Hello lovely people. I hope you all enjoy the chapter. Things may get tricky for Charlie and Joey for a while but please bear with them (and me!) Also, I thought I'd let you know that I have a new story. It's in fourteen parts and it's called 'The One' and I will start posting it when Third Time's a Charm comes to an end. It's set at the time of Belle and Aden's wedding. But that's all I will say for now! So, back to Forbidden... Love, IJKS xx

***

Chapter Fifty-Two

Joey bolted awake when she heard voices in the kitchen. She hurriedly disturbed Charlie who, for a few moments looked utterly confused as to where she was. The couple had fallen asleep in each other's arms on the sofa and now it seemed that Joey's parents were around. Moving carefully apart, they mutually agreed to pretend to be in conversation. Mr and Mrs Collins arrived in the room.

"Hi, Mum," Joey said casually. "Hi, Dad."

"Hello, Joey," they replied.

They stopped and eyed Charlie curiously.

"And who might this be?" Mrs Collins asked.

Charlie stood up and introduced herself as Joey's teacher, politely shaking both their hands.

"Miss Buckton gave me a lift home," Joey explained as her parents came to sit down. "I had some trouble at school and she was helping me out."

Mrs Collins eyed her daughter quizzically.

"Trouble?" she asked.

"I had an argument with Bea."

"Who's Bea?" Mr Collins asked.

Joey sighed. She'd been complaining about the girl for the last thirteen years and they still had no idea.

"School bully," she said flatly.

"Is everything okay?" Mrs Collins asked, directing her question at Charlie who nodded quickly.

"Yes," she said. "Joey was a little stressed so Donald Fisher said I could bring her home and make sure she was okay."

Joey's parents nodded.

"Well, as long as everything is better now," her Mum said, standing brightly in order to get on with her day.

Joey and Charlie also stood.

"I'll show you out, Miss," Joey said politely, leading Charlie back through the kitchen.

At the door, they gazed at each other longingly, not daring to share a kiss goodbye just in case one or the other of Joey's parents might interrupt. Sighing in the knowledge that they wouldn't be seeing each other for a minimum of three days, Charlie tenderly reached for Joey's hands. They smiled.

"I'll call you tonight," Charlie promised.

Joey nodded.

"And I'll see you in a few days."

"I'll miss you," Joey said softly. "But I hope you have a good time away."

She reached into her pocket and quickly thrust a folded piece of paper into her hands.

"Thanks," Charlie replied, putting what she presumed was the poem in her own pocket.

She gently squeezed Joey's hands and turned to leave. Joey watched from the window as her girlfriend walked down the path and round the corner to where she had hidden her car. Then she returned to the living room to clear the cold cups of coffee away.

***

On Sunday afternoon, Charlie and her family were sitting down to lunch together before Charlie and Ruby were due to depart for Summer Bay. It had been a nice visit, although both her parents had asked endless questions about why she broke up with Hugo and of course, she missed Joey terribly. They had spoken on the phone every night in order to say goodnight to each other and both were looking forward to finding ways to spend time together over the holidays. The bonus was, of course, that Ruby had already met and liked Joey as a student so she hoped she wouldn't object to hanging out during carefully constructed situations.

"So, was he being horrible to you, Charlie?" Claire asked.

Charlie sighed and focussed on her food. It was difficult to break up with someone when you'd dated them since you were a child and your families were such good friends.

"He was just... He wasn't right for me," Charlie said. "Things haven't been going well for a long time."

"He's told his mother about some police officer," her mother ventured. "Is it true that you've started dating him?"

"No!" Charlie said, utterly exasperated. "I barely know the guy. There's nothing going on. Hugo's probably just annoyed because he got arrested for making up the shark attack story."

Everyone stared at her.

"Are you saying he didn't get bitten by the shark?" Ross asked curiously.

"He didn't share that little nugget of news, I take it," Charlie said, resuming her eating. "Yes, he lied about it because he knew I was planning on leaving him and he wanted to stall for time."

"Oh, I'm sure Hugo wouldn't do anything like that..." Claire said.

Charlie looked directly at her.

"Trust me," she said. "He did."

***

Joey and Chris crashed onto the sand in a fit of giggles, raising their arms in victory as the winners of the three legged race. Sitting up, Chris untied their ankles.

"Better luck next time, losers!" Joey chirped.

Shane glared and immediately blamed Angel for coming third. Aden and Belle seemed suitably happy with second place. To be fair, they seemed pretty happy about everything since they got together. Joey was pleased for her friend. He had never had much luck in the romance department and she was certain he deserved to be happy. It seemed like everything was working out for all of them these days. Shane and Angel fell more deeply in love every day, Aden and Belle were smitten, Chris and Philip were still going strong and of course, Joey had Charlie, albeit secretly. She had made herself busy ever since Saturday when Charlie had phoned to say she was leaving for the city and swooned over the poem, which was both delightful and embarrassing for the teenager. Joey missed Charlie terribly but she'd thrown herself into having fun with her friends in order to distract herself. And she felt like she had been neglecting them lately anyway so it felt good to get back to hanging out incessantly. She just hoped that nobody would make the connection between her activities when Charlie was there and when Charlie was gone.

***

The following morning, Charlie and Ruby hugged their parents' goodbye and prepared for nearly a whole fortnight of spending time together. Ruby was giddy with excitement at the thought of all the fun she was going to have on the beach and she was looking forward to seeing Charlie's new flat. She was also secretly looking forward to not having to spend time with Hugo. She'd never opened her mouth about not really liking him because he was Charlie's boyfriend and had been for a long time. She assumed and accepted that he would always be part of their lives. But she'd seen the way he spoke to her sister and noticed the fact that he was extremely selfish and she didn't like it. She couldn't help but be glad that Charlie had dumped him and she certainly hoped that her next boyfriend would be the total opposite.

"Ready, Rubes?" Charlie asked.

Ruby nodded and jumped into the passenger seat, pleased with herself for getting to sit in the front for a change. It was another benefit of not having Hugo around.

"Let's go then!" her elder sister said.

They waved again to Ross and Claire and then sped off on their way.

***

Joey was having a lazy day. She and Angel had ditched the boys and were stretched out on beach towels enjoying the sun together. Shane had asked Angel to find out what Joey was hiding while they were there but Angel was uncertain of pressing the issue. Still, if she had an opportunity, she would take it. Everyone was certain that Joey was seeing someone and nobody could fathom why she would hide it. It was a very intriguing situation.

"So, any news?" Joey asked, peering through her sunglasses at the cloudless sky.

"Not really," Angel said. "I mean, Shane and I are getting on particularly well at the moment. We've started talking about what we're going to do when we leave school and stuff."

"And what are you going to do?"

"Well, Alf reckoned he'd and Ailsa will probably be hiring at the Diner over Christmas so I think I'll apply there. And Shane's been talking to the garage about a mechanics apprenticeship."

"So, you're sticking around in the Bay then?" Joey said, pleased.

"Yeah," Angel replied.

She stretched out in the happy sun and smiled.

"Who would ever want to leave this place?" she wondered allowed.

Turning to her friend, she eyed her curiously and asked what she was going to do after school. Joey sighed. Aside from finally being allowed to be with Charlie, she had no idea what she wanted to do. She'd considered University. She liked studying, despite appearances and she felt it would be a good challenge. But then she was also feeling the strong pull of the water and she knew there would easily be a job waiting for her with her Dad. And she supposed that might actually make them close to each other eventually.

"Either Uni or working on the trawler," she said. "I haven't decided yet."

"Will you go away to Uni?" Angel asked a little worriedly.

"I doubt it," Joey said.

It really depended on where Charlie was going or if she was planning on sticking around. It felt strange to know that her future was dependent on another person just because she loved her so much. It was scary but it was exciting.

"Like you say," she added. "Life is pretty damn good here."

They grinned at each other.

"And do you think you'll find someone special in your life?" Angel asked, attempting to be subtle.

"Who knows?" was Joey's simple reply.

***

"And this, my lovely little sister, will be your room," Charlie declared, finishing the tour of her small but cosy apartment.

"This is great!" Ruby declared.

She dumped her bags on the bed and was happy to be back in Summer Bay. It was so pretty and her sister seemed much happier somehow. She wondered if it was about leaving Hugo. If so, the single life looked good on her.

"Can we go and get a chocolate milkshake at the Diner?" Ruby asked.

She'd been thinking about the last milkshake she'd had all term and was eager for another one. Charlie chuckled and agreed. They moved to the front door together.

"You've been itching to get one ever since we arrived back, haven't you?" she said.

"Yep!" Ruby admitted without shame.

***

Joey and Angel had given up their sunbathing and headed to the Diner for refreshments. They exchanged glances and grinned at each other when they saw Aden and Belle holed up in a corner booth, quite obviously having a date.

"They are so cute," Joey said.

"Should we go and embarrass them or leave them alone?" Angel wondered.

Exchanging wicked glances, they headed on over and plonked themselves down with their friends.

"How's it going?" Joey asked cheerfully. "Are you having a happy date? I mean, day?"

Aden blushed and so did Belle. Joey grinned wider.

"Aren't you both all cute?" Joey teased.

"Joey!" Aden hissed, attempting to quieten her.

"Oh, sorry," she replied. "Are we interrupting?"

She stood up and pulled Angel to her feet. Giggling, they scampered off to their own table. Aden and Belle hid behind their menus. Joey's laughter stopped quickly when she spotted Charlie and Ruby walking through the door together. The secret lovers offered each other a small smile but sat separately. From then on, they struggled to keep their eyes off each other.

***

An hour later, Angel made her excuses. Shane had texted to say that Fisher was out and they had the place all to themselves. Wanting to take advantage of the opportunity, she bid Joey goodbye and headed off. Sitting alone at her table, Joey glanced at Belle and Aden who had moved to the same bench and were kissing, oblivious to the way Colleen was tutting and muttering behind the counter. She caught sight of Charlie. It felt like a lifetime since they had seen each other and it was torture not to be allowed to rush into each other's arms.

"Hey! There's Joey!" Ruby chirped, spotting the teenager. "Let's go and say hi!"

"Um..." Charlie started to protest but her sister was already on her feet.

"Hey, Ruby," Joey greeted warmly, thanking her in silence for being so innocent and eager.

"Can we sit with you?" Ruby asked.

"Of course you can," Joey replied.

She cast a glance at Charlie who quietly took a seat opposite her.

"I'd love you to," she said.

They smiled at each other.

"How long will you be here for?" Joey asked, already knowing the answer.

"Ten whole days!" the twelve year-old declared. "Can you imagine how many milkshakes I can drink in that time?"

Charlie and Joey both laughed.

"You'll turn into one!" the teacher said.

"Awesome!" Ruby grinned.

She turned to Joey.

"How are you?" she asked.

"I'm pretty good."

"Is my sister still being a slave driver at school?"

Charlie looked affronted and Joey giggled, smirking at her girlfriend.

"You know it," she said.

Charlie poked her tongue out and sipped the last of her coffee down.

"Hey, can we play that game again?" Ruby asked. "With you and your friends?"

Joey beamed at her, thrilled at the prospect of having received another opportunity to spend time with the woman she loved.

"Absolutely," she promised.

***

The following day, Ruby and Charlie went down to the beach to meet Joey, Aden, Belle, Shane, Angel, Chris and Philip to play the gang's strange version of football. The sun, as ever, was shining and Joey was practically giddy with the idea of getting to spend time with Charlie. She couldn't help but replay the fun they'd had last time they played the game together. They'd made a point of tackling and touching each other. It had been thrilling.

"Okay, I'll be the ref," Philip said.

He wasn't much in the mood to play properly. Joey, Belle, Angel and Ruby teamed up against Charlie, Aden, Shane and Chris. Joey had deliberately put Charlie in an opposite team so that she could mark her and therefore have as much contact as possible. Her skin was tingling at the mere prospect of it. Charlie smirked at her girlfriend, also relishing the idea of being close to her again. It had been far too long and while it wasn't a perfect and private situation, it was good enough for now.

"Better watch out, Buckton," Joey warned as they passed each other in order to take their positions.

"You're mine, Collins," Charlie replied.

***

Thirty minutes later, Charlie was hot and breathless and the image of a somewhat sweaty Joey, was driving her to distraction. The student was tackling her a ridiculous amount, even during times when she didn't have the ball. Every so often, she would whisper something wicked to her as they passed each other. She retaliated by constantly mentioning the poem she'd committed to memory and watching her blush. Philip blew his whistle to call time on the game. Charlie and the boys cheered. They'd won by a point and were thrilled. Joey and her girls pouted and sulked, none more than Ruby who immediately asked if she could have another milkshake.

"Sure," Charlie relented.

She knew there was little point in arguing. Ruby beamed at her, immediately cheered again.

"Good game," Joey said, approaching Charlie.

"Yeah, I was pretty awesome, wasn't I?" Charlie smirked.

Joey chuckled.

"Do you think I could get away with visiting you tonight?" she asked when nobody was listening.

"I'm sure that could be arranged."

They kept their voices low and subtle so as not to be overheard.

"I'll call you when Ruby's gone to bed," Charlie promised.

***

From outside the Diner, Bea had been watching the game. She felt a little jealous that her image didn't allow her to muck around like that. It was all about appearances, as far as she was concerned. She frowned, deciding that a teacher and her little sister shouldn't be playing football with students. And she decided that she ought to do something about it.