Rage

by Elizabeth Reyes

  She wore a long-sleeved thermal under her jersey this time with jeans and furry brown boots, and her hair was down again. Only this time instead of the playful loose curls, it was straightened, giving her a sleeker smoldering look, making AJ swallow hard, unable to take his eyes off her. As he got a closer look, the Padres beanie she wore softened the sexiness, giving her more of an adorable warm cozy look. She looked positively snugglable. Any excuses he’d already begun to spin in his head about why he wouldn’t be able to join them tomorrow were squashed. He’d be an idiot to pass Clair up on her offer.

  He glanced down at Clair’s pleading eyes and smiled. “That sounds cool actually. I’ve never been.”

  “You’ll come with us?” she asked excitedly.

  Before he could change his mind, he nodded. “Yeah, I can do that. I don’t have any plans for tomorrow.”

  “Yes!” she said then turned to her mom. “He’s coming with us tomorrow! I’m gonna go tell Papa!”

  Clair took off, and AJ stood there staring into the most beautiful pair of eyes. “You don’t have to, AJ,” she said, glancing away in Clair’s direction. “I know how few days off you guys ever get between games. I’m sure you had other plans, and I know Clair’s puppy dog eyes are hard to resist, but I don’t want you feeling forced into this.”

  “Not at all,” he said with a gulp, as their eyes met again. “I really don’t have plans. I was just going to relax in my hotel room tomorrow.”

  “You still can. I know you guys don’t get enough days to do that either.”

  “Yeah, but how often do I get the chance to see Niagara Falls?” His eyes dropped to the two silver initials hanging on the silver chain around her neck. “I like your necklace,” he said, feeling the smirk tug at the corner of his lips. “Should I be flattered?”

  Addison glanced down at the “AJ” pendant that hung from the silver chain around her neck, touching it and shaking her head. When she peeked back up at him, her tinged cheeks made him smile. “No uh”—she cleared her throat, as her face turned a deeper shade of pink—“I didn’t even realize when I put it on today. They’re my initials, too.”

  Seeing the shy side of Addison warmed him, and he felt himself doing something he rarely did—smiled silly. “Yeah, I remember Clair saying something about us having the same initials. I’m curious now. What is your middle name?”

  “Jewel,” she said with a small smile. “We have a thing in our family about honoring our parents by naming our kids after them. Addison and Jewel are the names of my two grandmothers.” She shrugged, her smile making him breathe in deeply and feel like a sap. “I think I lucked out. Unlike a lot people who are named after someone, I really like my name.”

  “I like it too,” he said as their eyes met again. Feeling the need, he inhaled even deeper before adding. “It’s very pretty. Suits you.”

  “Thank you,” she said with a timid smile.

  Her face going pink again had him smiling even bigger and feeling completely enthralled. It replaced the irritation he’d begun to feel that he was acting just like one of his pathetic teammates. But the moment was fleeting. Travis walked up behind her, touching her or doing something that made her flinch. Her smiling even bigger when she turned to see who it was had AJ regretting not just the compliment but agreeing to Niagara Falls tomorrow.

  What the hell was wrong with him? He’d dealt with enough women in his life. A few smiles and blushes from the coach’s sweet daughter shouldn’t have him ignoring his better judgment and allowing himself to feel so captivated by someone he had no business feeling that way for.

  “You just get here?” Travis asked Addison.

  “This morning.”

  “You never called.” Travis smirked playfully until his eyes met AJ’s icy glare and that overconfident smile flattened.

  “I’ve been busy,” she said, not noticing the exchange between AJ and Travis.

  Even if she had noticed their exchange, AJ wouldn’t have cared. He’d never liked the guy, and he almost hoped she’d ask him why. AJ would gladly tell her exactly why. Maybe then she wouldn’t smile as big as she did every time she saw Travis. The fact that she hadn’t bothered to call the idiot gave AJ hope that maybe his first impressions of her were unfair—way off.

  Luckily for Travis, he picked up on the fact that his interruption was not a welcome one. AJ didn’t even bother addressing him. Instead, he glanced away when he was sure he’d made his unspoken message loud and clear. Back the fuck off.

  AJ began working on getting his chest protector snapped up in all the right places, glad to hear Travis say he had to talk to one of the other players and walked away.

  Unable to slip back into the smiling mood he’d been in just before Travis’s interruption, AJ glanced up at Addison. The flicker in her eyes followed by the pinch in her brows wasn’t missed. Like Travis, the irritation AJ was incapable of masking hadn’t gone unnoticed by her either.

  Coach Lara and Clair walked up to them. The coach placed his hand on AJ’s shoulder. “I hear Clair Bear worked her magic on you this time.” He chuckled. “Glad to hear you’ll be joining us tomorrow. I couldn’t believe she hadn’t been able to convince you to stick around for the tour at the zoo.”

  AJ forced a smile as he and Addison exchanged glances, but she turned away too quickly. “Yeah, I had prior commitments that evening.” He lied, annoyed that the reminder of Miranda had been inadvertently resurrected.

  He’d been glad to hear that Addison’s responses to Travis then and maybe even today were likely just her being polite. She never called him. But he didn’t need her being reminded of the plans he’d lied about that evening, about his night with Miranda—the groupie. God damn it.

  “Otherwise, I would’ve made it,” he said, turning back to face his coach. “And I’m looking forward to tomorrow. I’ve never been. Thanks for the invite.”

  They spoke of the trip for only a few minutes before they were interrupted: Coach Lara by a journalists asking for a quick interview before the game and AJ by fans wanting his autograph and pictures taken with them.

  He glanced over at Clair, who was showing her mom her notebook. Stats of the opposing teams players, no doubt. Curiously, Addison wasn’t instantly surrounded by other players. AJ smiled at the camera, his disposition a little more genuine than when he’d had to smile for his coach earlier.

  The irony was palpable. AJ was certain there’d been plenty of hearsay amongst the team about what he might be feeling for Addison, ever since the near eruption he’d had with Biggs. AJ hadn’t given a shit about that either. Let them talk. He actually hoped when Travis walked away from him and Addison today that he’d gone straight to the peanut gallery to let them in on AJ’s silent threat. If that’s what was keeping them all away from her now, then, for once, Travis’s big mouth may’ve come in handy.

  Chapter 4

  Addison

  The weather this time of year in Southern California was beautiful. Addison was glad now she’d called her parents before she packed to ask about the weather in Toronto. It was freezing. Well, in comparison anyway. Low twenties in the day and low teens in the evening. She was back to the weather she’d been so glad she’d left in Chicago.

  This wouldn’t be her first trip to the falls, but she hadn’t been there in years—long before Clair was born. She’d been anticipating it before she knew AJ would be coming with them. Not that being around him was a bad thing. Having had him at her daughter’s party participating in the games and even buying Clair such sweet and thoughtful gifts had already exceeded any kind of interaction she’d imagined ever having with the awe-inspiring superstar.

  How could she be so weak? All those years she’d prepared because she knew inevitably she’d be back in her father’s world of baseball and all it took was one day? Well, one day and a few confusing exchanges, both verbal and non-verbal with AJ, had her so confused she’d been dying to see him again. Those exchanges should’ve left her never wanting to see the guy again, at l
east hesitant to. Instead, she’d hung on Clair’s every word that had to do with him, and she’d been counting the days until she’d see him again.

  Last night she’d been almost in a daze. A daze! She wasn’t that star-struck teenager anymore. She was a grown-ass career woman and mother who’d made some mistakes but learned from them and was better and stronger because of it all. No man should have the power to make any woman feel nearly faint. Least of all one who considered herself so reinvented and empowered now.

  Yet last night she’d barely been able to breathe when he’d complimented her and his eyes had bored into her the way they had, like he’d been trying to tell her something without saying it. It was stupefying. Addison had never felt stupefied in her life! So knowing he’d be spending the entire day with her and her family today nearly had her hyperventilating. But the man was as hot and cold as he was dreamy. Despite his demeanor last night and the spoken and unspoken compliments he’d given her just by gazing at her the way he had, the issue of the subtle jabs she was pretty sure he’d taken at her hadn’t been resolved.

  Addison lifted her chin as she stared at herself in the mirror. Just because he was AJ Romero, the triple threat superstar catcher with a gaze that could turn her into a puddle, didn’t mean he was better than Addison as a person. Her mother had taught her that way back when she first started admiring players in a much different way than she knew Clair admired them now. She’d felt incredibly intimidated and beneath them.

  There’d been plenty of proof in Addison’s life that no matter how skilled and famous you were it did not mask your faults forever. No one was perfect, not even big beautiful Andrés Josiah. But did he have to make her so damn nervous?

  Their conversation yesterday hadn’t even been that long, yet she’d been a ball of nerves from the moment she and Clair spotted him and Clair took off running toward him.

  “AJ’s taking the shuttle with us to Niagara Falls,” Clair announced from the other room.

  “Wh-What?” Addison asked as her heart rate spiked pathetically. “I thought he was meeting us there.”

  They had adjoining suites with her parents, and Clair had just been over in their room. Clair explained that instead of charting a private flight there since he’d be flying out of Buffalo tomorrow with the rest of the team her papa had insisted he take the hour-and-a-half drive with them instead.

  “Oh, for the love of God,” Addison whispered as she rushed to redo her ponytail, making it neater this time.

  Not only did she have to look forward to an entire day of trying to be cool and not let this man continue to intimidate her the way he’d so easily done so far, she’d now be in a confined space with him for an hour and a half. Luckily, she knew Clair and her father would be doing most of the talking. Those two could go on forever talking baseball stats, strategy, and even discussing classic games. It was her only hope. Addison could already imagine all the squirming she’d be doing.

  The luxury shuttle taking them to the falls was similar to the luxury buses that shuttled the players to and from their hotels to the airport and stadiums, only scaled down to accommodate their much smaller party. Her dad tended to spare no expense, so this one wasn’t all that much smaller. Addison had traveled in the fancy shuttles on many occasions. It was basically a much roomier limousine with televisions, bucket seats, and even chairs that transformed into beds.

  This particular one had a sitting area with a table surrounded by bucket seats, the kind her father often used as a makeshift conference table to discuss strategy whenever they traveled with other coaches and such.

  Addison’s mom went straight to the back to one of the chairs that transformed into a bed. Her leg was acting up again, and she said she was going to lie back and read. Clair and Addison each took one of the chairs surrounding the table as Clair placed her satchel on the table, pulling out her notebook, pens, and tablet. Addison’s father went to check on her mom but said he’d be back. They were still waiting on AJ, who was on his way down.

  It was a relief to Addison that she got in the shuttle first. She would’ve hated having to decide where to sit if he were already there before her. Her father stopped at the small refrigerator on his way back from the back of the shuttle and asked if anyone wanted water or something else to drink.

  “I’ll have water.”

  AJ’s deep voice startled Addison, who’d been searching through her phone. Glancing up, she smiled nervously as he took the bucket chair across from her, looking as amazing as always. “Good morning.”

  “Good morning,” she said, annoyed with her already wildly beating heart. “I’ll take a water too, Daddy.”

  This was going to be more of a challenge than she imagined. AJ’s piercing eyes were almost too much to take.

  “Morning, AJ,” Clair said, barely looking up from her tablet. “You’re just in time. I was looking for a video I wanted you to see.”

  Thanks to Clair, AJ glanced away from Addison for a moment.

  “Here you go, big guy,” Addison’s dad said, tossing him a water bottle and then tossing Addison one.

  Her dad took the seat off to the side that faced the television and flipped through the channels. Clair showed AJ the video she was talking about. It was baseball-related, of course. AJ and the coach made small talk about the game the night before and then Niagara Falls. Her father mentioned he’d been as surprised as Addison had been to hear AJ say this was the first time he’d been there.

  When her mother asked her father to bring her a water bottle too, AJ turned to Addison. “I guess because I travel so much all year long, when the season’s finally over, I prefer to stay put than do too much traveling. As much as I can anyway,” he said, reaching out for the tablet Clair was handing him again. “Even during the off season, I stay pretty busy though. But aside from my busy schedule, you’d be surprised what a normal guy I am.”

  She was locked in his eyes for a moment until the sheath of lashes draped over his eyes when he looked down at the tablet after Clair hit play on another video. He watched silently as Clair narrated, pointing out the pitcher’s killer sinker ball in the video and what AJ should keep an eye out for the next time he was up against him.

  It gave Addison a few minutes to contemplate his last statement and how to respond to it. She hadn’t known AJ for long, but already he’d said enough things to her that confused the heck out of her. Yesterday there seemed to be more behind his words and the way he stared at her when he said them.

  When he finally pulled his eyes away from the tablet and met Addison’s again, she felt that familiar weakness she always did when he gazed at her that way. “At my age,” he said before she’d been able to string even two words together, “you’d be surprised how many other firsts I’ve only recently experienced and how many others I still haven’t.”

  His comments felt like a riddle. His playful gaze—something so unlike him—practically dared her to ask him to elaborate. It couldn’t possibly be the obvious first he might be referring to. He wouldn’t dare mention that, not in front of Clair. Addison wouldn’t buy it for a second anyway, not with the slew of Mirandas he likely had throwing themselves at him on a daily basis.

  Everything about the man exuded sensuality. An air of sultriness infused every one of the gazes he’d indulged her with so far, even the hardened ones—especially the hardened ones. The darker, more censorious, the more breathtaking. With AJ’s legendary temper, Addison could only imagine the kind of unabashed passion a man like him would unleash in the bedroom. The very thought had made her body tremble even the first time she’d laid eyes on him in person. Then again the following day, when she’d been so close to him, the temptation to reach out and touch those incredible muscled arms was unreal. She’d been admiring those arms in photos and on television for years.

  “Are you, Mom?”

  Addison felt her face flush when she realized she’d zoned out, staring at AJ’s muscular arms and chest, and the twinkle in his eyes said he knew it. Fortunate
ly, Clair was busy setting up the cards for whatever game it appeared they were getting ready to play.

  “Am I what now?” she asked, taking a much-needed long gulp of her water.

  “In?” Clair said, still too engrossed in her cards to look up.

  “Sure,” Addison said, praying her face wasn’t as beet red as it felt.

  She refused to look at AJ for a few moments, focusing instead on Clair’s shuffling. “It’s the truth, right?” Clair said, still not looking up. Addison stared at her daughter, not sure what she meant. That’s when Clair finally glanced up at her. “This would be a first for me.” She grinned. “Losing a game of Gigs.”

  Addison nodded, feeling relieved. So that’s how the subject of firsts had come to this.

  “Yes, it would.” Taking a deep breath, she finally glanced back and met AJ’s eyes. He was eyeing her smugly. “It’s one of the many games she learned from her schoolmates back on her Mathletes team in Chicago. But it’s her favorite because she never loses.”

  “Math’s never been my strongest subject, but I’ll give it a shot,” AJ said, finally having a little mercy on Addison and turning his attention to Clair instead.

  “I learned it on my Mathletes team, but it doesn’t involve math,” Clair explained. “Just a lot of strategy. Not as much as chess, but it’s similar as far as formalizing computation. Only this moves faster.”

  Addison saw the expression on AJ’s face go from amused to impressed to disbelieving. It was the same reaction most people had who spoke with her little genius about something she felt very passionate about.

  Once Addison’s dad joined them there were no more moments of turning beet red. It seemed AJ wouldn’t be making any obscure comments in front of her dad. Thank God. It’d likely be the case for the rest of the day, given that her parents would be with them all day. That gave Addison some time to get it together and try to relax around him.