Chapter Forty-Eight
Joey sat down to lunch with Amber. She took a long sip of her juice and smiled, ensuring she remained tuned into her friend's conversation. Amber was a nice girl. She was funny and kind and she always had time for her. But Joey knew that she would never ever be quite a good enough substitute for Charlie. Senior Constable Buckton was the woman Joey wanted to be having lunch with but unsurprisingly, she had phoned, using her guilty and apologetic voice to explain that she and Angelo had been called out to investigate a mayday call to a boat abandoned out at sea. So Amber had stepped in at the last minute to keep Joey company. It was nice of her and Joey was genuinely grateful. But she was worried about Charlie going into a potentially dangerous situation. She was unhappy about the amount of time she spent at work. And she was sick with jealousy over that fact that Charlie spent every waking second with her ex-boyfriend instead of her current girlfriend. Joey was at the point where she felt like charging into the sea and hunting down the shark herself. Maybe if the locals weren't so up in arms about the damn thing then the investigation wouldn't be so intense and then they could forget it and move on. Then Angelo could go back to wherever he came from and leave her and Charlie in peace. Joey hardly knew the guy and she hated him, and it had nothing to do with anyone he may or may not have killed. All it had to do with was the few times she had encountered him and the very distinct way he looked at Charlie. She mirrored his expression. While she couldn't blame him – Charlie was incredible – she could still hate him for it.
***
Charlie sat back and felt the wind in her hair. She looked out to sea, frowning. She didn't like boats, not unless they were accompanied by a picnic, sunshine and Joey, preferably in some sexy, skimpy little outfit. She grinned. That was definitely something they had to organise. Soon. If she ever got some time off. She felt like she was married to her job at the moment and she hated it. She knew she disappointed Joey every day and she wished it could be different but she was the leader of her team and she couldn't slack off now. Still, she had clocked so much overtime lately that she was sure she was due some lovely holiday and she was damn sure she was going to take it. Perhaps that was how her fantasy about Joey in a hot little outfit could come into play. She grinned again. The only bonus of working so hard was that she had found some kind of peace with Angelo. It was a small thing and while she was aware that half the town would probably still hate her for it if they knew, it meant something for her. Finding him guilty of killing Jack had torn Charlie apart. She'd cared for Angelo so much and while she had no interest in him now at all, it felt good to allow herself to be friends with him again. At the heart of it, they had always been friends. She knew he was a good guy and she knew Jack's death had been an accident. And now she knew something that nobody else had taken the time to find out. He hated himself for it. During their time on various investigations and stakeouts, he'd confessed to suicide attempts and to the fact that he was now on a serious cocktail of anti-depressants and anti-anxiety medication just to get him through the day. He said he'd never forgive himself for what he'd done, that he would never allow himself to let go of the guilt and that all he hoped to do with his life was somehow try and make up for what he did. Charlie felt compassion for him. She couldn't help it. And it was one of the reasons why she didn't resent the workload quite as much as she should have done. She wanted to help him make things right. She didn't want him to feel so sad.
***
"Well, I guess I'd better head home," Joey said.
Lunch had turned into drinks at the Surf Club and Joey had promised to have a nice home cooked meal for Charlie. That was, of course, if Charlie showed up for dinner. More often than not, Joey cooked for Leah, VJ and Ruby and left Charlie's warming in the oven.
"Is your lady coming back for dinner tonight?" Amber asked, feigning shock.
"Here's hoping!" Joey grinned. "I'm making my speciality dish so it should tempt her home."
"Are you still fretting about Angelo?" Amber asked seriously.
Joey frowned.
"She's told me not to," she said. "We had this long talk last week but..."
"But what?"
"But she spends all her time with him. What if...?"
She swallowed, not wanting to finish the sentence.
"What if...?"
"What if there's still chemistry there? I mean..."
She sighed heavily.
"Joey, talk to me..."
Amber studied Joey beautiful but crestfallen looking face. She wanted nothing more than to comfort her in the most inappropriate of ways but made sure she restrained herself.
"Well, Charlie's amazing. She's beautiful, funny, sexy and so sweet. And she's going places, you know? She's a cop and she's powering up through the ranks. And he's in this special unit. Even with his past, he's better than me. I'm just a deckhand."
She'd been gesturing with her hands, using them to talk. Now she let them drop to her sides in defeat. Amber reached over to hold them.
"Joey, don't talk like that," she said earnestly. "You're a wonderful woman. Don't sell yourself so short. You're great at what you do."
"But..."
"So what if you're not a cop? Who the hell cares? And if Charlie does care, then she doesn't deserve to be with you."
Joey chewed her lip.
"I don't know if she cares," she admitted. "I could just be feeling sorry for myself."
"Maybe you need to talk to her again," Amber suggested.
"What am I meant to say? Charlie, I'm completely paranoid about you working all the hours God sends with your ex-boyfriend who happens to be really handsome and has this whole brooding thing going on?"
"Well, yeah that might work," Amber grinned.
Joey smiled weakly.
"I don't know. I'm just being cranky because I miss her. I wasn't expecting to have to do a long distance relationship with someone I live with," she sighed. "Anyway, if I'm going to get dinner ready on time I've really got to go. See you Monday for rehearsals?"
"Count on it."
***
Charlie arrived home tired but very much looking forward to Joey's 'fishy soupy thing' as named by Ruby. Walking through the back door, she smiled as she spotted Joey singing to herself as she worked away alone in the kitchen. Dropping her bag down on a chair, Charlie crept up to her and wrapped her arms around her from behind, almost making her leap out of her skin.
"Geez! Charlie! You nearly gave me a heart attack!" Joey scolded.
"Do you need mouth to mouth?" Charlie asked.
Joey grinned and twirled round in her arms. They kissed.
"Wait, you are Charlie, aren't you? I just seem to have forgotten what you look like."
Charlie pouted. Joey felt guilty. She kissed her tenderly. She felt Charlie smile against her lips. Their kiss began to develop, brushing their lips against each other, introducing their tongues delicately. Joey let her hands roam, fumbling with Charlie's top button, then the next and the next. Charlie grinned again. Her hands slipped down to Joey's backside, pulling Joey closer to her.
"Does this meal need to be watched or can we slip away for a little while?" Charlie asked, not quite letting her lips part from Joey's.
Joey reached out to turn the heat down and nudged Charlie backwards out of the kitchen and towards the bedroom.
***
Inside their private four walls, Joey flung Charlie down on the bed. The policewoman's shirt was almost all the way undone. Joey happily dived beneath the material, kissing every inch of bare skin she could find. Her fingers found Charlie beneath the fabric of her bra, teasing and playing. Charlie moaned and writhed beneath her, feeling extremely happy to be home. Their mouths found each other again as Charlie shrugged herself out of her shirt and then began to work on Joey's. Joey's bra was the next garment to find its way to the floor. Charlie then climbed off the bed, hurriedly undid her boots, kicking them off before she'd completely undid the laces, pulled her socks off as quickly as possible and then returned her attention to Joey, specifically to removing her jeans. Sitting back, she gazed at her beautiful girlfriend, suddenly overwhelmed by just how much she missed her with all the long hours she had been worked. She thought about how she loved her so completely and how lucky she was to have her. Gazing at her, she took in her every feature – the way her long, dark hair cascaded back on the pillow, the way her eyes were so full of expression, the way her skin was so smooth and her breasts were so perfect. Charlie watched her breathe, enthralled by her tummy going up and down, rapidly as she waited expectantly for Charlie's next move. Charlie smiled, loving every freckle and every scar, every single part of Joey and she knew she always would. Charlie stood and eased herself out of her trousers, moving to lie atop Joey. Holding each other close, they kissed over and over again, drawing each other into themselves. Sliding down slowly, Charlie kissed the body that she had come to know and love so well. Reaching Joey's breasts, she took one into her mouth and the other between her fingers. Both of them enjoyed the pleasure she elicited. Joey writhed beneath her as Charlie descended, making short work of her underwear. Suddenly, Charlie sat up. Joey frowned.
"Sometime soon I'm taking you away on holiday," Charlie said. "I'm thinking a boat and you in something skimpy. Your thong just reminded me."
Joey giggled.
"Anyway, where was I?"
"About to do something incredible," Joey said certainly.
Charlie rested between Joey's legs, using her index finger to explore before letting her tongue join in.
***
"Joey! Joey! You're fishy soupy thing's burning and oh, God, you're screwing my sister!"
Ruby burst out of the room as quickly as she'd arrived, squealing and shielding her eyes. For their part, Charlie and Joey leapt under the covers in sheer horror and humiliation.
"You're fishy soupy thing is burning," Ruby squeaked through the now firmly closed door.
"Could you please turn it off the heat?" Joey asked in an equally meek voice.
She turned to Charlie. Both of them had turned crimson.
"We'll um... we'll be out in a minute," Charlie called.
"Okay," Ruby said.
They heard her hurry away.
***
That night over dinner, Charlie and Joey could hardly meet Ruby's gaze. She could hardly meet theirs either. Seeing your sister flat on her back in bed with her girlfriend was not a pretty sight. They were close but they were not that close. Nobody should ever be that close. She shuddered and asked Leah to pass the salt.
"What happened between you three tonight?" Leah asked.
"Nothing!" the three women all replied in unison.
The rest of the meal consisted of Charlie being interrogated about what had happened on her boat trip. The mayday call had been from none other than Irene Roberts. Lou was dead and Irene was traumatised and currently being held in custody as Angelo's team tried to find out what on earth was going on. It had been a hellish day for everyone concerned.
***
As Charlie and Joey were getting ready for bed that night, Charlie cleared her throat awkwardly.
"I was um, wondering if perhaps we could um..."
Joey eyed her curiously.
"If we could maybe invite Angelo round for dinner one night," Charlie said.
Joey looked distinctly unimpressed.
"And your face is telling me no," Charlie concluded.
Joey tried and failed to change her expression.
"No," she said. "It's okay. I don't mind."
Her voice was coming out far higher and tighter than she wanted it to.
"Your face is still saying no, Joey. It's okay. It was just an idea."
"Why... why, um... why do you want him round for
dinner?"
"He just... he's having problems adjusting back
here and I thought it might be nice to offer him some friendship,
that's all. He's had a really hard time."
Joey nodded, knowing a fair amount about not fitting in.
"Does that mean you're starting to forgive him for killing Jack?" Joey wondered.
Charlie sighed and sat on the bed. Joey watched her, admiring her perfect body as she perched on the edge of the bed in her underwear.
"I miss Jack. I really wish you could have known him. He was such a wonderful man. But so is Angelo. He never meant to kill anybody. Before all this happened, he was just this funny, happy go lucky guy who only ever wanted to help people. He spent his whole life making people smile. He's not a murderer, Joey. And now... now he's this broken man. He deserves a chance. He'll never stop punishing himself for what he did. He doesn't need other people punishing him as well."
Joey was torn between feeling moved by Charlie's compassion and suspicious of her motives. And she hated herself for it. She didn't want to feel jealous. But she couldn't help but fear that there was something pulling Charlie towards Angelo, even if Charlie wasn't yet aware of it.
"Well," she managed, feeling heavy hearted. "If um... if it means that much to you then, um... then yeah, sure. Of course we can have dinner. Pick a day and you can bring him home from work. I'll cook."
Charlie broke into a big smile.
"Are you sure you don't mind?"
"Of course not," Joey lied.
Charlie undid her bra and reached underneath her pillow for her silk pyjamas, still smiling. Joey felt suddenly tearful but she forced herself to keep control. She resigned herself to fate. If Charlie was going to leave her she supposed there was nothing she could do about it but take it gracefully and attempt to give her every reason she could to stay. She would love her with her every breath, every inch of her being so long as she was allowed to. And even though it would break her heart into a million pieces, if Charlie chose to be with Angelo, Joey would force herself to be grateful for the time they had had together. Climbing into bed, Charlie watched Joey finish getting change, not picking up on her mood.
"So, what did you get up to today?" she asked.
"Not much," Joey replied. "Work. Met up with Amber for lunch."
Charlie tensed involuntarily. She liked Amber but she couldn't help but feel a little jealous. With Charlie working so much, it seemed like their drama club friend was a little too willing to fill her shoes and keep Joey company. Charlie had been sure from day one, even before she and Joey were an item, that Amber had had her eye on her and she was sure she'd be willing to replace Charlie any moment she got. Joey climbed beneath the blankets and snuggled in close. Feeling Charlie's body, washed her potentially forthcoming tears away. They kissed. Charlie tried to focus on anything but what Amber's intentions might be. She loved Joey and she knew Joey loved her. They trusted each other. Didn't they?
