Chapter 9

Charley came out with a bottle in one hand and glass in the other. The light had almost faded, but the sun had not yet disappeared. It had left a watery trail of fire in the sky, which had turned a beautiful coral colour. The sun glowed orange, slowly dipping amongst a purple haze of lower cloud. It cast a dark tinge of blue over the shoreline and caused the sand that it lapped to reflect the orange glow. The island was enveloped in shadow as the darkness crept in. The sun was visible from where they stood. Charley stood captivated by it, then started to walk in its direction.

"Come on." She beckoned Vinnie to follow. He was more than happy to follow her pretty much anywhere. He walked next to her holding his bottle of Root beer as they made their way down to the beach. They sat on the large sofa, admiring the view. Charley took a picture on her phone.

"Wow look at that," she smiled, leaning back on the sofa with a leg tucked under.

"It's definitely an alien landscape to me, that's for sure," Vinnie mused, sitting back with his legs slightly spread, holding his Root beer between them. "Don't get sunsets like that on Mars."

Charley looked at him, smiling with interest. "What do they look like?"

Vinnie wrinkled his nose. "Sun's dimmer, paler, looks more like the moon," he looked at her.

Charley raised her eyebrows in surprise. "Yeah, I guess it would. I've never really thought about that."

Vinnie nodded. "Sky's not all orange n' pink either. It's just kinda bluey n' hazy, cause of the dust," he explained.

Charley nodded, taking in what he was saying. "Well, I guess it's still beautiful in its own way," she suggested.

Vinnie shrugged, "I guess. This is better though."

Charley smiled, looking back to the rapidly lowering golden ball, shimmering in the clouds. "It is kinda jaw dropping huh?"

Vinnie smiled to himself as he watched the coral sky gradually fading away. "Yeah, but the view this way is even better," his look indicated he was talking about her.

Charley laughed, slightly embarrassed. "Stop," she smiled, looking back to the sun, now touching the horizon. Vinnie smiled, taking a swig from his bottle. Charley was reminded of her wine, which she reached for, along with the glass. She filled the glass half full, setting the bottle on the sand.

As they sat there in silence and growing shadows, her eyes subtly wandered over him. The tightness of his clothes showed off his undeniably great body. There wasn't an ounce of fat on him, just toned muscle. She took a large gulp of wine, looking back to the sun, which had started its decent below the horizon, casting a golden glow on the water.

Vinnie noticed how fast her drink was vanishing. "Hey be careful, or you'll end up like Throttle and Modo," he chuckled.

Charley laughed. "That was bad. But a little bit is good for the nerves," she told him, tipping her glass towards him to make the point.

Vinnie raised his eyebrows at her comment. "You nervous?" he pressed, a smile formed at the corner of his mouth.

Charley felt that knot again, she shouldn't have said that. She smiled, a little flustered, looking around. "A bit," she admitted, trying not to squirm.

Vinnie wouldn't admit it, but he knew exactly how she felt. "Come on, it's only me," he joked, trying to lighten the situation.

Charley gave him a small smile before her eyes looked elsewhere. "I know," she replied softly, before shaking some hair out of her face and taking another sip of her wine. She looked back at him. "You wanna try some?" She held out the glass.

Vinnie laughed warily. "Hey, I think we've established alcohol and Martian mice don't mix!"

Charley laughed, shrugging and taking another sip. The light faded some more as the shimmering sun continued to disappear behind the sea. Vinnie watched her drink, his eyes roaming over her toned body in the clingy blue summer dress. Her skin was sun kissed now, and there was a lot of it. He suddenly felt very hot. "On second thoughts, I might just try some," he blurted, taking the glass from Charley's hand, causing her to jolt a little in surprise. He downed the remaining wine, pulling a face that said his mind remained unchanged. "Urgh!" he spluttered, wiping his mouth with his arm.

Charley giggled. "Hey, you drank it all!" She picked up the bottle and refilled the glass half way again. She turned back to him. "You're not nervous, are you, Vinnie?" she teased, eyeing him.

Vinnie laughed. "Me? No way," he lied. Charley nodded, a tad suspicious.

The last of the sun's glow sunk below the water, the colours in the sky fading into night. The stars became brighter and the moon glowed a pale yellow. The air however, remained warm. Charley noticed the small lights in the bushes become brighter as they sat in the growing darkness. There was silence as Charley sipped more wine. She looked at him, but it wasn't obvious in the fading light. Vinnie drank from his bottle, washing down the bitter taste of the wine. He paused before turning and looking at her. They held their gaze for a few seconds.

"That's a nice dress," Vinnie smiled, obviously approving.

Charley glanced down at it. "Thanks."

"I think that's my favourite now," Vinnie stated, studying it.

Charley raised her eyebrows, "Oh?" She could feel herself blushing, but it didn't notice.

Vinnie nodded with certainty, "It looks really hot on you."

Charley smiled, not quite knowing what to say, but half expecting a comment like that. He never was very subtle with his words. "Well, em… thanks?" she muttered, feeling her blush spread. She bit her lip, smiling, looking at her glass before her eyes went to him again. "You look pretty hot yourself." She found it hard to believe those words came from her mouth, there was no way she would've ever said that to him a few days ago. But then, a lot had changed.

Vinnie smiled at her. "Yeah?" he asked a little bashfully before looking to his bottle. For all his bravado, Charley knew he blushed a lot easier than he'd like to admit. There was silence again.

Charley cleared her throat. "Er, shall I light a fire?" She pointed to the fire pit in front of the sofa.

Vinnie chuckled softly. "I think you already have, Sweetheart."

Charley grinned, embarrassed. "I don't know where the lighter is though," she muttered, looking around behind the sofa.

"Don't worry about it," Vinnie smirked.

Charley smiled, eyeing him. "So, we're just gonna sit here, in the dark?" Her tone was soft and slightly suggestive.

Vinnie bit his lip. "Guess that's not very sensible, knowing us, huh?"

"No, it's not," Charley replied dismissively. "But I'm kinda sick of being sensible."

Vinnie felt his pulse start to race as Charley continued. "I mean, where's it ever gotten me?" she shrugged. "The one time I wasn't, was when I got mixed up with you guys! And that turned out to be the best decision I ever made," she smiled.

Vinnie smiled back. "Can't argue with that."

Charley's heart beat faster. "So I'm thinking, not sensible is the maybe the way to go." She looked at him, he knew that look. He swallowed as she put her glass on the sand next to the half empty bottle. She looked back at him, a little hesitantly. His eyes burned into her. She knew that look. As soon as she moved, he dropped his bottle to the ground and turned his body to her. She pressed up next to him as he grabbed the back of her head, pulling her to him as she kissed him with passion, holding his face with her hands, his other hand snaking around her waist. They groaned as the kissing continued, before finally stopping for air, both of them breathing heavily. Vinnie burrowed his face into her neck, the action sending a shiver down Charley's spine as his breath caused goosebumps. She tilted her head back and sighed, which soon turned into a soft moan as he kissed her neck. She gripped his muscular arms as he continued. Her body was on fire for him, she pulled his head back and continued to kiss him. Vinnie could barely think straight, it felt like every drop of blood had drained to his lower half. He was almost shaking with need. His hands roamed up her sides and over her chest, causing her to groan as they made their way back down again, sliding over her thighs, up under the skirt of her dress. Her hands felt his chest over his T shirt and moved down over his abs, before finding their way under the material onto his fur, where they explored his muscular torso, causing him to groan slightly. Her hands moved down, over his toned legs, her nails digging into the denim. They moved back up his thighs. Vinnie broke apart again, leaning back, roughly pulling her onto him, her body crushing his. She could feel his arousal against her, causing her to push against him. His hands grabbed the hem of her dress and pulled it upwards, peeling it off of her body. She lifted her top half so that he could take it completely off, dropping it to the floor. She laid on him in her navy underwear, his hands sweeping up her legs to her thong, stroking over her ass and up her tight, toned body. Her smooth skin was now beautifully sun kissed, not that he could see it in the almost total darkness. His eyes roamed over what he could see of her cleavage, pushing out of her bra, as they started to kiss again, Charley grabbed his 'hair' roughly and pressed her slender body against his. She pulled at his T shirt, which he quickly helped to discard. Her hands glided downwards, over his shoulders and down his hard chest. She breathed heavily, her hands slowly stroking over his abs, moving downwards. She looked at him hungrily, her mouth slightly open. He swallowed, tense, as he felt her hands touch him, trying to control his animal instincts, his breathing ragged as he watched her in the darkness. Her lower half was aching for his body, she could feel his arousal pressing into her stomach and her mind raced as she reached the top of his jeans. One hand stopped, but the other kept travelling down, over the denim, until she felt his hardness.

He gasped sharply, "fuck". She smiled wickedly, looking him in the eye, she'd never heard him swear like that before. He looked back, his eyes glazed slightly. "Charley..." he started, his breathing ragged and his voice dangerous. She ran her hand over him, and squeezed lightly through the material. He hissed and bucked, his mouth wanting to make a noise that didn't come. Her hand slowly undid the button on his jeans, then pulled down the zipper. Vinnie couldn't wait any longer. He grabbed her, flipping her and pushing her down forcefully onto the sofa, kissing her again with desperate need, his knees either side of her legs. She whimpered as he pushed her down with his weight, kissing her neck, his hands sliding up her slides, over her curves to her breasts, where he knelt up and gently squeezed them through the thin material. Charley let out a moan as he panted through gritted teeth, feeling her soft mounds as his fingers teased her nipples through her bra.

She writhed, desperate for contact with him, making small noises. "Vinnie" she pleaded. Hearing his name, he roughly pulled her bra down in one movement. She gasped and moaned as his hands fondled her naked breasts. They were full, round and beautiful. Vinnie took a moment to compose himself, his breath shaky, as Charley looked up at him, her eyes filled with lust and her cheeks rosy. Her other hand slowly trailed up his abs to his chest as her busy hand lowered into his jeans, down to his aching hardness, where she wrapped her fingers around him. He gritted his teeth harder, trying to stifle the moan that came. She bit her lip and placed her other hand lightly on his chest as she stroked him with the other, his breathing shaky and urgent. She kissed him feverishly as he shifted his body slightly to one side, one of his hands sliding down over her toned stomach to her panties, and over the material between her legs, making her buck and whimper.

"Oh god," she moaned, desperate to feel his fingers there. He brought his hand back up and slid it under the material, feeling her warm, wet centre. She arched a little, moaning louder. His fingers teased her as she made encouraging noises. He gritted his teeth, watching her, unsure how much longer he could take, as Charley writhed and moaned. Vinnie was nearing the end of his own self control now. He looked at her with evil lust, he could've so easily sunk himself into her right then, but they were already going way beyond what they had expected. With one hand, he reached for her breasts again, squeezing them as she teased him, feeling his length, using her fingers to explore him. He hung his head, he knew he couldn't hold out much longer. "Fuck, Charley," he breathed. He yanked her panties down and pushed his middle finger into her, forcing her to cry out as he rhythmically moved it, before adding a second one.

Charley was gasping in short loud cries as he sped up, using his thumb to carry on teasing her. "Oh god, Vinnie!" she gasped, biting her lip. Vinnie was panting hard, barely controlling himself, watching her getting pleasure from him and moaning his name as she stroked him. Her cries got more staggered, with no sound escaping her mouth at times. She tensed a little, grabbing the cushioned surface either side of her with both hands as her whole body rocked up and down with the motion. She looked at him, her eyes wide, her breathing became erratic and her cries higher as she tilted her head back, her orgasm washing over her. Vinnie smiled to himself as he cursed quietly. She lay still, panting for a few seconds, the odd moan still escaping her before her hand wrapped around him, her grasp firmer, as she set a rhythm. His mouth opened, his eyes glazed over as a sound staggered from him. Charley watched him intently, her tongue touching her top teeth, she couldn't help but feel a little smug.

He'd reached his limit, his breathing hitched and his body tensed and jolted. "Fuuuck," he growled through gritted teeth, his body jerking above her. He wiped a hand over his face, catching his breath. Neither of them spoke as they lay there, panting. Both were a tad shocked at what had just happened. Shocked, and also very, very deliciously satisfied. This turned everything upside down. If they thought there was no going back before, there certainly wasn't now.

Charley looked up at the stars above them, way up in the night sky, her breathing returning to normal. "Wow, Vinnie," she stated, "that sure changed the game."

Vinnie nodded, composing himself once again. "Yep," he replied, not knowing what else to say. They continued to lay there in quiet contemplation, before Charley remembered her dignity, pulling her underwear back on, slightly embarrassed. Vinnie didn't notice much, he was still looking towards the stars.

Charley grabbed her dress from the floor, throwing it over herself. She picked up Vinnie's T shirt, handing it to him. "Here," she said softly, feeling a little uncomfortable.

He sat up, taking it. "Thanks," he pulled it on, then looked at her. "You OK?" he asked, doing up his jeans.

She looked at him and smiled, biting her lip. "After that? Hell yeah," she laughed, then looked away, her face turning a tad more serious. "I just didn't expect… that," she admitted, "it's blown the whole go slow thing right out of the water."

Vinnie chuckled, "Yeah, that was a no starter huh?" He noticed Charley shiver a little. "You wanna get back? You look cold."

Charley smiled. "I am a little."

Vinnie got up, holding out his hand, which she grabbed, pulling herself up too. She held his arm as they walked back to the main area, the dim building lights and quantity of fairy lights making it brighter.

"Man, I am ready for bed," Vinnie yawned.

Charley giggled. "Me too, hardly surprising really!"

They got to the walkway and Charley removed her shoes once again. They walked quietly past the huts until they got to Vinnie's. He carefully opened the door and turned to her, giving her a small smile. "See you tomorrow babe," he whispered.

She nodded, "night." They both hesitated a tad awkwardly before stepping closer and kissing each other for a few moments. With a small wave, Charley watched him close the door and entered her own room.

When Charley opened her eyes the following morning, in the first moments that followed, she questioned if the previous night had happened, or if it was just a dream. Then the memories flooded her mind. Definitely not a dream. She took her usual swim and shower, before dressing. She let her hair dry naturally, the heat making it wavy. She put on a strapless knee length pale green dress which had a lacey over skirt, over her bikini, and some silver dangley earrings. She picked up her flat sandals and made her way down her decking, holding up her dress as she waded through the clear water to Vinnie's decking. She had messaged him that she was coming, and thought it best to avoid running into Throttle or Modo, even though she was doing nothing wrong or suspicious. She just wanted to see him alone. Walking up to his top deck, she slipped on her sandals. He came out in his usual shorts with a pale blue vest top.

"Hey," he greeted, "another nice dress!" He admired it as he stepped up to her, putting an arm around her waist.

She smiled, hugging him. "Thanks, I like it." She sat down at the table, and he did the same.

"No sign of the others?" she asked, smirking.

Vinnie shook his head, "Nah not yet."

Charley nodded, then took a breath, glancing at him before she spoke. "I just wanted to make sure everything's OK, you know, after last night." She looked slightly on edge.

Vinnie smiled. "Sure it is. Why wouldn't it be, Sweetheart?"

Charley didn't know, in honesty. She shrugged her last sentence away. "I know things are different now, with us." She smiled, leaning in a little. "But, I'm good if you are."

Vinnie grinned. "Course I'm good." He leaned forward and kissed her gently. Charley smiled. Vinnie looked at her for a moment. "You know I don't just see it as a… physical thing, right?" he asked, concerned that's what she might think.

She nodded. "I know," then repeated with more certainty, "I know."

Vinnie shuffled in his seat, looking at her intensely. "You know I care about you, babe."

Charley smiled affectionately. "I know Vinnie, and so do I."

She looked and sounded genuine, but Vinnie felt there was something else she wanted to say.

"Is there a but coming?" he probed.

Charley looked at him with a smile that hid a sadness. "No, I… I'm just scared, I guess," she admitted. "There was a time when I was engaged and in love, and I thought I knew where my life was heading. Then it all crashed and burned." She sighed. "I just can't do that again, and this whole situation has got me pulled in so many directions," she explained, her voice pained.

Vinnie understood, placing a hand over hers. "I know it's messed up. If it's too much, we don't have to-" he started.

Charley interjected "-That's the thing though Vinnie, I don't know about you, but I can't go back to pretending everything is normal. And I don't want to."

Vinnie pulled a face of agreement. "I know, Sweetheart, I know."

"I just can't go through that again. Especially with you." She looked at him, her eyes watery.

Vinnie sighed sadly. "I wish I could promise you everything was gonna be OK."

Charley nodded compassionately. "You know I'm startin' to worry that I really am jinxed."

Vinnie gave her a sceptical look. "Don't say that, Sweetheart," he thought for a moment. "Maybe things will work out… if it's meant to be?" he smiled hopefully.

Charley returned the smile. "Yeah, maybe."

Vinnie got up. "Come on, let's go get the others up and get some food."

Charley nodded in agreement and followed him to the door. "Should we take them some?"

Vinnie laughed dismissively, "I think they can handle gettin' their own breakfast!" He opened the door, stepping out with Charley close behind. He stopped still, causing Charley to bump into him.

Modo and Throttle were stood at Throttle's doorway, talking. They looked up when Vinnie and Charley appeared, the two looking slightly taken aback for a moment.

"Hey, we were just coming t' get ya," Modo smiled cheerfully.

Vinnie chuckled, his recovery was fast. "Have we gotten over the day before?"

Throttle sighed. "Yeah."

"Ready t' face the day again!" Modo assured.

Charley smiled. "That's good to hear guys. Yesterday wasn't your best day!"

Throttle snorted. "You can say that again, Charley girl."

"Come on Bros, let's go get us some breakfast," Vinnie enthused, walking past them.

"I'm ready for that!" Modo replied eagerly, following behind.

Charley smiled to Throttle, following the others. Smiling back, he noted her eyes looked slightly misty. He watched them go, glancing back at Vinnie's door and looking back to the group thoughtfully, before catching them up.