“Oh.” Realisation dawned on him and he smiled apologetically at Mel. “Sorry.”
“My dad got me into Indiana Jones,” she told him. “He loved the films so much that his enthusiasm rubbed off on me.”
“Same for me.” Now he felt bad.
“I hate you both.” Mel sulked for a moment before her eyes brightened. “Noah, how would you feel about ditching Keira and taking me with you instead?”
He frowned and gave a discreet shake of the head. “No, sorry.”
“Keira isn’t even bothered about Indiana Jones.” Mel slumped onto the bar. “I guess I’ll just watch the film at home. It’ll be pretty much the same. All I’ll be lacking is the orchestra … and the stars overhead … and the magical atmosphere.”
“I can see if there are tickets left if you want?” Noah said.
“And sit at the back on my own? No, I’m all right, thanks.”
“I meant we could all go together.” He looked for Keira’s reaction. He could be about to win major brownie points … or look like a weirdo for inviting her best friend on a date with them.
“You can come if you want,” Keira said to Mel.
She shook her head. “Thanks. But I think I’ll pass on playing third wheel.”
Noah left them alone as he went to collect glasses. Eventually, he wandered into the hallway out the back and pulled his phone from his pocket. There were still tickets available for Wednesday and he was tempted to buy one for Mel. He might seem as though he was trying too hard, though. He wasn’t even sure why he felt the need to invite her along, except that Mel seemed cool and she was obviously desperate to go. Mostly, he wanted to impress Keira. With his phone in his hand, he walked back into the pub and straight over to Keira and Mel.
“There are only three tickets left,” he said, holding the phone out. “If you want to come with us, you better say so now …”
Mel stuck her bottom lip out and turned to Keira. “Will you hate me forever if I gate-crash your date?”
“No. Just for a week or so.” Keira caught Noah’s eye and gave him a small nod.
He tapped away on his phone until he got a confirmation. “Got it,” he said to Mel.
“You’re the best.” She looked slightly emotional as she grinned at him. “How much do I owe you?”
“We can sort it out later.” He slipped the phone back into his pocket and glanced around to check no one was waiting to be served. “Shall we still do dinner beforehand?”
“Come to our place,” Mel said excitedly. “I’ll cook and we can warm up to the evening with some Indiana Jones trivia. I have a book.” She tapped her hands on the bar repeatedly. “And we can play The Game of Life: Indiana Jones edition.”
“That’s a thing?” Noah asked.
“Yes. I also have the Indiana Jones edition of Monopoly but that takes too long. It’s more like a Sunday afternoon activity. We can do that another time.”
Noah looked at Keira. “When you said she’s a big fan …”
“Yeah, that’s what I meant.”
“Raiders of the Lost Arkis the best film ever,” Mel said adamantly.
The bell rang in the kitchen and Noah headed back there. He’d brought the food out to the customers and was walking behind Keira and Mel when their conversation made him stop dead.
“Here’s what we should do,” Mel said. “When I want to have kids, I’ll get Noah to be the sperm donor. Then our kids will be half siblings and we’ll be the most awesome family ever.”
Thankfully, Noah wasn’t holding anything or he was sure he’d have dropped it. As it was, he was trying to figure out how to quietly slip away without them noticing him when a strange grunt escaped from his throat. Keira and Mel spun around in unison, both looking comically horrified.
“I … um …” He had no idea what to say.
Keira’s eyes bulged. “She was … I mean … it was a joke …”
“Hope you’ve got strong swimmers,” Mel said, an eyebrow quirked in amusement.