Chapter Seven
The following morning, Charlie and Joey were both reluctant to return home. It had been wonderful living in their little bubble of love for a few days where they didn't care what people thought of them and nobody who knew them would have anything to gossip about. But they knew they had to face the music and tentatively come out of the closet. Charlie was reassured at least that she wasn't going to have to face anything on her own. She loved Joey and she knew that Joey loved her and their precious time alone together for the previous few days appeared to have achieved a more solid foundation for them to move forward with. Already, Charlie felt more comfortable in private with Joey. She loved making love to her and she didn't think any ex had been capable of provoking the reactions in her that Joey did. She felt like her whole sex life had been a lie and that until now, she had had no concept of pleasure. All this time, she had been with different guys, waiting for the earth to move and now, with a woman, it had. She slowed the car a little as they passed a sign welcoming them to Summer Bay.
"Are you okay?" Joey asked, noticing.
This would be a tough hurdle to get over and they both knew it.
"I'm okay," Charlie confirmed.
She reached out and held Joey's hand across the seat, lifting it to her lips to kiss it. They remained close as they headed back home, hoping that Leah would be around so that they could get telling her over and done with. Then their next move would be to transfer Joey's stuff once and for all into Charlie's room, the room that they would share as a couple.
Ruby felt a little anxious as she walked home from school. Charlie and Joey were due home today and she knew she would now have to get used to them being a couple. It definitely wasn't going to be easy although she had confided in Jai and he had pointed out that Charlie was still the same person she knew and loved. Keeping that in mind, Ruby was determined to be positive and encouraging about the whole thing. She didn't have a problem with homosexuality in general and even though it was hard to get her head around Charlie liking girls, or specifically, liking Joey, she was going to try.
Charlie and Joey pulled up into the drive. Leah's car wasn't there and Charlie's heart sank. She had the resolve to do it now and she didn't want to lose her nerve before she managed. Suddenly she remembered that Leah and VJ had gone away for the weekend. Immediately, she felt guilty about abandoning Ruby. But then, the teenager had told her that she should go. She'd been certain about it. Charlie hoped that their days apart would help Ruby get used to the idea. She was still getting used to it herself and she had no idea how to identify herself now. She liked kissing Joey. But she had no attraction to other women. And she had always been attracted to men. But she wasn't currently attracted to anyone but Joey. And she definitely liked sleeping with Joey. It was better than any sex she'd had with any men in the past. And she didn't want to make love with anyone but Joey in the future. But did that make her gay? Did it make her bisexual? She had no idea. All she hoped was that she didn't freak out over it all and ruin anything. Whatever she was, however she identified, she loved Joey and was certain that she was the best thing that had ever happened to her. There was no way she was prepared to lose her now.
Ruby arrived home to find Charlie and Joey already there. She paused in the doorway as she saw the new couple on the sofa in each other's arms and sharing a tender kiss. It still felt weird but she was grateful not to react as badly as she had before. Remaining in the doorway as they drew away from each other, Ruby was surprised to find herself struck by just how happy Charlie looked. She was smiling and looked completely lost in her own world. Ruby didn't think she had ever seen it before. She cleared her throat to draw attention to herself and watched them blush. Charlie leapt to her feet as if she'd been caught doing something terrible. Ruby stepped in and hugged her, welcoming her and Joey home.
"Did you have a nice few days?" she asked, sitting on the opposite seat.
Charlie sat back down with Joey and nodded.
"We had a great time," she said. "Amazing."
Ruby was pleased. She figured they deserved it and she doubted things would be so easy from now on.
"Charlie was wondering if you wanted to go for dinner with us or something this evening," Joey ventured.
Charlie looked at her hopefully and Ruby immediately agreed. If she was ever going to get used to Charlie's new relationship, she had to start now.
"Great!" Charlie said, her whole face lighting up. "We have a couple of things to do first but we could meet you there at seven?"
Ruby nodded, not daring to think about what those things might be. She just hoped that they weren't naughty.
Having got changed for dinner and made out a little along the way, Charlie and Joey climbed into the little, blue car where Charlie had first confessed her love, and headed to the police station. Standing side by side but not touching, they entered Charlie's work and found her boss waiting for them.
"Shall we?" Ken said.
Charlie nodded and Joey followed them both into the office.
"So, what's this about?" Ken asked.
Charlie stammered over what to say for a moment before blurting out that she and Joey had fallen in love with each other.
"So... so, um... I can't be in charge of her case anymore," she finished, feeling embarrassed but relieved that Ken hadn't reacted.
"Is that okay?" she asked worriedly.
He nodded.
"That's fine," he said. "Congratulations. And you did the right thing by telling me."
"We just didn't want anything to get complicated. We wanted everything to be by the book."
She looked at Joey who smiled back, privately touched that they had so quickly become a 'we'. She had never really been part of a couple before but now she felt like one half of a very special unit.
"Well, I'll assign your case over to Watson, Joey and there shouldn't be any complications after that," Ken said brightly.
