Chapter Eleven

Charlie felt anxious as she, Joey, Angelo, Miles, Bianca, Liam, Watson, Belle and Aden entered the arcade together. Secretly, Charlie was pleased that Brax had had plans with his brothers back home. He and Joey were particularly close and Charlie was happy to keep her new friend to herself. She was worried that she was developing a crush and getting a little addicted to Joey's company.

"What would you like to play?" Joey asked, touching Charlie's hand.

"I'm not so good at these kinds of things," Charlie said uncertainly. "Maybe I should just watch."

"No way!" Joey protested.

Taking her hand more firmly, Joey led her across the room in order to find something she would enjoy playing. They happened upon a couple of younger teenagers at war on the dance machine. Seeing the fascination on Charlie's face, Joey decided that they had found their game.

"Oh, no..." Charlie protested. "I would seriously suck at this."

"That's why we'll play the beginner level," Joey said. "Plus, I'm also likely so suck you'll either be in good company or show me up."

She grinned. Charlie couldn't help but smile back.

A few minutes later, the kids finished their game and Charlie and Joey hopped on. Joey put some coins into the machine and set up the game. She allowed Charlie to choose the song and watched the way she so nervously studied the instructions on the demo. Suddenly, they were both dancing to Gloria Gaynor's 'I Will Survive'. As she predicted, Joey was a little uncoordinated, although by the end of the game, she had scraped a C grade. Charlie, on the other hand, had been brilliant. She scored an A and blushed as the small crowd around them – including Angelo, Bianca, Liam and Watson cheered.

"You were so awesome!" Joey enthused.

"I don't know how," Charlie said bashfully.

"Ah, I think you were just playing it down," Joey teased, linking arms with her friend as they stepped off to let Bianca and Belle have a go.

"What would you like to play next?" she asked.

On the bus home at the end of the night, Charlie sat happily next to Joey as their little group took over most of the vehicle. If she'd have had a choice, she would have of course chosen to spend her time with her daughter. But if Ruby was away for the weekend then Charlie was glad to have been invited out with Joey. She was starting to like people on her corridor more and more, especially Watson and Bianca.

"Thank you for inviting me out," Charlie said quietly.

Feeling brave, she caught hold of Joey's hand. Joey responded with a sweet smile.

"It's been fun," she agreed. "We should do it again sometime."

"Are you um... well, uh... would you like to do something tomorrow?" Charlie asked nervously.

"You mean I can pry you away from studying twice in a row?" Joey teased.

Charlie laughed and nodded.

"I'd love to," Joey said. "What would you like to do?"

"I don't know..." Charlie ventured. "If I hit my targets, I like to treat myself to breakfast at the end of the week. I skipped it this morning in favour of studying so... would you like to come with me in the morning?"

"I'd love to," Joey instantly agreed.

"I'll knock on your door at nine," Charlie said.

"I'll look forward to it," Joey replied.

Charlie headed to bed as soon as they got in. Changing quickly, she flopped onto her bed, gazing up at the ceiling with her head full of Joey. She was pleased with herself for plucking up the courage to invite Joey for breakfast. She wondered if maybe one day, she might have the confidence to suggest a date. It was not lost on her that Joey was gorgeous. And the fact that she was both gay and single was also a big plus. She had an infectious personality and Charlie found herself wanting to spend more and more time with her. It was strange really. She wasn't used to feeling strongly, if at all, about people. But Joey was clearly very special. Charlie wondered how she could have objected to her so much at first when she was so nice.

In her own bedroom, Joey was getting ready for bed herself when her phone beeped. It was a text from Brax.

"How's the bet going?" he asked.

"It's cancelled," she replied quickly.

The more she got to know Charlie, the more she adored her and there was no way she could treat her badly. Ever.

"No way!" Brax texted back. "A bet's a bet. You can't walk away from it!"

"Then give me some time to pay you and I'll voluntarily lose," she replied.

"You're not falling for the Ice Queen, are you?" he asked.

"No!" she lied. "I just don't want to be mean to her. She's a nice a girl."

"Mmm hmm," was all he replied.

Next time… Charlie and Joey get to know each other better…