I flip open a shimmering bronzer, wondering if the answer to her question will find me in there.
‘I don’t know,’ I say eventually. ‘I had a miniature freak-out on our last date and I’ve felt all … tumultuous ever since. We were having loads of fun on a dog walk when Zach asked me about my three date rule.’
‘Youtoldhim about that?’
‘No! He overheard me and Dylan talking about it when we all went out for drinks. So then he started making a case for himself and talking about the connection we have and I panicked.’
‘He made a case for himself? Alice, that’s adorable!’
‘It was too much!’
‘Sometimes I forget that you’re not a normal human being,’ Nat laughs.
‘Hey!’ I protest.
‘Kidding. Look, it just sounds like he’s into you and that you’re both coming at this from different angles, that’s all.’
‘I think you’re right. I do really like hanging out with him, but that’s the problem. I’m drawn to him like a moth to a flame and we all know that combination never ends well.’
‘I think you need to stop seeing yourself as a moth, hun. They’re the basic bitch of the insect world, don’t you think? My Alice is a butterfly, make no mistake.’
‘Butterfliesaremore colourful,’ I concede.
‘Listen, you’ve shut yourself away in your little fortress for so long now and we both know why you did that. Self-preservation. I won’t dwell on all that but look at you now. You are strong, happy, successful. You have perfect taste in best friends,’ she winks. ‘You’ve made a gorgeous life for yourself and now, for the first time in forever, you’ve found a man who you wouldn’t mind letting down the drawbridge for. You’ve not invited him all the way in yet, obviously, but you’re happy for him to have a little look around.’
I bite my lip. ‘How long’s this fortress analogy going to go on for, Nat?’
She giggles. ‘You get it though, right? This is all new for you and you’re bound to feel a bit nervous about it. But there is no need to panic about flames and moths, okay? You are the first to point out that life is for living, so what I’m saying is, do that. Have fun and enjoy this!’
I nod, still laughing. ‘Excellent advice, thank you. I actually chose a group thing for tonight’s date so we could do exactly that. Just have fun, no pressure.’
Natalie beams at me as she turns her attention to gluing on some false lashes.
‘You know that I’m bloody proud of you?’ I add. The crime thriller Zach picked out for me on our bookshop date had been giving me some ideas for Jake’s demise, but seeing my friend cope so well with their split means her ex is safe for now.
‘Well, I’m definitely not crying on the sofa all the time now and that’s thanks to you. Remember when I accidentally liked that old photo of Jake’s and nearly emigrated? You told me I should start living in the present and you were right, Alice. Tonight, we disco.’
Natalie’s crinkly shell suit is frankly exceptional. I took a snap of it before we left, sharing the green and pink diagonal stripes to my flower shop’s Instagram stories and asking followers if they’d like to see an eighties-inspired window dressing next week. It was an overwhelming yes and my brain is already buzzing with ideas but I make a conscious effort to switch off from work, now. Because the dancefloor has well and truly claimed us. We’re warbling eighties ballads to one another as the room fills with more incredible outfits. Blazers with huge shoulder pads, neon jumpsuits and so many shiny materials. Eve, her girlfriend Nicky and a couple of other friends have joined us and we’re all singing ‘I Wanna Dance With Somebody’ to one another at high volume.
‘This is all we need!’ I shout, locking Natalie into a love-in and feeling so lucky to have this gorgeous woman in my life.
She makes an I-didn’t-hear-you face.
‘Friendship!’ I shout. ‘FUN! It’s all we need.’
‘You sure about that?’ She asks, looking over my shoulder and spinning me around.
Zach’s here.
He’s walking across the packed dancefloor towards us and OH HOLY PHWOAR he looks good.
I’m thrilled to see that he’s embraced the theme, ditching his usual muted palette for a bright green Adidas tracksuit, unzipped, with a white vest underneath and box fresh white trainers. He looks so eighties and also like he just stepped off a catwalk. I don’t think I can handle it.
Zach doesn’t take his eyes off me. Time slows right down as he approaches our hot, sweaty group. Finally he’s here and I’m about to say something like, I don’t know, hi. But his eyes are locked on mine and I realise I’ve stopped dancing.
‘You look incredible,’ he says, voice low.
The fireworks are back with a vengeance. I wrap my hands around his waist and kiss him hello. Our mouths are millimetres apart and I’m about to kiss him again when Marvin Gaye’s ‘Sexual Healing’ comes on and we get the giggles.
