Page 110 of Love, Academically
Forty minutes later, the room was full of plastic cup-holding students and lecturers, and a couple were already a bit worse for wear. Someone had produced some face-paint from somewhere, and Lila was busy drawing rainbow moustaches and Taylor Swift hearts on people, which were getting progressively wonkier after two glasses of what had turned out to be quite strong sangria (good job Rhys had driven that morning). Dan was her current victim.
“Let me take a picture for Jasmeet.”
Lila pulled out her phone and Dan grinned at her.
“I look sexy, don’t I?” he asked with a wink.
“Yeah, sure,” she said, laughing. The glitter pink neon heart stood out nice and bright around his eye.
“Hey, I hope you’re not flirting with my girl,” Rhys said, slinging his arm over her shoulder. See! They didn’t have to put an announcement in the paper.Organic. No big deal. But the flutter in her stomach as the wordsmy girlrolled around her head made her hot and flushed. And, good Lord, that little bit of possessiveness washot.
Lila swallowed hard before saying, “Your turn now, Rhys.”
“Oh no, I don’t think so.” Rhys looked absolutely terrified, holding his hands up defensively.
“Go on, mate,” Dan said, swigging his drink. “Do what you’re told.”
“Please?” she whined, opening her eyes dramatically wide. It took a couple of beats, but Rhys’s jaw relaxed and his muscles flopped in defeat.
“Okay, fine, but nothing as much as,” he gestured vaguely to Dan, “that.”
She could work with that.
Rhys sat and she stepped between his thighs. Gripping his chin, she bent slightly to sweep some dark blue face paint across his top lip, shaping it into a thick, bushy, Tom Selleck moustache.
She stood back and admired her handiwork.
“God, Rhys, I have never been more attracted to you,” she said, laughing. He lookeddashingwith that moustache, which was more teal than blue, sitting proudly on his top lip.
She knew she shouldn’t compare Rhys with Jason, but she wondered at how easily Rhys, who obviously hated having his face painted, had done it for her becausesheliked it, and how Jason wouldn’t even let her have the remote control.
“Good,” he said, brushing his lips against her ear. “I’ll keep it on when I eat your pussy later tonight.”
Good Lord. He’d said that in the middle of a work event.
“Rhys!” she hissed, slapping him on the shoulder.
“I don’t know what you said and, judging by how red Lila is, I don’t want to either,” Dan said, cringing at them. Well, that made her even more red. Could the earth just swallow her up please? Rhys’s wide grin said he couldn’t care less what anyone thought.
Lila surveyed the room. More people had arrived, some left, but the sangria was going down steadily, the nachos were nearly gone and students and lecturers were chatting and laughing,which was exactly the point. Her history lecturers were even chatting with members of other departments. She clucked like a proud mother hen.
This was a success.
Except for Sue, scowling in the corner with a half-filled plastic cup, a contamination zone of a good metre around her. Fine, if she didn’t want to engage, that was on her.
Lila laughed at a joke one of the students cracked and caught Rhys’s eye across the room. He was chatting to Dan and a couple of other students.
Chatting. With students.
It wasn’t so long ago that he barely tolerated being in the same room as them for his actual job and look at him now. Chatting. Making small talk. Smiling. At people who weren’t her or Dan. Lila smiled to herself. Even with that ridiculous moustache, he was so handsome.
Professor Painter, one of her senior lecturers and Rhys’s Fellowship admission sponsor, poked his head in the door, his eyes searching the room until he found Rhys. Rhys clocked him and waved him over. After being introduced to Dan, the two exchanged whispers and she watched, horrified, as Rhys handed his drink to Dan and followed Professor Painter out of the room.
“Rhys,” she called, but her voice was drowned out by mariachi music and laughter. “Rhys!”
By the time she’d elbowed her way to the door, Rhys had disappeared with Professor Painter.
“Dan,” she turned to him. “Where did Rhys go?”
