One sided crushes were something Rin was used to, and yet her heart felt crushed anyway. She wasn’t going to cry over it. There had been very little hope from the beginning, but the seed had been there. So of course she was hurt once she realized that he had someone. He was just being nice to her.

It made her realize how pathetic she was. Willing to throw herself at the first man to show her any amount of kindness. She felt like a fool. Of course she wasn’t mad at him. How could she be? She was the one at fault here. Rin was the one who had thought that somehow something good would come from opening herself up to the possibility. Rin was the one who opened herself up to getting hurt like this.

The sound of her kettle whistling caught her attention and Rin went to go turn the stove off to pour her water for her instant coffee. Stirring the cup, the woman wandered through her dimly lit house to the couch, where she sat down and got comfortable.

Honestly it’s what she deserved, getting her hopes up.

She turned on the TV and pulled up Netflix. Might as well start binge watching something. She wouldn’t be powering up for a couple of days out of sheer panic and heartache, not wanting to run into Arnica right now.

Rin wouldn't be petty. She would be friends with him still, wanted to be close to him. She doubted her crush would instantly die because she learned he had someone else. Leander was such a good man. He cared about people. He honestly listened to them and expected nothing in return, and it was that kindness she felt drawn to.

Then Leander turned out to be an interesting person. He was funny in an understated way, despite his flashy hair. He was humble.

He’s perfect…

He’s taken. Stop thinking like that.

The guilt was going to eat her while she took a couple days to recover. But then she’d text him and offer to go out to coffee, and pay for it this time.

She liked the friend dates still. They’d have new meaning to her, but they were still very important to her. That was something she wouldn’t give up.

Maybe she wouldn’t go straight back to work and home with ‘no time’ for anything else. It was very tempting, but Rin was really tired of being alone in every aspect of her life. Friends would help. Maybe Leander could introduce her to a couple of people to be her friends. Maybe they’d start a friend group? Is that how these things worked?

“Well,” she muttered to herself, hitting play after finding Game of Thrones. “Let’s see what this show’s all about.”

Maybe she really did need a dog.

That’s what she could ask Leander about next; to go with her to some places and see about adopting a dog! That could be fun.

So, still feeling like she was licking her wounds, but feeling slightly better about things, Rin started watching Game of Thrones.

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