The Lies We Tell

by Katie Rae

  Becca

  Ali had been driving me crazy. If she wasn’t tending to my every need, she was telling me how awful Chase was for disappearing.

  I had to get out of there.

  I told her I was walking to the ice machine, but I was four blocks away before I decided to text her and tell her I wasn’t coming back for a while, that I needed air.

  Somehow, I ended up at the stadium. I had headed straight to the right-field wall trying to find some peace in the chaos of my brain.

  I had debated on calling Chase once I was free from Ali, but I refrained, knowing Kace had already tried. I was afraid he would ignore my call as well. I wasn’t ready to find out if that was the case.

  It shouldn’t have been surprising that Chase showed up here. It's like we were drawn to each other whether we liked it or not.

  Getting some of our stories straight felt good. Needed.

  I didn’t know where we were going to go from here, but if anything, we were getting closure.

  Somehow, we had avoided talking about the explosion in the locker room. The meat of our conversation revolving around how this all started.

  But now we were there. And it was time to figure out if we could survive the lies we told.

  “You're not pregnant, are you?” he asked, his voice sounding scratchy, almost sad. It didn't sound hopeful that I wasn't pregnant. He sounded matter of fact, like he already knew.

  “No, but Ali thought I was. So of course, that’s what she told Kace and Cam. I was just sick. Probably stressed.” How ironic that with all the lies, she didn’t buy the one thing that was the truth.

  “You took a test or something? You could have told me if you did.” He reached for my hand and squeezed, sincerity oozing from his words and actions. “I would have been there for you.”

  “Where have you been all day, then?” I asked, biting more than I should have.

  He blanched at my sudden snap and withdrew his hand from mine. “Seeing Kace carrying you to Gary’s office, so pissed at me for my ignorance, like I just knocked you up and left you in the lurch, it was a lot. I had no idea what he was getting at or what he meant. I backed off, needing to think. To make sure I wasn’t missing something I should have seen.”

  “But why disappear for so long?”

  “Well, first of all, I realized you weren't pregnant. We may have had a lot of lies between us, but in my gut, I felt you would have told me that. I trusted you in that moment. It wasn't the kind of thing I felt you would have misled me about."

  "I did lie, though. I'm not on birth control."

  "You're not pregnant either, though, are you?" He repeated his earlier question.

  "Nope."

  He stared at me for a long time, willing me to explain. This conversation felt out of place right now. But it was what we were doing, wasn't it? Clearing the air.

  “I can’t have kids. My mom and dad are the only other people that know. For some reason, I hate that about myself. I got sick and had an infection when I was a teenager. Whatever. The point is, I wanted you to trust me, but I didn’t want to tell you the truth. I was afraid it would scare you away because some of your random questions had been about kids."

  “Princess,” he whispered. “That wouldn’t have changed how I feel about you. You know that, right?”

  I shrugged. Unsure. And just continued my story.

  "Ali doesn't even know. I didn't even tell her when she thought I was pregnant, but I should have. All this embarrassment could have been avoided. Maybe even all this heartache, because all this has done is reminded me of something I can never have.”

  Chase took a deep breath and grabbed my hand again. He brought it to his lips and kissed my fingers, probably willing my sadness away.

  It was kind of working.

  “I know that it is something we could have talked about. And we would have, eventually. I was going to tell you everything.”

  “But then this morning happened?”

  “Yep.”

  He laughed, “Fucking Ethan.”

  “Fucking Chase,” I corrected him. He looked at me confused. “What were you thinking? Retiring?”

  “I wanted you to have your dream job, and I wanted to have you. It wasn’t that hard of a decision, baby.”

  “I could never let you leave this game for me. I would feel too much pressure. I mean, look at us, we are a couple of liars. We shouldn’t be making major life decisions.”

  He laughed again, this time humor vibrating his chest. I just swatted him playfully.

  “You turned your job down, didn’t you?” He asked when he finally stopped laughing.

  “Yeah,” I said quietly.

  “So, you made a major life decision, too. For me.”

  I smiled, “Yeah, I guess I am just as dumb as you are.”

  “We are a match made in heaven.”

  We sat there in silence for a while. The heaviness of the day was beginning to feel lighter. I was feeling better. When I told Ali I needed him, this is what I meant.

  Whether we were together in a relationship, or just friends, or coworkers. I knew we would never be enemies.

  I needed him.

  “What now, Chase?”

  He shrugged, but pulled my hand, lifting me up and grabbing my waist to straddle him.

  “I don’t know, baby. We have a lot to talk about.”

  I nodded, my forehead falling to his forehead. I thought maybe he and I were done. That this wasn’t something we could make it through.

  But maybe we could.

  “We have a lot to learn about one another,” he continued.

  I just kept nodding in agreement.

  “I don’t really know what is going to happen,” a small tear escaped my eye at his truthful words.

  I didn’t know either.

  He took his thumb and wiped it away, kissing my cheek.

  “The only thing I know for sure, is that I am going to have so much fun pissing Cam off when I tell him how much I love his sister.”

  I barked an unexpected laugh, but sobered up when it hit me.

  “You love me?”

  He rolled his eyes, “Don’t act like you didn’t know.”

  I didn’t know.

  I had hoped. I had wished.

  “Are you sure you’re not lying?” I asked with a smirk on my face.

  “No more lies.”

  “No more lies,” I repeated. “I love you too.”

  Chapter 36

  Chase

  Becca and I stayed there in each other’s arms against the right field wall for a little bit longer.

  She was crazy if she thought I would let her go. That was never an option.

  Was I confused by the truths?

  Yes.

  Was I hurt by the lies?

  Oh yeah.

  Did that change how I felt about her?

  Not even a little bit.

  Pregnant, not pregnant, Cam’s sister, whatever. As long as she wasn’t my sister, I was all in with her.

  And she loved me. I knew she did. That is why when I left the stadium earlier, the decisions I made were easy, just time-consuming.

  "Second of all?" She asked abruptly.

  I pulled back and looked at her confused.

  "You said earlier, 'first of all'... But you never told me what second of all was."

  I started nodding, remembering I didn't finish that thought. "Yeah, second of all. I had to make arrangements regarding my contract with the team. It took longer than I expected."

  Now she was nodding, acknowledging she knew that I needed to take care of that.

  “I am going to play the rest of spring training, that is why I ended up here tonight. To bring my things back for the next three days we have left.” I said, holding her tight to me, her legs still straddling me as I sat on the ground against the wall.

  She nodded, “I expected that. I am so relieved.”

  “Then I am done, Princess.”

  She pulled back to look in me
in my eyes, concern in her features.

  “There were two things I had to do when I left the stadium; finish signing my retirement papers, and arrange rehab for my dad. Both took time, but they’re done.”

  “Chase, no.”

  “Shhh,” I calmed her down by stroking her bottom lip, “I didn’t make that decision for you, I made it for me. I need to stop hiding from my dad and help him. When he lost my mom, he started drinking. I was all he had, and I just ignored him. Shit, I lost you for an afternoon and I was tempted to drink.”

  There was no comparison to my dad’s loss. I couldn’t even fathom that kind of loss. But it made me realize I needed to be there for him. I called him and had a long talk with him. I told him my plans and he agreed to try rehab.

  But there were more reasons for my decision.

  “I also need to stop putting a band-aid on these old knees and start being more careful. I am only 33 years old. Whether you were pregnant or not, it made me consider that eventually, I might have a reason to want to walk without pain.”

  The constant flow of tears that Becca seemed to have started their tracks down her cheek again. Her bottom lip trembled.

  “I have more money than I will ever know what to do with. I have already proven I am one of the best catchers to play the game. I have had an amazing career. I am ok with being done. I’m ready. And yeah, falling in love with you may have played a role in my decision, but it wasn’t just you. It was the perspective that those feelings gave me.”

  “I hope you know that even by retiring, I still don’t think I can take that job. After the scene that played out in there, I am not even sure I can show my face to finish spring training.”

  “I will support whatever you do, Princess. But I can promise you one thing, no one is going to even look at you funny with Kace and me breathing down their necks.”

  “Kace is mad at you,” she reminded me.

  “Yeah but he’s not mad at you. Plus, he will get over it.”

  She smiled and leaned in to kiss me before pulling back.

  “I can’t believe we are ok. I thought you would hate me.”

  “I think we already established that we are both adults,” I smirked teasingly.

  She smiled and leaned back into me. “Yeah we are,” was all she got out before kissing me again, this time deeper.

  I leaned up and stood, keeping a grip on her ass and lifting her in the air with me. I was done talking. We were going to be ok, so the rest could wait.

  “Where are we going?” She asked, trying to look back at the direction we were headed.

  “The bullpen. Wanna make sure the right field wall isn’t the only place we covet out here.”

  That gorgeous laugh bloomed out of her once again and warmed everything inside of me. I was going to spend the rest of my life making her laugh and keeping those tracks of tears away.

  “What happens if someone asks if we had sex in the bullpen?”

  I pulled back but kept my stride, “Why would anyone ask that?”

  She shrugged, “Just want to be prepared.”

  I smiled and shook my head at her, “Then we lie, Cupcake.”

  Chapter 37

  Becca

  It was the bottom of the ninth, with two runners on base and the Kings were down by two runs. Chase was on deck, and since they were intentionally walking Kace in front of him, he was about to get a chance at one last at-bat, and with the bases loaded.

  Three days had passed since the Clusterfuck of Spring Training, as we were now calling it. This was Chase’s last game and I opted to sit in the stands to cheer him on as a fan.

  Ali and Cam to my right, and the owner of the Kings to my left.

  I had held true to my word to Gary and helped him finish up spring training. Despite my fear of walking into that locker room again only a day after the Cluster, Chase was right, no one even thought about looking at me wrong.

  I did come clean to Gary, though. I sat him down and laid it all out there. Chase told me to hold nothing back, so I didn’t.

  I told Gary about helping Chase with his knees, lying about Manny, and falling in love with Chase. I even told him who my brother was. Which caused him to sputter and spit and tell me it was all ok.

  It wasn’t. I had more red flags than the beach during a hurricane. I took pride in the fact that he offered me the job before he knew all of my lies. I had earned that offer without Cam’s influence.

  But I couldn’t, in good conscience, keep that offer. So, I declined Gary’s many offers that followed and decided to return to the local high school I had been working at before.

  It wasn’t as glamorous or high profile, but maybe I didn’t want that after all. Not just so I could be with Chase, but because high schoolers viewed the world and the sport with more awe than the pros did. I kind of missed the stars in their eyes and the drive to make something of themselves. I wanted to be a part of their future success as athletes.

  “Pssst,” I heard and looked up to see Chase smiling at me from on deck. “Eyes up here Princess.”

  I turned red and looked away, getting busted yet again checking Chase’s ass out in his baseball pants. Ali was smiling. She had forgiven Chase when she realized there was nothing to forgive. Cam was making a gagging noise like he was twelve years old. He had also forgiven Chase but reminded him he had a lot to forgive.

  He didn’t. But he was my brother, so Chase said he expected nothing less from Cam.

  Luckily, Chase and I didn’t care what Cam thought. He didn’t get a say. And when it came down to it, he just wanted me to be happy. You’d have to be blind to not see how happy Chase made me.

  When we weren’t at the stadium, we were spending every second of our time together talking and relearning things about one another. We even joined Ali, Cam, and Kace for dinner one night.

  We felt free. And with freedom came truths.

  The PA announcer caught my attention when I heard his voice. “Now batting for the Kings, Chase Turner.”

  The crowd stood and roared. Chase had announced his retirement the day after the Cluster, so everyone in attendance knew this was the last at-bat of his career.

  He walked to the plate and tipped his hat to the fans, thanking them for their love. He hit the bat on his shoes a few times and settled into his stance, waiting on the pitch. After taking a few balls and a strike, he finally got the pitch he wanted and swung.

  The ball flew towards the right-field wall, and with two outs, the runners had taken off, rounding the bases quicker than the ball could even land. The right fielder jumped but missed and like something written in a novel, the ball ricocheted off the exact spot that Chase and I now considered “our spot.”

  The fans screamed as Kace crossed home plate with the winning run. The players piled on Chase like it was game seven of the World Series. He deserved this moment, and I was honored I got to watch and cheer him on.

  When everyone settled down, he was pulled to the side by the media for an interview. Kace had come to get me so I could join them on the field. I stood behind the camera so I couldn’t be seen but was close enough to hear.

  “Chase, what was going through your mind knowing this was your last at-bat in a Kings’ uniform?”

  “I just wanted to give my teammates a high before the season starts. I want them going in with a win and knowing they got this from here on out.”

  “Will we see you around the stadium this season, in a supporting role?”

  “Maybe. If the guys need me for a pep talk, I will be there.”

  “Now that you have ended your career in epic fashion, what are you going to do next?”

  “I’m going to Disney World!”

  Afterword

  This book would not have been possible without my husband, my mom, and the readers that got on board with me. You all gave me so much love, support, and encouragement to keep on writing.

  To the friends I brought with me, thank you all for being my cheerleaders!

  To the a
uthors and bloggers that have guided me with such grace, thank you for showing me how amazing this community really is!

  About The Author

  Katie Rae

  Katie lives in Florida with her husband of 17 years, and their 2 girls. She is a huge sports fan--especially of baseball. She loves the beach, books, sushi, sandwiches, cake, and her roomba.

  When she is not writing, she is busy being a stay at home mom and military wife.

  Katie started writing during her husband’s deployments as a way to relax and feed her creativity. She loves romance, love, easy reads, and happily ever afters.

  Books By This Author

  The Games We Play

  It wasn’t the physical pain that stayed with me, it was the emotional mind games that I still suffered from. Two years later and I still carried those scars everywhere.

  But then two megastar athletes walked into my life with their own kind of games, and suddenly hiding wasn’t so easy.

  Their games made me forget my issues. Made me feel safe again. Made me laugh again. Made me trust again. Made me forget I even had a reason to hide in the first place.

  And with them, I ultimately agreed to the craziest game of all—a new relationship that would test friendships, boundaries, and trust.

  The problem was….once I let my guard down……

  I was found. My past intertwined with my present to complicate an already perverse situation.

  Despite my past, despite the obstacles, and despite the forbidden games we play….. can our new relationship find a happy ending?

  And if we do, will I be forced to choose between them? Neither of them? Or will I get to keep them?

  Both.

  *This is an adult sports romance designed to be fun, quirky, and lite.....with a little bit of dark sprinkled in. MFM leads and an HEA.