‘Well, er yes. If I can.’

His warm hand is on my knee. ‘I don’t half fancy you, Rosie Brown.’

‘Maybe you should kiss me then?’

Oh boy, talk about anticipation. I’m practically quivering as he turns to face me properly, cups my face in his large capable hands.

‘Maybe I should.’

I can taste him before his lips touch mine.

This kiss isn’t like the last time, or the time before. Or the time before that. Wow, just how many kisses have we had while we’ve not been dating?

I’ve lost count. But I don’t care. Forget them, they’re not important.

This is gentle, this is touching, this is so intimate and searching I lose all track of where we are, and why I ever doubted.

I feel like crying, but not crying, like laughing, but not laughing. I feel happy and sad, but most of all I feel like reaching out, showing him how I feel with my touch. Most of all I don’t feel afraid that I’m going to get it wrong. That I have more to lose than I have to gain.

‘Wow.’ He rests his forehead against mine. His finger on my lips.

‘Wow.’ I mouth back.

‘I need to ask you something.’

There’s a long silence, as though he is waiting for permission. So I nod.

‘Rosie Brown, will you come on a date with me? A proper first date?’

‘No chat-up lines?’

‘Well not many, just me, like this. I mean, you do know I can’t actually completely stop the lame chat-up lines.’

‘And just me, like this.’

‘Well almost, you could ditch the “bargain” sticker on your boob.’

Oh gawd, I have a cut-price sticker stuck to me! How could he not tell me? How many people have walked past us and got completely the wrong idea? It could be worse, I suppose, it could say ‘2 for 1’ or ‘slightly damaged’.

‘And the white paint highlight in your hair if you like.’

‘Haha.’ I’d forgotten about that. My answer to sexual frustration – decorating the hell out of my home.

‘No, forget it, just you, stay like that. What do you say?’ He sounds nervous. ‘Can we start again?’

‘I don’t think there’s any going back after that kiss!’

‘Maybe not.’ He smiles. ‘But I’d like to do this properly. I’d really like you to meet the real Noah, right from the start.’

‘You are sure?’ I need to know he’s sure. At least for now. I’ll forgive him if he changes his mind at some point in the future. Maybe.

‘Positive, I’ve known the truth for ages, practically from the moment I met you. I just hadn’t faced up to it until your mum’s party.’

‘That row at my mum’s party really did this to you?’ I giggle.

He chuckles. ‘Well I was in shock; nobody has blown me out for years!’

‘Oh God, I am so sorry about that. I was so wound up about Dad, then about you saying he was a shit, even though deep down I knew he was, but I didn’t want to admit it out loud, and then—’