Текст книги "Rage"
Автор книги: Elizabeth Reyes
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Текущая страница: 5 (всего у книги 22 страниц)
Chapter 6
AJ
The first two games in San Diego were night games. Clair didn’t make it out to the games on school nights. AJ was secretly glad it was almost summer. She’d mentioned wanting to travel with her grandparents during the summer as often as she could to follow the games.
AJ kept going back and forth about whether or not he should even consider trying for anything more with Addison. Though admittedly when Clair had told him about wanting to travel with the team this summer he’d secretly hoped that meant bringing Mom along for the ride. But then she did have to work for a living, so that might not be realistic. As unrealistic as any kind of serious relationship AJ might have with anyone would be, trying for one with the coach’s daughter would be even more complicated.
Friday night he’d begun to think maybe his little buddy hadn’t made it to the game again. But as soon as he was done mingling with a few of the players from the other team and was back to the Padres’ side of the field, he saw her and remembered. Clair was as obsessive about her superstitions as she was about keeping stats. One of her big ones was she didn’t mix with the players on the other team. Ever.
Ironically, her grandfather had insisted AJ make it a point to be friendly and even get to know the players on the other team. He’d go over and welcome them when they were in his house. Wish them luck and a good game. The courtesy was extended to him and his teammates when they were on the road too. It was one of the first things Coach Lara had ingrained in AJ’s mindset.
“As a team leader, you need to set the example, and it’s part of your mental training,” he’d said. “Especially for you. The friendlier you are with the players on the other team, the less likely you are to take things too personally on the field and the less likely you are to lose your shit.”
It made sense to AJ; though after nearly losing it against his own teammates more than once that past road trip, he wondered now just how accurate that theory really was. But it didn’t hurt to do it, so he’d continue to do so.
Clair ran up to him once he was back on his team’s side of the field during batting practice. She looked as excited to see him as he surprisingly felt about seeing her. She was wearing the jewelry he’d given her for her birthday. It was the first thing AJ noticed when he saw the bracelet on the hand she held over her mouth. While the hand blocked her mouth, those big bright eyes were very telling of the smile she was hiding behind it.
“Two things happened while you were gone,” she said, still talking behind her hand.
“Is that right?” Just looking at her made him smile bigger. “What happened?”
She took the hand away and smiled big, revealing her missing two front teeth.
“Oh wow.” He laughed. “Both at the same time?”
“Yeah, my mom says that’s how it always happens,” she explained. “They fall out in the order they came in. She said my front teeth came in at the same time.”
On that note, AJ glanced around casually for her mom but didn’t see her anywhere, and he didn’t want to ask.
“Well, that’s cool,” AJ said, squatting down in front of her to examine the nice-sized gap in her top row of teeth. “I take it you collected from the tooth fairy.”
She tilted her head, making a face. “Now, AJ, you know I don’t believe in that stuff. It’s not my fault I read more than most kids my age. I’ve known the truth about that and Santa for years, but Christmas morning I still expect to see gifts under the tree. So, yes, I asked for my entitled compensation and got twenty bucks for both teeth.”
“Twenty bucks!” he asked with a laugh. “Inflation’s gone up from when I was a kid. I was lucky if I got a buck.”
She shook her head and peered at him skeptically. “You weren’t born in the thirties. I’m sure you got more.”
That made him laugh even more. “I’m serious. I got a buck for each of my teeth.”
She still didn’t look like she believed it, but he was curious about something and wondered if maybe that might answer the burning question of where her mother was. So he changed the subject.
“You said two things happened while I was gone. What was the other?”
“Oh yeah.” She smiled big again.
Here he’d thought she couldn’t possibly get any cuter. The gap in her teeth did just that—make her smile even more adorable—and he smiled just as big as she did.
“I got a new best buddy.”
“What?” He clutched his chest, feigning pain.
“But don’t be jealous,” she said quickly. “You’re still my best buddy out of school.”
Though he’d apparently put on a good act of pretending to be jealous, inwardly he was happy to hear it. As cute as he thought she was with those thick glasses and adult-like personality, he was sure she didn’t have too many friends. Her mom had confirmed it the day at Niagara Falls that Clair had a hard time making friends her age she could relate to. But AJ had pretty much guessed it before that.
“So what’s her name?”
“His name,” she corrected him, making his brows go up, “is Harrison. He’s in the third grade.”
Instinctively, AJ’s big brother radar was on. Clair was just finishing up second grade but only because she’d skipped a grade. “Isn’t that like a lot older than you?”
“Not really,” she said, shaking her head. “He skipped a grade too. So he just turned eight. Besides, I said he’s my best buddy, not my boyfriend. Obviously”—she made a silly face—“there are no age requirements to how old your best buddy can be. And technically, I’m bigger than he is—a whole inch taller. You can meet him tomorrow. He’s dying to meet the team.” She smiled even brighter then frowned. “He wanted to be here tonight, but he had a piano lesson he couldn’t get out of.”
When she was done telling him about Harrison, she finally got to the subject AJ was dying to hear about. At first, it was just a colossal disappointment when she confirmed her mother didn’t come to the game with her and her grandparents tonight. Until she added something that had him feeling much more than disappointment.
“She said she had some work to do, but grandpa called it a date.”
AJ had stared at her, his jaw locking, but didn’t dare comment. Of course, the one time he would’ve liked his little chatterbox buddy to elaborate she hadn’t. Instead, she pushed up her glasses, pulled out her notebook, and proceeded with her usual pre-game ritual. She read him her latest stats on the Cardinals, tonight’s opponents.
~~~
Even after last night’s galling revelation, that he’d either been way off about Addison’s interest in him or she was really one of those chicks—the kind that reacts to him and all his teammates the way she did, despite her relationship status with someone else—AJ still found himself glancing back across the field to the Padres’ side in search of Clair. He hated to admit it, but he was still hoping her mom might be with her this time.
Under normal circumstances, when AJ was looking to hook up with a chick, he didn’t really care about her relationship status, unless, of course, he knew she was married. He didn’t do married chicks, but he also didn’t have time to do too much investigating when he was just looking for some fun. So while he wasn’t actively trying to bag someone else’s girl, he knew it was likely he’d been with more than his share of chicks with boyfriends. Maybe even a few with husbands. He made no apologies. It wasn’t his job to keep those women honest.
In Addison’s case, he’d like to say the circumstances made him care whether she was seeing someone else because of whose daughter and mother she was. It’d be too awkward to continue so much as a flirtation with her if, in fact, she was seeing someone else. But AJ knew it was more than just that.
“I hear congrats are in order.”
Jolted out of his thoughts, AJ turned to see a smiling Win Bigsby, the Cardinal’s catcher. He held out his hand and AJ shook it. “Yeah, thanks. Took a few years, but I own that home plate now.”
AJ and Gillespie, the soon-to-be Hall of Famer and the Padres former starting catcher, had been sharing the title of starting catcher on paper. Technically, AJ had been starting for years now while Gillespie was in and out of surgeries. With Gillespie formally announcing his retirement earlier that day, AJ was now officially the starting pitcher for the Padres.
“Well deserved,” Bigsby said. “I always said Lara only picks superstars in the making.”
He winked at AJ with a smirk, and AJ did one of his customary polite laughs. Bigsby was probably one of the more cocky players in the majors he’d met to date. AJ expected nothing less than that last comment from him. Like AJ, Bigsby had also been mentored by Coach Lara once upon a time. But as Lara always said, Bigsby earned the right to be cocky. The guy was on every list of awards, including four Golden Gloves at catcher. He’d also won two World Series in his relatively short stint in the majors. The guy’s nickname was Win Big for crying out loud.
AJ smiled inwardly as some of the other Cardinals’ players walked over to chat and congratulate him. He was certain if he mentioned Bigsby’s accomplishments to Clair she’d be quick to break out that little notebook of hers and point out that in AJ’s three years in the majors he’d won two Golden Glove awards and a World Series, among all the other awards and records he’d broken while in the minors.
He hung out for just a little longer on the Cardinals’ side of the field, listening and laughing with the guys at all of Bigsby’s backhanded compliments. The guy talked so much shit it was a wonder he didn’t have skid marks on his teeth. But that was further proof of the coach’s wise advice. If AJ had never taken the time to get to know the guy, he might not shake off so easily all the shit-talking he did on the field.
“See you on the field,” AJ finally said, wrapping up his mingling and already anxious to go see about Addison.
“Good luck. You’ll need it,” Bigsby said, putting on his catcher’s mask and strutting backwards as he addressed AJ. “Let’s face it, son. When I’m in this house, I own that plate.”
AJ rolled his eyes with a smirk but refrained from flipping him off like he might’ve if there weren’t so many cameras around. He’d learned his lesson about doing or saying things on camera even if he were just playing. Journalists had a way of twisting things to make an otherwise mundane article more interesting. He jogged back to the other side of the field with Sabian, who’d gone over with him to mingle.
“That guy is such an asshole,” Sabian said as they jogged back, but AJ laughed.
AJ was actually proud of how far he’d come. A few years ago he might’ve been cussing under his breath and talking shit about Bigsby too. At that moment, he couldn’t care less about the guy’s smartass remarks. All he could think of was Addison.
Clair was on him as soon as he reached the other side. AJ could only assume the wide-eyed little guy next to her, using his inhaler, was Harrison, and he’d been right.
“Harrison, meet AJ Romero, Padres catcher extraordinaire,” she said as soon as he reached them.
AJ greeted Harrison as did Sabian. The little dude was pretty much what AJ expected, except he didn’t wear glasses like AJ had pictured. But he was wearing a yarmulke with the team’s SD logo in place of a ball cap, and the baseball glove on his hand looked brand spanking new. AJ had to smirk because the kid looked anything but athletic. He’d probably never played catch in his life. He’d bet his life the kid’s interest in baseball had everything to do with his adorable new best buddy.
Addison once again was nowhere to be seen, and AJ had just about given up hope of seeing her yet again. Then Clair pulled him aside as Harrison got busy with some of the other players who were signing his glove.
“Harrison’s birthday was last week, only he didn’t get a party on account of his religion and all.” Luckily, they were in a noisy ballpark so whoever wasn’t supposed to hear probably didn’t because, for someone so little, she whispered pretty loudly. “I still think he needs to celebrate; only I can’t tell him it’s what we’re doing because he’s a terrible liar. If I tell him and his mom gets an inkling, he’ll sing like a canary when she questions him. So he doesn’t know why, but my mom’s taking us to Galaxy Pizza after the game. You wanna come with us?”
It was such an unexpected invitation, and AJ was still chuckling about Harrison singing like a canary he barely had time to let it register. AJ wasn’t sure how to respond. He doubted Addison knew Clair would be inviting him. He was still trying to think of a way to turn her down nicely when she added the clincher.
“She said I could invite whomever else I wanted, but my grandparents can’t come, so she’ll be all alone while Harrison and I play all the video games and stuff.”
“You sure about that?” AJ asked, remembering her date last night.
“Yeah.” Clair nodded, glancing back in Harrison’s direction. He was still busy with the other players. “She said she’d be fine alone—that she’d just work while we played—so I asked her if that meant she was bringing a date. She laughed when I told her why I’d think that and said she really was working last night and Papa’s just silly. She’s bringing her laptop to Galaxy Pizza to keep her busy, but I still think it’d be better if she had company.”
The only reason AJ didn’t jump all over that with a hell yeah was because Clair also mentioned her mom was actually there at the game. She was sitting with her grandmother in their family suite, which meant one thing: after weeks of not seeing or hearing from him, she’d had no interest in coming down to the field to see or say hello to him. Just like last night AJ had begun to feel like a complete idiot. Clearly, everything he’d built up in his head about the day they spent at Niagara Falls was exactly that.
All in his head.
The best he could do was give Clair a noncommittal, “I’ll see if I can.” Despite the blatant “not interested” signals Addison was sending, he still couldn’t bring himself to flatly turn down the opportunity to keep Clair’s mom busy. Clair’s response was a thwarted nod. It was at that moment that he began to think maybe having allowed himself to get this close to his little buddy was not such a good idea. Taking her up on her invite might make it worse.
Chapter 7
Addison
Going down onto the field had been beyond tempting, but Addison hadn’t been able to risk it. Clair had really wanted her to go down too so they could show Harrison around together. Just like last night she had to force herself to stay away. Thankfully, she’d dodged that bullet when her dad happily agreed to show Harrison around himself. Addison would’ve stayed home altogether again today, not just off the field. But she’d promised Clair earlier in the week she’d come to at least one of the games this weekend and that she’d take her and her new best buddy to Galaxy Pizza. So she figured she’d kill two birds with one stone today.
It sucked that her mom’s thrombophilia was acting up, but it’d come in handy. Her mom needed to stay off her leg as much as possible. For once, Addison was grateful for her mom’s stubbornness. If her dad had been able to convince her to bring her wheelchair, Addison might’ve been forced to go down to the field with them. Instead, she’d been able to convince Clair that she didn’t want to leave Nana all by herself in the suite.
So far, the evening had gone well. The Padres won, and they’d be out of there soon enough. Addison and her mom waited in their family suite for her dad and the kids. She knew today would likely be a bit longer than normal because Clair was still giving Harrison the grand tour.
They’d only been sitting there waiting for a few minutes after the game when Clair and Harrison rushed in. “We can go now,” she said, smiling big. “And we don’t have to go back to Papa’s to get your car either. We can go straight there.”
Addison sat up, but she and her mom exchanged confused looks. “I thought you guys had that banquet in Highland tonight.”
“I thought so too,” her mother said, looking back at Clair. “Did Papa say we’re not going after all?”
“No, you’re still going,” Clair said with a big gap-toothed smile. “Papa said to tell you he’ll be up to get you in a minute. But we can go now, Mom.”
Sitting back, Addison smiled, shaking her head. “And how do you propose we do that, silly girl? We all came in one car, remember? Papa has to drop us off so I can get my car.”
“AJ’s taking us.”
Addison nearly spit out the sip of water she’d just taken but managed to keep it in. “What?”
“You said I could invite anyone else I wanted, so I invited AJ. He said he’d take the fastest shower ever and for us to meet him in the players’ parking lot in fifteen minutes. It’s about that long of a walk from here, so we gotta go.”
With her heart already pounding, Addison stared at her daughter’s face, trying not to appear as astounded as she felt. “You invited AJ and he agreed?”
“Yeah.” Clair nodded, smiling big.
“Does he know Papa’s not gonna be there?”
“Yes, Papa’s the one who suggested we just go straight there with AJ.” Clair tugged at Addison’s hand impatiently. “Let’s go. Harrison’s mom wants him home before ten. So there’s no time to waste!”
Addison barely had enough time to wrap her head around the fact that she’d soon be in AJ Romero’s car and then spending the evening out with him. Good God. She’d known it ever since the day of Clair’s birthday, and then it was absolutely confirmed in Niagara Falls. It didn’t matter how many high-profile athletes she’d been around her whole life; the excitement of being around AJ was an entirely other level. It’d taken her almost the entire day in Niagara Falls to calm her heart and just enjoy her time around him. She wasn’t ready to do it again and without warning. Her heart was already racing wildly.
“Let me just use the ladies’ room real quick,” she said in a panic as she casually scanned what she was wearing?
Thankfully, she had prepared for the off chance she might run into him today, so she’d worn an outfit similar to the one she wore last time: a jersey with a tank underneath, shorts, and high wedge sandals. She’d just changed up the colors a bit and admittedly worn her hair down in a more done-up do than her usual.
Addison had seen the way his eyes had taken her in even way back on Clair’s birthday. At Niagara Falls, he’d done so again—many times. Even when he’d attempted to be discreet about it, there were still the other moments she wondered about. The ones when she’d caught how his smoldering eyes swallowed her up. It was as intense as all the times she’d watched him get so fired up on the field. The thoughts of what else he might do with such silent passion had been endless ever since. Just thinking about it as she smoothed her lip gloss with her finger, had her closing her eyes and sucking her own finger in anticipation. She reminded herself she shouldn’t be anticipating anything because it was too big a risk to open up her heart to anyone but especially to AJ.
One thing was for sure. She was going to have to have a long talk with Clair. Just because he was her best buddy didn’t mean she could just up and invite him out with them without even consulting with her first. Then she had a thought and nearly gasped. What if Clair made it sound like Addison was the one inviting him?
As satisfied as she was going to get with her hair and makeup, she rushed out to the hallway where Clair and Harrison were waiting.
“Yay!” Clair said when she saw her. “Let’s go.”
“Clair, honey,” Addison asked as she took her daughter’s hand in one of hers and Harrison’s in the other. “What exactly did you say to AJ when you invited him?”
Clair looked up at her with a shrug. “Just that you were taking us to Galaxy Pizza and you’d said I could invite whoever I wanted. Don’t worry. I didn’t say you’d asked me to invite him or anything. I wouldn’t embarrass you like that, Mom.”
Addison let out a breath of relief and smiled back at Clair. There’d been plenty of times she almost wished Clair wasn’t so smart and perceptive. It was hard to get anything by her. Today she was grateful for it.
They reached the players’ parking lot, and Addison was glad when both Clair and Harrison spotted AJ immediately. He was standing at the open door of his Mercedes, talking to another player. The usual mob of fans was waiting outside the fenced parking lot. Not surprisingly there were more screaming girls than she remembered there ever being. Between AJ, Sly Sabian, Nick Travis, and the other two outfielders, the Padres were becoming the boy band of the big leagues.
Addison and the kids rushed over to him. She concentrated on focusing straight ahead and felt as relieved as she did breathless when he smiled at her from over the hood of his car and told them the doors were all unlocked. She’d barely greeted him before rushing into the passenger side of his car and closed the door. The kids were in just as fast.
“You guys starving or what?” AJ asked as soon as they were in the car and he slipped on his sunglasses.
“No,” Clair chirped from the backseat. “But Harrison turns into a pumpkin at ten, and we want to get as much playing time as possible.”
Addison saw AJ’s eyes glance down at his dash clock. It was only six-thirty. He glanced up at Addison, making her breath catch, and she shrugged. “Kids and their playing time,” she said, relieved once again for her daughter’s quick response.
AJ turned on the radio and hit the button that had the music playing louder in the back seat.
“It’s nice to see you again,” he said as they drove past the security stand at the parking lot’s gates, and he waved at all the chanting fans but then turned to her again. “I like your hair down. Looks good that way.”
“Thank you.” She breathed in deeply, trying to calm her insides. “It’s nice to see you too.”
Not everything had to have an underlying meaning. He was just being polite. Making small talk. Not admitting he was attracted to her too and that he’d been dying to see her as much as she had him.
“Not that you didn’t look just as good last time with it up. It’s just different.” He turned to her and lifted his glasses as if to get a better look. Those smoldering eyes were at it again, and then she was locked in them. “Very nice.”
“Thank you,” she said again, her voice a little softer this time.
Bringing the glasses back over his eyes, he brought his attention back to his driving. “I didn’t realize you worked Friday nights.”
Addison turned to him, but he was staring straight ahead as the traffic began moving. “I don’t.”
She saw the brow lift just above his sunglasses. “Clair said that’s why you hadn’t made it to the game last night.”
“I, uh,” she said, clearing her throat.
He seemed oddly tense. Every one of his comments and inquiries seemed to have a purpose, and it was making her nervous. She wondered now if Clair had mentioned what her father had said her working meant. Even his making the radio louder in the back seemed to have been calculated now.
“I often work from home,” she said, fidgeting nervously with the buttons on her jersey. “Or anywhere I can get a Wi-Fi signal. Last night it was Starbucks for a little while then back home in my jammies while I watched Tombstone.”
“Alone?” he asked, still staring ahead.
These questions were definitely calculated. “Yes,” she said as the butterflies in her stomach began fluttering.
That seemed to ease his entire demeanor, and he even smiled. “Tombstone, huh?”
“Yeah, it’s one of my all-time favorites.”
He turned to her with a strange smile. “Really? Mine too.”
Clair said something, and he was forced to turn the music down. The rest of the way to the pizza place and even once they arrived they talked of stats. Tonight’s stats. Even Harrison got in on it, putting in his two cents. The baseball talk moved on to Harrison’s chess accomplishments. When they were done eating, the kids ran off to play, and AJ ordered another round: a mug of beer for himself and an iced tea for Addison.
“Harrison seems like a cool kid.” he said, observing them from where they sat.
“He is.” Addison glanced up at where the kids were both now sitting behind steering wheels in front of a monitor, getting ready to virtually race each other. “He’s a sweetheart. I can’t tell you how relieved I am that she finally made a friend that actually gets her. I was beginning to think it may never happen.”
“Were you like that growing up?” he asked, peering at her.
“Yeah,” she admitted as she took a sip of her tea. “It’s been kind of a consolation that she picked up on her papa’s and my love for the game of baseball and keeping stats and all. It was what kept me from ever feeling depressed or like a loner. I didn’t have many friends either. Like with Clair, the players were my friends.” She stopped and took another sip of her tea as the memories resurfaced. “I was never bullied or anything though, and I make real sure Clair is always open and honest, so she’d tell me if she ever was. But I admit it was one of the reasons why I wanted her in such an academically elevated magnet school. I figured the kids there would be less likely to bully her. Though she has been in quite a few of what she calls debates.”
AJ chuckled, glancing over at Clair again. “I can’t imagine her not winning all of them.”
“Oh, if you ask her, she’ll insist she wins them all. In some cases, she says she let them think they won, but secretly she knew better.”
“Yep, I’m pretty sure she’s done that to me a few times.”
Addison laughed as that strangeness in her belly started up again when his eyes met hers and his smile flattened slowly. “So what’s your story, Addison?”
“My story?” she asked, straightening out a bit.
“Yeah.” Unlike her, instead of the change in subject making him uneasy, he leaned over on the table and searched her eyes, making no qualms about his interest in her story. “I know you said Clair’s dad isn’t part of your lives, but I’m surprised no one else has snatched you up. Or am I making assumptions? Is there someone in your life you haven’t told Clair about?” He started to bring the mug to his mouth then stopped. “Not that I’ve asked her, I just figured as much as she talks she would’ve mentioned it by now.”
Swallowing hard, Addison attempted to appear as unperturbed by this subject as it made her. “There’s no one now,” she said, but didn’t want to sound too pathetic. Clair was seven now, and while she hadn’t had any serious prospects all this time, she had dated a few times. “I’ve dated here and there, but I’m paranoid about having her meet anyone I date. She might be better at understanding things in general than most kids. I know firsthand it doesn’t matter how smart you are; your heart is still fragile and vulnerable.” She smiled. “Not sure if you’ve noticed, but once she decides she likes someone, she really becomes attached.” That made the intense expression soften a little and he smiled. “I really had to think about it when I decided if I’d be moving in with my parents for a while before getting my own place out here. You’ve seen how they spoil her, and it’s not just with monetary things either. As you’re well aware, my father takes her to every home game I let him. And I’m not sure if she told you, but she has big plans for the summer. Since I won’t be able to use the “no games on school nights” excuse anymore, she plans on being at every single home game, weeknight or not. My parents have both already agreed to take her along on many of the road trips too.”
“She did tell me,” he said, his eyes shining as if that made him happy. “I’m looking forward to it. I missed having her around while I was on the road.” Something else flitted in his eyes and then he added. “Missed seeing her.”
Something about the way he said it made Addison’s heart flutter. There was more to that statement; though she dared not over think it. He’d missed his little buddy and that warmed Addison because she knew Clair would be happy to hear it. She’d lost count of how many times Clair had said the phrase “I can’t wait until Papa and AJ get back.”
“Will you be joining her in the summer?” he asked, taking a drink of his beer.
Again he was just curious, so she shrugged as casually as the inquiry had been made. “I’ll try to make it a few times. More than likely to some cities I like visiting most, but mostly because I don’t want my parents taking on the brunt of having to travel with her alone each time.”
That seemed to please him because his eyes did that smoldering thing they did so often in Niagara Falls, the same unnerving gaze she still couldn’t quite put her finger on. “The summer just keeps sounding better and better.”
The kids ran over a few times to drop off tickets they won on some of the machines. Addison couldn’t get enough of seeing AJ’s interaction with them. For such an intense guy, as famous for his raging as he was for his incredible baseball skills, he was so sweet and patient with them.
Addison didn’t even realize she wore such an adoring smile until he turned back to her. He’d been watching the kids run off again as she’d been watching him.
“What’s that smile about?” he asked, bringing his mug to his lips.
Feeling a little embarrassed because she’d been caught, she shrugged, but couldn’t quite undo what she knew was likely a goofy smile. “You’re so good with them. I think it’s sweet.”
“Kids?” He glanced back at them then lifted and dropped a shoulder. “Never met one I didn’t like. It’s nice to be reminded of what life was like once upon a time. I envy them actually. I’d give anything for life to be that simple again.”
“But your life is a dream come true,” she said, surprised by his last comment.
“It is,” he agreed immediately. “And I’m not complaining, but like with everything, no matter what profession you’re in, there’s always something to worry about. When you’re a kid, you can go to bed at night without a worry in the world.”
“Oh, you don’t think Clair worries about stuff?” Addison smirked.
“Okay, you got me there.” He laughed. “But she’s an exception. I’m sure she worries about stuff she doesn’t have to worry about: the team’s stats, maintaining her perfect grades in school, her mother having company tonight.”
