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‘I just had, you know, a normal teenage crush, it’s nothing weird,’ I insist.

‘Did you want to be the Juliet to his Romeo?’ Adam asks playfully.

‘Well, that didn’t end well for either of them,’ I remind him. ‘But if you’d asked me when I was fourteen I probably would have said yes.’

He laughs.

‘Oh, is that your yearbook?’ he asks.

‘Yeah,’ I reply.

‘Come on, let’s see,’ he practically begs. ‘I love to see a person’s origin story.’

‘Fine, fine,’ I say, grabbing the book, sitting down on the bed next to him.

‘There we go,’ I say, tapping the page with my finger. ‘That’s me in Year 9. I was so shy, and so quiet. I’m not sure how many people would even remember me.’

‘You don’t look much different,’ Adam tells me, ‘but you certainly seem like a different girl to the one you were at school.’

‘How so?’ I ask.

‘Well, for one thing, you said you were shy and quiet at school. But now you’re confident and… you’re a little intimidating.’

‘I’m intimidating?’ I squeak with surprise. ‘How?’

‘Because you’re this gorgeous young woman now. You’re certainly out of my league, and my brother isn’t even playing the same sport as you.’

I laugh at his joke but at the same time I feel my cheeks warming, thanks to the enormous compliment he just paid me.

Suddenly an awkwardness sets in. It’s like we’re having a moment, only we’re not allowed a moment, so instead of going in for a kiss we just clam up, stop talking and avoid eye contact. This time it’s different though, because Adam takes his hand and places it on top of mine. Before either of us has the chance to say or do anything, my mum appears in the bedroom doorway.

‘Are you having a roll?’ she asks.

‘A… what?’ I reply.

‘Sausage roll?’ she says. ‘You and your new friend.’

I’m relieved when my phone starts ringing. A distraction from the distraction.

‘It’s Angie,’ I tell them both. ‘I’ll just see what she wants.’

‘Actually, I’d better go,’ Adam says, standing up and hurriedly making his way towards the door.

‘No, stay, I’ll only be two minutes.’

‘It’s fine,’ he insists. ‘I’ll see you later.’

‘I’ll see you out,’ Mum tells him. ‘Maybe sort you a sausage roll, for the road.’

And with that, he’s gone.

‘Hello, Angie,’ I chirp as I finally answer my phone.

‘Hey, Lia, what are you doing tonight?’

‘Nothing,’ I reply, almost excitedly. A night out with the girls is just what I need.

‘Well, me and our Tim fancy a romantic night out, so we wondered if you would babysit the little ones for us.’