Do Not Fall For The Baseball Captains novel Chapter 14

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situationship Signed

Situationship Signed

Victoria’s POV

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The whole baseball team had gathered in a big circle around the bonfire, bottles and red cups passing from hand to hand. .aughter mixed with the crackle of wood and the low beat of music in the background.

sat on a log beside Elijah, tucked into the space he’d carved out for me; directly across the circle sat Caleb and Lexi.

could feel Caleb’s eyes on me every few seconds, a constant, nagging pull–but I refused to look up.

My stomach was a mess of knots, and my head felt like a hundred different thoughts were all trying to shove their way out at once.

Am I doing the right thing? Is this really how I want to spend the next six months?

risked a glance at Elijah. The firelight played across his features, making his onyx eyes glow like dark diamonds catching he sun.

His lashes were long, fanning his cheeks every time he blinked.

remembered how he had stood up for me just a little while ago, the way he had promised to protect me.

Something warm stirred in my belly at the memory, but it wasn’t the same wild flutter Caleb had always given me. Not even close.

As if sensing my eyes on him, Elijah started to turn. I looked away instantly, staring hard at the glowing embers.

But it wasn’t just his gaze I felt. Across the flames, Lexi was watching me.

Beside her was another girl I didn’t quite recognize–someone with honey–blonde hair and hazel eyes that seemed to burn with a private resentment.

She didn’t know me, yet her lips were pressed in a thin, judgmental line. She clearly didn’t like me.

shifted uncomfortably. When I glanced back at Caleb, his hand was slowly stroking Lexi’s thigh.

Her fingers rested high on his leg, dangerously close to his groin, while she gave me a smug little smile.

She knew. She had figured out how I felt about him. I had spent years being careful, hiding everything, and somehow she still saw right through me.

Elijah leaned in close, his lips brushing my ear.

For someone who claims she doesn’t love him more than a friend, that glare you’re giving Lexi is a dead giveaway.”

shivered, the heat of his breath sending a jolt through me.

I wasn’t-”

Come on.” He didn’t wait for me to finish.

He stood, pulling me up with him, and then sat back down, positioning me between his thighs.

He wrapped his arms firmly around my waist, pulling my back against his chest.

The circle went quiet. I could feel the eyes of the entire team on us, but no one said a word.

The girl who’d been glaring at me stood abruptly and walked into the darkness, but I seemed to be the only one who noticed her departure.

I could feel Caleb’s stare burning a hole into the side of my face, but I kept my focus on the fire.

Amelia stood up and announced the game. It was a round of “Hard Truths.”

The rules were simple: an honest answer to whatever the group asked, or you had to take a double shot of straight lime juice and a hit of tequila. No exceptions.

The game moved around the circle until it finally landed on Caleb.

For some reason, the air shifted. I felt a prickle of unease as Noah’s gaze bounced between Caleb and me, a strange glint in his eyes.

He leaned forward, poking at a log with a stick until sparks flew.

“Alright, Ashfield,” Noah said, his voice cutting th

ng around this circle… who here has been your

backbone? The one person who’s actually seen Successfully unlocked! and still managed to pull you through? The person you literally wouldn’t be standing here without.

My heart stopped. My fingers dug into the fabric of Elijah’s jeans. This was it.

Situationship Signed

30 bonus

Even with his arm around Lexi, even with the mess we were in, we were best friends. We were the “Caleb and Vic” duo.

wolted, my breath–hitched In my throat, expecting–hoping–to hear my name.

Caleb didn’t ever hesitate, He looked down at the girl beside him, a soft, besotted smile breaking across his face. “That’s easy,” he said, his volck casual and light. “Lexi. She’s been my entire world lately. I’d be lost without her.”

The world seemed to go silent.

After everything I had done for him?

I had sat with him for hours when his girlfriends broke his heart, letting him cry on my shoulder.

I had stayed up with him until 3:00 AM, holding him together when his parents were fighting and almost divorced.

I had comforted him every time he felt like he was failing under the shadow of his older brother, reminding him he was enough when his parents compared them.

I had even turned down a scholarship to Harvard just to stay by his side.

He was the one who begged me to stay, come with him to Crowswell University; he said he needed his best friend there to cheer him on, that he couldn’t do this without me.

All of that and this is what I get? He couldn’t even give me basic acknowledgment in front of everyorte?

Lexi had been in his life for what…a few months? I had been his support for a decade.

Beyond the romantic feelings, beyond the unrequited love, it was the sheer lack of humanity that crushed me.

He didn’t even recognise that I existed in the same space.

Around the fire, the team began cooing and “aww–ing.” Lexi giggled, leaning up to press a smug kiss to Caleb’s lips, and he met her halfway, pulling her closer.

The smoke from the fire suddenly felt like it was choking me. My eyes burned, and I knew I couldn’t keep the tears back for another second.

I shoved Elijah’s arms off me and scrambled to my feet, stumbling away from the light.

“Victoria!”

Elijah’s voice followed me, but I kept going until the noise of the party faded behind me.

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