“Thank Christ,” Jason says, grabbing a plate and picking at a few buffalo wings. Maddox sits back on his stool and brings me in even closer.
Whispering, he says, “Babe, is there food for you?”
“Of course.” I turn to him and press my lips to his. “Waffle fries, carrots, and celery. All the essentials.”
He doesn’t look too happy though. “We could go somewhere else, a place that serves more vegan-friendly things.”
I shake my head. “No, this is your bar. This is where you’re comfortable with the guys. I want to be here with you and our friends.” When he still doesn’t smile, I say, “Plus I stashed away a vegan cupcake for myself so I can eat cake too.”
He sighs and presses his mouth to my neck. “Fine.”
“She’s not going to run away, you know,” Jason says, coming up to us, his plate full, a piece of celery in his mouth. “I made potato salad, so you should go get some.” He glances at me. “There’s eggs in it.”
“Don’t worry about me.” I wave him off. “I’m sure it’s really good.”
“Best you’ll ever have.”
From behind him, I spot Natalie shaking her head and mouthing she makes the best. I turn into Maddox and chuckle into his shoulder, remembering the conversation we girls had during one of the games where we discussed Jason’s potato salad and how Natalie’s is better. Dottie didn’t admit to it being better, but I could see it in her eyes—she prefers Natalie’s.
Maddox’s hand glides up and down my back and I revel in the feel of him, in the smell of his cologne, in being able to be affectionate with him not only daily, but also in public. I like that we have friends, that we can have moments like this, gatherings. It’s something I didn’t have when I was still living in our hometown, something I truly craved.
Slightly overwhelmed, I press my lips to Maddox’s ear and say, “I’m really happy.”
His grip on my back intensifies and he whispers back, “Me too, Kinny. Thank you for everything.”
I pull back and place a gentle kiss on his lips just as Dottie clears her throat and asks, “What did you get Maddox for his birthday?”
Turning toward the group, I say, “I let him draw me naked.”
Jason snorts potato salad while Lincoln, who just walked up with a waffle fry in his mouth, coughs it out.
“Jesus, Kin.” Maddox chuckles next to me.
“What?” I shrug. “That’s what I gave you.”
Jason wipes potato salad from his nose and Dottie gives him a drink. When he’s cleaned up, he says, “How come you never let me draw you naked?” I think he’s talking to Dottie, when I see him make eye contact with Cory, his man crush.
Cory rolls his eyes. “Because you can’t draw worth shit, and because I don’t particularly enjoy posing naked for my brother-in-law, despite how much he tries to catch me naked in the locker room.”
“Jason, self-respect,” Dottie chastises with a smile.
“Babe, you need to see his penis.” Jason mouths, “huge.”
And I know there’s truth to that because the girls and I have talked . . . in detail.
“Can we go one goddamn day without you referring to my penis?”
Jason shakes his head. “Impossible.”
Turning to Maddox, I ask, “Want me to get you a plate of food?”
“Nah, I can.” He stands from his stool and says, “I’ll grab you one though. Keep my seat warm.” He places another kiss on my cheek and then takes off toward the food, leaving me with our friends.
They’re all smiling at me like fools.
I smile back.
It’s weird, but comforting at the same time.
“Thanks for coming, you guys. I know he didn’t want this party, but I appreciate you coming out anyway, especially after having a game today.”
“Anything for Maddox,” Cory says. “The man is one of the reasons Natalie and I are together right now.”
Natalie cuddles into Cory and nods. “Yeah, he helped Cory through a rough time. We’re both thankful for him.”
“We met back in the minors,” Lincoln adds. “And even though we went different ways for a short period, he always made sure to check in with me. He was there when I needed him the most. I would do anything for the guy.”
“He helped me with a rash I had on the backs of my knees,” Jason says around his mouthful of potato salad. “He creamed me up real nice and made sure I was okay after every game. Really knows how to take care of his catcher.”
Everyone’s brows are pinched together besides Dottie’s, who just shakes her head and chuckles to herself. What would it be like to married to Jason Orson? An adventure, that’s for sure.
“He’s the best guy I know,” I say, watching him put together two plates, one for me, one for him. “I would do anything for him . . . anything.”
* * *
“Give us the dirt. We want an embarrassing Maddox story,” Jason says, as we’re all sitting around in a circle, our respective partners holding us while Lincoln clutches his beer bottle to his chest, saying it is his one, true love.
“Yeah, something from his childhood, something good,” Lincoln says.
I glance back at Maddox who has a brow lifted in my direction. “Ah, I couldn’t do that on his birthday.”
“Fine,” Lincoln says. “Maddox, tell us an embarrassing story about Kinsley.”
Maddox full-on smirks and says, “Now that I can do.”
“Hey.” I playfully elbow him, but he wraps his arms tighter around me so I can’t move.
“Back in high school, our girl Kinsley here had this favorite pair of white shorts.”
“Oh my God, I hate you so much.” I cover my face with my hands and he laughs.
“I like the sounds of this already,” Jason says.
Continuing, Maddox says, “And she wore them to every game I pitched because she claimed they were good luck.”
“They were good luck,” I say. “You never lost a game when I wore them. That’s dedication as a friend.”
“Anyway,” Maddox says, with such a perfect smile on his face that makes me want to take him back to our apartment and do wicked things. “I was out on the mound. There was a runner on first, we had two outs, and all I could here was Kinsley cheering me on, screaming my name, pretty much causing a ruckus in the stands like she normally did when there were two outs.”
“It always made him pitch harder.”
“Sure, babe.” He kisses my head and chuckles some more. “So, I strike the poor sucker out at the plate and start to walk off the field. Kinsley is out of her mind excited, jumping up and down, and that’s when I see it . . .” I cover my face. “The entire crotch of her white shorts is red.”
Dottie and Natalie both gasp and clutch their chests, while the boys wince. “Oh shit,” Jason says, intent on the story while sipping his beer.
“Yeah, and being her best friend, I knew I had to say something to her. As I drew closer, I realized there were red streaks on her legs too. To say I was starting to grow concerned was an understatement. I had never seen anything like it before. Unsure if she was hemorrhaging or something, I told my coach I had to go to the bathroom but instead, I crawled under the stands and poked Kinsley in the back.”
“Startled me so bad I almost flung my snow cone at the bald guy in front of me.”
“I asked her to meet me behind the stands, which she quickly did. When she walked up to me completely oblivious and clearly concerned, I told her that her shorts were red.”
“No.” Kinsley shakes her head. “You said, ‘uh, Kinsley, I think you have some kind of female stuff on your shorts.’”
“Female stuff.” Jason slaps his knee. “Oh, classic awkward teenager talk.”
“I was so uncomfortable and felt terrible, especially since it was streaking down her legs. When she glanced down, she gasped and then . . . laughed so hard she fell to the ground, red crotch out in the open and everything. And that’s when I saw it.”
�
��Her vagina?” Jason asked. Dottie swatted at him.
“Why would you ask that?”
“I mean, it’s kind of obvious given where the story is headed.”
Maddox shakes his head. “No, it’s when I see the red snow cone in her hand, the red covering her lips and tongue, and realized, she wasn’t bleeding, she was a fucking slob while eating a snow cone and got it all over herself.”
“I am such an enthusiastic cheerer, it dripped all over me without noticing.”
The circle erupts in laughter and Maddox and I join them.
“Needless to say, I gave her the spare pair of baseball pants in my bag, and we walked home together, her pants sagging off her, mine caked in dirt from the game.”
“Remember the picture we took?” I ask. “I should have my mom send those to me, they would be fun to look through.”
“It would be interesting to see Maddox without his tattoos,” Cory says.
“Oh, I have pictures of that,” Lincoln says. “He wasn’t fully covered in the minors, just a bicep tattoo at that point. What was it of . . .”
“A frog,” I say on a snort.
“Seriously?” Cory asks.
“He was obsessed, so obsessed that—”
“Okay, thanks for coming, everyone,” Maddox says, standing from his chair. “I’ll see you on the plane tomorrow.” He tries to get me to move with him, but I stay put as everyone tells him to sit down.
“You told them the snow cone story, so the least you can do is sit through the lily pad.”
“The lily pad? This sounds promising,” Jason says, setting his empty beer bottle to the side.
I wait for permission from Maddox and once he sighs and relents, I smile widely. “So he was obsessed with frogs. When I tried to keep them, he got mad at me, telling me they needed to live their lives out in the wild.”
“It’s true, they did.”
“Anyway, my mom took us to the botanical gardens one day. It was a city day, which meant we got to eat someplace fun and do an activity. Well, this time it was the botanical gardens. I begged my mom to invite Maddox. My mom wanted it to be a family outing but she finally relented.”
“Something she regretted after,” Maddox says, laughing to himself.
“Oh hell,” Lincoln says, looking all too giddy.
“Come to find out, botanical gardens wasn’t too interesting to two eight-year-olds,” I continue.
“You were eight?” Jason asks.
I nod. And Maddox says, “Please keep that age in mind while she tells you this story. I wasn’t in high school or anything.”
“My mom and dad were on a walking tour, and Maddox and I decided to hang back a bit, because honestly, at the time, we couldn’t care less about the types of exotic flowers we weren’t supposed to touch. Anyway, we were talking about stupid stuff, things I can’t even remember, important life questions like, do you think frogs poop?”
“Ah, the classics,” Jason sighs.
“As we were shooting questions back and forth, we stumbled upon a pond. And there were giant lily pads covering the surface.”
“Oh Jesus,” Cory says, shaking his head, probably understanding where this is going.
“And of course, Maddox asked, do you think I could hop on the lily pad like a frog? I said no, because it wouldn’t be able to hold him up.”
“Oh Jesus, is right,” Natalie says next to Cory, while Jason is already giggling.
“Maddox took that as a challenge to prove me wrong of course, so he squatted down like a frog and started hopping around, saying ribbit.”
“No, he didn’t,” Lincoln says on an outburst.
“Unfortunately, I did,” Maddox answers.
“It was four hops and then he took off right into the pond, making a Maddox-shaped hole into one of the lily pads. The splash grabbed everyone’s attention, and let’s just say it was a silent, wet walk back to the car for Maddox.”
He scratches the side of his jaw as everyone laughs. “Not my finest decision, and there were plenty unfavorable moments to follow after that one.”
“It’s shocking my mom let us hang out after that.”
“Yeah, she already kept a close eye on her. Hence why she’s not a super fan of us being together.”
“She’s not?” Dottie asks.
“She’s indifferent. I think she’s more upset about the idea of me never going home and staying in Chicago rather than actually—” Maddox stiffens behind me. I look up at him and immediately notice the tension in his jaw. Trailing off, I say, “Being in a relationship. Hey, what’s wrong?”
“Are you fucking kidding me, Kinsley?”
“What?” He pushes me off him and stands from his chair just as someone approaches the back of the bar.
The light from the bar is dim so I can’t make out who it is, until he comes closer and when he does, my heart sinks. I feel like I’m going to throw up.
“What the fuck are you doing here?” Maddox growls.
“Can’t miss out on the birthday celebration,” Manny, Maddox’s brother says. “Happy birthday, brother.” Maddox doesn’t say anything. He just stands there, shoulders tense, fists clenched.
Fear washes over me from what might happen and Jason and the boys must notice, because they quickly stand and back up Maddox, blocking my view. All I can hear is their exchange.
“Wasn’t sure if you got the wedding invite. Thought I’d hand deliver it.” An envelope falls to the ground.
“I got it.” Oh God. Maddox’s fury is palpable. What the hell is he doing here?
“Not going to RSVP then?” Manny asks, malice in his voice. For two people who have a rift, you’d think Manny would at least sound more . . . apologetic. But there is no apology in his voice, no understanding. It’s almost as if he showed up here to poke the bear, to torment.
“I suggest you get the fuck out of here before I do it for you.”
Manny laughs, and I see him take a step back. “I’m going to take that as a not attending. What is it? You still in love with her?”
Still in love with who?
My pulse is hammering so hard, it’s almost painful. What the hell is going on?
“Fuck off,” Maddox answers. Not the response I was expecting. Call me crazy, but I was definitely hoping he’d say, no, I’m in love with Kinsley, or at least maybe he’s moved on from whoever this person—
“Jamie gives her best, by the way.”
All the blood drains from my face as my mind starts to connect the dots . . .
Jamie.
Manny.
The invitation.
The secrecy.
Is Manny getting married to Jamie? Maddox’s only other girlfriend, the girl who left him in the minors?
Maddox cocks his fist back only for the boys to hold on to him from behind. I startle backward, as do the other girls, while Jason moves forward and presses his hand to Manny’s chest. Jason might be a teddy bear goofball, but the man is a beast. Broad, tall, and built like a semi-truck. I would never mess with him, and it looks like Manny sees that too.
“I suggest you leave,” Jason says angrily.
Manny holds his hands up and takes another step back. “Fine by me. Just thought I would check in.” Looking behind the men, Manny spots me and gives me a nod. “Good to see you, Kinsley.” And then he takes off just as quickly as he came in.
Hand to heart, I try to catch my breath as the boys let Maddox go. His shoulders are heaving and when he looks behind him and makes eye contact with me, gone is the love, the adoration. In its place is undiluted fury. The anger I’ve seen when Maddox is on the field, ready to get in a fight.
The unguarded and chilling anger I saw in his father’s eyes many, many times.
Oh God. Maddie . . . I can’t stop shaking, but I move toward— “I told you to stay out of this,” he yells.
Wait . . . what?
“I told you to give me goddamn time. You couldn’t do that, could you?”
Our friends slowly bac
k away and fade into the background as embarrassment and hurt creep up the back of my neck.
“No, you’re Kinsley, and you do whatever the hell you want.” He drags his hands through his hair and then breathes out a heavy sigh. “Fuck,” he shouts, startling me backward even more. He’s brimming with rage. It’s rolling off him so fast that I’m nervous what might happen if I take a step forward, if I try to talk to him.
But before I can attempt to do so, he grunts something under his breath and takes off out of the bar.
Tears threaten to fall. What do I do? How do I approach this? How to talk to him?
“What did you do?” Jason asks me just as Dottie steps in, hand to his chest.
“Jason, don’t. This isn’t our business.”
I look around at our friends, or at least what I thought were our friends. Judgment sears their faces along with disappointment.
“I . . . it wasn’t . . .” I choke down a sob and quickly wipe at my eyes.
“Maybe . . . you should go,” Lincoln says, setting his beer bottle down and crossing his arms over his chest.
And that’s when I see it: the closed off-expressions from the guys, the brick walls being built to not only protect them, but to probably protect Maddox. The only person who isn’t looking at me as if I just broke their friend is Natalie. Instead, there’s sorrow in her eyes, almost as if she wants to reach out and give me hug.
“Kinsley,” Jason says and then nods at the door.
Okay, I get the hint.
More tears stream down my face, as I give them a slight shake of my head. I back away, hands twisted in front of me, and then slowly make my way out of the bar. I almost half expect to walk outside to Maddox and Manny fighting, but when I look to the left and right, all I see is an empty street.
Defeated, I head back home, head hanging low, my gut twisting and my mind racing. What do I say? How do I prove to him that I had nothing to do with this?
* * *
All the lights in the apartment are off when I arrive home, besides one.
The bedroom.
I kick off my heels and squat down to Herman, who makes a small whining noise in the back of his throat as he presses his head into my hand.
The Change Up Page 29