Page 30 of More Than Just Friends

‘I am taking Alicia to the cable cars,’ Adonis jumped in, clearly not amused by our trip down memory lane. And still not getting the message that Ali didn’t want to go, despite her telling him multiple times.

‘Really?’ I feigned innocence. ‘That surprises me. Ali hates that kind of stuff. Last time someone took her on something like that, she threw up all over them. Completely ruined her date’s fancy Gucci loafers.’

I was actually quite impressed at how quickly I’d made that up. Ordinarily I didn’t condone lies, but I had to think of something that would avoid Ali discussing something painful and would also get a man like Adonis to listen.

I’d noticed that Adonis wore a lot of overtly designer clothes, not the subtle ones that rich people often favoured, but the ones with big logos that screamed: look! I bought something expensive! so I thought that would get his attention. Fingers crossed it’d work.

Right on cue, a look of horror spread across Adonis’s face.

‘Really?’ Adonis asked, glancing at Ali before looking down at his immaculate suede loafers nervously then back at her again.

‘Er, yeah.’ Ali nodded, before her gaze dropped to the ground. She wasn’t comfortable with lies either, but in our defence if Adonis had listened to her from the start, we wouldn’t have had to resort to making up a story.

‘Well, perhaps it is better that you do not go on the cable cars. I would not like you to feel unwell.’

‘Probably for the best,’ Ali said. ‘But now I feel bad, because I know how much you want to.’

‘I’ll go!’ Kayleigh said. ‘I mean, we can go, if you want, Noah?’

‘We could but…’ My voice trailed off. I wasn’t worried about the height, but what did concern me was Ali. It didn’t seem right to leave her alone.

‘Unless you want to wait with Alicia and then we meet up later?’ Kayleigh offered.

This was tricky. Waiting with Ali was exactly what I’d prefer to do. Best friends didn’t just ditch each other.

But it’d be bad to leave Kayleigh again especially after she’d already swapped seats on the coach.

Then again, it was her suggestion, not mine.

‘It’s up to you,’ I said. ‘I’m happy to go with you, but Ali’s sense of direction is about as good as someone who’s been blindfolded in the dark.’

‘Oi!’ Ali slapped my bicep playfully and the connection of her palm against my bare skin made my pulse race. Just like it did when she’d prodded my muscles on the coach.

I had to admit, it wasn’t terrible to hear that she’d noticed my muscles. They weren’t as big as Adonis’s obviously, but I was happy with how I looked.

‘Am I lying?’ I cocked a brow.

‘Unfortunately, he’s right.’ Ali laughed.

‘Even with Google Maps, somehow she still manages to get lost. So I’m just concerned that she won’t find us at whatever meeting point we arrange once we’ve finished on the cable cars.’

‘You stay with Alicia; I’ll go with Adonis,’ Kayleigh suggested. ‘I’ll call you once we’ve finished and we can all meet up then. How’s that sound?’

‘If you’re sure?’ I said.

‘Positive,’ Kayleigh confirmed.

‘Is that okay with you, Ali?’ I asked.

‘Yeah, thanks. And sorry again.’ She winced and gave apologetic looks to Adonis and Kayleigh.

‘It is fine, beautiful.’ Adonis leant forward and planted a soft kiss on her cheek. I ground my jaw, then quickly fixed my face. It wasn’t like he’d just started snogging her on the street. And even if he did, it was none of my business.

Ali flashed a small smile.

‘I will see you very soon,’ he added.

‘See you.’ Kayleigh pecked me on the cheek and smiled.