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‘All this time, I thought maybe you might be into me but… was I imagining it?’

‘That isn’t less awkward,’ I point out with a laugh.

‘Sorry,’ he says with a smile.

‘The truth is,’ I start, but then I hesitate. Should I tell him the truth? ‘The truth is that Si mentioned you having a crush on some girl at work, and how you were probably going to be late home because you were probably flirting with her, and I had no idea you had a thing for someone at the station, so I felt a bit stupid, and… jealous. Yeah, okay, fine, I felt jealous.’

I know I’m babbling, and drunkenly slurring my words, but I suddenly realise that now I’m going to look much worse unless I tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth.

‘The truth is,’ I start, pausing for a few seconds and not for dramatic effect, but because I’m too scared to say it out loud. ‘I’ve fancied you from the moment I laid eyes on you, since we met at the bar, and I was probably in love with you, by the time we left the toilet – words I never thought I would say. And then we ran into each other again, and you and I started getting closer, and stupid me, I thought you liked me too. Then Si told me about this girl at work and I felt like such an idiot. Anyway, I feel extra stupid now, and things are even more awkward, so I’ll go home – I’ll probably move back home, actually – you won’t have to see me again. Well, except from at work, but after the festival is over – assuming Kerry offers me a job – I won’t take it. I’m not going to make it awkward for you.’

I struggle to get to my feet, ready to head for the door, but I don’t get far before I realise that Adam is laughing.

‘You think that’s funny?’ I ask, still facing the door because I’m fairly certain I’m going to cry.

‘This isn’t a laugh of amusement, this is a laugh of disbelief,’ he tells me. ‘You’re the girl at work.’

I turn around and stare at him blankly. Adam gets up and walks over to me.

‘I knew Si liked you, he had warned me off you, and you and I were getting closer. That morning, before I invited you over for lunch, I was on the phone to Mel, telling her exactly how I felt about you. I asked her if she thought I should tell you and she said I should leave it with her, that she would find out how you felt. Si caught part of our conversation so I told him it was a girl at work. You are a girl I work with,’ he reminds me.

‘So, I like you and you like me and there’s no other girl at work?’ I check.

‘Correct,’ Adam replies.

Oh my God, I’ve been such an idiot.

‘Shit’ is about all I can manage to say.

‘I know I’m drunk,’ Adam starts, ‘but believe me when I say that I really like you. Really, really, really like you. You’re smart, you’re funny, you’re sexy. Do you know how crazy it drove me, when we were babysitting that night, the two of us half-naked and soaking wet? It’s a good job there were kids in the house… and that that crazy man punched me in the street…’

I laugh.

‘I didn’t think you’d want to kiss me, not with the blood…’ he continues.

To be honest with you, he could have been on fire and I wouldn’t have been able to resist leaning in, if he’d tried to kiss me.

‘If anything, it only made you seem more attractive,’ I say with a smile. ‘Rugged, manly, brutish…’

‘Then I should have gone for it, shouldn’t I…’ he continues.

Adam moves towards me slowly and then gently strokes my cheek. This is the part where I should say… something but I don’t know what. I really didn’t think he was into me, not like I was into him, but now that I know… wow.

As I gaze into Adam’s eyes, I feel my breathing slow, my chest feeling heavy, like each breath is an effort. I would do absolutely anything to kiss him right now, and while I wish he would just grab me and do all sorts of things with me, I know that I should take a beat, think about things, clear the air with Si, think about what this means for my future, for work. I would love to get lost in the moment but I need to be practical, right? I need to think about things before jumping in headfirst, not more rushed decisions.

I open my mouth to speak, but before a word can leave my lips Adam’s mouth has met mine and we are kissing. Ah, screw it. It’s a slow, gentle, passionate kiss, which only lasts for a few seconds – but it’s the best kiss I’ve ever had in my life. My entire body is tingling from head to toe, and I feel even more drunk from the excitement alone. There’s no stopping us now. Whether this is a good idea or not – it’s hard to care.

‘I know I shouldn’t have done that—’ Adam starts, but I don’t let him finish. I grab him and kiss him again, only this time it isn’t the same slow and gentle smooch as before, it’s the kind of frantic, red-hot kiss that happens when two people finally get together.

I’m not sure who makes the first move but before I know it I am unbuttoning Adam’s jeans as he rips off my shirt, sending buttons flying in all directions, before he whips off his own T-shirt. He lifts me up and pushes me hard against the living room door, causing it to slam closed with a loud bang. You know in movies when someone fires a gun into the air, firing a warning shot, in the hope that the loud noise will stop whatever chaos is going on? The slam of the door brings us both to our senses all of a sudden. We stop kissing for a moment, and try to catch our breath as we look at one another, both in our underwear, his body still pinning mine firmly against the door while my legs are wrapped tightly around his waist.

We’ve stopped kissing but we haven’t separated, as though we’re both still thinking things through, knowing we should stop, but not wanting to.

‘We should stop, shouldn’t we?’ he says breathlessly, reading my mind.

‘We should,’ I reply as I run my hands through Adam’s short dark hair. He closes his eyes and groans softly. ‘Just… not yet.’

I know, I know, I’m weak, but I want him.