Page 29 of Hitting the Gap

Charles shrugged. “Just thought you’d be better in bed, that’s all.”

Gonzo reared back. “What the fuck?”

“Just saying man.” Charles picked up his beer and took a sip. Bastard throws out an insult and then acts like he doesn’t have a care in the world.

Bailey placed her hand on his arm and instantly some of the tension in his shoulders disappeared. “What is it you’re saying exactly?” Bailey asked.

“If you stay friends after fucking, then the sex sucked. You can’t be just friends with someone you had good sex with.”

Brandon burst out laughing. “What?”

Charles leaned back in his seat and crossed his foot over his knee. “It’s true. It’s like a scientific fact. If you had great sex, you’re always going to want to fuck them. You can’t be friends with someone you want to fuck.”

“Dude.” Brandon shook his head and chuckled like he couldn’t quite believe what Charles said.

“Hang on. Are you saying men and women can’t be friends?” Bailey asked.

“No, I’m saying men can’t be friends with a woman they find attractive, especially if they’ve had killer sex. Clearly, you two either didn’t have sex or it sucked.”

“Wow.” Bailey ran her hand over her mouth and pinched her bottom lip between her fingers.

“We’ve never had sex,” Gonzo growled.

Charles looked over at Bailey, his leer scanned down her body, then he glanced at Gonzo. “Yeah, that makes sense.”

Bailey’s body went ramrod straight beside him. “On that note, if you’ll excuse me, I’m kind of tired. I think I’m gonna head to bed.” She pushed up from the sofa. “It was nice meeting you, Brandon.” She glanced at Charles, the disgust she felt for him clear on her face. She rolled her eyes, then looked at Gonzo. “Night, Gonz.”

He watched Bailey walk out of the room. Everything in him wanted to kick the guys out and follow her. Unfortunately, he wasn’t sure if he wanted to follow her as Bailey the friend, or Bailey the woman he couldn’t stop thinking about. He was so fucking confused. So he did nothing. The moment he heard her bedroom door snick shut he turned to Charles and smacked him on the chest.

Charles rubbed his hand against his sternum. “Ow, why’d you do that?”

“Have you never talked to a woman before? Jesus.”

“What? What’d I say?” The dumb fuck looked like he didn’t have a clue.

“You’re a fucking idiot,” Gonzo muttered. And there wasn’t enough time in the world to explain it to him. Gonzo chucked the gaming remote at him. “Just shut up and play the fucking game.”

As the game loaded up on screen, he glanced toward the hallway. It wasn’t like Bailey to back down from a fight. Especially not with someone like Charles. He itched to go check on her. And do what?

Shit. The woman had his mind all fucked up.

So instead of checking on her, he settled for destroying Charles at video games. What guy in his right mind would want a woman to sit around and watch him suck that hard at something? Now he was kind of disappointed Bailey hadn’t stuck around to watch him kick good ol’ Chuck’s ass.

Looked like his attempt to find new guys to hang out with had been a flop, at least as far as Charles was concerned.

Chapter 9

Bailey stood at the top of the stairs and looked down at the stadium seats below her. She took a deep breath, then slowly made her way down the steps to her seat. She stopped at the end of the third row. Her eyes landed on a little boy in a Smith jersey. That must be Max. Having a child in the group instantly made her relax. How bad could it be when you had a little kid jumping up every five minutes?

She moved her way down the row, pausing at a man with his legs shoved out in front of him. The guy looked up at her, rolled his eyes, and tried to shift himself to the side slightly. Bailey eyed him and the narrow space he’d created for her to squeeze through. The guy beside him stood up, creating more space. She smiled at the standing man, then stepped forward to squeeze past the one who hadn’t bothered to get out of his seat. He muttered something under his breath and shifted his legs slightly. Bailey smiled apologetically as she pushed past, her thigh pressed against the man’s leg to create space.

Would it have been so hard to just stand up so she could get through? She smiled at the standing man as she slipped past him. “Thanks,” she mumbled.

“No problem.”

She stepped into the space for her empty seat and smiled at the woman beside her. The little boy leaned forward. “Are you Bailey?” he asked.

“I sure am.” She sat down and turned to the boy. “You must be Max.”

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