13 - Crossing the line

(Raya POV)

He stares at me pensively while leaning against the door. I stare back, waiting for him to give me a proper explanation.

He sighs as he walks back to the table.

“Do you know why I was at the pub last night, Raya?”

I blink in confusion, trying to remember what he said his problem was but my mind is drawing a blank at the moment.

“I…” It would be so embarrassing to admit I don’t clearly remember so I take a deep breath and cautiously say “I thought you weren’t being serious.”

He chuckles as he sits back on his chair. He wraps his hands around his giant mug of coffee and stares at it, without really seeing it.

“On the contrary. The woman you saw with my parents just now, Ms. Westley? I was on a dinner date with her last night before I ended up in the pub.”

“Oh?” Again, the twisted little painful stab in my chest that I don’t even want to think about anymore.

He glances at me before staring back at his cup, tracing the rim with his forefinger absent-mindedly, around an