael smiled. "Enjoy the time you're spending together now. And by all means look forward to when you do cement your relationship again."
"Yeah. I will try." Charlie smiled.
"Good." Michael smiled. After a break he said. "So. How is the Ruby situation?"
Charlie smiled, and recounted to Michael what had happened with Ruby, and that they were going out bowling and for a meal on Saturday too.
"That's great news Charlie." He smiled.
"Yeah. It certainly is." Charlie nodded. "All thanks to Joey too." She smiled.
"Well, don't forget that if you want Ruby to come and see me for a session or two, to help her talk it through, I will fit her in too. We could even have a joint session, with you and her, if you both feel like it at some point."
"OK. Thanks Michael. That's great. I'll maybe suggest it to her tomorrow." She smiled.
"Right. That's just about it for todays session I think. Unless you have anything else?"
"No. Nothing else." Charlie replied. "Thanks." She wiped her eyes, and stood up, following Michael back to the kitchen.
Joey looked up, from reading a magazine, and frowned with concern on her face, when she saw Charlie had been crying. She stood up, and walked to Charlie. "You OK?"
"Yeah. Fine." Charlie smiled. Joey gave her a quick hug, before going into the office for her session.
"So. Joey." Michael began. "What would you like to talk about this week?"
"Well, erm, I'm rather worried about the upset I'm causing Charlie at the moment." She said.
"Why don't you tell me about your week?"
So Joey began to tell Michael about the past week, finishing with what happened last night.
"Joey, I think you should not feel so guilty about what happened. And how Charlie reacted." He stated. "From what you've told me, you've been very honest with Charlie, about not being ready to make love with her yet, and she's told you she's willing to wait for you." He smiled. "I know getting a bit tipsy, and getting involved in a bit too much heavy petting, was unfortunate, but, don't feel bad because you wanted to stop." He said. "You both know that you have the right to say no, at any time, for whatever reason." He said softly.
Joey nodded in understanding. "Yeah. I guess."
"So, don't be afraid to say no or stop Joey." He smiled softly. "If you're not ready, you're not ready."
"No. I'm not ready." She paused. "Yet."
"What will make you ready do you think?"
"I guess that, deep down, I'm trying to protect myself, from the possibility that Charlie may hurt me again."
"Do you think she will hurt you again?"
"Not really no." She shook her head. "I know she loves me, and these past two weeks, she's more than shown that. In everything she's done and said."
"Which is good, yes?"
"Which is very good." Joey smiled. "She's not hidden her feelings in public either."
"From what you've said, she really has come to terms with her feelings, and is being very open with everyone in public. So she's fully accepted who she is, and what she wants."
"Yeah, she is, she has." Joey smiled again.
"And by my reckoning, that's you." Michael smiled.
Joey blushed. "Yeah. It is."
Michael chuckled. "So, what would make you think she might hurt you again?"
Joey pondered. "I don't really think she will be unfaithful to me again." She paused. "And, now that she's being so open, I don't really think she'll be ashamed to call me her girl friend."
"Which is great." Michael said.
"Yes." Joey nodded.
"There's a but coming." Michael said.
"I guess there is." Joey frowned. "It's just been a bit of a whirlwind two weeks, and although I'm absolutely delighted with the way things are going. It's still early days."
"Understandable." Michael nodded.
"But I believe she means every word she's said, and every action she's made."
"That's good."
"Yeah it is."
"So. Have you an idea when you would like to move to the next stage?"
"I almost did last night." Joey blushed. "I got well carried away."
"Which shows you're almost ready, doesn't it?"
"Yes. I am." Joey nodded. "I just….when we do make love again, I just…I just want it to be relaxed and away from everyone else."
"So what had you in mind?"
"I was thinking of booking a hotel, like we did the first time." Joey blushed. "Going away for the weekend, you know?"
"That sounds like a wonderful idea." Michael smiled. "Have you spoken with Charlie about it?"
"Not really." Joey smiled weakly.
"Well, when you're ready, maybe you should suggest to her about booking a break for yourselves."
"Yeah. I think I will."
"Like you say, a hotel sounds like a good idea. You can both relax, be away from both your busy houses, and just spend time together."
"Yeah. That's what I was thinking."
"It's still only been two weeks Joey. Don't be so critical of yourself."
"I'll try not to be."
They then talked about how Joey was coping, being back at work, after her assault, before calling Charlie in for their joint session.
They discussed Ruby, and the past week together. Then they awkwardly discussed last night.
"Did either of you want to start to talk about last night?" Michael asked.
"I will." Joey said softly.
Charlie looked at her, and smiled weakly. She reached for her hand, holding it tight, as Joey began to talk.
"I just wanted to apologise to Charlie, about getting carried away last night." Joey said quietly.
Charlie smiled at Joey. "It's OK Jo. I understand." She replied softly. "It's early days, and you need to be able to trust me again."
"Yes. I do" Joey nodded. "But I also want you to know, that although this has been a whirlwind of a couple of weeks, I know you've changed, and I know you're making a fantastic effort to show me how you feel, and what you want." She smiled.
"Thank you sweetie." Charlie smiled. "I'm doing my best to be what you need me to be, and what I want me to be." She said.
"You're doing a great job Charlie." Joey smiled.
Charlie blushed. "I'm trying. I'm not going to mess up this time." She said softly.
Joey squeezed Charlies hand. "I know." She smiled. "And you know I'm not saying we'll never make love again. I'm saying, I'm not quite ready, but I want you to know I'm getting there. Each day I'm getting closer to being ready, and when I'm ready, we will have a wonderful time together Charlie."
Charlie blushed profusely. "I know." She rasped emotionally.
When they'd finished their sessions, they left Michaels, and had a leisurely lunch in a café near Joeys house.
They chatted warmly together, glad that the previous evening hadn't festered and made them grow apart.
They had a light bite chicken salad for lunch, followed by chocolate cheesecake and cream for dessert. It was delicious.
Then they set off for Joeys place.
