Page 47 of Love, Academically

“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 looked dashing with 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 because she liked 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?”

“He said that guy, Professor Painter, wanted him. There was someone Rhys had to meet?” Dan shrugged.

Rhys had to meet someone, with Professor Painter, his Fellowship admissions sponsor. With a blue moustache on his face. Oh God.

“Didn’t you tell him about the moustache?” she asked, trying to keep the bite out of her voice. Seriously though, Dan should have warned him.

“Oh shit, I forgot it was still there. I kind of got used to it,” he said, apologetically.

Lila pressed her hand to her forehead.

“Lila.” There was a tap to her shoulder. “This is great!”

Turning, Amanda the admissions officer was smiling widely at her, nachos on a paper plate in one hand.

“Oh hey, Amanda. Thanks for coming,” she said automatically, her mind still on Rhys and his blue moustache.

“Of course. Hey, between you and me,” Amanda leaned forward conspiratorially, “congratulations. The acceptance letters are going out tomorrow.”

Lila looked at her blankly. “Letters for what?”

“For the Master’s course, silly.” Amanda crunched a nacho.

Lila’s head was spinning with Rhys and his stupid blue moustache. Why had she done it? Presumably he’d just forgotten it was there, but now he was talking to Professor Painter and a mystery person, looking absolutely ridiculous. She shook her head and tried to concentrate on Amanda.

“The course that I missed the deadline for?”

“Mmmhmm” she said, crunching a nacho. “Well, Sue called and said it was her fault that your application was late and practically begged us to let you on the course.”

“Sue? My Sue?”

That didn’t sound like the grump in the corner. Whatsoever.

“Yeah, your Sue. Anyway, congratulations!” she said with a grin, before turning away and disappearing into the crowd.

Sue. Her fault. Begged. What?

Lila pushed her way through the crowd to where Sue was perched on a tall stool, perma-scowl front and centre on her face. People were avoiding her, and frankly Lila would too if she wasn’t confused, grateful, flabbergasted.

“Sue, did you—” Lila swallowed. How was she going to put this? Oh well, just press forward. “Did you call Amanda and get me on the Linguistics course?”

Sue pursed her lips so tightly her face looked like a cat’s arse. She rolled her eyes and put her plastic cup extremely carefully down on the windowsill. Crossing her arms in front of her, Sue perused her stonily.

“What else was I supposed to do when your boyfriend threatened my job?”

“What?”

“And that’s a new development, I see. You and Rhys. I’ll have to check the staff handbook on that.”

Of course, Lila had already done that. There was no rule about dating a co-worker.

Sue stood, somehow looking down her nose at her even though she was three inches shorter. “Rhys threatened my job if I didn’t get you on that course. He threatened my livelihood. I can’t believe you’d stoop so low, Lila. Getting your boyfriend to do your dirty work.”

Lila shook her head. “What?”

“Rhys might like that fake innocence, but I can see right through you.”

Sue stormed past her, bashing her shoulder as she pushed past her.

What?

Lila’s phone buzzed in her hand and she swiped at it absently.

First Sue, now Jason.

What the hell had Rhys done?