Foul Ball

After a lovely dinner and drink on the beach, Jayce and I pedaled our way downtown where some of the charming little shops were still open and glowing. We turned in our bikes at the second location downtown, then walked up and down the cozy sidewalks after getting ice cream, window shopping and occasionally stopping in to check out the lovely merchandise. I lingered for a moment at a jewelry store window, admiring the glimmering stones and jewels set so beautifully in gold and silver.

"My mom used to have a necklace just like that," I said, pointing to a ruby studded chain hanging from a mannequin neck. "Melanie and I got it for her for Mother's Day the year before the accident. She wore it almost every single day up until then. I haven't seen it since."

"I'm sorry," Jayce said, his lips lingering on top of my head. "Something so beautiful should be shown off. Would you like to go in and check out the store?"

"On, no, I couldn't," I said, taking a step back. "I love shiny stuff so much that I'd probably take out a credit card just to pay for it, and there's nobody here that thinks that's a good idea, Jayce." "Let's go in," he prodded. "Just for a moment."

Hoping to dash in and leave just to humor him, I followed Jayce into the tiny boutique jewelry store. He didn't stop to linger, however, and went straight to the counter to speak to the man behind the register. The first thing that sprung to my mind was probably the last thing I should have assumed.

"Holy shit," I hissed, stepping up behind him with a thrill of wariness. "Please don't tell me we're here for a ring. I mean, I like you, Jayce, a lot...but we just started dating."

Jayce laughed so loud that for a moment, I was offended that my ramblings had been such an insult. Not like I hadn't brought it on myself, but still. I had some dignity left. I think.

"It's not a ring," he promised, but then added in an undertone. "Just try not to react that way if it ever is." Still grinning, amused, he turned back to the man behind the counter, offering his name. The man nodded and walked away, into the back room for a moment, before returning with a baby blue wrapped giftbox no larger than my hand. He handed it to Jayce, who tucked it into his pocket. And then, just like that, we bid the employee a goodbye and Jayce linked his arm in mine and walked out the door.

"Are you not going to show me what's in that box?" I asked, and he shook his head.

"You ruined it."

"Jayce, I'm sorry. I really didn't mean it like that—"

"I'm just messing with you, Mace," Jayce said with a laugh. "You'll get to see, but not yet."

"Okay, so, I hate to be the complainer on this marvelous date," I said, pulling him to a stop on the sidewalk. "But as much fun as these bags are to carry, is there a reason we have them?"

"Sure," he said. "Just there, across the street." Still grinning, he took my hand and tugged me right across the little road and towards a charming little Bed and Breakfast.

"Oh, my hell," I said. "Are you kidding me, Jayce?"

"Naw, girl." Jayce pulled me to a stop before he leaned in and kissed me, hard, passionately, and I kissed him back, neither of us paying any attention to the onlookers around us. When we pulled back, breathless and grinning, he turned to open the door and we stepped inside.

"Welcome to the cottage!" a friendly man behind the desk said, beckoning us in. "Let me guess, Jayce and Macey?"

"That's us," Jayce said, stepping up to the counter to sign into our room.

"Breakfast is at eight, my friends, and brunch is at eleven. We have a complimentary kitchen for our guests that holds snacks, drinks, and baked pastries." The man behind the counter, Steve, grinned and handed over our key. "If you need anything at all, please do ask. And enjoy your stay."

Still looking around in shocked silence, I took Jayce's offered hand and we walked through the lobby, past an indoor pool, and out the back door of the main building where multiple cottages lined up on the property out back, right on the water.

"Oh my God," I said, pulling him to a stop so I could linger there and take in the view. "It's beautiful, Jayce."

"It is," he agreed.

The entire place was both cozy and absolutely stunning. Jayce pulled out my cell phone and turned to look at me, holding the phone up to snap my photo as the sun set almost completely over the mountains. "Now one together," I said, beckoning him over for another selfie. If it hadn't been getting too chilly, I would have stayed out there with him forever.

"Alright, let's find our cabin." Taking my hand, Jayce led the way across the enormous lawn until we hit concrete, a small path that led to the cottage he'd booked for us. The key, an old fashioned one and nothing like the new electronic ones, settled into the lock and he turned it, pushing open the door to reveal the room for the first time to both of us.

The cabin was marvelous. It looked like a honeymoon suit, and it had a jacuzzi tub I definitely was going to enjoy. A king-sized bed sat in the middle of the room, the frame made from stunning oak wood, matching the walls and floor of the cabin. A waterfall poured down from the furthest wall into a small rock basin, where a sitting area was laid out. The bathroom cut off to the right, and the jacuzzi tub was near the little waterfall, large and made of marble, inviting us in. Rose petals created a pathway from the front door to the bed, and on the bed, sitting on top of the mattress, was an envelope surrounded by even more rose petals.

I looked around for a moment, amazed, dropping my bag on the ground next to my feet. It took me a moment to notice the letter on the bed, and when I saw it, I glanced over at Jayce. "For me?"

Jayce shrugged. "You'll have to read it and see."

With a small, almost hesitant smile, I crossed the room and picked up the envelope, reading my name on the front. I opened it, taking out a single sheet of paper with a single sentence on it. I have to ask you a question...

By the time I looked up from the paper, he had the jewelry box in his hand, and he was down on one knee. My hand fluttered over my mouth in shock.

"Macey Britton," he said, opening the box to reveal an emerald necklace that glistened under the light of the cottage. "Will you go to spring formal with me?"

My hands slapped over my face, and my eyes went wider than they'd ever been. I took a step towards him, and then another, and it was then he noticed I was crying again.

"Jayce," I said, reaching for his hand to pull him to his feet. "I thought you'd never ask."

~ ~

The weekend I spent with Jayce was magical. We stayed two nights at the cottage on Sloan's Lake, two nights in bed, cuddling with each other and soaking and fucking in the jacuzzi tub in our room. In the day, we'd go out and explore the lake, finding delicious breweries and bakeries, lying on the beach in the sand, star-gazing when the sun fell and the stars lit up the sky like a million tiny dots of fire.

Neither of us wanted to go back to reality once the weekend was over, but we did, because it was still easier as long as we were together. The bracelet Jayce had gifted me hadn't been removed even once from my arm. It was a steady reminder of how lucky I was to have everything I'd ever wanted...school, a career I loved, and a person who seemed to love me as unconditionally as I loved him. It was bliss, and only deep down in the back of my skull did I ever worry that this was a cruel prank. That one day I'd just wake up and this would all be a dream.

"Look at it!" Candace gasped on Monday at school. We were studying together in the Rendezvous with mugs of coffee and a pastry from the shop. Candace, of course, had already known Jayce's plan to wine me and dine me on Sloan's lake, and she'd barely been able to keep in a secret before we'd gone. Now, she turned my arm over to admire the emerald bracelet, her eyes lighting up with glee. "It's beautiful."

"It is," I agreed, touching the stones with my other hand. "Was that your idea?"

"Oh, no. The jewelry was Jayce's idea. I figured the boat ride would be enough, Dalton figured dinner on the beach was more than enough, but Jayce just didn't quit. I gotta say, I'm jealous."

"It's hard not to be jealous of myself," I said. "I never imagined what I could do to deserve a man like Jayce Gregory."

"How's the sex?" Candace asked, far too loudly for my comfort. I unconsciously slinked down in the chair a little bit, hoping to make it more difficult to be found by passersby. "Candace."

"What? I can't ask? We're friends, right?"

"Sure, but do friends really ask each other about that sort of stuff?" I demanded. Truth be told, the only reason I didn't want to talk about getting naked with Jayce is because the sex was, indeed, mind blowing. Toe-curling. Phenomenal. And that was nobody's business but ours.

"Dalton is pretty good," Candace continued as though I hadn't spoken. "He knows how to please me, but he's also really obsessed with blow jobs and honestly, I'm not the biggest fan."

"Have you told him this?" I asked, and Candace shook her head.

"Why? He tries hard to please me, I can at least attempt to please him."

Giggling, I took a bite of my vanilla scone and chased it down with a chai latte, glancing down at the textbook in front of me. Now that I had something that moderately resembled a life, time for school and work had become scarce and far in between. I was still passing my classes, of course, just maybe not with the same perfection I had been B.J. Before Jayce.

"So, what are you going to wear to the formal?" Candace asked, pretending to halfway read her workbook.

I shrugged. "I don't know yet. Maybe I can find something in my closet."

"In your closet?" repeated Candace. "You can't just pick out any old rag from your closet, Macey, you have to buy a new one."

"But why if I might already have a dress?"

"Dude." Candace dropped her voice and looked around pointedly. "You're in the big leagues now. Jayce Gregory is hot shit around this school, and that means that now you are, too."

"I warned him that wasn't me right from the start," I told her. "I don't care what people think of me, Candace, and I don't care if they don't think I'm good enough for Jayce. As long as Jayce thinks I'm good enough for Jayce, that's all that really matters."

"I'm just saying." Candace leaned back in the chair and shook her head. "Now that you have help, don't you at least want to try it?"

"Try what?"

"Fitting in."

"I thought I did fit in."

"Oh honey." Candace laughed, leaning forward to gently squeeze the top of my hand with hers. "You're so cute and naïve. I love it. Now, when is a good time to go shopping? Because I'm down whenever." "Uh, when is spring formal?"

Candace rolled her eyes so far into the back of her head I just knew they wouldn't come down again. "Next week, Macey."

"Okay. So how about next week?"

"How about tomorrow?" Candace slammed her workbook shut and slipped it back into her bag, hoisting the pack over her shoulder. "I gotta get to class. But how about tomorrow evening? I can take you shopping."

"Is there any way to get out of this?" I asked, and Candace shook her head.

"Nope."

"Then I guess I'll be ready."

"Great. I'll pick you up at your apartment around five." Candace hurried away before I could argue this anymore, one hand flapping behind her shoulder as she waved goodbye, nearly colliding into a group of students who were coming around the corner. She'd taken her coffee but left her untouched scone, so I wrapped it in a napkin and stuck it into my backpack for later. So I was a child, sue me.

"I saw that," a voice behind me said, and I turned in my seat to find Jayce approaching, that wickedly beautiful grin making me weak in the hands and knees.

"I have no idea what you're talking about," I said, clearing my throat. Jayce slid into the empty seat Candace had just vacated, letting his backpack drop to the floor beside his feet.

"You're so cute," he said, and my skin flushed with heat.

"What can I say? They're really good, okay?"

"How is Candace?" Jayce took a water bottle from his backpack and took a long drink, then capped the bottle and dropped it back into his pack.

"She thinks she's going to take me dress shopping," I muttered, annoyed all over again. "She's picking me up tomorrow after class."

"That's great," Jayce said, reaching for the scone I still had out on the table to take a bite. He put it down, chewed thoughtfully, then took another drink of water. "Are you excited to go?" "As excited as I would be to get a root canal," I said with mock excitement. "Only, a root canal might be nicer."

Smiling, Jayce leaned across the table and took my hand, bringing it to his lips to kiss the back of it. "You never cease to amaze me," he said. "And I love it."

"I know, I'm the dream girl."

"You're certainly mine."

"I do what I can." I pushed what was left of the scone across the table towards him and Jayce scarfed it down. "How is studying for the midterm coming?"

"It's actually...really good," Jayce said, taking another swig of his water. "I've been studying between classes. Even made up some flash cards that I've pulled out and started using."

"I'm proud of you," I told him earnestly. "We were supposed to have a tutoring session tonight, but I have a shift at the fire department. I need to catch up on hours, I've been working less than I should be."

Jayce nodded and got up from his seat, coming around the table to reach down and pull me to my feet. He pulled me into him as our bodies molded together and he kissed me, teasing my lips with his tongue. "Be safe tonight," he said. "Since this was supposed to be a homework night, I'll study extra, just for you."

"That's hot," I said, popping up on my toes to kiss him. "Don't burn out."

"Me? Never." Jayce took my cheeks between his hands and sighed softly, shaking his head as he stared into my eyes. "What did I do to ever deserve you?"

"You were in the wrong place at the wrong time."

"Funny." With one last sneak kiss, Jayce grabbed his backpack and backed away, blowing kisses as he vanished down the stairs and to his next class. I didn't realize I was still grinning like an idiot until some girl looked at me strangely as I backed right into the edge of the table and slammed my hip. Ever the classy one, Macey Kate Britton.

I finished up what homework I was doing and then packed up my bag, glancing at my watch to make sure I was still running on time. It didn't take very long to find my car and drive to the station where Addy was already there making coffee in the kitchen. It was five p.m., and my stomach growled as I joined her in there, rummaging through the fridge for something to tide me over until someone made dinner. Hopefully not me, but I made a mental note to check the white board. "Cup of joe?" Addy asked, grabbing the sugar from the counter and the cream from the fridge. I nodded gratefully, and Addy filled a mug for me, handing it over. I felt tired now that I was here. It wasn't even late, and yet I felt like I hadn't slept a single glimpse last night.

"So," Addy said as we sat down at the table. The firefighters were out-and by out, I mean either outside running drills or downstairs working out-so the kitchen was empty, an unusual occurrence. When half a dozen or more people worked the same twenty, twenty-four, and sometimes even forty-eight hour shifts together, sleeping together, eating together, and training together, it was difficult sometimes to find even a tad bit of privacy unless you weren't opposed to hanging out in the back of an empty ambulance. "How is the boy toy? Jayce, is it?"

"Jayce," I said with a nod. I smiled in spite of myself. "He's good. He's...amazing."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah. He took me on a date this weekend-if I could even call it that." "Tell me about it."

I told Addy everything, about the romantic walk through Garden of the Gods, to the bike ride downtown where he'd treated me to a candlelight dinner...and then to the jewelry store where he'd picked me up the bracelet he'd had made especially for me.

"And then we stayed the night at a charming little cottage on the lake, and that's where he got down on one knee and asked me to spring formal." I was grinning like an oof at this point, but Addy looked elated for me. "Girl, do you know what happened the first time I met Jay?" Addy asked, and I shook my head.

"I remember hearing something about it," I said thoughtfully. "Wasn't he running from the cops or something and you two crossed paths?"

"I'll spare you the details," said Addy with a laugh. "But boy was it an adventure, and not a romantic one, either. At least, not at first."

"But you love him now," I said, and Addy nodded.

"I do love him now. More than anything. But I guess my point is men don't really come nowadays like Jayce. Jay is amazing. He's perfect for me. But the day he plans an overnight trip like the one you just went on will be the day I turn over in my grave."

I laughed, and so did Addy. "At least you know that Jay is loyal to you," I said softly. "Sometimes I feel like I barely know Jayce. I feel like one day I met him, the next day we were kind of friends, and boom! It all happened at once, just like that. What if we rushed into this?"

"Do you feel like you rushed into this?" asked Addy, and after a moment I shook my head.

"No, actually. Not at all. But what if he does? What if he begins to regret this...the more he gets to know me, I imagine the less appealing I am. I've got baggage, Addy."

"Don't we all?" she said softly. "And besides, hasn't he already proved to you time and time again that he's here to stay? I'll tell you what, sis. A man who treats his woman like Jayce treats you is not a man who is out to break hearts. Believe me, he wouldn't waste the time." She took a drink of her coffee with a small grimace. "Believe me, Mace, Jayce is in this, maybe even more than you are."

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"Maybe," I said with a small shrug. "I guess time will tell."

Addy and I had two calls before bed. One for a welfare check-one of our easiest calls-and one for a trampoline victim, a six-year-old boy with a broken arm. It certainly wasn't a busy night, but I almost wished it was, because the snail's pace of work was starting to put me asleep, and I felt like I could barely keep my eyes open.

"Hey, lady," Addy said, nudging me in the shoulder as we walked towards the ambulance. "You look tired. You sleeping okay?"

"I'm sleeping fine," I said with a shrug. "At least, I think I am."

Addy didn't look convinced. "Maybe you should see the doc. You look like you're missing out on a lot of sleep. Are you under a lot of stress?"

"No more than usual. Just tutoring now in my down time. Jayce. Homework. Papers. Work."

"Tutoring?" Addy repeated. "Where do you find the time for that, Mace?"

"I make the time." With a yawn, I rubbed one hand over my face briskly, trying to shove away the fatigue that lingered around every corner.

"You need to take a break," Addy said, swinging open the back doors of the ambo. "You'll exhaust yourself."

"Easy for you to say," I said, stifling another yawn. "You're already well into medical school. I haven't even been accepted yet."

"You will be," Addy assured me. "And you'll love it, I promise."

"As much as I love this?" I teased, looking around the back of the ambo, and Addy laughed.

"Probably not. You still see me here, don't you?"

"Yeah. You've taught me all I know."

Addy smiled. Or at least, I think she did. Because suddenly a hazy fog draped over my vision, and my ears began to ring. I looked down just in time to see my hands begin to curl inward, tingling and numb. Somewhere a few feet from me Addy was speaking, but I couldn't focus on her words. I couldn't focus on anything at all besides the overwhelming urge I had to vomit. But I didn't vomit. Instead, my knees went weak from under me and I fell, unable to catch myself, and hit the ground with brain-rattling force.

And then all was black.

~ ~

"Macey?"

Whoever was speaking sounded far away, as though they were coming at me from another reality, or another dimension. I tried to look around to see who was speaking, but it was no use. Only blackness consumed me. And everything freaking hurt.

"Macey?" came the voice again. It was a familiar voice, one I knew from the bottom of my heart. I tried to say something, but my throat felt raw and scratchy. So instead I focused on forcing my eyes open to look around.

I was lying on the couch in the fire department lounge. Paisley was posed near the back of the couch, her concerned expression surveying my face, and Hansen kneeled down on the floor by my head, holding one of my hands in his, and I swear he had the most frightened look on his face that I'd ever seen before in my life.

"Hey, B," I said weakly. I struggled to sit up, but Paisley and Hansen gently pushed me back down. A good thing considering my head wanted to spin like the tilt awhirl with every new movement.

"Macey," Paisley said gently. "You passed out. On shift. Are you okay?"

"God, yes, I'm fine." Waving Hansen's hand away I sat up again, breathing evenly to keep the dizziness from crawling back up. "Just fatigue, I think."

"You fainted because you're tired?" said Hansen, and it didn't take a genius to know that my uncle was doubting me. Hell, I was doubting myself. "Anemia," I said, as if that explained everything. "I've struggled with it forever. My iron must be low."

Hansen said nothing to this as I sat all the way up and placed my feet firmly on the ground. He offered his hand to me, but I refused it, and instead made my way shakily to the kitchen for a cold bottle of water. I still felt nauseous, like I might still puke, but I shoved the sensation down and chugged some water instead. It didn't seem to help.

"I'm going to go home early," I said, capping the bottle of water. "Are the next medics already here for their shift?"

"They should be," said Paisley. "Addy wanted to take you into the ER when you hit the floor, but Erik said you'd be pissed if you came to in the hospital."

I glanced at my uncle, grateful, and not the first time, for his clever thinking. "Thanks," I said, but he didn't nod back. Didn't even smile. He was worried, I knew he was. He was always worried about me.

"I think I made the wrong decision," he said, folding his arms over his chest. "I think you should go in and find out why in the hell you passed out."

"I already told you. I'm anemic." Practically cowering down under my uncle's sharp gaze, I gathered up my school bag and my jacket in the back room, then headed to the door. Paisley followed me, but Hansen didn't, and for that I was glad. I knew that this moment would not just vanish; he would become overbearing and intense, stopping at nothing to find out what was wrong with his precious niece and why.

"Get some rest, Mace," Paisley said, giving me a quick hug. "Keep us updated if it happens again, yeah?"

I met Hansen's gaze over Paisley's shoulder, but I couldn't hold it. He knew I wouldn't. I knew I wouldn't.

"I will," I lied, and then walked to my car, refusing to look back over my shoulder to face the worried gaze of my uncle. I couldn't do it. I couldn't do it because, truth be told, it had scared me, too