What would you do?

“Hold on, someone is trying to call me”
I move the mobile telephone away from my left ear to see whose name was flashing on the LCD screen. It is Dayo, my friend of over six years. I stare at the liquid crystal display screen wondering if I should hit the call receive button or not. I hit the call receive button after a few flashes but he is not on the other side of the line, instead I hear a slightly high pitch voice of Joyce.
“Who was that? I have being here saying hello but you have being quiet, I hope all is well?”
I adjust myself in my bed, sit upright, switch on the side bed lamp, and my eyes struggle to adjust to the now lit room.
“Joyce, I will call you back in the morning, I would really like to get some sleep now”
“But you said you will have an answer for me today, I can’t help this anymore, the past is the past, I am ready for the future, I am ready for you”, she sounded more serious
“Seriously, I really need to get some sleep, it is almost 3 and I have to be up by 6, plus I have a long day ahead”
“Ok, about we do lunch?”
“Sure, I get off at 1”
We say our good nights and I lay my head on the pillow, close my eyes tightly and try so hard to drift into Sleep-Ville. I can’t stop moving around, I can not sleep; I can not stop thinking about Dayo.

I met him at the university; we hit it off from the first time we played football on the fields of Warwick University. He was very good on the right wing, he reminded me of the great George Finidi of the Nigerian super eagles. We also stayed in the same block and even attended the same classes. We did everything and went everywhere together. He was my brother from another mother; he liked women to a pulp and he would always get into one drama or the other.
He was what one would describe as a Casanova until he met her. She changed a lot about him, from the way he dressed to the way he talked and even the way he saw life. He loved her more than cooked food; it was obvious after a while that they were going to be together forever.
I became the intermediate guy, the one who would tag along to every event, even if it was my idea and I had invited them. I was also the peace maker, whenever they had any burst up, they would come to me to tell their sides and I was responsible for making peace. I was not in a stable relationship then so it was easy for them to always disturb me with their love affairs, however, I was not bothered as I was just happy being good friends with the both of them.
After University, Dayo got a well paid job in the heart of Nigeria, the place most people would call Abuja. Joyce cried and cried after he left but they promised to always visit each other frequently. Joyce and I continued being friends; we would call Dayo together, sit and chat to him for so many hours on Microsoft msn chat on the World Wide Web. They continued their love across the ocean and I was very happy getting on with my life.

Joyce started spending more time at my place when I moved to South London about three years after Dayo left; I had secured a good job with an office with the view of the Thames. It was ten times better pay than what I was getting at my old place of work. I loved the river so much I got a pad by the river which happened to be about ten miles away from Joyce’s house. She called me regularly on the mobile telephone; she would suggest movies, theatres, shows and so on. She also called every night before she slept. We began spending so much time together it began to get weird as I couldn’t tell Dayo about this anytime we spoke on the telephone. Even though they had broken up the relationship due to distance, he still expressed his feelings towards her in his words. He had started making plans about coming back to the United Kingdom and hopefully reignite the lost spark between the both of them.

Two weeks ago, she came over and said that she wanted to be with me, she moved closer and kissed me on the lips. I was so taken aback that I didn’t even realise that my tongue had slipped into her mouth, it felt really good but I had to break free when Dayo’s image appeared in my mind. I reminded her about Dayo and how we were friends but she called him the past and me the present.

I have harboured feelings for her for a long time now and since the kiss I have ignored Dayo’s calls and text messages. I can not stop thinking about her and indeed him but I have to do what is best for me.

It is almost 5:30am and I have to get ready for work soon, another night has gone by, another sleep has pass me by, I can not wait to see Joyce today but I need to know where my heart lies. Confess and stay loyal to my friend Dayo or be Joyce’s future?