"So you feel nothing between us?" She steps closer, her hand gently caressing Joey's face as she leans in. "Nothing at all?"
Joey swallows hard, Charlie's lips now so close Joey could feel the warmth of her breath against her lips.
"Nothing at all," Joey says, hardening her heart and pushing Charlie away from her. "I'm married Charlie, why can't you understand that nothing can ever happen between us."
Charlie searches her face, unable to read her closed expression, she throws her hands up in defeat. "Fine, it was nothing but a few hours of meaningless fucking and I'm just making a fool of myself." She turns and storms from the room.
Joey falls back against the basin, her arms hugging herself. "It was anything but meaningless," she whispers to herself.
"What the hell did you do to Charlie?" Georgie demands from the doorway.
"What needed to be done." She wipes away a stray tear. "I just never expected it to be so hard."
Georgie's anger dissipates at the sadness and regret in Joey's eyes. "I'm sorry for being rude earlier."
"I don't blame you."
"This will get easier."
Joey nods, smiling sadly. "It's only because of the shock of her being back in my life, that I'm feeling this way."
Georgie snorts, not believing her for a second. "Lie to Charlie if you think that's the best way to push her away, but don't lie to yourself."
"I'm not lying, I'm just confused ok, because I never expected to see her again." She takes a calming breath. "I love my husband and I have no intention of leaving him, especially for a woman I was only with for a few hours."
"I have no doubts that you love your husband, what I doubt is just how much."
"You don't even know me and it's none of your business."
"You're right I don't know you and I don't particularly care about you, but Charlie is my cousin and you don't fuck with my family, are we understanding each other?"
"We understand each other. I never intended for any of this to happen."
"Then maybe you should have kept your clothes on the night before your wedding instead of going out and fucking a complete stranger."
Joey grins suddenly, completely throwing Georgie off. "I always appreciate honesty, no matter how blunt." She sighs, "What's happened has happened, we can't take it back or change it and I assure you, I will try not to hurt Charlie anymore than she already has been, but I can't help it if she comes after me."
"Just don't lead her on in any way and she'll get the hint."
"And if I do lead her on and hurt her?"
"Then you may find out that some of my reputation is well earned."
"Under other circumstances, I think I could like you," Joey says lightly. "Though now that I'm working for Martha, I guess we probably need to learn to get along."
"No we don't." Joey frowns, not quite sure how she should respond. "Don't screw Charlie over and we probably will get along, but don't go thinking that just because you're working for Martha that I will cut you any slack." Before Joey could reply, Georgie heads to the door. "Don't hurt her, ok?" Closing the door behind her. Joey lets out the breath she didn't know she was holding.
"Ok Martha, what the hell is between Charlie and Joey?" demands Rachel after noticing Charlie's hasty exit from the toilets.
"Nothing."
"Come off it Martha, I've felt like some perv who has spent the night watching them have eye sex," Leah says in amusement, causing Martha to choke on a mouthful of wine.
"There is something going on here we don't know about, isn't there?" Rachel asks.
"I was hoping no one had noticed."
"It's a little hard not to when Charlie can barely take her eyes off her and Joey's not much better when she thinks no one is watching."
Sighing, Martha keeps her voice low and fills them in on the situation.
"Jesus," Leah says once Martha had finished. She chuckles suddenly. "Those poor women, what are the chances of not only running into each other again but finding out the woman you spent the night with is now married to your new boss."
"It would be funny if it wasn't so serious. This has really affected Charlie."
"Wow, Charlie Buckton in love," Rachel muses.
"I don't think Charlie's ready to admit to the Big L, but it's pretty obvious she's developed strong feelings for Joey."
"And what about Joey?"
"She's married now and she never expected to have her one night stand walk back into her life and I just don't think she's really dealt with it."
"I guess that explains why she's seemed so uncomfortable at times tonight, especially if she's developed feelings herself."
"I don't know if she has feelings for Charlie or not, but she loves her husband and has no plans to end the marriage."
"Poor Charlie," Leah murmurs, no longer finding the situation all that amusing.
"I don't know about poor Charlie," Rachel says. "It looks like she's trying to develop strong feelings for someone else."
The three of them glance toward the rear corner where Charlie was making out with a woman none of them had seen before. "Oh wonderful," Martha mutters, just as Georgie retakes her seat next to her.
"What's wonderful?"
"Your cousin easing her broken heart."
Georgie looks over to the corner. "I've done my bit for the night, if Charlie wants to keep making a fool of herself, it's her problem now."
"What did you do?"
"Don't worry, there wasn't any bloodshed."
Martha rubs her temples. "You had a go at Joey."
"I know you said that Charlie probably needs to get hurt to force her to move on, but I couldn't sit back and not say anything." Glancing back toward the corner, she shakes her head. "Now I wish I hadn't even bothered."
"So where's Joey now?"
"In the loos, as far as I know."
"Try at the bar drowning her sorrows while she watches Charlie playing tonsil hockey," Rachel interrupts.
Martha groans, "Bloody hell." Excusing herself, she heads toward Joey. "Are you ok?"
"Charlie's free to do as she pleases."
"She doesn't have to rub your nose in it."
"She's hurt."
"Still."
"No, I'm the one to blame for this mess, I'm just sorry I hurt her."
"You didn't mean for any of this to happen."
"Do Leah and Rachel know?"
She nods. "They kind of guessed something was going on and I thought it was safer to fill them in than have them wondering aloud. You don't have to worry, they won't say anything."
Joey downs the rest of her drink. "I'm going to go home."
"Why don't you wait a bit and Georgie and I will drive you home."
Joey stares into her empty glass, the second shot she'd downed in the past couple of minutes. "I suppose it wouldn't be a good look for the Sergeant's wife to get done for drink driving."
"Probably not." Joey looks over at Charlie again, relieved not to see Charlie still kissing that woman, but disappointed that the woman she was with, along with Charlie, were nowhere in sight. "Come on back to the table," Martha suggests gently.
"Your girlfriend's not my biggest fan at the moment, are you sure you want me at the same table and in the same car?"
"Georgie's harmless."
"Really?"
Martha smiles wryly. "Put it this way, you'll be safe with me."
Joey chuckles, trying to ease the tension she was feeling. "Georgie, she's quite the, um," she waves her hand, searching for the word.
"Yeah I know she is," Martha says, her voice full of affection. "She can be rather full on at times but her heart is in the right place."
Joey changes quietly, relieved that Angelo remained asleep as she crawled under the covers. She lies there, staring at the ceiling, feeling guilty for hurting Charlie and for betraying Angelo, at least in thought, because she had come so close to giving into Charlie tonight. She didn't know whether it was just lust or the forbiddeness of what Charlie had offered tonight but it was only her strong belief in her marriage vows that had stopped her from having sex with Charlie right there in the bathroom where anyone could have found them. She rolls onto her side, snuggling against Angelo, smiling when his arm circles her waist even in sleep. "It's nothing but lust with Charlie," she tells herself. "And Angelo and I made a commitment to remain faithful to each other." She closes her eyes, once again wondering if she had made the right decision all those months ago.
After going out for a coffee with Daisy, Charlie had spent the past hour or so trying to forget Joey in the best possible way but had failed miserably. Any other time, at least before that one night six months ago, Charlie would have enjoyed the company of this beautiful woman and her talented tongue and fingers, but while she'd managed to pleasure Daisy, Charlie had ended up faking her own climax just to finish it. Now, lying here next to her, Charlie was wondering what the hell she was doing. She had been making a fool of herself with Joey and for what? Joey was right, it had only been one night of sex and while it had been utterly fantastic sex, it was just that, sex. They'd hardly known each other, more interested in the thrill of random sex with a virtual stranger than a long lasting commitment and it obviously meant nothing to Joey who had married a guy the next day and probably spent the last six months fucking his brains out. "She's not worth the hassle, Charlie," she thinks to herself. She turns to the woman next to her, feeling a little bad about taking her to bed, even though she'd only been after sex with no strings attached herself. Still, she was tired of feeling nothing during sex and felt like she was just using women like her and she hated that feeling. Sighing, she throws back the covers and moves off the bed, looking for her clothes.
"I'm going to be passing through Summer Bay on my way home next week, will I see you at the club?" Daisy asks.
"Sorry I didn't mean to wake you and I don't know about next week."
Daisy woman sits up, amused when Charlie doesn't even glance at her bare breasts. "Did you forget her?"
"I'm sorry?"
"The woman you were trying to forget tonight." Charlie shakes her head. "I should be insulted your mind was elsewhere while you were with me, but I've been there myself."
"What did you do?" curious despite her rush to leave.
"I got over her."
"Was it easy?"
"Once I had accepted that I could never have her, it was easier and I did get over her."
"The only problem is, she's married to my boss, working for my cousin's girlfriend and if you haven't noticed, Summer Bay is kind of small so it's not so easy to get over her when she's so near."
"That would make it a little hard. How long were you together?"
"You're going to find this pathetic, but it was just one night."
"Wow, she really got under your skin."
"Tell me about it," she mutters, all her previous thoughts about it being nothing forgotten.
"Why don't you let me try again to help make you forget her, at least for an hour or two?"
Letting her clothes fall to the ground, Charlie climbs back onto the bed. Gazing down at the woman, she smiles. "You don't mind that I'm pretty much just using you?"
"I'm using you, so I think that makes us even." She pulls Charlie's head down, kissing her long and hard.
Sorry people, it's a little too early just yet for a CJ reunion :)