Do Not Fall For The Baseball Captains novel Chapter 9

Victoria’s POV

5 banus

The entire ride back was quiet. I kept staring at my phone, picking it up several times to text Caleb, only to delete the words before I could send them.

How had things gotten so complicated between us?

In fifteen years, even at my most pathetic, even when I was silently watching him fall for other girls and smiling through it, I had never found it difficult to reach out.

Checking on him had never cost me anything. It had just been what did. But right now, every version of that text felt wrong in a different way, and I couldn’t figure out why.

I was so lost in my thoughts that I didn’t realize we had already reached my apartment complex until the car stopped.

didn’t wait for a taunt or a parting remark from Elijah. I scrambled out of the car, my feet hitting the pavement, and didn’t ook back.

He waited at the curb for a moment before driving away, leaving me standing there in the cool night air.

looked up at my window. The lights were out. Eva was probably still at a party.

checked the time. It was only 8:34 PM.

thought about going upstairs and putting the night to bed, talking to Caleb tomorrow when I’d had sleep and distance and something resembling a plan.

And then I thought about his face again and knew I wouldn’t sleep anyway.

reached into my back pocket, pulling out the folded paper Elijah had given me.

stared at it for a moment.

Whatever it was, it could wait….even if curiosity was eating at me. Right now, there was something more important.

Before I could talk myself out of it, I slipped the paper back into my pocket and started the short walk toward his building. n five minutes, I was standing in front of the housing complex. Music spilled out of open windows, and I could hear the nuffled sounds of laughter and shouting.

This complex was mostly full of athletes, so all nights of the week were always like this–full of energy and parties. I hoped Caleb wasn’t in the middle of one.

took the elevator to his floor, my heart doing a nervous dance in my chest. I’d been to his room a thousand times, but onight, every step felt heavy, different.

stopped in front of his door, took another steadying breath, and knocked.

waited. One minute. Two. I was about to turn around, thinking he wasn’t home, when I heard the lock click.

The door swung open, but it wasn’t Caleb who greeted me.

t was Lexi.

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She was leaning against the doorframe, wearing nothing but a piece of black lace lingerie that left almost nothing to the magination.

Her hair was a wild, tangled mess, and her makeup was smeared around her eyes.

She looked at me with a lazy, hooded expression, a satisfied smirk spreading across her lips.

Red marks covered parts of her neck and shoulders–clear signs of what she and Caleb had just been doing.

My stomach dropped out from under me so fast I had to concentrate on keeping my expression neutral.

‘Oh,” Lexi drawled, her voice thick and satisfied. “It’s the best friend.”

‘I… I’m sorry,” I stammered, backing away, my face burning with a heat that had nothing to do with the hallway’s

temperature.

‘I didn’t mean to interrupt. I’ll come back tomorrow.”

“Who is it, baby?”

The question died in the air. I turned back just e Successfully unlocked! the hallway behind her.

His shirt was untucked. His hair was the same mess as hers. He looked at Lexi, then past her, and when his eyes landed on me the sentence he’d been forming evaporated.

Best Friend Worst Timing

“Victoria.”

Hey I made myself smile. “I’m so sorry. I should’ve texted first. I’ll…I’ll catch you tomorrow, okay?”

Tturned to leave, already bracing myself for the long walk back and whatever quiet breakdown waited for me at the end of it,

but his voice caught me before t could take two steps.

“Victoria, wait.”

I shouldn’t have stopped. I should have kept my head down and walked until I reached the safety of the street, but the way he said my name–that old, familiar pull–made me turn.

Lexi’s gaze snapped to him, edged with jealousy and anger she didn’t bother to hide.

“What are you doing?” she snapped.

Caleb looked at her, his expression softening in that familiar way that made his green eyes warm and his whole face gentle

He reached out and cupped her face with both hands, thumbs brushing her cheeks.

“She’s my best friend, baby. Relax. I won’t be out here for long.”

Lexi’s pout grew deeper, her lips pushing out dramatically.

After a moment she finally shifted her gaze to me. The look she gave me was full of disdain, like I was something stuck to

the bottom of her shoe.

“You really should learn not to show up unannounced at your best friend’s place–especially when he’s not single anymore, Victoria,” she said, her voice dripping with artificial sweetness.

“I mean, you’re with Elijah Carter now, right? Doesn’t seem like you’re exactly hurting for company. You should spend your nights with him and leave Caleb to me.”

I didn’t answer. I couldn’t.

My eyes stayed glued to Caleb, searching for a flinch, a flash of jealousy, or even a hint of discomfort at the mention of Elijah’s name.

There was nothing. His face stayed blank.

“Baby,” Caleb groaned softly, his thumb still brushing her cheek.

She finally looked away from me and back at him, her annoyed expression melting into a smile.

“I’ll be waiting,” she whispered, loud enough for me to hear every syllable. “We have to finish what we started.”

She rose on her tiptoes, pressing a lingering kiss to his cheek while watching me out of the corner of her eye.

Caleb leaned down and whispered something in her ear. Whatever it was, it made her giggle, a light, satisfied sound that twisted something deep inside my stomach.

She shot me one last smug look before turning and walking back into the apartment, closing the door behind her with a

soft click.

Now it was just Caleb and me in the hallway.

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Girlfriend Privileges

Girlfriend Privileges

Victoria’s POV

“So…” He dragged the word out, slipping his hands into his pockets. “Tori, my dear best friend.”

His tone was playful on the surface, but I could hear a stiffness underneath it.

“You’re really not going to invite me inside?” I asked.

He chuckled, but it didn’t reach his eyes. He ran a hand through his rnessy hair, looking down at his feet.

‘I’m sorry, Tori. Lexi is… well, she’s a bit territorial, as you can see.”

Over the years, Caleb had dated more girls than I could count. Some I liked, some I didn’t, some barely lasted long enough for me to remember their names.

But never–not once–had I been made to feel like I didn’t belong in his life.

I swallowed hard, pushing the fresh hurt down as far as it would go. Every time I buried a piece of this hurt, it felt like I was piling stones on my own heart.

I drew in a long breath, forcing my lips into a smile that felt brittle.

‘Do you still care about me, Caleb?”

I heard how it came out. Pathetic. A little too desperate. But it was already in the air, and I wasn’t taking it back.

He raised a brow, his expression going blank with feigned confusion.

‘Of course I do. You’re my best friend, Tori. I’ll always care about you. Why would you even ask that?”

‘Because you didn’t call me once this week,” I said, the words finally tumbling out. “No text. No check–in. Not even after you saw me with Elijah earlier this evening. You just… watched me walk away. That doesn’t feel like a best friend who cares.”

He stared at me for a long beat, his green eyes unreadable.

‘Tori, you know the phone works both ways… right?”

scoffed, shaking my head in disbelief.

‘Seriously? I’m always the one reaching out. Always. And the one time I don’t, this is what you say?”

He didn’t respond immediately. He looked past me, his gaze fixed on some point down the hall.

Finally, he let out a heavy sigh.

‘Maybe I should be the one asking if you care,” he said, his voice losing its playful edge.

You’re literally dating Elijah Carter. My biggest rival. The one person you know I can’t stand. What kind of best friend does hat? If you ask me, it feels a lot like betrayal.”

His words sank deep into my chest. For a moment, I couldn’t find my voice.

‘But you won’t call it betrayal when you hid the fact that you had a new girlfriend from me?” I finally replied, raising an eyebrow to hold onto whatever calm I had left.

‘And weren’t you the one constantly asking to meet my boyfriend?”

‘It’s a different situation, Tori. I had my reasons for not telling you about Lexi.”

I rolled my eyes. “Yeah, right.”

୮

‘And you are correct, I wanted to meet your boyfriend. What I didn’t expect was for it to be Elijah Carter. And seeing the two of you kissing by the pool? That was…” He trailed off, shaking his head.

I stayed quiet, letting him continue.

“Victoria, I’m happy you’re trying to find a life outside of me,” he said, his voice softer now.

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