Page 112 of Hitting the Gap

“Oh my god,” Smitty snorted. “Are you kidding me? None of us are great at it, but between us, we can probably figure it out. Let’s drop our bags and we’ll head over there.” He pointed at the Sherlock Holmes pub across the street.

In his room, he set his bag on the floor by the door and pulled his phone out of his pocket. Still no text from Bailey.

Damn it. He didn’t want to be the one who reached out first. She’d hurt him, not the other way around. If anyone should text first, it was her.

He shoved his phone into his pocket. Screw it. He needed a beer.

Ryan and Smitty were already in the lobby when he got there. “Where’s Pete?”

“On the phone with my sister.” Ryan rolled his eyes. “I told him to let it go to voicemail, but for some reason, he always wants to talk to her.”

“What the hell?” Smitty mumbled.

Following his gaze, Gonzo watched as Pete stumbled toward them like he’d just sucked down a cannister of laughing gas. His face split in some weird Joker-esk grin, one part happy, the other part crazed.

“Good talk with Kendall?” Gonzo asked.

“Everything okay with my sister?”

Pete blinked several times, then chuckled. “Yeah, fuck, umm.” He laughed again and looked at Ryan. “Ken’s pregnant.”

“Holy shit,” Ryan whooped, then grabbed Pete and picked him up.

Gonzo’s chest tightened. He was happy for his friend, he really was, but Pete’s news was like a neon sign showing the differences between where they were both at in their lives.

When Ryan set Pete down, Smitty hugged him. “Welcome to the club, brother.”

“Thanks. I’m still trying to process it.” Pete slapped Smitty on the back, then turned to Gonzo.

Another one of his friends was going to be a dad. “I’m happy for you, man. Looks like I’ll get a chance to be the favorite uncle again.”

“Fuck you. If anyone is going to be this kid’s favorite uncle, it’s me,” Ryan told him.

“We’ll see,” Gonzo taunted. “You obviously just found out?”

“Yeah, yeah, she just told me.” The goofy smile on his face changed to a laugh. “Holy shit.”

“Kendall is way more chill than my sister was,” Gonzo said. “When Ramona got pregnant, she wouldn’t let anyone know till she was something stupid, like three months along or something.”

Pete’s eyes widened. “Umm yeah, I might have fucked up there.”

“What do you mean?” Gonzo watched his friend and chuckled when Pete winced. “Oh shit, were you not supposed to tell us?”

Pete’s wince turned into a grimace. “Maybe not.”

“Maybe not?” Ryan asked.

“Definitely not.” Pete sucked in a breath through his teeth. “Kendall’s gonna kill me.”

Ryan smacked him on the arm. “Why’d you tell us then?”

“I didn’t mean to. I was fucking standing over there when she told me.” He pointed to where he’d been standing a couple of minutes ago. “It hadn’t even sunk in when I saw you guys. It just kind of slipped out.”

“It slipped out?” Ryan growled.

“Apparently not in time,” Smitty joked.

Gonzo snorted, then covered it with a cough when both Ryan and Pete glared at the other man.

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