The Believing Game by Eireann Corrigan Read Free Book Online Page A

Addison grabbed at my sleeve. “He doesn’t usually get off work until nine on Fridays.” I must have just opened and closed my mouth. “Greer, you told him, right?”
    â€œI didn’t. When would I have asked him?”
    â€œI don’t know. Maybe during the four times a week we see him.”
    Wes looked over from Addison’s tense face to mine. “Hey, what’s with the dick tone? Greer set this whole thing up for you.”
    â€œYeah, it’s great, but she forgot something.” Two lanes down, an old guy must have gotten a strike. I could hear all the pins crash down. Addison looked at me for a second and then turned away. “Hey, Ms. Ling, may I use your cell phone, please? My sponsor loves to bowl. It would be so great if he could celebrate with me.”
    â€œAre you struggling with your sobriety right now? There’s no shame in us heading back to campus, you know.” She smiledapologetically at him. “Maybe we might have chosen a leisure activity that wasn’t so steeped in the alcoholic lifestyle.”
    I wished the lavender bowling ball were heavier. I would have hurled it at Ms. Ling’s teeth. Sophie sidled up to me. I told her, “It never occurred to me —”
    â€œDon’t be stupid,” Sophie broke in. “Of course it wouldn’t.”
    Addison said, “I’m fine. It would make it perfect if Joshua were here to see how well I’m handling things.”
    Ms. Ling handed over her cell to Addison and shot me a disapproving look.
    â€œThe hell?” I murmured. We were at a bowling alley. It’s not like I’d hired a girl to jump out of a keg or something.
    â€œLet it go,” Sophie counseled.
    â€œNo. I should have known about Joshua.”
    â€œEnough, wifey. There’s no major breach of protocol here.”
    There was, though. Addison moved back to his game and didn’t speak to me. I concentrated on whipping the ball down the lane. One time, I took down seven pins in one shot. I heard a hoot behind me. “That’s my girl. Greer Elizabeth!” I turned to see Joshua standing in the center of the crowd, grasping Hannah Green’s left wrist. He tugged her toward the lane. “Let’s go, cupcake. Let’s see what you can do.” And Hannah shrieked with laughter. She rolled the ball out, grandma-style, and knelt down to watch its slow progress down the wooden lane. “Get out of the gutter, you turkey!” Joshua called as Hannah shook with giggles. The ball swerved center. It chucked three pins down. “There you go!” Hannah’s face practically split open with her smile.
    Addison grinned over at me. He raised his hands up, as if to say, You see? I fidgeted with the scoreboard, felt him beside me seconds later.
    â€œI’m sorry if I seemed ungrateful,” he said.
    â€œSeemed?”
    â€œI’m not ungrateful.” I used the computer to dock a point from his score. He didn’t look up. He gestured to his friends, gathered around the stacked pizza boxes. “This makes me so happy. But it wouldn’t have happened if I’d never met Joshua. How could he not be here to share it?”
    â€œI don’t know,” I said softly. “Maybe we would have a really fun night and you could have told him about the great time you had with a bunch of kids your own age?”
    â€œThat’s the issue? He’s too old?”
    â€œI don’t have an issue. It didn’t occur to me to invite your sponsor to your birthday party. You got angry. That’s your issue.”
    Addison finally looked up. I’d changed his score from 168 to 2. “I still get to keep two points?”
    â€œYou’re really good-looking.”
    He smiled. The really good kind of smile that spread slowly across his face. “You’re right.”
    â€œBut …” I waited for the excuses.
    â€œBut nothing. You’re completely in