Page 62 of Hitting the Gap

Bailey chewed her bottom lip, looked down at herself and flattened her palm down the front of her outfit. “Does it look okay?”

“Looks more than okay.” His eyes instantly darted back to her chest, and he forced himself to look away from her breasts. Damn.

She fidgeted with the deep V of the shirt and pulled it up slightly. “I’m not sure I can pull this off.”

Gonzo walked over to her and grabbed her hand. “Stop. You look beautiful.”

She shifted her shoulders forward like somehow the movement would adjust the neckline.

“Bay, shirts like this were made for a body like yours.”

She grimaced. “It’s a lot of cleavage.”

His eyes instantly darted to the cleavage in question. She wasn’t wrong. The sight of her full breasts on display like that practically made his mouth water. He bit back a groan. “Like I said, that shirt looks like it was made for you. So stop fidgeting and own it.”

Bailey took a deep breath. “Thank you.”

“No problem.” Sometimes being a good friend sucked. Bailey might be feeling more confident, but now he was going to have to fight to keep his eyes on her face all night instead of looking at her chest.

Once they arrived in Old Town, they wandered down the street, weaving in and out of the shops before stopping to watch a couple of older women making tortillas in front of a Mexican restaurant. Bailey stood raptly, watching the woman rolling the dough.

Gonzo eyed the large outdoor seating area at the attached restaurant. “You want to just eat here?”

“Sure.”

He placed his hand on the small of her back and guided her toward the host stand. “You want me to ask for a seat so you can keep watching?” he teased.

“No, but you gotta admit that was impressive. I thought your mom was good at it, but that lady? She whipped out like ten tortillas in the time I would have been able to maybe do one.”

“I’m pretty sure she has a lot more practice at it than you do.”

“But still.” Bailey glanced over her shoulder at the woman again. “We’re buying some of those on our way out.”

“Two please,” he said to the hostess.

“Inside or out?”

Gonzo looked at Bailey for confirmation. “Out?”

“Yes, please.”

The hostess picked up a couple of menus. “Follow me, please.”

The woman wove her way through the tables and stopped at a table for two against the railing that enclosed the restaurant. Gonzo smirked at Bailey. “Look at that. You can still watch her.” He nodded toward the old woman. “You take this side.” He pulled out the chair facing the tortilla stand and gestured for Bailey to sit.

Bailey slid into her seat and he adjusted her chair behind her. He pulled out his own chair and sat down. He gripped the arm of the chair to pull himself closer to the table and his finger sunk into something sticky. Gross. He pulled his hand back and pink bubble gum stuck to his fingers. He held up his hand to the hostess. “Can I maybe get a different chair?”

The woman’s eyes widened in horror. “Oh my god, I’m so sorry. Of course. Let me get you a new table.”

“Nah, the table’s fine. Just a different chair would be awesome.” He smiled reassuringly at the hostess, then looked down at his hand and wrinkled his nose. “I’m just gonna go wash my hand while you grab a new chair.” He glanced down at Bailey. “Be right back.”

Conscious of not wanting to touch anything with his gummy fingers, he held his hand out from his body as he wove his way through the restaurant toward the washrooms at the back of the building. As he was passing by a table, a guy grabbed his arm. Gonzo looked down at the hand still wrapped around his forearm, then raised his eyebrow at the hand’s owner.

“You’re Ramon Gonzalez right?” the guy asked.

“Yeah, I am.”

“You guys sucked against Atlanta.”

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