Chapter 5

Half an hour later. Locked in each other's embrace, they had spent the last thirty minutes talking intimately - between kisses. They caressed each other under the sheet as they spoke - and listened.

"Maybe we should get dressed," said Charlie, "Leah will be home soon ... and Ruby."

Joey frowned and wrapped her arms around Charlie even more tightly. "Can't we just barricade the door?" she protested.

Charlie giggled. "Yeah ... I wish." They kissed again.

Joey stood up and looked for her clothes. She lifted the garments off the floor and handed Charlie's jeans and blouse to her. They began to get dressed. Suddenly they heard the back door opening. Two voices could be heard – they belonged to Leah and VJ.

"Hello? Anyone home?"

Charlie and Joey looked at one another, panic spread quickly across their faces. They'd have to act fast. They rushed to put on the rest of their clothes and did their best to fix their hair, running their fingers through it roughly. Charlie's cheeks were deep red and her hair was tousled and wet with perspiration, as was Joey's.

"Hello? Guys?" Leah called. She knew that someone must have been home. The back door was unlocked and the kitchen light was still on.

"In here!" shouted Charlie. She gave Joey a worried look.

Joey leapt onto a chair beside the door, doing her best to act nonchalant. Charlie sat on top of her bed and picked up a magazine off the floor, opening it at a random page as though she had been reading. She didn't have a chance to look at the pages before Leah arrived.

The bedroom door opened. Leah peered inside. "Oh hi guys."

"Hi!" they replied in unison, almost too enthusiastically.

Leah glanced at Charlie. She noticed that she was reading an upside down magazine and she looked at her, puzzled.

Joey noticed Charlie's blunder. Her eyes widened. She needed to think of something to steal Leah's attention - quick. "How was the movie?" she asked.

"Err ... great," replied Leah, glancing across at Joey, "and VJ loved it. Do you guys want something to eat?"

Joey's plan had worked.

"Err ... no thanks. We're good," replied Charlie with a smile.

"Well if you get hungry ... Veej and I will be in the kitchen."

"Thanks," added Joey.

Leah disappeared and at the same time they heard more footsteps. It was Ruby. She poked her head around the corner and saw the two of them looking flushed and dishevelled.

She grinned mischievously. "Sooooo ... nearly got caught in the act, eh?"

They blushed.

Ruby didn't stop there. "And I'm guessing you both got dressed in under ten seconds too," she said, matter-of-factly.

"Rubes!" Charlie exclaimed in a loud whisper, "will you keep your voice down?" Charlie was finding the whole thing too amusing and could not keep a straight face. She laughed as quietly as she could, glancing across at Joey, whose embarrassment was obvious.

"Gonna need a lock on this," Ruby added cheekily, tapping the door, "and judging by the state of you two ... you might wanna consider adding some soundproofing in here. Looks like you need that even more ... almost as much as you need a shower."

"RUBY!" Charlie exclaimed – louder this time.

Ruby took the hint, and stuck out her tongue - but she had one more jibe for her big sister that she could not resist. "Oh ... and by the way Charlie ... if you're gonna pretend to be reading to hide your sexcapades ... you might wanna try holding the thing the right way up", she said, pointing to the magazine.

Charlie looked down at it. "Damn!" she cried, dropping it on the bed.

Ruby winked at them and left them alone. Joey reached over and shut the door. They slumped back onto the bed and chair, exhaling with relief. Secret love was hard work.

--------x--------

It was early evening. Charlie and Joey had bid each other goodnight in the privacy of Charlie's bedroom the night before, leaving one another with sweet thoughts to help them sleep. They had arranged to meet again the following night, so they could discuss how they were going to tell Leah about their relationship.

Charlie was due to pick Joey up outside her home in twenty five minutes time. She had managed to get through another day of mostly mundane paperwork, and she was excited about spending a few hours with her love. They agreed to go for a drive in Charlie's car. Almost getting caught the previous night had been too perilous, so they decided not to tempt fate two nights in a row.

--------x--------

Joey heard the horn of Charlie's car. She looked out of the kitchen window and waved. She felt the butterflies fluttering in her tummy at the sight of the woman she loved waiting for her. Opening the door, she made her way down the garden path.

"Hey", she said as she entered the passenger side.

"Hey", Charlie replied. They moved in close for a kiss, but stopped just before their lips had the chance to meet. Brett was home and they didn't want to risk the chance of him seeing them together that way. They would have to contain their passion until they were well away from the prying eyes of the town. They weren't ready to tell the whole world yet. Their lips remained close, fighting temptation – and not doing very well.

"Let's get out of here", Joey whispered, finding it hard to resist.

Charlie started the car.

--------x--------

They found a secluded spot by a lake just a few miles out of town. It had a beautiful view and they could hear ducks calling all around them. Charlie pulled on the handbrake, switched off the engine and unbuckled her seat belt. She turned to face her love, happy to see her. Joey unbuckled her belt and slid across her seat to be closer to her. They gazed into each others eyes, in preparation for their first kiss of the day. Their lips met – and it was worth waiting for. Their kiss deepened instantly. Charlie allowed her fingers to trace the line of Joey's jaw, then caressed her cheek with her thumb. Joey kissed the tip as it brushed past her lips. They felt better now that they had shared some intimacy. Neither felt they could ever get through another single day again without it.

They lay back against their seats and relaxed, still in embrace.

"How was your day?" Joey asked.

"It was ... okay, I guess. Nothing to write home about. Yours?"

"Brett was out most of the day ... so I've been in a good mood!"

Charlie smiled at her. She wished Joey didn't have to live there with her brother. She hoped it wouldn't be for much longer.

"Did Leah say anything more to you about last night?"

Charlie grinned thinking about it. "Err ... no ... luckily!"

Joey giggled. "It was a close call. If we had taken even five seconds longer to get dressed it would have been a disaster. Your sister is very cool, by the way!"

Charlie frowned, "Yeah ... sometimes ... when she's not being a pain."

"She really has been great about all this, Charlie."

Charlie nodded, "Yeah ... and I'm proud of her."

"You should be. Imagine if you had Brett for a brother instead of Ruby for a sister."

"No thanks!" said Charlie.

"How do you think Leah will react?"

Charlie thought for a few moments. "Honestly? ... I don't know."

"Do you feel ready to tell her yet?" Joey asked. She wasn't being pushy. She was simply concerned as to whether Charlie's was ready or not to talk to her friend about them.

Charlie contemplated the question, then nodded her head. "Yes ... well ... I mean ... I don't see any point in delaying any further. As soon as I get a chance to talk to her alone, without VJ there, I'll tell her everything."

"Everything?" Joey raised her eyebrow and moved her lips close to Charlie's. Her voice became a soft whisper. "You mean ... you'll tell her about that place just along the inside of your thigh that when I kiss it ... it makes you moan?" she said, finishing her sentence with a single delicate kiss against Charlie's lips.

Charlie loved Joey's teasing. "Well ... not everything," she whispered. Their lips locked again.

To be continued ...