Foul Ball

"Macey, these are my friends and teammates," I said, pulling her up to my side. It was game day, a beautiful seventy-five degrees for the perfect pitch, and low and behold, Macey had shown up after all. To be honest, I hadn't been sure if she would, not after our frantic friend/not friend bullshit dilemma. It wasn't just that, either, because I could tell that she was unsure when it came to meeting the guys, but as soon as her arm touched mine, I could visibly see the stress melt from her shoulder. "That's Dalton, and over here is Kurt. The others are still in the back room getting ready."

"Sup?" Kurt said, and Macey laughed.

"Not much. 'Sup with you?"

"Nice to meet you, Macey," Dalton said, shouldering past Kurt to shake her hand. "Ignore these other idiots. They're Neanderthals."

"It takes one to know one," Kurt mumbled. At that moment, Daniel came out from the back, eyes landing on Macey. He grinned.

"Oh, hey," he said, waving politely at her. "It's you."

"That's right, the EMT," Dalton said, zeroing in on Macey. "You're the one who showed up that day for Daniel."

"Yeah, that was me."

"Kickass."

"Thanks." Macey's smile grew, those twinkling eyes making me weak at the knees.

"I should be thanking you," Daniel said, coming up behind Dalton. He offered his hand to Macey, and she took it. "I only remember bits and pieces of that day, but I certainly remember you." "Easy, bro," Dalton said, taking hold of Daniel's shoulders to pull him back a step. "I think she's claimed."

"Claimed?" repeated Macey, and I could have punched Dalton in the face for being such an idiot. "Nobody has claimed me," she continued. "Jayce and I are just friends. Right, Jayce?" She smiled when she looked at me, but it was tight and unconvincing.

"Just friends," I said, and before any of my friends could react, Macey spoke again.

"I hope you all have an excellent game," she said, looking around at my teammates, who were slowly beginning to emerge from the back locker room. "I'll be cheering from the stands. Jayce has convinced me that this is a game I might actually enjoy watching."

"Have you watched a baseball game before?" Dalton asked, and Macey shook her head.

"Don't hate me, but this is my first one." Still grinning, she took a step back towards the exit, squeezing my arm one last time. Most of the guys waved after her, which was more than most girls got from any of them. "I better go find my seat," she said, smiling politely at my friends. "Break a leg out there."

I watched Macey leave, too preoccupied with staring at the nice curve of her ass to notice that Dalton, Kurt, and Daniel were watching her walk away, too. Once she was out of the room and the door closed behind her, I turned to my friends. "So. What do you think?"

"She's alright," Dalton said with a shrug. "A little dorky for my taste, and I never would have imagined she'd be your type."

"She's not," I said. "We're just friends."

This time it was Daniel's turn to laugh. "Seriously, bro? If you're not interested, let me know. I'd tap that."

"Fuck you."

"So, what are you, friends with benefits?" asked Dalton.

"Right, because that always works out," Kurt said with a scoff. "Bitches be crazy, dude, especially those independent hippie types. They're smarter than the average bimbo."

"Dude," Dalton said. "Quit calling every woman you see a bimbo."

"Why? You think that they don't call us dumb jocks behind our backs?"

"Both of you shut up." I sat down on the bench and stretched my arm behind my back, wishing suddenly that I could blow this place, find Macey, and spend the next twenty-four solid hours just being with her. Talking to her. Hanging out with my friend.

Before Macey, I didn't care about impressing anyone with a win besides myself and my coach. And even before him, my mother. But today, I wanted nothing more than to do good for her. And why? I had no idea.

"Don't tell me, man," Dalton said, sitting down to tighten the laces on his turf shoes. "You're whipped."

"I can't be whipped. We're not even a couple. We're friends, Dalton. End of story."

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"And is that your fault or hers?" Kurt asked, but I didn't trust myself to answer him. The truth was, I'd been so smitten with Macey from the very moment I'd laid eyes on her that my fear of rejection if I asked her to be my girlfriend, outweighed the fear of anything else. She had already flat-out denied me twice, and we'd agreed to be friends instead. But could I do that? Could I be nothing more than a mere friend to her? I'd have to be. "Have you two fucked?" Dalton asked, and I glared at him.

"Of course not. Like I said, we're just friends."

"Well, you better figure out where you stand with her before someone else does," Daniel said softly, and for the first time in my adult life, I had to mentally restrain myself from lunging at Daniel and beating the shit out of him. "Men!" Coach yelled into the now-empty locker room. "Dalton, Jayce, Kurt, Daniel, and the rest of you...get your asses out here. It's time to win this game."

We played well. Exceptionally well, considering it was our first game of the season. In fact, we won by a long shot, and a big part of me wanted to admit that the reason I, in particular, pitched better than usual was that Macey was sitting in the front row, cheering me on for the entirety of the game. I didn't even bother going back to the locker room to change as the game wrapped up. I walked straight to Macey and pulled her into me for a hug. She hugged me back, smiling proudly, not even remotely grossed out by the dirty stains on my pants and the sweat tinting my skin.

"I'm so proud of you," she said. "And you were right. I just had to watch you play to fall in love with it. How did that even happen?"

"So, you did enjoy it?" I teased. "Because I was full of shit before. Lots of people see the game and still don't like baseball."

Macey laughed, that light, airy giggle that set everything right in the world. Down on the field, I noticed Daniel standing near, and his eyes were on Macey and me. Mostly Macey. She didn't notice, but I did, and my fists clenched automatically. "It must have been you I enjoyed watching then," she said with a shrug, pulling my attention back. "And I wasn't the only one."

"No?"

"No. Basically seventy-five percent of the females at that game had eyes only for you, you know."

"Only seventy-five percent?" I asked, pretending to be shocked, and Macey playfully punched me in the arm.

"Don't let your head swell."

"Well, unlucky for all of those girls, I only had eyes for one girl."

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"Let me guess," Macey said with a grin, tapping her bottom lip with one finger. "Jessica Hansen, valedictorian and queen of the school?"

"Yes," I said, and Macey punched me again. "It's Jessica."

"Does she know that?" Macey asked, and she was still smiling. "Because I think I saw Jessica today in the stands with the current boyfriend. But maybe I was seeing things." "Definitely seeing things," I agreed with a nod. "But Jessica Whoever isn't even a blip on my radar." "Oh really."

"Yes, really. I have eyes for someone else."

"Dalton?" Macey teased, but her words were lost on me as I snagged her arm, pulled her to a stop, and kissed her hard, holding her captive against me.

For a moment, I thought she might fight me, but she didn't. Not even for a second. Instead, she returned my kiss, lips parting to allow my tongue to slip into her mouth, savoring her taste and the feel of her body against my own. A sizzle of satisfaction crawled its way up my spine as our bodies molded together. My hand lingered on her ass briefly before I pulled her into me, pressing her body against my own.

"Gregory!" Dalton yelled from the bottom of the bleachers. "Celebration party at Eagle River Bar happening now. Are you in? Bring your woman!"

I was just about to blow Dalton and the party off, but Macey pulled back gently, still smiling, and her hand went up to touch the lingering kiss on her lips.

"Let's do it," she said. "I'd like to meet more of your friends and hang out a bit if that's okay?"

"Fine," I said softly. "We can go to the party."

"Well, let's go then," Macey said after a moment, her cheeks crimson. She reached behind her back to grab my hand and lift it from her ass. "We wouldn't want to miss the celebration party, now would we? What kind of friend would I be?" "No," I said, watching her depart. "We wouldn't want to miss that."