Chapter Twenty-Five
It had been a wonderful day. Charlie and Joey had talked, laughed, flirted, made out, struggled back on the rope swing from the little island, eaten and flirted and made out some more. Now they were on their way back to Joey's apartment picking up some takeaway on their journey home. Sitting on the living room floor together, they prepared to eat at Joey's low coffee table.
"Shall I get some wine?" Joey asked.
"Driving," Charlie said glumly.
A nice glass of wine would be a perfect way to end the day.
"Not if you stay over," Joey said.
She smiled so seductively that Charlie almost shivered with delight. Returning her smile, Charlie told her that wine would be lovely and then watched her girlfriend disappear momentarily into the kitchen. She returned with the half bottle they'd left the night before and two glasses. Charlie gazed at her as she poured the drinks.
"Here's to us," Joey said, raising her glass.
Charlie lifted her own glass and accepted Joey's toast.
Angelo paced his apartment, clenching his jaw and his fist. He still couldn't get his head around being fired. His job meant everything to him. The only thing he loved more was Charlie.
"She's why I'm in this damn mess," he muttered to himself.
His pacing became firmer and louder but he had no care for his neighbours. He had no care for anyone. Pausing, he finished the last of his beer, knowing he had already had too many. He opened another.
Finishing eating, Charlie and Joey hauled themselves back up onto the couch. Smiling a little shyly at each other, they hugged. Joey nestled herself against Charlie's warm, inviting body. Charlie couldn't quite resist breathing in her scent as she kissed the top of her head. She stroked Joey's fingers, wanting to take in her every feature. Lifting Joey's hand to her lips she kissed each finger in turn, finishing with her palm. Joey tilted her face towards her, kissing her gently on the mouth. She stroked Charlie's face tenderly, deepening the kiss and wrapping her arms around her.
Angelo struggled to control the car as he attempted to drive down to the beach, still swigging his beer. He had a six pack on the passenger seat and not a care for doing something dangerous and illegal. Parking badly on the seafront, he stumbled out of the car. Grabbing his beer and a bag from the backseat on the way, he didn't bother locking up as he half fell towards the beach, collapsing onto the sand.
Charlie and Joey continued to kiss, their passion increasing with every moment. With trembling fingers, Joey began to toy with the hem of Charlie's t-shirt, excited but afraid of how things might proceed. She looked into Charlie's eyes and saw that she was smiling. They kissed again. Charlie allowed Joey a lift her t-shirt and pull it over her head. She felt a little shy to be half undressed in front of Joey again but judging by her expression, Joey appreciated it. They kissed again and Joey tentatively reached behind Charlie and began to unhook her bra. Drawing the garment from Charlie's body, she leant back to appreciate the view. Leering a little, making Charlie giggle, Joey bent her head and gently began to tease the flesh she had so recently exposed.
Not quite sure how he'd managed it, Angelo had started a fire. Sitting bitterly in front of it on the sand, he opened his next beer and opened the bag he'd brought with him. It contained his spare uniforms, the ones he was meant to be returning to the station the next day.
"Goodbye, life," he said, dumping each item into the fire, one by one.
"You have too many clothes on," Charlie managed when she and Joey came up for air for a few brief moments.
Joey blushed and grinned. Sitting up, she pulled her own t-shirt off. Charlie immediately reached behind her and, with a little bit of difficulty and a lot of giggling, she was able to remove her girlfriend's bra. Then she leant in to pay Joey her own kind of attention.
Angelo felt tears sting his eyes as he watched his uniform burn. He felt like his life was over. Everything he had worked for, everything he had tried to do was all ruined. He rubbed his face and opened his next beer before standing up and stumbling away, leaving the fire burning and stumbling back to his car. He felt sick.
"Shall we, um...?" Joey managed.
Charlie buried her face into Joey's neck, kissing her there with passion. Drawing away, she gazed lovingly at her.
"Shall we...?" Charlie coaxed.
"I've completely forgotten," Joey giggled, pulling her closer.
They continued to kiss, their hands wandering.
"Bed!" Joey squeaked.
Charlie sat back and grinned, her eyebrows raised.
"We should go to my room," Joey decided.
Standing up, she took Charlie's hand and led her away.
Pulling up outside Charlie's house, Angelo almost hit the tree by the drive. He looked up at the house. All the windows were dark. He wondered if Charlie was inside. And if she was, was she alone? Or had Charlie and Joey gone to Joey's place instead? Once again, he cursed himself for losing his job. If he'd kept it, he could have looked Joey's address up and charged around, shouting the odds. He was sure confronting Charlie and Joey both would make him feel better. Without thinking, he hauled himself out of the car and stormed up to the house, banging furiously on the door.
Lying on her back on the bed in nothing but a thong, Charlie welcomed Joey on top of her. Pressing their bodies together, they kissed. Joey trailed kisses along her jaw and down her neck. She cupped Charlie's breast and kissed it, stroking her hands down her body and making them both tingle. It felt right to have waited to be together. It wasn't something that either of them had wanted to rush in the end. But now they felt like they had created a firm basis of friendship. It was something to build on. It was a strong foundation. Joey felt like she was even more in love now than she had once been. And prior to this, she hadn't believed that was possible.
"I love you so much," Charlie breathed.
Joey smiled and crept her way back up Charlie's body. She kissed her lips and whole heartedly returned the sentiment.
Leah and Elijah hauled themselves out of bed, sleepy and irritated at the rude interruption of someone banging on their front door. The met Ruby in the corridor. She also looked half asleep and her hair was bigger than anyone had ever seen it.
"Who the hell is that?" she wondered.
Then she apologised for her language in front of a Revered.
"Don't worry about it," Elijah said, jogging down the stairs. "I'm wondering who the hell it is too!"
The girls followed after him. Pulling open the door, all three were surprised to find Angelo standing there looking extremely worse for wear. He pushed his way into the kitchen.
"Where is she?" he slurred.
"Where's who?" Elijah asked.
"Who do you think?" Angelo snapped. "Charlie, of course! Where is she? Is she in her room?"
He lunged across the kitchen in the general direction of Charlie's bedroom. All three chased after him.
"You can't go in there!" Ruby squeaked. "Leave Charlie alone! She's not even here!"
He spun around to face her and nearly fell over.
"Where is she?" he demanded.
Unfazed, Ruby folded her arms stubbornly.
"Where do you think?" she said, glaring at him.
Angrily, he pushed her out of the way and headed back towards the door. Ruby stumbled. Leah reached for her and Elijah chased Angelo out of the house, yelling for him to stop when he realised he was heading for his car.
Charlie and Joey lay in each other's arms on top of the blankets, perspiring a little and breathing very heavily. To say that their date had been a success would be a firm understatement. Their love making had been even more special than it had been before and both were glad to have waited and not rushed into anything. Charlie stroked her hands gently up and down Joey's spine, prompting Joey to kiss her.
"I think this is the best day of my life," the younger girl breathed.
Charlie blushed and smiled. She brushed her lips against Joey's lips again, trailing them down to her chest. She squeezed her hands ever so gently before kissing her mouth again.
"I feel exactly the same," she replied.
"Angelo, don't be stupid!" Elijah yelled, banging on the car window.
The ex-cop ignored him, nearly running him over as he attempted to reverse. Elijah hit his fist on the top of the car again, begging Angelo to stop and get out of the car. Angelo sped away, leaving nothing but dust in his wake. Hurrying back to the house, Elijah instructed Leah to call the police. Heading upstairs to put some proper clothes on, Elijah headed back outside to follow if he could.