I distracted myself by playing with the fur charm clipped on my mini backpack. We hadn't said a word since we left the bar, and honestly, I was completely baffled by Vino's actions. I didn't know if he was just being courteous and making up for all the time he had been away and maybe I was just giving color to everything he was doing for me.

Or was he doing things purposively to tell me something?

He has a girlfriend, I reminded myself. It's his favorite band and it doesn't mean anything. His playlist was probably on shuffle.

I couldn't silence the crazy thoughts in my head, so I was glad when Vino started the conversation by asking me how many semesters I have left before getting my degree.

I told him there was only one semester left and the resume of my classes would be in June.

"We never got to talk about you shifting courses before, but I just want to say I am really happy you are doing what you want."

"Took me a while to have the courage to go after what I want," I admitted.

"Yeah, but what matters is you're doing it, and you love it."

"I love every bit of it including the crazy schedules and no breaks."

"Oh," he chuckled. "Not taking a break is unhealthy, you know."

I tilted my head to look at him and noticed a hint of a smile on his lips.

"What was I supposed to do? That's how my schedule turned out," I defended.

"Same old Kane. You're definitely a workaholic in the making," he quipped as he turned right on a corner street.

"I'm not going to argue with you on that one," I replied, grinning.

"Do you mind if I ask? Are you running for—"

"A Latin honor?" I interrupted him. "A lot of people are expecting, but no, I'm not. It's a long story, but I'm not qualified for it."

"Oh. Sorry."

"Don't be. I've never been this happy about the things I do. Although sometimes I still feel a bit of pressure that I'm letting people down, I know I'm doing this for myself and not anyone else."

I was happy about my studies, and it didn't matter if I wasn't going to have a Latin honor when I graduate because I didn't need to prove myself to anyone.

Anymore.

He nodded with a small smile on his face. "Yesterday, I thought you were nervous talking about acads."

"A little. But you know what, I want this so bad and now I couldn't care less about what people think of me. Plus, my family has been so supportive of me."

"I'm glad to hear that."

I paused and thought twice about asking him about his plans for the future. Then I thought, if he could ask about my plans, I could ask him about his, right?

"So, when are you going back to the land Down Under?" I asked, staring out of the car window.

"Uh, about that... I'm not going back there anytime soon."

I quickly turned to face him.

"You already made up your mind?" I asked, watching him drive.

I wasn't expecting him to arrive at a decision this soon.

"Well, honestly, I'm already processing my requirements for a job I had applied for. I'll be working as a management trainee at a sports company."

"How come? I thought Brian said—"

Vino laughed, and at that instant, I knew something went on behind my back.

"I'm sorry. It was Brian's idea to make it look like I was still undecided, but honestly I already had a couple of applications when I came back home."

"Ugh, Brian Jake," I groaned, crossing my arms in my chest.

Vino tried to calm me down as I went on ranting about Brian to him. When I finally calmed down, I asked him what his plans were. He would be applying for an MBA after gaining two years of work experience.

Then we went on talking about our high school memories including his basketball games and the inside jokes we used to have. We also talked about our friends' lives and how well they were doing.

Then I asked him about Grace, and he told me they were no longer together.

"What? Why did you and Grace break up?"

"It was no longer healthy," he answered briefly. "How about you and Gab? Why did you break up?"

"Oh. It was... I don't think we should talk about it."

I tried to avoid the question. As much as possible, I didn't want to talk about how Gab broke up with me one month before our second anniversary. It was a devastating night at my favorite pizza place.

"Wait a minute. How did you know—"

"I didn't mean to ask about you and Gab, but it slipped—"

"Who told you? Was it Brian?"

He sighed before saying, "I'm sorry, Kane. Please don't be mad at him."

I scoffed in disbelief.

"That's strike two for Brian Alvarez," I muttered, glaring at Vino.

"Kane, please, I'm sorry. We don't have to talk about it if you don't want to."

Of course, I didn't want to talk to Vino about it.

It had been the most embarrassing and painful night of my life. We had a pepperoni and an overloaded pizza. We had been having a great time until it was time to go home. Gab had told me it wasn't working out anymore, and he felt like I wasn't doing anything for our relationship.

It was confusing, to be honest. We had been exclusively dating for almost two years, we never had a major fight, and all of a sudden, he wanted to break up with me.

What was more stupid was when Gab had left me in the parking lot, I dialed Vino's number. He was the first person who came up to my mind, but Brian was the one who picked up the call.

It turned out Vino had passed out drunk on Brian's couch.

Why do I keep on falling for the nice guys, but they end up breaking my heart?

I could remember asking Brian that question when he picked me up that night. He listened to me as I tried to process what happened to me and Gab. I realized how pathetic I looked like calling Vino for help. We were no longer in high school, and he was dating someone else. I shouldn't be running to him for help. I should never be running to him at all for anything.

That same night, Brian and I had agreed to keepit a secret and to never tell Vino what had happened. And he had given me hisword, assuring me that he had deleted my call history on Vino's phone.