Free Antarctic Affair by Louise Rose-Innes

began
slipping and sliding down into the steaming crater. Taking a deep breath
Georgina ripped off her hair band and used it to tie back her tangled and
sweaty hair. There, that was much better. She set off after the group, leaving
Taj to pack up his tripod and follow at his own pace. She took a particularly
bad slide next to Max the producer, who was waxing lyrical about the
documentary opportunities in Antarctica. The gravel beneath her feet suddenly gave
way and she slid a couple of metres on her backside, frantically trying to get a
grip with her boots. Max reached out with one arm, encircled her waist and
effortlessly and lifted her back onto her feet. She stared at him in surprise.
He was so wide, she’d just assumed he was overweight, but she realised now he
was built like a wrestler and not fat at all.
    “Thank you,” she breathed.
    He winked at her and carried on talking, barely
missing a beat.
    “I’m thinking the abandoned whaling station we saw
from the summit - there must be some footage of past expeditions somewhere - juxtaposed
with the natural aspect of the penguins and seals. Those critters are totally
cute! I hear some species are even endemic to this part of the world.”
    Amy rolled her eyes at Georgina, but her husband
Claude didn’t seem phased and launched into a long narrative about at least
eighteen species of moss and lichen which have not been recorded elsewhere in
the world.
    Georgina laughed and said to Max, “I don’t think you
were talking about lichen, were you?”
    There was some loud scraping as Taj fell into line
beside them.
    “Look at that,” he murmured excitedly and squatted
down to photograph a hissing geyser that looked like it was about to explode
skyward at any moment.
    Max twirled his fingers next to his temple to
indicate he thought all photographers were crazy, which made Georgina chuckle.
    The setting at the bottom of the crater was worth
the scramble. Impossibly blue water lapped at the icy stones along the edge of
the flooded caldera, creating a soft tinkling sound as the ice knocked together.
Hot springs bubbled away merrily and the hikers gathered around some of the
cooler pools to soak their tired feet.
    “You’re not going in?” Taj asked her when he rejoined
them some time later.
    She said woefully, “I’d like to, but if I take my
boots off again, I don’t think I’ll have the will power to put them back on.
You may have to leave me here.”
    “It’s not a bad spot to camp out,” remarked Taj,
looking around.
    “It’s magical, actually. I’m so grateful I got a
chance to see it.” She glanced at Taj who looked like he was about to say
something, but then changed his mind.
    “Coming along on the expeditions with you was such a
great idea,” she gushed, patting him on the arm. “I’m so glad you thought of it.”
Then with a sparkle in her eye she spun on her heel and went in search of Amy.
    Don called the group together, “Guys, we’re going to
have to move out. The wind is picking up and I want to be back on the ship
before it turns nasty.”
    “How long have we got,” Taj asked.
    “An hour at the most. Let’s move people!”
    Everyone scrambled to put on their boots and before
long they were trudging back up the caldera in a snake formation. Don and Taj
at the front, then the rest of them. From her position at the rear, Georgina
could study the two men at the front without them noticing her. Don was
handsome in his own way. He was incredibly broad shouldered, had thick messy
blond hair and a kind, craggy face. She like him a lot and more importantly
felt that she could trust him. He exuded an air of reliability and strength and
she had a feeling that with Don, what you saw was what you got.
    Taj on
the other hand was harder to work out. He was a contradiction. At times he was
cold and condescending and she knew he didn’t approve of her but there were
moments when she was sure he was watching her. She’d felt his eyes on her a
couple of