Tall, Dark & Distant Read Online Free PDF Page B

well.
    ‘You must be Georgia’s new boyfriend,’ Alice purred, without waiting for an introduction. ‘Georgia’s never had a boyfriend before. You’re the first. Isn’t that nice for you?’
    Georgia looked into the sky, hoping for a spaceship to land and a three-headed alien to abduct her. A lifetime of servitude to the King of Planet Zorg would’ve been better than this.
    ‘Hello. You are …?’ Nik replied, ignoring the comments.
    ‘Alice,’ she replied with a simpering smile. ‘I’m Georgia’s sister.’
    Yes, this is my sister, Princess Malice. She had three boyfriends this year. The first lasted seven weeks, the second, six days, and the third just four hours, because she really is that unpleasant.
    That was what Georgia wanted to say, but she didn’t. It wasn’t wise to engage Alice on the topic of boyfriends. Anyway, Alice was right about the tally so far. Unless Georgia counted Zane Wardour, who gave her a coloured pen in grade three, she was really struggling to come up with any names at all. Even Georgia’s date for the school formal had been the borrowed son of her mother’s friend.
    But that didn’t mean Alice had to announce it to the world, or more importantly to the most perfect potential-boyfriend Georgia had ever met. She took the moral high ground and ignored her sister. She also indulged in a momentary fantasy involving writing Alice’s name on her lizard-poo-stained knickers and hanging them on the front gate for all to see.
    ‘How about a swim?’ Georgia said to Nik, turning her back on her sister.
    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