“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 likethemost 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.
