Page 28 of Totally Played
“Ash, Beau,” Calvin calls, and Lion’s friend Beau looks his way, too.
“Oh, right. Umm, Beau, this is Beau, too,” Calvin says, and they nod as a way of hello.
“Do you have a nickname?” I turn and ask Beau, and he blushes. “You do. What is it?”
“My friends back in school used to call me… Hulk.”
I frown and glance between the big buff bodybuilder, Beau, and this Banana Ball Beau. I know which one I would call Hulk, and it isn’t him.
“Okay, I am going to need to know why?”
He chuckles. “My last name’s Hogan, and I’m blond, so they decided to start a rumor that my mom had a fling with Hulk Hogan and I was his secret love child. Had half the school convinced before I went to college, and the nickname stuck until I joined the team here.”
“Do you like it?”
“Not really.”
“Well then, we won’t go with that. What’s your middle name?”
“James.”
“We could call you BJ. Everyone loves a good BJ.”
“Ha! As great as those are, I think I’ll pass. Beau is already sort of a nickname.”
“How do you mean?”
“My full name is Beaufort James Albert Hogan the third.”
“The third?” I repeat with a raised brow.
“My family is big on tradition back home.”
“I guess we could take the back end of your name instead of the front, how about Fort?”
He smiles.
“Sure, that’s actually way better. Why didn’t I think of that?”
“You were too close to it,” I say, and he chuckles again, finally relaxing a little. Calvin and his sister Rachel start walking over.
“What’s so funny?” Rachel asks, and I slap my hand down on Fort’s shoulder.
“We’ve just been hashing out a new nickname. Can’t have two Beaus. Well, we can. There are probably like a million of them in the world, but it will get a bit confusing on game night.”
Rachel laughs. “Yeah, B-One and B-Two are already taken by the super twins.”
“Really, that’s your nickname?” I ask, turning my attention to Calvin, who shoves his sister in the side.
“Unfortunately, yes. It’s a silly name that started when we joined the league, you know, because we play Banana Ball and they are bananas. Anyway, what did you decide?”
“My first name is actually Beaufort, so I’ll go by Fort,” Fort says.
“I love that.” Rachel beams, turning to face the group.
“Hey, guys, Beau is going by Fort now, okay?”
The guys nod and agree and then return to their conversations.
