Foul Ball

After my last class of the day was over, I took the campus bus over to the fire station to see Hansen. While most days I cherished whatever alone time I had, sometimes I just needed him because sometimes I just needed somebody to talk to. Ever since Melanie, my twin sister, had been killed in that accident four years ago, my mom and I hadn't been very close. Conversation between us no longer flowed. It was tense. Aggravating. But not with my uncle.

"Hey, Macey," Hansen said as I stepped inside the lounge and dropped my backpack to my feet, stumbling over to the ragged but comfy couch. I plopped down on the cushion and groaned. "I feel like maybe something's up," Hansen said from where he'd been kneeling on the ground checking masks. He set a mask aside and pushed himself up, then came over to me and took a seat on the arm of the couch. "You okay?"

"I'm alright," I grumbled, but we both knew I was lying.

"Right," Hansen said. "I can tell."

I rolled my eyes and slapped my hands over my face with another groan. "It's a boy," I said, and my uncle's eyebrows perked up slightly.

"An adult boy or a baby boy?" he asked.

"Definitely not a baby boy, Hansen."

"Oh, thank God. So, which boy is it?"

"Nunya business, uncle, just a boy."

"Fine. And what's happening with this boy?"

I sat up straighter on the couch, wondering if Jayce was truly something I was ready to talk about. But, as always, Hansen was one of the only people in the world I could say anything to. Even if he didn't always approve, he never made me feel bad.

"I like him," I said finally, and for a long moment, those words hung tangled in the silence of the air. "I mean, I really, really like him."

"Who do you like?" Paisley asked, coming through the side entrance. Her eyes grew wide, a smirk playing on her lips.

"A boy," I said, and Paisley squealed a little bit before plopping down next to me on the couch, eyes going wide with the exciting prospect of out-of-office gossip.

"Is it a boy we know?" she asked, and I shook my head with a laugh.

"Probably not."

"Maybe we should," my uncle said, and Paisley shushed him, waving her hand in his face playfully. I loved Paisley. Not only was she one of my good friends and Hansen's girlfriend, but she was a wonderful firefighter and paramedic. She really took care of her team and took even better care of my uncle.

"Tell me about him," Paisley said, those bright eyes lighting up like a child's on Christmas. "Is he cute? How old is he? Do you know his major?"

"Yes, he's cute," I gushed, and by now, Hansen had decided he'd had enough, so he got to his feet and went to the kitchen to make a pot of coffee. He was trying to act uninterested, but I knew he was eavesdropping while he pretended to do something else.

"What does he look like?" Paisley asked.

"He's a jock," I told her, and Paisley made a low, sexy noise in the back of her throat that made my uncle slam a cupboard door behind us. "Baseball."

"What's his position?"

"Pitcher, I think."

"Dang, girl."

"Yeah, too bad I don't know anything about baseball."

Paisley laughed, eyes twinkling. "You don't have to know very much. Watching the guys is most of the fun."

"Wow, okay," Hansen said, coming out of the kitchen to hand a mug of coffee to Paisley and me. "My ears are burning."

"Don't be a prude," Paisley scolded. "Macey is an adult, and she has made a nice new adult friend."

"Nah," said Hansen. "There's no kid at that college who is good enough for my niece."

"Ignore him," Paisley said, waving a hand at Hansen. "So, has he asked you on a date yet?"

"He asked me when we first met, but I said no."

"Why?"

"I don't know. I guess I didn't think I was ready to date anyone. I've been so swamped with work and the station and classes. But he's charming, that's for sure. A friend. A charming friend. That's what he is and will probably always be." Grinning, Paisley took a sip of her coffee, and I did the same. "Are you going to go watch a game?"

"He asked me to go tomorrow," I told her with a small shrug. "But I'm not sure if I will."

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"Do it," said Paisley. She put her mug down on the coffee table and looked sternly at me. "College is the place to live it up, Mace. Go to the games, cheer on the players, take a friend or two and some drinks, and have a good time. I regret getting engaged to Jeremy early and not living it up when I could. I went straight into work and never got to really experience college. So, go for it."

"Don't tempt me."

"Yeah," Hansen said, pretending to scowl at Paisley. "Don't tempt her."

Ignoring him with a wave of her hand, Paisley zoned in on me. "Go to the game," she said again. "Live a little, M. You deserve the break."

~ ~

Feeling a bit better after talking to Paisley about Jayce, I went home to catch up on school work. Kylie was nowhere to be seen, but I didn't mind. I liked the quiet of the house when it was just me, even though it was difficult to deny feeling like Jayce's company would have been perfect.

After my shower, I pulled on my pajamas, consisting of short shorts and a ragged t-shirt, closed my bedroom door and locked it, then reached for my phone, not wanting to call but knowing I should anyway. "Hey, Mom."

"Macey, hi." My mother sounded breathless and flustered, which wasn't new for her. She always tended to sound like she'd just been walking through the door and rushing to answer the phone.

"Is this a bad time?" I asked, and my mom scoffed.

"It's as good of a time as any," she said. "You don't call hardly enough."

"I do call, Mom," I said patiently, taking a seat on the edge of my bed. "You're just never around when I do, and dad doesn't answer the phone for anybody."

"Well, I'm sorry, sweetheart, but I've been a little busy."

"That's great, Mom." I closed my eyes and took a deep breath, hoping the tugging migraine behind my eyes would vanish before it hit full force. "I like to hear that you're keeping busy. How have things been?" "They've been about the same since you packed up and moved across the country, sweetheart."

"Really, Mom?"

"What?"

"If you ever wonder why I don't call more, this is a really good indicator for you."

"I'm just being honest, Macey."

"So am I."

A tense silence settled between us, and after a moment, I was almost sure she'd hung up on me. But then I heard her sigh like she had better things to do than talk to me.

"How is Dad?" I asked, hoping to move the conversation in a positive direction. But as soon as the words were out of my mouth, I could tell that it was the wrong thing to bring up.

"Your father has been laid off," Mom said quietly. "He hasn't worked for a couple of months now."

"I spoke to you a few weeks ago," I cried. "How come you didn't tell me this?"

"What would you have done, Macey?" Mom asked, sounding like talking to me on the phone was the last thing she wanted to be doing. "Would you have come home? Got a job to help support this family? You wouldn't have left Colorado, and I think we both know that."

"I'm twenty-one, Mom." By now, my patience was wearing thin, just like it always seemed to do when I spoke to my mother. It didn't matter what we talked about or what we avoided. Since my twin sister died, we no longer could we have a conversation like civilized human beings. But the more I thought about it, the more I realized the truth; my mother and I had never been as close as my mother and Melanie had been. Never.

"I should go,” Mom said. "I still have errands to run."

"Give Dad my love," I said softly. "I'm sorry you're struggling. I love both of you."

"I will tell him," Mom said, completely ignoring the second half of my statement. "Goodbye, Macey."

After the line went dead, I set the phone down on my night table near the bed and clicked off the bedroom light before sliding under the covers for sleep. I had just barely closed my eyes when my phone buzzed, and I reached over to check it. It was a text from Jayce, and it was the best thing I'd seen all day long.

See u 2morrow, friend :)

Grinning like an idiot, I typed back a quick reply, forgetting about the tears that had threatened to spill only moments ago on the phone.

We'll see.

Still smiling to myself, I turned my phone on silent and set it aside, trying to ignore that small flutter in my stomach that made me wish I was with Jayce right now, tucked into his arms, my body pressed against his as he ran his fingers up and down every inch of me, teasing me, taunting me, wanting me. I slipped my fingers down between the seam of my panties and touched myself, wet for him, full of such desire and desperation that I pleasured myself to the thought of Jayce, eventually falling into a restful sleep where I dreamed of him.