Page 7 of Hitting the Gap

Gonzo snorted out a laugh. “Not even close.”

“What happened?”

“My niece had seen this restaurant on social media. I don’t know some celebrity, or something had been there, so she insisted we all go.” Gonzo cringed. “We all got food poisoning.”

“Oh my god, no.”

“Yep, then a few days later, my mom got stung by a jellyfish.” He shook his head. “The whole vacation was just one clusterfuck after another.”

“Well, you got a good family photo out of it at least,” Bailey said.

“Thank god we took that the first night because we sure as hell didn’t look like that when we went home.”

“Still, it’s very sweet that you took your whole family on vacation.”

“Yeah maybe. Raul and I got into it as usual about how I was showing off by being a big spender, taking his family on a trip he couldn’t afford.”

“Guess some things never change, huh?” Bailey said. Gonzo’s brother had always been jealous of his younger brother.

“Didn’t stop him from accepting the trip, though.” Resigned annoyance tinged Gonzo’s voice.

“He’s always wanted whatever you had.”

“Including you,” Gonzo said.

“Yes, well, once he found out you weren’t interested in me, he quickly realized he wasn’t either.” Bailey cringed. “Ah well, his reasoning was messed up, but at least he saved me from graduating high school without ever being kissed.”

Gonzo turned. “Hang on. Are you telling me my brother was your first kiss?”

“Afraid so. First and only kiss in high school. How’d you not know that?”

“How’s that even possible? I remember you going into the closet with what’s his name, Jeff … um … Clark, in eighth grade.”

“Mmm, yeah, he was afraid you’d punch him if he copped a feel.”

“Yeah, and I would have. Big difference between a little kiss in the closet and grabbing your boob.”

Bailey snorted out a laugh. “And you wonder why no one wanted to kiss me. Even now, more than a decade later, you still sound annoyed about it.”

“I just think you deserve more respect than that.”

“Well, I appreciate that, but in high school I have to admit I wished someone, anyone, liked me enough to risk pissing you off.” She sighed. “Probably why I let your brother kiss me, even though I knew it would cause issues between you two because I stupidly thought someone finally liked me.” She set the picture back down on the shelf. “Ah well, it was a long time ago.” And yet somehow the humiliation of how that time in her life felt was still alive and well.

Brushing off the wave of embarrassed nostalgia, Bailey walked over to the window and looked out. Gonzo stepped up beside her and bumped her with his hip. “So what do you say? Want to be my roomie?”

Her gaze lingered on the waves crashing against the shore. How amazing would it be to wake up to that every day? She’d never dreamed of living anywhere so luxurious. Would it be wrong to stay and enjoy it just for a little while? Things with Brad had ended so crappy, she hadn’t thought they could get much worse until she’d seen that apartment. What if that was all she could find? Or afford? She glanced at her childhood friend. What would she do without him? “Yeah, I want to be your roomie.”

Chapter 3

“Last one.” Gonzo dropped the box on the bedroom floor and glanced around the spare bedroom. Boxes of Bailey’s belongings lay strategically near the closet and the bookcase. He counted seven boxes, well eight if he included the one he’d placed on the bathroom counter. That’s it? She’d agreed to stay here for the next couple months at least, and she only needed eight boxes? His sister needed more than that for a weekend visit.

“Do you have a knife or something I can use to cut the tape?” Bailey asked.

“Yeah, one sec.” He left the bedroom, grabbed a pair of scissors from the cutting block on the kitchen counter, and made his way back to the room. He stopped at the nearest box and deftly sliced open the seam. “You opening them all?”

“May as well. There’s not that many.”

He walked up to the next box, sliced it open and continued around the room until all the boxes were open. Now what? Did he help her unpack? Was that an invasion of her privacy? Was he a dick if he didn’t help? Shit.

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