Foul Ball

Candace got 'it' out of me. I hope that's okay. She's quite...excited.

Shading my eyes from the sun with my cap, I grinned down at Macey's text message, already envisioning my girlfriend getting bombarded in some hallway by Candace, ever the gossip queen. I'd seen her do it to other girls, but she was harmless. If anything, Candace was exactly the friend Macey needed right now. I had a feeling she and her roommate weren't terribly close, but Candace wanted to be friends with everyone.

Candy is good people. Sorry if she freaked you out.

Ps.

I miss the shit outta you.

Sending the message, I dropped the phone back into my bag and rallied up my team to finish practice. It was late afternoon and I'd managed to catch my last class of the day right before practice. We'd done well today, exceptionally well, in fact, and I had no doubt we'd beat the Falcons during our next game.

"Hey, man, what are your plans?" Kurt asked afterward as we changed out of our sweaty clothes in the locker room. "Wanna grab some food?"

"I was actually going to stop by the fire station to see Macey," I told him with a shrug. "But if everyone is ready to eat, maybe we can all swing by and see if she can join us?" "Yes!" Candace yelled, coming through the door to throw Dalton his clean shirt. "I think that's a rad idea."

"I'm down," Dalton said with a shrug. "I've always wanted to see inside that place."

A few of my other teammates opted to join, so the group of us piled into Dalton's SUV and headed towards Eagle River Fire Department to see Macey. I had almost told her we were coming, but I hadn't because I wanted to surprise her. As we drove, however, I worried that she might be angry I didn't give her any notice. Was I pushing this relationship too fast? Would she be annoyed?

"Okay, everyone, please be on your best behavior," I begged as Dalton pulled the SUV up in front of the fire station. We all got out of the vehicle and headed to the front door, the visitor's center, so they called it. I had just raised my hand to knock on the glass panel door when it opened suddenly from the other side, and a woman I didn't recognize smiled at us.

"Hi," she said. "You don't have to knock. Come on in." Unsure of what else to do, we followed the woman through the front doors until we were securely inside. The lady offered her hand to me. "I'm Addy Connors."

"Jayce Gregory," I said, and Addy shook everyone else's hand, too. "Addy...you're Macey's partner?"

"I am," Addy said kindly. "Let me go find her and let her know you're "

"Jayce?" Macey came through an open door then, into the visitor's area, and her eyes went wide when she saw me. They flickered from me and over to Dalton, then Kurt, then the rest of the group. Candace stepped up to hug her, and Macey grinned, a small gesture that relieved me. "What are you all doing here?"

"You work here, don't you?" said Dalton. "We wanted to see the badass in her natural territory. Is that alright?"

"In my natural territory?" Macey giggled, but I could tell she was flattered that we were there. She stepped up to me for a quick kiss, looking bashful. "It's good to see you guys. Do you want to come in?"

"Are we allowed to?" I asked, and Macey snickered again. "Yes, the public is always welcome at a fire station. Hasn't TV taught you anything? I see you've met Addy."

"We have. It was nice to meet you, Addy."

"Same, guys," Addy flashed a charming smile and then looked at Macey. "I'm going to work with the new recruit for a while, get her familiar with the ambulance."

"Sounds good," said Macey. "We'll be around."

As Addy disappeared into the ambulance bay where I heard the voices of a few other people echoing against the walls, Macey turned again towards us.

"Are you guys hungry?" she asked.

"We were going to go grab some grub," said Beau, the catcher on our team. "But we wanted to stop by and see if you could come with us, or if you wanted us to drop you off food. "That's really sweet," said Macey softly, and I could tell she really meant it. "Do you guys have a minute?"

"Of course."

Grinning, Macey took my hand in hers and pulled me in the direction of another door, and the rest of the group followed. She pushed open the door and led us through. "B!" she called. "We've got company."

A moment later a man came around a hallway corner, followed by a different young woman than the first, also dressed in a Firefighter and EMS t-shirt.

"Hansen and Paisley, this is Jayce," Macey said, pulling me up to her side. Then she stepped back to signal behind me. "And that's Kurt, Dalton, Candace, Beau, and Kellan."

"It's really nice to meet you, sir," I said to Hansen, holding out my hand for him to shake. "I've heard a lot of good things from Macey about you."

"Ditto," said Hansen, shaking my hand gruffly. I couldn't tell exactly what he was thinking, and I wasn't sure I wanted to know. If there was anyone in Macey's life to impress, Erik Hansen was it. I felt on-edge suddenly, like maybe this hadn't been a good idea after all.

"Welcome, everyone," said Paisley with a genuine, do-good smile, and that's what set me at ease at once. Paisley had a kindness about her that so many people would do well to know.

"We just wanted to come and check this place out," said Kurt. "Hopefully that's alright."

"Of course it's alright," Paisley said, an excited grin fluttering to her lips. "Do you guys want the grand tour?" she asked the team. "I have some time right now; I could show you the place."

"Fuck yes," said Dalton.

"I'm in," added Candace.

"Sure," added Kellan. Before I could either agree or disagree, my little group of friends walked after Paisley, leaving Macey and me with Hansen, who was still scoping me out as though he were trying to pin exactly what he didn't like about me. At least, that's what I figured he was thinking. But he was probably thinking nothing of the sort because Erik Hansen probably didn't think that bad on anyone.

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But even that didn't make me feel better.

"B," Macey said, stepping forward to squeeze Hansen's arm. "You're going to scare him off. Knock it off.”

"I'm not even doing anything," said Hansen, looking insulted.

"Yes, you are," insisted Macey. "You've got that demeanor about you. The same one you use on all the new recruits to make them afraid of you."

I forced a laugh that could have been nothing more than an awkward squeak, hoping to break the ice, but it seemed to be frozen solid between us. I didn't know what I could say at this point to get this guy to like me, so I figured just being me would be a fair gamble.

"It's fine, Mace," I said, putting my hands in the air. "I wouldn't expect him to like me right off the bat. I've got to impress him, right? Show him that I'm good for you."

"That's right," said Hansen, and I swear I saw the small smile flicker on his lips, but it was barely there before it was gone. Still, progress.

"He acts tough, but he's a teddy bear," Macey told me, gently nudging Hansen's arm. "Isn't that right, B? You don't have a mean bone in your body."

"She's full of it," Hansen said to me, and I silently agreed that she probably was. Erik Hansen was captain of the firehouse and a respected man in this town. I wouldn't want to tangle with him on a bad day.

"Come in, Jayce," Macey said, tugging at my hand again. "I'll take you to meet everybody."

Feeling like I hadn't even adequately dealt with the first person on Macey's list, we followed Hansen through the lounge area and back into the kitchen where a few more firefighters were already sitting around the table. A couple were eating, a handful were reading different parts of the paper, and some were playing cards or reading books. This seemed to be the number one hangout spot in the station. It felt like walking in on a family before supper. "Everyone, this is Jayce," Macey said, pulling me up to her side as Hansen went to the fridge for drinks. I looked around at the new faces as they waved their hellos and nodded their heads in greeting.

"Jayce, that's Kyle Wolf on the end," said Macey, nodding towards a beefy guy who glanced up to scope me out. "Kyle is Rescue Squad Lieutenant. And these other weirdos are Nick, Matt, and that's Captain Davis over there." As she pointed, a dark-skinned man stood up from the end of the table and nodded at me. He was very possibly ten times more intimidating than any of them, but he had a kindness about him that I imagined made for a good Fire Chief. A stern father-figure, of

sorts.

"Jayce," the older man said with a small smile. "It's nice to finally put a face to the name. We've all heard a lot about you."

"Only good things, I hope."

"Depends on the day," teased Macey.

"Here." Hansen handed me a can of soda, and another to Macey, and she took a seat at the enormous table. I followed suit. It was intimidating to be dating a woman who was constantly surrounded by some of the toughest guys in the state, but I didn't mind, because I had nothing to hide from them. They were a family here, I could tell, and I was glad she had them, especially since her own family, aside from Hansen, was so far away. I envied the relationship here, the closeness. "Of course only good things, Jayce," Macey continued, popping the top on her cola to take a drink. "There's nothing bad to say."

"And if there is, she's not going to tell me," Hansen muttered from across the table, but Macey glared at him.

"You'd be the first one I'd tell, B." She looked at me, popping her eyebrows teasingly. "Word would get around this station, Jayce, so try not to break my heart."

"I wouldn't dream of it," I said softly, and that was the entire truth. Firefighting family or not, I couldn't imagine ever hurting Macey. Not ever. But as I opened my mouth to start to say this, the echo of my friend's excited voices bounced off the walls, and I knew they were on the way back from their tour. A moment later Paisley came through the door, followed by our small crew of friends. Dalton and Beau were talking excitedly about the surprising strength of the fire hose while Kurt, Candace, and Kellan still hovered around Paisley, deep in conversation about the running of the ambulance and the calls she'd been on. Macey stood when they arrived and introduced everybody, and I was mildly surprised to see that my friends actually looked glad to be there. As if they were enjoying themselves.

"Thanks for letting us come and see the place," Candace said, sliding into a chair next to Macey. "It's really cool here."

"You are all welcome any time," Hansen said, and Chief Davis and the others nodded.

"It's a safe place here," said Chief Davis.

"Unless you break our M's heart," said Kyle Wolf. He didn't smile when he said it, and I knew he wasn't really kidding. Kyle Wolf wasn't a guy I'd want to piss off. None of them were.

"I don't think that'll be a problem," Dalton said to the room, elbowing me. "This one is whipped. Whipped good."

Some easygoing laughter floated around the table at this, and a couple of the guys high-fived.

"Okay, like you're not," muttered Kurt to Dalton, and Candace chuckled.

"You know it."

"There's nothing wrong with being whipped," Hansen said, and his eyes landed at once on Paisley, who caught his smile over the table and blushed. As he said this, a round of applause and shouts echoed around the table as the other firefighters joined in.

"All this talk of being whipped," Kyle said, shaking his head. He tossed the newspaper he'd been reading back onto the table with a mock scoff. "I'd rather stay single, thank you very much."

"Keep it up and you will be, Lieutenant," the guy Macey introduced as Nick said, grabbing the tossed paper with a wink.

"Ignore these monkeys," Chief Davis said politely, standing up to point out the empty chairs around the room. "Stay and have lunch, won't you? The lasagna should almost be ready, and there is plenty to go around." "No big?" Dalton asked, and Chief Davis smiled.

"No big. You are all welcome here any time for food, company, or just for something to do. Our house is your house."

"Be careful, though, because Hansen might make you all run drills if you come around too often," Kyle said.

"Not like the team doesn't need it," muttered Beau, and this brought another round of laughter from the table. I looked at Macey, who still had a hold of my hand. She was smiling, listening in on the conversation, seemingly...content. "Are you okay if we stay?" I asked quietly, lowering my voice as to not put her on the spot. "We don't have to if you don't think it's appropriate."

"You heard the chief," Macey said, leaning forward to kiss me gently on the lips. "Our house is your house. I'm happy you're here, Jayce. Thank you."