Page 14 of Fake Dates and Home Plates (Way Off Base #1)

Chapter Fourteen

Theo

I can’t say I’m not a little thrilled Henley chose the diner for her team lunch today.

When she hopped in the Jeep and told me where we were meeting everyone, I couldn’t help but tease her. I think she wants to share it with other people, despite the awful circumstances that led her there.

I’m sitting at the end of the table, Henley on one side of me and her parents on the other. Henley’s teammates are spread around, either with their parents, significant others, or friends.

The team is buzzing with post-race adrenaline as they talk animatedly. There’s a girl at the other end of the table who looks like she’s going to be sick any minute. Henley’s parents are talking to all her teammates and telling them how great they ran today.

Tracey’s been taking care of everyone’s food and drink orders, happy to have some new faces in the place, I’m sure.

My phone’s blowing up with tagged photos. Apparently, Henley’s mom, who insisted I call her Kate, snapped a photo of our kiss and shared it with Lily—who immediately posted it on social media, along with pictures she insisted I pose for with my shirt.

Yes, the glorious shirt with Henley’s face on it.

I don’t even care that I look mildly insane in half of them. She’s laughing as she shows me her phone screen, scrolling through the photos, and that’s the only win I need.

But then, she starts to get notifications, one after the other. I can see the preview of them before she’s able to swipe them away.

@dakman: weird how some people move on so fast

@shorestud: hope your new man likes leftovers

Reading those comments makes my chest tighten.

I know what this is.

Dakota and his little group of assholes have clearly seen the photos, and something tells me this isn’t the first time he’s been in her comment section since the breakup. I remember her blocking his calls on our bookstore date and the time she mentioned he was on a rampage.

Pulling out my own phone, I read what else is being said, and I grip my phone tighter as more trolling comments trickle in. It’s bullshit, all of it.

Henley’s phone buzzes next to her, and I watch her brows pull together. “Theo,” she says quietly, angling the screen so I can see it.

And yeah, it’s worse now.

They’re not just trolling. They’re leaving comments insinuating she was the one who was cheating with me all along, trying to paint Dakota as the victim.

I shake my head. “No one with a brain would believe that.”

She swallows hard, eyes scanning the screen. “He’s been doing this for weeks—using fake numbers, leaving the occasional comment under fake accounts—but this is next level.”

I glance across the table. Her dad’s still chatting, oblivious. Her mom is asking Lily about a recipe she saw on the internet. Henley’s sitting beside me, trying not to look affected by the actual harassment she’s been enduring.

“I should say something to him,” I tell her under my breath.

“No,” she says, shaking her head. “That’s what he wants. A reaction. I’m not giving him that.”

I nod, jaw clenched. “Then I’ll stay quiet. For now.”

But my blood is boiling. I’m not used to standing still while someone tries to fuck with someone I care about.

We both do our best to blend into the conversations around us, but I can feel Henley’s leg bouncing nervously next to mine.

Reaching out, I apply gentle pressure to her knee to help settle her. I do my best to push away any residual frustration with the situation.

I laugh when her dad tells a story about the time Henley got gum stuck in her hair on race day in eighth grade and ran with a chunk missing from the side of her head.

And through all of it, Henley leans into me.

When the check comes, her dad waves off everyone as they try to reach for their wallets. “You crossed the line first today, Harkin. And you,” he says, pointing a finger at me, “not only wore the most ridiculous shirt, but you got me one too, so all of this is on me.”

Henley laughs, for real this time, her smile stretching wide and easy, and it makes the pressure in my chest finally loosen.

We walk out of the restaurant into the warm afternoon air. Everyone slowly starts to split off in waves.

“Not so fast, you two. Lily is going to grab a photo with Henley and her fan club,” Kate says.

The four of us pose for the picture and then tell Lily goodbye as well. Henley hugs her dad, and then her mom squeezes her tightly.

“Thank you for lunch, Mr. Harkin,” I say to Henley’s dad with a handshake.

His grip is firm, but he smiles genuinely. “Kris is fine. Thanks for making my girl happy.”

Fuck. I hope she’ll let me.

Kate hugs Henley tightly. “Ignore the noise, sweetheart. Anyone trying to tear you down from behind a screen isn’t worth your oxygen.”

“I know,” Henley says, her voice quiet.

Her dad ruffles her hair like she’s still ten. “We’re proud of you, always. We’ll see you soon, yeah? Maybe bring Theo over to the house for dinner?”

I grin at the invite.

“Yeah,” she says. “Love you.”

I give them both a wave, and then it’s just me and Henley. I walk her to my Jeep, opening the door for her and then shutting it. When I’m sitting behind the wheel, I look over to find her with her head in her hands. Giving her the time she needs, I start the car but don’t move.

She exhales hard, like she’s been holding her breath for hours.

“You okay?” I ask.

“No,” she admits. “But I will be.”

I reach up and tuck a loose strand of hair behind her ear. “We’ll handle it. He’s got to give up eventually. But I did want to talk to you about something.”

She gives me her full attention, and I hate that I’m about to add something negative to a day that should be all about her.

“I reached out to the guy who runs Hudson’s Most Wanted . We’ve met a couple of times, and he’s pretty cool. I told him what I’d heard about Dakota’s fraternity game, and he mentioned he’s heard similar rumors.”

Henley listens patiently, seeing where I’m going with this.

“He said he’d try and see what else he could find out. I didn’t mention you at all, so as far as he knows, it’s just me involved.” I want to protect her as much as I can. While she’s at Shoreline, she’s way too close to those dickheads, and I don’t know what they will try to pull.

“Oh,” she says. “I haven’t forgotten about that, but I guess with everything else, I put it on the back burner.”

“Were you still interested in trying to get more information about it?” I ask, content to follow her lead. I’m happy to support her however I can, but it’s also not her responsibility to try and take an entire fraternity down on her own.

She nods. “Yeah, for sure. I thought about reaching out to one of the guys I know in the fraternity, but I was worried about giving us away.”

“Probably a good call,” I tell her as I shift the car into drive so I can get her home.

“I’d ask if you want to come up and hang out, but I think I’m about to sleep until Monday morning. I’m exhausted,” she says with a yawn as we pull up outside her apartment.

I figured she would be and didn’t expect an invitation, but before she can get out of the Jeep, I grab her arm, my fingers circling it gently. “Go out with me.”

Henley’s eyebrows lift in confusion.

“Not right now,” I say. “This week. You, me, a real date.”

It’s a long shot, and I know it. There’s no way she’s not at least a little curious at how good it could be with us, not after the moments we’ve had.

I swear, the seconds feel like hours as she thinks it over.

Finally, “Alright, Baseball Boy. A real date.”

It takes everything in me to not happy dance in my car or shout something about being on top of the world outside the window.

“I feel like a big girl now,” she says, reaching over to kiss my cheek.

That makes me laugh.

“See you soon!” she shouts as she hops out and shuts the door behind her.

A real date.

Fucking finally.