Page 4 of Love, Academically

Spurious (adjective) spu·ri·ous

Something that seems to be genuine, but is false

Lila

The bar had never been so busy.

They’d been lucky enough to get a four-seater table with high stools near the bar, and Lila was definitely ignoring the stroppy glances of people coveting their extra space.

“No, Mads! You can’t go just yet! The night is young and look, I’m ordering shots!” Jasmeet waved her phone in front of Maddy’s face. Table service by app was one of the best things to come out of the pandemic.

“Go on, Mads, have one more,” Lila wheedled. It had been too long since Maddy had been out with them, and she was enjoying having her best girls around her.

“I need a wee, then I have to fight my way through the crowd to get outside and wait for my Uber. Sorry girls, I just want to go home.” Maddy turned to Lila, her brown eyes pleading, and ever so slightly tiredly sunken.

Lila’s heart went out to her, because she was obviously exhausted and desperate for bed.

“Go on, Mads, go have a wee and go home,” Lila said, offering her a comforting smile.

“I’m so sorry to leave you, I’ve had such a good night though, thank you for getting me out of the house.” Maddy hugged Lila. “Don’t let that little prick Rhys wind you up. You’re good at your job. And you,” she said, pointing at Jasmeet, “keep me up to date with all the gossip at school please.”

Jasmeet had been Maddy’s mentor teacher when she’d been fresh out of teacher training and heading into her first primary school classroom, and they still worked in the same school.

Maddy had firmly cemented her place in Lila’s heart when she had turned up to Jasmeet’s fancy dress twenty-seventh birthday party as a five-year-old, complete with a finger painting for her favourite teacher.

“Of course, my little grasshopper,” Jasmeet said. “Text us when you get home so we know you’re safe please.”

“Yep, will do. Love you girls.”

Maddy blew kisses to them both as she forced her way through the crowd to the toilet in the corner of the bar.

“Don’t give her a hard time, Jas,” Lila said, leaning over the table to her friend.

“I’m not, I just want to make sure her life isn’t all baby, baby, baby,” Jasmeet said, making sure her hair sat just right over her shoulder, and adjusting the top of her dress so her boobs were on show to their fullest effect. “Ooh, shots are here.”

The harried waiter slid the tray onto the table and they grabbed their shots quickly. Jasmeet downed hers in one, but Lila was more cautious.

“What actually is it?” Lila sniffed, and reared back. That was one strong drink.

“It’s a Kamikaze. Vodka, triple sec and lime juice.” Jasmeet laughed.

Lila’s face pinched and her throat burned as it went down. How did people drink this stuff? She would not be having another one of those, thank you very much.

Jasmeet gazed around the busy bar, her eyes snagging on what would probably turn out to be her prey for the night. “Ooh, look at that one.”

Lila followed Jasmeet’s gaze to the most beautiful man she had ever seen. Tall, well built, angular jaw with a hint of stubble, black hair closely cropped. How did he get his black skin so smooth and soft? He was heading towards them, his sparkling eyes fixed on a flushing Jasmeet.

“Close your mouth, Jas,” Lila whispered as he got closer.

Jasmeet snapped her mouth shut and averted her gaze back to Lila. “Is he still coming over? Is he still looking?”

Lila flicked her eyes to him, and nodded.

Jasmeet took a sip of her drink. “Okay, act natural.”

The only one acting unnatural was her friend, but Lila nodded with a smile anyway.

“Hey.” Even his voice was smooth. Lila watched Jasmeet melt under his attentive, molten eyes.

“Do you mind if my friend and I join you? Perch on the end of your table?”

“Sure,” Jasmeet breathed, and Lila pressed her lips together to stop the smile from escaping. “I’m Jasmeet.” She offered her hand like she was Lady Jasmeet of ‘Let’s Hook Up Tonight-Ville’.

“Dan,” he said, squeezing her fingers lightly and flashing a smile at Lila. Oh, was he… she recognized him vaguely from the Engineering Department.

“Dan, I’ve got the drinks. Oh,” his friend appeared, “it’s you.”

Lila’s heart sank, because who else would it be other than the one person she did not want to think about tonight? That’s right, ten points! Rhys Aubrey.

Why was he here? She was trying to get away from him and his mess, and here he was, looking at her like he was surprised she even existed outside of the History Department.

Dan slid onto the stool next to Jasmeet. “You two know each other?”

“Yes.” Lila pasted a smile on her face. “Jasmeet, this is Rhys Aubrey, one of my lecturers.”

She heard him huff behind her. Jasmeet’s eyebrows flew up her forehead so quickly it was a surprise they didn’t fly off her head.

“Dan, this is Miss Cartwright,” Rhys said stiffly.

“Rhys, how many times? Lila, Li-la,” she said, enunciating each syllable.

“Lila Cartwright. Oh, I see,” Dan said, exchanging a knowing glance with Jasmeet.

So, Rhys had been discussing his obvious dislike of her with his friend who just happened to work at the University as well? Just brilliant.

Her smile turned taut. “Are you going to sit down, or just stand there like a lemon?”

“Fine.” Rhys scowled, sliding his large frame onto the stool next to her and taking a swig of his beer. He’d changed into a dark, well-fitting shirt, rolled up his really rather non-academically muscular forearms, and chinos that hugged his legs.

Jasmeet gave her a smirk, which meant that she had somehow managed to check out Rhys’s arse and yes, it was a delicious, round little peach.

Dan turned to Jasmeet, leaning close, and she practically swooned.

Lila rolled her eyes in frustration. Yes, she knew that Jasmeet would probably meet someone (because who wouldn’t want her – she was beautiful), but so early on in the night?

And when Rhys was sitting next to her, frowning at his friend?

He was probably having exactly the same thoughts as she was.

If Jasmeet and Dan were going to be gazing into each other’s eyes all night in some kind of mating ritual, then she was going to have to talk to Rhys, or just sit there like a lemon, staring into space.

Lila turned to him. “So, Rhys. Good night?”

Rhys shrugged his broad shoulders. “Yeah, fine. Just didn’t really want to come here.”

“Look, you’re not the first person that I would have chosen to spend my evening with either, but here we are,” she said bitterly, taking a small sip of her wine. Gosh, that shot had gone straight to her head.

“No, I didn’t mean that.” He frowned at her. “Dan wanted to come here. I prefer somewhere less,” he cast around for the right word, “people-y.”

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to be rude, I’ve had a shot.” As if that was an excuse. “Boys’ night out?”

“Kind of, we haven’t caught up for ages, and Dan really likes the cocktails here. Although I’m not sure he cares about them tonight.” Rhys nodded at Jasmeet and Dan, sitting close in flirtatious conversation.

“Looks like we’ve both lost our friends,” Lila said, despondently.

Another sip of wine, and a beat of silence between them in the loud room. Lila straightened. She would have a good night if it killed her, and if she had to drag Rhys along for the ride, then so be it. Anyway, perhaps Rhys Aubrey wasn’t as haughty as she thought. Only one way to find out.

“Tell me, Rhys, what do you do for fun?”

“Research Henry II,” he said immediately.

“I mean for fun fun. Not for work fun.”

“Work is fun, that’s why I do it. It’s fun.

” Was that a little blush she saw creeping up under his rather snugly fitting navy shirt?

Was he embarrassed? It hadn’t gone unnoticed by Lila the way his chinos hugged his rather thick thighs, and the way his hair was deliciously dishevelled.

No, it would do no good to notice how attractive Rhys’s jaw was. “Well, not all of work is fun.”

He met her eyes and raised his eyebrows. No, it would appear he did not enjoy every aspect of work at all, and she smiled.

“Dan and I do kickboxing. Does that count?” Rhys said, directing the conversation away from work.

“Yes, that counts. Wow, kickboxing?” That’s why his arse looked so firm. Yes, definitely hard. More like a conker than soft like a peach. “So, you could fell a giant with a few well-placed kicks?”

“Yeah, perhaps.” His eyebrow creased, amused.

Her phone buzzed urgently on the table, and Lila snatched it up.

“Maddy, what’s the matter, you can’t be home already?” She waved her hand at Jasmeet to get her attention and mouthed ‘Maddy’, pointing to her phone.

“No, I’m fine, my Uber’s nearly here.” The words rushed out. “I’ve just seen Jason and that skank getting out of a taxi and they are heading into the bar. Right now.”

Lila deflated even more. This was the worst girls’ night ever.

“Thanks Mads, I’ll be okay. Make sure you text when you get home.” Lila hung up the phone.

“What is it? Is she okay?” Jasmeet asked.

“She’s fine. Jason and Leanne are here,” Lila said, shrinking on her stool.

“For fuck’s sake,” Jasmeet said under her breath, pushing her long hair over her shoulder.

First, having to make small talk with Rhys, and now her ex and the girl he had an affair with? Great. She couldn’t let Jason see her like this, tired and despondent. She didn’t want his pity.

She needed to be Fun Lila, Exciting Lila, Moved-On Lila – which she had, completely.

But Jason always had that knack of making her feel small, worthless, a bit pathetic.

Somehow, he managed to unwind those balls of wool and wrap them round her like a weighted blanket, and it was so so easy to slip back into Doormat Lila, Downtrodden Lila.

Black-and-White Lila. She could feel gloom pushing up like a cool wave from her stomach, turning her from colour into black and white, and she didn’t want it. She liked being Technicolour Lila.