Change of Hart(32)

I laughed. And then we paused again. It’s like there was a lot we wanted to say, but I was the only one willing to say it. It made it hard to keep the conversation going at times.

“You know, Addison,” I said, clearing my throat, “you’re welcome to come swimming with us. I mean, if that would make you more comfortable. I know you don’t know me that well yet.”

“Oh, I trust you, Jason,” she said, ignoring the invitation. “Mick seems to like you and you’re friends with Mrs. Mill—Lindsay—so I’m sure Jaxon will be fine with you.”

“You could come anyway,” I pitched. And held my breath, waiting for the rejection.

“Um . . . I don’t think that’s a good idea,” she said, confirming what I knew was coming. It didn’t make it sting any less though. But I wasn’t about to admit it.

“Yeah. Yeah, you’re right,” I said. “It’ll be nice to hang out one-on-one with him. The further we get into the season, the more my schedule gets packed so it’ll be harder to see him.”

We paused again. I assumed she was trying to figure out what to say. I was just trying to save face by giving her the next move.

“So,” she finally began, “do you wanna pick him up here at about eleven? Or I mean, I could bring him to you . . .”

“No, no,” I interrupted. “I can pick him up. It’s only like a thirty-five minute drive and I’ll be coming from working out, so it’s no problem.”

“Wait, you work out on Sundays, too?”

“Oh yeah,” I said with a smile. She was finally making conversation. This was good. “I usually work out seven days a week. Except on the Sundays when we have a game. But yeah, we work out a lot. That doesn’t include practice either.”

“I didn’t know that,” she said. “I never really paid attention to sports. But with Austin gone, I guess I’m gonna have to learn a little more to keep up with Jaxon.”

“Yeah,” I said, hoping what she meant was she was learning more to keep up with Jaxon and me. Then I heard her yawn. “Well, it’s getting late. I just wanted to run those details by you.”

“Thanks, Jason,” she said softly. “I really appreciate you taking an interest in Jaxon.”

“You’re welcome. I’ll see you Sunday?”

“See you then,” she said. And she hung up.

I stared at the phone for a while, just running the conversation through my head. I still wasn’t sure where she and I were at, but at least we weren’t going backwards anymore. At this point, if that’s all I could have, I’d take it.





The next few days was more of the same . . . practice, work out¸ listen to Deuce talk about what a stud he was.

Except now Addison and I were texting again. It was little stuff here and there. But I was being cautious. I’m not really sure if it’s because I was protecting her or myself.

I was a little nervous when I pulled up into their driveway on Sunday. Although we’d been in contact, I hadn’t seen her since Jaxon’s party and I wasn’t sure how comfortable we’d be around each other.

Just seconds after knocking on the front door, it swung open and a brown-haired force of nature flew into my arms.

“Jason!” he yelled, wrapping his arms around my neck as I scooped him up. “My mom said we’re going swimming! Are we really going swimming at your house?”

“We sure are,” I said, smiling at him, still holding him up so we were at eye level. “Where’s your mom? We need to tell her I’m here.”

“I’m right here,” she said, walking through the door with a beach bag. When she looked up, I swear I stopped breathing. Just the sight of her made me forget all the conflict we’d had and want to stay right here.

But I had a seven-year-old boy who was dying to get to the pool, so there would be no sticking around.

“I packed his towel, some sunscreen and a change of clothes for when you’re done,” she said, digging through the bag. “Oh! I put some snacks and bottles of water in here, too.”

“I could have done that,” I said, smiling at her. That’s when she looked up at me and about knocked me on my ass again. I was starting to look forward to that feeling.

“I know,” she said. “But he’ll probably start asking for a snack on the drive back. I figured it was better to be prepared.”

“Can we go now?” Jaxon asked, wiggling down to the floor. “I wanna see if they have a slide. Do they have a slide?”

I smiled down at him. “Yeah they do, buddy. Hey, why don’t you run to the bathroom one last time since we have about a thirty-minute drive, ok? I’ll be ready to go as soon as you’re done.”