Antarctic Affair (14 page)

“You point it in the same direction as you would if
you were taking a picture, and press this button on top here.”

“Oh, this one?” she asked, pressing it softly. The
flash went off just as Lance the seismologist turned around, temporarily
blinding him.

“Oops sorry,” called Georgina as he blinked rapidly.
“See I told you I was dangerous.”

Taj laughed, “He was probably just working up the
nerve to talk to you too.”

“Rubbish,” she scoffed as they followed the others,
walking side by side along the narrow track.

“One thing you must remember,” he told her, “is that
you never point the light metre towards a light source, like that beam of
sunlight through the clouds,” he pointed towards the east. “It fools the metre
and you end up with the incorrect settings.”

“Don’t give me too many things to remember, it makes
me nervous,” said Georgina. She wasn’t joking either.

“That’s it. Think you can manage, George?” he smiled
at her playfully.

She scoffed. “Of course.” Then added in a meeker
voice, “I hope so, else you’re going to have a bunch of photos you can’t use.”

He chuckled, “That’s the beauty of digital. If they
don’t work, you toss them.”

A stiff breeze got up as the track curved around an
unusual rock formation and they approached the cliff path that they would
follow for the next few hours. “Have you always been interested in
photography?” asked Georgina.

“Since as far back as I can remember,” replied Taj.
“There was a teacher at school who practiced as a hobby. I used to accompany
him on photographic expeditions during the weekends, it was probably the only
thing that kept me sane. My father was always working on some big case or
other, so I was left to my own devices most of the time.”
”Sounds like my father,” she said dryly.

“Since I didn’t have anything better to do, I bought
myself a camera and began to experiment. I became fascinated with lighting and
composition. The way different things could be emphasised in a photograph that
you wouldn’t really notice with the naked eye.”

Georgina gazed at him, her heart going out to the
lonely little boy experimenting with his camera. “Like what?” she asked.

“Shadows, colours, motion, contrasts – you can play
with just about anything in a photograph.”

They looked up as a dark cloud passed over the
morning sun and cast them both in a cold shadow. Georgina shivered
involuntarily.

“Looks like there’s weather coming in,” noted Taj.

“Hopefully it won’t rain,” said Georgina who really
didn’t feel like getting soaked again today.

“No, I think it’ll hold off till this evening. I see
Max had got his camera with him today,” he commented, nodding ahead at a
sweating Max Copeland who was almost buckling under the large piece of
equipment.

“Need a hand Max?” he shouted down the line.

Max slowed down until he was just in front of them.
“
Howdee
Taj. I’m not going far, but thanks for your
offer. My assistant and I are going to set up shop soon and do some filming. We
need to get some test footage to take back to the studio. Have you met Darryl?”

Taj nodded, “Hey Darryl, how are you doing? This is
George.” Then he turned to Georgina, “Darryl and I met in the bar the other
night. We traded camera tips over a bottle of Jack”.

Georgina laughed, “You’ve got to love male bonding.
Hi, Darryl,” she leant forward to shake his hand. The wind got quite chilly as
they turned onto the cliff path and Taj pulled his beanie out of his pocket and
pulled it over his head. He turned to Georgina, “Where’s yours?” he asked. “You
really need one of these out here.”

Georgina was too embarrassed to admit she didn’t own
one. Not that she considered them beneath her, but she knew hats did not suit
her, not one little bit. She just had the wrong shaped head for hats. Taj on
the other hand looked impossibly handsome in his. Dark golden curls sneaked out
from beneath the khaki beanie, which set off his turquoise eyes to perfection.
She wondered idly if there was anything that
didn’t
suit him.

“Um, I forgot to bring it,” she said vaguely. He
tsk-tsked
and shook his head. “When will you learn, my
little
fashionista
, that warmth and safety are more
important than style?”

Although she didn’t miss the gentle reprimand, he
said it in such an endearing way that she felt all warm and fuzzy inside. He’s
telling you off, she reminded herself sternly but when she glanced at his face,
he was smiling at her fondly.

Uh-oh, she thought. Please don’t do that. I only
have so much will power. Distraction needed - fast. Luckily Max was the one to
provide it.

“Here!” he yelled triumphantly, coming to such an
abrupt halt that Darryl and Georgina bumped into his wide back like dominoes.
He pointed towards a curved glacier, which disappeared dramatically over the
cliff face like some sort of frozen waterfall. It sparkled merrily as the
clouds parted briefly and a sunbeam licked its wet surface.

“Perfect,” gushed Darryl shuffling about to find the
best position for the camera. “Well spotted.”

Taj grinned at Georgina. “We’ll leave you boys to
it, then,” he said, walking round them. “Come on George, there’s a nice little
overhang up ahead that I thought I’d get some shots of. Time to put you to
work.”

“Great,” she muttered, following him. “See you
later,” she called to Max who waved distractedly.

“Here we are,” Taj stopped underneath a dripping
arch etched with an array of colourful striations that gave it a stunning
rainbow effect. “How does it do that?” gasped Georgina.

“It’s the different materials that get stuck in the
ice as it freezes,” he explained. “Beautiful, isn’t it?”

Georgina nodded. Everything about this place took
her breath away. She turned around to ask him what to do, only to find he’d
moved closer to her and was now only a foot away. She looked up into a bronzed
face sprinkled with golden stubble and sporting an amiable, untroubled smile,
which left her breathless.

Including him, she thought irrationally.

“You ready?” he asked.

She nodded, her mouth suddenly dry.

“Okay, here we go. You check the light metre and
tell me what it says.”

“What do you want me to point it at?” she asked
nervously, feeling ridiculous. To make matters worse, her hands were so cold
she could barely feel the button.

He obviously realised because he pulled off his
woollen gloves and put them on her frigid hands.

“Another thing we must get you,” he chided, rubbing
her one hand between his warm ones, then taking the other and doing the same.

“I guess I’m learning the hard way,” she said
apologetically. Her fingers thawed from the heat left behind by his hands. It
felt intimate knowing that his fingers had been warmed by the same gloves only
seconds before.

“Why are you being so nice to me?” she asked
suddenly. He had really done a 360-degree turn in the way he treated her. She
wondered if she didn’t prefer the condescending attitude rather than this
playful, almost flirtatious one. At least it was easier to deal with. Now he
had her in a constant state of nervousness, or was it excitement. It was hard
to tell. It wasn’t a feeling she was used to and not one she particularly
welcomed, especially on the eve of her marriage.

He stopped rubbing. “I’m a nice guy,” he said with
an easy smile and let go of her hands. “You’re just not used to it because I
was moody and selfish when I met you.”

“Wow, a man who can admit he’s moody
and
selfish. I’m impressed.”

“Oh yeah, ask Don, he’ll tell you,” he said
seriously.

“No need, really, I believe you,” she laughed.

“And you saved my life, so I suppose part of it is
gratitude,” his eyes were still smiling.

“True,” she agreed gravely. “I did rescue you from
certain death.”

“A very cold, uninteresting death,” he added.

“Which is far worse than a warm interesting one,”
she remarked dryly.

“Absolutely!” he confirmed with such enthusiasm that
Georgina had to laugh.

“You’re unbelievable,” she told him, shaking her
head and raising the light metre. She pointed it towards the arch. “Here?”

“Perfect,” he nodded, setting up his tripod and
screwing the camera on top.

“What does it say?” he asked, and she read him the
digits on the display.

“Thanks,” he said bending to look through the wide
telephoto lens. “Could you move to the side please,” he asked, waving his one
arm around, head still buried in the camera.

“Oh, of course,” she muttered, skirting to the side
and then around him so she could watch from behind. She felt rather silly that
she hadn’t thought to move out of the way. She turned and strained her eyes to
look down the cliff path to see if she could spot the rest of the group, but
they were long gone. Secretly she was glad they were moving at a slower pace
than the others. Her blisters weren’t properly healed yet, and she was afraid a
day’s hike would reopen them again. That gruelling pace of the first day had
nearly finished her off. She’d never admit it but it was sheer will power that
had bought her down that mountain. Many times she’d considered just lying down
and going to sleep, right there on the mushy snow. She understood now that it
had all been for her benefit, to try and scare her into not participating in
any more excursions. It was very mean to submit all the others to the same
punishment though. Thankfully, none of them were aware of it. They probably thought
Don was a sadistic tour leader, which could be why so few people had signed up
for this hike. It served him right.

She watched Taj work, admiring his professionalism,
the unruffled ease with which he handled the camera – and, of course his
perfect behind. How could she not? He was bending down in front of her for
Pete’s sake. She was only human.

It was at that moment that he stood up and caught
her staring.

“I hope you’re not bored,” he asked, his eyes
sparkling with amusement. Georgina was mortified. How awful to be caught
perving
, and even worse, his butt! She tried to appear
nonchalant, “I’m okay. I’m thinking about the article I want to write.”

“Ah. Getting anywhere?”

“Yes, actually. I think I’m going to go for the ‘How
Antarctica can change your life’, angle.”

He nodded, “Sounds like a good angle to me.”

She had sucked that out of her thumb, but come to
think of it, it was a rather good angle, and she could talk from experience.

She followed him as he moved his camera and tripod a
few metres along the cliff top, to a vantage point where you could see for
miles across the azure bay.

“I’m going to take some shots here,” he told her,
setting up again. “You want to try?”

“Sure,” she came closer and watched as he adjusted
some settings. “I’m using a wider angle here, to capture the entire bay, and…”
Georgina tried to pay attention, but being close to Taj Andrews was like being
injected with an anti-concentration serum, she just couldn’t stay focused. Her
eyes focused on the way his lips moved when he talked and she had to force
herself to look away in case he thought she was coming on to him or something.

“Here, have a look through the telephoto,” he
offered, moving aside.

She bend down and stared into the lens. She was
amazed at how clear and close up everything was.

“I feel like I can almost reach out and touch that
iceberg,” she murmured in awe.

“Why don’t take a picture of it?” he suggested.

“What? No I couldn’t.”

“Of course you can. Rest your finger on here,” he
gently took her pointer finger and placed it on the shutter.

“Now hold it down gently, and you’ll see it focus.
After a second, the green light comes on. That’s it. Then you press the
button.”

He applied gentle force on her finger and she took
the shot. “There, you have your photo. Easy, huh?”

She glanced up at him. “And all this time I thought
you needed talent to do this?”

He shook his head, smiling. “No, any idiot can take
a picture.”

She stood up, “Are you calling me an idiot?”

He pretended to think for a moment, during which she
hit him playfully on the arm. Suddenly, without warning, he turned and grabbed
her, pulling her gently towards him. She gazed up at him with a longing she
couldn’t hide and as if in response to her silent consent, he leant forward and
kissed her. She held him close for a moment as she enjoyed the feeling of his
lips on hers. There was nothing awkward about the kiss, in fact it felt so
right she snuggled in further. Then it was as if an explosion went off in her
brain. What the hell was she doing? Abruptly she pulled away, breaking all
contact.

“I’m sorry,” she whispered appalled. “I can’t do
this.”

“I know.”