Do Not Fall For The Baseball Captains novel Chapter 42

She Was Happy. I Wasn’t

Elijah’s POV

The bass from the speakers in the corner of my living room was hitting too hard, sending a relentless thumping right through the floorboards and straight into the soles of my sneakers.

The guys were completely in their element, turning my off–campus condo into a loud, crowded base camp for a casual Tuesday night hangout.

Nate had asked permission to bring along two extra buddies, and now the place felt packed to the brim.

There were half–empty beer bottles cluttering the kitchen island, discarded pizza boxes stacked precariously on the coffee table, and a loud, overlapping chorus of yelling as Leo and Nate aggressively button–mashed their way through a hockey video game on the big screen.

“Pass the damn puck, Leo! You’re choking!”

Nate roared, his face flushed an angry red as he leaned so far forward he was practically falling off the leather sofa.

“I’m not choking, you’re just out of position!” Leo fired back, his thumbs working the controller at a ridiculous speed.

Behind them, the two random guys Nate brought over were arguing loudly with Jace about whether a standard nine–to–five corporate job was a complete soul–crushing scam or the only logical way to survive after graduation, their voices rising over the blasting hip–hop track that was currently rattling the windowpane.

It was deafening. It was exactly the kind of mindless, relaxed environment I usually embraced, or at the very least, tolerated with a quiet smirk from the corner of the room.

But tonight, my mind was a far cry from any of it.

was sitting on a high stool at the kitchen island, a sweating, unopened bottle of domestic beer clamped tightly between my palms.

I hadn’t taken a single sip. My focus was entirely trapped in the small, rectangular screen of my phone, which lay face–up on the marble counter.

‘Does this mean our fake agreement is officially over?‘ Her light, breathless voice was still echoing in my ears.

She had squealed into the speaker like I was some sort of childhood girlfriend, eager to unload her romantic triumphs onto me.

Irritation flared deep in my gut making me tighten my grip on the beer bottle until my

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Was Happy I Wasn

knuckles turned a stark, bloodless white.

She was so incredibly blind when it came to him. It made me want to put my fist right through the nearest drywall.

“Hey, look at the big man,” Miles’s voice cut through my thoughts, much closer than I wanted it to be.

Before I could move away, Miles swung a thick, heavy arm around my shoulders, leaning his body weight against me as he hoisted his plastic cup in the air.

He was already sporting a lazy, bloodshot grin, entirely riding the high of the weekend and whatever drink he was holding.

“Seriously, man, everyone’s out there having a good time and you’re over here looking like you’re plotting a murder,” Miles said, squinting down at my untouched drink.

“What’s got your gears grinding tonight?”

I rolled my shoulders, casually shifting my weight until his arm slipped off my neck.

I didn’t give him a full shove, just a dry, annoyed look as I reached for my beer bottle.

“Get your greasy hands off me, Miles. Go bother Leo.”

Miles stumbled back a half–step, blinking in mild surprise, though the easygoing grin didn’t completely leave his face.

He adjusted his backward baseball cap and leaned against the counter, studying my tight jawline.

“Whoa. Temper, temper. What’s got your pants so twisted? Did the athletic director catch you sleeping through your criminology lectures again?”

“I have a perfect attendance record, you idiot,” I mumbled, keeping my eyes fixed on the condensation dripping down my bottle.

“Then what is it?” Miles pressed, lowering his voice slightly so the guys at the couch wouldn’t hear him over the video game commentary.

“You’ve been acting….different for days now. If it’s about the scouts-”

“It’s not about the scouts, Miles. Drop it,” I sighed, scratching the corner of my right brow.

I gave him a dull look that usually signaled I was done talking. Miles chuckled softly, shaking his head as he held up his hands to show he was letting it go.

“Alright, message received. I’ll give you your space, man. Just don’t lock yourself in that vault too tight, okay? We’ve got a massive week ahead, and I need my shortstop present. If you need anything, I’ve got your back.”

He drifted back toward the living room, leaving me alone with the counter once again.

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She Was Happy I Wasnt

i let out a jagged breath, running my fingers through my hair.

The worst part about this whole mess was the feeling of being completely stuck. I couldn’t confide in the guys. Not a single soul.

Putting aside the fact that I owed it to Victoria to keep our agreement intact and

protect her dignity, if I let anything slip to Miles, Jace, Leo, or Nate, I’d never hear the end of it.

They would relentlessly drag me for it.

They’d laugh their asses off because Elijah Carter, the guy who supposedly had everything figured out, had actually resorted to proposing a fake–dating scheme just to get close to a girl. I’d get mocked for being too much of an ass.

But they wouldn’t understand. Well, I don’t expect them to understand the complex, heavy pull Victoria had on me. Or understand how a single mention of her name make me completely forget about the world.

could

To them, women were a revolving door of easy distractions. But Victoria wasn’t a distraction. She was becoming a permanent fixture in my head, and that terrified me more than I could admit.

Rubbing a hand down my face, I couldn’t stop my thoughts from traveling back to her voice on the line.

I was feeling a certain kind of way about everything Victoria had confessed; an intense, dark wave of possessiveness and anger that I had absolutely no right to harbor.

We had a deal, and getting pissed because she was happy with someone else broke every single rule we made.

I had to respect her. I had to respect her feelings, even if those feelings were entirely directed at a guy who made my blood boil.

If she wanted to run back to Caleb the second he threw her a bone, that was her

prerogative.

It was exactly what this charade was designed for.

I had no right to step in, no right to tell her that her precious childhood best friend was playing her.

My chest heaved as I stared at the dark phone screen.

There was something entirely wrong about the way Caleb was moving right now.

The timing of his sudden realization was too convenient, too calculated.

He had spent months parading Lexi around the athletic department, leaving Victoria waiting in the wings, and now, suddenly, he was single and trying to play the doting protector best–friend?

3.5

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