Do Not Fall For The Baseball Captains (Victoria and Elijah) novel Chapter 128

Chapter 128

Victoria’s POV

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An hour later, our dinner was scattered across the Formica table between us. Empty burger wrappers sat beside a basket with a few forgotten garlic fries, and our milkshake glasses were mostly just melted chocolate

now.

The diner had quieted down. A television played softly above the bar, mixing with the occasional sound of dishes from the kitchen.

Elijah sat back against the red vinyl booth, his black shirt stretched tight across his chest as he watched me.

One of his long legs was stretched out under the table, his boot lightly brushing against my ankle every now and then.

The waitress slid a single plate between us, a thick slice of warm apple pie with a melting scoop of vanilla ice cream slipping down the side.

“Anything else for you two?”

“We’re good, thank you,” I said, already reaching for a fork.

Elijah didn’t touch his. He just leaned his elbow on the table, his jaw resting in his palm as his dark eyes locked onto mine.

“So. You were saying you’re adding four more advanced structural manuals to the list before the semester

even starts.”

“They aren’t manuals,” I corrected, digging the edge of my fork into the crust and getting a perfect mix of apple and ice cream.

I held it out to him, nudging his lip until he leaned forward and took it off the prongs.

“They’re published thesis papers on materials engineering and stress-testing under extreme conditions. If I read them now, I’ll have a massive head start on the graduate research seminars in the fall. Saanvi told me the professors at the new campus don’t play around with the lab preparation requirements.”

Elijah chewed slowly, his eyes never leaving my face.

“You’ve been out of school for exactly fourteen days, Victoria. Your brain is going to fry before you even step foot into that graduate lab.”

“It’s not going to fry,” I murmured, taking my own bite. The warm cinnamon hit my tongue, making me sigh happily.

“I like staying busy. Besides, what else am I supposed to do while you’re spending six hours a day at the batting cages preparing for the seasonals?”

“Spend them with me,” he said simply.

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15:45 Fri, Jul 24

Chapter 128

33

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He reached across the table, his large, calloused fingers wrapping around my wrist, pulling my hand away from the plate so I had to look at him.

His thumb pressed into the soft skin of my pulse point.

“Come to the dugout. Sit on the bench. You don’t need to be buried in a book every second of the day.”

I smiled, unable to stop the little rush of happiness that came over me.

“Elijah, the coaches already give you looks because you walk over to kiss me during every single water break. If I’m sitting in the dugout, you won’t focus at all.”

“I’ll focus fine. I just like knowing you’re there. Keeps me grounded.”

“I’m always there,” I whispered.

He stared at me for a long moment, the intensity in his gaze enough to make me forget about the diner, the pie, and everything else outside our booth.

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