Chapter Three Hundred and Eighty Eight
"I can't believe I kissed him!" Ruby shrieked
Without giving her crush a chance to rebuke her, Ruby had rushed off to see Nicole.
"I feel like such an idiot!" she complained. "I promised him that I wouldn't try to blur the lines and now…"
She sighed heavily and sank against her friend, who wasn't entirely sure how to comfort her.
Having got distracted by the lure of the Surf Club and a drink with Alf, who seemed to be regularly accompanied by Angelo these days, Charlie and Joey hadn't yet made it home.
"So, when is opening night?" Angelo asked.
"Saturday," Joey told him. "I hope you've booked a table!"
"I thoroughly support you but I'm not that keen on taking myself out to dinner," Angelo replied.
"There must be someone you could come with," Charlie said.
However, running through everyone in her head, she realised it wasn't true. His popularity was growing due to his lack of errors at the moment but he wasn't likely to win any awards anytime soon.
"There are likely to be a lot of people there on their own," Alf said. "You know what Summer Bay's like. Everyone will want to have a look."
Angelo nodded and said he'd think about it.
"Speaking of which, do you know anything about table bookings?" Joey asked Alf.
Her former boss immediately tried to look nonchalant before confessing that he'd booked everyone into the restaurant on her behalf. Joey was bemused by the look Alf and Charlie shared.
Liam sat on the beach with Bianca, having called her in sheer panic.
"You need to tell Gina," the teacher said.
"How can I?" Liam asked desperately, resting his forehead on his palms.
"How can you not?" Bianca replied. "If she finds out some other way then it's you that's going to be in trouble, Liam. It's you who has the potential to having your world crumble around you."
Liam nodded and sat up a little straighter.
"I'm just… gutted," he admitted. "I love working with Ruby. She's brings out such a creative side to me. I don't want to lose her but… I can't work with her anymore, can I?"
"Definitely not!" Bianca said. "You have to stay away from her. Everything you do makes her love you more. You have to walk away from this immediately. And I'd advise you to tell her parents before she does. If they get the wrong end of the stick, you'll know about it."
Liam nodded and sighed, hating that she was right.
Marilyn arrived at the Surf Club looking rather flustered. Spotting Alf, Angelo, Charlie and Joey at a table, she quickly hurried over.
"Is everything okay, love?" Alf asked, genuinely worried.
"I just had a... thing with Penn," the blonde admitted, pulling up a chair.
"What kind of a thing?" Charlie asked, concerned.
"He just told me that he lied to Nicole and Sid about their feelings for each other!" she said. "Neither of them do have romantic feelings but he's messing with them and making them think they do."
"Why on earth would he do that?" Joey asked.
"I have no idea," Marilyn replied.
"I think we need to keep him away from Nicole," Alf said.
"How are we going to do that?" Marilyn wondered. "She's crazy about him."
Charlie nodded thoughtfully.
"I guess we could try and talk to her," she said. "I mean, we won't wade on in starting shouting accusations but maybe a gentle chat will help."
She looked at her partner, who nodded.
"We should get all the facts from Sid first," Joey suggested. "And then we can figure out how to tackle Nicole. I think she'll be receptive if she knows we're all just looking out for her."
Everyone hoped she was right.
Having promised to confess all to Gina, Liam left Bianca to it. Having no intention of telling Gina anything, he pulled out his mobile phone and called Ruby, arranging to meet her at the Diner. A public place was the best option but he felt sad about what he had to do.
Having finally made it home, Joey had got straight into the shower. Charlie flipped through bills that had arrived in the post after they'd left that morning. Putting them down, she was about to climb into the shower with her girlfriend when her phone rang.
"Hello?" she said.
Her eyes lit up when she heard who was on the other end.
"I'm so glad you called," she enthused.
Ruby sat unhappily across a table from Liam, who looked particularly serious.
"But I've said I'm sorry and that it won't happen again," she protested. "Why can't we carry on as we were?"
"Because you made a promise to me that any feelings you might have would not get in the way of our working relationship," Liam replied. "You broke the promise and it's not safe for either of us to carry on spending time together."
"But…"
"You're lucky I'm not telling Gina about this," he interrupted.
Heartbroken, Ruby nodded and trudged back out of the Diner. Liam just hoped he had done the right thing.
"Great," Charlie said into the phone. "I'm so looking forward to seeing you."
"Seeing who?" Joey asked, scaring Charlie into nearly dropping the phone.
Saying goodbye, she hung up quickly.
"Who was that?" Joey asked again.
"I thought you were in the shower," Charlie pointed out a little guiltily.
"I was going to ask you to join me," Joey replied.
"I was just thinking that I might!" Charlie grinned.
She moved across the room, taking Joey into her arms and kissing her.
"So, who was it?" Joey persisted.
"Nobody," Charlie replied.
Puzzled, Joey took her hand and led her into the bathroom.
"Don't you mind?" Charlie asked curiously.
"I like showering with you," Joey replied.
Charlie laughed and pointed out that she had actually been talking about the phone call. Joey stepped beneath the spray and unashamedly watched Charlie get undressed.
"You'll tell me if it's something I need to know," she replied easily.
"You trust me that much?" Charlie asked incredulously, joining her in the shower.
"Of course," Joey said, pulling her in for a kiss.
Charlie melted into her.
"For the record though," she said rather dreamily in response to Joey's touch, "the outcome of the phone call will be really good."
Ruby froze when she heard someone calling her name on her way home from the Diner. Turning around, she was horrified to be face to face with Bianca, the woman she held responsible for her current misery.
"You need to get over this crush you have," the teacher stated firmly.
"You need to stay out of my business," Ruby replied.
Bianca looked disgusted.
"Do you have any idea of the damage you might do to Liam's life?" she demanded.
"I'm sure you'll be there to console him," Ruby shot back rather bitterly.
"Just get over it," Bianca snapped before she walked away.
Charlie and Joey were finally in their pyjamas after having what was probably not an eco-friendly shower. They had been in there far too long.
"Hey, Rubes," Charlie greeted when her daughter walked through the front door.
She had come out to make hot chocolate before bed and offered Ruby one.
"No," the teenager replied rather bluntly.
"Is everything okay?" Charlie fretted.
"Yes, Charlie," Ruby snapped. "Everything is fucking marvellous!"
Then she stormed into her bedroom and slammed the door.
Next time… Liam has to deal with Ruby when she turns to drink, Nicole doesn't take kindly to her friends' objections to Penn and the Scott girls cause havoc in the Austin household…
