Page 125 of Love, Academically
“I miss you, Lila.”
She nodded, fiddling with the strap of her bag, not ready to give him what he wanted. What would that say about her? Some pretty words and a searing hot kiss against Petunia, and she was anyone’s? Yeah, no.
“I’ve got to go,” she said, gesturing vaguely towards her car.
“Okay,” he said. “I know I have no right to ask, but will you let me know you get home okay? I worry.”
Lila rolled her eyes and nodded. “Sure.”
“Night, Lila.”
“Night, Rhys.”
Chapter 20
Onesie(noun) one·sie
a bodysuit for an infant having a snap closure at the crotch and not covering the legs
a one-piece garment for adults usually with long sleeves and pants and sometimes with a hood
Lila
“I don’t know,” Lila said, wrapping her wolf blanket around her tighter.
“But you love karaoke,” Jasmeet said down the phone, “and you need to get out. When was the last time you went out?”
“I go out every day.”
“Work or the supermarket does not count. When did you last go out and have fun?”
“I take your point,” she said. “But I’m in my Oodie and my blanket and I’m just about to startTen Things I Hate About You.”
“It’s half three, Lila,” Jasmeet huffed. “I’ll pick you up at seven. Maddy and Ruby are coming.”
“MaddyandRuby?”
“Yeah, both of them. They’ve got a babysitter for the evening.”
“So, I’ve simplygotto go because Maddy and Ruby have deigned to grace us with their presence?”
“Don’t be hostile, Lila,” Jasmeet said. “You think they want to do karaoke? They’re going for you. I think Maddy is feeling badbecause she sort of dropped off the face of the earth and she wanted to do something you want to do.”
It would be so nice to see Maddy, to apologise for that horrible text message she’d sent. Maddy was going through so much, and Lila regretted not being a better friend.
“I don’t know, Jas. I’m not very fun at the moment.”
“Lila, we love you whether you’re fun or not,” she said. “I’ll pick you up at seven. Be ready.”
Jasmeet ended the call. For crying out loud, she had the entire evening planned.Ten Things I Hate About You, followed byBridget Jones, approximately fourteen gallons of raspberry ripple ice cream, a pile of Wotsits bigger than her and then a sugar coma. Karaoke was not on the list.
