Chapter 12

TWELVE

As soon as she closed the door of her own room behind her she covered her face in her hands as if she was ashamed to show the world that she smiled. She knew she had been completely reckless, again, but it had never felt so good before. As she passed a mirror in her room she held still for a second to get confronted with her own image again. Her hair was tangled, her lips slightly red and bruised and her eyes wild. She pulled her top over her head and tossed it on the made bed. She smelled after sex and she knew that the staff would kill her if they’d see her like that. Then she chuckled and shook her head. “Jesus, focus Georgia,” she spoke to herself. She knew that Lodinski would kill her if she was going to be any later than she already was. She had to be at the venue in exactly five minutes and she was never going to make it. But even though she wasn’t ready for so much action yet she forced herself to get dressed. She put on clean underwear, white sparkling tights and a lilac leotard. Even though all she wanted to do was take a long shower to wash him away, there simply was no time so she had to make the best of it. She brushed her hair and put it in a bun on top of her head. As she walked around to pack her bag and to search for her leather jacket, she noticed she was feeling slightly sore. They sure got a little carried away last night and even just a few hours ago. But what was he doing to her mind?

Ten minutes later she ran down the stairs and as she walked around the corner she literally almost ran in to one of his band mates. The guitarist. She barely looked at him as he told her sorry and hello. “No, I’m sorry,” she said and continued her run down the stairs while she wondered what he would have said if he knew anything about her night. When she arrived in the lobby she stopped at the reception desk and said she needed a cab. “There are two cabs waiting in front of the hotel, I’m sure one of them will be very willing to help you out.” She nodded and thanked him.

***

“Well, well, well… look who decided to gladden us with a minute of her time,”  Lodinski’s voice cut right through her and she exchanged a glance with Yasmin. Her friend looked confused. Georgia threw her bag in a corner after she got her pointes out and sat down on the floor to put them on. She stretched and bend her feet and saw how Lodinski approached her. She didn’t dare to look up. Not because she was afraid of him but scared of what he would see in her eyes. “I’m sorry I’m late,” she said, almost in a whisper.

“Oh I know you are,” he said and she was glad when he started to walk away again while he gave her orders. She knew he was angry, or disappointed at least, and she didn’t know what was worse.

As she walked to the barre she passed Yasmin. “Where the hell have you been, I called you like a thousand times.” Georgia knew that was true. On her way over in the cab she finally found time to check her phone and that was about the amount of missed calls she had from Yasmin, plus about 36 from Lodinski, but when she tried to call him them to let him know she was on her way he didn’t answer. At that point she realised that Lodinski would not be happy to see her. Before she could answer Yasmin now, Lodinski interrupted them. “Miss Yasmin Carter, I don’t think you want to talk to Miss Wilde at the moment, she had a lot to make up for.”

Georgia closed her eyes for a second but instead of feeling regret or sorry she saw his face and it sent shivers down her spine. As she started dancing she felt the soreness again. She couldn’t remember he being that rough, but then again, it had been ages since she had spent a night like this with a man. And she had never been able to enjoy it as much as she did now. So her body was probably just as shocked as her mind and heart.

“What the fuck is wrong with you today, you run in late, barely apologise and can’t even stick your leg in the air properly…” he said and pushed her leg up further without any warning. He saw the pain on her face. “You might as well go back to the hotel and punish your unprofessional behaviour.” He spoke loudly to make sure everyone could hear and she hated him.

“It’s your ballet, Lodinski. You could fire me, but that’s not what this is about because you know you can’t even risk to lose me.” She replied and he chuckled. That was the weird thing about that man, he loved when she talked like that and he also knew she was right.

“There’s the Georgia I know. C’mon raise that leg.”

As Georgia walked to her bag when the day was finally over and pulled at the silk straps on her pointes she heard that Yasmin was following her. “So, are you ever going to tell me the reason for almost screwing up? Because let’s face it… you can’t ever, not really. I swear that if that had been me I’d be on my way home right now.” The worst thing was that Georgia knew she was right.

“No,” she just answered and lifted her bag over  her shoulder.

“No? That’s it? But I’m your best friend and I deserve to know.”

“If you really are you should know that if it was really important, I would tell you. Just trust me already, seriously Yas, I’m just really tired.”

Yasmin rolled her eyes, insulted and walked away. Georgia didn’t care. It was wrong to lie, but then again, the truth was worse.

***

During the day Jon could still feel her lips on his, her hands against his back, he could still hear her. And no matter how hard he tried to wash it away, he could still smell her on his body. Lavender, cigarettes and sex. He missed her and by the time it was time to start packing his bag he wondered for how long he had to feel that way. He also tried to understand whát made him feel that way. Had he, without realising it, fallen back into his old behaviour of wanting to sleep with women to kill time on the road? Was there, even though he never thought about it, something wrong with his marriage? The answer was no and the answer to what made him feel this way was simple.

It was Georgia.

It was good that he was leaving that night, or so he told himself. She would go back to New York and he would go back on his world tour and it would be better for everyone.