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Mac Taylor’s team was more like a family than a group of people who worked together professionally. They had each others’ backs, both on the job and off. Mac was as proud of that as he was the quality of the work they produced.
All of that team unity went out the window, however, when it came to competitive games.
“Come on, old man, let’s see what you got.”
Only Stella would refer to Mac as an old man. She smirked at him on the other side of the volleyball net, bouncing on the balls of her feet as she waited for his serve. Behind her stood Flack, looking torn between admiration and dismay at her smack talk to the boss.
“Give it to her, Mac.” Danny’s grin was fierce. He waggled his eyebrows as he looked back at his lover and Mac groaned. He did not need that kind of distraction.
While no slouch in the athletic department, Mac was playing with three younger people, all of whom were at top form. Thankfully, he was paired with Danny as they played against Flack and Stella. Even though they didn’t play volleyball often, they knew how each other moved and thought, which Mac hoped gave them an advantage. It also helped that Danny was playing next to him and not across the net, where Mac would be all too likely to watch him instead of the ball.
It was a rare Saturday in July, when they all had the day off and decided to make an excursion to a nearby beach. New York wasn’t Florida or Hawaii, so its beaches weren’t as notoriously beautiful. On a hot, summer day, though, they did the trick. The younger members were too restless to lounge around and soon the small group had taken advantage of the public volleyball equipment. It made sense to pair sets of lovers together instead of breaking them up.
“Yo, Mac.” Flack interrupted Mac’s thought process. “Any day, now.”
Mac didn’t respond to the barb and instead just served the ball. It flew over the net, which Stella charged, spiking it. Danny easily returned with a volley, but that had given Flack a chance to approach the net. The tall man was more powerful than Stella, although Mac would never say that to her face, and his spikes tended to be a lot harder. Mac moved up quickly, but it was too late. The spiked ball came hurtling down at Danny. The young man got his hands up in time, but the ball went straight ahead into the net.
Danny groaned and Mac put his hand on his arm, concerned. “You okay, Danny?”
“Yeah.” Danny shrugged. “But I shoulda had that one, Mac.”
“Next time, Danny.” Mac smiled at him; Danny’s feistiness was just one of many things he loved about the other man.
The game continued, with give and take on both sides. Mac was thoroughly enjoying himself, although it had little to do with the sport. No, he was enjoying observing Danny without his shirt on and watching the play of muscles underneath the smooth skin. Danny tended to brown in the sun and was a golden color, the light sweat the exercise was causing almost making him seem to glow. . . .
“Mac, heads up!”
Danny calling his name made Mac snap his head up, just in time to see the volleyball headed straight at him. He didn’t have a chance to duck, the ball hit him hard in the face and Mac was soon flat on his back in the sand.
“You all right, Mac?” Danny was soon hovering over him. “Geez, your nose.”
Thankfully Stella must have hit the ball that time and not Flack. Mac could feel the trickle of blood coming out of his nose, but not the kind of pain that would indicate that it was broken.
“My dignity’s worse off than my nose,” Mac started to get up, but two pair of hands kept him down.
“I’m sorry, Mac.” Stella’s dark eyes were full of concern. “What were you thinking?”
Flack was clearly more amused than worried. “He wasn’t thinking, that was the problem. Mac was looking all right, just not at the ball.” He gestured to Danny with his chin. “Next time, Messer, you keep your shirt on and that way Mac’s eyes will stay where they’re supposed to.”
Stella must have realized that Mac wasn’t very hurt; she joined in the teasing. “I think unless we have Danny play in a hazmat suit, Mac won’t be paying attention to the ball.”
“Very funny.” Danny was not amused at his friends’ teasing. He put linked his arm with Mac’s and helped him sit up. “Why don’t one of you two jokers head over to the snow cone stand and see if they’ll give you some ice?”
“Let’s both go,” Flack suggested. “They’re more likely to hand out freebies to a pretty woman than me. Besides, I think Danny’s got it under control here.”
“Okay,” Stella stood and wiped her hands on her thighs before grabbing Flack’s hand and striding off in the direction of the food vendors.
Danny helped Mac up. “You sure you’re okay, Mac?”
“I’m fine, Danny.” Mac fervently hoped that the redness in his face would be attributed to the temperature and not embarrassment. “Look, it’s stopped bleeding already.”
“We’re gonna go lay down anyway.” Danny took Mac by the hand and firmly led him towards the shaded area where their towels lay waiting for them.
Before Mac really knew what hit him, he was stretched out with his head on Danny’s lap. Stella and Flack dropped off the ice before heading towards the water. Danny fussed at him, making sure the placement of the make-do icepack was exactly right. Mac started to protest, then remembered all the times he’d been overprotective of the other man and decided to let Danny fuss as much as he wanted. It was kind of nice to be on the receiving end.
As Mac lay quietly, basking in the undivided attention of his lover, he decided that maybe volleyball was his sport after all. He vowed that they’d play again, but would not be taking Flack’s advice.
Danny would definitely be playing without a shirt.
~the end~