Almost Perfect (16 page)

Georgie decided that kissing Liam was probably her favourite thing in the whole world. And she could only imagine that if the kissing was this good, the sex would be amazing. But that was the problem, she could only imagine. They still hadn't made love and Georgie was beginning to think something was wrong. He couldn't be gay, he couldn't kiss her like this if he was gay. It wasn't that he was married, because, as Louise had agreed, they'd have had sex long ago. Perhaps he had some physical problem, but she had been pressed up close against him enough times to know that everything seemed to be in full working order. Yet here they were, once again, parked outside her place, necking in the front seat of his car like two hormone-charged teenagers who had nowhere else to go.

Maybe Nick was right. Maybe Liam was nervous, anxious even. But if they didn't have sex soon Georgie was quite sure she was going to burst. It was time to take matters into her own hands, for want of a better expression.

So when Liam had phoned that morning to arrange an early dinner, Georgie had planned her
assault. She told Louise she needed to take care of some errands so she'd be gone for a couple of hours in the middle of the day. They weren't busy, and besides, one of the casuals was coming in at noon. Georgie took a bus down to Manly where she knew she'd find what she was looking for in one of the trendy, surfergirl boutiques that littered the area. It was relatively easy buying an outfit for such a finite purpose as seduction. It simply had to reveal lots of flesh and cling to the right bits. Georgie quickly found just such a dress made of flimsy fabric in a deep shade of rust, close to red but definitely not red. A red dress would have been a little too obvious. This dress suggested red without being so brazen as to actually be red. Mind you, it was brazen in just about every other respect. Georgie didn't have the most impressive breasts, but the dress certainly made the most of what she had, with a barely there bodice held up by thread-like straps, leaving nothing much to the imagination. The rest of the dress clung to her slender frame finishing just above the knees. Georgie never wore clothes like this, even though she had the figure for them. They just seemed too out there; she felt exposed. But because she was dressing for Liam it didn't bother her in the least. She was pretty sure it would have the desired effect, and even the shop-girl, who surely must have been on work experience – from primary school – seemed impressed.

Her next stop was home, to attempt a brief clean through and warn Tracey off. But Tracey wasn't there. So all she could do was write a note requesting the place to herself tonight. She aimed for an assertive
tone, but she suspected it sounded more like begging. She looked around for somewhere to leave the note so Tracey wouldn't miss it. But she didn't want Liam seeing it later on either, and she knew Tracey wouldn't think to dispose of it once she'd read it. Tracey's room was the only safe place. Georgie swept through the flat, picking up anything that belonged to her flatmate and carrying the pile to her bedroom. She dumped what she'd collected onto the floor where it joined the rest of Tracey's possessions, and pinned the note to her pillow. She stepped back and considered it. Was it unmissable? Georgie propped the pillow vertically against the bedhead and readjusted the note. That was the best she could do.

In her own room she pulled the sheets off the bed and shoved them into the laundry hamper along with every piece of clothing scattered around the room, clean, dirty or otherwise. She made the bed, and before replacing the doona, she sprayed perfume across the sheets. She'd read about that in magazines but she'd never actually done it. Probably because she'd never had to work so hard at seducing anyone before.

Georgie stripped off and buried her clothes in the hamper as well, before showering briefly, dousing herself in the same perfume and rubbing her hair dry with a towel. She had considered making an appointment with the hairdresser but thought that would be overkill. Besides, she'd only had her hair cut and streaked a couple of weeks ago. Copper this time, with wide slashes of gold. Everyone said it suited her, Liam had even commented. She
scrunched some sort of gel, wax, mousse, lard for all she knew, through her hair and hoped for the best. Georgie never wore much make-up, so mascara and lip gloss were as far as she was prepared to go. She'd already overstepped the mark with the perfumed sheets.

She ran naked back to her room and realised she should have bought some underwear while she was out. She didn't have anything slinky or sexy. Oh well, if all went to plan she wouldn't be wearing them for long. She pulled on a plain pair of undies and then wriggled into her dress, but as she caught sight of her reflection in the wardrobe mirror, Georgie got a bit of a shock. In the shop she could have been anyone, but here in her own bedroom she was unmistakably Georgie, in the most revealing dress she'd ever worn in her life.

And she was going to have to go back to work in it. Bugger, Adam and Louise were going to have a field day.

Georgie searched through her wardrobe for something appropriate to wear as a cover-up. Zan would have the perfect little black cardigan or jacket, but Georgie only had peasant blouses, tie-dyed over-shirts and fringed shawls. She was going to have to brave it. And God help Adam if he dared open his mouth.

‘Be still my beating heart, what vision do I see before me?' Adam fell to his knees holding both hands to his chest.

‘Don't start,' Georgie warned. She had left the bus one stop early so she could duck around the block and come into the shop by the back way. She'd slipped directly into the storeroom without anyone noticing her, and then she froze. She felt excruciatingly self-conscious. She'd been pottering around for the last ten minutes, pretending to be busy, when Adam had appeared in the doorway.

‘Don't make a big deal, okay? It's just that I'm going out straight after work.'

Still on his knees, Adam lurched forward, wrapping his arms around her waist. ‘Take me with you,' he pleaded.

‘Oh, for crying out loud.' His head was almost buried into her breasts and Georgie had to push his forehead back with the palm of her hand. ‘Get a hold of yourself, Adam.'

‘But you're so beautiful,' he cried, a twinkle in his eye. ‘You even smell good,' he added, attempting to nuzzle back against her, but Georgie held him at bay.

‘Cut it out.'

‘'Ello, 'ello, 'ello, what do we have here then?' Louise stood watching them, bemused, her hands on her hips.

‘Would you call your dog off, please?' said Georgie.

‘Down Fido.'

Adam released Georgie, sitting back on his haunches. ‘Look, honey, our little girl's all grown up.'

‘I reckon,' said Louise.

‘Please, can we just drop it? I already feel self-conscious enough.'

‘Why? If you've got it, flaunt it,' Louise declared. ‘You look fabulous, Georgie.'

‘But I never wear clothes like this.'

‘Neither do I,' Louise pulled a face. ‘But that's because I look like a Teletubby.'

Georgie sighed. ‘Well I'm only worried I look like a slut.'

Adam got to his feet. ‘No need to worry, guys like that.'

‘Adam!'

He put an arm around her shoulders. ‘You don't look like a slut,' he assured her, planting a kiss on the top of her head. ‘You look gorgeous. I hope the suit realises how lucky he is.'

When he arrived at the shop, it was quite obvious to everybody that Liam was in fact awestruck by his good fortune. ‘Do you want me to pick his jaw up off the floor?' Adam muttered under his breath to Georgie when Liam first laid eyes on her.

Throughout dinner he was clearly distracted, even flustered at times, losing his train of thought, slipping into a kind of trance when Georgie was speaking. When they left the restaurant, he'd pressed her up against the car and kissed her ravenously for probably ten minutes, until Georgie finally suggested he should take her home. And they had been getting hot and bothered parked out front now for quite long enough.

‘Don't you think it's time you came up?' Georgie breathed into his ear.

Liam stopped abruptly and looked at her. ‘I can't stay, Georgie,' he croaked, clearing his throat. ‘I have to go back to the office.'

‘You always have to go back to the office,' she blurted, before biting her lip. She didn't want to sound like a shrew, but jeez, what was a girl supposed to do?

Liam blinked, for a moment he was speechless. ‘That's because you're the worst thing that's ever happened to me,' he said finally.

‘What?'

He nodded. ‘It's true. I used to be able to focus on work when I was at work, nothing distracted me. And I used to be able to follow a conversation, read a newspaper . . . Now you come into my head and I can't think straight. I have to see you. So I leave work, and that's why I always have to go back to the office later.'

Georgie melted inside as he bent to kiss her again. But she was not going to be put off this time. She responded provocatively, sliding her hand along his thigh. She felt him quiver under her touch. ‘Why don't you come up,' she whispered, flickering her tongue across his lips, ‘just for a little while?'

He swallowed, breathing hard. ‘Maybe just for a little while then.'

Georgie jumped from the car before Liam could change his mind. As they walked up the stairs to her flat, she could feel her heart hammering against her ribcage. She was sure he would stay, that this would be the night, and she could barely stop herself from leaping up the stairs two at a time.

But when they got to her floor, Georgie's heart sank. There was music coming from the flat. Strangled cat music. She hesitated at the top of the stairs.

‘What's the matter?' Liam asked, following her gaze to the door of her flat.

‘Um, it sounds like my flatmate's home,' she winced.

‘Is that a problem?'

‘I don't think she's alone.' Then Georgie had an idea. ‘We could go to your place!'

Liam looked a bit startled. ‘No, no,' he insisted. ‘We're here now.' He took her by the arm. ‘Come on, it'll be all right.'

But Georgie suspected it would not be all right at all, and any chance that this was going to be The Night evaporated into the smoky haze that enveloped them as she unlocked the door and pushed it open. This was a proper, full-scale, no-holds-barred party. Georgie and Liam had to squeeze their way through the crowd to get to the kitchen. She hadn't spotted Tracey, which was lucky for Tracey because the mood Georgie was in, she was likely to strangle her. And in this crowd no one would hear her scream.

‘Can I get you a drink or something?' Georgie asked loudly.

Liam shook his head. He was obviously uncomfortable, physically recoiling as he looked around. ‘It's probably better if I go,' he said.

Georgie felt a lump rise into her throat. It wasn't fair. She'd finally got him up here, only to have the
flatmate from hell spoil it all. She reached for his hand. ‘Do you have to?'

‘I'm sorry, Georgie,' he said, ‘but do you even know any of these people?'

‘No, the rent-a-crowd comes courtesy of my flatmate, whose life is currently in grave danger.'

‘Oh?'

‘I'm going to kill her when I find her.'

Liam smiled faintly. ‘It's okay. There'll be another time.'

But
WHEN
? she wanted to scream. It had taken a herculean effort to get him this far, and now she'd have to do it all over again. Georgie felt bewildered, powerless and overwhelmed with disappointment. And then she felt tears welling. She looked down at the floor.

‘Hey, are you okay, Georgie?' Liam said, stroking her hair out of the way so he could see her face.

She sniffed, smiling bravely at him. ‘Could you come and sit out on the balcony with me for a minute?'

‘Sure.'

They weaved their way through the pack to the sliding doors, finding the balcony mercifully empty save for a few dead plants and one lone banana lounge that had seen better days. Though not for some time.

‘Do you want to try it?' Georgie said.

‘Will it support the two of us?'

‘Only one way to find out,' she grinned, leading him over by the hand. He sat gingerly and then settled himself back while Georgie squeezed in beside
him. He wrapped his arms around her and she rested her head against his chest. This was one of those times when she had no difficulty living in the moment. She gazed up at the stars.

‘Look at that sky,' said Georgie.

‘Mm,' Liam murmured, but he wasn't looking at the sky at all. She held his chin and turned his face upwards.

‘No, really look,' she insisted. ‘I know it sounds corny, but just look at those stars. On a clear night like this you can see the Southern Cross, and the pointers, and the big saucepan.'

‘You mean Orion?'

‘You say tomato . . . it's beautiful whatever you call it.'

‘You're right. It's one of the things I notice most when I'm overseas,' said Liam. ‘How different the sky is in the northern hemisphere. It's strange, kind of unsettling, don't you think?'

‘I don't know, I've only seen it from here.'

Liam looked down at her. ‘Really?'

‘Well, not just from this balcony, but from this part of the world.'

‘You've never been overseas?'

‘Oh, it's not that I didn't want to. I used to dream about backpacking around Europe and Asia, like everyone does.'

‘So what happened?'

She hesitated. ‘My parents died, a lot of plans had to change.'

‘How old were you then?'

‘Sixteen.'

‘I didn't realise you were so young. That must have been hard.'

Georgie shrugged. ‘Nick took care of us, we did all right.'

Liam was watching her intently. ‘How come you never talk about it?'