Here's your next update. I wanted to give a big shout to Jensy25, KGirl and funkyshaz who left me soooo many reviews last night. Cheers! Thank you to everyone who reviews my stories. I am so grateful. And yes, KGirl, they are going to see Ian McKellon in Waiting for Godot and they will even be quoting it in the next chapter. Such an awesome play! Love, IJKS xx

Chapter Fourteen

"How do I look?" Charlie asked a little shyly as she approached Ruby in her bedroom.

Ruby put her text book down and smiled. Charlie was in a slinky, black dress with just one strap. It showed off ample cleavage and a lot of leg but still managed to look sophisticated.

"You look beautiful," her daughter promised.

"Thanks! I'm really nervous," Charlie admitted, coming to sit on the edge of the bed.

Ruby smiled and reached out to hug her.

"So, is this a date?" she wondered.

"No," Charlie said quickly. "It's just a belated birthday thing."

Ruby leant back against the pillows.

"Well then, I would love to see what you do when you do take her out on a date!" she laughed.

Charlie blushed. She just hoped tonight would go well. She wanted to make Joey happy and prove that she was a different person than who she used to be. And she was happy with the friends idea. In a perfect world, they'd be together properly. But then, in a perfect world, Charlie wouldn't have messed up so badly the first time round. They'd have already celebrated their one year anniversary. But the friends idea was a good one. She didn't want to rush into anything and she respected that Joey didn't want to either. It was important to them both to get things right this time.

"What do you think I should do with my hair?" Charlie asked.

"How do I look?" Joey asked, appearing from her bedroom and presenting herself in the lounge.

Her friend, Eve, a relatively new girl on the trawler Joey ran, had quickly become a good friend. And she had been summoned to help Joey get ready for her non-date.

"You look... smart!" Eve exclaimed.

Joey was dressed in a black, quietly pinstriped suit. She had a black t-shirt on beneath the suit that had a dangerously low neckline. Frowning, Joey wondered if she ought to change.

"No," Eve protested. "Smart is good. You look hot."

Joey beamed.

"Of course, you're not really interested in looking hot, are you?" Eve teased. "It's not a date after all."

She raised her eyebrows suggestively, utterly convinced that Joey was going to end up welcoming Charlie back into her life.

"It's not," Joey agreed, sitting down next to her and pulling her boots on.

"Right," Eve replied with a smirk.

"It's not!" Joey insisted. "How's my hair?"

With nothing much else to do, Angelo stayed at work. It was good to keep his mind busy as he struggled to process what had happened. He'd been so happy with Charlie and he'd thought she felt the same. But, looking back now, it was plain to see that her heart hadn't been in it. She hadn't told him in all this time that she loved him. And he knew she had loved others. Well, she had loved Joey. He didn't know about anyone else. His mind kept wandering to the week off that she had asked for and he had denied. What did she want it for? Was she just trying to get away from him or did she have real plans? And how long would they stay broken up for this time? They'd broken up and got back together so many times, he hardly knew where they stood anymore. She seemed adamant this time but then, she always seemed adamant. Well, she had last time and that hadn't worked out. He felt like he kept getting that little bit closer to her and then pushed away. Was she that afraid of commitment? Was she still seeing a counsellor? Was it helping? Would she come back?

Charlie took a deep breath and knocked on Joey's front door. She was so nervous that she was trembling. On the other side of the door, Joey was also regulating her breathing and trying to look cool, calm and collected. Taking a deep breath of her own, she pulled open the door. The women stared at each other for several long moments, admiring and appreciating how the other looked.

"Hi," Charlie said. "How are you?"

"I'm good. Come in," Joey said.

Charlie followed Joey into the lounge and was surprised to find a pretty, petite, blonde girl sitting on the couch.

"Hi," the girl said, standing up to shake her hand. "I'm Eve."

Charlie smiled and shook her hand politely, feeling ever more nervous.

"I'm Charlie," she said.

"I figured."

She turned to Joey.

"You were right," she said sweetly. "She is a hottie!"

Charlie blushed while Joey wanted the world to swallow her up. Glaring at her friend, she escorted her out as politely as she good. Giggling, Eve said goodbye to Charlie and hugged her friend goodbye at the door. Joey returned to the room a little flushed.

"Sorry about that," she said. "She doesn't know when to shut up."

"Well, if you called me hot sometime in the last year, I can live with that," Charlie grinned.

Joey blushed more and then suggested they made a move.

The meal had been expensive but delicious and both Charlie and Joey found themselves having a wonderful time. It felt natural and wonderful to be back to talking again. Beyond anything else, during their time together, they had been wonderful friends. Charlie had found herself opening up to Joey in a way she never had to anyone before... or since. Joey brought out a unique side to herself. Charlie found she was talking more about Ruby and the progress and pitfalls of their relationship. They talked at length about what had happened with Grant all those years ago and both women expressed regret that Charlie hadn't told Joey about it before.

"I nearly told you," Charlie admitted, sipping her diet coke. "I nearly told you about a thousand times. That was one of the reasons why I started freaking out before you and I got together. In all this time, up to then anyway, I'd never told anyone but my parents and my auntie Michelle. It was this deep, dark secret and I was so ashamed of everything that happened. The idea that I was ready to tell you was... well, it was terrifying."

Joey reached across the table and gently touched her hand. She smiled softly, touched that Charlie had considered telling her.

"How did it all come out?" she asked.

"I got hit by a car and the Doctors assumed that everyone knew I'd had a baby," Charlie explained. "I told everyone that it was a scar from an operation as a kid."

Joey's mouth fell open for a minute as she remembered the scar. Charlie had told her the same thing.

"But Morag didn't believe it and Dad let slip what had really happened," Charlie continued.

Feelign dumb, Joey closed her moth again.

"He was having one of his forgetful moments," Charlie said. "She brought it up and in front of Ruby and I just... panicked. I made up this story about having a son and having him adopted. Ruby kept hassling me and..."

She sighed heavily.

"Angelo found out about you," she said. "It was Brett who hit me with the car."

Joey's eyes widened.

"It was an accident. I think. I hope. But... it meant that I had to tell Angelo about us. He freaked and said that he couldn't cope with the way I didn't seem able to talk to him or share with him about anything so I... I told him the truth. I wanted to keep him, I guess. I was so frightened of being alone and the accident had dredged up so many memories of what happened with Grant and all my feelings of love and loss for you..."

She sighed again and drained her glass.

"He encouraged me to tell Ruby the truth and she kept harping on about this baby boy I'd had," she continued. "And it all came out and, well, my whole world fell apart. Again."

"I'm sorry for what you had to go through," Joey said sincerely. "I wish I could have been there to help you."

Charlie smiled sadly.

"You would have been if I hadn't stuffed up," she said.

Joey held her hand across the table again. She gently stroked her fingers and smiled.

"That's all in the past now," she said firmly. "We're happy and we're friends and we're ready to let all the bad stuff that happened, go. Right?"

Charlie nodded, feeling reassured.

"Right," she said.

Looking at her watch, she realised they needed to head off soon.

"Unless there's anything else you'd like? Dessert?"

Joey shook her head.

"I honestly couldn't eat another thing," she said. "Thanks so much for this, Charlie. It was really sweet of you to take me out. Unnecessarily expensive... but very, very lovely."

Charlie beamed at her and then called a waitress over to pay the bill.