"You don't sound sure, Bishop."
He shook his head. "You don't give up. Do you, Kent?"
"Nope," I said, "my sister tells me it's one of my more annoying traits."
"She's right," he mumbled.
"I'm sensing some hostility." I tilted my head then said,"Brisa broke up with you, didn't she?"
Sam scoffed.
"I thought as much.It's nothing to be ashamed of. People get dumped all the time."
"Not me," he said. "I've never been dumped."
"Never?" I repeated. "Really?"
"Really.And why would you assume she'd dump me anyway?"
"Lots of reasons," I said. "For one, Brisa isuniversally liked. Literally everyone loves her."
"People love me," he muttered.
"Yeah, but not as much as they love Brisa."
He had no response to that.
"Two, she's super smart. I heard she got accepted to every college she applied to, including three Ivy leagues which awarded her scholarships.And three, she's gorgeous. I mean, she's like the most beautiful girl in our graduating class."
"That's debatable," he muttered.
I shook my head. "No, Brisa was voted Most Beautiful four years running, ever since our freshman year."
Sam said nothing, so I went on.
"I just can't see anyone breaking up with her," I finished.
"But you can see someone breaking up with me?"
When I remained silent, Sam released a quiet laugh.
"Ouch, Kent. You really go for the jugular, huh?"
I frowned. "That's not what I meant."
"Right," Sam said.
"It's not," I said. "As awesome as Brisa is, you have good qualities too."
"Do I?"
"Yeah." Afraid I'd hurt his feelings and struck by the very real possibility that maybe he was heartbroken and neededsome cheering up, I spoke quickly. "Anyone would be lucky to have you, Bishop. You're a real catch."
Sam shot me a dubious look.
"You're a nice guy with a kind heart.A real gentleman." He gave another scoff, but I ignored the sound. "You are. I don't know anyone else who'd pick up a stranger on the side of the road and offer them a ride."
"Serial killers do that," he muttered.
