Chapter 3
Thirty minutes later the hall was set for 'partnered dancing'
"The key to a successful relationship is knowing when to lead and when to follow, each group split into pairs and get ready to dance. Those that are tapped on the shoulder are leading" the small fat semi bald man seemed to be getting more confident talking in front of the large crowd, Georgia noted that he had began to sweat less.
In the midst of her daydreaming she had realised that Roxy and Daisy had now partnered and left her to dance with Mason.
Mason took Georgia's hand in his and led her towards him, pulling her gently forward he cupped his free hand at the small of her back and glanced down; a smile had spread itself across his face and flicker shone through his eyes. He couldn't help but recall the images of his vivid dream from the previous night. He looked down with the silly grin still plastered on his face, trying to conceal it, but failing miserably. George noticed his emotional mental struggle and laughed
"Don't you dare bank this in your head for round two and get me out of your head now" Georgia exclaimed in mock annoyance, playfully slapping him on the arm
-What was I doing? I was actually entertaining the idea of flirting with Mason; since when did he elect me as his new crush. But he is cute in a scruffy lost puppy sort of way.
At that moment they both turned to their left as a small purple/grey creature skidded across the buffed shiny wooden floor and climbed up the stage. It vaulted over the projection screen and through the curtains. George and Mason looked back at each other, slightly confused. Georgia glanced at Roxy and Daisy- who although both staring at George and Mason failed to notice the graveling that had launched itself through the room
"There's no post its today are there?" Mason asked
"No" George replied slowly, shaking her head
"Hmm must be a big one on Thursday they get like that from time to time, anticipation drives them nuts. Only minor mishaps, no one dies but people can get pretty fucked up"
They continued to dance; rather awkwardly George indeed had the proverbial two left feet and wasn't making the best progress. Instead of the waltz their partnered dance looked like two teenagers at the prom swaying back and forth. George was becoming increasingly aware of the positioning of Mason's left hand, which, over the course of the hour had dropped significantly to now be resting on her ass
"Mason, you realise your cupping my ass?" Georgia asked in a loud whisper, looking up to meet his gaze. He smiled and raised his eyebrows and continued to sway back and forth without speaking
When he finally spoke he seemingly had ignored her last comment, making no intentions to move his hand.
"Have you had any ideas how we are going to get ourselves out of the rest of the day's activities?" Mason enquired
-Jesus Christ first the dream now he's copping a feel with no remorse, I don't know if I reprimand him or reciprocate.
Mason had sown the seeds in Georgia's mind
George shook her head clearing her thoughts and looked up to the ceiling. She noticed the stray graveling that sat perched on a fan slightly to the left above their heads that was swaying precariously in its holdings.
She nodded motioning upwards and spun them around so they were positioned below the fan, moving a middle aged couple out of their way. As Mason looked up he caught a glimpse of the graveling as it took one last swing off the fan and jumped disappearing into the air. Mason being distracted didn't notice at the time that the graveling had dislodged the fan as it jumped, sending it hurtling down
-The shit I put up with to get out of group activities, this is gunna hurt
Georgia stood still; bracing herself for the ensuing chaos that was about to unfold
The ceiling fan came down with a loud crash, echoing around the hall. It had landed between Georgia and Mason, dividing them and sending George sprawling on the floor.
"Ow, fuck" Georgia yelped, grabbing her head; the fan had knocked her fairly hard and a small cut was starting to bleed above her hairline
Mason leapt forward to check on Georgia "Bloody hell George, are you okay?" Mason asked panicked
Georgia looked up and gestured towards Mason's leg "Fuck Mason your leg" Georgia exclaimed in a voice only he would here, motioning to his right calf with her eyes
In the commotion, Mason, being concerned for Georgia's welfare had neglected to notice that one of the arms of the fan had come loose and had lodged itself in his leg, before he had time to register it, Roxy swooped over and forcefully pulled it out, she was oblivious to the wincing pain which jolted through him as she did so. Roxy examined the crowd that had now gathered around the trio; thankfully none of the onlookers had noticed Mason's indifference to the large blade that had been hanging from his leg, nor the speed at which he seemed to be recovering. They hadn't seemed to notice he was wounded at all; their full attention had been given to Georgia, whom Roxy had to admit was playing the part of hurt damsel in distress.
Georgia looked up and saw the plump coordinator, Peter MacFarlane pushing his way through the growing crowd, the calm demeanour that he had began to display was gone. He was once again sweating profusely and clutched his small handkerchief tightly in his left hand, wiping his brow more than she thought necessary. He bent to his knees beside Georgia and held out his hand, to touch her shoulder, the same hand that held the sweat hankie
"Oh, Oh, blood, dear are, are, you okay?" he stuttered
-Eww no, no, no. I'll put up with slight concussion but I will not let that, ugh, sweaty rag touch me
Georgia raised her hand to stop him from extending his arm any further
"Mmm, yeah I think so I just need to rest it off I think," Georgia replied as she rose to her elbows. Mason bent forward and helped her up; he staggered a little when he put weight on his injured leg. She rose to her feet and turned to face the small man "I think I just need to go up to my room so I'm ready for tomorrow's activities "she added melodramatically touching a hand to her forehead
Mr. MacFarlane nodded in agreement and glanced at Mason
"I'll take her up make sure she's okay, I should rest my leg as well" he motioned with his head toward his calf; a small patch of blood was starting to spread around the wound that the fan blade had left.
"Oh well my, yes of course" P. MacFarlane dismissed the twosome and turned to survey the damaged fan on the floor
They started to walk out of the hall as the congregation started to disperse, two large men that George had identified earlier as K. Andrews and M. White- two of her hits, started to collect the shattered remains of the fallen fan. Roxy started a trot and caught up with the duo before they had reached the large doors of the hall.
"Don't think I didn't see that, you two are damn lucky no one else saw that. Don't let me catch you two running around that fucking bar later either; people think your seriously injured, stay in that damn room till tomorrow morning even then..." She trailed off shook her head and muttered under her breath as she walked back to rejoin Daisy, who had found a tall, handsome man to consol her.
* * * * *
They rode the elevator in silence Mason observed George who seemed to be caught in her own thoughts
-Fuck me that was a pain in the ass, I'm grateful for the undead metabolism but Christ the pain should at least subside a little quicker.
She rubbed her head and glanced at Mason she was sure he knew she was on a rant in her inner monologue
-And what was that grabbing my ass, although I had to admit, the way in which he fussed over me when he thought I was hurt was sweet, and he isn't the worst guy that that I've taken an interest in...me, he has taken an interest in me
Mason stifled a laugh and shook his head "you okay?"
"Yeah"
"That was a close one Georgie girl, that could have played out a little worse than what it did, our cover may have been blow"
"Yeah but you gotta admit, it was a pretty good excuse to get us out of the seminar, there was no way I wanted to endure the questions that would have been asked at ''Reveal and Reflect' from Daisy and Roxy; mainly from your actions and little performance today"
The elevator opened and they walked to their room, Georgia led the way in and took a few steps, paused and turned to face Mason
- I had to ask him before my nerve failed me completely, Why are you acting like this toward me? Do you like me? It wouldn't be the worst combination in the world, I'm mean we were pretty suited for in other in a lot of ways, we didn't have to put on a bullshit persona and have secret jobs and mysterious absences and.....
"Soooo" Georgia drew out the O as she exhaled, her head was down and she focused on her thumb; picking at the nail. She inhaled sharply and looked up to meet Mason's gaze, he smiled expectantly and waited for her to finish her sentence
-Go say it one word after the other
"So" Mason echoed
"Sooo...I was just" Georgia repeated
-Damn it
"I think we should probably take a look at your leg, that fan blade was in pretty deep"
Georgia signed and slumped a little, turned and walked into the bathroom. Mason smiled and followed limping slightly; he sat on the white marble tiles and propped himself up against the wall and began to rollup the leg of his jeans, inspecting the wound that had began to knit itself back together again before carefully sliding his legs out straight on the floor in front of him. Georgia knelt beside him and began to mop of the dark crimson blood that had congealed on his skin.
"Does it hurt? It looks pretty deep; I think it went all the way through"
"Nah, it's got nothing on a bullet wound"
Georgia rinsed out the cloth and returned to Mason, he motioned for the cloth and took it from her
"Let's take a look at that head" Mason waved his fingers motioning to Georgia to move closer to him.
She slid herself forward and leaned her head close to his. Mason inspected her cut and gently began to clean the blood from her face and hairline. Georgia gazed at him and found she was surprised at how tender his touch was, the way the tip of his tongue poked out the corner of his mouth when he was concentrating, made her stomach flutter. She had a sudden strong urge to kiss him.
Mason finished cleaning her head and stroked her hair meeting Georgia's penetrating gaze, he smiled and a flicker of light glistened across his face. His hand rounded the side of her face and softly stroked her chin, a soft smile crossed Georgia's face as she felt a warm glow creep up her cheeks.
Georgia's lips parted slightly, as if breathless as she exhaled lightly. Masons free hand found its way to her shoulder and she obliged as he gently drew her in closer.
Mason leant forward and kissed her lightly on the lips, tensing slightly, hoping desperately that she would respond in turn. She did. Georgia placed her hands on the back of his neck and head, without breaking away she positioned her body so that she was now facing him, kneeling stradding his legs.
Mason was relieved and relaxed a little, allowing the hand that held her shoulder to follow down the contours of her back and hips.
Georgia let out a soft, near inaudible moan, as she straightened and pulled him forward, removing his jacket and shirt. He felt the soft palms of her hands brush over his arms and torso as she moved them to the small of his back. He let his hands slip under her shirt as he lightly stroked the soft skin of her torso. He lifted her shirt over her head allowing her to break away as she leaned back and take it off, shaking her hair out of her face once it was removed.
He smiled and shook his head not breaking eye contact; Georgia frowned slightly cocking her head to one side
"What's wrong" she enquired slowly
Mason shook his head again and ran his fingers through his hair "Nothing's wrong, trust me." He paused and smiled "I'm fucking stoked that's all" he smiled leant forward and kissed the top of her breast and nuzzled her neck, playfully bit the inside of her ear. He pulled her in close pressing his body against hers and kissed her passionately on the lips. His hands stroked her back holding her in a tight embrace.
They broke away. Smiling at each other
-Oh my god that was amazing I don't want to stop, Georgia, think about this rationally; it's Mason. Mason, you've seen him steal from corpses, and eat used gum from under dinner tables, but...It feels right
"We probably shouldn't..." Georgia's voice drifted off, as she stared into Mason's eyes "rush things too quickly...you know...?"
Mason smiled and nodded "Can we still fool around?"
Georgia laughed and stood up helping Mason to his feet. She ran a finger down his chest and torso and hooked it around the button of his jeans looking into his eyes. Pulling on his pants she drew him closer to her and she leant forward and kissed him, before releasing his pants and bending down to retrieve her shirt. She pulled it back on and began to walk out the door leaving Mason frozen to the spot
"Is that a yes or a no?"
"We'll see"