[It's tempting to lie. He wants to lie, he's rather good at lying, he lied to Kalim's face all the time, it was likely that he could get away with it. He could say whatever it was he wanted to say, and Kalim likely wouldn't question it. The lie is right there, right on his lips, ready to be spoken.

Jamil sips his tea instead.

He can't quite look at Kalim. Instead, he just looks slightly down, at Kalim's teacup. Then, back up at Kalim again.]

Not really. It would make things easier for tonight, but we'd still see each other in the morning, wouldn't we?

[And that should be that. He wanted that to be that. Jamil wanted it to be pragmatic and short and brief, just...to the point, it would be easier if it was to the point. But after a moment, his gaze slid to his own cup and he lifted it to his lips again.]

And if I really didn't want to see you tonight, then it would've been easy enough for me to just not respond when you texted me, wouldn't it?

[He sips. The tea is...soothing. He's glad, not for the first time, that Kalim had a taste for something relaxing, fragrant, distracting but not overpowering, the sort of tea he could distract himself by drinking while trying not to think about how much he had given away with that confession.]