Page 115 of Hitting the Gap

“Yep.” He dug his nail deeper into the edge of the coaster, splitting apart the cardboard.

“Well, that sucks. How come she’d move for him and not you?”

Feeling vindicated, he threw up his hands. “Thank you. That’s exactly what I said.”

“And what’d she say?” Pete pressed.

“She went all feminist on me.”

“What do you mean?”

“How she’d made the mistake of following a man once, never again. She was her own woman, blah blah blah.” He shook his head. “Which I don’t get. I don’t see how it’s any different from what’s happening now. I don’t charge her rent now, so I don’t see how it would be any different if we moved someplace else and she couldn’t find work.”

“The difference would be that she might not be able to find work. She’s got a pretty niche job, doesn’t she?” Ryan asked.

“Yeah. Apparently professor jobs are thin on the ground, which is why I said she didn’t have to work because I’d be making bank.”

“You said that?” Smitty asked. The matching deer in headlights looks on Pete and Ryan’s faces said they were all feeling the same thing.

“I wasn’t a dick about how I said it. I said I wanted her with me and am happy to support her until she found the right thing. I don’t see how that’s a bad thing.”

“I’m guessing she did?” Pete asked cautiously.

“Oh yeah.” He picked up his beer and took a sip. “But she was planning on moving to San Diego with that asshat before she found a job. This professorship just came through at the last minute. She didn’t have that when she said yes to him. So why would she move with him and not me?”

“I don’t know,” Smitty mumbled. “Did you ask her?”

“Yep, and that’s when she went on about being her own person and all that shit. How does moving with me mean she’s not her own person? I’m not some dick who’s trying to control her life. And I’m fucking insulted that she thinks I am.”

“Did she say she thought you were controlling?” Smitty asked. “Did you ask her to move with you, or tell her?”

Gonzo gawked at his friend. “In what world would I tell a woman she had to do anything?”

Smitty raised an eyebrow.

“Besides in the bedroom.” Gonzo sighed. “Of course, I didn’t demand she move with me. I’d just met with Brian.” He rubbed his forehead with his hand. “Maybe I could have broached the subject differently. I don’t know.”

“Is he hearing talk?” Pete asked.

“No, he’s speculating right now, but it got me thinking.”

Ryan sighed. “I try not to think about the fact that you’re both free agents after this season. That’ll suck if the Hawks don’t sign you both.”

“I don’t think the Hawks will be able to offer anything close to what’ll be on the table for Gonz with the season he’s been having,” Pete said. “Me? We’ll see. It’d be nice if they could.”

“Brian’s expecting some good offers.” Gonzo didn’t want to share with his friends yet what his agent had in the works for endorsements but if it went through it would guarantee teams wanted him even more. “You guys know how it is. We have no guarantee on how many seasons our body will hold up so you gotta take the best contract you can get.” The money Brian was talking about was life changing, not just for him but for his family as well. “I don’t have a choice. My parents sacrificed so much to give me this opportunity. I can just imagine how proud my dad would be if I signed a big contract.”

“I’ve met your parents. They’d be proud of anything you did,” Pete said.

“Yeah, but come on, me signing a huge contract, that’s like the American dream. It doesn’t get better than that.”

“Wasn’t their dream just for you to have the choice?” Smitty asked.

Was it?

“I don’t even know what’s gonna get offered, so it doesn’t matter. What matters is Bailey uprooted her whole life for Brad and she won’t even consider building a life with me. Fuck, I’m an idiot.”

“You’re not an idiot. Bailey loves you,” Ryan said.

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