Chapter Forty Six

It was the early hours of the morning before everyone went home. Joey yawned as she began to start the clean up process.

"Let's leave it until the morning," Charlie suggested.

She stepped up behind Joey and slipped her arms around her waist, hugging her close. Joey clutched her bin bag and grinned, leaning back against Charlie's lean body.

"Miss OCD doesn't want to clean up immediately?" she teased.

Charlie smiled and kissed her cheek.

"I'd rather keep celebrating my birthday," Charlie almost whispered.

Joey dropped the bin bag and turned around in her embrace, kissing her tenderly on the lips.

"Have you had a good night?" she asked.

Charlie nodded and stroked Joey's cheek.

"Thank you for making it so wonderful for me," she said.

Joey beamed at her, kissing her one more time.

"My pleasure," she said.

Charlie chewed her lip, feeling nervous as she tried to figure out how to phrase what she wanted to say.

"Are you okay?" Joey asked, noting the concentration on her girlfriend's face.

"It's... it's been a perfect night," Charlie ventured. "And I love you."

"I love you too," Joey replied.

"I um... okay, I was hoping to be a bit smoother about this but um... well, I was thinking... maybe... maybe we could..."

She looked pointedly at the bedroom.

"Go... to... sleep?" Joey asked, hardly daring to hope that tonight could be the night.

Charlie smirked and shook her head.

"Are you sure?" Joey asked, her heart racing a little.

"I'm sure," Charlie said certainly. "I love you. I love everything about you. And I trust you completely. I'd trust you with my life. With Ruby's life, even. And... and I think I'm ready."

Joey smiled. She placed her hands on Charlie's hips, kissing her lips tenderly. Love surged between them as their kisses became more passionate. Happy for Joey to take the lead, Charlie allowed herself to be nudged back towards the bedroom. She moaned a little as Joey's kiss became more intense. As they made their way to the bed, Joey kicked the door shut and winced at how loud it was. Now was most definitely not the time to wake Ruby. Pausing, they listened for the pitter patter of five year old feet but when none could be heard, they resumed kissing.

"I love you so much," Joey breathed as she guided Charlie onto the bed.

"I love you too," Charlie whispered. "Although, right now, I'm really scared."

Joey drew back, gazing a little fearfully into Charlie's eyes.

"We can stop if you want," she said. "I don't want you to think I'm pressuring..."

Charlie interrupted her with a kiss.

"I don't," she said. "I'm just scared because I've never done it before. And we've had how many months of foreplay?"

She smirked, making Joey laugh.

"I already know it's going to be perfect," she assured her. "Every moment with you is perfect."

Charlie blushed, wrapping her arms around Joey's neck and pulling her closer. They kissed tenderly before Joey felt brave enough to let her hands wander. They had gone a little further than kissing in the past but never had clothes been removed. Joey was thrilled at the prospect of seeing Charlie undressed. She didn't even know how she was going to cope with the excitement of everything else.

Gently, she trailed her kisses from Charlie's mouth, down her jaw and to her collarbone. She had spent most of the party admiring how beautiful her girlfriend looked in her slinky, red dress that hung off just one shoulder. She kissed her bare shoulder and gently ran her fingertips across the fabric of her clothes.

Charlie ran her hand through Joey's hair, hardly able to believe that after everything she had been through on her own and everything they had been through together, they were really in this moment, right here and right now.

She bit her lip as she felt Joey cup her breast. She held her breath as she began to extract her from her dress. A couple of moments later, she found herself in her red, strapless bra and matching underwear. Joey straddled her hips and took a breath as she gazed at her. She scanned Charlie's perfect body and licked her lips. Her heart pounded at the mere sight of perfection.

Smiling but trying not to leer too much, Joey bent back down. She kissed Charlie's lips and ran her fingers over her skin. Lifting Charlie up just a little, she reached around to undo her bra.

"Wait," Charlie said, drawing away.

Joey panicked and apologised. She should have been more thoughtful and kept checking that Charlie was happy.

"It's not that," Charlie assured her. "I'm just feeling really shy."

"Okay..."

"So, maybe I don't have to be the only undressed one?" Charlie asked, a teasing smile on her lips.

Joey laughed and nodded. Sitting back up, with her thighs still on either side of Charlie's body, she hurriedly undid the black shirt she had worn for the party. In an effort to make Charlie feel more comfortable, she whipped off her bra also, exposing herself to her girlfriend.

"Wow," Charlie murmured, in sheer awe of her now topless girlfriend. "You're actually more beautiful than I fantasised you being. And I fantasised a lot."

She smirked, making Joey giggle. Sitting up, Charlie pressed their warm bodies together, leaving a small gap so that she could delicately touch Joey's breasts. Joey closed her eyes at the feel of Charlie teasing her. She reached round Charlie's slim form and unhooked her bra. This time, she received no objections. Charlie let the fabric fall between them, continuing to toy with Joey who did the same to her. She felt much more relaxed than she had expected to. She felt shy and a little nervous but comfortable in a strange sort of way. There was no pressure, no hurry and no fear. This was the moment they had both been waiting for.

"Is this okay?" Joey checked shyly.

Charlie smiled dreamily at her and nodded.

"It's very okay," she assured her.

Encouraged, Joey guided Charlie back onto the mattress. Laying her girlfriend back, Joey moved to kiss her breasts. She enjoyed the way Charlie moaned at her touch. She kissed the whole area of each breast before taking first her right and then her left nipple into her mouth. Charlie's moan grew louder as she relished the way Joey seemed to know exactly what to do. She held onto her, accidentally digging her nails a little too hard into her back as she enjoyed every move Joey made. The hint of pain against her skin didn't bother Joey in the slightest. Taking it as encouragement, she continued to pay particular attention to the woman she loved. She had been waiting for so long for this moment and in so many ways, Charlie had been waiting longer. Joey was determined to make tonight the best night of her girlfriend's life.

Next time… Charlie's birthday continues…