‘At least he’s keeping other prowling guys away for you, Robert,’ giggled Alice.
My eyes darted down to my food and stayed there, unable to look up. I felt Robert shamefully stiffen next to me and Ben shifted in his seat uncomfortably opposite.
Not noticing the sudden change in mood, or the fact that we’d all ventured into silence, Alice continued to place her petite foot even further into her mouth, ‘That’s what friends are for, though. Shame they haven’t had someone returning the favour in Nottingham.’
A weak ‘Ha’ was all Robert could muster in reply. I almost felt sorry for him.
‘Must be tough being away from these two, though,’ she smiled, turning to Ben and me. ‘From what I’ve heard you’re quite the terrible threesome.’
It was clear that Ben hadn’t told Alice anything about recent events in our group. I suspect it was a case of where to start and at what point to stop. She’d meant nothing scathing by her comments, she was just trying to make friendly conversation.
‘Life’s been very different, that’s for sure,’ I nodded.
‘I bet Robert can’t wait to get the crew back together.’
‘Yeah, you’re right,’ he agreed, seeming to relax.
‘So what are your plans? For after?’
‘We haven’t really talked about it yet,’ I said, purposely being vague to end the conversation there.
‘What would you like?’ Alice asked Robert.
‘I’d love us all to move to London. Maybe get a little flat or something.’
‘Really?’ I asked, in as bright a tone as I could muster, giving him a little warning look.
‘Well, it’s something we always talked about when we were younger, you know, moving in together as a trio …’ he shrugged, trailing off, unable to hold eye contact with me.
‘We haven’t talked about that for years,’ laughed Ben nervously, clearly as thrown as I was. ‘I’ve no idea what I’ll be doing …’
It was something that we had talked about a lot, but only when we were incredibly young – mostly before me and Robert had even started dating. It was a topic that, especially once we knew we were going to different universities, had been dropped. None of us knew realistically what the future was going to bring, we hadn’t even talked about what came after our scrolls of paper were handed out at graduation.
Alice continued to push the idea, much to my discomfort.
‘Are you telling me that if Rob found you all an awesome pad somewhere amazing you’d give up the opportunity to live with your two bestest buds? As if!’ she laughed, looking at us as though we’d gone mad.
‘I guess it depends on a few things, and besides, things change,’ I smiled, hoping that the conversation would be dropped. In the end I decided to turn the topic of our futures back onto her – it seemed the safest way to stop me losing my rag. ‘What about you, Alice? What are you going to do?’
‘Well, I’m from Essex so I’ll probably be heading back over that way. I’ve always fancied getting a place somewhere more central, though. Plus, most magazines and stuff are based in London, so it makes sense for me to be there.’
I glanced over at Ben to see him nervously looking around the bowling alley.
‘We should probably play the next game,’ he said, looking at his watch. ‘We’ve not got long left!’
‘I’m gonna kick arse this time,’ giggled Alice. ‘I can tell!’
‘Good luck with that,’ laughed Robert politely, clearly relieved to be getting back on his feet and away from the conversation.
As soon as we’d said goodbye to Ben and Alice and got into his car, Robert turned to me with his eyebrows raised.
‘So, what do you think?’ he asked, popping on his seatbelt.
‘She’s adorable.’
I really meant it too, even if it was painful for me to admit. Alice was bubbly and sparkly – a pleasure to spend time with. I understood what Ben saw in her, although I’d been shocked to see how different she was to me. We weren’t alike in any way – appearance or personality. It bothered me and I couldn’t put my finger on why – I hadn’t expected a carbon copy, but I had thought she’d have a least a few qualities in common with me. In reality, I felt decidedly average around her, which irked me after Ben had made me feel so special.
‘Ben seems really happy,’ Robert added, starting the engine and pulling out of the parking space.
‘Yeah.’
‘I was really nervous about seeing him.’
‘Really?’
‘You know how protective he is over you – I half expected him to lamp me one.’