Page 54 of Love, Academically

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 start Ten Things I Hate About You.”

“It’s half three, Lila,” Jasmeet huffed. “I’ll pick you up at seven. Maddy and Ruby are coming.”

“Maddy and Ruby?”

“Yeah, both of them. They’ve got a babysitter for the evening.”

“So, I’ve simply got to 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 bad because 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 by Bridget 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.

She did love karaoke and it had been ages since she’d been.

Perhaps she could do that song at the end of Ten Things I Hate About You?

Well, she’d best watch it to make sure she knew all the words (which she did) and she’d still have plenty of time to get ready after (and make sure Wotsits crumbs were off her face).

Besides, it would stop her moping about the house thinking about Rhys ‘how could I not’ Aubrey.

Rhys hadn’t tried to minimise what he had done.

He had taken responsibility for his actions, recognised they were wrong and apologised.

She’d said that he was like Jason, but that wasn’t entirely true.

Everything Jason had done was for his own benefit, to keep her compliant and doormat-y.

Rhys had only been trying to get her what she deserved, what she wanted, even if he had gone about it in completely the wrong way.

But the cold, unaffected way he had said ‘Miss Cartwright, you are unwanted in this office’ still pinched at her bruised heart. Rhys had addressed that though, two weeks ago, after she’d practically climbed him like a tree and kissed his face off.

Acknowledged, accepted responsibility, apologised.

All of the As (kind of). He was trying to better himself, he wanted to be worthy, and she desperately wanted to believe that he was.

She was teetering on the edge of forgiveness, but if she went into it with any doubts, then any relationship they could have would be doomed.

She’d never be able to get those words out of her brain.

Lila just wasn’t sure of him yet. Wasn’t sure at all.

Ten Things I Hate About You went by rather quickly and by the time Letters to Cleo were singing on top of the school, Lila was actually quite excited about karaoke night. Jasmeet was right. They hadn’t been for ages and she did love karaoke.

Okay, decision made.

It took forty-five minutes for Lila to shower, dress and do her make up. Tonight, it would be a fifties polka dot wiggle dress, red lipstick and straightened hair put back into a neat ponytail, with a lot of hairspray to keep it all in.

“Bitch, you look amazing,” Jasmeet said, giving her a hug. “I’m so glad you’re ready. I didn’t want to have to forcibly dress you.”

“You were right. I do love karaoke and it will be nice to go out.”

“Yeah, good,” Jasmeet said, swallowing. “Dan’s in the car, is that all right?”

“What, that Dan’s coming? Sure!” she said with a smile that she wasn’t feeling.

Great, that meant that she would be fifth wheel, stuck between Jasmeet slobbering on her boyfriend and Ruby and Maddy stressing about the baby.

But never mind that, she would be out and doing something she loved with the people that she loved.

It wasn’t long before she was seated in the pub with a large gin and tonic in front of her and an extremely drunken rendition of Journey’s Don’t Stop Believin’ being belted out by a couple of swaying friends on stage.

Maddy was gripping her arm tightly.

“I’m just so sorry,” she said. “I know I’m all baby-fied, but I should have been a better friend. It’s just so hard and I’m struggling with this new life.”

“Maddy,” Lila said, her heart melting. “You don’t need to worry. I’m the one who should be apologising, you’ve got all this change and I can’t imagine how difficult it is.”

“I love you, Lila. I’m so sorry,” Maddy said. “Please forgive me.”

“God, yes, please forgive her,” Ruby said, rolling her eyes. “She hasn’t shut up for the past week about it.”

“Only if you forgive me,” Lila said, hugging her friend. They had both been a bit stressed and a bit emotional. But she was glad she had put down some boundaries.

“Thank the Lord,” Ruby said under her breath, before taking a big gulp from her pint.

“I’m going to go to the toilet,” Dan announced, giving Jasmeet a kiss before leaving.

“Urgh, you two are the absolute worst,” Ruby said, pointing a finger at Jasmeet.

“Uh, I remember when you and Mads got together, we couldn’t go anywhere without your tongue down her throat,” Jasmeet said.

“Ha, yeah,” Ruby said with a smirk, “and in other places.”

“Ew, Rubes! Shut up!” Lila said with a laugh.

“What are you going to do tonight, Lila?” Jasmeet asked, but she was distracted, her eyes flitting around the pub.

“He’ll be back in a minute,” Lila said.

“What, Dan?” she said, a frown flicking across her face. “Oh, yeah. Sure, yeah.”

“Um, I don’t know. I’m not sure I’m down for singing, I’m just having the best time with my girls.”

“Cheers to that,” Maddy said, raising her glass for a clink.

“They’ve finished, thank God.” Jasmeet said, indicating the stage, which was no more like a tiny, raised platform which usually sported two tables.

“They were awful,” Lila agreed, “but that’s the fun of karaoke! It’s for everyone, it’s not meant to be good.”

“Thank you Shania and Tanya,” the compère said in that lilting way they all had. They must have all gone to the same compère school.

There was a tap on her shoulder.

“Hi, Lila.” Elin, in a silk shirt that must have cost more than her entire wardrobe (obviously, not including The Dress. Or maybe including that, who knew?) and the skinniest jeans possible, was in the pub. At karaoke night.

“Oh good Lord,” Lila said, standing. “What are you doing here?”

James appeared at her side with a drink.

“James, did they not have any Mediterranean tonic?” she asked, glancing briefly at the drink.

“Hi, Lila,” he said with a floppy grin. “No, sorry.”

Lila stifled a laugh as Elin sighed dramatically.

“I could not miss this. Not for all the Spanish mergers in the world,” she said, sitting next to Jasmeet. Elin introduced herself around and Lila sank into her chair uncertainly. If Elin was here, there was a good chance that Rhys was here as well. Oh.

“Next up, with Up Where We Belong, is Rhys!”

She looked at Jasmeet, who had a grin plastered to her face, her eyes wild and bright. Lila’s mouth dropped open. Rhys? Singing karaoke? The man who had said that his worst nightmare date would be karaoke was here? By choice?

Elin got her phone ready to record, as James put her drink in front of her.

Maddy squealed and clapped her hands together, then gripped her arm so tightly that it would probably leave marks.

“Look! Look!” she cried, pointing at the stage.

Lila flicked her eyes to where Maddy was pointing and oh good Lord in heaven.

What. The. Fuck.

The introduction music started and Rhys was shifting uncomfortably on stage.

Uncomfortable, not only because he was doing karaoke, but because of the absolutely disgustingly beautiful tie-dye unicorn onesie stretched tight across his broad chest and thighs.

He had the hood up, the unicorn horn drooping floppily to one side, his face wary and pink.

There was laughter throughout the pub, and Rhys’s eyes flitted around uncertainly. Sweat beaded on his forehead and he rolled his lips together.

The piano music started and he breathed deeply through his nose. He was really going to do this. Rhys opened his mouth and a whisper of a voice came out. Then, falsetto, trying to get to the female part. Good lord, he was doing the Deborah Winger bit.

Pub goers cheered drunkenly, but Rhys ploughed on, his voice getting louder and more confident with the male part.

“Are you all right?” Jasmeet whispered in her ear.

“It’s Rhys.” Stating the obvious much?

“Yeah, he’s up there for you. He’s really trying, Lila.”

“You knew?” Of course she knew, Jasmeet had orchestrated the whole thing. “You knew.”

Jasmeet nodded. “Please don’t be mad. I believe him and I don’t want you to miss out on something beautiful because of how Jason treated you.” Jasmeet looked at her, her eyebrows drawn close with worry. “He loves you, Lila. He really does.”

Lila looked back at Rhys. He was fully leaning into the song now it had hit the chorus, his voice stronger and more confident.

Completely out of tune and with a shaky hold on the timing, but stronger nevertheless.

He’d certainly won over the pub because they were belting it out with him, drunken arms swaying in the air.

Elin handed her phone to James with instructions to zoom in and leaned across Jasmeet to her.

“Rhys has told me what he did and he’s a fucking idiot,” she said. Jasmeet nodded. “I know a people pleaser when I see one. If there’s one thing I have learned from Rhys, it’s that you have to live your own life. But if you tell him I said that, I’ll never forgive you.”

Lila couldn’t find any words. “I, uh…”

“If you decide to be with Rhys, do it because you want to. Not because that will make him happy. Do it for you.”

Elin sat back and rested her hand on James’s shoulder, a smile on her face as she watched her brother.

Rhys was up there for her. He wasn’t just words and bluster. He’d taken something that he knew she loved, which he absolutely hated, and he’d done it in front of people, wearing a too-tight unicorn onesie.

If he was willing to do this for her, he would do anything.

How could she not.

Lila pushed herself unsteadily up from the table and weaved her way through the tables. Rhys dragged his eyes away from the words long enough to spot her coming towards him, and he messed up the next line because a heartfelt and breathy ‘Lila’ certainly wasn’t part of the song.

She cupped her hands to her mouth and called over the cheers, “Keep going, Rhys!” He pulled his gaze back to the screen.

Stepping up onto the stage with him, Lila entwined her fingers with his and leaned towards the microphone to join in.

The crowd hollered, and she could hear Jasmeet’s wolf-whistle from the back of the room.

Rhys turned to look at her, words no longer in his mouth and she smiled as the chorus came round again. He spread his hands across her cheeks, fingertips reaching round to the nape of her neck and turned her face to him. Lila reached up on her toes to kiss him.

“I love you, Miss Cartwright,” Rhys breathed before he ghosted his lips across hers, to raucous cheers and wolf-whistles from around the pub.

“I love you, Rhys Aubrey,” she whispered.

“Yeah?” he asked, an uncertain, vulnerable smile tilting his lips.

Gripping his arms, she kissed him back, not caring that they were on show for the world. It was just him and her, Rhys and Lila, Lila and Rhys.

“How could I not?” she said.