Chapter One Hundred and Twenty Seven
Charlie drove Ruby to the hospital in the morning, in time for Xavier to be discharged. She then drove the teenagers back to Xavier, Hugo and Martha's house and left them to it. Ruby was beside herself with guilt over how she had been treating her boyfriend recently and while a big part of her still wanted to end things between them, a bigger part of her felt like it wasn't the right thing to do. He'd been so upset the day before and to break his heart a second time seemed terribly unfair. And she believed, or at least hoped, that in time, her feelings for Geoff would subside. They were already seeing less of each other now that they weren't living together so Ruby hoped that her feelings could go back to being platonic. Xavier was a nice boy. She loved him, even if she wasn't sure she was in love with him anymore. And she had lost her virginity to him. That had to count for something, didn't it?
At the police station, Robertson watched Angelo take a phone call and then head out and to his car. Intrigued as to where he was off to, Robertson excused himself to Watson and followed. Whether he was Grant Bledcoe's killer or not, there was definitely something dodgy about this guy and Robertson wanted to find out what it was. Carefully, he followed the Constable down to the marina and watched from a distance as he headed over to Hugo's shed, a current crime scene, and sent the officers away.
Charlie went to the gym and enjoyed her work out. One of the only benefits to being currently out of work was that at least she didn't have to jam exercise around her shifts. It was nice to take real time to work on her body, build her muscles up and stay in shape. It had always been something she cared about but now that she was with Joey, she cared a little more. A big part of her felt undeserving of the love of such a wonderful person and she was desperate to always be the best she could be for her. She wanted to be attractive and active, she wanted to make her laugh, she wanted to support her, take care of her and always make sure she knew she was loved. Charlie smiled to herself as she pictured Joey's face and looked forward to seeing her for lunch. Despite their current predicament, Charlie felt extremely lucky to have Joey. She had no idea how she would ever have got through any of this without her.
Ruby had made sandwiches for herself and Xavier and they were sitting on the sofa together watching a DVD. They held hands and felt more comfortable together than they had in a long time. They paused the DVD when the front door opened and Gina, Brendan and Hugo waltzed through the door.
"Hey, mate," Hugo said to his brother. "How are you feeling?"
"Okay," the blonde boy replied with a shrug. "Bit sore. Little bit confused but okay."
Brendan came to sit beside him, wanting to see him close up and make sure he was really okay. Xavier thanked him for saving his life, making a fuss about what an amazing brother he was.
"About that..." Gina said.
Everyone gave her their full attention.
"I wish yesterday had never happened," she said. "However, if it served a purpose, it showed me that Brendan really is grown up and capable. So, Brendan, as much as I will miss you... if you really want to do this house share thing, then..."
She sighed.
"Then I guess it's okay with me."
Brendan tackled his mother in a jubilant hug.
Joey headed to the Diner at lunch time, pleased to see that Charlie was already waiting for her. She approached the table and kissed Charlie's lips before she sat down.
"How was work?" Charlie asked.
"Long!" Joey said. "And this afternoon's going to be even longer! But on the upside, I get to spend a lovely lunch time with you."
The two women beamed at each other and kissed again.
"How was your morning?" Joey asked, picking up the menu.
"It was alright," Charlie said. "I took Ruby and Xavier back to his. Then I worked out for a bit."
Joey grinned a little naughtily. She had developed quite a fetish for Charlie in her exercise gear. Catching her look, Charlie playfully tapped her nose. Joey kissed Charlie's finger and told her that if she didn't want her to lust, she shouldn't be so hot. Pleased with the compliment, Charlie reached out and squeezed Joey's hand.
"How is Xavier doing anyway?" Joey asked. "Has he remembered anything yet?"
Charlie shook her head. Joey caught a look of scepticism on her girlfriend's face.
"What?" she asked.
"Don't you think it's convenient that he literally only doesn't remember Ruby breaking up with him?" the police officer asked.
Joey put her menu down and turned the question over in her mind.
"Do you think he's lying?" she asked.
"I think he loves Ruby and is terrified of losing her," Charlie said. "And love makes people do some pretty crazy things."
Later that night, Angelo finished work and drove towards home. At the last minute, he changed direction and headed towards Charlie's house. He hadn't realised how much he would miss seeing her at work every day. Minus the odd conversation when they bumped into each other at the Diner, he hardly saw her now. And things certainly hadn't been the same since he'd made such an awful mistake of trying to pressure her to be with him. That night certainly hadn't gone to plan and he regretted it terribly, knowing he should have handled things a hell of a lot better.
Unbeknownst to Angelo, Robertson had been tailing him for most of the day. At the station, he'd kept an eye on him and listened in as best his could to his phone calls. Angelo had gone into Hugo's shed alone and stayed there for quite some time. Now, Robertson wondered where he was heading. Unsurprisingly, Angelo pulled around the back of Charlie's house. Robertson kept watching.
Charlie and Joey headed to their room for an early night. They'd hung out with Leah for a bit and she'd got a little cautiously giddy over the date she and Robertson had arranged – after she had quadruple checked that it was okay. Closing the door behind them, Charlie and Joey immediately fell into each other's arms. They kissed their way to the bed, barely breathing as they wrapped their arms around each other. The moonlight lit the room up. Their passion hadn't left time for them to turn on a light. Kissing Joey fervently, Charlie made short work of both their clothes. Sitting up on the middle of the bed, their pressed their bodies close, trailing kisses everywhere accessible and running their hands all over each other. Joey shifted position in order to guide Charlie back onto the mattress. She gazed lovingly at her, teasing her body with her lips, tongue and fingertips.
Robertson was puzzled as Angelo got out of the car and crept up to the house. There was definitely something wrong here. Cautiously, he followed, keeping his distance but making sure Angelo remained in sight. He found him standing, as close as he could get away with, gazing through a window of the ground floor of the house.
Charlie gave her full self to Joey, closing her eyes and relishing every kiss and caress. She loved that Joey was so gentle and so loving and that she always knew how to make her happy. She had perfect pace and skill and Charlie didn't feel that she had ever been so in tune with another person before in her life – emotionally or physically. She cried out as wave after wave of pleasure hit her, never wanting the moment to end.
Angelo watched through the window, careful not to be seen – not that Charlie or Joey were in a position to notice anything but each other. He wasn't sure how he felt at watching them. It was something he had done a couple of times in recent weeks and he always came away feeling strange. Traditionally, the idea of watching two women making love was extremely hot. Everyone knew that he fancied Charlie and Joey was definitely very attractive. But his lust was tainted by his sadness. He wanted to be the one making love to Charlie. He wanted to be the one who got to touch her, kiss her and bring her to climax. He wanted her to give herself over to him. He wanted her to scream his name, not Joey's. He wanted to be her everything and yet he was nothing. Through the glass, he saw Charlie become still and gather Joey lovingly into her arms, holding her close. He imagined that she was telling her that she loved her, probably over and over again. And then, usually after some time cuddling, Charlie would switch positions and devour Joey's body with a passion he had personally never been lucky enough to have experienced. He'd slept with Charlie a few times, back before Jack had died and Angelo's world had ended. But she had never quite desired him in the same way as she seemed to desire Joey now. Not wanting to hold onto bitter disappointment, Angelo made his exit. He climbed into his car and hurried away.
Charlie held Joey close and kissed her neck, cheek and lips. She moved so that her body covered Joey's and slid her hand to begin teasing Joey's breasts. Joey moaned and closed her eyes. Charlie kissed her again, whispering that she loved her. She saw the smile spread across Joey's face and took the moment to slip her hand between her legs. Joey's smile grew and became a little wicked. Charlie trailed kisses from her mouth to her tummy and below.
Robertson was intrigued to find himself following Angelo all the way to the city. It was a long drive to make in late evening and the Detective couldn't help but wonder what he was up to. The fact that he had seen him spying on Charlie and Joey was more than a little disturbing. Even without really seeing them himself, he had a pretty good idea of what they had been doing. Now he wondered what Angelo's plan was.
Charlie and Joey finally curled up together beneath the blankets, at last ready for sleep. Joey nestled herself in the crook of Charlie's shoulder and rested her hand on her tummy. Morag was returning to Summer Bay in the morning, which meant they would have to face the potential charges against them. They had spent a good few days trying to forget the whole thing and forget that it was happening. It was easy to lose themselves in each other but they knew they had to face reality sometime. Joey kissed Charlie's jaw.
"You really are the most wonderful thing that's ever happened to me," she said honestly.
"And you, me," Charlie replied with just as much sincerity.
Angelo took a woman to a hotel, a somewhat sleazy dive that cost very little. Getting the key card and thanking the receptionist who had barely registered he was there at all, he led the way to the second floor. Closing the door behind him, he locked it and turned to his companion. They found their way to the bed and immediately began to get passionate. Unhooking her bra, he paused and looked into her eyes.
"Wait," he said.
"What?" she replied.
"Can I call you Charlie?"
She rolled her eyes and unhooked her bra herself.
"For the amount you're paying me, you can call me whatever the hell you like," she told him.
