Page 60 of Love, Academically
“Uh, hang on, I was just doing what Jasmeet told me to,” Rhys said.
“Yeah, but you didn’t have to, you know,” Dan said, “beprotectiveprotective.”
Okay, so Rhys had no idea what ‘protectiveprotective’ meant and he wasn’t about to ask. He followed Dan back into the middle of the mats, grabbing a kick shield on the way. As Dan practiced his round kicks, Rhys analysed some more. If he could understand what was happening inside of him, then he could live with it.
This was an arrangement, a fake date, she was a fake girlfriend, and for one night only. He couldn’t get attached. She was his box-ticking item for ‘successful personal life’ without input from the Dallimore family. Regardless of how he felt, she didn’t want any kind of relationship. She’d made that clear.
But he couldn’t help remembering how good it felt waking up next to her. When he was with her, it was like the stone that lived in his chest, the crushing anxiety of expectation, just… dissolved.
“Your turn,” Dan said, gesturing for the kick shield. Rhys moved into his fighting stance.
After the end of their arrangement, he’d tell her that he wanted to see her again, spend more time with her. It didn’t have to mean anything, not if she didn’t want it to. They could at least be friends, couldn’t they? The way his stomach curdled at that thought, and how his heart stuttered just a little in his chest told him that he didn’t want to just be friends with Lila Cartwright.
He wanted to kiss her, hold her, wake up with her.
Do things to her that were certainly more than what friends would do.
Lila
Jasmeet had pulled herself away from Dan long enough to make it to girls’ night. Well, girls’ night was a bit of a stretch because Maddy had cancelled. The baby had a temperature, and she and Ruby were all aflutter, bless them. Lila pushed down that little niggle that this had been in the diary for ages because they couldn’t help it if the baby was ill.
“Is that Dan texting you now?” Lila asked, nodding at Jasmeet’s phone.
“Yeah, but I’ve told him it’s girls’ night, so that’s the end of that,” she said, putting her phone face down on the ottoman.
She’d see how long that remained there.
“It seems like it’s going really well between you two.” Lila tried to keep the bitterness out of her voice.
Not so much bitterness, but wistfulness. Yes, that was a better word. What she’d told Rhys was true; she didn’t want a boyfriend. She didn’tneeda boyfriend. Lila was quite content by herself, living on her own terms, doing whatever she wanted to do.
True, it had been nice to wake up with Rhys’s arms around herthat time and nice to spend time with him shopping and sitting and talking. But that’s all it was. Nice.
The truth was, her little heart was still fragile and cautious, and would prefer to hide in a cocoon of sparkly wool rather than venture out and get pin-cushioned once again.
So, no, not bitterness. Not jealousy. Wistfulness.
“It is. I really like him,” Jasmeet said, with a dopey grin on her face. “What?”
Lila schooled her features to wipe the scowl off them.
“Oh, sorry,” she said with a little wince. “I just don’t want you to get hurt.”
“Oh Lila.” Jasmeet’s head tipped sympathetically to the side. God, she hated that head tilt. “I know you’re wary, but not every guy is Jason.”
Did Jasmeet realise how condescending that was? Lila took a sip of wine.
“Anyway, enough about me,” Jasmeet said, slipping a lock of hair over her shoulder. Even in jogging bottoms, a dirty t-shirt, no makeup and hair pulled up into a loose, messy bun, Jasmeet managed to look like a supermodel. Lila picked at the hole in her own dirty t-shirt.
“Did you get a dress in the end for that thing with Rhys?” Jasmeet asked, flicking through Netflix.
That thingdidn’t really feel like it did it justice. But it wasn’t really her place to tell Jasmeet about the inner workings of the Dallimore family. She wasn’t even sure she could tell Jasmeet that Rhys waspartof the Dallimore family. Did Dan even know? He must do, it seemed like they’d been friends for ages.
“You have, haven’t you? When is it again?” Jasmeet asked.
“Next week.” Lila trained her eyes on Netflix. “Yeah, I’ve got one.”
“Let’s see it then.” Jasmeet clicked on the description of a thriller and quickly clicked off it again.
