Getting told by a girl that she doesn’t like you in “that way” and “can’t we just be friends?” is a lot like interviewing with a company for a job. And they tell you they’ve decide not to hire you. Instead, they’re going to hire this other guy. But in the event that the other guy turns out to be alcoholic or abusive or just a nutjob, the company would like to reserve the right to call you up months later to complain at length about the new hire. They still won’t be offering you the job, they just want to know you’ll be there to listen when they need to complain.
I find that to be pretty amusing. And too true. But still amusing.
I tell a guy I don’t think of him in a romatic or sexual fashion, I don’t consider him “on reserve.” While it’s not impossible the situation would change, emotional states don’t belong in cold storage.
Also:
If the guy they hire doesn’t work out but they’re not willing to fire him, they might like to have you do some of his work without his knowledge but without pay. That’ll be OK, right?