One conclusion he’d come to in the midst of that morning’s surprise was that, after only two times out with Addison and Clair, it was already out there. He didn’t give a shit what anyone else said or thought of him and Addison. Not the press. Not any of the guys on the team. Not even his family. Sure he’d love nothing more than for them to be happy for him and for them to welcome her and Clair into their lives. With the way he felt about her, he’d make sure they understood she and Clair would be around a lot now. But the only ones he was concerned about were Coach Lara and Clair—Clair more so than the coach.. Yes, he wanted his coach’s blessing, but he had a feeling he already had it.
That morning in the locker room, the coach hadn’t addressed what was being said in the media or commented on the suggestive ribbing AJ had been getting from the guys. None of them had said anything outright, but like Bigsby’s “lover boy” remark, they made a few comments about his night out last night. All the coach had said was that the girls had had a good time and that Clair said he’d made Harrison’s year. He’d patted AJ on the shoulder then got right back to talk of the game ahead of them.
The two runs AJ’s homerun scored turned out to be all they needed as the Padres shut out the Cardinals to win the game. Clair had been as excited about meeting King and Queen as he’d been nervous about bringing her and Addison back to meet his family. He and Addison had already discussed it the night before, and she’d agreed there was no need for any deep explanations about why he’d bring Addison too. This was her seven-year-old little girl. It was one thing for them to be buddies on the field and around everyone else on the team. But it’d be kind of questionable, not to mention inadvisable, for him to be doing too much with her off the field alone.
Bringing them to the barbeque was a hit. Clair had a blast playing with the dogs, and everyone seemed to like and enjoy their company. AJ had told his siblings about Clair even before he’d met her mom. He’d previously told them about what an amazing and intelligent little girl she was, but he could tell right away they hadn’t been prepared just how grownup-like their conversations with her would feel. On the outside, she was this tiny little girl with the sweetest smile, but on the inside, she was a whirlwind of insightful information, declarations, and even witty banter. As expected, she quickly won everyone over, and no one seemed the least bit concerned about AJ’s obvious attraction to her single mom.
Not being able to tell Clair about the relationship was going to be harder than he thought for an altogether different reason. When he’d dropped them off at the end of the evening, it was sheer torture to not be able to kiss Addison good-bye, especially since he wouldn’t see her again for weeks. He’d snuck in a few kisses here and there at his place when Clair had been preoccupied with Liv’s dogs, but there was no way he could be sneaky with her standing right there.
Another tough one was the fact that if it weren’t for Clair they might’ve hung out longer like Nathan’s girl, Kelli, did. Clair had school early the next day, so Addison had to get her home.
Kelli was still there when AJ got back from dropping off his girls. She was the only one who didn’t peer at him teasingly when he walked out back to the deck where everyone was now sitting by the fire pit having drinks. The only reason he kept up the act was because she was the only one there he didn’t know well enough to trust she wouldn’t leak the truth about him and Addison to anyone.
Luckily, she got a call and stood up to take it away from everyone before anyone could ask what he knew was coming. Her call actually distracted Nathan, and it was Isaiah who did the inquiring first.
“So let’s have it.” Isaiah said, tossing another log into the fire pit. “We know you’re full of shit now.”
“What?”
“Drop the act,” Emi said, leaning into her husband Sydney in the recliner they were sharing. “I saw you kiss her.”
AJ frowned, glancing over to where Kelli had strolled off onto the beach. She was so far now, and with the wind and the sound of the crashing waves, he was sure she couldn’t hear, so he spoke quickly. “Nate,” he said, trying to get the attention of his brother who kept glancing over to where Kelli was on the phone.
Nathan turned back to him, looking almost annoyed. “What?”
“She didn’t see, did she?” AJ asked, motioning toward Kelli.
Nathan shrugged with a frown. “If she did, she didn’t mention it. Why do you care if she saw?”
“No offense, but we don’t know her well enough yet, and I cannot let this get out.”
“I trust her,” Nathan said, his face going even sourer.
“Yeah?” AJ smirked. “Is that why you keep glancing over there? Who’s she giggling on the phone with?”
That had Nathan and a few of the others turning back to glimpse at Kelli. The barely-there smile she wore while she talked could hardly be construed as giggling. Still AJ knew his brother. It was almost laughable how irritated his comment had made Nathan. AJ might be the one dubbed Rage, but both his brothers were just as bad. AJ had noticed it earlier since this wasn’t the first call Kelli had wandered away to take. Each time he’d noticed Nathan got more uncomfortable with it.
If it weren’t for the one call Addison had stepped away to take earlier, AJ might say his brother was overreacting. But since AJ had taken the several calls he’d gotten right in front of Addison, it did make him wonder why she’d walk away to take hers.
“Real fast,” AJ said, eyeing Kelli, who was still on the phone, “before she gets back. I’ll tell you guys more about it another time, but for now, all I can say is, yes, I’m seeing Addison now, but she doesn’t want her daughter to know.
Isaiah laughed. “You don’t think that little genius hasn’t already figured it out?”
“No, she hasn’t,” AJ said firmly. “I’m telling you she’s been my little bud for months now. It’s not unusual that I’d be spending time with her and her mom, but Addison’s adamant that we keep things under wraps until she feels Clair is ready to know, so in the meantime, no one knows. Not even her parents. Understood? Anyone asks any of you, we’re just good friends.”
Kelli was on her way back to the deck, so AJ gave them all a warning glare before heading to the outdoor fridge to grab a beer. The moment Kelli sat down next to Nathan her phone dinged again. Both she and Nathan glanced at her phone’s screen.
“Who’s Raymond?” Nathan asked immediately.
Kelli shook her head, hitting something on her screen. As expected, Nathan whispered something to her, his expression as hard as it’d gone earlier when AJ had teased him about her giggling with someone on the phone. In the next few seconds, they were up and walking off toward the beach again.
The girls headed inside to grab more snacks and to make another pitcher of Margaritas, while the guys all gathered around the bar area.
Liv’s husband, Lorenzo, eyed Nathan and Kelli in the distance. “Something about that girl is a little shady,” he said, taking a swig from his beer. “How long has Nathan been with her?”
“Not too long,” Isaiah answered because AJ wasn’t around enough to be sure. “Few weeks.” Isaiah peered at Lorenzo just as curiously as AJ did but then brought his attention back to his beer bottle. “What makes you think she’s shady?”
“Don’t listen to this guy,” Lorenzo’s brother Vince said, shaking his head. “He was burned once, so he trusts no one. Your sister’s the only one who finally convinced him not all girls are liars.”
Lorenzo shrugged. “I could be wrong, but getting burned taught me one thing. I never ignore my gut feelings anymore.”