Chapter 32 #2
That word already sounded so weird.
Friends didn’t do the things that we’d done these past forty-eight hours. But I wasn’t complaining.
Anyway, we’d be back to being mates once we were in London, so how Noah had referred to me was technically accurate.
Sammie quickly introduced Noah to everyone, which I was grateful for because I was worried about getting names mixed up.
‘So come on then!’ Sammie said. ‘What did you get up to in Mykonos?’
Noah’s eyes popped and he looked at me. Shit, he was blushing.
‘The T-shirt!’ I pointed quickly before someone guessed that he really did do something in Mykonos that he shouldn’t have. With me.
‘Ohhhh!’ His shoulders instantly loosened.
‘Er… what happens in Mykonos, stays in Mykonos, right?’ He smiled as his gaze flicked to me then back to the table.
‘Congratulations in advance, Stella,’ Noah added quickly, clearly keen to change the subject.
‘I’m really looking forward to your wedding tomorrow. ’
‘Awww, thanks,’ Stella said. ‘I’m really excited too. And glad that you could be here. Sammie was just saying how you’ll be Ali’s date tomorrow after she ditched her muppet match.’
‘I believe so. His loss is my gain.’ Noah’s eyes met mine again and my whole body lit up.
‘Isn’t he just a sweetheart?’ Sammie added. ‘Why these two didn’t get together years ago is beyond me.’
I quickly tore my gaze away from Noah, reached for my glass of wine and took a large gulp.
‘Well, I’ll leave you ladies to it. Nice to meet you all,’ Noah said. ‘See you later, Ali.’ He flashed me one of his trademark smiles that made my stomach flip like a happy dolphin, then left.
The table stayed silent, then once he was out of earshot, it erupted with excitement.
‘He’s adorable!’ Laila said.
‘Er, hello?’ Jasmine tilted her head. ‘Sammie?’
‘Yep,’ Sammie said and my face crumpled with confusion. What were they on about? ‘Glad you saw it too.’
‘Saw what?’ I frowned.
‘It’s obvious!’ Sammie rolled her eyes. ‘You two slept together!’
‘W-What?’ Now my stomach wasn’t flip-flopping. It’d completely bottomed out. My gaze darted to the floor, then to the table where everyone was staring at me, bug-eyed. ‘Why do you think that?’ My voice squeaked.
‘It’s written all over your face!’
‘Sammie’s right – it’s kind of obvious,’ Jasmine added.
‘God, you ladies are good!’ Stella grinned.
‘Thanks, hon.’ Sammie beamed. ‘That’s why they pay us the big bucks!
Us Love Alchemists and Empresses are like those sniffer dogs the police use at the airport to track down drug traffickers.
We can sense chemistry between couples from a mile off.
Even Petros and Stavros, the Love Alchemist and Love Emperor, told me they thought these two would get together.
And we said it was pretty obvious. Did you see how shifty Ali started acting when he came over?
And the way Noah looked at her. Especially when I mentioned the T-shirt.
My guess is that it all happened in Mykonos. ’
‘That was a dead giveaway,’ Jasmine confirmed. ‘Not to mention the connection.’
‘Totally!’ Sammie confirmed like it was as clear as day. ‘The electricity between those two was enough to power not just the whole of Santorini, but the whole of Europe! Why the hell didn’t you tell me?’
My heart thundered against my chest.
Oh God. This was so awkward.
Before I was worried that if I told Sammie, she’d blab to Mum and all our friends. But this was so much worse. If I’d known that she was going to announce it in front of an audience of mostly strangers, I would’ve spilled the beans privately earlier.
And now she had Love Empress Jasmine who was even more experienced in sniffing out connections between couples backing her up, there was no way I was getting out of this without coming clean.
If Petros and Stavros had noticed something, then it was more obvious than I thought. That must’ve been why they smiled at us when Noah and I were bantering during that office meeting.
Shit. Did everyone realise we were about to sleep together except us?
I could attempt to deny it, but when you added the fact that I was a terrible liar to the equation, it was clear there was only one option available.
It was time to fess up.
‘Yes,’ I mumbled. ‘We… we did, but—’
‘I’m so happy for you, sis!’ Sammie leapt on me then squeezed me so tight I was convinced I’d broken several bones. ‘You two are gonna be great together!’
‘Another wonderful Love Hotel match!’ Jasmine cheered.
‘Love this for you!’ Halle added as everyone around the table expressed their congratulations.
Anyone would think I’d just announced that I’d won the Nobel Peace prize, got engaged and given birth to a ten-pound baby in half an hour without any pain relief, all on the same day. Not that I’d just admitted I’d shagged my best friend.
‘Thanks, everyone, but don’t get excited. It’s not like that. It’s just a holiday thing. We’re not in a relationship. That wouldn’t be a good idea.’
‘What?’ Stella shouted. ‘Why?’
‘Because we’re friends. And not just friends. Best friends.’
‘But that’s a good thing though, right?’ Halle asked. ‘You already have a strong foundation.’
‘We do, but that’s the point. Noah means so much to me so I don’t want to fuck that up. I mean, the sex is…’ My voice trailed off. I couldn’t start discussing intimate things in public. I mean, these ladies all sounded cool, but still: boundaries, Alicia.
At the same time though, I was bursting to tell someone. I still couldn’t believe how phenomenal Noah was in bed. Now that Sammie knew, I’d share the details with her later.
‘What I’m saying is, our friendship is the thing that I value the most. I don’t want to put that in jeopardy.’
‘I hear you,’ Stella said.
‘Especially when I know so many people who crossed the line and regretted it,’ I added.
‘There must be loads of friends who did and it worked out though,’ Stella said. ‘I’m marrying my ex for goodness’ sake! On paper me and Max getting back together sounded like a match made in hell, but now look at us.’
‘You and Noah will be fine!’ Sammie said. ‘More than fine! And maybe you can get some tips from Trish and Brian tomorrow.’
‘Yes! Great idea!’ Stella said.
Brian was Stella’s cousin and Trish was ours, so Stella was close to both of them.
‘Yeah, maybe,’ I said, wondering why I hadn’t thought of that sooner.
Trish and Brian were relationship goals. Not only were they perfect for each other, they were the only couple I knew who’d successfully made the transition from friends to lovers.
Although Noah and I planned to go back to being friends once we were in London, I supposed it wouldn’t do any harm to chat with Trish and get her advice.
‘I know couples who were friends first,’ Cassie said. ‘My cousin Bella had a crush on her bestie, Mike, for over a decade before they finally got together.’
‘Really?’ I sat up straighter.
‘Yep,’ Cassie confirmed. ‘Like you, Bella was really nervous about taking the leap. Mainly because they tried getting out of the friend zone once before and it ended in disaster.’
‘Oh no! What happened?’ I asked.
‘Long story!’ Cassie said. ‘I’m not joking. It’s enough to fill a whole book. But the point is that years later, they’re still going strong and it was the best decision they ever made. So it definitely can work.’
‘Good to know.’ I nodded.
Hmmm. That was two examples of happy couples.
Although I could still think of at least ten times more friendships that were obliterated by the friends-to-lovers shift (including my own), two happy unions that bucked the trend was decent I supposed.
Much better than one in a million.
It made me think.
I knew I’d always sworn never to have another relationship with a friend, but was it time to reconsider?
Could what I had with Noah be more than amazing sex?
Although it went against my better judgement, was there really a chance that Noah and I could really have a future beyond this holiday?
Or was I being completely delusional?