Georgia's English Rose (5 page)

“I try not to think about it,” I said.

“He’s pretty much in the front line, isn’t
he? Or he will be soon.”

“I know. But I keep pretending it’s all a
game. I can’t let myself think about what might happen to him,
Georgia. I can’t.” My voice broke.

Georgia looked at me, stepped across the
space between us and hugged me hard. “It’s okay, honey. I
understand.”

I felt awful, because her body against mine
pushed all my fears for Michael from my mind. The touch of the
stays in her bra pressing into my side, the line of her garter belt
against my stomach, conspired together against me. I hugged her, my
arms around her naked back, my hands not sure what to do until I
laid them on her skin and they were finally where they had always
belonged.

Georgia kissed me on the side of my neck
below my ear, pulled away. She turned from me, unclipping her bra
and hanging it over the back of a chair on her side of the bed. She
slid her stockings down and folded them neatly, still un-laddered.
She would get at least another wear out of them. When she was naked
she pulled back the bedclothes, picked up her negligee and drew it
over her head.

As always I reveled in the sight of her in
the sheer material. It fell to below her knees, but its
transparency showed the dark circles of her nipples and the small
patch of black hair between her legs.

“I’m going to brush my teeth,” she said,
turning away.

“Dressed like that?”

She looked down at herself. “What’s wrong
with this?”

“What if Mikey sees you? Or worse still,
Daddy. You’ll stop his heart on the spot.”

Georgia giggled. “Your Pop’s a toughie, Lil.
As for Mike, he’ll probably keel over as all the blood rushes from
his head. I’ll be okay, honey.”

She left me and I stripped out of the
wonderful underclothes she had loaned me, laid the garter belt and
stockings inside her suitcase then pulled on my old cotton pajamas.
I sat on the side of the bed waiting for Georgia to come back. She
took a while, and when she returned she was grinning.

“Who saw you?” I asked.

“Only your Ma,” she said. “But I think it
might take her a while to pop her eyes back in.”

“You’re a hussy, Georgia Payne,” I said.

“You make that sound like a bad thing?”

I shook my head and went to the bathroom.
When I came back Georgia was lying on the bed but had pushed the
covers below her waist.

“It’s too warm for blankets, Lil. Can we
stay like this for a while?”

“Sure.” I slipped into bed and pushed the
covers down on my side. I lay on my back, hands behind my head. The
deep feather mattress enfolded us individually.

Beyond the open window the day was finally
dying, light fading from the sky, leaving deep orange and red
streaks far in the distance that reflected onto the ceiling. We lay
for a while side by side, content in each other’s company, but I
was painfully aware of Georgia lying beside me, the heat of her
body close to mine, the scent of her skin. It grew darker but not
dark and Georgia rolled onto her side toward me.

“Lil?” she said.

I rolled over toward her, her face still
clear in the deep pink light. “What, Georgia?”

“That thing we did earlier, in the bath.
That was fun, wasn’t it?”

I looked at her and nodded. “It was.”
Georgia was gradually eroding my shyness, and I liked how
liberation felt.

I looked at her beautiful, perfect, shadowed
face and thought,
more than fun
; far, far more than fun. It
seemed I had spent my entire life climbing a hill, everything a
struggle to reach this point, and now I had almost reached the top
Georgia offered me her hand to help me over the crest. And if I
took her hand… if I accepted her offer…what then? I wanted to take
it, ready to fall all the way down the other side, my life never
the same again.

“Have you ever done anything like this
before?” Georgia said. “Have you ever made yourself come in front
of someone else?”

“Never,” I said.

“Me too.”

I looked at her. “Really?” She seemed so
much more worldly than me, I was sure she must have done it many
times before.

“Never,” she said. “I’m so comfortable with
you, Lil. I hope that doesn’t sound awful, honey. But do you know
what I mean?”

“I think so,” I said, convinced we were
meant to be together, relieved to hear Georgia say she felt the
same, as though our souls touched.

“What about that school you went to, Lil?
There must have been crushes going on all over.”

“Not with me,” I said, but Georgia caught
the lie in my voice.

“You ever kissed another girl, Lil?”

I looked away from her gaze, but too late
and I felt a flush blossom on my cheeks.

“You have, haven’t you?” Her teeth showed
white in the gloom. “You
have
kissed another girl! Oh Lil,
tell me everything.” She wriggled across the bed until she lay as
close to me as she could without touching, her breasts clearly
visible within her negligee, firm and full. Her nipples peaked
against the thin material and I barely restrained myself from
reaching out to her.

“Once…” I said, in answer to her question,
my voice soft.

Even this close Georgia did not hear me.
“Say again, Lil. What did you say?”

“Once. I kissed a girl once,” I
repeated.

Georgia grinned. “Go on,” she said. “I want
all the juicy details.”

“It was only a kiss,” I said.

“Yeah, I bet.” She came closer and now she
touched me, the hard nub of her nipples brushing against mine,
raising them to matching peaks and I was sure Georgia must feel
them, even though my nipples were masked beneath a cotton pajama
top. Georgia’s might as well have been naked. “I want to hear
all
the details, Lil. What did she taste like?”

I laughed. “She tasted of shit with sugar
on,” I said, my laugh degenerating into a long giggle.

“She what! Yeuch!” Georgia said. Her breasts
pressed against mine. She had used my laugh and hers to move closer
again.

“It’s not what it sounds like,” I said. “It
was after dinner. We used to have this pudding we all loved. A
really hard chocolate cake, like a brick, sprinkled with sugar on
top, and then custard. It looked like a lump of poo. But it tasted
divine. Everyone called it shit with sugar on. Ginny Price tasted
of shit with sugar on.”

“Wow. Sexy stuff, Lil. I think. How old were
you?”

“Sixteen.”

“And what else? Did she use her tongue? Did
she touch you anywhere else? Like here?” Georgia raised her hand
and rested her palm against my breast. I stopped breathing, waiting
for her to remove her hand but she didn’t, and my breast burned
where her fingers touched.

“It was all fairly dull,” I said. “She put
her lips on mine. Neither of us moved for about two minutes, then
she took her lips away and that was it. We never mentioned it
again.”

“Was there anyone else?” Georgia asked. Her
fingers had started to move, very slowly circling my nipple through
the cotton of my top.

“Only Ginny. I didn’t even like her that
much. She wasn’t pretty, or bright, or fun. I suppose she might
have had a crush on me, but nothing more. Is it warm in here?” I
added.

“You think so? Me too. Do you want to take
something off?”

“I’m okay,” I said, cursing myself for my
timidity.

“I might take my nightie off in a bit,”
Georgia said. “If I get any warmer.” My stomach fluttered and my
nipple tingled as Georgia’s finger brushed across it.

I lay on my side, one arm underneath, the
other behind me. I didn’t want to put anything in the way of
Georgia’s hands, their soft caresses heavenly. Neither of us
mentioned what was happening, we didn’t need to. I wanted to reach
out and touch Georgia too, touch her where she was touching me, but
fear stayed my hand.

“What about you?” I asked. “You must have
kissed someone. You’re so beautiful. I bet everyone wants to kiss
you.” Georgia always seemed far more worldly than me, and I
imagined a whole previous life for her, so much more adventurous
than mine.

She laughed softly. “You’re one up on me,
honey. These are virgin lips, untouched by any girl.”

“I didn’t…” I blurted, then slowed down. “I
didn’t mean with a girl, Georgia. You must have kissed a boy. I’ve
seen how they all look at you.”

“Guys are gross,” she said. “Why would I
wanna kiss a guy? They smell of smoke and sweat and they’re all
prickly.” She laughed as she realized what she had said. “I didn’t
mean like that, but they are.”

“A girl then?” I said. Georgia’s fingers
found the buttons on my pajama top and began to undo them. She
started in the middle, slowly working her way up, three buttons now
loose. The front of my pajama top gaped open as she loosened
it.

“Never a girl either,” Georgia said softly.
“Always wondered what it would be like. But from what you said, not
so great, huh?”

“I suppose that might have been Ginny,” I
said quickly. “You know, she probably wasn’t the right one. I
didn’t really want to kiss her. I don’t even know if she wanted to
kiss me.”

“I guess you could always try and see if
it’s different with someone else,” Georgia said. She had loosened
all my buttons now and gently lifted the edge of my top and draped
it behind me. The other side slumped to the bed and air kissed my
breasts and belly. Georgia laid her hand on my waist, her fingers
soft against my skin.

“Who can I try with though, Georgia? There’s
only you and me.”

“Yeah, honey, you’re right. I don’t
suppose…” Her hand stroked my side, each time rising a little
further until finally she touched the first swelling of my small
breast.

“Don’t suppose what, Georgia?” I said as she
slid my pajama top back from my shoulder, letting it slide down my
arm. I was now three quarters naked on top, and it felt absolutely
wonderful.

“Well, I guess if we tried kissing each
other. Just to see what it’s like, you understand. In the spirit of
scientific discovery.”

“Oh, of course,” I said. “We could try, I
suppose.”

“I guess we might as well.” Georgia lay
closer now, her breath on my face as she spoke, the smell of mint
toothpaste and a spiced undercurrent hinting at the raw taste of
her. I wanted more than a taste, our lips almost touching, the
warmth of Georgia’s just beyond reach.

“Do you want to?” I said.

“Sure, why not,” Georgia said. Her arm
curled behind me and my top finally came loose from my arm. Georgia
put her hand flat on my back and pulled me toward her and I offered
no resistance.

“What if we don’t like it?” I said. Our lips
brushed, Georgia’s fuller lips touching lightly against mine as I
spoke.

“Then we’ll know whether we like it or not,”
Georgia said. This time her lips touched mine and she breathed her
words into my mouth. I inhaled, wanting everything of Georgia’s.
“We don’t need to do it again if we don’t like it, honey.” Each
time she spoke her lips tickled mine and I felt the entire world
whirl away from me until there remained only Georgia’s lips against
mine.

“I suppose not,” I tried to say, but
Georgia’s lips found mine and my words escaped onto her tongue.

Georgia’s kiss was nothing like Ginny’s.
Nothing at all. A tingle ran from my lips all the way down my
center to settle between my legs. I think I groaned softly. I know
I felt Georgia’s lips purse into a smile as she pressed against me,
her breasts to my breasts, her hand on my naked back and I lifted
my arm, finally, and put it around her to rest across her shoulder,
touching the strap of her negligee and also her skin.

Georgia’s mouth opened and I responded, not
really knowing what to do or why, following what felt natural. I
tasted Georgia’s mouth, tasted her saliva and shivered. Georgia
moved her head so her lips pressed against mine and I moved back,
lifting my hand around the back of Georgia’s neck, burrowing my
fingers beneath her thick black hair.

I have no idea how long our first kiss
lasted, a minute or an hour. It was magic and endless. When we
broke it was by mutual consent. I don’t think I moved first, but I
have no recollection of Georgia pulling away either. We lay silent
for an age, our mouths still close, sharing each other’s
breath.

“So what did you think, Lil? You want to try
some more?”

I didn’t want to be the first to say. “Tell
me what you thought, Georgia,” I said, silently cursing myself as a
coward.

“Well, I guess I liked it well enough to
give it another go,” she said.

“You did? Me too, I suppose. Do you think we
might get better if we practice some more?”

“Won’t hurt to find out,” she said. “But
it’s so goddamn hot in here,” she added, moving away and my heart
sank, then beat faster as Georgia sat up in bed, wriggled her
backside and pulled her nightdress over her head and tossed it to
the floor.

“That’s better,” she said, lying down beside
me once more. She reached over and drew my hand across to her,
placed it over her breast. “Mm,” she said as my fingers touched her
smooth skin.

The blankets fell back completely as Georgia
sat up, exposing the upper half of her body in the dusky light. Her
large breasts hardly sagged at all, lying together under my hand,
her nipples long and stiff as my fingers toyed with them. She had
large pink aureolas the size of a half crown, her skin soft as
velvet.

Georgia slid her hand along my side and
inward. She tugged at the tie on my pajama bottoms, tugged a second
time until they came loose, opening me completely. One side dropped
to the mattress. Georgia lifted the other and curled it back over
my hip. Cool air caressed my lower belly, touched my pubic hair. I
lay almost completely exposed and I didn’t care. No, that was
wrong, I cared. I
wanted
to be naked like Georgia, wanted to
be naked
for
Georgia. She moved above me, our bare breasts
touching, and I shivered again.