AJ sat up now. “Your mom said she’d explained to you that since neither of us had a date to this thing last night we’d be each other’s dates,” he said as casually as he could. “Dates hold hands and, you know, act like they’re, well . . . dating.”
Clair was far too clever to not know the jig was up and he was still trying to deny the obvious. He could see it in her unimpressed reaction to his explanation. So he tried changing the subject. “Ask your mom when she gets off work. She’ll tell you. But, hey, since you mentioned Dad, have you heard anything else about Fred? Your mom talk to him lately?”
There was a noticeable change in her demeanor, and the playful near eye roll she’d given AJ’s previous response disappeared. AJ’s muscles were instantly tense. “I don’t know if I should be telling you this now.” She paused as if to think about then shook her head and continued. “It’s probably nothing bad, but I think that’s who she’s with now. She’s not at work like she told me she had to be. I heard her on the phone again this morning. She agreed to meet with him so they could talk.”
“Fred?” AJ asked, his insides lighting up fast.
Addison lied to him.
She’d specifically said she had something come up last minute at work and wouldn’t make it out to the ballpark with Clair and her dad, until later in the day when it got closer to the start of his game that afternoon.
“Yes.” Clair nodded. “Her saying his name is what got my attention in the first place. But you can’t tell her, AJ. I don’t want her to know I know. Just like with you two. It’s why I stopped asking her about it weeks ago. I’ve had a feeling you two were more than friends for a while now but figured she’d tell me when she was ready to. I only asked you now because I thought you might have a better response than your lame one and I could still try and counter Harrison’s text.”
Even her comment about his lame response didn’t make him laugh or even smirk like it normally would’ve. All he could think of was, after their near perfect night out last night, Addison lied to him and was somewhere meeting up with Fred at that very moment.
“Did you hear anything else?”
“No.” Clair shook her head; her troubled eyes spoke volumes. She was already regretting having told him. “She went outside to finish the call. Then when she came inside, she told me she’d have to go into the office but she’d meet me here later.”
In an attempt to appear unfazed by this, AJ tried lightening up his own demeanor. The last thing he wanted was to have Clair start keeping this kind of stuff from him out of fear that she was ratting out her mother. The expression on her face said she was worried she’d done just that.
“Yeah, it’s probably nothing bad. I’m sure she’ll tell you about it when she’s ready.” He forced a smirk. “And what are you talking about lame response? It’s the truth.”
“Oh, please,” she said, shaking her head, but he was glad her expression lost a little of its apprehension. “Your poker face is as bad as Harrison’s. You should’ve just gone with your first instinct and admitted it’s true but made me promise not to tell my mom you did. I could tell it was what you were thinking. But don’t worry. As long as you keep my secret, I’ll keep yours. For the record, I’m glad you and my mom are dating. She’s been in such a good mood lately, prancing around the house and singing all the time.” She shook her head again with a half roll of her eyes. “Such a dead giveaway. She’s also been much less uptight about all the little things she usually worries about. But hey”—she peered at him, her eyes going extra small as she pointed her pen at him—“don’t you dare hurt her. I may be a lot smaller than you, but remember, I read a lot. I know a lot more about things you’d never imagine I might.”
That made him laugh, despite the raw agitation he was still feeling about Addison lying to him. “I won’t, but you, hey,” he said, mimicking the menacing way she’d pointed her pen at him with his finger, “technically, I haven’t admitted anything.”
This time she gave him the full-blown eye roll but smiled. “The devil’s in the details, AJ.” She lifted her little notebook and shook it at him. “I gotta make my rounds. I’ll be back with the stats I think you need to know about for today’s game. But I gotta talk to Sly first.”
AJ watched her scurry away towards where Sabian was lifting weights. It still amazed him that this was a seven-year-old he had these conversations with. Most of the guys on the team weren’t as clever and on it as she was. He tried using her comment about her mom being in such a good mood lately to calm him. No way was Addison doing anything wrong with this guy. What she felt for AJ now was as palpable as what he felt for her.
As much as he hated to betray Clair’s trust, his patience when it came to lying went only so far. He’d give Addison the opportunity to come clean with him about this as soon as he was able to talk to her. But if she continued the bald-faced lies, no way was he going to be able to hold back.
Clair was right. He should’ve known better than to think he could ever even try to mask his true feelings. He was as good at that as he was at lying. It was why he never did. It went hand in hand with why the thought of Addison not being honest with him was so exasperating. He might’ve been able to keep to himself about the first call Clair had overheard, but this crossed the line. He’d given Addison the benefit of the doubt with the first call. She’d just kept the fact that she might still be in touch with the guy from him. She had made it clear early on that the situation with Clair’s dad was a private one she’d decided long ago not to share with anyone. He could respect that.
Today she flat out lied to AJ. He’d be delusional to think that he’d be able to hold back calling her out on it much longer than his next conversation with her. Clair would just have to forgive him, but no fucking way would he be able to hold back now.
~*~
Addison
Tonight would’ve been another perfect opportunity to hang out with AJ without Clair knowing anything about it. Addison could’ve easily put off telling Clair about her and AJ for at least one more night. Harrison and his parents were picking her up to take her with them to Harrison’s piano recital. Then they were going out to dinner and ice cream. Harrison’s parents knew all about dealing with a child with allergies since the little guy had a few of his own. Just another reason why she suspected Clair handpicked her best buddy. Not only could he relate to not fitting in with most kids their age, he too carried an EpiPen wherever he went. It was double the responsibility for Addison when she was the one watching over them, but it was also a relief to know his parents understood completely the importance of checking and asking the restaurants about all the ingredients they used in the food and while cooking.
That morning she’d told AJ that once they got home from the game she’d call him as soon as Clair had been picked up. It hadn’t even been a full day since she’d told him she was telling Clair the truth about their relationship, and she’d already chickened out. But after the day she’d had, the lies and secrets were beginning to suffocate her. She needed to come clean and unload at least one of them. So she took advantage of the drive home alone with Clair from the ballpark after the game to do it.
She waited patiently as Clair talked about the game. Her daughter was such a compulsive stat collector she knew things about AJ’s game she said she was certain not even real baseball statisticians knew. Her daughter had interviewed him enough before and after his games and documented his moods in her little notebook. According to her stats, he played either exceptionally well or exceptionally bad when he was stressing or feeling tense. “He never actually admits he’s stressing or feeling tense, but he’s so easy to read, especially when he’s tense.”