“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.