Do Not Fall For The Baseball Captains novel Chapter 77

Victoria’s POV

Amelia’s eyes went wide, all the color completely draining from her face as she instinctively threw her hands up in front of her chest.

“Amelia, if you don’t take your heavily contoured face out of our breathing space in the next three seconds, we’re going to find out how real those hair extensions actually are Allison spat, her voice dangerously low.

She tilted her head, her gaze dropping to Amelia’s waistline with a wicked, predatory grin.

“Besides, you shouldn’t be talking about what’s bought and paid for when half your personality is resting on a pair of synthetic butt implants that look like they’re trying to escape your jeans. Back up before I pop one.”

Amelia let out a harsh, sharp breath, her face twisting into a mask of pure fury as she glared down at me.

“I seriously wonder what the hell you fed to these jocks and their friends to make them all crawl all over you,” she hissed, her voice rising enough to catch the attention of a few nearby people. “You’re like a disease, Victoria. A literal witch.”

Her screeching voice was loud enough that a number of people around the living room actually paused and turned to look.

But the second they realized it was just Amelia throwing another one of her typical tantrums, nobody paid her any real attention.

Within seconds, everyone casually turned back to their drinks and got right back to whatever they were doing.

Adele leaned back on her elbows, looking up at Amelia with a completely bored, deadpan expression.

“If she’s a witch, Amelia, you should probably run along before she turns whatever is left of your natural face into a toad. Move it.”

Amelia huffed, her heels clicking loudly against the hardwood floor as she spun around and stormed off into the crowd, her trail of minions scurrying quickly behind her.

I sank back into my spot on the carpet, my heart still pounding from the sudden escalation.

I looked at the girls, completely overwhelmed by how quickly they had just thrown themselves into the fire for me.

A warm, genuine sense of belonging settled deep behind my ribs.

1/4

Dance With Me Eliyat

“Thank you guys, I breathed, looking between them. “You didn’t have to do that.”

Adele just waved it off dismissively, a soft smile breaking through her usual dry exterior.

“Don’t worry about it, Tori. Carter always has our backs when things get messy, so consider this our turn to repay the favor. We look out for our own.”

I nodded, then, I turned my head to look at Allison, who was casually rolling her sleeves back down as if she hadn’t just been a second away from launching herself across a table.

“Were you… were you really going to beat her up?”

Allison laughed uninhibitedly loud, shaking her head before a blank smile settled on her lips.

“Oh, absolutely. I used to be a pretty rough person in the past, Victoria. Girls like Amelia just know exactly how to get under my skin.”

Her smile faded slightly, a fleeting shadow crossing her eyes.

“A pack of mean girls exactly like Amelia made my life an absolute hell in middle school. I had to toughen up the hard way. One of my closest friends actually… we lost her to bullying. Suicide.”

I looked at Allison, my heart aching for what she had gone through, and I instinctively started to lean into the heavy emotion, wanting to offer her some comfort.

But before I could even find the right words, Allison caught the expression on my face and casually waved her hand through the air, breaking the somber mood before it could take over.

“Hey, none of that. Don’t look at me like that, Tori,” she said, her voice bouncing right back to its usual lively, unbothered tone. “It’s entirely in the past. We’re here to have a good time tonight, not sit around and sulk. Now, let’s get the party started.”

She nudged Adele’s elbow. “Pass the drink.”

The entire circle cheered, instantly shifting the energy as cups were raised and everyone started drinking.

I stayed silent, just sitting back on the carpet and watching them.

Unfortunately, my quietness didn’t last long. Allison’s eyes locked onto me, a knowing smirk on her face as she pointed a finger in my direction.

“Oh, no, you don’t,” she announced to the group, reaching over to grab a fresh red cup from the table. “Someone pass this girl a drink right now.”

Adele handed over a red plastic cup, and the two of them instantly started teasing and hyping me up, their faces glowing with sheer mischief.

2/4

Dance With Me Elijah

“I really shouldn’t,” I mumbled, trying to reject it as I looked at the dark liquid.

Instinctively, my eyes drifted across the crowded room, seeking out Elijah. He was still standing by the glass doors, but his attention was entirely detached from the conversation around him.

He was staring straight at me.

Seeing the girls crowding around me, his eyebrows knit together, and he subtly mouthed through the crowd: ‘Should I come over?‘

I looked back at Allison and Adele’s eager, teasing faces, then locked eyes with him again. I shook my head slightly, mouthing back: ‘I can handle it.‘

Elijah watched me for a beat, a knowing smile tugging at his lips before he gave a single, approving nod.

“See? Even your man thinks you need a drink,” Allison cheered, completely misinterpreting the look we just shared. “You don’t have to get completely wasted, Victoria. Just take a few sips and get out of your shell, exactly like your dad said!”

I laughed, the lighthearted pressure convincing me. I tilted the cup back and took a few long swallows.

The punch was sweet, masking the heavy amount of alcohol mixed into it, and within twenty minutes, the drink hit me fully.

A warm, fuzzy weightlessness took over my limbs, making the music sound entirely better and the room feel incredibly warm.

Adele leaned over, her fingers gently nudging my shoulder as she whispered into my

ear.

“Hey. Look at the way your boy is watching you.”

I blinked my heavy eyelids, shifting my gaze across the crowded room. Elijah was still watching me.

In my drunken state, his image completely wrecked whatever guard I had left.

The alcohol blurred the rest of the room into a soft haze, but it left him in sharp focus, making him look dangerously alluring.

I found myself tracking the heavy, broad lines of his frame through the dark fabric of his shirt: the thick slope of his shoulders, the hard outline of his chest, and the sheer, raw power in the way he stood.

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