Read Online Tall, Dark & Distant by Julie Fison - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Julie Fison
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Nik settled with his leg against hers, sending a torrent of blood rushing to her face.
‘I turned around to watch you,’ Nik said, almost embarrassed.
‘Oh,’ Georgia replied. It was all she could manage – her brain had slipped into neutral, idling where it had been earlier that morning, when she fell on top of him in the water.
Then Nik moved his leg and slowly her mind began working again, but she couldn’t calm the electricity in her body. And she couldn’t stop wondering what it would be like to kiss him.
The night was still warm as they left the restaurant and made their way across the beach towards Georgia’s place.
Phosphorescence sparkled in the waves, like the sea was putting on a special show for them. Nik walked close to Georgia, close enough for her to feel the heat from his body. Close enough for his shoulder to gently nudge hers, for the back of his hand to glide past her fingers. Nik was telling her a story, something about diving in the Maldives, but Georgia couldn’t concentrate on what he was saying.
She remembered a couple she’d seen on the beach a few evenings earlier. It was impossible not to notice them. They were locked at the thighs, the hips and the lips, their arms wound around each other, like nothing could separate them. A nervous flush raced up Georgia’s neck as she wondered how her evening might end – her lips pressed to Nik’s, their arms wrapped around each other? Just the thought of it made her shiver.
She drifted along in a trance. An elephant could have appeared on the boardwalk and she wouldn’t have noticed. Her mind was somewhere between a kiss and a wedding.
‘Georgia,’ Nik said, as they reached her apartment. The tone of his voice jolted Georgia out of her trance. She looked at his eyes, serious now, preparing her for something important. She knew that it was way too early for a marriage proposal, but could it be a declaration of love? She held her breath.
Nik ran a hand through his hair. ‘You’re honest. I like that about you. My life is full of pretentious people. But you’re just you . And that’s why I want to be … straight with you.’ He paused, searching for the right words. ‘I’m not really … ideal boyfriend material.’
Just like that, the bombshell went off. The hopes of a lingering goodnight kiss were obliterated, the dreams of strolling along the beach hand in hand wiped out. Her heart felt like it had been stomped on.
‘I don’t mean that I don’t want to see you again,’ Nik said awkwardly. ‘I’d really like to be friends. I just don’t want you to have … expectations. I’m really unreliable. I make a crap boyfriend, believe me.’
Georgia could have kicked herself. She should have been expecting this. She had blindly ignored the obvious – she didn’t belong in his glamorous life. She couldn’t even be trusted to order a meal sensibly. Where had she left her brain? Somewhere on her bed with Gray’s Anatomy , probably.
This whole week – the barbeque at Ella’s, the runs in the national park, dinner tonight – he’d made it clear all along and she had ignored it. He’d be going to Sydney soon. He probably had a girlfriend coming from England to join him. How could she compete with some mega-rich beauty with (she assumed) a promising career in modelling?
He said he wasn’t boyfriend material, but Georgia could tell what he meant – she wasn’t girlfriend material. He wanted to be straight , but he didn’t want to be honest ; that would be too cruel. She was being dumped on the first date. What would she tell her friends?
‘Oh, that’s okay,’ Georgia managed in a limp voice that sounded anything but okay. ‘It’s not a problem. I don’t have time for a boyfriend anyway. I’m pretty busy myself. You know … Christmas shopping … aah, family stuff … I’ve really got a lot on.’ It was a lame list of commitments, but it was all she could come up with.
‘Let’s go for a drive sometime,’ Nik
‘I turned around to watch you,’ Nik said, almost embarrassed.
‘Oh,’ Georgia replied. It was all she could manage – her brain had slipped into neutral, idling where it had been earlier that morning, when she fell on top of him in the water.
Then Nik moved his leg and slowly her mind began working again, but she couldn’t calm the electricity in her body. And she couldn’t stop wondering what it would be like to kiss him.
The night was still warm as they left the restaurant and made their way across the beach towards Georgia’s place.
Phosphorescence sparkled in the waves, like the sea was putting on a special show for them. Nik walked close to Georgia, close enough for her to feel the heat from his body. Close enough for his shoulder to gently nudge hers, for the back of his hand to glide past her fingers. Nik was telling her a story, something about diving in the Maldives, but Georgia couldn’t concentrate on what he was saying.
She remembered a couple she’d seen on the beach a few evenings earlier. It was impossible not to notice them. They were locked at the thighs, the hips and the lips, their arms wound around each other, like nothing could separate them. A nervous flush raced up Georgia’s neck as she wondered how her evening might end – her lips pressed to Nik’s, their arms wrapped around each other? Just the thought of it made her shiver.
She drifted along in a trance. An elephant could have appeared on the boardwalk and she wouldn’t have noticed. Her mind was somewhere between a kiss and a wedding.
‘Georgia,’ Nik said, as they reached her apartment. The tone of his voice jolted Georgia out of her trance. She looked at his eyes, serious now, preparing her for something important. She knew that it was way too early for a marriage proposal, but could it be a declaration of love? She held her breath.
Nik ran a hand through his hair. ‘You’re honest. I like that about you. My life is full of pretentious people. But you’re just you . And that’s why I want to be … straight with you.’ He paused, searching for the right words. ‘I’m not really … ideal boyfriend material.’
Just like that, the bombshell went off. The hopes of a lingering goodnight kiss were obliterated, the dreams of strolling along the beach hand in hand wiped out. Her heart felt like it had been stomped on.
‘I don’t mean that I don’t want to see you again,’ Nik said awkwardly. ‘I’d really like to be friends. I just don’t want you to have … expectations. I’m really unreliable. I make a crap boyfriend, believe me.’
Georgia could have kicked herself. She should have been expecting this. She had blindly ignored the obvious – she didn’t belong in his glamorous life. She couldn’t even be trusted to order a meal sensibly. Where had she left her brain? Somewhere on her bed with Gray’s Anatomy , probably.
This whole week – the barbeque at Ella’s, the runs in the national park, dinner tonight – he’d made it clear all along and she had ignored it. He’d be going to Sydney soon. He probably had a girlfriend coming from England to join him. How could she compete with some mega-rich beauty with (she assumed) a promising career in modelling?
He said he wasn’t boyfriend material, but Georgia could tell what he meant – she wasn’t girlfriend material. He wanted to be straight , but he didn’t want to be honest ; that would be too cruel. She was being dumped on the first date. What would she tell her friends?
‘Oh, that’s okay,’ Georgia managed in a limp voice that sounded anything but okay. ‘It’s not a problem. I don’t have time for a boyfriend anyway. I’m pretty busy myself. You know … Christmas shopping … aah, family stuff … I’ve really got a lot on.’ It was a lame list of commitments, but it was all she could come up with.
‘Let’s go for a drive sometime,’ Nik
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