Run, Girl (If You Can)

Aaron rued the day he ever agreed to paintball for the bachelor party as he stood in line weighed down by the heavy protective gear. The referee was explaining the rules, especially how you should never under any circumstances aim for the face, and he wished it were over already.

Aiden, Cameron, and the other men all looked pumped and ready to fight. Of course they did. Normal guys were into this sort of thing.

The group consisted of Cameron, Aaron and Aiden, his brothers and brother-in-law, and a few childhood friends who drove up for the wedding a few days early. Aaron didn't feel comfortable around any of them so he stiffly stood near Aiden. Normally the kid annoyed him but right now he was the safe zone.

The referee blathered on about how to load the paint guns, the point system, and the course made of foam structures for people to hide behind. There were nine of them total so the referee brought an employee out to make the teams even.

Aaron was on the orange team with Aiden, Cameron's old neighbor Josh, and both of his brothers. The blue team consisted of Cameron, his brother-in-law Mike, his friends Donny and Chris, and the employee.

The field was theirs for an hour and would be split up into three fifteen-minute games with breaks in between.

The first match passed in a blur. Aaron was hit with so many paintballs he didn't even know what was happening anymore. His teammates yelled at him constantly trying to get him to move or at the very least duck but he had no idea what was going on and always seemed to react a second too late.

The blue team won.

The second match wasn't much better. He kept slipping and sliding in the paint on the ground and ended up flat on his back at one point.

Aiden forcibly grabbed him by the collar and dragged him across the slippery ground to a hiding place where he would be out of the way. Aaron had never felt so humiliated in either of his lives.

This was the worst. Why did he agree to this? Oh yeah, because he was trying to be a decent friend for once. It wasn't worth it.

Cameron's brothers had both played paintball before and were doing surprisingly well without Aaron dragging them down. They worked in sync as if they were reading each other's minds and scored point after point.

The orange team won the second match and everyone seemed to have forgotten Aaron was even there, which he didn't mind one bit. He was sore from all the hits he took and his fall to the ground.

"Sorry for dragging you back there, dude," Aiden said sheepishly as he handed his boss a bottle of water as a gesture of goodwill during the break between games. "I couldn't let Cameron win all the games; he'd never let it go."

Aaron had never personally experienced the competitiveness between friends but he had heard of it. He would forgive it this time. He accepted the water and chugged it.

"What do you think the girls are up to right now?"

"They're at the spa," Chase said helpfully. "My wife wouldn't stop gushing about it all week. She's never been to a real spa before."

The single men in the room wrinkled their noses in disgust. "Lame!" "What's so fun about that?" "Boring chick stuff."

"Don't knock it til you try it," Aiden said with a shrug. "My girlfriend and I went to one together in Stockholm and it was super hot."

The single men's eyes widened and they looked at the scrawny kid Cameron invited in a new light.

"Cam, who's this kid again?"

"He works with me."

Aiden dramatically clutched his heart. "That's all I am to you, Cam? I'm wounded."

Cameron rolled his eyes and mussed his friend's hair roughly. "Come on you guys, let's get back out there. Who wants to make a bet with me on who will end up the winner?"

Everyone groaned. He almost never betted wrong.

"What's the bet?" Aaron asked flatly. He didn't see anything good coming from this.

"The losing team has to take their shirts off until we get to Aaron's apartment," he said with a wicked grin.

The second part of the party was being held there since out of all the people present who lived in New York, his place was the biggest. He had already arranged for the housekeeper to come and clean up everything first thing in the morning.

Aaron scowled. If he lost, his neighbors might see him. He would never live that down.

"Why do I get the feeling this bet is targeted at me specifically," he said frostily. Cameron merely raised his eyebrows in response. 

"I'll take you on!" Aiden announced. "You'll be the one who has to embarrass yourself in front of Aaron's neighbors!"

It occurred to him then that he would be losing either way. People would see a bunch of crazy people go upstairs with him. He would make Cameron pay for this insult somehow.

For now, he would be lenient. The man was getting married in two days.

They all put their goggles back on, reloaded their guns, and headed back out to the field. Aaron really didn't want to have to be the one shirtless but both Cameron and Aiden would never shut up if he didn't honor the bet. It was safest for him to stay out of the way again.

Unfortunately, the other team figured out his tactic and forced him out into the open. He scrambled for cover and slipped on more paint.

"Aaron!" Aiden yelled. "Behind you!"

He ducked but the blue team member slipped on some paint as well and ended up falling right in front of Aaron, accidentally firing their gun as they landed. The paintball exploded right on Aaron's goggles.

Normally, this wouldn't have been a problem since paintball goggles are pretty sturdy. But this particular one had already experienced previous damage and the plastic detached from the inside so the ball smacked it against Aaron's left eye.

He doubled over in pain and the referee immediately called a time out. Everyone crowded around him to see what happened. Aaron was clutching his eye after taking off the goggles and the referee demanded to see it to be sure he didn't need medical attention.

It was swollen mostly shut but after shining a little flashlight into it there didn't appear to be any damage. The referee still insisted he go to the doctor right away and apologized profusely for the faulty equipment.

Aaron had signed a waiver beforehand saying he played at his own risk and couldn't sue so the referee's concern and apology were genuine rather than out of worry he would get in trouble over the incident.

"I'm so sorry," Cameron squeaked. "Are you okay?"

An ice storm built up in an alarming crescendo, making everyone present hold their breath, before coming to a standstill. 

"Aiden, take me to the hospital," Aaron barked. "The rest of you—go to lunch. We'll meet you back at my place when I'm done."