Chapter 19

NINETEEN

“Georgia, put your hair up please, I wanna see your pretty face,” Lodinski said the minute she walked in. She walked towards her spot in the room while she rolled her hair into a quick bun and saw Veronica was looking at her via the mirrored wall in front of them.

“You have the most wonderful hair,” she said and Georgia shrugged her shoulders.

“No I don’t, I just wear it messy and make it look like I do that on purpose.” She wasn’t in the mood for small talk with the girls. Especially today. In her mind she was still playing the conversation she had with Charlie that morning. He came to see her at her house, which was something he hardly ever did and she still couldn’t believe what he told her.

She was just doing the dishes when the doorman called, asking her if she knew a man called Charlie Harvey.  She was surprised to say the least but she told him to let him up. With the towel in her hands she went to open the door for him and he was already there when she got to it.

“Jesus, did you run or something?” she said and dried her hands with the towel.

“Hi,” he said, he seemed excited and stepped alongside her to walk to the kitchen.

“I’m almost done here” Georgia said as she followed him in and walked back to the sink. “Did you end up selling many photos?” she continued and Charlie sat down at the dining table where he could face her.

“What? Oh yes, all of them, my most successful exposition yet.”

Georgia smiled, she was genuinely happy for him. “That is great.”

“It is, it is…” he said and stared at his hands in silence.

“So, you know that I have to leave for rehearsals in an hour right?” she said as she piled up the plates to put them in the cabinet, wondering what he came by for.

“Yes,” he said “but I really want to talk to you about something and I couldn’t wait so… if you will please sit down with me.”

Georgia frowned and walked towards the table. “Are you ok? Can I get you anything by the way?”

He shook his head. “Maybe later, please just sit down before I change my mind and that’s not fair to you…”

“What is not fair? What is going on?”

“Alright listen… and please promise me you won’t get mad… The other week at the sugar factory… I just sold one of your portraits to this woman and she kept asking me if she could talk to you. I tried to explain to her that I didn’t know where you were and that you would come back later but she insisted so I said to her… let me see if I can find her, so…”

Georgia felt a strange tingling in her stomach. A part of her already knew where this was going.

“So I went to look for you and I really don’t know why I did it but I climbed the stairs to the second floor and…”

Georgia stood up from her chair and turned her back at him. She didn’t want to look at her friend while he explained to her what he had seen. “O my God,” she said.

“I saw you… with him, and... Jesus, Georgia I freaked out. I didn’t know what to do but I thought you deserved to know. And I just really want to know… what the fuck is this about? Because you can’t tell me that was a first.”

Georgia walked back to the kitchen and filled a glass with water. She knew she owed him an explanation and part of her was relieved that she could finally share it with someone but she knew Jon would not be as pleased. She sat back down and looked at him. He looked worried, curious and excited. She told him the whole story from beginning to end and he didn’t interrupt her one single time. He just sat there and listened. He didn’t even move until Georgia started to tear up out of frustration, because it overwhelmed her to even talk about him.

He reached for her hand across the table and held it tight. “Georgia baby… this is so…”

“So not right,” she said and she wanted to withdraw her hand but he didn’t let her. “You aren’t supposed to know. Not you out of everyone. You’re a gossip king and a gay man.”

It was now Charlie who let go of her hand and sat back, offended. “Georgia I know you are upset but that isn’t fair. I am your friend more than I am gay and this is a serious problem.”

“What is?” she whispered.

“That you are obviously hopelessly in love with a married rock star is what I’d call a problem.”

She pulled a tortured face at him and took a sip of water. “It is, isn’t it?”

“Yes,” he simply said. “But, if there is one girl on this goddamn planet who can pull that off it’s you. I can’t blame the man for falling for you so you are not going to waste your time thinking about reasons why you shouldn’t do this.”

She looked up and couldn’t believe he said this. The one thing she wanted to hear but never thought anyone would understand. “You better use it trying to keep him instead, because from what I’ve seen it just might be worth it.”

“What?! You stayed to watch?”

He grinned at her. “Maybe just for a few seconds, c’mon you guys wouldn’t even have noticed if a bomb dropped on that building.”

Georgia couldn’t believe it but she laughed despite herself. “Charlie that is disgusting!”

He raised both his hands in defence. “It was hot!”

They talked a little longer and Georgia made him promise not to tell anyone a million times. Even though she knew he wouldn’t. She knew Charlie for over five years now and he was literally one of the very few people in her life that never let her down. Even though she was still not completely comfortable with the fact that he knew, it felt good to finally be able to talk about it.

“I don’t even know where this is going, he’s going to Europe for two months in a few weeks…”

“But he’ll be back,” Charlie said.

“Yes but I’m just so scared. I mean he told me all these things about it being different for him as well and that he needs me but why should I believe him?”

“Georgia… he is a married man with children, he has this massive career, do you really think he would still risk it all if this didn’t mean much to him? I don’t believe that and I don’t think you do either.”

She shook her head. “I guess not…”

She sighed. “But I have been broken before… even though whatever I felt for all those assholes before him was nothing compared to what I feel for him, but is this falling in love, Charlie?”

He looked at her in pity, she looked so hopeless. So not like herself.

“I’m afraid it is, girl…” he said and he pulled her up while he walked around the table.

“But it’s not fun.”

He pulled her in his arms for a hug. “It will be eventually, but if you are feeling so much that should tell you that this will all be worth it. I’m sure it won’t be a lot of fun for him either to go back to his  wife after he just fucked you. He must feel guilt and pain as well… but there’s one thing he does not feel and that is regret otherwise he wouldn’t have gone through with this, right?”

She leaned back to look at him and he wiped away the tears from her cheeks.

“Thank you,” she whispered. “This is so fucked up…”

Charlie chuckled. “That’s what they call love, girl.”