Chapter 8

Gordo sat in the living room of the Sanchez's house. It was very quiet there, but it was a peaceful quiet. Miranda and her mom were in the kitchen finishing dinner, Sofia had gone up stairs to call one of her friends, and Mr. Sanchez had not returned yet. Gordo sat on the couch and looked at all the pictures the Sanchez's had around the room. There was big family picture of Mr. and Mrs. Sanchez and the two girls that looked like it was taken sometime after highschool. On a self was a picture of Miranda and Larry. "They look good together." Gordo thought. Larry seemed to look as if he had filled out with some muscle, but other than that he still looked the same. He stood up and went over to one of the end tables and picked up a picture that he was sure he had never seen before, and he didn't really remember taking it either. He saw Miranda in long red dress. She looked very beautiful with hair up in a loose bun and some strands curled up. Next to her he saw himself in a black tux with the jacket unbuttoned. Then next to him was Lizzie. She had on a light purple spaghetti strap dress that was a bit shorter than Miranda's. The color looked prefect on her very tan skin and her blond hair that was in loose curls. Gordo had his arms around both of the girl's shoulders and all three had huge smiles on their faces.

"That was a really fun night." He heard a girl's voice say. Gordo's head spun around. There she stood right in front of him. His mouth was wide open and he had no idea what to say. His stomach was in a knot and he felt himself instantly break into a sweat. "Hello Gordo." She said.

"Hi. It's good to see you." He said trying to avoid her eyes.

"It's great to see you too." They stood their trying not to look at each other and trying to avoid the awkward silence that fell on them. Miranda was standing behind Lizzie and noticed the awkwardness on her two friends.

"Well…this is really nice. The three amigos back again." She smiled at her friends and put her arms around them. "Lizzie got here when you were in the bathroom."
"Oh. I'm sorry; I didn't know you were here. I would've come said hi." Gordo said.

"It's ok." She said still not looking at him. Miranda looked at the picture that Gordo was still holding.

"Oh I remember when we took this picture. Senior prom, it was so fun."

"I really don't remember taking this picture." Gordo said.

"Yeah, I'm sure you don't." Lizzie mumbled.

"What was that?" Gordo asked, knowing that she was trying to insult him.

"Oh, nothing. That was a fun night."
"No Lizzie, what did you say?" Gordo got a little rougher. Miranda stiffened as she could feel a fight coming on.

"Come on guys, you don't have to do this again." Miranda said giving Gordo a harsh look.

"Yeah." Gordo said.

"Sorry." Lizzie said to Miranda.

"MIRANDA!" Mrs. Sanchez called from the kitchen, and Miranda left the two standing there.

"So…I saw Matt the other day. He has really grown up."

"Yeah he said he saw you too."

"How is the rest of your family?"
"They're doin good." Lizzie was being very short with her answers. Gordo hated what had happened between the two of them.

"Good." Gordo turned to walk into the kitchen and he felt her hand on his shoulder.

"Gordo." He turned back toward her. She took a deep breath. "I am really glad to see you." She said looking into his eyes.

"I'm really glad to see you too." Gordo took a step toward her. They looked into each others eyes. "I am so stupid" Gordo thought. He let out a small smile which caused her to smile back. He leaned forward and wrapped his arms around her body as she leaned in against him. It was the first time that they had hugged in over five years and it felt great, and Gordo wished he could stay there forever. They let go of each other and stood there awkwardly, but thankfully Mr. Sanchez and the rest of the family came through the door.

"David! Hey bud." Mr. Sanchez said as soon as he seen Gordo. Gordo reached out to shake Mr. Sanchez's hand. "How you doin?"
"I'm doin really good. What about you, any new projects?" Gordo asked raising his eye brow. Mr. Sanchez just laughed.

"Follow me." He said. The two walked into the garage and Gordo saw Mr. Sanchez's new project.

"It's a Harley." He told Gordo.

"Wow it's beautiful." Gordo said running his hands down the shinny silver motorcycle.

"Get on." Gordo got on the bike and started it up. It rumbled underneath him and he felt like it would race right through the garage door. "Isn't something?" Mr. Sanchez yelled over the roaring engine.

"It sure is!" Gordo shut the engine off and got off the powerful machine.

"I bought the engine and built the rest around it. It's my baby."
"Yeah, he paid more for it than my wedding." Miranda said as her and Lizzie had snuck in the garage.

"Well it was worth it." Gordo joked. Miranda hit him on the shoulder. They all walked back into the house as Mr. Sanchez found what Gordo had been doing.

Lizzie also listened, but didn't ask any questions. She heard most of it from Mr. and Mrs. Gordon when she went to their house. She still couldn't believe that he was here in the Sanchez house. She was so happy Miranda had called to warn her that he was there, or else she would not have been prepared for him being there. She was still very hurt with what Gordo had done, and was on high guard against him. She wasn't going to get hurt by him again, and wasn't going to put herself in a situation to get it hurt.

They all sat down at the Sanchez table to eat after Gordo and Lizzie were introduced to the family. Sofia sat next to Gordo while Lizzie and Miranda sat directly across from him. The dinner was going great. Everyone was having a great time, laughing and joking. Lizzie and Gordo answered a few questions about their lives, then the question that came next shocked Gordo more than anything.

"So Lizzie, do you have a boyfriend?" Mrs. Sanchez asked. Miranda looked at Gordo real quick.

"Well yes I do. He is a teacher at the school I teach at. He's also the head baseball coach there as well." Gordo nearly chocked on his food when he heard her say that. He started coughing and Sofia started slapping him on the back.

"You ok Gordo?" everyone seemed to ask at once.

"Yeah, I'm fine." He sputtered out still coughing slightly. "I think I just need some fresh air." He excused himself from the table and walked out the front door. He couldn't believe it, Lizzie was dating someone. For some reason he didn't think it would hit him like it did. He knew he shouldn't be mad or anything, because, after all, he broke her heart and left her. He couldn't expect her to just stay in the past and wait for him. He just didn't want to hear that she had gotten over him.

"Maybe I should go see if Gordo's ok." Miranda said getting up from the table. She walked outside and found Gordo sitting on the front porch steps.

"You ok?" She asked sitting down beside him.

"Yeah." He said trying to force out a smile.

"You didn't know Lizzie had a boyfriend, did you?"

"No. My mom said she wasn't married or anything. And she told me that she was in a serious relationship in college but they had broken up. She just made it seem that she wasn't with anyone."

"Well, she was in a serious relationship. She was engaged to…" Gordo shot Miranda a stern look. "Sorry, I guess that doesn't really help huh?"

"No, I'm sorry. I just didn't know. I didn't think it was going to hit me like that. That's all."

"Well Gordo, you have to realize it has been 5 years, she's moved on. Thought you had too?"

"I am…I was…I don't know? I thought I had." Gordo stared at the ground for a minute and took a deep breath.

"You gonna be ok?"

"Yeah. I am. It was my decision to leave along time ago. I left her. I don't expect her to wait around for me. I need to move on too." Gordo looked at Miranda and smiled.

"Come on lets go back in." She said and gave Gordo a small hug.

The two walked back in to finish dinner. Everyone asked Gordo if he was ok and he said he felt great. As he sat down he smiled at Lizzie, who gave a weak smile back. Everyone continued to talk and joke as they ate.

"Gordo, we found out about Lizzie's love life, what about yours. Any snow bunnies up the in Denver?" Mr. Sanchez joked.

"Yes sir. I have had my share of snow bunnies." Gordo and Mr. Sanchez laughed, but it seemed they were the only two. "When I left I had a serious girlfriend, but it really didn't work out. I just haven't ever found a girl that I was ever in love with…even in high school." He said as he turned towards Lizzie. He could see her eyes almost instantly swell up with tears, and he also noticed Miranda become steaming hot. If her look could kill, he would have been dead on the spot.

"Excuse me." Lizzie said, quickly getting up from the table and walked out of the room.

"GORDO!" Miranda snapped at him following Lizzie out of the room. Gordo stood up and looked at everyone at the table. Mr. Sanchez was just shaking his head, while Mrs. Sanchez had stood up with her hands on her hips.

"David, I think you might need to leave." She told him.

"I think you're right. Thank you for dinner." Gordo said as he walked out the room. He got in his car and sat behind the wheel. "What did I do?" He said out loud.