Chapter 15
1. Vanessa and Charity have had a film night with the boys who are then having a sleepover at Vanessa's
"Right, bath and bedtime for the monsters, or tidying this lot up and doing the dishes?"
"Err....bath and bedtime....obviously!"
"How did I know you'd say that? Anything to avoid doing the washing up!"
"I'm a domestic goddess thank you! And anyway, you know the kids love my stories" she winks cheekily
"Hmmm....maybe a little too much. Don't get them worked up, Charity, or they'll never get to sleep"
"Are you doubting my skills?"
Charity turns round to collect some of the dinner plates and dishes off the table ready for Vanessa to clean
"Just hurry up will ya?! I want to get to bed this side of midnight if that's alright!" She chastises with mock annoyance
"Alright alright! Keep your hair on! Here....don't say I never help with the dishes" she leans in to deposit the plates on the side next to Vanessa, who just rolls her eyes at her. And just for a second, Charity forgets what they are (or, more accurately, what they're not) to each other now. The playful bickering (or is it flirting..?), the smell of Vanessa's perfume, a 'family' film night has easily fooled her into forgetting that this isn't her life any more. And so it seems like the most natural thing in the world to give Vanessa a quick kiss before she heads upstairs to sort the kids out. She freezes when she realises what she's about to do. And Vanessa's noticed how close they are, and the look on her face. Shit shit shit shit shit!
"I....erm....I'll leave you to it" and she gives Vanessa a tight lipped smile "Come on kids, bath time!" she says in as normal a voice as she can manage, already heading towards the stairs as quickly as possible
2. Vanessa's had a hard day and Charity's been a big help
"Thank you so much for having him. You're a lifesaver!"
"No problem"
"I'm sure you had better things to do with your day off though than deal with me having a wobble and then looking after two snotty little kids"
"Well we definitely got through a lot of tissues and there are some questionable stains on the sofa but I love spending time with these little guys"
Vanessa smiles at her softly before turning her attention to Johnny
"Come on then, Johnny - home time" with a nod towards the front door
Charity follows them to the door to wave them off but as they try to open the door they're left a little closer together in the small space than she had anticipated. Her breath hitches slightly at the proximity and Vanessa looks at her nervously. Charity looks away and takes a step back to give Vanessa more space, missing the split second that Vanessa's eyes flit to Charity's lips and she subconsciously licks her own.
"Sorry" Charity says awkwardly, oblivious to how the moment had affected Vanessa as well "Well, enjoy your evening, babe. I'd say you've earned yourself a glass of wine or two after today. I don't want to keep you from that" She looks down at Johnny "Good to see ya Johnnybobs. And don't forget to get lots of cuddles off your mummy to get you feeling all better, yeah?" She ruffles his hair as he grins up at her. Vanessa's expression softens at the easy affection between the two and she looks away with a little blush when Charity looks back up at her.
"Right, well, thanks again Charity"
Charity smiles back at her. "You're welcome"
She looks like she wants to say something else but with nothing forthcoming Vanessa turns and heads out onto the path"
"Ness?"
Vanessa turns around again, looking hopeful "Yeah?"
"Bye" she says softly
"Bye" Vanessa returns, heading off towards Tug Ghyll her heart still fluttering
3. The girls are heading into town for a night out and are slightly worse for wear before they leave the pub.
"Woah there, Super Sloshed Girl" she says as her arms reach out instinctively to catch a stumbling Vanessa "Not got your sea legs yet?"
"No, I jus' tripped on the errrr.." she looks around for the offending item
Charity looks too "Oh yeah, that bit of fresh air there" she replies cheekily
Vanessa gasps indignantly trying to look offended but promptly giggles "Yeah, maybe"
"Right, well, maybe lay off the shots for a bit then, yeah?"
Vanessa grimaces and closes one eye, trying to focus better on Charity's face "I can't promise" she shrugs
"Wow, I do not envy tomorrow you"
Vanessa waves a hand dismissively "I'll be fiiiiiiine" she says wobbling again and putting her hands out onto Charity's waist to keep her balance. She smiles lazily. "Night Charity" she mumbles, leaning in unsteadily to kiss her
Charity's eyes go wide at the realisation of what Vanessa's trying to do and she quickly turns her head, taking advantage of Vanessa's slow movement and lack of coordination, so that the kiss lands on her cheek instead
Vanessa frowns in confusion at not having met Charity's lips. It then turns into a scowl when she realises what Charity's done
"Night Ness" she replies softly
"Whatever" she scoffs and pushes past Charity towards the front door
Charity tips her head back and lets out a big sigh before eventually going back to collecting the last remaining glasses and closing down the pub. Vanessa, meanwhile, has staggered outside, scowl still in place, to rejoin the waiting group of women "Right come on ladies, more shots!" she shouts as their taxi pulls up
"You okay, Vee?" Tracy asks, having noticed the difference in her demeanor since she'd nipped to the loo
"Yep. Fine" she replies in a way that sounds decidedly not fine
'Charity' Rhona mouths silently to Tracy behind Vanessa's back and then grimaces
Tracy just rolls her eyes. The sooner she forgets about Charity and moves on, the better!
1. Vanessa wants to know why Charity hasn't kissed her
There's a knock on the front door. Charity sighs, putting her brew down on the coffee table and getting back up from where she'd just got herself comfy after a long day behind the bar and then trying to get Moses down to sleep after his bath.
"Hi"
"Hi"
"Can I err...?" Pointing inside the house
"Sorry. Yeah" she holds out her arm indicating for Vanessa to come in, then closes the door behind her.
"Charity, can we talk?"
"Yeah, course." She pauses "Look, if this is about the other day when the boys ended up covered in paint and glue and stickers and whatever then I'm sorry" she sighs "Rubbish mum strikes again"
"No Charity. They're kids, they're always going to end up with more of it on themselves than on the paper!" She smiles "And they had so much fun with you. And....it was quite thoughtful of you, actually, getting them to make that lovely card for me"
"No need to sound so surprised"
"Sorry" she chuckles nervously "Anyway, no, I....errr....I wanted to talk about us actually"
"Us?"
"Yeah"
"Oh. Right. What about us?"
"Well, about where we stand I guess"
"Do you not want me to see Johnny any more?" she asks sadly
What?! No! No no no no no, it's nothing like that. He loves spending time with you, Charity" she smiles
Relief floods Charity's face "Okay, good. Well, what then?"
"Right, well, we've been spending a bit of time together, yeah? What with one thing and another. And a couple of times it's kinda felt like there was maybe a....moment....between us" she says hesitantly, twisting her fingers together nervously
Charity sighs and looks down "I'm sorry"
"I wasn't imagining it, then?"
"Probably not" she admits
"So....you did want to kiss me?"
"Of course I did, Ness! I don't think I'll ever be able to stop wanting to kiss you!" she blurts out, then looks away in embarrassment when she realises what she's revealed
"So why didn't you?"
Her head flicks back round so she can look at Vanessa. "What?"
"Why didn't you kiss me?"
She shrugs "Because....I didn't think you wanted me to. And I thought, just like everyone else 'round here does, that you were better off without me"
"And what about in the pub the other night? Did it seem like I didn't want to kiss you then?"
"Well....no....but....you were drunk, Ness. I didn't want to take advantage. And I didn't want you to regret it in the morning and resent me, or yourself, for letting it happen"
"Very noble of you"
"Again....no need to sound so surprised"
"Charity?"
"Yeah?"
"Kiss me" she whispers softly
Charity looks like she can't believe what she's hearing. Her eyes wide and shimmering, as if tears have just sprung to them
"Yeah?"
"Yeah"
Charity steps closer to Vanessa until they're almost touching, and gently places a hand on Vanessa's waist underneath her open jacket, and then slips it around her back so that she can pull her to fit snugly against her own body, whilst the other hand comes up to cradle Vanessa's face and softly stroke her jaw. She leans in slowly and plants the most tender single kiss on Vanessa's waiting lips, pulling back to make sure that Vanessa definitely does want this. Vanessa wasn't expecting the kiss to end so quickly and so her eyes stay closed for a second, her lips chasing Charity's when she pulls away. And that's all the encouragement Charity needs to lean in and kiss her again. Nothing had ever felt so good.