Your reward for faithfulness... This is the second to last chapter.
Chapter Fifteen
Joey watched Charlie crumple against the railing.
"What the hell am I doing?" she asked herself suddenly.
She glanced back at her friends who were watching her intently. She looked at Charlie who was obviously physically and emotionally suffering. She looked at the expanse of water already between them.
Turning back to her friends, she said, "Post me my stuff when you get back to land."
"What?" Katie asked, alarmed.
Joey took a breath and jumped overboard.
***
Charlie straightened in alarm as she watched Joey fling herself into the water. Ruby and the others rushed forward.
"Joey!" Charlie yelled.
She watched her swim in the direction of the pier.
"Joey!" Charlie yelled again.
Ruby held onto her sister, also watching Joey fighting against the waves,
"She's fine," she said gently. "She's swimming."
"But…"
"She's swimming to you."
***
The water was even colder than Joey had anticipated. It hurt and the waves were difficult to get over. She failed to breathe at the right times and water spilt into her mouth. She looked ahead of her, watching Charlie panicking on the pier. It made her strive forward.
***
Aden and Xavier ran forward, climbing right to the edge of the pier, ready to either pull Joey up when she arrived or jump in to help her if she failed to make it.
***
Joey powered through the water, tuning out Katie, Luke and Joshua's shouts and focussing on the sound of Charlie's voice as she called her name over and over again. Finally reaching land, she allowed Aden and Xavier to pull her up. Dripping wet, she brushed her soaked hair out of her face. Not pausing to thank Aden and Xavier for their help, she ran to Charlie who launched herself in her arms, not caring that she was wet. In fact she privately appreciated how god Joey looked dripping with skin tight clothes.
"What are you doing?" Charlie asked
"That's exactly what I asked myself on the boat," Joey explained. "I must have been crazy to get on board and leave you behind."
"But you love your job."
"I love you more. Charlie, we've wasted so much time messing around and letting other things get in the way of us. I love you. I want to be with you. I need to be with you."
"You're really staying?" Charlie asked.
"There is nowhere else in the world that I'd rather be than in your arms."
They kissed passionately, losing themselves in the moment and never wanting to let each other go.