~ 17 ~
Rona
“Are you listening, Rona?” Flavia looked at me through the glass. The soft bassline looped again without her vocals, making it feel like the song had gone off the rails.
I cut the music. “Yep, sorry. I’m here.” In fact, I had been daydreaming of Lily and our night together last night. It was the most romantic, the most magical evening.
I love you.
Three little words that meant so much.
“Rona, can we start from the top?” Flavia spoke through the glass.
“Sorry. Sorry. That’s my line.”
Flavia took her headphones off and ran both hands through her long hair.
Her vocals were near perfect but she wanted to keep going.
Normally, I loved that level of attention to detail in the production, my special interest, but today, I was finding it jarring.
Especially since the song was a deeply personal and intimate song about breaking up.
The song was so good it was messing with my current loved up state.
It was amazing that Flavia was able to write this song and perform it.
It was pure vulnerability. I’d done very little to the actual production.
In fact, I’d encouraged her to keep her vocals front and centre.
The result was powerful. Hence why I’d been trying to block it out so I could remember the feeling of Lily saying I love you to me for the first time, over and over again.
Flavia came through to the mixing desk. She was wearing the baggiest blue jeans and a crop top.
She rested against the desk, folded her arms, and fixed her gaze on me.
Yes, I was a respected music producer, but this was one of the most recognisable young women in pop.
I felt like prey in the wild. “You seem distracted. What’s up? ”
“I’m lovesick.”
“I thought things were going well with your new girlfriend.”
“They are. I mean sick in the sense that I’ve been struck down by love. I feel like I’m on drugs and I’m no longer functioning normally. I am really sorry I wasn’t focusing just there. But I do think you’ve already laid it all down perfectly.”
“Whoa, whoa, whoa. Love? Let’s back up a bit here. You have to tell me more about your new girlfriend. Who is she?”
Despite knowing a fair bit about Flavia by this point, I did counsel her through a horrific situationship breakup, she knew relatively little about me.
I wanted to keep it that way on the whole, to make sure she had space to focus on herself and her craft in here.
That was my job. But a bit of chit-chat now that we were making good progress couldn’t hurt.
“She’s the former captain of the England women’s football team. ”
“Lily Sharpe? You’re shitting me!”
“I am not.”
“She’s the coolest.”
“I’m glad you think so.”
“So you guys are in like the honeymoon phase?”
“I think so.”
A shadow of sadness swept across Flavia’s face.
My stomach dropped. I felt stupid for going on about my new relationship to someone who was still going through the painful emotions of letting someone she loves go.
This was why I rarely shared details about my personal life with my artists.
“I shouldn’t be going on about it while you’re still suffering.
I apologise. I can be so thoughtless sometimes.
I really feel for you and what you’re going through. ”
Flavia’s expression had lifted already. “Please, it’s okay. My friends should still be able to talk about their lives with me. But thanks for recognising where I’m at and how I’m feeling. It’s all good, Rona.”
I smiled, pleased she felt we were friends and that our bond was still intact. “You’re so mature for your age, you know. It’s okay to be a little pissed off when people are insensitive.”
“Honestly, it’s okay. I’m not pissed off. Just still a little sad. But I’ll get over it. This album, and working with you, is already helping so much. I want to focus on my music, my career, you know? I have a lot to do. I really do want to hear more about you and Lily. Are you guys, like, out?”
“We are to our friends and families. I’m going with her to an awards ceremony thingy soon.”
“When is this hard launch?”
“Next week.”
Flavia nodded. “What are you going to wear?”
“Hadn’t really thought about it.”
“What sort of an event is it?”
“It’s the Ballon d’Or ceremony. Lily’s nominated for it.”
“What the fuck! That’s like the most prestigious award in football, male or female. This is going to be huge!” Flavia seemed genuinely excited. It was good to see her distracted from how sad she was, if only for a minute.
“I know, I can’t tell if I’m excited or nervous about going with Lily. Probably a bit of both.”
“You have to glam up. What would that look like for you? Suit or dress?”
“Could do either. I don’t really have anything glam though.”
“What’s Lily going to wear?”
I sat back in my leather mixing chair, resting my forearms on the armrest, and crossed my legs. “I don’t know. But I assume she’ll wear a suit. I haven’t seen any dresses hanging in her wardrobe. I’ll ask her though.”
Flavia sprung forward. “Let’s go shopping. I’ll get my driver to take us over to Chelsea, and we can see what takes your fancy.”
“What? Noooo. The label would kill me. We’ve got a deadline. Plus, I can’t justify spending money on anything from those kinds of shops. I’m comfortable but not that comfortable.”
“Rona, you’re about to hard launch your lesbian relationship with one of the most recognisable women’s football players in the world.
There’s going to be a lot of attention on you two.
Press, media, paparazzi. She’s going to look fucking amazing.
I mean this in the kindest way, but you need to step up for this. ”
Shit. Putting it like that made me feel overwhelmed. This was the kind of visibility that made me uncomfortable in the past. How much attention were we going to get? Could I handle it? Was I even good enough for Lily? I uncrossed my legs and sat up, panic starting to set in.
“Let me treat you to a lovely new outfit. It’s the least I can do after everything you did to help me with my situation. Seriously, it’ll be my pleasure.”
“I can’t.”
“You can and you will. And you’re right, the song is done. I need to let it go.”
***
The car pulled up to the entrance to the Ballon d’Or award ceremony venue. People lined the street and photographers bunched together by the red carpet. My chest tightened.
Lily squeezed my hand, leaning over to whisper in my ear. “You look so fucking hot. Thank you for being here with me. For being visible. I really appreciate it.”
Oddly, we hadn’t spoke about what it might mean for us to be out together as a couple yet. But now that we were here, given that it was such an issue for me with my music career, it fully dawned on me that I was thrusting myself right into the spotlight.
I stroked Lily’s hand with my thumb and took a breath to ground myself. Those thoughts and those conversations could wait. “I’m here for you, Lily. And you’re right, I do look fucking hot in this.”
Lily moaned under her breath. “Ugh, I wish we could go back to bed, this is so unfair. I’m going to have to wait for hours before I can undress you.”
A gentle throb began between my legs. I glanced over at the driver and then out the window.
Far too public to start anything in the back of the car.
I’d forbidden Lily to seduce me before we left for the event and now I was regretting that massively.
“It won’t be long. Come on, let’s go announce we’re fucking to the world. ”
Lily’s mouth opened in shock. “Yes ma’am.”
A steward opened the door for us. Cameras flashed when we got out and began walking along the red carpet. Lily took my hand in hers, which was by now the most perfectly natural thing between us. Being with Lily Sharpe felt like home.
“Lily!” They shouted, beckoning her over.
Lily kept her cool and led me by the hand down the gauntlet.
I recognised some people from the England football team.
I was looking forward to meeting Lily’s friends as she hadn’t introduced me to them yet.
It bothered me but there was nothing I could do about it except go with the flow.
I understood she wanted to take things slowly and I respected that.
It didn’t help with the nerves I felt at suddenly being in the lion’s den in Lily’s life.
The press kept calling us over but Lily didn’t flinch. It was only when she saw a specific journalist that she stopped and smiled.
“Lily, hi. Thank you for coming over.”
“Of course. Hi Ruby. How are you doing this evening?” Lily put her hands in her suit pockets, looking super fucking hot and powerful. She wasn’t wearing anything underneath her perfectly tailored suit jacket and it was about all I could do not to rip it off her.
Obviously, I would not do that.
The journalist was giving Lily a very flirty look and smiling broadly.
Did they know each other or something? She was a voluptuous redhead wearing a gorgeously sexy figure-hugging dress that accentuated her deep cleavage.
I caught myself staring for a second and averted my eyes as quickly as I could only to feel mildly annoyed at how overtly charming Lily had become.
“I’m all the better for seeing you,” she replied.
My throat felt thick, like I was tongue-tied, and also full of anger.
“I’d like to introduce you to my girlfriend, Rona Gibson.” Lily turned and directed her sparkling gaze upon me.
I felt like the most special person in the world. My irritation lifted.
Ruby gave me the most appreciative look, taking me all in, or rather, drinking me up with her eyes. Then she looked between us. “Fucking wow. I’m so happy you gave us this exclusive. You two will be the new power couple. Talented. Hot. Dripping with…”
“Ruby,” Lily warned, gently.
I now got the impression this journalist was just a super flirty person.
“Can we have a chat later?” She asked Lily. “I want to know more and to get the inside scoop.”
“Of course.”
“Will you both stand for a picture so Kai can get this ready for socials?”