Chapter 17

SEVENTEEN

Jon was in town for most op April, because they had almost a full month off touring but that didn’t mean he wasn’t busy with whatever rock stars could be busy with in their time off. Georgia herself also realised for the first time how busy her own life really was. They spent weeks trying to see each other but in the meantime all they got done was telephone sex and a lot of dirty texts. And even though she had to admit they were pretty good at that, it was far from satisfying. It was therefore extra ironic that they eventually managed to run in to each other unplanned.

One warm afternoon in late April Georgia walked to the subway after satisfying rehearsals and she passed the old sugar factory. A beautiful old stone building that was often used for expositions and art exhibitions that Georgia loved to visit. Her attention was dragged towards a piece of paper on the heavy doors that announced an exposition by New York City’s best photographers. While she read the info she suddenly remembered a voicemail she had forgotten about until then. A friend of hers, Charlie Harvey, was exhibiting a series of portraits he shot of her while she had been rehearsing for Swan Lake, last winter. When he first took the photos he didn’t mean to do anything with it. It was just for fun, because he was waiting for her to finish as they were going out for a drink or something. But then they turned out to be impressively good and he decided that was what he wanted to show on this exhibition. Tonight was the official opening and he invited her a week or so earlier. And she knew she had to show up because it would mean the world to him. The poster told her she was expected at seven. It was now four, so if she wanted to be there on time she had to hurry. Once again.

As she squeezed herself inside the crowded train she managed to get her phone out to call Charlie. She apologized and told him she was going to be there.

“Thank God, I was so stressed out, I would have looked like a complete fool if the star of my portraits wouldn’t even be there to be extremely positive about me,” he said and she felt really guilty. She had always been chaotic and unorganised and it wouldn’t have been the first time that she unintentionally let someone down. She apologised a thousand times more and Charlie kept saying he didn’t care as long as she would be there. She hung up and promised herself she should really try to be a better friend for the few people that she had left in life.

Before she went home she got herself a take-away noodle meal and ate that at the dining table quickly, as she tried to decide what she was going to wear this time. As far as she knew there was no dress code and definitely no Jon Bon Jovi to impress, so she decided a simple dress would do.

She eventually picked a clinging long-sleeved  taupe mini dress and teamed it with a black studded belt low on her waist. She put on black biker boots and straightened her hair. As she looked in the mirror, ready to go at around 20 to 7, she decided she looked artistic enough to attend the event.  

The street in front of the factory was really crowded when she got out of the cab. She stepped aside to let other guests go first as she searched for the invitation in her purse. When she found it, the lady at the door who checked her named on a clipboard, gave her a brochure and a map with artists and matching numbers. Inside Georgia handed her leather jacket to a clerk and searched for Charlie on the map. His portraits had a prominent place on the right side of the first floor of the building and it was impossible to miss it, once she climbed the stairs. Charlie waved at her from a distance as soon as he saw her and she smiled.  She met Charlie in a club years ago, before he admitted he was actually gay and tried to get her attention. He was a really attractive guy though and definitely a little different and mysterious, like most creative people. Tonight he wore black skinny jeans, pointy black varnished shoes and an oversized tartan patterned blazer. He was talking to someone and excused himself. “Georgia, honey I am so glad to see you here, you look gorgeous as always.” Then he turned to point at the man he had been talking to. “And I just sold another of your portraits to that man over there. He’s a fan of my work and his wife used to be a ballerina,” he explained excitedly and Georgia smiled.

They never officially went out because Georgia was eventually the first one he turned to to admit he was gay. In fact, he told her she was the reason why he found out. Because, he said: “If I can’t even get myself to have sex with you, I can’t be heterosexual.” And that had become the start of their friendship. They didn’t see each other a lot but Georgia always loved to meet up with him.

“Am I allowed to walk around, or do you expect me to stand here and smile at your potential costumers all evening?” she said and he pressed a kiss on her cheek.

“No go and be beautiful, but try to tell people about my work whenever you can!” Georgia turned around to look at the people getting together in front of his photos. “Doesn’t seem like you need my help with that, but I’ll try my best sweetie.”

***

She stood only two portraits away from his wife and him when he saw her. She looked gorgeous in a curve hugging dress that showed him a lot of that precious white skin of hers. He knew that it would only be a matter of seconds before she would look up and see him and all he could think of was that his wife was holding his hand. The photos they had been looking at were amazing and he was just about to see if he could talk to the photographer when he found her instead. He excused himself from his wife, who was still looking at their favourite piece and walked over to her.

She seemed mesmerized by a photo of the Northern Lights and didn’t notice him until he put a hand on her shoulder. She turned around with a smile and he saw the shock in her eyes when she recognised him. It was the first time they saw each other in real life since that evening in the car and he now knew he still wasted a lot of timing hoping the feeling would go away eventually. Despite what he told her that night he still tried to fight it silently. He was a slow learner.

“What the hell are you here for?!” was how she greeted him that night and he chuckled.

“It’s nice to see you too,” he replied and she looked down for a second. “Sorry.”

He shook his head and looked at his wife from the corner of his eye. She hadn’t seen him yet.

“It’s okay, this wasn’t exactly the way I imagined our next meeting would be like.”

“So you had fantasies about that, hadn’t you?” she said. He smiled and wisely chose to ignore that comment.

She didn’t know what else to say but who could blame her for feeling just a little overwhelmed. The fact that he showed up in public, completely unexpected had shocked her to say the least. It was weird to be with him amongst all those people while there was so much going on between the two of them that nobody could ever know of. This wasn’t Chicago where hotel walls could keep them safe and neither would the blinded windows  of one of his expensive cars. This was real life. And before either of them could say another thing a tall dark haired woman showed up beside him.

Georgia didn’t need any introduction to know who she was, and as she looked at him she knew she was right.

Alright, she thought, you said real life? Here you have it. Meanwhile she told herself to keep breathing and she smiled at the woman. Georgia didn’t know what to think of her, when she googled his pictures she hadn’t paid attention to what his wife looked like. Too painful, but she was definitely pretty although also certainly of his age. She had long dark hair and wore a decent modest dress. Somehow not what she expected to be his wife, but on the other hand, it would have been really creepy if he was married to a look-a-like of herself. And she had to admit they looked great together.

As she thought all those things nobody said anything and then Jon seemed to have gotten himself back together. He straightened his back and looked at his wife.

“Dorothea, this is Georgia Wilde, Georgia, this is Dorothea my… wife.”

Georgia felt sick to her stomach as the tall woman reached out her hand and made her grab it.

“Nice to meet you,” she managed to say and when Dorothea looked away then, she pulled a tortured face at Jon. Judging on the look in his eyes he didn’t seem to feel much better about himself either. However, while all Georgia wanted to do was disappear, Jon decided he had to keep the conversation going.

“So, Georgia, what are you here for? Any particular artists?” She hated him at that moment. And she hated herself. This woman had no clue, who did they think they were?

“I love expositions in general,” she said, “but I am here on invitation tonight. One of the photographers exhibits a series of photos we did together.”

When Jon looked at her she saw the surprise in his eyes. If they were alone she would have definitely made a comment about it but now that would have only been inappropriate. As far as Dorothea knew she was just one of those thousands of people he happened to know, and although that hurt, it was better to keep it that way. Meanwhile Dorothea decided to make it worse.

“I would love to see those,” she said.

“It’s right across the hall, the name of the photographer is Charlie Harvey, he’s a friend of mine,” she said wishing they would at least leave.

“We are here on invitation as well. One of my friends has an exposition too,” Dorothea continued, while meanwhile Georgia could no longer ignore the tension rising to a whole different level between her and Jon. It was almost impossible that the wife didn’t notice anything, but nothing on her betrayed anything. Georgia was really disgusted with herself at that moment. The brunette seemed so happy with that man while she had fucked him like she never fucked anyone before.

“Oh really, who is it?” she said and promised herself she was going to kill Charlie if he happened to be that friend of the woman who was still holding the hand of her…

… she stopped herself. Yes, Georgia, your what? Stay focussed for fuck’s sake.

“Patricia Adams,” the wife answered and Georgia sighed relieved while she reminded herself  of the fact that this wasn’t some kind of cheap novel where coincidences like that could happen all the time.

“Alright well,” she said then, “have a great time. I’m gonna go downstairs to check out some other artists. There are some very talented photographers exhibiting this time, don’t you think?” she said and wondered why the hell she was talking so much, out of a sudden. The wife agreed with her, Jon just stood there and nodded.

“Nice to see you Georgia,” he said and was able to give it a little more meaning than anyone else would notice.

She watched them walk away and turned around to go downstairs, straight to the bathroom, to lock herself there.

While Jon and his wife made their way over to where Georgia’s photos were, Dorothea looked up at him and asked who she was. “Georgia Wilde,” he repeated and thought it was best to only answer the questions she really asked. “Where do you know her from?”

Jon wondered if he was allowed to wonder if Dorothea was being suspicious. The answer would probably be no.

“We met at the benefit in Chicago, you know for the Soul Foundation she is a ballet dancer and we had a little chat.”

Alright so, that wasn’t a lie, but just not the whole truth either. It were just the most important and disturbing bits that were missing.

While they stood and looked at an impressive series of black and white photos of her, he decided there was no chance of him going to heaven anymore. He took his wife to an exhibition with photos of his mistress, and whatever else she was to him at that point. He couldn’t even find the words to describe how wrong that really was.

“These are amazing, she must be talented,” Dorothea concluded and looked at him. All he could do was nod, uncertain of what his voice would sound like if he spoke. He stared at the picture they were standing in front of at that moment. She was dressed in a leotard and a tutu above wool legwarmers around which she had wrapped the silk ribbons of her shoes. She curved her back and balanced on the tip of her toes while her arms were arched above her head. She was looking away from the camera so all he could see was the messy bun on top of her head and the outlines of the face he already knew so well.

Even looking at the picture was enough to make him long for her. It had been weeks since he last touched that body. He felt the pressure of Dorothea’s hand in his.

“Her gracefulness is impressive, we should go see her perform sometime?” his wife dragged him back to reality and he looked at her, raising an eyebrow.

“I don’t even like ballet,” he mumbled and she looked at him. “You seemed to do when Tico and Alejandera took us to see Swan Lake last year.”

Tico was that kind of man. He loved every kind of art and was always interested in discovering the undiscovered. When Jon eventually accepted his invitation for the NYC ballet it was the music that made him do so, but now he thought about it, there was a good chance that Georgia had performed in that piece.

“I only said that to please them,” he mumbled and pulled at her hand.

“C’mon, let’s see some more.”

Chapter 16

SIXTEEN

“No limousine, you let me down…” she said as she sat down in the backseat of the black BMW that had been waiting for them in front of the hotel. He joined her and chuckled. “You deserve better than that and hell, so do I.”

He pressed a button on the panel in the door beside him and a blinded screen separated them from the driver. Georgia had given him the address of her apartment before they stepped in to the car. She expected that it would take them up to thirty minutes at this hour on a Friday night.

“So…” she said knowing that it was really just the two of them now. “That wasn’t awkward at all.” He stretched his legs in front of him and laid one of his arms over the back of the crème leather chair. In the meantime she stayed as close to the door on her side as she could, just to keep a distance between them. But it was impossible to ignore him in this small space. He laughed and in the silence that followed he looked at her and she looked back.

“So tell me Georgia what have you been up to since I last saw you?”

 “Rehearsals mostly,” she said. She could have asked him the same question but she knew he was still on tour and was going to be for a while. She checked their schedule a few days ago, just out of curiosity and learned that they were heading for Europe early June, to stay there until the end of July. So she didn’t ask it. Instead she decided there was something else she needed to know.

“When you said you missed me…” she looked at him hopelessly and he was looking back at her with a more serious face then she expected. He did not even chuckle. “Did I mean it?” he finished her question. She nodded her head. “Yes, Georgia I meant it. Listen… this ain’t easy for me but it seems that I want you around for some reason.”

He managed to grab her hand because she was distracted by his words and she let him hold it.

“You don’t even know me,” she threw back at him. While she spoke he started caressing the back of her hand with his thumb.

“I want you to let me know you,” he replied.

She turned her body at him now, and could barely sit still. He said the words she had been dying to hear, but never thought he would say. She had never been so scared in her life.

“I’m not sure I can, Jon… because I can’t handle if you will leave me after a while and we both know you will.” 

He suddenly withdrew his hand and the glance in his eyes hardened.

“You know what’s so funny about you Georgia?” He roughly pulled a hand through his hair, she had already learned he did that when he was frustrated.

“You are so busy hiding yourself from me and the world but in the meantime you believe that you know exactly what everybody else is like. Does it even occur to you that you might be wrong? Because truth is you don’t seem to know shit about me 'cause if you did you would have seen it.” He sighed. She remained silent, all she wanted was for him to continue. Nobody had ever spoken to her like this.

“You would have seen how I struggled to keep you away but it’s safe to say that I lost and believe me, losing is not something I am good at. But if losing in this case means being with you, then I might be able to accept it but you have to let me in.”

“Are you saying… you want to be with me?” she whispered.

“I’m not saying it’s going to be easy, hell I ain’t even sure if it’s going to be a lot of fun but I do know that I don’t want to live my life knowing that you are still out there somewhere, finding yourself someone new.”

A long silence followed. Minutes passed and Georgia looked out of the window. She could hear him breathe and at first she waited for him to say something else but he didn’t He was done. It was her time to talk. She saw that they were stuck in traffic on 5^th avenue.

“I am never looking for someone, Jon…” she whispered and she forced herself to look at him. Despite that his face was mainly covered in darkness she could still see the intensity in his eyes. “I always believed that someday I would meet someone and just know... you know... that it was right, but it was not supposed to be you.”

“Right place, right time…” he mumbled. “I guess that means I did something right…”

Then she smiled and he smiled back. He reached out his hand to her again and she laid hers in it this time. He pulled her towards him and she crawled on his lap, pulling her arms around his neck and her head on his shoulder. He had one of his hands on her back again and she sighed softly. There was nothing in between them anymore. They had finally said it. It took them long but they had at least used that time trying to fight it. Georgia had a feeling that somehow that would make it easier for her to accept who he was. A married man with children, more than anything else.

“You did a lot right I’m just not the kind of girl that tells you all the time,” she whispered and he tilted his head to face her, he looked amused.

“You know... It would be nice if you did every once in a while…”

“We’ll see…” At that point all that mattered to her that there was a ‘every once in a while’ for them and hopefully a whole lot in between.

Then she felt how he grabbed her dress thigh high and started to scoop it upwards with his fingers, slowly. “I can’t go home with you tonight Georgia,” he said as he revealed the skin on her legs and drew a soft line across it with his finger. She shrugged her shoulders and sat up.

“I believe I got another twenty minutes spare…” She turned and put a leg on each side of him, making her dress slide up even further. They started to kiss and she realised how much she missed his taste and those lips. She could feel him grow harder beneath her inside his tight jeans and she tugged at the buttons. He pushed one of his hands up her right leg and groaned appreciative when he discovered she wasn’t wearing panties. “I’m glad I only just discovered this…” he whispered hoarsely.

With Georgia still on top of him Jon lifted himself up and Georgia tugged at his jeans before she reached down to his erection that grew even harder in her hands. Georgia was aware of the fact that the car pulled up and that they were moving but she had a feeling they wouldn’t need long anyway.

With his hands on her hips Jon assisted her as Georgia lifted herself above him in the small space. She held her hands on his shoulders, where her fingers touched the already sweaty hairs in his neck. He positioned himself underneath her and she kept focus on his eyes as she lowered herself on and eventually around him.

He pushed the back of his head against the headrest,giving her a perfect view of his beautiful jawline, and his lips parted.

“Jesus, Georgia,” he groaned and she held still for a moment to enjoy the feeling of having him inside of her completely. Georgia felt a drop of sweat rolling down the side of her face. Her heart was pounding in her chest and her breathing was unsteady.

Then she lifted herself up again, slowly, very slowly and she shuddered. “oh my God,” she said breathlessly and she continued to move.

Sweat started to spread across their foreheads and he tightened the grip on her hips as minutes passed and they slowly build up towards a climax.
"Now..." she whispered. "You are doing it right..." He chuckled and pushed his hips up against hers. She moaned softly in his ear.

“Shit, I missed fucking you,” he groaned and it were his words that pushed her over the edge.

She leaned forward and pressed her forehead against his shoulder and she fell and fell, while he thrust himself inside of her one last time before he came as well.

They didn't move for minutes while he felt aftershocks going through her body as she pressed it against his. He held her tightly in his arms. When she sat back up she leaned with her back against the blinded window that separated them from the rest of the world. He stroke a few strings of sweaty hair away from her forehead. He was still inside of her and still hard.

After a while he smiled one of those gorgeous smiles and shook his head. As if he found it hard to believe what had just happened, and to be fair, so did she.

She never thought it could be better than the first time but he had just proven her wrong.

A sudden knock on the screen behind her then broke the spell. Georgia lifted herself and she gasped when he slid out of her. Before Jon could say or do anything she shove herself off his lap, back on the empty seat beside him and tried to put her dress back in its place. But it seemed that it was easier to pull it up than to get it back down. Jon had already pressed the button beside him again and the screen was slowly coming down. Georgia’s dress was only covering half of her legs by the time they were in full contact with the driver again but she decided to leave it that way. Her trying to tug it down would look way more suspicious.

“I think we have just arrived at miss Wilde’s apartment,” the driver whose name already slipped her mind again said. 

Georgia looked out of the window and saw that he had pulled over in front of her building. Her head was still hazy and she doubted if her legs were steady enough to carry her but she had no choice. She had to get out and he had to go home. 

With her hand already on the door handle she looked at him. Suddenly feeling as if she ended up in some bad b-movie.

“You better get out of here now or i'll never let you leave,” he said and Georgia looked at the driver. “Don’t worry about him, he doesn’t do kiss and tell.” The driver in the meantime did a pretty good job pretending he couldn’t hear or see them.

“I’ll call you” he said.

She pulled a face at him. “You better.”

“If you paid attention to anything that just happened in here you know I will, and I won’t need another month” he said smiled and irrestible smile and added: “C’mere give me a kiss.”

Half a minute later she stood on the pavement, watching as the car pulled up and disappeared. Her head was spinning and her legs felt weak. But she was smiling. Even though she should have a thousand reasons to stop this. But despite everything she had a feeling that it was all going to be worth it.

**

if you just read this would you please be so kind to leave a comment below? I don't care what you write I'd just love to know who are (still) reading my story xx

Chapter 15

FIFTEEN

Georgia was usually very thankful for every piece of designer clothing she was allowed to keep after premiers and other special occasions. But tonight she hated it. She looked desperately at the pile of dresses beside her on her bed. All together they were worth more than the cheque that would be presented to Jon that night and still she felt that not a single one was good enough for her to wear. And there was no-one she could call for advice, because admitting that she wanted to look her best for Jon was not an option. She even had a hard time accepting it herself.

Then she remembered a Naeem Khan dress she fell in love with at a fitting a few months ago. She tried it on and everybody loved it so much on her that the designer refused to take it back.  Until then she had never found the perfect occasion to wear the shimmering silver dress but tonight just might be that one moment. She rose from the bed to unzipped the garment back and revealed the dress. It was just a gorgeous as she remembered. A floor sweeping gown covered with glittering silver beading. It had  short sleeves and an open back. When she put it on and looked at herself in the mirror she knew this was the one. She styled her hair in a side-swept wavy hairstyle and only applied some eyeliner and mascara on her eyes and a soft matte red colour on her lips. After all, while it took her hours to make decisions she was now ready within twenty minutes.

She shared a cab with Lodinski and Martha Bachman. And the more Lodinski praised her for her looks the more annoyed Bachman seemed to become. Georgia didn’t believe Bachman really liked her anyway. Maybe she was jealous because she never managed to turn in to the successful dancer she wanted to become while Georgia did. But Georgia didn’t care. She knew she was looking good that night, and she had to.

When they arrived at the Plaza hotel they were led to a private room where Jon and his people were waiting. She shook hands with the man and the woman he brought, but didn’t even hear their names. The woman was his press lady, she remembered that. Then she watched him shake hands with Lodinski and he bend over to Martha to plant a kiss on each cheek. Georgia could swear she saw her blush when Jon stepped aside. Her way. He wasn't dressed up at all and was wearing a pair of tight blue jeans and a simple black button-down shirt with rolled up sleeves, just like the first time she saw him. And she loved him for it. He grabbed both her hands with his and pulled her closer towards him to plant a soft kiss on her cheek. Too close to her mouth not to mean anything. It brought her back to that night immediately and when he leaned in to whisper in her ear she trembled. For a moment they were alone in the room.

“Damn Georgia,…” his fingers traced a path across her bare back. “There’s only so much I can handle…”

Then he pulled back and smiled at their company. He had no other choice because this was only supposed to be a formal greeting between two people that hardly knew each other, in the eyes of their company.

The press lady folded her hands and suggested that they should all get together to present the cheque and get the photo opportunity over with. It wasn’t until then that Georgia realised that a few photographers were waiting patiently in another corner of the room.

Lodinski magically got a big cheque out from somewhere and Georgia could tell Jon was genuinely pleased when the huge amount of money was revealed to them. They got together for a photo and all that time Jon’s hand remained low on her back, spreading warmth across her body. Georgia smiled a seductive smile at the camera but all she was thinking about was that hand. And the fact that a picture of them together was about to go all around the country.

The photo opportunity only took five minutes. Then the photographers had to leave and it was down to just the six of them at the table plus some host who pulled chairs back and poured them glasses of champagne.

In the past few days when she thought about this night, and she thought about it a lot, she always pictured him sitting opposite her at the table. She imagined how he would flash her a meaningful look or two that would make her feel uncomfortable. And that he, worst case scenario, would touch her foot with his but the more she thought about it the more she started to believe that she would be able to handle that. Not one single time had she pictured him right where he was sitting now. Beside her, with his knee warm against hers. And she could feel that he was looking at her a lot. More than he should, definitely more than she could handle.

She tried to ignore the overwhelming tension she felt between them by listening to the conversations her people and his people were having, but she never really found a chance to participate. She couldn’t focus. All she felt was his knee against hers and then, when he was sure nobody was looking at them, the palm of his hand hot on her upper leg. It burned right through the fabric of her dress and she swallowed hard. He squeezed, she gasped, their company looked, Jon pulled away.

Georgia desperately longed for the moment where someone would bring them their menu so she could hide behind it, focus on something… but then six waiters came in to present them their starters. No menu, but a special dinner prepared just for them by one of the best chefs in New York, Lodinski proudly explained.

Jon smiled kindly but when he was sure everybody was too busy accepting food and thanking waiters he leaned in to Georgia. “I hate when people decide things for me. What if I get one thing while I want something else… really bad.”

Georgia choked on her champagne which only drew everyone’s attention towards her. She could hear Jon chuckle when he patted her on her back and she hated herself. Why was it so hard to keep control around that man?

She knew the answer to that question though. The main reason was that she couldn’t keep control because he needed to have it. Beside that he was really good at it and to make it worse he was so beautiful, and that voice, it was the reason that no matter what he said, it sounded sexy and sexual. The thing was though, that basically everything  he said to her so far was meant to sound that way. Seconds later Jon was still gently rubbing her back and she turned her head at him.

“I’m fine now, thanks,” she said to make him stop. “And I think you need that hand to eat your food before it gets cold,” she added.

“I don’t think anything in this room is getting cold tonight,” he said and looked directly at her. That confirmed for her that he felt it too. The tension. So strong that she wondered if everybody else could feel it as well. And they were getting a questionable look or two at that point.

And he must have seen it because that was when he stopped doing it. He focussed on his meal, talked to Martha and Lodinski while Georgia was forced to speak to his press lady and the man he brought. They asked her about the benefit and what they did to raise so much money and Georgia could hardly remember a thing. All that came back to her when she thought about that particular night was how they discussed the option of having sex for the first time. But she managed to come up with something to keep them entertained. By the time the main course was served everybody was talking to everybody and it was the perfect opportunity for Georgia to keep her mouth shut. She wasn’t good at small talk with people she barely knew but she was very good at pretending to be interested in what other people told her. And people usually bought it, but she had a feeling Jon could see right through her.

At one point he leaned in to confirm that feeling: “You look bored as hell, for someone that is supposed to be the spokesperson of the New York City Ballet you suck at keeping an act up. That pretty smile of yours might be enough to please them but you ain’t fooling me.”

She put her napkin on her plate and straightened her back. “Are you saying you could teach me how to become a better liar?”

He chuckled… “Hell… there are so many things I could teach you if you let me...”

Once again she had a feeling he was talking about something completely different and she looked aside, right into those bright blue eyes. And she saw it again. Exactly what she had seen when she let him undress her. And to make it worse he added: “I missed you Georgia.”

All she could do was flash him a tortured look and she pushed her chair back.

“If you will excuse me for a second, I’ll be right back,” she said and escaped to the toilets.

She missed him too, more than he would ever know but she did not think for a single moment that he would tell her the same thing. That wasn’t part of the plan. This story was not supposed to continue. 

When she walked away everybody at the table was looking at her, which gave him the perfect opportunity to do the same.

Kayleigh, his press woman, was the first to mention it. “She is absolutely stunning in that dress,” she said and sighed. She’s even better without it. The words were on Jon’s lips, he wanted to say them but he swallowed them right on time. But Kayleigh was right. She had been gorgeous in his memory but when she showed up tonight looking like she did, he had been impressed all over again. And every single time he looked at her that night it was as if he saw her for the first time,  looking more beautiful every damn time.

Over the last month she had been on his mind a lot, but he decided that he probably turned her in some kind of myth she would never be able to live up to in real life. As if he turned her in to this perfect creature she couldn’t possibly be. But now he got to spent the evening with her again he saw that she indeed wasn’t like he remembered her. She was even better. And he had missed how they bounced off each other and that he knew exactly what to say to make her feel uncomfortable but that she would still always have the perfect answer ready anyway. When she crossed the room after she returned he made a decision. He had to see her alone that night before she would be gone again.

The opportunity came quickly, when everybody was getting ready to leave, Lodinski asked her if she planned on taking a cab home. She said yes and he knew that was his moment to step in. “I have a spare seat in the backseat of my car, I’ll ask my driver to drive this beautiful lady home.” It was an announcement and he did not wait for her reaction. Although he was certain that she wouldn’t have turned it down.

They just had to figure out what they got themselves into in Chicago. And if it would still be there if it would be down to just the two of them again.

Chapter 14

FOURTEEN

The next day Georgia and the company went home. She was tired and broken, but more than anything she was glad she could finally leave the hotel. The place where it happened, the room where they slept on her couch together, the bed where they had sex in only a few doors down the hall. She longed for home, a place where everything would be normal again and where it would be easier to forget. But it seemed as if they were everywhere, even back in New York. Songs on the radio, tour advertisements in the papers, even one of his goddamn movies on television. And she even tried Googling him, but when two pictures of him and his wife popped up amongst the first twenty hits she decided that was not a smart thing to do.

So to forget she concentrated on rehearsals. They were doing Sleeping Beauty this summer and even though she had done that piece a million times before, she managed to push herself to another level. Every morning she was the first to arrive and at night she was the last to leave. Because at home there was no one and that, for the first time in her life meant there was silence. No matter how high she turned up the volume on her radio or tv. For the first time in her life she really hated that there was no one she could share her life with.

There wasn’t even anyone she could talk to about her feelings, whatever they were. She had been very close to telling Yasmin a couple of times, but then she remembered how starstruck her friend had been in the lobby that day and that was enough to stop her. She just couldn’t take the risk, because if anyone found out it could get him in some serious trouble.

It was early April, almost a month since Chicago when Lodinski asked her to come to his office after rehearsals. That wasn't usually a good thing but Georgia knew for sure that he admired her new found dedication, even though he could never guess the reason behind it, so it had to be about something else.

When she walked in he sat behind his tacky polished wooden desk that was probably supposed to make him look even more powerful and mighty then he already was. He pointed at the dark blue velvet chair on the other side and she sat down on it. Not comfortable to be alone in a room with him. The amount of times he had tried to hit on her in that place…

“Georgia, I don’t have much time so I’ll keep it short. The thing is that we finally know how much our benefit raised in Chicago the other month and we invited Jon Bon Jovi and some of his people over for dinner at the Plaza on Friday and I expect you to keep me company as you seemed to get along with him at the benefit.”

He pulled a meaningful face at her and for a moment Georgia believed he knew everything. But then she realised she had other things to worry about. Dinner with hím in a few days, for example.

“What day is it?” she asked, not able to think of a better question.

“It’s Wednesday Georgia, and you better show up, this is not an invitation you can turn down, I demand that you will be there, it is part of your position. You are the face of the New York City Ballet.”

Georgia raised a hand to stop him. She knew all this but even so he loved to remind her.

“Who else is coming?”

He shrugged his shoulders and sighed as if she annoyed him with her questions. “You, me, Martha Bachman, Jon Bon Jovi and I believe he’s bringing two of his people. And we also invited some photographers for when we present the cheque to him, of course.” 

Even though he hadn’t told her to go, she pushed her chair back and stood up. Dinner for six, she thought and tried to picture them at a table together with four people who had no clue of what happened between him and her.

“Well, I just hope we raised a whole lot of money then,” she said as she walked to the door. He didn’t stop her.

“Two million dollars should be enough to get him out of bloody Jersey, shouldn’t it Georgia?”

It was and she knew it. And despite the fact that she already dreaded to see him, she kind of liked that he had to spend dinner with her, because that would force him to think about her again. 

Chapter 13

THIRTEEN

Georgia drove back to the hotel in one of the busses but she stayed outside a little longer to finish her cigarette. When she eventually walked in she noticed there was a something going on further down the lobby. She didn’t give it much thought at first but when she headed for the stairs, the group was blocking the elevators, she started to spot more and more of the girls from her group. Literally everyone was there. They were either talking hysterically or they tried to get closer to a few men. Her heart skipped a beat when she realised who they were and then she wished she never came in.

“George? Georgia!” it was Yasmin calling her name and Georgia knew there was no way she could escape now. “Where the hell have you been, come here you'll never believe what just happened to me,” she said. Meanwhile Georgia tried to get as far away from the crowd as she could. She wasn’t prepared to see him again. Not like this anyway. She knew he said that he would probably still be around when she got back, but she was later than expected and it looked like they were just on their way out. Or trying to, since her lovely ballet friends were making it impossible for them. If only she would have been thirty minutes later…

“Oh God, George, he is so hot, I know we aren’t supposed to behave like this anymore, I mean I am turning twenty-four next month but even mrs. Bachman had her picture taken with all of them.” Yasmin went on for  five minutes about Jon Bon Jovi’s hotness and when she was finally done a few other girls joined them to start it all over again. Jon was so hot, Jon was so sexy, Jon was so perfect. 

Perfection that she had felt all over her body only last morning. She couldn’t believe what happened. Even if she hadn’t had sex with him this whole situation would have been awful. The girls were hysterical, even Yasmin. When one of the girls started talking about Jon’s lips that was about the limit for Georgia. She was now very close to telling them everything about those lips, and the fact that what his mouth had done to her would go far beyond their wildest dreams.

They stayed around to try to convince her to go over for a picture as well but then they gave up and left her alone to drool over the rock stars again. Georgia sat down on the stairs, looking at the scene in front of her for a moment. She knew she could also go up to her room now, but this would probably be her last chance to look at him. 

In all her life she had shared her bed and body with more men than was good for her, but she had never really fallen in love. She didn’t think that was what she felt for Jon either though. Because what she felt for him wasn’t fun, and it didn’t make her happy. It did last night, when she let herself be with him, but now she knew that she would probably never see him again it hurt. She was afraid, terrified. Nothing bubbly and fun about it. She had known it from the start, if she would let him come too close, there would be no turning back. And she was sure that it wouldn’t be a problem for him. She was just added to a long list and he would not think about her again. But she was not sure she could do that. Forget him. She buried her face in her hands and rested them on her knees. Damn Georgia, what have you done?

He saw her before she probably even figured out what was going on. He knew that because he had seen the look on her face change from dreamy to an hilarious kind of shocked. The way she tried to sneak up the stairs before her friends kidnapped her made him smile. She wore white tights and a lilac leotard underneath a black zipped hoodie. She put her hair together in some loose roll at the back of her head and it gave her a very classical, almost divine, look that made him want to drag her back to his bed all over again. But, he forcefully reminded, It’s good that you are leaving Jonny. She now sat on the stairs alone, away from everything and there was no way he could go over to give her the goodbye she deserved. He was too busy posing for pictures with her teammates, or whatever they were called, who acted at least ten years younger than Georgia, and themselves, probably. From the corner of his eye he saw that Richie had seen her as well, and he felt a sting of jealousy. He had to make clear, one way or another, that he would never share that girl with anyone.

“Georgia, Georgia?!.... earth to Georgia!” when Georgia finally looked up she saw Caroline, another soloist, standing in front of her. She was waving her hands about an inch away from where Georgia buried her face in her hands. “Geez, what the hell were you thinking about, we are going to get some dinner at the restaurant and you are coming. The rock stars are leaving…”

She sighed as she stepped away from the stairs and was too late to spot him, obviously on his way to walk right alongside her.

“Yeah, Georgia, what were you thinking?” he said and gave her a meaningful glance right before he disappeared through the blinded doors to the street. Into a van and to the airport, away from her. Before he did he turned around at her one last time and she used that moment to pull a tortured face at him. She saw him laugh because he knew he just got her in trouble and then he was gone.

Which was basically the perfect description of their week together.

“Oh my God do you know him?!” Caroline literally screamed out loud the moment he was gone.

“Do I know him?! Caroline seriously? Yes we met at the benefit but I don’t know him,” she said and prayed to God that it did not sound too theatrical. “Well the weirdest thing is that I would not even have been surprised if you got to know him since then,” Yasmin, said. But then she also saved her from the awkward situation as she hooked her arm through Georgia’s and pulled her towards the restaurant. Caroline followed them.

“Okay, sorry it’s stupid but he said your name!”

“Well yeah,” Georgia said looking over her shoulder. “I think every single guest in this hotels knows my name now…” Caroline shrugged her shoulders. “Sorry…”

Georgia shook her head, anything to change the subject. “Don’t be…”

As Caroline followed Yasmin and Georgia to the restaurant she thought about it. She was sure that the way he spoke to her meant more than what had happened right at that moment. She probably made a hell of an impression on him during the benefit. She was sure that Georgia could have had him if she wanted to. And again she wished she was more like her, or at least closer friends with her. It was always better to be on Georgia’s side, but unfortunately, no one ever really was. 

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. 

Chapter 11

ELEVEN

When she opened her eyes the following morning, the intimate setting she found herself in made her smile. She felt his upper leg warm against hers and one of her hands rested on his bare chest. It was actually a lot like last morning with one big difference. It had happened, and the stickiness between her legs was a gentle extra reminder of that fact.

She needed a few moments to get the facts straight though. She was a 24-year old ballet dancer lying in bed with a married rock star in his late 40s. Very late 40s, she corrected herself. And with that man she just spent what turned out to be the most passionate night of her life. She felt guilty and was scared of what would happen when he would wake up. She expected that he would ask her to leave as soon as he did. She reached out her hand to gently follow the lines of his face with her fingers, trying to memorize every inch of it. Tonight he would be gone and she better remember every single detail of this night because she had a feeling that was all she could ever have of him. Then his eyes fluttered open and he smiled. “Morning baby,” he whispered and he leaned in to kiss her softly.

“Oh God, this is bad, I mean what do I know about you anyway?” He chuckled and pulled his arms around her. Somewhat surprised with how much he didn’t want to let go. “A simple good morning would have done but alright… listen: “I know you are not like that. I’ve known from the moment I first saw you. Hell… Why else would I have tried so hard to get you to talk to me?” He saw how she smiled a little as she tilted her head to look up at him. "This doesn't make me feel better..." she said. He tucked a string of hair behind her ear and caressed her cheek with a finger. “No? So… what do you wanna know?” he said and she laughed and sighed. “It’s not that simple, I am surprised that you haven’t kicked me out yet anyway.” He fell silent for a moment. “Despite what I told you the other night, me too.”

She turned around now, to be able to look at him. She wondered if that meant that she wasn’t the only one who felt like this. Scared but hopeful, surprised. He interrupted her dreamy thoughts, typically, as he swung his legs over the edge of the bed and scratched his groin. “I need to go pee, don’t you dare leave, woman,” he said. It was the second time he asked her to stay and it surprised her again. “Do you have cigarettes in here somewhere?” she shouted while he was in the bathroom and he smiled to himself. “On the nightstand.”

When he came back in she was sat in the middle of the bed, the sheets covering one leg and the part he craved for, already again. She was smoking a cigarette and had obviously tried to tame her wild hair but her loose curls were still tangled and a whole lot messier than usual. She blew out some smoke and he wonder if she ever realised what just a movement of those full pink lips could do to a man’s mind. “Don’t you have some massive sold out stadium concert to go to today?” she then said as she watched him walk back to the bed. “I don’t know, who’s playing tonight?” he replied and smiled as she laughed. “I was just trying to show some interest…” she said and finished her cigarette. He saw how she tensed her stomach muscles as she leaned in to throw the cigarette in the ashtray on the bedside table. He chuckled. “If you were interested you would have known that I told you days ago that I only did two shows here and that we are leaving tonight.” She nodded her head and whispered: “I know you are leaving…”

He stood by the edge of the bed and the bulge in his boxers caught her attention. “Are you sure you just want to chat though?” she said as she made her way over to him on her knees. He rested his arms on her small bare shoulders and bend over to kiss her. She smelled like him, like sex and tasted like that mixed with cigarettes. He groaned as she started to stroke him through the thin fabric of his boxers. He leaned in to brush his lips upon her collarbone and slowly started to make his way downwards, not leaving a single part of her skin untouched. She moaned softly when his tongue found the dampness between her legs. And he worked her slowly and tender. He laid his strong hands down on her bare knees and pushed them further apart to give himself full access. She grew dizzy with lust and contradicting thoughts fighting each other . She buried her hands in his hair but fell back on the mattress as he brought her closer to a climax. He threw her legs over his shoulders and she curved her back when he released her. Quicker than she would have wanted. When he heard her say his name he couldn’t wait any longer. He got back on to the bed himself as well and put her on his lap. He didn’t want until the haze of her intense orgasm had cleared. This time they were able to make it last longer. It seemed never ending they finally collapsed on the bed they both drifted off and fell peacefully asleep on the drenched sheets.

“Jon?” she said as she woke up only half an hour later feeling restless as she suddenly remembered she had rehearsals today. It was a tradition to do the first rehearsal of the new season during the trip. She rolled over and found him on his stomach, his head resting on his crossed arms and he was looking at her. She laid her chin down on his shoulder. “What?”

“What time is it?” she asked and vhe chuckled. “The look on your face tells me it’s time for you to leave,” he said as he sat up and reached over to get his phone. “It’s four to eleven.” The next moment he watched her jump off the bed to search for her clothes.

“For fucks sake…” she mumbled as the trail of clothes led her all the way back to the couch in the living era of his room. He chuckled as she came back in, getting dressed while she walked. “What’s waiting out there baby?” he said and couldn’t help but smile. She pulled a tortured face at him as she ran off to the bathroom and came back with an even more tortured look on her face. “I look like a total mess,” she said, attempting to finger-comb her hair.

“You look hot and… fucked… but you still haven’t answered my question.” That finally caught her attention and she stopped with whatever it was she was trying to do. She looked up at him and roughly tucked a string of hair behind her ear. “A big group of professional ballet dancers and Lodinski and the first rehearsal of the season. And rumour has it that one of the girls is about to lose her professionalism and status because she spent the whole damn night fucking some rock star.”

“Some language for a ballet dancer,” he said. If she kept calling him rock star he would refer to her as ballet dancer. Although last night and this morning he learned that it was something he could take advantage of as well.

“So tell me Georgia, when will you be back?” he asked as she walked to the door and he still didn’t move. She didn’t know if she wanted him to either.

“Probably around seven… will you… be gone by then?”

He shook his head slowly. “Probably not.”

She didn’t know what to say because she genuinely didn’t know how to feel about that, so she didn’t say a thing. Instead she raised a hand and said: “bye.”

He imitated her gesture and grinned. “Bye Georgia.”

As she left he stared at the door for a few seconds, then he forced himself to get up and drag himself towards to shower. He better show his face to some band mates before they would think he died. A ballet dancer, he thought to himself. An damn what a gorgeous one she was.