Do Not Fall For The Baseball Captains novel Chapter 63

A Place Here

Victoria’s POV

The drive back to his neighborhood was quiet, the gentle acoustic track playing from his dashboard providing a peaceful barrier against the chaotic events of the afternoon.

The moment Elijah unlocked the front door to his condo and pushed it open, I froze on the threshold.

The living room wasn’t empty. The entire inner circle was gathered around the kitchen island–Leo, Nate, Miles, and Jace were all there, and to my absolute surprise, Adele was sitting on the counter with a box of takeout pizza in her lap.

The second the door clicked, Adele dropped the slice she was holding and rushed straight toward the entryway.

“Victoria!” she cried out, throwing her arms around me in a brief, fierce hug.

“Oh my god, are you okay? Leo called me and told me what happened to your street. I came over as soon as I could.”

“We heard about the southern wing collapsing,” Nate added, walking over from the kitchen with a serious expression, his usual goofy demeanor completely gone.

“Are you hurt? Did you lose everything?”

“We can help you haul whatever’s left tomorrow if the city clears the structural integrity,” Miles offered, leaning against the sofa with a warm, supportive smile.

Even Jace gave me a gentle, reassuring nod from the kitchen stool.

“Glad you made it out safe, Tori.”

I just stood there in the middle of the room, blinking back tears as this sudden, massive surge of gratitude completely took over.

Except for my sister Willow and my parents, I had never experienced a group of people. who actually showed up for me like this.

I had spent four years believing I was completely invisible to everyone on this campus, but looking at their worried, genuine faces, I realized I wasn’t alone anymore. I had a place here.

Before the guys could bombard me with any more questions, Elijah stepped right into the space between us, his large frame shielding me from the living room.

“Alright, back off, everyone,” Elijah commanded smoothly, his tone leaving no room for argument as he set my plastic crate down by the stairs.

“She’s completely exhausted, she smells like a chimney, and she needs to rest. You can interrogate her tomorrow at brunch.”

1/5

Adele gave him a mock glare but stepped back, offering me a sweet smile.

“He’s right. Go get some rest, Victoria. We’ll be down here if you need anything.”

“Thanks, guys,” I murmured, my voice thick with gratitude as Elijah guided me toward the stairwell.

The moment we reached the quiet privacy of his bedroom, I let out a long, ragged sigh. dropping my purse onto the desk.

Elijah closed the door behind us, running a hand through his messy dark hair.

“I’ll let you be for now so you can take a shower and decompress. I’m going to go join them downstairs and make sure they don’t eat all the pizza.”

He turned to grab the doorknob, but before he could take a single step away, my hand

shot out.

My fingers wrapped securely around his bare wrist.

The skin–to–skin contact was electric, freezing him in his tracks. Elijah stopped, his broad shoulders tensing slightly before he turned his head slowly to look down at me.

I looked up into his dark, deep eyes, offering him a soft, completely unvarnished smile that came straight from the bottom of my heart.

“Thank you, Elijah. For everything.”

He stared down at me for a long, quiet moment, his expression softening completely as he looked back at me.

A gentle smile cracked on his lips.

“Don’t mention it.”

He stayed for one more beat, his fingers lightly brushing against the back of my hand, before he turned and stepped out into the hallway, leaving me alone in the quiet

warmth of his room.

ΑΛΛΑ

Later that night, when the rest of the condo had finally gone quiet, I found myself staring at the dark ceiling.

The shower had washed away the stress of the day, but my mind was still spinning too fast to sleep.

Elijah was fast asleep right beside me, his steady breathing filling the space between

1. us.

I didn’t want to wake him, so I carefully slipped out from under the heavy duvet and made my way out of the bedroom, my bare feet making no sound on the hardwood stairs.

215

A Place Here

i expected the downstairs to be dark, but the faint glow of the television illuminated the living room.

Adele and Miles were sprawled on the couch, watching a movie with the volume

turned low.

Leo, Jace and Nate had already left, or were probably crashing in one of the spare bedrooms.

When my shadow hit the wall, they both looked up, looking completely surprised to see me awake.

Miles let out a low chuckle, shifting over to make room on the cushions.

“Look who we have here. Don’t tell me Carter’s snoring chased you out of the room?

I laughed, walking over and wrapping my arms around myself.

“Actually, he doesn’t snore at all. He’s surprisingly a quiet sleeper.”

“Ooh, look at you, immediately jumping to defend your man,” Adele teased, a massive grin splitting her face as she lifted a massive, wooly blanket.

“Well, at least you won’t have to worry about buying earplugs when you guys grow old together.”

The comment made a warm blush creep up my neck, but I didn’t try to correct her.

“Come sit down,” Adele insisted, patting the empty spot between them.

I slid onto the couch, and before I could even settle in, Miles handed me a bowl of popcorn and Adele passed me a cold soda, pulling half of the thick, wooly blanket over my lap.

It felt incredibly nice, like I had been part of their routine for years.

Adele pointed her chin toward the screen where the opening credits were rolling.

“You like Marvel, right?”

I smiled a little sheepishly, shaking my head.

“Honestly? Not really. I’ve never actually watched any of them.”

Miles gasped, his jaw literally dropping as he turned his whole body to face me.

“Wait, seriously? You’re kidding me.”

I blinked, completely caught off guard by his level of shock.

“Is it really that bad? I just never got around to them.”

“I mean, you’re an engineer,” Miles said, waving his hand around dramatically. “I don’t

mean to sound dense or anything, but I definitely fell for the stereotype. I just assumed you’d be all over the tech, the sci–fi elements, the gadgets… I thought it was

mandatory for your major.”

3/5

A Face Here

“I do love dystopian movies,” I countered with a laugh, grabbing a handful of popcor And actual sci–fi. But comic book movies just weren’t really on my radar.”

“Alright, script flipped. We are starting from the very beginning,” Adele declared, hitting pause on the remote.

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