Tall, Dark & Distant (5 page)

Alice walked off, satisfied she’d done enough damage for now.

‘I have a sister too,’ Nik said, laughing.

Georgia smiled. Nik hadn’t dropped from another planet. He had a family. He had a nasty sister. He was just like everyone else.

She could treat him like everyone else. She could do this.

‘Cham-pi-on! Cham-pi-on!’ The boys were chanting as Georgia and Nik approached the pool. A round of shoulder wars had just finished.

Dim waded through the water with his hands in the air, clearly the reigning champion of the previous round. ‘You ready to fight, bro?’ Dim challenged, when he saw Nik. ‘Get Georgia on your shoulders. I’m gonna slay you.’

Nik peeled off his shirt and kicked off his shoes, and then he glanced at Georgia. ‘Are you ready?’

Anyone could see Georgia
wasn’t
ready for the impending battle. It wasn’t just Nik’s impromptu torso show that had her rooted to the spot. Georgia was also thinking of Ella’s first piece of advice.

‘Don’t put yourself in a situation where you’re going to look stupid,’ Ella had told her. ‘Your hand-eye coordination is rubbish, so don’t ask him for a game of tennis. If everyone’s playing beach cricket, just stay in the outfield. Go for a run with him. Show off your knowledge of anatomy. You can even talk him through a few emergency scenarios – but not too many. And it’s probably not a good idea to go swimming when we’ve just fixed your hair and done your make-up.’

Shoulder wars broke all the rules.

Georgia weighed up her options as Dim chose a partner. He looked at Mei, but for some reason Alice saw it as an invitation to get intimate with a nineteen-year-old guy. She slipped into the pool and glided towards Dim without even getting her hair wet. Dim looked at Alice, shrugged, and then let her slide onto his shoulders. Alice sat there beaming, like the cat that got the double cream.

‘Georgia, get your gear off,’ Dim shouted.

Nik climbed down the steps into the pool. He ducked under the water, then surfaced and beckoned to Georgia. She lifted her dress over her head, then dropped it on the grass. She had spent her whole life following rules. It was time to break a few.

Georgia dived into the pool and surfaced in front of Nik. She expected him to duck underwater so she could climb onto his shoulders, but he didn’t move. He stood staring into her eyes, expectantly. Waiting.

Blood began rushing through Georgia’s ears, drowning out the sounds of the pool. She knew Dim and Alice were waiting for them – she could see them in her peripheral vision – but everyone faded into the background, leaving only Nik. Georgia couldn’t take her eyes off his face. Should she tell him he had the most beautiful eyes she had ever seen? Probably not. Did he want to hear that his skin was glowing in the afternoon sun? Unlikely. So, what was he waiting for? What
did
he want to hear?

‘What do I do?’ Nik said finally.

‘Do?’ Georgia repeated.

‘For the fight,’ Nik said.

She cringed. She had almost made a complete fool of herself. He wasn’t waiting for a compliment; he was waiting for instructions.

‘Are there any rules?’ he prompted.

Georgia gave it a little thought. She’d never really considered the rules of shoulder wars. It was just a matter of knocking the opponent off his or her mount. Eye-gouging was discouraged, but nothing was actually banned.

‘Whatever it takes,’ Georgia said.

On the side of the pool, Dim paraded around with Alice on his shoulders as the rest of the boys shouted, ‘Dim Simm! Dim Simm!’ Nik ducked under the water and Georgia slipped her legs over his shoulders. Once she was secure, he started to rise. As his head broke the water, she felt the muscles of his neck and shoulders bracing against her legs – his skin against hers. The forced intimacy made her light-headed. Her eyes drifted down to his smooth arms, his wet hands holding her calves. She realised, almost too late, she should have been thinking about balance. As Nik stood up, she almost toppled off.

Alice shouted provocatively, ‘Cham-pi-ons! Cham-pi-ons!’

But Georgia wriggled back into place as Nik powered into Dim with a shoulder charge. Georgia was surprised at his strength, as was Dim, who stumbled backwards. Alice wavered on top, her smug smile giving way to shock, as she almost lost her balance as well. Just when Alice was at her most vulnerable, Georgia tickled her.

It was a dirty trick, but Georgia really wanted to beat her sister – to repay Alice for what she’d said to Nik. Alice squirmed to get away from Georgia’s fingers and lashed out with her nails. Georgia squealed. Dim and Nik both staggered. Alice nearly swung off, but her legs were locked on tight and she hauled herself upright again.

‘No tickling allowed,’ one of Ella’s brothers shouted from the side of the pool. Apparently there
were
rules, then.

Georgia went at Alice again, pushing and pulling. Nik swiped at Dim’s legs under the water. Georgia could feel Nik beginning to struggle. She knew her weight would be getting the better of him, but she couldn’t dislodge her sister. Alice was a lot tougher than she looked. Georgia was beginning to think they’d be there all night.

But then Dim just gave up. He’d been in the pool for most of the afternoon with someone on his shoulders, and his strength finally ran out. He let out a fatigued roar and then collapsed into the pool, taking Alice down with him. Ella and Mei let out a cheer. Georgia acknowledged them with a grin and gave the victory sign.

Did Georgia look silly? Yes, probably. Did she have make-up all over her face? Absolutely. But did she care? Not at all. She was having the best day of her life.

‘You can get off now, Georgia,’ Ella called. ‘I think Nik’s about to die.’

Georgia slid off, reluctantly releasing Nik’s shoulders. She immersed herself in the pool, still tingling all over from the time she’d spent with her legs wrapped around Nik’s body. She was aching to put her arms around him as well, but Nik was pulling himself up on the side of the pool.

‘Come and jump off the jetty,’ one of the Simm boys called to Nik.

Ella’s brothers showered Nik with high-fives as he emerged from the pool. One of them boxed him playfully in the ribs. Dim slunk inside to lick his wounds, followed by Alice, who was no doubt hoping to play nurse. Georgia stayed by the pool with Mei and Ella, watching the guys jumping off the jetty into the river that ran through the bottom of the Simms’ garden. Ella’s boyfriend set off for an almighty bomb dive, and they heard the thud of his body hitting the water, spray flying into the air. Another brother flipped through the air in a somersault.

Then Nik stepped to the front of the jetty. He was a picture of perfection, his toned physique framed by the green river. Nik readied himself to dive. His abs tightened as he raised his arms. The boys went quiet, waiting to see what this tourist was capable of. Nik surveyed the river ahead. He launched himself off the jetty in a swan dive. His body glided over the river. Then his legs drifted too high, creating a hook shape instead of a straight line.

Georgia squeezed her eyes shut, not wanting to see him land. She could tell what was coming, and the reaction from the rest of the boys on the jetty was enough to know how bad it was.

‘Ohhh,’ they moaned.

‘That’s gotta hurt,’ someone shouted. The boys fell about on the jetty, laughing.

Nik pulled himself out of the water. His body was red from his ungraceful belly flop into the river. But he was grinning too, and lined up to give it another go. Another belly flop was followed by another and then another. The boys laughed harder each time, and amazingly, Nik seemed to enjoy being at the centre of the joke. Every now and then he’d look over at Georgia and smile, making her stomach leap with pleasure. She grinned back, not caring if she looked like an idiot. She couldn’t keep her eyes off him.

So, Nik was a useless jetty diver. Georgia could live with that. In fact, it made him cuter. Sure, Georgia didn’t know much else about him. But she wanted to. She wanted to know everything.

And she hoped that he’d want to get to know her too. As the evening wound up, she walked Nik to the front door.

‘Maybe we could go for a run sometime,’ he said.

‘How about tomorrow morning?’ Georgia blurted quickly, breaking another of Ella’s rules:
Don’t appear too eager.

But Georgia couldn’t help it. She
was
eager – desperate to see him the next day, and the day after, and the day after that. The summer holidays stretched out ahead and Georgia could see Nik in every part of it – running in the national park together, watching the sun set from the Boiling Pot lookout, sheltering under a tree from a thunderstorm. Sure, they were clichés, but Georgia didn’t care. They were also the ingredients for the perfect summer-holiday romance.

‘Okay,’ Nik said slowly. ‘I could meet you at the entrance to the park. How about seven?’

‘Great,’ Georgia said. She knew it
wasn’t
a great time to run in the park – everyone would be out then. But she didn’t want to be difficult.

‘I’ll see you then,’ he said. ‘Can I have your number, just in case there’s a problem?’

Georgia listed the digits and Nik punched them into his phone. It gave Georgia a feeling of satisfaction to see him entering her number. She felt like she was becoming a permanent fixture in his life, in some small way. Then it occurred to her that Nik was taking her number so he could cancel on her. She tried to put her concerns out of her mind and instead concentrate on Ella’s last rule:
Always leave a good impression.

Nik placed his hands on Georgia’s shoulders and kissed her on both cheeks. This time she wasn’t taken by surprise, but it still left her reeling just a bit. Georgia watched as he climbed into his car. The engine revved in a low grumble, and then the lights went on and he was gone. She had no idea what car he was driving. She just knew it was silver and looked fast. Georgia closed the front door and turned. Ella and Mei were right in front of her.

‘So?’ Ella asked. ‘Tell us everything.’

Oh yes, another rule:
Share the juicy details with your friends.

‘We’re going for a run together tomorrow,’ Georgia reported.

‘A date!’ Ella shrieked. ‘A running date, but still – a date.’

Mei and Ella picked over the exchange at the door and every other detail of the evening. The way he ate his steak sandwich without getting sauce down his face – something not many guys could manage. The way he’d fought in the pool – he’d definitely been trained in martial arts or something. Even the way he pronounced
Noosa
was dissected. There was a hint of an accent there that wasn’t English, Mei was certain.

‘Your knight in shining board shorts,’ Ella concluded, as they collected the wet towels from the poolside.

‘Why would Georgia need a knight in shining anything?’ Mei pointed out. ‘She’s going to be a doctor. If anyone needs rescuing, she’ll be the one doing it.’

‘Okay. Just her boyfriend … with benefits,’ Ella said. She had it all worked out. He’d arrived with a bottle of expensive French champagne and he wore designer clothes. He also had the sort of confidence that came with privilege.
Ella would know,
Georgia thought. S
he has it too
.

‘Are you sure you don’t know what type of car he was driving?’ Ella asked for the third time.

‘It was definitely silver … I think.’ Georgia knew this question would keep coming up until Ella had something more concrete than just a
fast
silver
car
.

‘It wasn’t a LandCruiser,’ Georgia offered confidently. Her mother drove one of those. ‘And it wasn’t a Mercedes.’

‘This could take some time if we go through all the cars it wasn’t,’ Mei pointed out drily.

‘Cameron, what’s a fast car that comes in silver?’ Ella asked.

Ella’s boyfriend was stretched out on a sun lounger, eyes closed, but he looked up at the sound of his name.

‘What’s a fast car that comes in silver?’ he repeated, propping himself onto his elbows. ‘Lots of fast cars come in silver.’

‘Nik’s car,’ Ella explained. ‘Haven’t you been listening? We’re trying to work out what car Nik drives. We just know it’s fast and silver.’

‘Are you
still
talking about that poor dude?’ he said. ‘He drives a Porsche Turbo. I saw it on the street when I went to get drinks. I didn’t know it was his, but it was silver.’

Cameron dropped back onto his towel and closed his eyes.

‘Extreme benefits,’ Mei concluded. ‘A Porsche Turbo.’

Georgia couldn’t deny she was impressed. What girl wouldn’t want to be chauffered around in a Porsche? But she wasn’t so sure it was a benefit. If Georgia’s dad found out Nik drove a sports car, he’d probably ban her from going anywhere with Nik at all. He knew too many surgeons who’d picked splinters out of Porsche owners’ brains after they’d wrapped their cars around lampposts.

‘What else did you find out about him?’ Ella asked, as they went back into the house.

Georgia shrugged. ‘Not much.’

Piecing together Nik’s story was mostly guesswork. The evening had been dominated by the boys’ banter – rugby taunts and sledging the England cricket team. Nik had mentioned he was twenty. He’d been to boarding school in London but was ‘having a bit of a break from things’. Apart from that, he had given very little of himself away. The girls had no way to fill in the details. Ella could normally find out anyone’s past, present and even future with just a few phone calls. Everyone knew everyone in Noosa. But no-one knew Nik.

Or at least, no-one did
yet,
Georgia thought. But she was determined to change that.