Chapter Two Hundred and Sixty Nine

Charlie moaned in her sleep as she dreamed of Joey kissing her. Her breasts tingled and she stretched her legs out in pleasure as consciousness began to take over. A smile touched her lips as she realised that it hadn't been a dream. She felt Joey's breath on her neck as she kissed her.

"Happy anniversary," Charlie mumbled.

"About time," Joey smirked. "I've been longing for you wake up for ages."

Charlie smiled, leaning back against the pillows as Joey trailed her lips down to her breasts, gently caressing each one in turn.

"You know, you could have started without me," Charlie moaned as she felt Joey kiss her way down her tummy.

Joey jerked her head up and looked quizzically at her girlfriend.

"I think that's illegal," she pointed out.

"Well, I officially permit it," Charlie said, keeping her eyes closed and enjoying the feel of Joey being so close to her. "That would be an amazing way to wake up. Although this... this is pretty wonderful."

Needing no further encouragement, Joey settled between her girlfriend's legs. She kissed her thighs, getting closer and closer to her goal. Today, everything was going to be perfect.


Having had breakfast together, Charlie and Joey got showered and dressed. Joey had long since informed Charlie that she'd planned their anniversary but refused to tell her anything about it.

"Seriously, what are we doing today?" Charlie asked.

"It's a secret," Joey said. "So, you take this..."

She handed over a small envelope.

"And don't open it until I'm gone."

"Gone?" Charlie asked in sheer alarm.

"The quicker you get started, the quicker we'll be together," Joey said. "Enjoy."

With that, she kissed her tenderly on the mouth and left the flat they had now been living in for a week. Bewildered, Charlie opened the envelope. It read:

Your daily caffeine fix will show you what's next.

(I couldn't find a proper rhyme – sorry! I'll do better!)

Charlie chuckled, realising she was being sent on a treasure hunt. Grinning, she stood up and hurried to the kitchen, rummaging through endless pots of coffee. Finding nothing, she chewed her lip and tried to figure out what to do.

"The Diner," she realised.

Grabbing her keys, she hurried out of the house and down towards the seafront.


Fifteen minutes later, Charlie arrived somewhat breathlessly. Leah's grin told her that she was in the right place.

"Here," she said, offering out a ready-made coffee.

Attached to the paper cup was an envelope. Charlie nearly spilt the beverage to open it but Leah stopped her.

"She told me to tell you not to rush," she said, guiding her into a chair. "Drink your coffee, figure out the clue and then get going but she has a hell of a lot to organise "

"What's she planning?" Charlie wondered.

"I don't want to die, Charlie," Leah said with mock seriousness. "I'm not about to ruin the surprise!"

Chuckling, she turned away. Charlie smiled. She set her coffee down and carefully removed the envelope. It read:

Head towards pool and cue for a clue.

"Surf Club," she said instantly.

Deciding to follow Leah's instructions though, she resisted racing off. Instead, she sat back and sipped her drink, watching the world around her.


After twenty minutes of resisting abandoning her coffee, Charlie headed towards the Surf Club. Approaching the pool table, she found it had been deemed out of order. Puzzled, she wondered what to do. Alf stepped up behind her.

"You might want to look in the pockets," he said helpfully.

Charlie laughed at the realisation that Joey had made this whole thing a real team effort.

"Thanks," she said.

He stood back and watched as she found the next envelope in the last pocket.

"Take a hike to shed some light," she read, puzzled.

She turned to Alf.

"I have no idea what that means..."

"All she said to me was that you'd be going to a significant place," he told her. "Somewhere you've been together before."

She watched him turn back to the bar and continued to puzzle over the clue.

"Light... sunlight, moonlight, bright light... um... light, light, light... light that I have to hike to..."

She sighed, feeling a little flummoxed.

"Hiking to the light... house!"

She bellowed the last word significantly loudly that several people looked at her. She grinned at Alf and then dashed out of the building. Alf smiled, glad that she had figured it out. He'd privately been a little nervous when Joey had approached him with her idea. It had reminded him too much of a beloved Bay couple in the nineties. For Shane and Angel Parish's first wedding anniversary, Shane had organised a treasure hunt all through the town, resulting in a romantic picnic for them and their son, Dylan. That had been the day Shane died at barely twenty years old. Obviously Alf hadn't shared that nugget of information with the couple but he had worried for a little while. Still, he thought it would be nice to create new memories based on the same idea. And he was always more than willing to do anything he could to help Joey. He thought a lot of her and Charlie both.


"This had better be good," Charlie muttered to herself when she finally arrived at the lighthouse.

She and Joey had been here as friends once upon a time, back when neither of them had quite felt able to admit their feelings for each other.

"And what am I supposed to do now?" she wondered.

Approaching the lighthouse itself, she wondered where Joey might have hidden an envelope. She paused when she spotted a female couple sitting and having a picnic nearby. It was Watson and Monica. Heading over, she noted that they didn't look particularly shocked to see her.

"We were expecting you a little earlier, slacker," Watson teased.

Charlie put her hands on her hips and pouted.

"Check the door," Monica said helpfully.

Charlie raced over to the lighthouse and immediately found an enveloped taped to the door. Tearing it open, she was relieved to understand the next clue easily.

Take the bait and wait...


Aden was closing up for the day, having covered for Joey on her day off when Charlie arrived at the bait shop.

"Your carriage awaits," he told her. "Just give me a sec to lock up."

Charlie just grinned, eager to reach the end of her surprise. Having not started until lunch time, evening was drawing in and Charlie's excitement had been growing all day.

"Where are we going?" she asked when Aden led her to his car.

"It's a surprise," he told her, opening the passenger door and gesturing for her to get in.

"You'd better not be abducting me," Charlie teased when he settled himself in the driver's seat.

"Joey would murder me!" he laughed. "No, I can assure you everything is legit and above board. Don't you worry."

He grinned and started the engine, driving her out of the Bay.


"This looks amazing, Joey," Nicole enthused.

She stepped back and observed the picnic she and Joey had spent most of the afternoon setting up. The blanket was spread out and in the middle was a big hamper of food. Both girls had been dropped off by Aden in the middle of the day after Joey had set Charlie on the hunt for her treasure.

"You think she'll like it?" Joey asked.

She was crouched down, lighting several candles around the blanket, wanting it all to be as romantic as possible. It had taken a lot of organising but she hoped a moonlit picnic would suffice as a way to for them to celebrate a year of loving each other.

"She'll love it," Nicole said. "If I ever get to a year with someone, preferably Aden, I'd hope to receive something as romantic as this."

Joey stood up and dusted the sand from her knees.

"I'll tell him nearer the time," she smirked.

Nicole laughed. Looking up, she spotted Aden's car.

"They're here," she said. "Good luck."


Charlie recognised the spot the moment she got out of the car. This was the same stretch of beach she'd taken Joey to, back when they hardly knew each other. She'd wanted to take her new friend out for the day to get to know her better and distract her from the pain she had been through with Robbo. It was the first time they'd really become close. They'd spent the whole day talking and having fun. It had been the beginning of their romance, even though neither of them had realised that at the time.

Following Aden down to the sand, Charlie couldn't stop smiling when she saw Joey standing with Nicole amid a beautiful setting for a picnic. She broke into a run and caught Joey carefully up in her arms, kissing her passionately. They rested their foreheads together.

"You got here then," Joey said happily.

"I did," Charlie replied. "Thank you for all the effort you went to. It was so sweet."

"I wanted today to be special," Joey said.

"We'll head off before you two get carried away," Aden said, slipping his arm around Nicole and leading her back towards the car.

Charlie and Joey thanked both of them for their help. When they'd gone, Joey led Charlie to the picnic blanket and gestured for her to sit down on one of the cushions. Kneeling down in front of her, Joey reached into a cooler bag and pulled out a bottle of champagne. She popped the cork and poured it into two plastic glasses.

"Happy anniversary," she said, offering one out to Charlie. "May it be the first of many."


"This is fun," Charlie enthused.

The couple had packed up their picnic and retreated to a tent Joey had set up, safely away from the tide. She'd packed night time things for both of them and so far, the evening had gone perfectly.

"Thank you so much for everything you've done for me."

Snuggled down in their shared sleeping bag, she held onto Joey's hand.

"I'm glad you've enjoyed yourself," Joey said honestly. "I hope everything turned out as nicely as I planned it in my head."

Charlie reached out and cupped Joey's cheek.

"Everything has been perfect," she said. "Thank you. I've loved every second, literally from the moment I woke up."

Joey giggled and blushed. She turned her face slightly in order to kiss Charlie's palm.

"I know I've said it before but I love you so much," she said. "Just over a year ago, I thought my life was over. I had no idea how I was ever going to get over what happened to me. But you saved me, Charlie. You gave me a reason to live, a reason to love my life. You really are the best thing that's ever happened to me. And if I could give you a happy anniversary today, like you deserve, then I consider it a success."

"You've given me an incredible day," Charlie confirmed. "You've given me the best year of my life. I never thought I'd meet someone that I'd truly want to share my life with. I was scared of commitment and I'd been hurt so much that I couldn't bear the idea of letting anyone in. But with you, it's all changed. With you, I am so excited about what every day will bring. You make me happier than I ever thought it was possible to be. So thank you... for everything."

Joey smiled. Leaning in, she kissed her tenderly. They wrapped their arms around each other, melting together in the dark.


Next time... Charlie, Joey and Ruby plan their housewarming party, VJ doesn't want to meet Elijah and Gina grows suspicious of Xavier...