Fake Out (Fake Boyfriend 1)

“We can leave now if you like?”

“You haven’t even touched your soup yet.” I’ve devoured my dinner, though.

“It takes a while to eat these days. Too fast and it comes back up again. Plus, the medication is screwing with my appetite. I could sit here and nurse this bowl of soup all night.”

“Shit, I’m sorry. Can I get you anything? I feel like I’m not doing enough. I can come to doctor’s appointments with you. Or I can—”

Cheri shakes her head. “You’re doing enough by letting me stay in your apartment and keeping me company. You don’t owe me anything, Maddox. Our lunches and dinners have been the highlight of … well, my existence lately.”

A lump lodges in my throat. “I’m happy to get to know you and glad you finally told me the truth.”

She reaches across the table and grips my hand. “I don’t deserve you. Giving you up was the best thing I could’ve done, but that doesn’t mean I don’t regret it. I doubt you would’ve grown up to be such a great person if you were on the road with me all those years. And now I’m here”—tears fall from her eyes—“I feel horrible that you’ve had to take me in.”

“Hey, it’s okay. You’re going through a hard time, and we’re family. It’s what we do for each other.”

“You should go home to Damon. Go have fun. I’ll finish my soup eventually, settle the check, and then head on back to your apartment when I’m done.”

I’m torn because while I should stay to make sure she gets home okay I really want to go home to Damon. “I know this time you were going to get the check, but how about I go pay and you use your money on a cab back to my apartment so I won’t worry about you getting home?”

“I seriously don’t deserve you.”

I stand from the table and lean into her, kissing the top of her head. “Don’t worry about it. Catch up again soon? Come for lunch again one day you’re feeling up to it?”

“Definitely.”

After settling the check, I can’t get home fast enough. When I walk through the door, Damon’s fresh out of a shower, only wearing a towel.

“You’re home.” A grin lights up his face.

My eyes rake over him, from his wet chest down to his happy trail.

“How’s Cheri?”

“Huh?” I pull my gaze away to meet his amused expression.

“Cheri. She doing better?”

“I think she’s okay. She doesn’t really talk about it much. I can tell the side effects are kicking her ass, though. She can barely eat anything or do anything …” I check my watch. One thing about seeing Cheri go through this is it makes me realize I need to take her advice. Don’t worry about the future so much and go out and have fun. “You should get dressed. We’re going out.”

Damon’s smile falls. “Where?”

“Out.” I’ve been wanting to drag Damon to the batting cages for a while now. I want to see him in his element—where he claims he’s most happy.

He eyes me warily the whole time he gets dressed and all the way to the subway too. “Okay, seriously. Where are we going?”

“It’s a surprise.” One I hope doesn’t freak him out like the last time we were at a baseball field.

“If you can’t already tell, I’m not a big fan of surprises.”

Of course, he isn’t. “Wouldn’t have guessed,” I say.

When we arrive outside the sporting complex, Damon tenses.

“Come on. You need to show me how you almost became famous.”

He rubs the back of his neck as I drag him inside. “I’ll be rusty.”

“You’ll still be better than me.” I’ve always been one of those guys who can play any sport. I pick shit up easily, but I was never a prodigy. Never enough to be great at any of them. “Come on, Lion King.”

A hand clamps over my mouth. “Please don’t say that too loudly.” Damon’s eyes dart around the nearly empty place. He doesn’t remove his hand until I nod.

“You really don’t like that name, do you?” I ask. “What are the chances of anyone spotting you here?”

Damon shrugs. “It happens sometimes—like at Chastity’s wedding. When I say I was everywhere for a while, I mean, I was everywhere. I was the next big thing before I’d even made it to the majors. I don’t like the billions of questions it comes with when someone recognizes me. What happened to your career? Where did you disappear to? They treat me like a has-been, but I’m not even that. I’m an almost-was, and I think that’s even worse.”

“Yeah, I can see how that would suck.” When he doesn’t reply, I squeeze his hand. “Did I make a mistake bringing you here?”

“Nah, I’d love to hit the cages with you. It’s just, anything to do with baseball makes me happy and bitter at the same time. Puts me in a weird mood.”