Page 31 of Hitting the Gap

“Holy crap, ten kids between two houses. I can barely handle the one I have.” Kia eyed Max. “That’s impressive.”

“Yeah, our moms just tag teamed us. If you mouthed off at either house, you paid for it at that house. My mom washed out Gonzo’s mouth with soap on more than one occasion.”

Kendall laughed. “He still has a mouth like a trucker, so I don’t think he learned his lesson.”

Bailey snorted. “Not the quickest study on that one. By the time he was a teenager, my mom switched it to doing errands for her. I don’t think either mom had to run to the grocery store for forgotten ingredients all through high school because Gonz was always owing someone a payment for his language. It got so bad we had a Gonzo chore list on our fridge.”

“Oh my god, I can totally see that,” Kendall snickered. “Your mom called him Gonzo too?”

“Yeah, everybody did. It started back in t-ball. Our coach called him Gonzo, then everybody started, including his mom. I think she realized pretty quickly that having six kids all with first names that started with R was good in theory, but not quite as convenient as she’d hoped.”

“They all have R names?” Peyton asked.

“Yep, when one of them was in trouble, she’d run through the list. Gonz was the only one spared since he went by something different.” Bailey chuckled at the memory of Gonzo’s mom, Rose, yelling across the fence at her kids.

She glanced over at Kia, who was watching her intently. “Did you and Gonz ever date?” Kia asked.

“God, no.”

“Why do you say it like that?” Kia asked.

“We just didn’t have that kind of relationship.” How could they when Gonzo was the star athlete in the school, captain of every team and she’d been the slightly heavy, artsy sidekick? There was no way women who looked like these three would understand what it was like to be a plus sized woman in a Victoria’s Secret world.

Sure, she’d had a crush on Gonzo in high school, every girl had. But he’d never once looked at her like that. It had broken her teenage heart, but she’d gotten over it and now she was glad they’d never crossed that line because realistically they probably wouldn’t have remained friends. “Nah, when you’ve had food poisoning together at fifteen…” She shuddered. “Some things you can’t unsee.”

“Ew.” Peyton cringed. “I can only imagine.”

Bailey laughed. “Yeah, it wasn’t good. For either of us.”

Max jumped up from his seat. “There’s Dad.” He bounced up and down, waving his arms toward the field.

Bailey looked down to the field where Gonzo stood with Pete Saunders and Jeff Smith as the three men did some kind of elaborate handshake, dance combo that made Max squeal. The little boy took off his cap and smacked it against his palm, then thigh in an elaborate combo before he spun around in a circle and slapped the hat back on his head. The three men on the field threw their hands up in a cheer that made Max giggle.

Kia rubbed the top of Max’s head, then blew a kiss down to the field.

God, that was cute. Bailey’s chest tightened. He hadn’t changed a bit. Gonzo was still the same guy he’d always been. The guy who’d make a fool of himself in public for a loved one.

Living with Gonzo for the past couple of days, she’d seen a different side to him than she’d ever seen before. He was more polished, more bougie, than the boy she’d known. A part of her wondered if that boy was still in there. This proved he was. He might be a big-time athlete with a personal shopper, but he was still Gonzo.

As the guys started warming up on the field, Kendall leaned forward. “So, how are you liking San Diego?”

“It’s good. Definitely different from KC.”

“I’ll bet.” Kendall smiled. “So Gonzo said you’re a university professor.”

“I am. Sociology.”

“I took a couple of sociology classes when I did my degree,” Peyton said. “They were interesting. What’s your area?”

“Gender studies predominantly.” At the open expression on Peyton’s face, she continued. “I teach a misogyny in the media class.”

“So, would you focus on a particular area of the media for the course?” Peyton asked.

“Yes, for this semester we’ll be looking at the way women are portrayed in cartoon and comics.”

“That’s very cool,” Kia said. “I’ve never really given much thought to that kind of thing.”

“And I’ve probably given it way more thought than anyone ever should.” Bailey laughed. “So we probably balance each other out.”

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