Bosco took a seat beside Raymond and watched in silence as Raymond downed his shot of brandy in one swallow. Placing the glass on the bar, Raymond signaled the waiter to bring another round.

“Whoaa,” Bosco said as he looked curiously at Raymond and teased, “Are you trying to get drunk?”

Raymond took the glass from the waiter before he had a chance to put it down. Just as he did with the other, he swallowed the entire contents in one swallow. “Drinking helps me relax. I’ve been really stressed out lately.”

“Yes it does,” Bosco said then added, “and it’ll also knock you out.”

Raymond sighed as he again held up his hand to the waiter in request for another shot, “If it’ll knock me unconscious, then I welcome it.”

Bosco peered at Raymond and said, “I’ve never seen you like this. Since when have you ever turned to drinking to hide from your problems? You usually face your problems head on. That’s how you became who you are today.”

Raymond looked at Bosco through half lidded eyes and mumbled, “There are some problems that can never be resolved no matter how hard you try.”

Bosco chuckled in understanding, “Ah, I take it your problem revolves around a woman.”

Hearing that, images of Charmaine appeared in Raymond’s mind. Sitting up straight he grabbed the glass from the counter and poured it into his mouth, “I don’t want to talk about her.”

“Who is she?” Bosco asked with interest, unfazed by Raymond’s sudden hard expression. “I didn’t even know you were seeing anyone.”

Turning his back on Bosco, Raymond said softly, “Leave me alone.”

Bosco was not easily put off. He walked around Raymond and stood in front of him, “Is she someone I know? Maybe I can help you patch things up.”

“Nothing and no one can ever repair our relationship, it’s too complicated.” Raymond turned the other way and with his thumb and forefinger rubbed the area between his eyes, “I feel dizzy,” he said suddenly.

“Well you should,” Bosco reprimanded as he sat back down on his stool, “You had a lot to drink.” After a pause, he asked, “Are you going to tell me who she is?”

Raymond stood up and felt himself sway at the movement. He grabbed the counter to steady himself, “My head hurts.”

Bosco held Raymond up and dropped a few bills onto the counter, “Come on, I can tell you’re not going to tell me anything. I’ll drive you home now or else you’re going to wake up tomorrow morning with a bigger headache.”

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Selena walked into Charmaine’s room unannounced and found her friend lying in bed, and unaware of her arrival. She cleared loudly to get her attention, “Your father said I could come right up.”

Charmaine sat up and smiled, “What brings you here so late?”

Selena sat down on the edge of the bed and said, “It’s been a while since we had one of our girl talks and it’s not the same over the phone.”

Charmaine patted the place beside her and Selena went over. “How are things with you and Bosco?”

Selena could not help but smile at the mention of his name, “We’re doing good. Better than I can imagine but I’m not here to talk about me and Bosco. It’s you I’m worried about.”

Charmaine was surprised by Selena’s remark and asked, “Worry about me? What for?”

Selena searched Charmaine’s face as if she could find the answer she’s looking for, and said, “You seem like you have a lot on your mind lately. You’ve been acting weird and all secretive.”

“You’re imaging things,” Charmaine affirmed, “and overreacting.”

“You didn’t even hear me come in!” Selena blurted out. “I’ve been your friend forever. So are you going to tell me or beat around the bush?”

Charmaine knew that Selena cared a lot about her and the feelings were mutual. She had never hid anything from her but Raymond was one topic she didn’t want to discuss. However, the look of concern on Selena’s face undid her emotions. She felt her eyes water as she said softly, “I don’t know what to do any more.”

Selena saw the misery on Charmaine’s face and wrapped her arms around her, “Tell me what’s been bothering you.”

Blinking back her tears, Charmaine said, “I saw him again.”

Selena immediately knew who she was referring to. Fighting back the urge to curse loudly at the guy who literally ruined Charmaine’s life, she asked calmly, “Where and when?”

Charmaine shook her head and cried, “It doesn’t matter. What matters is that I can’t seem to stop thinking about him. What is wrong with me? How can I still have feelings for him?!”

Selena couldn’t understand herself. Charmaine was a very strong smart person. Her one time liaison with this guy had cost her everything – emotionally that is. To date, Charmaine was still unable to let him go despite the way he had abandoned her. If it was Selena, she would have kicked the guy to the curb ages ago without looking back. “Did he at least apologize to you when he saw you again?”

“No,” Charmaine quietly said. “Instead, he acted as if everything was my fault and said that he was willing to forgive me for what I’ve done. I’ve done nothing wrong for him to forgive!”

Selena was outraged, “What? The nerve of him!” She jumped from the bed and stood staring angrily at Charmaine, “Who is he? I’ll go and give him a piece of my mind!”

Charmaine grabbed Selena’s arm, “No! I don’t want to have anything more to do with him. The reason why I told you is because I needed to get it off my chest.”

Selena looked at Charmaine and said reproachingly, “You won’t reveal his identity because you want to protect him isn’t it? You still have hope to get back with him one day.”

“That’s not true,” Charmaine said firmly. But the look on Selena’s face told her that she didn’t believe her for one second.