There was a bit of a mix up with this chapter. I put chapter 28 of "The Storm" up as chapter 6 of this – I blame the fever – but I have rectified the mistake now, I hope! Love, IJKS xxx

Chapter Six

Joey was sitting in the open doorway of her caravan, enjoying the early morning sunshine and nursing a cup of coffee. She looked up and smiled when she saw Charlie's little, blue car driving towards her. That car held a lot of pleasant memories. Joey had committed every good moment with Charlie to memory. She just hoped that they would now have the chance to create something new.

She stood up and approached when she saw Charlie begin to get out of the car. She was in uniform but hadn't put her hair up yet. Joey had always loved Charlie's hair when it was down. Today, it fell prettily on her shoulders. She looked amazing.

"I haven't done anything illegal, I swear," Joey said with easy humour.

Charlie chuckled and approached her, stopping at as close a distance as was still polite.

"Are you busy today?" she asked, desperately hoping that the answer would be 'no'.

"Not especially," Joey replied. "Aren't you?"

She nodded towards Charlie's uniform.

"If you give me an hour then I can get out of work," the police officer replied. "They owe me a tonne of flexitime."

Joey grinned.

"And what would you like to do with your flexitime?" she wondered.

"Anything you like," Charlie replied. "I'm young, free and single again so we have no limitations."

Joey beamed at her.

"You broke up with him?" she asked.

She had to admit, although not to Charlie, that she had been worried about being let down. Charlie hadn't exactly found it easy to commit to their relationship the first time round. She had been anticipating stalling tactics for at least a few days, if not weeks.

"This morning," Charlie informed her. "You haven't changed your mind since last night, have you?"

Joey laughed until she realised she was serious. She put her mug on the ground and stepped forward to catch hold of both her hands, gazing into Charlie's eyes. Then she kissed her tenderly on the mouth. Charlie closed her eyes, sinking into Joey's touch. She smiled into the kiss as she felt Joey's perfectly toned arms slink around her waist, pulling her closer. Shivers of delight ran through her entire body as she tasted her lips and touched her tongue. They only drew away when they could no longer breathe.

"Does that answer your question?" Joey whispered.

Charlie giggled and nodded. She cupped Joey's face and kissed her again.

"So, what would you like to do, Young, Free and Single?" Joey asked.

"If you'd come with me to buy a helmet, I would really love to go for a ride on your bike," Charlie said a little shyly.

She didn't want to be too demanding.

"No need," Joey said.

She led the way into her caravan where she retrieved two helmets from under the bed. Charlie was perplexed.

"You carry your whole life around in a single backpack and you have room for a spare helmet?"

"I bought it on my way into town," Joey admitted. "I was hoping you'd ask for a ride."

She smiled. Charlie smiled back.

"Give me an hour?" she asked.

"I'll be waiting," Joey replied.

They kissed one more time before Charlie forced herself to leave in order to make her excuses to work. She was thrilled by the idea of them now having all the time in the world to be happy together. It still felt like some kind of strange dream but there was no way she was going to get this wrong again. She loved Joey and she was going to do whatever it took to prove it.

Exactly an hour later, Charlie knocked on Joey's caravan door. She sucked in her breath and tried to combat her lust when she saw her dressed in tight, skinny jeans and another sleeveless top. In her hand, she held a leather jacket and both helmets were on the bed. Finally looking at Joey's face, Charlie blushed to realise that not only had she been caught checking her out, Joey had been returning the appreciative look.

"Do I look okay?" Charlie asked worriedly.

She'd put on her one pair of leather trousers, which she hadn't actually worn since the day she had gone too far with trying to get a rape confession from Grant. They had bad memories but she also knew they showed off her legs, which she also knew Joey had always liked. With the trousers, she wore a grey and rather low cut sleeveless top that showed ample cleavage. And like Joey, she held a leather jacket over one arm.

"You look amazing," Joey breathed.

She continued to gaze at her.

"Wow," she added.

Catching Charlie blushing, Joey grinned.

"You're really not making it all that easy to be nonchalant around you, you know," she admitted. "I was supposed to tell you that I wanted you and then not give a shit if you wanted to be wanted. But I don't think it's working…"

"Well, I do want to be wanted by you," Charlie said. "So maybe you don't need to act cool, calm and collected. Maybe you can just be happy."

Joey smiled at her, pulling her closer for a sensual kiss.

"I am happy," she said. "And I can't wait to show you how much."

Next time… Charlie and Joey spend a happy day together…