Chapter Two Hundred and Three
Forty five minutes later, upon Charlie's summoning, Joey pushed her way into the bedroom. She was particularly thrilled when she saw that Charlie, in the same stunning lingerie as the day before, having put a wash on in the morning, was perched on the bed looking particularly seductive. Joey grinned, moving closer for a kiss but Charlie batted her away.
"Professionalism!" she remarked.
Still grinning, Joey turned to the dresser, upon which, Charlie had laid out her digital camera.
"You can just pretend if you want," the police officer remarked, looking nervous.
"No way!" Joey said. "I want to capture the moment. You look beautiful."
"I feel a little shy," Charlie admitted.
Ignoring 'professionalism', Joey approached and stole a kiss, telling her that they didn't have to do it if she didn't want to.
"I want to make you happy," Charlie said sincerely, pulling her closer for another kiss. "And if this is how you want to use your token, then I will oblige without hesitation."
They kissed one more time before starting their role play game.
"Oh, shit," Aden murmured when he spotted a police car behind him and Nicole.
"That's weird," Nicole said, glancing behind her. "You weren't speeding or anything."
With her breakup with Liam still playing on her mind, the blonde was glad of being given the chance to escape for a little while. And she was touched that Aden, who had been avoiding her for a while, was happy to spend time with her now.
"Uh... yeah, weird," Aden replied.
He cleared his throat, pondered speeding off and then pulled over.
"Aden?" Nicole said suspiciously.
He ignored her.
"Aden?" she said again.
"I might have stolen the car," he admitted.
Giggling, Joey put the camera down, having taken a lot of photographs of Charlie in various poses, all in the skimpy underwear that had been Joey's birthday treat. Turning to the wardrobe, Joey rummaged and pulled out her girlfriend's uniform.
"And what do you propose we do with that?" Charlie asked, although she knew exactly where the game was going.
She still felt a little shy, although she was admittedly having fun. She trusted Joey implicitly so she had no fear of any incriminating photographs reaching anywhere that they shouldn't. Smiling, she watched Joey approach her and complied when she began to pull her uniform shirt on, leaving it unbuttoned. Joey handed over Charlie's handcuffs and baton and then stepped back to take more photos.
"What the hell were you thinking?" Nicole demanded.
She and Aden were stuck in a cell in the city, which was as far as they had got before the police had caught up with them on their illegal jaunt.
"I wasn't thinking!" Aden protested.
"And why on earth did you think it was okay to drag me into your joyride?" Nicole demanded.
He sat on the uncomfortable bench and watched his friend pace angrily.
"I think I actually hate you," Nicole said calmly.
He tried to apologise but she made a point of ignoring him, literally turning her back on him and gazing through the cell bars instead.
"Okay, I can't cope anymore," Joey decided.
She put the camera down and swiftly closed the gap between herself and Charlie, pulling her in close for a kiss. She ran her hands over her lean, tanned body, slipped her out of her shirt and quickly worked on her bra. A wicked thought entered her head. Charlie promptly read her mind.
"No!" she squeaked.
"But... but... birthday!" Joey whined.
"One photo," Charlie agreed firmly. "Make it count."
"Oh, I will," Joey said, laying her out on the bed in order to get started.
Hours had passed and the police were showing no signs of letting Aden or Nicole go. The friends hadn't spoken for a good long while, once Nicole had exhausted herself from ranting over what an idiot Aden had been to steal a car and then invite her along to the joyride. Aden had resisted pointing out that even if she had known, the chances were she would have gone along anyway – at least Nicole of days gone by would have, anyway. Now, they sat on opposite sides of the bench together, each looking at a different blank wall.
At the Surf Club, Alf, Colleen, Irene, Leah, Miles and Martha were all busy decorating and making things perfect for the party.
"Where are Charlie and Joey?" Martha wondered. "I thought they said they were going to stop by and help."
"I came straight here so I don't know what their plans were this morning," Leah said. "Maybe they just lost track of time."
Charlie cried out in ecstasy for the third time that afternoon. Her entire body continued to tremble as she tried to recover. Smiling mischievously, Joey crept back up Charlie's body, kissed her mouth and rested in her arms.
"That was amazing!" Charlie gasped.
Joey kissed her again, trying not to look too proud of herself. She ran her hand gently up and down her girlfriend's lean body. It had definitely been a wonderful afternoon.
"So, are you happy with how you spent your token?" the police officer asked.
"Oh yes! And I look forward to my next birthday, where I demand to get a token as a gift again!" Joey replied.
Charlie grinned and began idly playing with Joeys long, dark hair.
"I'm sure there will be plenty of occasions between now and then where a token can be issued," she said.
Joey's eyes lit up and she snuggled a little closer.
"Really?" she asked. "Because I would really, really like that!"
"Well, we have our anniversary coming up in a few months..." Charlie ventured.
Then she looked mock-horrified at the idea of having been in a relationship for almost a whole year. Joey laughed and held her hand.
"Twelve whole months," she remarked. "That's quite the achievement!"
Charlie nodded and smiled rather proudly.
"It only goes to show you how special you are," she said. "Because you're the only person on the planet that I could ever have imagined staying with long term."
Joey stole a cheeky kiss.
"Well, I'm honoured to be the person you feel able to commit to," she said. "And I am looking forward to lots of anniversaries with you. With tokens."
"With tokens," Charlie agreed.
"Hey, maybe we should have something like 'Token Wednesday' or something!" Joey smirked.
Charlie snorted with laughter before proposing that they ensured from here on out that they would do something special every single month, where they could spend real, quality time together and forget about the world.
"Sounds perfect to me," Joey said.
She stretched and then yelped when she noticed the clock.
"What's wrong?" Charlie asked.
"We were meant to be helping set up the Surf Club about two hours ago!" Joey realised.
Next time... Martha and Hugo temporarily reunite, Miles makes a pass at Leah and Charlie and Joey have a good time at the New Year party...
