Chapter Three

Charlie had been dithering over whether to go and speak to Angelo immediately or wait until after work. She was utterly spun out at what had just happened. Had Joey really stood there in front of her? Had she really kissed her and told her she wanted her back? She had dreamt about that scenario so many times for over a year now. She couldn't believe that her wishes had come true.

"Shit," she said, jumping when her phone rang.

It was Watson, wondering where she was and if she would be back from lunch soon.

"Uh yeah, sorry," Charlie said, looking at her watch. "I'll be right there."

Breaking up with Angelo would have to wait. But it wasn't even a question that that's what she had to do.

Angelo was busy at work when Charlie eventually finished her shift. She'd stopped off at home to change clothes and then approached the restaurant. Despite having very few customers, her boyfriend was too engaged with fussing over bottles and plates to even notice that she had arrived.

"Hello?" she said, waving a hand in front of his face.

He glanced up.

"Hey," he said, continued to stack the dishwasher.

"Hey, Charlie," she replied sarcastically. "How are you? Are you tired after your really long shift? How about a drink? Anything else I can do?"

He glanced up again.

"What?" he asked dumbly.

Charlie groaned and rolled her eyes.

"I need to talk to you," she said seriously.

"Later, Charlie," he replied. "I'm busy."

"No!" she snapped.

He looked up sharply, finally offering his attention.

"Angelo, I need to talk to you now," she said. "It's important."

The last thing she wanted to do was handle this wrong. She didn't want to hurt her boyfriend and she felt terrible to be breaking up with him now after all they had been through together. Her only comfort was that judging by the way things had been going, he would be too busy to even notice she was gone. The important thing was that she was available for when Joey wanted her. If her ex-girlfriend had made such an effort to come back and win her over, then there was no way she was going to play hard to get.

"Look, Charlie, I'm up to my eyes here…"

"How?" Charlie snapped. "You have three customers!"

"Three groups of customers," he added, although he knew it sounded stupid. "And there's a lot more to running a restaurant, you know."

"And don't I know it?" Charlie replied bitterly. "You've barely noticed I'm alive since you started this place."

He rolled his eyes and leant both his hands on the bar between them.

"Please don't start nagging me about being a neglected girlfriend," he said tiredly. "You know how important this place is to me, Charlie. Why can't you just let me get on with it?"

"I will," Charlie assured him. "But first, I need to talk to you something important."

"What is it?" he snapped.

"Can we discuss it in private?"

"No, Charlie!" he said. "I haven't got time. But we'll catch up tomorrow or something and you can pour your heart out, okay?"

Hating him, Charlie turned and left without another word. There was no hesitation in her step as she headed towards her car and drove over to the caravan park.

Joey was getting changed into some looser clothing when there was knock on the door.

"Who is it?" she called out.

"It's me, Charlie," her ex-girlfriend replied.

Smiling, she welcomed her inside. Charlie opened the door and stepped into the caravan, pausing and looking rather startled when she found Joey standing in nothing but jeans and a bra.

"Sorry," she said. "I didn't know you were changing."

"It's fine," Joey said casually, making no move to cover herself. "I invited you in. Plus, it's not like you haven't seen it before."

She smirked, serving to make Charlie blush even further.

"Not to mention kissing and touching and all sorts of naughty things," Joey added.

She looked triumphant as Charlie turned even pinker.

"Well, in that case, you should just take the bra off…" Charlie teased, trying to get the upper hand.

He eyes widened when, without a word or seemingly a second's thought, Joey whipped the bra off and dumped it on the bed. Charlie swallowed and couldn't stop staring. Her palms began to sweat as her desire began to take control.

"So, how was your shift?" Joey asked casually, sitting back on the bed.

Charlie laughed and shook her head.

"When did you get so okay with nudity?" she wondered, remembering her former girlfriend's anxiety about her body.

"I stopped taking life too seriously," Joey replied evenly.

"Can I…?" Charlie asked, gesturing to the bed.

Joey moved so that she could make room for her. She lay on her side, leaning in close, very aware that she was tempting her. Charlie fiddled with her own fingers, longing to reach out to her but not wanting to overstep the mark. Although, with Joey's current state of undress, she wasn't sure there was really a line to cross at all.

"Are you single yet?" Joey whispered, keeping her lips close to Charlie's ear.

Charlie felt a pleasurable shiver run through her.

"Not exactly," she admitted.

She was disappointed when Joey pulled back.

"Shame," she replied, sitting up and reaching for her bra.

"I tried," Charlie ventured. "But he didn't have time."

Joey turned back with a raised eyebrow.

"He didn't have time for you to break up with him?" she asked, intrigued. "Sounds like a real prince!"

Charlie laughed and nodded but couldn't tear her gaze away from Joey's chest.

"I'm still up here, by the way," Joey added naughtily.

Charlie flushed and gazed into her eyes.

"Can I kiss you again?" she asked hopefully.

"No," Joey replied. "Once was impulse but twice would definitely be cheating. I can't advocate it."

Charlie nodded sadly.

"I hope you don't think it was for want of trying that I didn't end things with him," she said. "The only way I could have done it would have been very public and I couldn't do that to him."

"But you do want to end it with him?" Joey checked, her voice soft and almost shy. "You do want to be with me?"

"More than anything," Charlie replied sincerely.

Joey smiled fondly at her and moved to make herself decent again.

"You really don't have to do that, you know," Charlie smirked.

Joey chuckled as she rummaged in a drawer for a new bra. An idea flashed into Charlie's mind and she stood up quickly.

"Does a hug count as cheating?" she asked.

"I don't think so…"

Closing the gap between them, Charlie held her, kneeling down and resting her face against Joey's breasts. Giggling, Joey permitted the hold and stroked Charlie's hair. Both women closed their eyes, relishing the contact they had been without for so long. Charlie listened to Joey's heartbeat, wanting to lose herself in the moment forever.

"Okay, that counts as cheating!" Joey objected when she felt Charlie's lips make contact with a particularly sensitive part of her body.

Charlie backed off respectfully, although she was glad to have been able to push cheekiness a little further. Infidelity wasn't exactly an easy subject between the two of them but the easy manner and gentleness Joey was offering could only be taken as a good sign.

Next time… Charlie is called away to a drunken Ruby emergency…