Chapter One Hundred and Sixty Nine
Charlie pulled up outside Aden's house and beeped her horn. A few moments later Joey and Aden appeared. Charlie smiled as she watched Joey hug her friend goodbye and then bound over to the car, hopping into the passenger seat. They kissed by way of greeting and then headed on home together.
Martha and Hugo arrived home, parking the car outside the house.
"So, they dragged you in for nothing?" Martha asked sceptically.
Hugo sighed and nodded, killing the engine and climbing out of the car.
"It was something about a log book," he said. "I don't know. To be honest, I think Angelo's just got it in for me."
"Well, he has no damn right," Martha said bitterly. "If anyone should have a vendetta against anyone, it should be us against him. He's a bastard."
They both paused when they realised there was someone on their doorstep.
Angelo sat, irritating Watson as he drummed his fingers on the desk. He opened and closed his file, debating what to do. Charlie's absence was annoying him and he felt critical of her lack of care for the case that was saving his life. All she seemed to want was to spend time with Joey. The Charlie who was obsessed with her job and nothing more – besides Ruby – was gone. Love had changed her and he didn't like it, not if he wasn't the one that was in receipt of all the feelings that he'd never thought she was even capable of expressing. Growling in frustration and grabbing his file, he stood up and stormed out of the police station.
Charlie and Joey arrived home and found Ruby and Geoff half asleep on the sofa with their movie still playing. Despite her anxiety over her daughter being in an adult relationship, Charlie couldn't help but smile. The couple really were quite sweet together and she supposed that if Ruby was going to date anyone, she trusted Geoff to be good to her and treat her respectfully.
"Rubes?" she said gently, touching her shoulder.
Ruby woke up with a start. She flushed with embarrassment, as if she had been caught out doing something naughty.
"Hey, Charlie, we were just..."
Geoff bolted awake, confused and guilty.
"It's fine," Charlie said. "Although, it is getting late so maybe it's time to say goodnight?"
The teenagers nodded and Ruby showed Geoff out through the kitchen. Back in the lounge, Joey held Charlie's hand and smiled affectionately at her.
"Did I do well?" Charlie asked, eager for some praise.
"You did very, very well," Joey assured her, pulling her in for a kiss.
"Oh, get a room!" Ruby teased, waltzing back through the door.
"Finally you're home!" the stranger remarked.
"Who are you?" Martha asked.
Hugo froze. His palms began to sweat as panic took over. He could hardly believe that his secret wife and business partner was really standing there. Suddenly it felt like the world was imploding.
"I'm Suzy," the woman said, extending her hand.
Martha shook it uncertainly, still none the wiser.
"Surely Hugo's mentioned me?" the woman asked. "I'm only his wife!"
"So, do you think you've made any headway at all?" Joey asked, closing the blinds before she and Charlie began to get changed.
Across the room, Charlie kicked her boots off and removed her hefty belt. She shrugged herself out of her trousers and began to undo her shirt. She turned round to see Joey checking her out. Laughing, she pulled her girlfriend closer and kissed her.
"Do you think when we've been together for like... ten years or something, that you'll still check me out so much?"
"Ten years?" Joey said, feigning horror.
Charlie blanched but Joey laughed. She stroked Charlie's face affectionately.
"I would consider myself very, very lucky if I still got to be with you in ten years time," she said.
They kissed tenderly.
"And for the record, yes, I will definitely be checking you out then," she added.
She reached out and finished undoing Charlie's buttons, slipping her shirt off her shoulders and onto the floor. She gazed appreciatively at Charlie standing in the lamplight in her underwear. She licked her lips and placed a gentle kiss on Charlie's shoulder, a particular spot that she knew her partner enjoyed. She brushed her lips on the parts of Charlie's breasts that showed before reaching round and releasing them from her bra. She lowered her lips and captured each one in turn with her mouth. Charlie closed her eyes, smiling as Joey ran her hands up and down her sides. Joey nudged them gently towards the bed, lying her flat on her back and leaning over her. She trailed kisses over every inch of her skin, enjoying the sound of her moaning. Charlie ran her hands through her girlfriend's hair, pulling her a little bit closer before she moved her hands to begin stripping Joey out of her clothes.
Angelo sat a short distance away from Martha's house, watching her and Hugo have some kind of dispute with a woman on their porch. It all looked rather animated and he wished that he could hear what they were saying. After a few wild gestures and angry looks from Hugo, the woman turned and left, storming away into the night. Making a note of the time, Angelo continued to watch the house as Hugo chased Martha into the house, seeming to be frantically trying to explain who the woman might be.
Joey stood and squirmed out of her jeans, hurriedly moving back to lie on top of Charlie. She stroked her breasts and kissed her neck, whispering that she loved her. Their temperatures rose and their breathing became laboured as their passion increased. Neither woman wanted the moment to end. Charlie eased Joey onto her back, kissing her way down her body and settling between her legs. She ran her tongue slowly up each thigh, making Joey groan with expectation before giving her what she so desperately wanted.
As the night drew on and it became the early hours of the morning, Angelo struggled to keep awake. He swallowed the last dregs of his coffee and wished he'd brought another flask out. Still parked up outside Martha's house, he was frustrated by the lack of movement and wondered if Charlie had been right to bail out after all. Sighing, he was just about to turn away and head back home when the front door opened and Hugo stole into the night. Angelo waited an appropriate amount of time before quietly following in his car to find out exactly where his suspect was headed.
Charlie and Joey lay in each others' arms, not quite asleep but too tired to really function.
"Okay, so you do think we'll still be as rampant in ten years time?" Charlie giggled, snuggling into Joey's side and kissing her chest gently.
Joey smiled and stroked Charlie's hair.
"I certainly hope so," she said. "And I know nothing could ever make me stop wanting you."
"Really?"
"Honestly, Charlie, it takes every ounce of self control not to leap on you the moment I see you!"
Charlie laughed and pulled Joey closer, assuring herself that practicing self control wasn't necessary as far as she was concerned.
"Somehow I don't think Colleen would appreciate me humping you in the middle of the Diner!" Joey remarked.
"Yeah, okay," Charlie relented. "But when we're here like this..."
She kissed her.
"When we're here like this," Joey replied softly. "I will hold you and never let you go."
Martha lay alone in bed, painfully aware that while Hugo had thought her safe and sound in the land of dreams, he'd got up, dressed and left the house. She dreaded to think where he was going and who he was planning to see.
Next time... Joey inadvertently helps Charlie and Angelo with their investigation, Hugo drowns his sorrows and Watson gets a girlfriend...
