Page 118 of More Than Just Friends

‘I know. And I also know that I need to do something about it. Noah said that I had to make a decision, which I’ve done. I want to be with him. I believe in us. We’ll be great together. But somehow just telling him that and saying that I love him doesn’t feel like enough. I need to show him that I’m in it forever.’

‘Preach!’ Sammie cheered.

‘The only thing is, I haven’t got a Scooby-Doo.’

I laughed as a memory of Noah using that phrase when we were kids flashed into my mind.

He’d heard his dad use the cockney rhyming slang and thought it was a hilarious way to say you didn’t have a clue. Noah then used it at every opportunity.

If you asked him what he wanted to eat or if he didn’t know the answer to a homework question, his response was always the same: ‘I haven’t got a Scooby-Doo!’

After about a month of his obsession, I was ready to lobby for that phrase to be banned for eternity. But now I’d do anything to hear him say it again.

What I’d said was true though. I really didn’t have a Scooby. I rested my finger on my chin, considering my options.

It had to be something that said ‘relationship’. Something that screamed ‘this is for keeps’.

Noah loved animals. Could I get a dog, name it Noah Junior and suggest that we parent it together? It wasn’t the same as marriage and having babies, but it was a serious responsibility, right?

No.

Somehow rocking up to his place and saying, ‘Hey Noah, I’ve realised I love you and to prove it I’ve got us a dog to look after,’ didn’t quite cut the mustard.

Plus, who’d take care of our pup whilst we were at work?

I had to do better.

‘I can’t help you there, I’m afraid,’ Sammie said. ‘But you’re right. It has to be something that proves your commitment and brings you together in a good way. Something that’s a natural progression for your relationship.’

I paused, racking my brain for an answer.

Then just like that, it hit me.

‘I’ve got it!’ I beamed.

‘Yeah?’

‘Yep!’

‘Just to add, that as much as you guys love each other, having a baby or getting married is still a big decision that should be considered carefully and⁠—’

‘No, that’s not my idea! I’ve thought of something else. Something I’m sure that Noah would love.’

Now I just had to find a way to make my idea happen…

39

NOAH

It’d been week since I last saw Ali and I still hadn’t heard from her.

Not even a text.

I guess I’d got my answer.

It was over.

Knowing that she’d found it so easy to walk away from me, from the possibility of us, was gutting.