by Lesley Jones
She makes herself comfortable, sitting facing Roman and me, and they talk about people they both know as I just sit and watch what’s going on around me. Someone is playing guitar and singing what sounds like a Bob Dylan song, and there are people paddling in the ocean, as well as some lying, sitting or standing on the beach. There are couples kissing and some are full-on dry-humping each other. I catch the smell of cannabis in the air every time the wind blows gently over my skin. Roman nudges my arm and passes me a joint.
“You okay?” he asks as I take a draw. It hits me instantly and my head spins.
“Shit, what’s in that?” I ask, my limbs instantly feeling like jelly. I pass it back to Roman but he shakes his head.
“No, I want to be able to look after you; have another puff. This stuffs a bit trippy; it’ll help you let go. Don’t worry, I’ll look after you.” I look from him to Skye.
“It’s good stuff, Georgia; take another couple of hits,” she says. I look back at Roman, still not convinced. I’m on a beach in the middle of Australia with a man I’ve only known a few weeks, surrounded by a load of weirdo hippies, stoned and tripping off their nuts.
“You need to learn to trust people again, Georgia. I’ll look after you. I promise; please, trust me.” I nod slowly, thinking to myself that if it turns out they’re a bunch of Charles Manson types and this ends badly, at least I’ll get to see Sean again.
Skye and I share the rest of the joint. After the initial dizziness, I feel fine, the effects creeping up on me slowly. Skye moves closer and starts to chat to me about London while Roman goes off to have a wee in the bushes. Despite my drug-induced state, I’m still guarded about what I tell her about myself. She has no idea who I am, and I want it to stay that way. I tell her I work in the fashion industry, and she seems happy enough with that. Everyone around me seems to have a silvery glow coming from their skin, and it looks beautiful. Roman comes back and sits next to me; I’m hyper-aware of how he smells, and I suddenly feel extremely horny.
“Do you model, Georgia? Is that what you do?” Skye asks. She’s already told me she’s a dancer, but I’d sort of guessed that by her posture; shoulders back, neck straight, head held high. It’d been years since I’d gone to dance classes, but I would never forget Madam Yvette screeching at the top of her lungs if one of us wasn’t standing right. She shouted at me once too often when I was about eight; I took off one of my points and threw it right at her head. I was banned from the entire dance school, and my mum was called to come and collect me. I hated ballet, didn’t mind tap, but was pissed off as I loved disco and modern but they barred me from the whole school, so I never got to go back. Madame Yvette and her silly accent, what a bitch. She wasn’t even French; she came from Bethnal Green, the lying cow. Thinking of the look on her face as the block from my point shoe hit her on the head suddenly gives me the giggles.
“Georgia works more in the retail side,” Roman says from beside me, pulling me back to the beach and the conversation. I look up into his face; his eyes are bluer than I’ve ever seen them before, and he smiles down at me. “Feel good, baby?” I smile back and nod.
“I feel fuckin’ great!” I hear Skye laugh, and it’s like a bell. A little bell tinkling, I think to myself.
“I told ya you would. Let everything else go and just feel it.” I nod at him.
“Well, you’re quite beautiful, Georgia; you could easily be a model.” She’s sitting with her legs crossed in front of me; her blonde hair is short and spikey. Her skin is pale and her eyes are huge and blue.
“You look like Tinker Bell,” I say without thinking too much about it. Roman laughs from beside me, and I turn and look back at him. “What? She does! Tink’s cute. Skye’s cute, shush you,” I say to him. I look back at Skye; her eyes are looking over my body, then back up to my face.
“Thank you, Georgia. I’ll take cute, if that’s all that’s going, but I’d rather you thought I was sexy.”
Fuck. I don’t quite know what to say to that. I look back to Roman; he smiles and shrugs.
“Well, do ya?” I look her over.
“Yeah, you’re sexy.”
Skye smiles. “Thank you, Georgia. Ya know, I really wanna kiss you right now.” She bites down on her bottom lip. “Have you ever kissed a girl? I mean full-on kissed a girl?”
My heart is pounding in my chest; there are a myriad of colours bouncing off the waves of the ocean as they roll onto the beach. The noise from all the other people has disappeared, and all I can hear is Skye, Roman and the water.
“Can I kiss you, Georgia?” she asks.
“I’m not gay,” I blurt out; I look up at Roman and shake my head. “I’m not gay,” I tell him, and his smile does something to my insides. He leans in and kisses my neck, right where it curves and meets my shoulder. I shudder and close my eyes.
“No one’s saying you’re gay, baby. She just wants to kiss you. D’ya want her to kiss you? Don’t think about it. Just go with what you feel.”
He pulls me to sit between his legs, and I lean back against his chest. I turn my head and look up at him.
“I want her to kiss me.”
What the fuck? Where did that come from? I close my eyes in embarrassment. It’s not really that I want her to kiss me. I just have this strange desire to know what it feels like.
“See, just doing, not thinking, sometimes it’s good, Georgia. Like I keep telling ya, just go with it.” I open my eyes and look at him. My inhibitions have gone, all of them, floating away on the waves and swept out into the Pacific Ocean. I feel in control but out of control. He kisses me gently on the mouth, cupping my jaw in his big hand. “Don’t do anything you don’t wanna do; just go with it, baby. I’m here and I’ll keep you safe.”
He leans back on the blanket we’ve been sitting on, then pulls me down next to him; he leans over and kisses me again. I wrap my arms around his neck as his hand travels from my hip, up my side, his thumb resting and rubbing over my nipple. He pulls away, pushes himself up on one elbow and looks down at me. I’m flat on my back now looking up at him, and I feel like I’m floating. Skye is on the other side of me, her fingers gently brushing over my cheek and my lips. She looks up at Roman.
“She’s so beautiful.”
“I know,” he whispers and looks back down at me. Desire spikes through me; I have never done anything like this in my life. I have never been attracted to another woman, and I don’t even think I am now, but I’m here and it’s on offer. I just want to see what it’s like. Just a kiss, just one kiss. Her mouth comes down softly onto mine, and she tastes sweet, like cherry Chapstick. Her lips are so soft, and I’m completely still at first while she moves her mouth over mine. Her tongue flicks out and runs along the seam of my lips, then pushes in; her mouth is firm but gentle, forceful but not at all rough. I open mine and our tongues tangle for a few seconds until she pulls away. Her eyes look down my body, and I move mine to meet Roman’s. He gives a small smile and runs the backs of his knuckles over my cheek.
“You okay, baby?” I nod. “Feeling horny?” Am I that obvious? I nod, and he gives a little chuckle. “Shall we head inside? Go to Skye’s room? Don’t think, just answer.” I nod instantly, and he leans in and kisses me gently on the mouth. “Good girl,” he whispers.
Skye stands without saying a word. Roman pulls me up and my head spins; everything is still glowing silver, and for a few seconds, I have a strange fascination with my own hand. Roman grabs the hand that’s not silver and sparkly and we head inside the huge house.
* * *
The house is noisy as we walk through; the sounds of music, talking and laughter are distorted, sounding almost like they are in slow motion. I look down at my feet, making sure they are connecting to the floor as I hold on to Roman’s hand, as we head up some stairs and towards the back of the house, which overlooks the beach.
Roman leads me into a room, which has a soft, reddish glow to it. There is a large bed with voile drapes hanging around it from a canopy in red
s and oranges, and there are posters on the wall of naked men and women. I stare for a few seconds, as they seem to be moving. There’s more voile covering a set of timber doors that open onto a balcony; the doors are open and the sheer fabric is blowing into the room. It looks stunning, ethereal. I reach out my hand to touch the fabric, but it’s further away than I think so I move towards the doors. Roman grips my hand.
“Hold my hand tight, baby; it’s not safe out there while you’re like this. D’ya understand me? Don’t let go of my hand, Georgia.” I nod my head and follow him out onto the balcony.
The view is spectacular. If only I could take a picture of what I could see. The water is silver, with a rainbow of colours bouncing from its surface; every person on the beach has a silvery glow coming from them. I turn to Roman.
“I’m totally off my nut.” He throws his head back and laughs loudly, and out of nowhere, Cam pops into my head. Cam and his big laugh; Cam, my Tiger. I feel a little tug at my heart. I brush it aside, put it away to think about when I’m not so fucked-up, but it won’t stop. My heart feels a little strange because of the images I have in my head; Cam and his twirling chair, his desk, his office, the way he took control, the way I didn’t have to think, the way he called me Kitten.
“I miss Cam.” Roman turns and looks at me.
“Who’s Cam?” I try to focus as I look at him; everything I look at pulses with colour, and it’s hard to concentrate or focus on any one thing. “Who’s Cam?” he repeats.
“Cam, my Tiger. He saved me, you know, when Sean fucked around with Whorely. Cam saved me. He saved me from me, and I loved him but I didn’t. I didn’t get it; everything in my head was messed-up, but he helped fix me and I loved him. I think I still do.” I frown and tilt my head as I try to focus on Roman’s eyes. “Can you love two people at the same time? Can you truly love someone with everything you are but still love someone else, still fuck someone else behind their back, because you love them too? Is that possible, Rome? Can that happen?” I sway as I look at him. I don’t know his reaction to what I’ve just said because his face is just a blur to me now, and to be honest, I can’t even remember what it is I’ve just told him. He says something but his words are distorted, and I think I just laugh. He pulls me in for a kiss, then leads me back into the bedroom and over to the bed. I sit on the edge as he kneels in front of me.
“Where’s Skye?” I ask.
“She’s taking a shower. Nothing has to happen here, okay. I want you to know that. If you don’t wanna do anything, then don’t.” I reach out and gently touch his lips with my fingertips. “You touch her and I’ll fucking kill you.”
He shakes his head and laughs.
Cam.
Again.
Cam’s in my head again. Why, why is he here, why now?
“Hey, this is for you, baby, all for you. I have no interest in Skye, believe me; I just want to make you happy. I want this to be all about you.” I nod my head at him, not sure whether that’s the right gesture, but I do it anyway. He pulls off my flip flops and pushes me back on the bed; my skirt has an elasticated waist, and he pulls that down and off my body. He sits back on his heels and looks at me. “You are so fucking beautiful, Georgia; so fucking beautiful.” He leans in and kisses me, right over my clit through my silky knickers. I bend my knees, bring my feet up to the bed and open my legs wider; his hot breath between my legs is driving me insane, and I desperately want him inside me. He pulls away and stands up, pulls off his T-shirt and unbuckles his jeans, sliding out of them and his boxers at the same time. I attempt to take off my top, but my co-ordination isn’t great so he does it for me.
Skye comes out of the adjoining bathroom with a towel wrapped around her. She’s carrying a tray and puts it on the bedside table; it has three lines of coke on it.
“You okay with this, George?” Roman asks. I’m in a strange woman’s bedroom, almost naked, and I have God knows what drugs floating around my system. I’m probably about to embark on my first-ever threesome, and he’s asking me if I’m okay with a line of Charlie? I smile at the pair of them.
“I,” I say to anyone who wants to listen, “I am just fine and dandy. Bring it on; whatever you’ve got, bring it.” Roman looks at me with a frown and brings the tray over to the bed. We take turns vacuuming up the white powder, and my heart rate instantly accelerates. Something inside my head is screaming at me to stop; this is wrong, it’s too much, too much drink, too many drugs, too much sex and it’s all too soon, but I carry on regardless. I want to be brave and I want to be fearless. I’m sick of being scared of life and whatever shit it has left to throw at me; nothing can hurt me more than losing Sean and Beau. So bring it on. Let’s do this shit; let’s drink and snort and fuck… I wipe my nose and pull Roman towards me. I need sex, really badly.
He lifts me up the bed so my head is resting on the pile of pillows and cushions, then he pulls off my knickers and lays beside me. Skye pulls off the towel she has wrapped around her and climbs onto the bed naked. I’m aware of how feminine she smells, soft and flowery. I’m aware of every movement she makes as she eases closer to me on the bed, although I can’t actually focus well enough to see her; all I see is colour. Skye is a sparkling mass of pinks and lilacs and Roman is blues and silvers; the colours merge and then separate, merge and separate, and anticipation and arousal build in my belly as they get closer. I can feel Roman’s erect cock digging into the top of my hip. There are hands and lips on me, but I don’t know whose; fingers slide inside me and it feels good. Then there’s a tongue on my clit and I reach down, and I know it’s Skye’s head between my legs but Roman’s fingers inside me. I arch my back, and she licks and sucks me with more force as he adds another finger. My heart rate suddenly accelerates and feels like it’s pounding in my ears. My vision slowly comes into focus and I watch as Roman brings his head down to take my nipple into his mouth; he strokes himself as he watches what Skye is doing with her tongue on my clit.
He pulls his fingers from my body and slides off the bed, sitting back on his heels beside me, watching, and I don’t like it. I hate it. All that’s running through my brain is that Cam wouldn’t like this; he wouldn’t like me doing this, and he wouldn’t like that Roman was watching.
I don’t quite know what happens next; it’s like a wave of panic rushes over me. I don’t like this; I don’t like what’s happening. I want it to stop.
“No!” I hear myself call out. I try to close my legs, but Skye holds them open. “No, Rome, tell her no.” I scramble up the bed, and Skye sits up and looks at me. Her face is wet and I suddenly feel disgusted with myself.
Roman’s at my side. “Calm down, George. It’s okay. What’s wrong?’ I don’t know exactly what’s wrong, but I don’t want to be here anymore; I want to leave.
“I want to go home.” He nods.
“Great, just fuckin’ great.” I hear Skye say. She climbs off the bed and stomps into the bathroom, slamming the door behind her. I watch Roman as he gets dressed then helps me on with my clothes. I’m still unsteady on my feet as he helps me stand; the colours have stopped bouncing off every surface now but I still feel like I’m completely out of myself. “You okay? Can ya walk back to the truck?”
I nod my head. “Yeah, I’m sorry, I… I just want to go home.”
“Stop saying sorry, George. Tonight was all about you, whatever you wanted, whatever you wanted to do. You’ve had enough, and that’s fine; now it’s time to go.” He kisses me. “You ever done anything like that before?” I shake my head, feeling embarrassed now; what the fuck was I thinking? “Well, it was fucking hot, let me tell ya. Watching her do that to you was fucking hot, so thanks, thanks for that. I’ll never forget it. Next time I’m away and haven’t seen a decent-looking woman for months, I’m gonna play that on a loop in my head to help get me by.” He kisses my cheek. “You sure you’re okay walking?”
I nod, but I’m not actually sure. I grip his hand tightly and let him lead me back the way we came. We collect our
stuff from around the fire and head back to the truck. I feel dizzy and lightheaded, tired but wide-awake, and my mind is suddenly very clear. I want my bed. I want to be left alone in my bed with my thoughts. I have no idea why, but Cam keeps popping into my head and it’s pissing me off.
Roman starts the truck, and it occurs to me that he’s done quite a lot of drugs tonight.
“You okay to drive?” I ask him.
He nods. “I probably shouldn’t drive, but I’m okay. If I’m not, I’ll pull over and we’ll sleep in here. I didn’t have any of that joint, remember; the trippy stuff you had? Just the coke.” He pulls out of his parking spot and onto the road, and I have to laugh at his statement.
“Just the coke. Well, that’s fine then; you’re full of coke but you’re just fine to drive.” I don’t know what’s wrong with me. I don’t know where the words are coming from; he’s done nothing but look after me and now I’m being a complete bitch. He swings the truck into a layby.
“Shall I stop? D’ya wanna stay here? Whatever you want, George.”
“I want to go home. I want my bed.”
“Well, the only way that’s gonna happen is if I drive us there. This ain’t London, George; the cab drivers are all in bed at this time, even on a Saturday night.” He leans in, takes my chin between his thumb and index finger and lifts it so my eyes meet his. “I shouldn’t have let you have that coke; I’m sorry.” I feel like the bitch I am; I’m behaving like an arsehole and he’s the one apologising.
“I’m the one who’s sorry. I’m being a bitch; I don’t know what’s wrong with me.”
He licks his lips and shakes his head. “The coke, that’s what’s wrong with you.”
“I’ve done coke before, Rome; I’ve been doing coke since I was twenty. You do remember who I was married to?” My heart hurts as I say those words…
Was married to.
Sean, I was married to Sean.
I still am married to Sean.