Alas, Sunshine went instead of Thingamy Whatsit so no extra update but here is what would have been posted. Enjoy! IJKS xx
Chapter Fifteen
Charlie chuckled as they left the theatre with Joey reeling off quotes from the play. She felt that their evening had been a special one and Charlie had loved every minute of it.
"What shall we do now that we are happy?" Joey asked, still quoting.
It was her favourite line and insisted that it spoke volumes. Charlie grinned.
"What are we waiting for?" she asked, playing along.
"Godot!" Joey bellowed, making a couple of passersby jump.
Grinning, Joey took Charlie's hand as they headed towards the car. They both felt a rush go through them at the contact.
At Joey's door, Charlie became nervous.
"Happy birthday, Joey," she said gently.
Her ex-girlfriend smiled at her, debating whether to invite her in or not. She watched as Charlie nervously rummaged around in her handbag. She pulled out a small, black, velvet box and presented it.
"What's this?" Joey asked, surprised.
"Just a gift," Charlie said. "It's traditional."
She grinned and Joey blushed. She accepted the offering and audibly gasped at the beautiful charm bracelet that lay on the cushion.
"Charlie, this is beautiful," she said, looking from the bracelet to Charlie's face.
Charlie shifted from one foot to the other, feeling suddenly shy.
"And here are more charms," she said, handing another small box over.
Joey's mouth hung open as she opened it up and saw four small charms on the cushion.
"Charlie..."
"I bought you the bracelet last year," the police officer admitted. "For your last birthday and... and the plan had been to give you a new charm for it every significant event. So, what would have been our six months, what would have been a year, Christmas and... and this birthday just gone. You weren't here. I couldn't give them to you but I bought them anyway. I guess... I guess I always hoped."
Careful not to drop the boxes, Joey pulled Charlie into a loving hug. They wrapped their arms around each other, holding each other tight and hanging on as long as they felt they could get away with. They fumbled about with the charms and the bracelet so they were all fixed on and Charlie put it on Joey's slender wrist. It looked pretty. It looked like it belonged.
"Thank you so much," Joey said, almost silently.
She gazed into Charlie's eyes and smiled. Charlie smiled back. She swallowed, her heart racing as she desperately wished she could lean in and kiss her goodnight. She toyed with her own fingers, forcing herself not to act on impulse and overstep the boundaries. Joey just wanted to be friends, at least for now, and Charlie wanted to respect that. It was just very difficult to do so as Joey stood there, looking stunning and smiling so sweetly at her. Charlie smiled back.
"I'm glad you like it," she said.
"I'll wear it all the time," Joey promised. "Thank you."
They smiled at each other for several long moments. Joey studied Charlie's mouth and forced herself to remember why they were taking things slowly.
"I um... I'd better go before I do something I shouldn't," Charlie said, deciding that honesty was the best policy.
They both giggled and neither made a move to step away from each other. Joey leant against the doorframe. Charlie's hand was resting so close to her and she fought the urge to reach out to her. She licked her lips. Charlie leant forward and placed a gentle and polite kiss on Joey's cheek. They grinned at each other before Joey placed a kiss of her own on Charlie's cheek. Still grinning, they reached out to each other, pressing their lips against each other's cheeks, thrilled with the loophole they'd found. Resting their foreheads against each other, they held onto the feel of each other.
"Goodnight," Charlie finally managed.
She kissed the top of Joey's head and squeezed her hand before heading back out of the building and to the car. Joey stayed in the doorway, listening to her footsteps echo down the hall. Dreamily and still admiring her charm bracelet, she headed inside and locked up for the night. She headed straight for her bedroom and flopped onto the couch, still smiling.
Charlie drove home and struggled to concentrate on the road. She was thrilled with how the evening had gone and it had been wonderful to make Joey happy. From now on, all she wanted was to make her happy. She wanted to prove herself and heal herself and get to a place where a relationship with Joey would work. The Angelo factor was a little worrying. She didn't think he would take too kindly to her seeing someone else but it was something he would just have to deal with. She just hoped he wouldn't cause a problem or any stumbling blocks for her and Joey. She was desperate for everything to go perfectly.