Chapter Forty
Leah went back to bed, leaving Charlie and Joey alone. Charlie made sure the door was double locked and then turned back to Joey. She was visibly shaking. Charlie caught her just in time before Joey stumbled back into thin air.
"Hey," Charlie said softly, noting Joey's tears. "Hey, it's okay now. He's gone. It's okay."
"I'm so sorry," Joey sobbed. "I'm so sorry for what he said to you."
"It's not your fault."
"But if I hadn't... and we hadn't... if... I'm sorry."
Charlie silenced her with a soft and gentle kiss.
"Everything's okay," she promised.
Holding onto her, she guided her towards the bedroom, closing the door behind them. Charlie guided Joey to the bed and kissed her again. Joey smiled weakly. She allowed Charlie to undress her and waited patiently for her pyjamas to be presented.
"Arms up," Charlie instructed.
Numb, Joey obeyed and Charlie began to put Joey's sleeveless t-shirt over her head. Before she could, however, Joey put her arms back down and looked Charlie directly in the eyes.
"I love you," she said.
Charlie moved from a crouch into resting on her knees in front of Joey.
"I love you too, sweetheart," she replied, brushing strands of hair out of Joey's eyes.
"This is worth it, isn't it?"
Charlie looked stricken, suddenly catastrophising that Joey was about to end things between them.
"Of course it is. Don't you think it is?" she asked worriedly.
"I do. But I'm used to being rejected and judged, Charlie. I don't want you getting hurt. I don't want to do that to you."
Joey cried harder and held onto Charlie's shoulders.
"I'm not worth it."
Charlie sat up straighter and leant into her.
"You're worth anything anyone can throw at us," she stated firmly. "Don't you ever say anything different."
She kissed Joey almost savagely, reaching round to hold her close. Joey responded passionately, once she had recovered from the surprise. Charlie left Joey's mouth and kissed her jaw and neck, letting her tongue taste her skin. Joey let her head fall back, savouring Charlie's mouth on her body. Charlie's hand slipped down and began to stroke Joey's breast, thrilled that Joey had become naked willingly in advance. She moved her lips to Joey's collarbone and then lower, happily replacing her hand with her mouth. She guided Joey back onto the bed, moving onto the bed, taking pleasure in teasing Joey's breasts with her hands and tongue. Joey felt her breathing becoming erratic the more Charlie explored her skin. She ran her own hands over Charlie's back, slipping her hand down as far as she could, feeling the shape of Charlie's backside through her trousers. Charlie lifted her head and reached up to kiss Joey's mouth before trailing her tongue down her body, past her chest and over her abdomen. Her fingers gripped the top of Joey's one remaining item of clothing, slipping it of quickly and flinging it to the floor. Running her hands up and down Joey's thighs, she encouraged her to open her legs a little more so that she could settle between them. Joey cried out at the first touch. Charlie wasted little time in exploring her and making Joey feel as wonderful as possible. Joey gripped the bedspread as she savoured every moment of Charlie's mouth on her. It took a surprisingly short amount of time for her to give into her climax. She didn't even bother to silence herself, despite knowing that Leah and probably Ruby had already been woken once by her brother's interruption. Charlie continued to kiss her most sensitive part and inner thighs as she watched Joey begin to settle. Then she crawled up her body to hold her.
"Everything is worth it," Charlie confirmed.
Joey couldn't stop herself from smiling.
***
It was four in the morning before Charlie and Joey had finally managed to get to sleep. They had been overwhelmed with the compulsion to touch each other constantly, bringing each other to climax over and over again, declaring their love for and commitment to each other. Waking up in time to go to work the following morning was difficult and both of them fought the urge to call in sick to work and spend the day tucked up in bed together. They had just ventured out of their room and sat down to breakfast with Ruby when Xavier knocked on the door to collect his girlfriend.
"Um... Charlie..." he began awkwardly.
Charlie eyed him curiosity.
"I think you'd better come outside. You're really not going to like this."
