Page 31 of Crescendo

Lydia's eyes, like everyone else’s, turned towards Alisha, but mine found her instead.

She had her arms crossed on the table, leaning on them as she listened to Alisha talk about being an anaesthetist.

“Med school buddies, huh?” Clara asked, nodding in my direction.

“You too, Sian?” Bansi asked.

Sian laughed as I glanced her way. “Initially, sure. Turns out, medicine wasn’t for me. Made it through the first year, trying desperately to cling on, but couldn’t bring myself to goback, so I transferred to music business management. Medicine is how the three of us met, though.”

Bansi lunged into conversation with her about why medicine and how his own family had influenced his studies, and I couldn’t resist looking back at Lydia.

This time, she was looking at me too. A soft, considering smile on her face. Something proud there, too, though I couldn’t quite figure that out. Still, I held her gaze and the rest of the world seemed to blur into the background.

My heart pounded like it was just the two of us again, back on that piano bench, so close I thought she might kiss me. So close I thought I might kiss her.

When I’d been nineteen—and apparently behind the curve—I’d had my first kiss. In the moment, I’d thought nothing would ever feel as disconcerting and exhilarating as that kiss and those drawn out seconds right before our lips met. But sitting on that bench with Lydia… Even just looking at her now, distantly aware that we were in public and not alone, felt every bit as charged.

Under the table, a foot brushed mine. I’d have pulled away immediately, apologised to whomever it belonged to, but I knew I didn’t need to. I knew from the glint in her eyes that it was her.

I’d never played footsie with anyone before. In truth, I’d never quite believed it was a thing people really did. But, as soon as she touched me, I finally understood it.

We were playing a dangerous game and I wasn’t sure if it was anything beyond this—a few looks and flirty remarks and a little footsie under the table—but I didn’t want to stop.

I brushed my foot against hers, my heart racing and my breathing spiking, even as I fought to remain impassive at the table. Lydia did a better job of it than I did, but I felt attuned to every twitch, every tiny movement on her face.

“So,” Sian said, her voice sounding loud and intrusive.

I jumped, tearing my gaze from Lydia but avoiding Sian and any knowing accusations I might find on her face.

“Yes?” Lydia asked, clearly not as shaky as I was feeling.

“Do we get to talk about your career now? We’ve been carefully avoiding the famous elephant in the room, but we’ve covered what everyone else does.”

“Are you calling me an elephant? That’s not very nice now, is it?” Lydia asked, full of fake outrage.

Sian laughed, unfazed. “Not at all. I’m saying the fact that our best friend is shacking up with one of the world’s biggest living composers is an absolutely enormous elephant we’re not talking about.”

“Shacking up?” I squeaked, feeling the place where Lydia’s foot still touched mine radiating through my entire body and soul.

“Ah, well, I’m glad to see my reputation precedes me. And that you can handle that better than some people can,” Lydia said, clearly referencing Eliza.

Sian shot me a look I didn’t like right before she told Lydia, “Oh, I’m sure we’re capable of handling anything you’re dishing out.”

I wanted to scream—and ask Sian what the hell she was doing. And whether she was trying to come onto Lydia. We’d never had the same tastes, and, last I heard, she was seeing someone. It was casual but had promise. However, the alternative was that she was… what? Flirting with one of the world’s best composers for me?

Lydia laughed. “I guess we’ll see about that, won’t we? But, go ahead, ask your questions.”

Before I could worry that she was flirting back, she moved slightly under the table. The foot that had already been against mine stayed put. Her other slid slowly up my calf, just for a second, and I felt myself melting into a puddle in my seat.

I grabbed for my drink, a little clumsy in my distraction, gulping it down as I saw the delighted expression on Lydia’s face, even as she seemed to be focusing on Sian and her many questions. I could feel her touch pulsing in my core.

“I actually went on a date to watchThe Nightin concert at the Royal Albert Hall,” Sian said. “You know, when they air the film with a live orchestra performing the score? You lot were just there for a tour, right? Probably pretty weird touring a place where you’re a star.”

Lydia grinned. “Well, it had been a minute since I was last there, but this time was better. I got to go with Ella.”

I sucked in a breath when she said my name, entirely unprepared for it, and tried to disguise it as a cough. Alisha patted my back but I didn’t think she truly bought the act.

“Right,” Sian said. “You and Ella, just students, roomies, casual acquaintances going on your school trips.”

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