Tall, Dark & Distant

by Julie Fison

  Georgia shrugged. ‘Okay, but don’t blame me if we lose.’

  By the time she had secured her life jacket, double-checked it, double-checked Nik’s and flicked through the jet ski safety manual, Nik had lost interest in the race completely and the boys had disappeared around a headland.

  Georgia climbed onto the jet ski behind Nik and he opened the throttle. The nose of the jet ski lifted into the air. Georgia let out a scream that could have been heard on the west coast of Australia. It was only when they landed, several seconds later, that she saw it – an oversized tinnie, flying around the headland and heading straight for them.

  Nik swerved. Georgia screamed again, willing the boat away. But it kept coming at them. Had the driver passed out or was this a game of chicken?

  Nik steered towards the rocks, but the boat adjusted its path to match. Georgia held her breath, fighting to see through the spray. She clung to Nik with all her strength, praying for a miracle, but bracing herself for the impact with her eyes squeezed shut.

  It never came. She opened her eyes. The tinnie had gone. She watched it roar off, circle the yacht, then speed into the bay. Nik and Georgia were left to fight the wake. The jet ski skidded over the waves, but the wake got the better of them. The jet ski flew into the air and Georgia fell off the back, dragging Nik with her.

  ‘Georgia? Are you okay?’ Nik shouted when she bobbed back to the surface.

  ‘Think so,’ Georgia spluttered.

  The fall had winded her and she’d swallowed a lot of saltwater.

  But she was okay.

  Nik paddled off to retrieve the jet ski. It was turning in circles just metres from the rocks. But then he stopped mid-stroke and turned. ‘Georgia, watch out!’

  She heard it before she saw it – the roar of the tinnie’s engine. It was coming back. Nik was safe – too close to the rocks to be a target. But Georgia was bobbing in the open. She was a sitting duck in a bright yellow life jacket.

  Georgia began paddling towards Nik. But the life vest slowed her down. She was getting nowhere, and the boat was getting closer. She saw Nik scramble onto the jet ski, but she didn’t know whether he could get to her before the boat did.

  Georgia struggled to shed her life jacket. She knew diving underwater was her last chance. But her hands were shaking. Her fingers fumbled with the zip. Her jacket had turned into a deathtrap. The water around her vibrated. The boat was almost on her, moments away.

  A jet ski roared between her and the tinnie. She looked up at Nik. His arm was outstretched – but just out of reach.

  ‘Get on!’ Nik called, straining to catch her hand. He was trying to save her, but it was impossible. They were both about to die.

  Then just as before, the tinnie turned. It pulled out of its collision course. It sent a wall of water at her. Georgia gulped for air. The tinnie slowed down – long enough for Georgia to see that there were two men in the boat – both wearing freaky costumes.

  ‘Have a nice day,’ one of them growled. ‘Mr Tumnus says hello.’

  Nik shouted something in Russian as the boat sped off again.

  Georgia floundered in its wake, fighting for air as sea water filled her chest. Then she felt Nik’s hand on hers. He hauled her from the water. They watched as the boat disappeared around a headland. Georgia took a deep breath and locked her arms around Nik. She didn’t want to let go. Ever.

  ‘You saved me,’ Georgia choked. ‘You could have killed yourself.’

  The image of the boat coming towards her went through her mind again and again. And every time she saw it, there was Nik sitting on the jet ski, her knight in shining board shorts – his hand reaching out, his eyes willing her on. How could she ever have doubted his integrity? How could she have worried about his past? This was a guy she could depend on in a crisis.

  ‘They weren’t trying to kill you,’ Nik said. ‘They were just some losers in a motorboat. Idiots see a big yacht and they have to prove something. I’m sure there’s a word for it.’ Nik muttered something else angrily in Russian.

  Georgia felt safe again. But there was still a nagging doubt about the guys in the masks. She was sure they’d been after her. It hadn’t felt like a game.

  ‘Did you see those lunatics in the tinnie?’ she asked when Cameron and Dim eventually returned on their jet skis. ‘They tried to run me over.’

  The boys looked at each other and shrugged.

  ‘They were wearing masks,’ Georgia said.

  ‘We’ll check it out,’ Cameron replied eventually.

  The pair of them shot off again, hooning around the bay. It was pretty clear to Georgia that they weren’t really looking for the boat. All the way back to the marina, she felt on edge.

  She even considered going to the police about the tinnie assault when they got back to dry land. But there was a guy called Squid making that impossible. And even without the Squid factor she knew her story wouldn’t really stack up once it was repeated.

  What had happened to harm her, really? She’d swallowed a lot of water. And what had the guys in the tinnie said to her? Have a nice day. Mr Tumnus says hello. It was hardly a death threat – a greeting from the half-goat dude from Narnia. She could just imagine the police officers laughing at that. Put this complaint under PC for Paranoid Chick!

  Georgia took a deep breath as she climbed off the yacht, trying to make the panic in her chest go away.

  ‘Hey,’ Nik said softly, putting his arm her. ‘Listen. What happened out there was weird, but I promise no-one’s going to hurt you while I’m here.’

  Nik had said exactly the right thing. She didn’t want to hear that she was paranoid or stupid. She just needed comforting.

  ‘I know,’ she said. ‘Thanks.’

  Nik rubbed her arms. They were covered in goosebumps, even though it was a hot day. ‘Do you want to come back to my place?’ he asked. ‘I could make you a hot chocolate.’

  Georgia nodded. ‘With marshmallows?’

  Nik smiled. ‘Of course. I happen to make the world’s best hot chocolate.’

  ‘Well, I’d be disappointed with anything less than the world’s best,’ Georgia smiled, starting to relax again.

  When they'd said goodbye to the others, Nik led her to his Porsche. She was actually glad not to be driving back to his house in the Ferrari – there were too many memories in that car. Eventually they pulled into the garage at Nik’s house. Georgia’s body was still buzzing with emotion. She felt an almost sickening cocktail of excitement, apprehension and guilt, blended with a large dash of lust.

  As Nik took her hand and led her inside, Georgia’s heart was thumping. She watched Nik as he prepared the hot chocolate – carefully measuring out the milk and breaking up pieces of actual dark chocolate to melt on the stove. This was going to be some hot chocolate. Georgia gazed at Nik’s face. She loved how cute he looked when he concentrated – like a little boy.

  And then he took his shirt off and she remembered with a rush of excitement that he was a man. Georgia suddenly lost her appetite for hot chocolate. She reached past Nik and turned off the stove.

  Nik turned. ‘Why …’ he began. And then he looked into her eyes. ‘Oh, it’s like that.’ He took a step towards Georgia and took her face in his hands, kissing her passionately. ‘I’ve missed you. God, I’ve missed you so much.’

  Nik led her upstairs to his bedroom. He flung open the shutters and the windows to let in the afternoon breeze, then put on some music.

  ‘Shall we try to do it properly this time?’ he said, pulling back the covers on his bed.

  Georgia nodded. ‘Make yourself comfortable,’ he said, backing out of the room. ‘I’ll be back in a second.’

  Georgia flopped back onto the bed. The sheets felt clean, crisp and cool – so much more comfortable than a rock ledge or a car seat. She was already giddy at the thought of what they were about to do.

  Nik returned a few minutes later with a bottle of champagne and two glasses. ‘I thought maybe you’d like a drink �
�� it’s been a strange kind of day,’ he said. He set the glasses on the bedside table and popped the cork. Her body tightened. She thought she’d explode like the champagne cork if he kept teasing her like this.

  Georgia lay on the bed, smiling, trying to enjoy the ceremony, but her mind was clouded with desire. She needed him desperately. She pulled him to her and kissed his lips urgently.

  Nik kissed her back, then pulled away gently. The champagne bottle was still in his hand. He gave Georgia a playful smile as he lifted her shirt, then gently poured a little into her belly button.

  ‘Hey!’ she laughed, as the cold champagne dribbled across her tummy and onto the sheets. ‘I thought we were doing this properly.’

  ‘Stuff proper,’ Nik said. He put the bottle of champagne on the floor, then ran his tongue over Georgia’s champagne-covered belly. ‘I never tasted such a fine year.’

  ‘Come here,’ Georgia said, gently guiding his face back to her mouth.

  Georgia wasn’t really in a position to tell if what followed counted as doing it properly, but it was perfect as far as she was concerned. And when they finally collapsed, exhausted, Georgia was in no doubt that they were back together again. In fact, she could hardly remember why they had split up in the first place. She was in love.

  Georgia’s head was still in the clouds the following morning, which was possibly why she agreed to arrange another trip out on Nik’s yacht, at Ella and Mei’s request. The boat was about the last place she wanted to be after her run-in with the masked men, but the girls said she just needed to get back on the horse – or boat – and face her fears, and Nik was obliging.

  As they walked towards the floating white palace in the marina, Georgia eyed it nervously. The super yacht didn’t look so super to her this morning. All she saw was a great big white target – something other people were jealous of. Something that made them hostile.

  Nik massaged her shoulders as they motored into the bay.

  ‘Don’t worry,’ he said. ‘We’ll stay on board today. It’s really safe – the windows are bulletproof glass.’

  ‘Bullet-proof glass!’ Georgia said. That was meant to reassure her? ‘Why do you need that?’

  Nik shrugged. ‘All of our boats have it.’

  That didn’t make her feel better. Georgia scanned the sea all morning, waiting for a rogue tinnie to appear over the horizon. By the time they had anchored for lunch, she was getting hysterical.

  ‘That’s the one!’ she shouted, jumping to her feet when a fishing boat bobbed past. ‘That’s the boat that nearly killed me!’

  An old guy and his wife gave her a wave.

  Georgia sat down again. ‘Maybe not that one.’

  A few minutes later, someone on a surf ski paddled past.

  ‘There!’ she shouted. ‘That’s definitely them!’

  Then she realised she was looking at a ten-year old girl, with a fox terrier standing on the front of the ski.

  Georgia sank back in her chair. ‘Okay, not that one either.’

  ‘There he is there!’ Dim shouted, pointing towards the beach.

  Georgia shot to her feet. A kid in a rubber ring bobbed by.

  ‘That’s cruel,’ Georgia said, sitting down.

  ‘Well, stop being a drama queen,’ Dim replied.

  ‘But someone attacked me!’ Georgia said. ‘They nearly killed me!’

  ‘Georgia, it was a couple of dudes in a tinnie wearing costumes left over from Halloween,’ Mei said, trying to calm her down. ‘No-one tried to kill you. Have a look around – you’re not in the pirate-infested waters of Somalia, you’re in Laguna Bay. Maybe it’s time to move on.’

  Mei had a point. Georgia’s nervousness was putting everyone on edge. She looked around at the beautiful bay, full of holiday-makers, then back at her friends, trying to have fun on Nik’s boat. Maybe it was time to admit that she had been the victim of a stupid prank. It was time to move on.

  ‘Maybe I am overreacting,’ Georgia sighed, and returned to her sun lounger.

  But she still couldn’t relax and her eyes kept darting around the bay, watching for danger. She felt like a paranoid wreck and, in the end, decided the only way she could stop spoiling the party was to get right out of the way. She went down to the cabin to read a magazine.

  Lying on the very comfortable king-sized bed in the cabin, she could clearly hear the guys talking on the deck above her.

  ‘Bro, you should totally take this boat to Sydney for New Year,’ Dim said.

  ‘That … would … be … awesome,’ Cameron said.

  ‘Really sick,’ Dim added.

  Then there was a pause. Georgia put her magazine down, waiting for a response from Nik. She wondered if Sydney was on the agenda for New Year. She’d already agreed to go to a party in Noosa and had hoped to take him along.

  ‘I don’t know,’ Nik said eventually. ‘I don’t think Georgia’s really into the boating thing. She’s a mess in broad daylight. I think she’d be in hospital after a night of fireworks on Sydney Harbour.’

  Dim and Cameron laughed. For a moment Georgia was annoyed – did Nik really think she was so weak and hysterical? But then she realised that he was just looking out for her. She was touched.

  ‘I thought I’d spend New Year’s here with Georgia,’ Nik continued. ‘It’s our first one together and Noosa is pretty special to us.’

  Georgia smiled. It was one of the sweetest things Nik had ever said. He was changing, little by little, and letting her get to know him. But the guys just laughed, really hard.

  ‘Don’t be so lame, man,’ Dim said. ‘You’ve got every other day of the year to hang out with Georgia. Let’s leave the chicks here and make it a boys’ trip to Sydney. With a boat like this we could pull a thousand babes.’

  ‘Seriously – it’d be awesome,’ Cameron said.

  Georgia felt sick. She had actually thought Cameron was a decent guy and even though she had reservations about Dim, she was surprised that he was being such an arse when he’d just got together with Mei.

  ‘I think I’ll just stay here,’ Nik insisted. ‘I want to be with Georgia.’

  ‘Oh, man,’ Cameron complained. ‘That’s harsh.’

  ‘Whatever, man,’ Dim added.

  ‘How about we go out fishing tomorrow?’ Nik said in a conciliatory tone, which Georgia thought was much more than Cameron and Dim deserved. ‘Just the three of us – a boys’ trip.’

  Dim and Cameron seemed content with that. The conversation drifted to fishing and how much beer they’d need. Georgia left it a few minutes before she returned to the deck. By that time the anchor was up and the boat was heading back to the marina. Nik was steering on his own, and he smiled as she joined him. He gestured for her to take the wheel.

  ‘You trust me to drive the boat?’ Georgia asked.

  He shrugged. ‘It must be love.’ He laughed, perhaps to cover what he had just let slip. But she almost choked.

  ‘You really have changed,’ she said, taking the wheel.

  Nik put his arm around her. ‘I said I would.’

  Georgia wasn’t sure what had triggered the change in Nik, but he was a different person completely.

  Georgia had a theory that her near-death experience yesterday had something to do with it.

  Later that evening, Georgia lay on her bed, reflecting on the change in Nik, while Alice, who was clearly in one of her foul moods, rifled through the wardrobe trying to find something to wear out that evening.

  ‘I hope you enjoyed your onboard lunch yesterday,’ Alice spat, ignoring Georgia’s philosophical musings.

  Georgia shrugged. ‘I’m not really sure what you mean,’ she said. She had no intention of explaining herself to Alice and she certainly didn’t need her muscling in on the action – especially now things were going so well with Nik.

  ‘Don’t play dumb, you pathetic liar. I saw you on Nik’s boat. It’s not small. It’s enormous!’

  ‘I guess.’

  ‘That’s all you can say
… I guess. It’s huge and I saw you on it – swanning around like some B-grade celebrity. Make that Z-grade.

  Have a look at what you’re wearing.’

  Georgia rolled her eyes.

  ‘Why didn’t you invite me?’ Alice whined. ‘I’ve never been on a mega yacht. I really wanted to go. You’re such a bitch sometimes. You make the White Witch of Narnia look like a saint.’

  Georgia should have just ignored her, but Alice was getting on her nerves, which were already frayed from a day of looking for rogue tinnies. And two Narnia references in two days was creeping her out. She was sick of Alice’s sense of entitlement.

  ‘What have you been doing?’ Georgia growled, jumping up and stalking towards her sister. ‘Spying on us?’

  Alice took a step back.

  Georgia moved forward, sticking her nose in her sister’s face to make the point. ‘You’re the last person I’d invite on a yacht. And the last person Nik would want there too.’

  Georgia stormed out of the room.

  Alice was in a bad mood for days after Georgia’s outburst. Often it was hard to tell the difference between her good moods and bad moods – they just seemed to blend into one long period of sulkiness and sarcasm. But this was different. It started with the silent treatment. Then it was total non-compliance and all-out warfare. However, this just made it easier for Georgia to ignore her, which is exactly what she did. She had other things on her mind.

  Georgia and Nik were inseparable for those few days. Every waking moment was spent together – helicopter trips to Fraser Island, picnics in the bush and dinners on Hastings Street. Georgia couldn’t believe the change in Nik. He’d scheduled her into his life and he was open and honest – so different to the cagey guy she’d had dinner with only a couple of weeks earlier.

  New Year’s Eve arrived, and Georgia sat on the couch in the late afternoon, strapping on a pair of sandals. Nik would be picking her up any minute. The plan was to go to his place for a few drinks, then head to the party later in the evening.

  As Georgia moved to the second sandal, Alice pranced in from the bedroom wearing Georgia’s black sequined dress.