"Bee, can you please hand me the gravy?" Mom asked, and I obliged.

Mom, my sister—Becca, and I were having dinner without Dom since he was working overtime.

"How's college?" Becca asked. "Why haven't you joined the theatre club yet?"

"Uh...I'm not sure if I can juggle academics and theatre," I answered, which wasn't entirely a lie.

"What are you talking about? I'm sure you'll do fine."

I was starting to feel uneasy and worried that Becca might ask more questions about my college life. It was difficult enough to keep my boyfriend a secret from them. Suddenly, my phone rang and I was relieved from the distraction. I ran to the living room to answer it.

"What's up, Migs?" I asked in greeting.

"Are you at home?" he asked in a trembling voice.

"Wait, are you alright? Yes, I'm home. Where are you?"

"Right outside. Can you please come out?"

I glanced towards the front door but couldn't see anything out on the street. I glanced at the dining room, unsure of what to do.

"Mom, I'll just—Miguel is outside. I'll be right back."

I dashed out of the house before they got a chance to ask me questions.

When I walked out of our gate, I saw Miguel's yellow FJ Cruiser parked on the side of the street. I was surprised to see him—still in his uniform—sitting by the curb, his head bent down.

He looked up when he heard my footsteps. His eyes were red as if he were trying to keep himself from crying for a long period of time. He stood up, walked towards me, and embraced me tightly. It took me by surprise.

"It's over. We're over," he whispered.

I looked up at him and saw a single tear fall down his cheeks. I stroked his back and tried to pacify him, even if I was practically panicking at the moment. I wasn't sure if he had cried back in high school because this was my first time seeing him cry.

When he already calmed down a bit, we sat by the curb of the street.

"What happened?" I asked as I touched his arm.

"I—I don't know. It's just...we're suddenly over. Just like that," he answered as he stared blankly at the street.

"How?" I asked.

"She said she tried but couldn't. She doesn't love me."

Miguel narrated that he actually waited for Charlotte's last class, like he always does. Without warning, Charlotte said that they should just stop whatever they had—whatever was going on between them. She explained that she tried to learn how to love Miguel but she just couldn't. She also added that there were no sparks, and it was pointless to continue the relationship.

Miguel, being the gentleman that he was, still insisted that he would drive her home and Charlotte didn't protest.

"I also gave her the necklace that I was supposed to give her on her birthday," Miguel said in a low voice.

"Don't tell me she accepted it."

"She did."

I raised my eyebrows in disbelief. "Oh my God. What an opportunist."

"She said she doesn't want to waste my effort in buying it."

"And you believed it?!"

Miguel scoffed in response.

The thing about Miguel was when he likes someone, he always goes all in. He doesn't flirt with girls he isn't genuinely interested in. When he tells a girl he loves her, he certainly does.

Miguel had a good heart. Sadly, there are people who use a person's goodness for their advantage. Miguel was no exception to this kind of people.

"She didn't see your worth. She doesn't know how lucky she was to have you."

"Was she, really?" Miguel asked sarcastically as if he didn't believe me that Charlotte was lucky to have him.

"Duh?! Of course, yes. Didn't you know that I've always wanted to date a guy like you?"

This time Miguel looked at me in the eye. He was frowning at me, then his forehead slowly creased.

"Really?" he asked, apparently unable to believe what I just said.

I nodded. "Yeah."

"Then why'd you end up dating Stephen?"

***

"I always thought something was off about her," Brian commented after I told them that Charlotte already dumped me.

"But are you sure it wasn't because of Bianca?" Jeff asked.

"It could have been a factor but I'm sure it wasn't the reason. She didn't bring up Bianca's name that day," I replied.

Vino put down the case of beer on the floor. He picked up two bottles and placed it on the table. He removed the bottle cap using his trusty bottle cap opener then handed me a bottle.

"This is for you, bro."

"Thanks," I replied as I reached for the bottle. "You know, I'm starting to think that maybe I'm not that nice of a guy."

"Or maybe she doesn't like nice guys. Maybe she likes the bad boys like Brian over here," Lily commented. I almost forgot that she was hanging out with us today because she hadn't said much.

"Excuse me? I'm in an exclusive relationship for six months now. I never had a side chick. Like, never. Also, I consider myself a really nice guy. How about you, young lady?"

"Very much single. Thank you," Lily laughed before mocking Brian. "Back to Charlotte and Miguel. She said there were no sparks? I mean if I were the girl and I didn't feel anything for the guy from the beginning, I'll tell him right there and then that he has no chance. Period."

"That makes sense actually," Jeff agreed. "Why would a girl lead a guy on when she knows that she doesn't and will never like him?"

"But not all girls are the same," Vino muttered, looking serious.

I looked at Vino and watched him as he poured himself some beer. Where is that coming from?

I dismissed the thought and just poured some beer on my mug and chugged it down as quickly as I could.

"What is wrong with me? You see, I'm trying to do everything. But it looks like girls don't like me. There was only one girl who ever loved me, and it was Khloe."

"Man, we're not going back there, okay? That feels like ages ago! You broke up in sophomore year of high school," Brian reminded me.

"Yeah, but she saw something in me that the others didn't. After our break-up, all the girls that I liked kind of left me in the friend zone or flatly rejected me."

"Maybe you're cursed," he joked. "Like, maybe it's because you friend zoned someone before."