CHAPTER 4
Hey. I forgot to ask do you need a ride to school?
Spoon of oatmeal stalled half-way to my lips, I stared at the text for several seconds before replying.
Bishop?
His answer came a moment later.
No, it”s the other guy who drove you home last night.
I exhaled and felt my lips lift into a smile. Fingers flying, I saved his contact info while composing my response.
Me:Sorry for the confusion. There are just SO many people lined up to be my chauffer.
Sam:Where am I in line?
Me:Hmmm…currently third.
Sam:Really?
Me:Really.
Sam:Who”s ahead of me?
Me:My dad and sister.
Sam:Ah.
Charlotte was at UNC about two hours away. She was my best friend, and I missed her like crazy. But when I told her what happened to my car during one of our late-night chat sessions, she”d offered to drive back. My sister was amazing like that.
After thinking it over, I sent Sam another text.
Me:You might actually be fifth. Oh wait, sixth!
Sam:Never knew you were so popular, Kent.
Me:Well, now you do.
I was having way too much fun. My breakfast was rapidly cooling in the bowl in my lap, the cinnamon oatmeal and banana combo all but forgotten. But I couldn”t seem to tear my gaze off my phone. Taking another bite, I waited for Sam”s reply.
Sam:Okay, you win. Who”s 3, 4, and 5? I want names.
Me:Why?
Sam:To confirm I”m the best choice.
I shook my head.
Me:So cocky, Bishop.
Sam:I just know my worth.
Me:Do you?
Sam: Yep. Whoever these guys are, I know I”m better.
Biting back a laugh, I put down my spoon.
Sam:Got a better car too.
Me:Okay…
Sam:Better looking.
Me:I get it lol.
Sam:So?
Me:There are no guys, Bishop. I didn”t ask my cousins, but I”m pretty sure they”d be willing.
Viola, Aurora, and Freya were my girls. They weren”t just family; they were my friends. No way they”d leave me hanging. I”d do anything for them too if they asked. Our family as a whole was tightknit. Sam seemed to think so too.
Sam: Should”ve known. The Kents always stick together.
I grinned.
Me:You know it.
Sam:They should make a TV series about you guys.
I laughed out loud at that.
Me: Oh yeah, having everyone take a deep dive into my issues and laugh at all my mistakes. That wouldn”t be terrible at all.
Sam:You could join Moira, Johnny, David, and Alexis.
Me:I knew you loved the Roses as much as me.
Sam:Is that even possible?
Me:No—but you loved it.
Sam:Yeah, maybe.
He sent another text right after.
Sam: So, you”re good? I”d hate for Perfect Scarlett to miss the first day of school.
I rolled my eyes.
Me: I”m good. And please, I never would”ve skipped. Would”ve walked to Chariot High if I had to.
Sam:No need, Kent. If you have car trouble again, just call me.
My throat suddenly went tight with emotion.
Sam:Gotta go. Don”t forget to call my dad”s garage later. Bye, Kent.
Me: Okay. Bye, Bishop.
I swallowed the lump in my throat but couldn’t do anything about the flutters in my chest. We”d talked/texted more during this car ride than we had in the last three years. And yet, Sam told me to call him if I had trouble.
That only strengthened my belief that I”d made the right choice.
Sam Bishop would be the perfect partner to help me complete my list.
Now, I just needed to convince him.
Last night, I”d written down all the reasons he should say yes—with a strong emphasis on how this could benefit him. Brainstorming and making lists were two of my favorite things. I”d also gotten to break in a brand new journal and pens that would only be used for this project. Because that”s what this was. A project. And I was determined to give it my all.
”Scarlett, you”re making the face again,” Dad said.
Turning to him, I smiled. ”What face?”
”The scary one.”
I scoffed.
”Kidding.” Dad chuckled while elbowing my side. ”That face is the one you make whenever you”re determined to get something, no matter what it takes.”
”I think you”re making all that up.”
Leo Kent aka the Best Dad Ever shook his head. ”No, I”ve seen it a lot over the years. You made it right before you went in and nailed your All-State audition”—he lifted a finger—”when you placed first in that oratorical contest”—another finger—”when you convinced me to buy you that over-priced violin…”
”Hey,” I said, pointing at him, ”Yami Yami was worth every penny.”
He gave me a look.
”You know I”ll pay you back when I”m the world”s #1 professional violinist. I already promised.”
”I know,” Dad said with a warm smile, ”and you know, I”d never in a million years let you do that.”
He wouldn”t. I”d already tried to pay him back some of it, even going so far as to sneak cash back into his wallet, pants, or car, but somehow the money always ended up back in my purse. With a sigh, I shook my head.
”Scarlett, all I want is to see you and your sister achieve your dreams,” he said, ”and for you to remember me when you”re famous.”
”So sappy,” I said with a frown. ”But I love you anyway.”
”Thanks, kid. The feeling”s mutual.”
”Everything go okay with your client?”
”Yeah,” he said, ”but that call lasted way too long. Sorry about that.”
”It”s okay,” I said.
Dad lifted his brows expectantly. ”How”d your conversation go?”
I tilted my head. ”What conversation?”
”Saw you texting up a storm over there, looking down at your phone, wearing a big smile. I almost thought I was driving Charlotte,” he said on a laugh.
”She is more of a smiler,” I mumbled.
”True. So?”
”It was nothing.”
Dad hummed. ”Was it a guy?”
”Dad.”
”A girl?”
”Dad.”
”Is the texter cute?”
”I”m leaving now,” I said, pushing open the car door, but Dad laughed and put a hand on my shoulder.
”Okay, okay, I won”t meddle,” he said then added, ”though I”d love to meet whoever made you smile like that.”
I shook my head, leaned over and gave him a quick hug.
”Thanks for not meddling,” I said. ”Love you.”
”Love you,” he said back. ”Have a good last first day, Scarlett.”
Once I was out of the car, I took a deep inhale and exhale.That was a close one. Dad wasn”t strict or anything when it came to guys—between Charlotte, who”d gotten her first boyfriend last year, and me, who”d…well, never dated, he”d never needed to be.
But if my plan grew wings, I knew Dad would eventually have to meet Sam.
Or re-meet him.
The guy who”d been my friend.
The one who made me cry for weeks when he stopped talking to me.
The one my dad said was no longer welcome in his house.
But I”d cross that bridge when I got to it.
First things first, I had to find Sam, explain my brilliant plan, and gently persuade him to sign on.
Turned out finding Sam wasn”t hard. In fact, as I walked the halls, it seemed like he was the only thing anyone was talking about. Well, he and Brisa. As I”d predicted, news of Chariot High”s It Couple breaking up was making the rounds. The CHS student body was all aquiver.
”I can”t believe they broke up.”
”I thought Bam would last forever.”
”Do you think Brisa would date me now? I think I”ve got a shot.”
”I heard she”s already dating someone else.”
My brow furrowed at that. So soon?
Right as I got to my locker, two people stepped up to the one next to mine, talking too loud for me to ignore. Not that I tried very hard. Grayson and Alexandria always had the best gossip.
”This is devastating,” Grayson said. ”The worst possible thing that could happen. Brisa and Sam were OTP.”
”One true pairing?” A scofffrom Alexandria. ”Yeah, right. Like that exists.”
”Come on, Sam”s stupid hot—”
”He is pretty fine.”
”—and Brisa”s a babe too. I heard she”s the one who broke up with him.”
”I heard he was crying earlier at his locker.”
”What?” I exclaimed, and the two glanced at me. ”I mean, really? Is that true?”
”Yeah, I saw him a second ago,” Alexandria said, leaning a bit closer. ”Poor guy. I didn”t see actual tears, but he definitely looked sad and kinda pissed.”
”Of course, he”s pissed!” Grayson threw his hands into the air. ”Brisa was his true love, and she”s already moved on. I heard she was just shoving it in his face too.”
”So cold,” I said.
”So cold,” Alexandria agreed.
”I didn”t think she was like that.”
”Me either,” Grayson put in. ”But there must”ve been a reason she broke up with him.”
I shrugged. ”I heard it was a mutual breakup.”
He shot me a pitying look. ”Whoever told you that was either misinformed or intentionally fooling themselves.”
”Yeah,” Alexandria said before I could argue that I”d heard it directly from Sam himself, ”that doesn”t even sound right.”
”Why not?” I asked.
”Because breakups are never mutual.”
Grayson was nodding. ”It”s true, Scarlett. With a forever couple like Bam, it”s always the same. One person does the breaking; the other person is left pining.”
”Always thought Sam would be the breaker in that scenario,” Alexandria said.
”Me too,” Grayson said. ”But I guess you never know.”
”I should go,” I said with a wave. ”See you guys later.”
As I weaved through the crowded hallway, I had one goal. Get to Sam as quickly as possible and assess the situation for myself.I thought there might”ve been a misunderstanding—I mean, Sam told me the breakup was mutual—or maybe even a bit of exaggeration on Grayson and Alexandria”s part—like me, they loved a good piece of gossip. But what I saw when I finally got to Sam”s locker made me freeze.
It was worse than I thought.
The scene was exactly as Alexandria had described.
Sam was on one side of the hall, his six-foot-three frame leaning back against his locker. He would”ve looked like a fantasy come to life—or at least my fantasy—if it wasn”t for the tightness in his shoulders or the dark scowl on his face. Actually, strike that. The scowl only made him look hotter. It was like that with some guys. Unfortunately. Pissed or not, Sam Bishop was, as always, stunning.His dark hair and light gray-blue eyes were an arresting combination.
Those eyes were currently locked on the two people across the hall.
Brisa”s arms were wrapped around the neck of another guy. Even from the back, I recognized him as Cooper Hollingsworth. My mind spit out everything I knew about him in five seconds flat. Football player. Class treasurer. Decent student (though word on the street was he paid his sister to do his homework). Member of the popular crowd but not a complete jerk. I knew that last to be true because I”d seen Cooper, more than once, walking his dog. Anyone who was a dog lover couldn”t be all bad. Admittedly, it wasn”t much. But I”d never seen him hanging out with Brisa. I didn”t even think they knew each other.
As Cooper pulled Brisa closer, attaching his lips to her neck, she let out a tinkling laugh.
Then again, maybe they did.
When I looked to Sam, I noticed the slight tightening of his jaw.
Yep, he was definitely pissed and pining.
I couldn”t stand seeing him like that.
It was clear Sam hadn”t been completely truthful last night. With the way he was watching them, I could tell he was feeling something, maybe a whole bunch of things. Maybe he hadn”t even known his true feelings until this very moment.
I”d had my suspicions, but this just confirmed it.
Sam was obviously still in love with Brisa.
And she, for whatever reason, was acting like he didn”t exist.
Or wait, no. That wasn”t right.
It seemed like…she was trying to make him jealous. Brisa was beautiful, and she might be a nice person—but I could”ve sworn she just glanced at Sam before laughing and turning her attention back to Cooper.
My eyes narrowed.
I”d seen this film before.
And I wanted to give Sam a different ending.
Despite our history, Sam really stepped up last night. He helped me without question. And I was determined to repay the favor.
I strode over until I was right in front of him.
”Hey, Bishop,” I said.
”Hey,” he said back.
His eyes hadn”t moved off Brisa and Cooper.
”I just wanted to thank you again for last night,” I said, ”and for the offer to take me to school this morning. It was thoughtful of you.”
”No problem,” he mumbled, still not looking at me.
”I”d love to help you somehow.”
When he didn”t respond, I leaned in closer, stood on tiptoe, and balancing myself with a hand on his shoulder, I placed a kiss against his cheek. Did I linger a little longer than necessary? Maybe. But I wanted to make sure I had his attention—and honestly, he smelled really good.
As I lowered back to my heels, Sam”s eyes were on me. A range of emotions played inside those gray-blue depths. Surprise. Confusion. And a spark of something I couldn”t name.
”What was that for?” he asked.
I shrugged. ”Looked like you needed a distraction.”
”And you”re volunteering to be my distraction?”
Yes.
I”ll be your anything.
Giving myself a mental shake, I refocused. This was so not the time for my feelings for Sam to make an inconvenient reappearance. I was past that now. It was just…
Something about the way he said those words made my cheeks fill with heat.
Sam arched that brow of his, waiting for an answer, and I swallowed.
”Sure,” I said. ”Why not?”
”Interesting,” he said.
”What is?”
”How out of all the ways you could”ve distracted me, you decided the best way was a kiss.”
”Technically, it wasn”t a real kiss,” I said.
”Agree to disagree.”
”Hey, you kissed me first.” I pointed out.”In the car last night.”
”I wasn”t complaining, Kent,” he said.
”Oh.”
”Was there something else you wanted?”
I gave him a nod. ”There was.”
”Okay then,” he said, pushing off his locker with a grin. The move brought our bodies within a breath of each other. I hadn”t realized how close we were until now. ”What”s up?”
”I need to ask you something.”
”I”m listening.”
Sam”s scent was making it hard to think. When I went to take a step back, I stumbled on air. But his arm shot out to grip my waist. The good thing? I didn”t fall on my ass. The bad? I was now surrounded by everything Sam Bishop.
His hand on my waist burned.
His eyes stared into mine.
His breaths were so close I felt as much as heard his next words.
”You okay, Kent?” he asked.
”Yeah, I—”
A locker door slammed loud enough to make me jump. Turning toward the sound, I watched Brisa”s hair swish as she walked away. She was arm-and-arm with Cooper, though instead of looking romantic, it seemed more like she was pulling him along. Glancing back over my shoulder, I noticed Sam was once again watching them.
”You know, if you keep staring,” I said quietly, ”she”ll know you”re still in love with her.”
His gaze snapped to mine.”What?” he said.
I shrugged. ”It”s written all over your face.”
”I don”t know what you think you see, Kent. But you”re wrong.”
”I”m hardly ever wrong, Bishop.”
He cracked a grin. ”Is that right?”
”It”s a fact,” I said.
Crossing his arms, Sam said, ”You were going to ask me something.”
I was momentarily distracted by what that did for his body.
Hello, biceps.
”Huh?” I said.
Sam looked like he was biting back a smile. ”Before Brisa interrupted. You were in the middle of saying something.”
Again, I dismissed whatever strange pheromones he was throwing off. This had nothing to do with attraction. It was about a partnership between two people who used to be friends. Nothing more or less.
”Yeah,” I said. ”I mean, yes, I”d like to propose a deal. If you”ll hear me out.”
He nodded.
”It”s more of a business proposition really. That”s how I think we should view this. I wrote down the main points, and as I”m sure you”ll see, there are a lot of benefits for both of us. I think if you read through—”
Sam held up a hand.
”Sounds good,” he said.
I frowned. ”But…you didn”t let me finish. You don”t even know what we”re talking about.”
”That”s true..”
”So, like I was saying—”
”But if you”re about to ask me to be your list partner,” he said, ”I”m in.”
I blinked.
Could it really be that easy?
Did Sam Bishop actually just offer to help me check off all the items on my list?
Without even hearing my proposal?
I couldn”t believe it.
And yet, my heart was doing a happy dance inside my chest.