Page 22 of Hitting the Gap

Bailey snickered. “Bye loser.”

“Later,” Jen sang, then disconnected the call.

Damn her sister and the stupid climb Gonzo like a tree crap. Now that was all she could think about. She ripped her earbuds out of her ear. Nope, that line of thinking was just stupid. And contrary to her relationship with Brad, she wasn’t an idiot.

Chapter 7

Gonzo walked into the locker room later that afternoon, nodded to Pete and dropped his bag on the bench beside his friend.

“So how did it go with Bailey yesterday? Did you get her all moved in?” Pete asked.

“Sort of. I mean, her shit’s all in storage.” He grabbed the hem of his shirt and yanked it over his head.

“What do you mean her shit’s in storage?” Pete asked.

Gonzo pulled his jersey off the hook in his locker and replaced it with the shirt he’d been wearing. “The place was a shithole, so she moved in with me.”

“Wha…” Pete shook his head in confusion. “What do you mean, she moved in with you?”

He pushed his pants off and hung them on the hook in his locker. With his ball pants in hand, he turned back to Pete. “The place was fucking disgusting. There’s no way I was letting her move in there.”

Pete tilted his head and banged on the side of it like he was trying to knock something loose. “Sorry, I think I must have something in my ears because there’s no way I’m hearing you let your childhood ‘female’ friend move in with you.”

“Haha, funny man.” Gonzo rolled his eyes as Pete pulled on his earlobe and continued to shake his head.

“So she’s staying for a couple days?” Pete asked.

Gonzo stepped into his pants and pulled them up. “Not sure. We’ll see how it goes.”

“What the fuck?” Pete asked. “Seriously?”

“What?”

“Come on, man, you can’t have a woman living with you,” Pete said.

“Why not? You do. And Kendall hasn’t killed you yet.”

“Yeah, but she loves me so…” Pete shrugged. “Besides. I’m not bringing strange girl’s home.”

“It’s fine. Bailey’s cool.”

Pete snorted. “Yeah right.”

“What? She is.”

“Sure man.” Pete’s eyes danced with amusement. “Wait till the guys hear about this one.” Pete reached into his bag and pulled out his cellphone.

“What are you doing?” Gonzo asked.

“Texting Kendall to tell her that I’ll be late cuz we’re going for a beer after the game.”

Gonzo raised his eyebrow in question. “Why? You guys never want to grab a beer anymore.”

Pete made a face. “Yeah, but come on, man. You’re moving in with a girl, that’s huge. This calls for a guys’ night.”

“I’m not fucking moving in with a girl. It’s Bailey. Jesus.”

“Yo, Smitty, Ry, beer after the game,” Pete yelled across the locker room.

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