Let her down gently.

“Until two weeks ago I would have jumped at your offer Piya. I truly would have and you know that. But that ship has sailed, unfortunately. You let me in limbo for too long and I have to live my life. I’m so glad I found Yui. I mean what would have happened if you had never gone to introduce us? Would you have still have kept stringing me along and this whole situation would never have come about? Something really good has happened here because of this, Yui and I. I’m not going to mess this up,” I tell Piya. I hope it comes across as being gentle but at the same time her actions have been messed up and she needs to hear the truth and deal with the consequences.

Piya seems to accept what I have to say and takes it all in, “Your right. I know. Please don’t tell Yui I came onto you like this tonight. She’d hate me and I’ve been such a horrible friend.”

“I won’t but you have to make things right with her too. About the fight the other day. Not about this. This never happened as far as I’m concerned,” I say.

“I will. I promise.”

Having put the issue behind us, I hope. I offer to drop Piya back to her house. It’s still raining pretty heavily outside and I’m not sure where her boyfriend has got to in the hours since he got kicked out. She accepts and we try and get back to our old friendly selves on the drive home. Piya huddles her feet under herself to keep warm until the heater in the car is up to strength. Once warm she plays with the stereo in my car on the way back, picking out the songs she likes on the radio stations.

Outside her house, the place looks deserted with no lights on at all. Her boyfriend mustn’t have come home yet. It’s not unusual Piya says. He frequently doesn’t come home until the early hours of the morning if at all. It’s one of the reasons she liked my company so much as she was left feeling lonely by herself.

“Did you want to come inside?” Piya asked.

I had in the past when the boyfriend was away with work or whatnot. I think it’s probably for the best that I just drop Piya off and make my way back home to my apartment.

“Another time perhaps. It’s getting kind of late and I like to be in bed while it’s still dark,” I say.

“My bed’s closer,” Piya tells me before saying she’s only joking when she sees the stern look on my face, I give her.

We exchange a platonic hug in the car before Piya gets out. I wait for her to make it inside the house safely before I drive off.

Back at my place, I pour myself a large glass of rum on the rocks to help me unwind before putting some music on my stereo. A little bit of soft dance music helps me clear my head as I lay back on my bed in the dark. The heat from the rum and soft beats of the music soothing me down into sleep before I know it.