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.”

Addison had to wonder how accurate Clair’s conclusions were because tonight AJ had the entire stadium chanting his nickname on several occasions. He’d homered more than once, threw out a few guys on base with that arm the sportscasters had often referred to as a rocket. He’d even held onto the ball, making the play when a runner attempting to score tried running through him at home base. After the massive collision at the plate, he lifted his hand up, still holding the ball. If today was an example of him having an exceptionally good game, Addison wondered if anything was going on with his brothers.

Last night Nathan and Kelli hadn’t stuck around for the after party and everyone speculated about it. AJ had, of course, been annoyed, saying it was likely Kelli who’d insisted that they leave because it wasn’t like Nathan to not stick around.

Clair finally paused, becoming distracted as they crawled through traffic just outside the stadium. “Papa always takes the other way,” she commented.

Addison frowned but wouldn’t mention she was purposely taking the longer way and why.

“Clair, I wanted to talk to you.” She immediately had her daughter’s attention as Clair turned to her and peered curiously. “It’s about AJ and me. You’ve asked me about it before, and I didn’t want to tell you until I was a little surer about it working out, but we’re more than friends now.”

To her surprise, Clair smiled. “I know.”

“You do?”

It shouldn’t have surprised her. Addison was the one who was always saying how perceptive her daughter was, but she was curious now. “Did someone tell you?”

Clair shook her head then smirked. “Well, not exactly. I’d pretty much guessed it a long time ago, but I asked AJ today point blank, and he didn’t admit to it, but he may as well have. It was so obvious he was scrambling with his response.”

She giggled and so did Addison, wondering now if that was maybe why AJ might’ve been tense tonight and had such a good game.

Addison finished giggling, feeling a little nervous now, but she had to ask. “How do you feel about it?”

She turned to see Clair shrug then smile. “I think it’s really cool. But what happens now?”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean are you two getting married? Will that make him my stepdad?”

“Uh.”

Addison stared straight ahead, her stomach knotting up. This was exactly what she’d been nervous about. She didn’t want Clair jumping ahead of herself or getting her hopes up too high. What she and AJ had, had been perfect so far, but she knew how easily things could take a turn. AJ was as passionate about his likes and dislikes as she was about protecting Clair. She was really hoping it wouldn’t happen, but something told her their passions were bound to butt heads eventually. She needed to prepare Clair for that possibility, at least keep her little head and heart open to it.

“It’s too early to know about all that,” she explained, trying not to sound negative. “We’ve only been seeing each other a few months. The word ‘marriage’ hasn’t even come up, and I don’t expect it to for a long time. We need to get to know each other much better before making those kinds of decisions, but yeah, if it were to ever happen, that would make him your stepdad. And no matter what happens, Clair Bear, I know he’ll always be your best buddy.”

Clair smiled big, and Addison smiled too, inwardly wondering if she’d done the right thing telling her now. She wasn’t so sure about that last part. AJ had already made one thing very clear. If things didn’t work out between them, he’d be cutting all ties, not just with her, but with her father and Clair.

Taking a deep breath, she smiled, relieved when Clair upped the volume on the radio. They were playing her favorite song, so apparently the conversation Addison had dreaded for so long was over just like that. At least it’d been far more painless and not nearly as awkward as she’d anticipated. Despite feeling like maybe it was a mistake to tell Clair, even if her once again too perceptive daughter had already guessed it, Addison was determined to think positive. As AJ had said last night, whatever happened, they had this.

~~~

It was subtle, but only as subtle as AJ could be. And AJ didn’t do subtle well—at all. Addison noticed his tense demeanor almost from the moment he arrived at her parents’ place to pick her up. Once again, Clair had hit his stats right on the nose.

“Everything okay?” she asked cautiously as they drove to his place.

So far, all he’d let her in on was that he was kind of tired and wanted to just go back to his place, order take out, and spend the evening in his room. Nathan was working today. Isaiah was home, but AJ’s place was so massive they could likely get as loud as they wanted to in his master bedroom, and Isaiah wouldn’t hear them since his room was clear across the property. AJ’s room alone was bigger than most good-sized apartments.