‘Thanks for this evening, I’ve enjoyed it.’

‘Me too.’

He smiles. It’s not a sparks-flying what-comes-next type of smile. It’s just, well, nice. ‘Maybe we could do coffee some time?’

‘I’d like that.’ And I mean it. I would. As homework goes, this date has been pretty good. Apart from the interfering-Noah bits. I obviously don’t want Steve to realise I’ve categorised him as ‘homework’ and not ‘red-hot date’.

‘You sure I can’t walk you to the bus stop or anything?’

‘She’s sure.’ Noah’s silky-smooth voice makes me jump. I could hit him! Or, I could go with Steve, just to spite him. Or I could be mature and stand my ground and give him a piece of my mind.

‘Okay?’ Steve gives me a questioning look.

I sigh. ‘Sure. I’m sorry, I had a lovely evening, thanks. And I would really love a coffee sometime.’

‘Great. See you round! Keep up the training.’ He makes a running motion and I smile.

‘Will do!’

‘I’ll text you!’ He is watching Noah nervously, but then plucks up enough courage to kiss me on the cheek.

‘Great! See you soon!’

‘Is this seat taken?’ The instant Steve turns away, Noah points at his empty seat.

‘The standard of your chat-up lines has dropped dramatically.’

‘It can go either way after a few drinks. I’m either hilarious, suave and a total catch, or a bit cheesy. So, he had an early night?’

‘Steve? Yeah, he had to get off.’

‘Good evening?’

‘Great, he’s really nice.’

‘Reliable and considerate?’

‘Yep, and kind, easy to talk to.’

‘Boring then?’

‘I didn’t say that!’

‘Ahh but you didn’t have to,’ he waggles a finger, ‘go on admit it, he didn’t light your fire.’

I sigh. ‘Just how drunk are you?’

‘Not that bad. Can squeeze a couple more in; are you game, Rosie-Posie?’

He’s not exactly swaying, but he’s definitely had a few more than me. And all of a sudden, getting slightly sloshed with Noah seems like quite a nice idea. There’s been an edge between us since Steve asked me out, and I’ve missed our easy closeness. Noah and I just kind of slipped into a jokey double-act effortlessly from the first time we met. I can’t remember ever having that with anybody, not even Robbie.

I’ve missed Noah.

I’ve also missed the little fizz when his arm brushed mine, the lump in my throat when he held my gaze for just a nano-second longer than a casual friend would do.

I’m stuffed, aren’t I? I think I might be in danger of rewriting my ‘suitable guy’ list so that he has a chance of sneaking in. Shit. Let’s face it, I am talking about fancying the pants off a guy who has just spent the evening with another woman. While I’ve been dating another man.

‘He was fine, we had a nice evening, but no, if it makes you happy.’ It needs saying, honesty is the best policy. ‘He wasn’t the most exciting guy I’ve ever been out with.’