Page 110 of More Than Just Friends

‘No, Ali!’ she shouted. ‘We tried! It’s over. If I’m honest, it was over years ago. We got swept away in the excitement. After all that pining and crushing, getting together was fresh and fun. I thought the friendship would make our foundation stronger, but it ruined it.’

‘But how? Why?’

‘We spent too much time together. We relied too much on each other. In the end it was suffocating. And then it started to feel icky. Like sleeping with a brother. Gross. It’s just… everything fell apart. And now we’ve lost each other forever. We’ll never get that friendship back. I saw you getting cosy with Noah earlier. I don’t know if anything has happened between you yet, but even if something has on this holiday, it’s still not too late. Stop it whilst you still can. If you value your friendship, whatever you do, do not cross the line. It’ll go to shit. Trust me.’

Trish’s words landed like a punch in the gut.

It was as if she’d reached into my brain, seen the list of my concerns about getting into a relationship with Noah, then recited them back to me.

As her words repeatedly swirled around my head, I swallowed hard.

I never should’ve risked it.

We were so much better as friends.

Everything was great. Now we’re breaking up and I’m left with nothing.

No boyfriend and most importantly, no best friend.

We’ll never get that friendship back.

Even if something has happened on this holiday, it’s still not too late.

Stop it whilst you still can.

If you value your friendship, do not cross the line. It’ll go to shit.

Fuck.

Everything she’d said had happened to her and Brian was everything I’d always feared.

‘But maybe things will be different with me and Noah,’ I said weakly, still trying to cling to some kind of hope.

‘Maybe they will.’ She laughed. ‘But consider the odds. How many people who go from friends to lovers really go the distance? Name one. I’ll wait.’

I already knew the answer.

Yesterday, hearing about Cassie’s cousin’s successful relationship with her best friend combined with what I thought was Trish and Brian’s perfect partnership had given me hope. So much so that I’d allowed myself to get swept away with the fairy tale that Noah and I could make a go of things.

But now I knew differently.

Trish and Brian were over.

Their fallout was worse than the one I’d had with Dale. And that was saying something.

When Dale and I moved out of the friend zone everything failed spectacularly.

At the time I was nervous about crossing the line, but our friendship was solid, so I was convinced it would all work out. But it barely lasted two months.

Although we were good friends, we didn’t have as much history as Noah and I had, so eventually I’d got over him.

I couldn’t let what happened with Dale happen with Noah.

Losing all contact with Noah would be beyond catastrophic.

There was no way I’d ever get over that.

‘I’m sure there’s plenty of couples who were friends who made it,’ I lied, desperate to stay positive. ‘There’s Cassie’s cousin – Bella. She’s been in a relationship with her best friend Mike for years and Cassie said they’re still madly in love.’