Page 13 of More Than Just Friends

Her hair had grown since I last saw her. She was wearing it down and her curls tumbled past her toned shoulders to the middle of her back.

Ali’s light brown skin glowed, like it had been personally kissed by the sun. Her hazel eyes sparkled and those full lips… Holy shit. The things those lips could do.

Wait. What the fuck?

I mentally slapped myself around the face.

That was totally inappropriate. If she knew what I’d just been thinking, she’d demand I get a gallon of bleach and a scrubber to wash away every single one of the indecent and ungentlemanly thoughts that just flooded my brain.

How Ali looked was completely irrelevant.

Whether she’d turned up tonight looking like the back of a bus (impossible) or a goddess, it didn’t matter. The facts were still the same. She was my best friend. She still didn’t see me as anything other than that and I felt exactly the same.

End of story.

I should turn around right now and pretend I hadn’t seen her to give myself time to rid my head of those unsuitable thoughts. Then I’d be able to focus on preparing to meet my real date.

Wait. She wasn’t my real date, was she?

Just as I was about to look away and order another drink, something much, much stronger, Ali turned her head and her gaze met mine.

She frowned, then her eyes popped like she’d just seen a ten-legged hairy monster.

Yeah, okay, I get it, Ali. I’m still not your type.

‘Noah?’ she called out.

‘Hey, Ali,’ I replied, a smile breaking out on my face.

‘Oh my God!’ She raced towards me. ‘Is that really you?’

Ali started poking my chest, then my arms as if she was trying to decide whether or not I was a figment of her imagination.

‘Yep!’ I grinned. ‘I have my passport in my room if you’d like to verify my identity.’

‘But…’ She gasped. ‘You’re… when did you? What’s… You look so… different!’

Ah, the word different. That’s right up there with ‘interesting’.

‘Thanks!’ I laughed.

‘No! I don’t mean bad different. I mean good different. Like, really different.’ She blinked several times, then snapped out of her trance. ‘Anyway, where are my manners? Sorry, it just feels like so long since I’ve seen you and I wasn’t expecting… anyway, I’m just surprised that’s all. Come here!’

Ali threw her arms around me and squeezed me tight, and I fought the urge to groan.

Hugging her felt amazing and painful at the same time.

I knew I’d missed her, but it was only now that I realised how much.

It was a shame we couldn’t just have a couple of hours to catch up now, then meet our dates afterwards.

She still had that sweet vanilla scent and she still gave the best hugs. I could literally hold her all night.

But as much as I was enjoying this hug, it wasn’t good for me.

Ali was still insanely attractive and… shit.

I quickly pulled away.