Do Not Fall For The Baseball Captains novel Chapter 35

Victoria’s POV

“Did you honestly think you could disappear for a cozy, intimate dinner with Caleb and keep it a secret from me? You’re incredibly naive if you think I wouldn’t find out. Our entire arrangement relies on you looking like you belong to me. The very last thing need is the whole campus watching you play house with your childhood crush.”

“Caleb is an exemption!” I fired back, my cheeks burning as I tried to find my footing. I stepped closer, looking up into his harsh face, desperate to defend myself.

“He’s my best friend, Elijah. He’s been my constant since we were kids. It wasn’t a date, it was just… we were fixing things. It doesn’t change anything between us.”

Elijah’s lips curled into a smile, but it was entirely devoid of warmth. It was a predatory, dangerous expression.

Before I could process his movement, he reached out, his large, calloused hands gripping my upper arms in a firm, unyielding hold.

He pulled me forward until my chest practically brushed his jersey.

“There are no exemptions, Victoria,” he growled, his gaze dropping to my lips before snapping back to my eyes, burning with a possessive fury that made my knees turn to

water.

“The second you signed that paper, you became my responsibility. People see you with him, and it makes me look foolish. I am holding up my end of this deal perfectly. All I asked for was your compliance, but it seems you can’t even offer me the bare minimum of your loyalty. How are we going to make this work, hmm?”

My stomach completely drop–kicked itself. He wasn’t even raising his voice, but the cold, matter–of–fact disappointment in his tone made me feel incredibly cheap and guilty.

Elijah stared at my trembling lower

lip, his jaw clenching tightly. Then, without another word, he abruptly stepped past me and walked away, disappearing around the corner of the concrete tunnel.

“Elijah…” My voice was barely a whisper, a desperate plea to get him to look back, but his broad shoulders didn’t even flinch as he rounded the bend.

I staggered back against the brick wall, a sob catching in my throat as the sudden absence of his heat left me shivering.

I pressed the palms of my hands against my burning eyes, trying desperately to swallow down the tears before I completely fractured.

Suddenly, a loud, booming burst of masculine laughter echoed down the concrete

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No Exemptions

corridor, the sound shattering the quiet.

“Man, did you see their pitcher’s face when that ball cleared the wall?” an unfamiliar, booming voice carried down the hall, thick with amusement.

“He looked like he was about to burst into tears right there on the mound.”

“Forget him,” a second, smoother voice chuckled, the sound of heavy sneakers scuffing against the floor as they came closer. “The shortstop looked entirely frozen. He didn’t even move his glove. Absolute poetry.”

I spun around to run in the opposite direction, but before I could move an inch, a group of tall, broad–shouldered athletes rounded the corner.

Leading the pack was a familiar face, his sports bag slung over his shoulder. It was

Miles.

He had a wide, easygoing grin on his face that instantly faded into utter shock when his gray eyes landed on me.

I froze, wiping my cheeks in a panicked, useless motion.

Behind Miles, three more massive baseball players came walking into the light, laughing and shoving each other, but they all slowed down when they saw me.

“Damn. She’s beautiful,” one of them murmured, not bothering to hide the way his eyes ogled my body.

I wouldn’t lie, despite the suffocating tension tight in my chest, the blatant admiration left me incredibly flustered, a sudden heat creeping up my neck.

Miles shot him a warning glare. “Be careful, Leo. If Carter catches you looking at her like that, he’ll ensure you spend the rest of the season on the bench.”

Miles then turned his attention back to me, his expression softening with genuine

curiosity.

“Oh, Victoria, what are you doing back here by the locker rooms?”

“I… uh…” I stammered, my mind racing to find a believable lie as I clutched the straps of my backpack.

Before I could clear my throat, Leo butted in, a knowing smirk on his lips.

“Hold on a second. Carter is actually dating? And he’s dating her?”

Miles turned toward him, a sharp eyebrow raised. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

Leo grinned, shaking his head dismissively as he held his hands up in mock surrender.

“Of course, nothing bad. It’s just… well, Carter usually goes for the wild, loud ones. Not a reserved, elegant beauty like her. She’s a completely different league.”

Miles rolled his eyes, turning back to me with a reassuring smile that told me not to

1. Eximptions

worry about them.

“Ignore him. Victoria, these are the guys who just got back from the away–game tournament streak.”

“No kidding,” Nate spoke up, a massive grin breaking across his sun–tanned face. He had bright blue eyes and an energetic, golden–retriever aura about him as he stepped forward.

“I thought Miles was lying when he said Carter snagged the smartest girl in the engineering department. I’m Nate, by the way. Great to finally meet you.”

Leo stepped up next, offering a smooth, charming wink as he ran a hand through his carefully styled blonde hair.

“And I’m Leo, sweetheart. Nice to meet the girl who managed to tame our shortstop. You’re even prettier than the rumors.”

I offered them a small, breathless smile, my face still flushing from the lingering ghost of Elijah’s touch and the sudden onslaught of attention.

But as I went to speak, my eyes tracked past Nate and Leo to the final member of their group who had stayed back in the shadows.

Miles noticed my gaze darting to the back and cleared his throat, gesturing toward the quiet athlete.

“And the brick wall hiding behind everyone is Jace, our catcher.”

Jace was quiet, but not easy to ignore. Standing there, tall and built like trouble, he carried the same intimidating aura Elijah did.

While Nate and Leo kept the conversation light with smiles and casual compliments, his dark, calculating eyes remained locked entirely onto me.

Jace’s unblinking stare dragged out the silence until even Miles looked uncomfortable.

“Alright, don’t scare her off, boys,” Miles joked quickly, throwing an arm around Nate’s shoulder to steer the group away and break the tension.

“We’re heading to the diner for post–game food. Victoria, have you seen where Carter went? He cleared out of the dugout before we could grab him.”

“He… he went that way,” I whispered, pointing vaguely down the hall toward the main `exit, my voice still slightly thick from my near–breakdown.

“Cool. We’ll track him down,” Miles said, giving me one last warm look. “See you around, Victoria.”

“Don’t be too long catching up with us later, Leo,” Nate laughed, nudging his friend as they turned to walk down the hall. “We still need to hear the full story of how this happened.”

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No Exemptions

As the group began to walk away, Jace lingered for a single, extended second.

His dark eyes remained fixed on mine, an unreadable expression crossing his features that made my skin prickle, before he finally turned his back and followed the rest of the guys into the night.

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Pickup Code 884271

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Victoria’s POV

“Ugh… this is absolute trash. This is exactly why I prefer eating out.”

Nova pushed her plate of rice away from her, the lines of her face scrunched, in pure disgust.

I chuckled, taking a slow sip of my soda through the straw.

“You’ve said that everyday since I met you, Nova. You’d think you would have learned your lesson by now.”

“I keep hoping for a miracle,” she groaned, slumping back against the hard plastic chair. “But the universe clearly doesn’t want me to thrive.”

The campus cafeteria truly didn’t make the best meals, and with Mary–Jane heading the kitchen, things were only bound to get worse.

Campus dining halls were notoriously bad across the country, but people like Mary- Jane didn’t make the experience any easier.

She had a cranky, stuck–up, entirely annoying personality that made you feel like you were personally offending her just by asking for a side of fries.

She ran the kitchen like a militarized zone, scowling at any student who dared to complain about the soggy vegetables or the mystery meat.

“I think she uses salt as a personal threat rather than an ingredient,” Nova muttered, staring wistfully at the vending machines across the crowded room.

Before I could reply, the shadow of a figure loomed over our small table. I tilted my head back, my eyes landing on a girl standing right at the edge of our space.

She had a bright, dazzling smile that instantly lit up her striking features.

She was genuinely beautiful, with long, glossy brunette hair falling over her shoulders and an effortless elegance that made her stand out against the drab backdrop of the cafeteria.

She was smiling directly at me.

I blinked, momentarily paralyzed as my brain scrambled to place her. She looked incredibly familiar, a nagging sense of recognition pulling at the back of my mind.

I squinted my eyes, tracing the slope of her nose and the distinct curve of her jawline.

Then, it clicked.

The baseball game. This was the exact girl who had been standing entirely too close to Elijah, her manicured fingers resting against his bicep while she laughed at his words.

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The same girl who had triggered a drop of pure acid in my throat just days prior.

A sudden guard went up in my chest. My posture turned rigid against the plastic seat

Why was she here, standing at my lunch table and smiling at me like we were old friends?

The brunette seemed to notice the sudden internal defense mechanism locking up my

features.

She let out a soft, melodic laugh, waving a hand casually.

“Hi. Do you mind if I sit down for a quick second? I promise I don’t bite.”

“Oh, absolutely! Please, take a seat,” Nova chimed in immediately, her voice bursting with her usual bubble of sunshine.

Nova was a natural ray of light, always sweet and entirely eager to welcome anyone

into her orbit.

She practically beamed at the stranger, completely oblivious to the silent friction hovering in the air.

“I love your jacket, by the way. The vintage leather is stunning.”

The brunette slid into the empty chair next to Nova, her smile softening with genuine

warmth.

“Thank you so much. It was actually a thrift find from a small boutique back home.”

She turned her attention fully to Nova, keeping her tone exceptionally polite and friendly.

“You’re incredibly sweet, and I can tell you’re a fantastic friend, but I actually came over here specifically to talk to Victoria.”

Nova’s eyes widened slightly, a sheepish, embarrassed smile taking over her face.

She glanced at me, silently apologizing for jumping into the conversation so quickly, before letting out a soft laugh.

“Oh, my bad! Don’t mind me, I’ll just sit here and pretend this cardboard rice is interesting.”

I offered Nova a reassuring smile to let her know it was fine, then turned my gaze back

to the brunette.

Up close, her presence was entirely unthreatening, which only made me feel more confused.

“I’m Allison,” she introduced herself, extending a hand across the table. I took it, her grip brief and firm.

She leaned in slightly, dropping her voice to a conspiratorial whisper.

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“I wanted to come over and completely clear the air because when I saw you at the stadium, you looked like you wanted to execute me on the spot. I figured you probably think I’m some random girl trying to steal Elijah away.”

A fierce heat rushed up my neck, flooding my cheeks with deep, burning embarrassment.

I felt instantly guilty for how harshly I had judged her in my head, assigning malicious motives to a complete stranger just because she was breathing the same air as Elijan,

“I… I didn’t mean to look at you that way,” I stammered, looking down at my soda cup.

Allison fanned her hand in the air, dismissing my apology with an easy shrug.

“Oh, please, don’t apologize at all. I would totally judge any girl hanging around my man, too. If roles were reversed, I’d be planning a burial. Besides, that absolute jerk didn’t even bother to tell any of us that he had a new girlfriend.”

My head snapped up, my ears catching on the specific wording.

“New?”

Allison nodded, her wide eyes reflecting a mixture of amusement and historical exasperation.

“Ugh, yes. He has quite a complicated history, to be honest. The last girl he was with… well, she completely wrecked him before she left. It was a massive disaster. You don’t even want to know the details. Because of that, I honestly didn’t expect him to ever have another girlfriend while he was at this university.”

A strange blend of jealousy and intense curiosity flared in my stomach. I gripped my soda cup a little tighter, my mind swirling with questions.

A history? A girl who wrecked him? Elijah always presented himself as an immovable, unbothered fortress.

The idea that someone had once possessed the power to completely shatter that armor made my chest tighten with an uncomfortable ache.

Even though our relationship was entirely fake; a calculated, make–believe

arrangement designed to benefit us individually, I couldn’t suppress the growing desire to truly understand who Elijah Carter was.

It wouldn’t hurt to know the real person beneath the arrogance, especially since he had stepped in to help me.

“Wait,” Nova’s voice cut through my spiraling thoughts, her tone laced with pure disbelief. She was staring at me, her eyes darting between me and Allison.

“You’re really dating Elijah Carter, Victoria?”

Something about the question made my stomach shift.