Do Not Fall For The Baseball Captains novel Chapter 37

Orchids and Confessions

Victoria’s POV

“That’s so incredibly pretty,” Nova said for what felt like the hundredth time that evening, causing me to let out a loud, dramatic groan.

Her eyes were completely glued to the crystal vase sitting on the corner of my desk, which held a fresh, sprawling arrangement of white orchids and pale pink lilies.

It had been delivered three hours ago.

When the anonymous text message had flashed on my phone, my stomach had turned nervously, forcing me to excuse myself and run down the concrete steps to

retrieve it.

had expected a threat, or perhaps a strange prank, but instead, the locker door had popped open to reveal a heavy crystal vase packed safely in a cardboard shipping

crate.

Nova had immediately helped me unpack it, squealing as the gorgeous white orchids and pale pink lilies came into view.

“Nova, please… let’s just finish with our project work,” I pleaded, tapping my fingers against my open notebook to draw her attention back to our diagrams.

“We still have three pages of calculations to double–check before midnight.”

But Nova wasn’t listening at all. She rested her chin in her palms, staring dreamily at the flowers as a soft, faraway smile touched her lips.

“I mean, come on, Victoria. A secret admirer who sends premium floral arrangements directly to your door? That is peak romance. Who do you think it is? Do you think it’s one of the guys from the advanced calculus seminar? I saw that guy with the dimples looking at you last Thursday.”

I looked down at my notes, suddenly unable to meet her eyes. A knot formed in my stomach.

She was having fun guessing. I wasn’t.

Because there was nothing mysterious about those flowers.

I already knew who they were from.

Caleb.

White orchids were the exact flowers he had bought me for our junior prom back in high school, a detail he had clearly remembered despite everything that had broken between us since.

It was a silent, beautiful peace offering, a reminder of the history we shared. But

Dichote and Confessions

looking at them only made the guilt in my chest flare up.

had lied to him about being sick, hidden in the back of the stadium while he lost, and now he was sending me flowers to make me feel better.

“It’s probably just a mistake,” I lied softly, flipping a page in my textbook to avoid her

gaze.

“Or a prank from someone in the department.”

Nova scoffed, rolling her eyes as she finally sat back in her chair.

“A prank? Nobody spends fifty bucks on high–end lilies for a joke, trust me. I wish someone would look at me and think, yes, she deserves expensive botany. But unfortunately, the universe has decided my love life should remain a barren wasteland,

She sighed, her expression shifting into something softer, more vulnerable.

“Actually… there is one person. But it’s completely hopeless.”

I paused, my pen hovering over the paper.

“What do you mean? Who?”

Nova hesitated, biting her lower lip as a deep pink hue crept up her neck.

She looked down at her hands, fidgeting with the rings on her fingers before she finally let out a breath and confessed.

“Caleb Ashfield.”

I froze.

The air in the room suddenly felt incredibly thin. My fingers locked around my pen so tightly the plastic dug into my skin.

“Wh… what?”

Nova nodded, letting out a long, heavy sigh that seemed to come from the very bottom of her lungs.

“I know. It’s completely ridiculous, right? I’ve had a massive crush on him since our freshman year. Back when we all lived in the south dorms and he used to walk past the common room every morning on his way to early practice.”

She paused, her shoulders dropping as she looked down at herself, her gaze scanning over her own body with a sudden, painful wave of insecurity.

“I never thought he was ever going to like me back,” Nova whispered, her voice dropping into a quiet, fragile tone. “Because of… well, look at me.”

A pang of sadness seeped into my veins.

Nova was extremely beautiful. To me, she was a stunning, vibrant girl with a striking face, a brilliant mind, and a gorgeous figure defined by voluminous hips and a full, curved body.

che hits and contenzion

17

She looked like something out of a classic painting, the kind people pause to admi without knowing why.

But the narrow, unforgiving social standards of a college campus labeled anything outside of a conventional size two as fat.

She was maybe a size 12, and there was nothing wrong with that at all. She wore it beautifully.

And the reality of the situation made my chest ache even more. Because I knew Caleb I had known him since we were children.

He was a good guy, but he was also a star athlete who lived entirely within the superficial bubble of the popular crowd.

He was a guy who looked at traditional beauty standards, who dated girls like Lexi- ultra–thin, loud, and meticulously groomed to fit a specific mold.

The chances of Caleb looking past his own social circle to notice someone like Nova were incredibly slim.

But beyond the harsh reality of Caleb’s typical preferences, a much larger, more terrifying realization crashed over me.

My new friend was in love with the exact same person I had been in love with for years. The person I was secretly still torn over.

“It’s just… I had this chance encounter with him last month,” Nova continued, completely unaware of the absolute devastation happening behind my eyes.

She smiled weakly at the memory.

“I dropped all my reference folders in the library basement, and he actually stopped to help me pick them up. He didn’t just walk past like the other rich guys do. He gathered my loose papers, handed me my binder, and asked if I was surviving the engineering workload. He was so incredibly sweet, Victoria, and his eyes are even brighter up close. I had honestly expected him to be mean or dismissive, you know? But he wasn’t at all. Since that day, I haven’t been able to get him out of my head.”

She turned her chair completely toward me, her eyes suddenly shining with a newfound spark of hope.

“Which is why I wanted to ask you… how did you do it? How did you snag Elijah’s attention?”

I swallowed hard, my throat feeling like it was coated in sand.

“Elijah?”

“Yeah,” Nova said, leaning forward. She shook her head, her tone entirely earnest and admiring, without a single hint of malice or backhanded intent.

35

hids and Confessions

“I mean, look at the facts. You’re amazing, Victoria. You’re gorgeous, you’re the smartest girl in our entire department, and you carry yourself with so much grace. But guys like Elijah Carter: the brooding, untouchable star athletes who have half the female population chasing them, they don’t usually hang out with the silent, studious nerds like us. They usually go for the wild, loud girls who spend every weekend at the frat houses. That’s why I reacted so wildly when you told me you two were a thing. I was just shocked.”

She reached across the desk, gently placing her hand over mine.

“But knowing you two are together… it made me think. It made me realize that maybe these popular athletes aren’t as superficial as everyone says they are. If a guy like Elijah Carter can look past the usual campus stereotypes and choose someone as incredible and genuine as you, then maybe… just maybe, I might actually stand a chance with Caleb? Maybe he could see past the surface and want to be with

someone like me, too.”

I sat in absolute silence, listening to her words echo through the quiet room. I didn’t know how to feel.

A suffocating mix of guilt, jealousy, and sheer panic was clawing at my throat.

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