Rose’s hand unwillingly emerged from under the puffy goose down coverlet. She held up her ringing cell phone and glanced at the time. Ugh, why was Meg calling her at 7am on a Sunday morning?

“Hey Meg, what’s up?” She asked groggily, clearing her throat before finally getting the words out clearly. She closed her eyes again, reluctant to fully wake up.

“I am so sorry to call you on your day off, Rose, but I have a huge favour to ask.”

“Sure, anything you need. I’m at your service.” She only said it so she could get back to sleep as soon as possible. Hopefully, it didn’t involve getting out of bed right now.

“A dancer injured her groin whilst teaching a pole dancing class last night and we need a replacement by today.”

“No problem. I can ring around some agencies for you. I’m sure it won’t take long to find someone,” Rose said automatically. She could do that from bed, then go back to sleep. 

“Actually, I was thinking you could fill in?”

At that, her eyes shot open. Meg was offering her a part in Pride and Prejudice?

“Ah, are you sure? I’m no professional dancer.”

“I remember Tilly’s old Facebook post.”

That was all Meg needed to say, and Rose instantly knew what she was talking about. Years ago Tilly had found a collection of old videos from her dreaded ballroom dancing days—she must have been around ten. Tilly sneakily recorded the one where she had fallen on her arse, then posted it on the internet for all to see. Rose didn’t talk to her for a week after that. Which was really hard, because Tilly was living at her home on a year long student exchange. 

“I... that was about sixteen years ago and if you remember correctly, I fell flat on my butt.”

“Well, yeah. But you have the experience and you weren’t bad. Trust me, if the actors can learn the choreography then you can too.”

She wasn’t sure what to say. It’d be fun, but would she be walking straight into humiliation?

“I thought you’d jump at the chance, now that your new mantra is ‘You only live once’. Plus, you get to wear a really pretty dress and have your hair and makeup done.”

“That’s Tilly’s mantra that she forced upon me.” Rose sighed down the phone. “As much as my brain is telling me, this is a terrible idea. It sounds like a lot of fun. And being in a movie is something I really shouldn’t pass up. Plus, I love the dresses!”

“Brilliant. And don’t stress about it, you’ll have a blast. The choreographer is great and the dancers are really friendly. Rehearsal starts at 2pm sharp. I’ll see you there to get you sorted.”

“Okay. I want to say thank you, but I’m not sure if you deserve it yet?”

Meg laughed down the phone. “I’ll see you this afternoon. Bye.”

Now the only logical thing to do was tell Tilly the big news. Rose jumped out of bed, but as she wandered past the mirror, she got the fright of her life. Her hair was a massive bird’s nest. It looked like someone had punched her in the eyes, with the amount of eyeliner that was smudged everywhere, and she was still wearing her maxi that had somehow got stuck in her underwear. 

Oh well, it was just Tilly. She shrugged at herself in the mirror, pulled her dress down, and proceeded along the hall. Just as she was about to pass the bathroom, its door swung open and out popped a half naked Dashwood wrapped in a towel.

“Shit!” she squealed as her hands came up, covering her face in a defensive manoeuvre.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you,” Daniel said as he pushed his wet hair back. 

Rose peeked through her fingers, her gaze travelling up his tanned body. He was trying to suck in his little beer belly, but it didn’t work. Ah, the disadvantages of the good life. It didn’t matter one bit, mind you, because he was a fine-looking specimen, regardless. And he smelt heavenly—like cinnamon sugar. It was kinda odd, not what she would expect from a successful business executive.

“I’m not so much scared, as I am surprised. I’m assuming you slept on the couch after that little make-out session with Victoria last night that we witnessed.” She did a terrible job at hiding the disgust in her voice.

He visibly flinched before replying, “please don’t remind me. It was a complete lack of judgment on my part and I can assure you it won’t be happening again.”

“I should hope not. Hell hath no fury like Tilly scorned,” Tilly said as she emerged from the bathroom, also half naked in a towel. 

Did Rose just step into the Twilight zone?

“I’m sorry, what is happening here?” She knew Tilly had a thing for him, but she didn’t realise he was just as keen. 

“We Just had a shower, no biggie.”

“Together?”

“Mmm hmm.”

“And that’s my cue, I’m going to go get dressed and take an extremely long amount of time doing it,” Daniel said, backing away from the girls rather quickly before shutting Tilly’s bedroom door.

Rose turned back to Tilly. “Spill!”

“Oh, you know, just your classic—hide your lust behind a wall of sarcasm trope, that ended with us doing it once in the car and again in my bed. And OMG Rose, he’s not just an expert at swindling the elderly, if you know what I mean,” she said, wiggling her eyebrows.

“You know I can hear you?” Daniel shouted from behind the door.

“Yes darling, I know you can.” She winked at Rose before doing a happy dance back to her bedroom. She opened the door and immediately shut it again. Something was thrown against the door. She assumed it was a towel, and then all she could hear were moans and giggles. Right, time for her to leave—quickly!

Good for Tilly, though. Rose was worrying about her constant drinking and even more constant father-enforced dating. She always brushed it all off with a joke, but Rose knew it was affecting her more than she let on. Perhaps Daniel could be just what she needed to get out of her funk. At least Rose hoped so, because she loved Tilly and only wanted to see her happy.