Chapter 9
Jayce
“Macey, these are myfriends 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’sright, 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.”
