The Lies We Tell Read online

  But still.

  “Cupcake!” I heard a minute later. Again, Chase and his nicknames.

  “What?” I asked without looking up.

  “I was just in Gary’s office and he told me to send you in there if I saw you.”

  Did he see me? Or did he find me? Did it matter?

  I was overanalyzing everything this morning. I needed to get a grip. So I shook off the uneasiness and looked up. “Thanks.”

  He nodded and walked out.

  I gathered the papers I was taking notes down on and filed them away. I passed the other guys on the way out; I am sure they were wondering why Gary needed me.

  Hell if I knew.

  I walked the hallway to Gary’s office and went to the open door. Gary wasn’t there. I turned to leave and find him but ran into yet another wall—the Chase wall.

  “What the—” I started, but was pushed back into the office, Chase closing the door behind him.

  “What’s wrong, Princess?” He asked, folding his arms over his chest.

  “Does Gary need me?” I couldn’t be caught in here with Chase if Gary was seeking me out. "I need to go find him."

  “No, he’s on the field. I just needed to talk to you. What’s wrong?”

  “What do you mean? I am working.”

  “Noooo, your face was fine, and then it wasn’t, and your eyes are darker. The whole time you were in the locker room you were short and cold. That isn’t like you.” He noticed all that?

  “I saw you talking to Kace. You two all buddy-buddy and laughing. Then you both saw me and separated. Laughing.” I turned to walk back and forth, something to do in case I sounded like a sulky child. Cause I knew there was a chance I was overreacting.

  “Are we not allowed to talk?” Chase asked.

  “Did you tell him you knew?” I asked in return.

  “What? NO. We weren’t even talking about you,” he practically yelled.

  “Then why did you both laugh after looking at me?”

  “Geez baby, he was just telling me a friend of ours was in town, that he was gonna stop by the locker room this morning to say hey but wanted to know if I wanted to have drinks with them later.”

  “So you didn’t tell him you knew?”

  “No, I promised you I wouldn’t, and I didn’t,” his tone softening.

  “Kace looked at me too, at the exact same time.”

  “I can’t answer for him, but he didn’t say anything to me about you either. He kept your secret safe.”

  I sighed, in frustration and embarrassment. I knew in my gut I was overreacting, but I let that feeling stew. I needed to be upset with him. It was my only defense.

  Then something he said hit me. “Who’s the friend?”

  “Cam Nichols. You know him too?” He teased. God if he only knew.

  “Nope,” I lied and turned away to hide my eyes that he seemed to have a dictionary for. I am sure my eyes said, “Yep, from the time he was born.”

  “Hey, come here.”

  I wasn’t ready to look up, but I turned back around and headed closer to him. When I was sure my eyes had forgotten their lying ways, I looked up.

  Chase was devastatingly gorgeous. His intense stare took my breath away every time I got this close to him. “Better?”

  “Yeah, sorry. I just... This,” I pointed to my head. “And that,” I gestured to the door not indicating anything in particular. “It’s been a weird morning.” That seemed to work with the other guys, so I stuck with it.

  Chase pulled me into a hug and rested his chin on the top of my head. I wrapped my arms around his waist and took a deep breath. He had his jersey on now and the buttons dug into my cheek. Still heaven.

  Right then, my phone started buzzing in my pocket. I didn’t want to even acknowledge it, but Chase felt it and pulled away.

  “I will let you get that, Princess. I gotta go to work, Ethan is waiting on me in the 'pen.”

  I nodded quietly and backed away as the buzzing from my phone stopped.

  “Hey,” Chase said, gently touching my face. I looked into his eyes as his thumb skimmed my cheek. He never finished whatever he was going to say. He just kissed my head again and left.

  I felt the heat that that his kiss created. The knot wasn’t even noticeable in comparison to the fervor his lips created. I sat down on Gary’s couch, knowing I had a few more minutes before I needed to be out there again.

  I had almost forgotten the missed call on my phone when it started buzzing again. This time, I fished it out quickly.

  Ali.

  “You are one big ass liar,” I said, instead of a cordial “hello.”

  “How do you know?” She screeched.

  “I ran into, literally ran into, your boyfriend, in the locker room this morning.”

  “Which one?” Ali asked. Only Ali could be told I ran into her boyfriend and get away with asking which one.

  “Which one would I be shocked to see right now?”

  “Ok, so I can explain,” she said. “After we got off the phone with you, Kace called us again when he got back to his room. I was missing him so much. Cam suggested we just hop on a plane and head down, take a red-eye. So, we really came to see Kace, not you.”

  I rolled my eyes, knowing that was probably true to some extent. “Whatever,” I muttered.

  “But I am calling because well, Cam went with Kace to the stadium, as you know, and they’re also planning a few beers at the bar tonight. I am sleeping all day and then thought you and I should take the chance to have that dinner downtown we talked about. Just us girls.”

  I smiled, dinner with my best friend sounded perfect. I needed some time away from the hotel and the team. Disney didn’t count because Chase was there. And truthfully, I needed time away from Chase, too. I needed to figure out these feelings that kept getting stronger and stronger every time we were together. Maybe time apart would abate them a little and make tomorrow more manageable.

  “Yes!” I squealed. “I need until 7:30 or so, a late dinner ok?”

  “Of course! I have a car service so I will meet you out front. Sound good?”

  “As long as no one sees you and I getting to said car service,” I deadpanned. I didn’t need questions being asked.

  “I will be waiting in the car, promise.”

  Now all I needed to do was make sure Chase didn’t bring dinner to our session tonight and find some time to grab a change of clothes from the hotel.

  First thing was first, though. I had to survive a day in the dugout and keeping an eye on Ethan.

  Chapter 17

  Chase

  Becca was sitting three feet to my right. How the fuck was I supposed to get up and walk on that field when she was within reach?

  Gary put her on the bench to keep an eye on Ethan today. I guess explaining to him that I slept with her my arms last night and can’t shake the feeling of how good it felt is not a good idea. I’m not sure he would understand my need to separate her and the game right now. I needed to focus on catching for Ethan and all I could think about was her shampoo and soft skin and her finger making small strokes on my chest this morning before we got up.

  Oh, and can we just admit that I deserved an award for pulling away and getting up. I was so close to running my hand down the curve of her hips, down her legs, back up again, and cupping her under her….

  “Earth to Turner.” Fuck. See what I mean? This wasn’t going to work.

  “What?” I snapped, trying to focus on who the hell was calling my name.

  “You wanna head to the bullpen? I need to warm up, the game is in 30 minutes.” Ethan. He was talking to me like I was an idiot. I was sitting with my knee pads and chest protector on, in the dugout, I definitely knew there was a game.

  But did I answer him? Nope. Just looked at Becca, who started paying attention to Ethan once he walked up. I was trying to tell myself to say words. To acknowledge his request. To do my damn job.

  Nothing came.

  Finally, afte
r watching Becca touch Ethan’s hand and check his blisters, I snapped out of it.

  “Yep, let's go.” I stood so quickly I almost knocked Ethan over. I grabbed his non-pitching arm and dragged him to follow behind me. Maybe I was ready to get to work, maybe I didn’t want Becca touching Ethan. I wasn’t ready to decide, so I shoved it away to think about later.

  The good news was, once I got out of Becca’s ether, I was able to think straight, and Ethan’s warm-up went smooth. We returned to the dugout, stood for the national anthem, and then took the field. I somehow managed to keep my head in the game and everything was fine…. for a while.

  By the fourth inning, Ethan’s pitches started finding more dirt and air than the actual strike zone and I knew his fingers were burning up again. So did Coach. And probably Gary.

  I wasn’t surprised at all to see Coach call time out and come check on him. I was more than surprised to see Becca following him, though. Becca was on the bench today, but Gary had some nerve sending her onto the same field she was assaulted on just yesterday with a fucking baseball.

  A protectiveness flared up in my chest as I walked to the mound to meet them. Was she ready? Could she handle this?

  Who the fuck was I right now?

  “Jones,” Coach grumbled, “What’s going on?”

  “Let me see the blister,” Becca said, softer than Coach, and reached for his hand. She turned it over and looked a few times before she spoke again. “You need to come in and let me patch this up before it opens and gets gross.”

  She was so sweet and nurturing. But yet, she threatened to take my balls off when it was me she was talking to.

  For the record, this woman already took my balls off and stored them neatly in her pocket. Which was exactly why I started nodding my head in agreeance with her even though I knew Ethan wanted to finish the inning. Not that my opinion mattered. Coach always got the final call, but he let the trainers handle the injuries and the players handle themselves.

  I was just a pawn, but I was all, "Yep, Princess is right." Ethan was set to argue too, but once I showed my support for Team Becca, he relented and followed her into the dugout.

  I followed her with my eyes. I watched as she, and my balls, made their way into the tunnel to the locker room.

  I caught three more innings before I came out of the game and had Fernandez finish up. I didn’t bother stretching the knees out. I went straight to the locker room.

  When I checked my phone, I had a missed call from my housekeeper, Isla, and two texts from Becca.

  First thing was first, I checked my texts.

  Becca: Don’t worry about dinner tonight, I am meeting a friend after we have our sesh.

  Becca: I ran back to the hotel for a change of clothes really quick, if you get this before I get back, it would be safe to assume you didn’t stretch…. stretch your damn knees.

  I smiled. How did she know I would skip my stretches?

  Then I had to get serious and call my housekeeper.

  I changed out of my uniform and walked out of the locker room; into the same corridor I hid in when my dad showed up.

  “Hey, what’s up?” I asked when Isla answered the phone.

  “Mr. Turner, thank goodness. I come in today and your father is gone, missing.” She was practically screaming.

  “Wait, what?” I yelled.

  “He’s gone!” She repeated, an octave higher.

  “Are my cars gone?” I wasn’t worried about the cars themselves but if he decided to drive again, I would never forgive him if he hurt someone.

  “No, I hid the keys, as you said. I saw all the cars, but he is not here.”

  “Ok, Ok….” I softened my voice. Isla was a 60-year-old woman with grown kids and a sick husband, she didn’t need me asking her to worry about my dad any more than she already was. I asked her to feed him, help him, and see that he had the things he needed. That was more than enough.

  “Mr. Turner, I should do something!”

  “No,” I took a deep breath, staying calm. I ran a hand through my hair and looked to the ground. “Isla, there’s nothing to worry about. Ok? I promise. I will see you when I get home.”

  I didn’t know what else to do or say. I couldn’t leave Spring Training. Plus, I wouldn’t even know where to look for him. And despite how much I worried my dad would get hurt or hurt someone else, he was a grown man. I couldn’t save him.

  I hung up with Isla and took a few deep breaths to steady myself. Screw the knees, I was going back to the hotel to lay down. I was supposed to meet up with Becca tonight but that didn’t seem like a good idea with the space my head was in. I needed to just cancel with her until I was right, so I shot her a quick text.

  Chase: Canceling tonight. I will stretch on my own.

  I waited a minute but when she didn’t text back, I headed to the hotel. I needed to sleep. But sleep didn't come. So instead, I hopped in my car and drove around trying to clear my head. After three hours, I ended up with four pamphlets for rehabs, two snickers bars, and a hard lemonade that I downed in one gulp once I was back in the parking garage.

  None of those seemed to fix my craziness.

  So, I gave up and went back to my room until it was time to meet the guys downstairs.

  ◆◆◆

  I walked into the lobby around 7:30 that night to meet up with my friends for a drink.

  I saw Kace and Cam immediately, off to the side of the lobby, each taking turns kissing their girl, Ali. I assumed they were saying their goodbyes, but I walked up on the tail end of Ali saying to Cam, “I’m off to be the Isla slayer, wish me luck.”

  “Isla?” I asked. That wasn’t a common name and the odds of hearing it twice in one day were slim.

  Ali jumped, not realizing I was behind her.

  “Oh, Chase, hey. Good to see you.”

  “You too. What’s an Isla slayer?” I asked, curious but trying not to be rude.

  Ali just waved a hand at me and rolled her eyes. “No biggie. A friend of mine just seems to have a new and sudden aversion to the name. I haven’t got the details yet, but I can tell I will need to slay some dragons tonight. Have fun guys.”

  And then she was walking from the hotel.

  That was so strange. I guess that name was more common than I thought. Up until this moment, though, I only ever knew Isla, my housekeeper.

  I shrugged and turned to the guys, “Ready?”

  “Yep,” they nodded. “You’re driving since you somehow got your car here.”

  “Fuckers,” I laughed but led the way out to my car.

  They eyed the damage for a second but didn’t say anything, and I sure as fuck wasn’t offering an explanation.

  Luckily, guys don’t ask questions, so that was the end of that.

  Chapter 18

  Becca

  “So let me get this straight. You overheard him on the phone, talking to an 'Isla', and he said he would see her when he got home?”

  I was trying to be as vague as I could but also using my best friend as a therapist. It wasn’t my finest idea. She was already suspicious that I was crushing on a player and I had to lie through my teeth to try and convince her he was a random guy I met who was in town for a few days.

  Considering she knew how tedious our schedules were here, I suspected she knew deep down that I hadn’t had time to meet anyone else.

  Me and my big mouth.

  After accidentally overhearing Chase on the phone when I got back to the stadium earlier, the name Isla had made me want to throw up.

  'Isla, there’s nothing to worry about. Ok? I promise. I will see you when I get home.'

  Home.

  I didn’t think Chase was married but that didn’t mean he didn’t have a girlfriend waiting for him back at home. Probably a jealous girlfriend that he had to reassure and comfort.

  Why did I care? I didn't have a claim on him. We were nothing to each other.

  That's the lie I told myself.

  We were something. Something we
haven’t acted on or labeled but we both knew it was there.

  Maybe she was why he pulled away. Maybe that is why he seemed to be stronger than I was.

  “Yep,” I said to Ali and took a sip of my martini.

  “That doesn’t mean anything, she could be his mom.” “A mom he calls Isla?” I deadpanned. Then I shook my head, “Plus his mom is dead.”

  “You two know each other well enough to know about families and such?”

  She was asking if I told him I was Cam Nichols’ sister. That would be a no. But I stayed quiet.

  “What’s the deal here? You really like this guy, huh?” She asked.

  “I don’t know, it’s complicated. There is something that sizzles around us, but it's kind of a bad idea. I think I keep trying to find reasons to be mad at him or hate him.”

  Ali eyed me over the rim of her glass. She knew, I could see it in her eyes. She knew I was lusting after a player and that is why it was a terrible idea. But she didn’t press for more. She let me be.

  I wondered if she would tell Kace and Cam, but she didn’t have a name or anything so she may let me off the hook for a while. There had to be some sort of best friend code she wouldn’t break, right?

  Thankfully, the rest of the night wasn’t about me and my irrational worries. I managed to keep my brain on other subjects and held perfectly appropriate best friend conversations.

  But when Ali’s driver dropped me off at the side of the hotel, I didn’t go to my room. I was tempted to go to Chase’s room. But I didn’t do that either.

  Ali had gotten a text from Cam that the guys had already called it a night and were back at the hotel. So I knew Chase was there. Yet I resisted and ordered an Uber.

  Twenty minutes later I was at the stadium, flashing my employee badge to the nighttime security guard and going into the dark, quiet space of the locker room.

  Maybe I would catch up on paperwork. Paperwork seemed endless.

  Maybe I would change into the clothes I left here earlier, when I changed to go out with Ali, and exercise a bit. Get out of my head.