No-one's Ever Let You Down:

Beautiful Girl

Tyler frowned, and glanced at the display of his mobile phone. Monday; 10:53. More than twenty minutes late. She was usually quite punctual. Drumming his fingers on the small, round table, he resisted the urge to pull his laptop out of its leather bag. He had four days to write up a cost benefit analysis for the ING job, as well as a recommendation as to whether to go ahead with the Westpac system change. The latter wasn't so much a decision; more having to write the negative in a way that wouldn't have him kicked off the case. He'd seen it happen before – skilled developers, shoved sideways for daring to tell the truth.

Busy scowling, he didn't hear the faint footsteps of someone walking up behind him. A light kiss on his cheek brought him out of his reverie, and he blinked, smiling softly.

"Hey gorgeous," he murmured sadly, taking in her appearance. She was wearing a loose-fitting blue-green top, and his first thought was that it perfectly matched her eyes. Two modest hoop earrings were partially hidden by a shoulder-length wave of rich brown hair, which swung gently as she sat down.

As always, the sight of her grinning at him was enough to throw him off balance, and he instantly forgot all about her timing.

"You didn't wait for me," she reproached, glancing pointedly his empty coffee cup. As if drawn by her displeasure, a waitress appeared.

"Usual?" she asked, receiving a nod and a smile in reply

Unable to think of what to say, Ty remained silent until the coffee was placed on the table, and he watched as his girlfriend of six months wrapped her fingers around the steaming cup. He felt unaccountably nervous. Now that she was here, his perfectly composed explanation seemed inadequate and harsh. But what else could he do?

Taking a deep breath, he gently touched her free hand. "Nikki... there's a reason I wanted to see you today."

He could see in her eyes the consternation his softly spoken words had created. For a moment, he hoped that she could guess what he was about to say, and would make it easier on him. Every moment spent with her was bliss, but those same moments were laced with poison. He was certain that he loved her, and he was just as certain that she was slowly pulling his mind apart.

"Is it Westpac?" she asked with wide, innocent eyes. "Did they ask for a replacement?"

Ty blinked. Damn it. Not only was she not going to make this easy, she was going to do her best to make it hard. In one simple question she had highlighted how much she knew about him, and how much she listened to his concerns.

"No," he eventually replied. "Haven't even written the rec yet."

There was a tense pause, and Ty desperately tried to change the subject. "How's everything at the Navy academy?"

Nikki narrowed her eyes. "Please, Ty... what did you want to talk to me about?"

He swallowed. "I, uh, nothing. I just needed to see you."

"You saw me three days ago."

"And I missed you, the whole time."

'Missing' didn't even come close. She was his favourite drug, and whenever they were apart he was wracked by withdrawal symptoms.

***

If there was one thing he loved as much as Nikki Caetano, it was the world wide web. He himself had five different websites, and it was a part of his job to set up and manage the sites of dozens of fast-paced businesses.

The reports would have to wait just a little longer. Lost for ideas, he quickly typed "How to break up with girlfriend" into Google, wondering vaguely just how effective such a search would be. He was surprised – just a little – by the number of sites offering information. For lack of a better plan, he clicked on the first one.

The first paragraph did not make him feel any better. "If you are considering breaking up with your significant other, then it probably means you aren't happy. And if YOU aren't happy, then SHE isn't happy. Unhappiness isn't healthy, and life is too short to stay in a situation like that."

How wrong you are, he thought bitterly. She's happy. She's very happy. And Ty knew that he wasn't technically unhappy – but this relationship was slowly tearing him apart. It certainly wasn't healthy.

"To avoid getting into a lengthy discussion about how much you suck –" Ty paused midsentence. His love for the good ol' internet was steadily deflating. Refusing to respond to his first instinct and search "How to break up with the internet", he continued reading. The "Do Not" list was a lot more helpful.

"What to do if you've been cheating on her..." Ty quickly scrolled down. Saying that he'd met someone else might be a good way of getting through to her; though in reality he'd been unable to look at another woman without subconsciously comparing them to his girlfriend. This train of thought was brought to a shuddering halt by a sentence in bold: You owe her honesty.

He swallowed uneasily. Comfort her if she cries? He knew his self control would shatter if a single tear appeared. He would hold her, and he would apologise, and... somehow he would take it all back and, so long as she still had him, she wouldn't care.

For a few minutes, he pondered that thought. Whatever he did, it seemed that she would take him back. Because he was utterly irresistible? Because she loved him too much to let him go? Or because…she needed to remain in control.

Closing his laptop, he leaned back and sighed. He'd known for weeks that she was slowly poisoning him, but the more time he spent with her, the more addicted he became. He could hardly say that she didn't give him space when he asked for it; she would stay away as long as he wanted her to. Never more than a week.

What would she have said if he'd persisted with the breakup? Would she have been angry? Upset? Or merely confident in the knowledge that he'd be back, that he wouldn't be able to stay away?

Reports, he reminded himself, but couldn't find the strength to begin. Maybe tonight he'd get started.

He had less than four days to get them done.

***

Make that three days. Ty blinked, and stared at the clock. The best thing about his job was the lack of an office or structured timetable, but now he wondered whether that was also a negative; there was nothing to motivate him. The steadily approaching deadline only served to vex him.

The morning had been spent behind the controls of his battered but trustworthy desktop computer, working on a personal project – a Tom-Clancy-style first-person shooter. For the first few months he had made good progress, coding the game using templates available from one of his favourite websites. Now, however, he had discovered an irritating bug, and while it would have made more sense to fix it after he'd finished the skeleton draft, some stubborn part of him insisted on dealing with it first.

He'd met a friend for a quick game of football after lunch, but had reluctantly returned home, knowing he needed to get two reports written by Friday. The game had been short, but fast-paced and his shirt was now clinging to his torso. Pulling it over his head, Ty made for the shower.

His bright green eyes stood out even from across the room; his tanned, unblemished skin enhancing the colour. He caught a glimpse of his face in the mirror as he shucked his pants; stubble roughened his cheeks and dark blonde hair hung roughly around his head.

Thinking about the two jobs, he tried to find a way of phrasing the Westpac recommendation. Honestly, he wanted to tell them, "Your system is fucked", but pissing off the manager of such an important client probably wasn't a good plan.

Feeling the cold water hit his back, he shivered. Another day gone. And he had a grim premonition it wasn't over yet.

***

Ty was so used to her coming and going as she pleased, Nikki's unannounced arrival that night wasn't really a surprise. Her strapless black and gold dress hugged her curves in a way that caused Ty to wonder, yet again, why exactly he wanted to leave this woman. Steeling himself, he knew that he couldn't put it off any longer.

"Nikki..." he began softly. Her nostrils flared slightly, as if she knew what he was going to say, but instead of protesting she merely fell back onto the lounge, revealing a fair bit of smooth leg in the process. Forcing his gaze away from the view, he was nearly undone by the look in her eye. Not worried or angry or upset... but predatory. She was gazing at him like he was a piece of raw meat and she a starving wolf.

Simply 'I'm breaking up with you' felt too harsh, so he tried to ease her into the conversation. "I'm worried that our relationship... isn't... doing so…well," he trailed off lamely.

She raised an eyebrow and crossed one leg over the other, waiting.

Unnerved by her lack of response, he hastily continued. "I... I'm no longer happy, and I don't think you are either, so to remain together is just going to hurt us both in the long run."

"You're trying to break up with me?" Nikki asked quietly, and from the expression on her face he would have assumed she was in pain; except for the 'trying' she had slipped in there.

"I am breaking up with you," Ty said resolutely and quickly sat down. He'd done it. It was over.

Or not. Blue-green eyes glittering, she slowly rose to her feet and walked towards him. For a second he was worried she was going to slap him, then realised what she had in mind was much, much more fiendish.

"Are you sure?" she whispered, leaning down so that her breath caressed the side of his face.

He suddenly felt very hot. For a second she nibbled gently on his ear, then proceeded to leave a trail of kisses down the side of his neck. Unable to stop himself, he slowly lifted his hands, but she moved away before he could touch her.

"I suppose I'll just go then."

Without a backwards glance, she took the first step towards the door.

"No!" Ty croaked, his throat oddly dry. Pausing, she looked back at him, and he suddenly realised she had makeup on. She didn't need it, she was beautiful anyway, but the effect of a little eye shadow and lipstick was enough to cloud his mind as effectively as four tequila shots.

She smirked when she saw his reaction, moving closer and taking advantage of his position on the chair to sit astride him. Eyes widening, he searched for some way to stop her without driving her away entirely – despite the fact that that was exactly what he was trying to do.

"You weren't serious?" she asked, raising one eyebrow and softly bringing her lips down to his.

One taste, he promised himself. A goodbye kiss...

The instant he felt the contact, all remaining self control vanished. She tilted her head to the side, deepening the kiss as his hands came up to gently cup her breasts. For a moment, the feel of her lithe body in his arms was enough, but before long the craving to have all of her overwhelmed him. Frustrated by the feel of soft fabric, his fingers slid around to the back of her dress, searching. Before he could find the zipper – it wasn't where it normally was – Nikki was pulling away, and the scent of her had so intoxicated him that he instinctively followed her movements, leaning forward as she bent back.

He hadn't even realised his belt was undone until she stood up and used the buckle to pull him along the hallway behind her. Stopping in the doorway, she turned them around and latched her lips to his as she backed him into the bedroom. Her tongue traced over his teeth, leaving him so off balance that when she lightly pushed against his chest, he fell backwards onto the bed.

Expecting her to follow him down, he was confused when the familiar weight of her body remained absent. He pushed himself up into a sitting position, to see her standing at the end of the bed, the wolfish look back on her face. His arms reached out for her, but she merely stepped backwards, shaking a finger at him as if he was a naughty schoolboy.

"Nu-uh," she admonished, and Ty dropped his arms instantly, cursing her power over him. She grinned, a seductive combination of sultry and evil that caused him to swallow nervously.

The zipper of her dress was under her arm, he noted as he watched her draw it down slowly. She allowed the fabric to fall to the floor, and his mouth instantly went dry at the expanse of tanned skin now exposed to his gaze. Nikki wasn't the sort to wear fancy lingerie, but the sight of her simple strapless bra and black lace knickers still caused his heart to race.

Totally unselfconscious, she unsnapped her bra and dropped it beside her dress. The predatory look was back when she returned her gaze to him, her eyes raking over his shirt-clad chest with such intensity he was surprised the fabric didn't go up in flames. Unable to tear his eyes away as she stalked towards him, he barely noticed the door closing behind her, courtesy of one gold heel.

***

Afterwards, Ty sat in bed with the sheet wrapped around his waist, wondering why things had turned out this way. He had steeled himself for anger, denial, even the (remote) possibility of tears, but had never even imagined she would use her body to make him forget. Which, now that he thought about it with a somewhat-clear head, was pretty stupid of him. Nikki had never balked at the idea of seducing someone to get her way.

It was said that makeup sex was the best – indeed, Ty had experienced some pretty damn great sex after fighting with a girlfriend – but he had just learned that there was something better. Tonight's experience completely outstripped everything he'd ever experienced before, and from the way she had responded to his every touch and movement, he reckoned she would agree.

Turning his head, he stared at her sleeping form, knowing full well it was likely to be the last time he'd see her looking so relaxed and vulnerable. When she woke up she would either revert to the arse-kicking girl he loved or the poisonous seductress he…well he loved both sides of her. Yes, being with her was tearing him apart, but the thought of not being with her was equally heart-wrenching.

She lay on her stomach, arms under the pillow cradling her head, the sheet pulled tight across her hips. Dark lashes tickled her cheek, her makeup now little more than a smudge over each eyelid. Her chestnut hair fanned out over the pillow, and the a dark halo reminded Ty of an angel. His hand moved involuntarily, but he managed to stop himself before touching her bare back, not wanting to wake her.

As if she could feel his eyes on her, Nikki stirred, and the soft smile on her face caused him to wonder if she knew he'd been staring. She stretched her arms leisurely before rolling over, and he couldn't have torn his eyes away from her had he wanted to. His emerald green eyes moved slowly down her unmarked body, thrilled that she didn't squirm or attempt to cover herself like most girls would have.

"Hey," she murmured, and the throaty tone of her voice instantly caused him to jump to attention. He silently cursed his body for betraying him every single time she did anything.

He smiled and cupped her face with a palm, running a thumb over her cheek, even as he tried to stifle his reaction. In that moment he realised that, as much as he loved Nikki, he also hated her.