Page 25 of Fake Dates and Home Plates (Way Off Base #1)

Chapter Twenty-Four

Henley

Waking up alone in bed after having Earth-shattering sex with Theo for the first time was not what I had in mind.

I groan, stretching out on the bed, my body feeling thoroughly exhausted from all of yesterday’s activities. My hand reaches out, feeling that the sheets are still warm. Theo hasn’t been gone long.

A smile spreads across my face as I think about last night in particular. Hands down, it was the best sexual experience I’ve ever had. Most of my previous encounters didn’t even use half the effort Theo did to make it good for me.

Sure, I could easily take matters into my own hands if they weren’t getting me off. I had plenty of times. But everything before felt rushed and…uncomplicated.

With Theo, everything feels intentional.

Every kiss was filled with emotion, every touch with passion.

I could feel him memorizing all the sounds I made, looking for encouragement even when I wasn’t voicing it.

And because I have feelings for him I’ve barely started admitting to myself, it’s definitely complicated.

Yet, I don’t want to run from it.

I hear the door open, and I lazily move to prop up against the pillows.

Theo enters the room, and I look him over.

Still shirtless, he has on a pair of gray joggers that make him look delicious.

His hair is wild, sticking out in different directions.

He’s carrying what I can assume are two of his signature lattes, just like he made me that very first morning I woke up here.

While it wasn’t all that long ago, it sort of feels like it was. Things are so different, but no matter how they started, it’s all real now.

“Hey, sweetheart. Good morning,” he says as he sets the drinks on his nightstand. As he does, I get a view of the red marks on his back and shoulder.

I know the other side matches the one I can see, and it fills me with absolute joy to have evidence of last night right there on his skin. It makes me wonder how else I can mark him so everyone knows he belongs to me.

Leaning down to hover over me, he kisses me slowly. Despite wanting to protest, I know from experience he couldn’t care less about my morning breath, so I reach up to meet him halfway.

Our kiss is short and sweet. As much as I want to drag him down to me and demand a repeat of last night, I also really want coffee.

He reaches an arm out, reading my mind, and hands me my mug before grabbing his own.

“Sweetheart in the mornings, huh?” I ask after my first sip, “Are ‘baby girl’ and ‘cum slut' reserved for when you’re about to rail me into oblivion?”

Theo makes a garbling noise, choking down the coffee he just drank. A blush takes over his cheeks and his ears turn red before his mouth turns up into a sheepish grin.

I match it with a smirk of my own, knowing I was the one who suggested the derogatory term first. “Don’t worry, I said it first. I thoroughly enjoyed when you called me it too.”

“Good,” he tells me as he grabs both of our mugs and returns them to the nightstand before he captures my wrists, wrapping my hands in his own.

If I’m going to start spending the night here regularly, he’s going to have to learn coming between me and my coffee first thing in the morning isn’t always a wise move.

Theo’s hazel eyes look a little greener than brown in morning light, tracing over me before focusing on my neck. His shirt has slipped down my shoulder a bit, exposing the bite mark he left there.

“How are you feeling this morning?” The concern on his face has me melting into the bed.

Smiling in reassurance, I answer, “A little sore all over, but that’s to be expected.”

He nods, reaching out to tuck a wayward, wavy strand of hair behind my ears. “Last night was incredible, Henley.”

Now it’s my turn to blush, and I can feel the heat traveling all over my skin. I’m glad he thought so. I know Theo doesn’t mean it in a I just got laid kind of way, but I want him to know I feel the same.

“It’s never been like that with anyone, Theo. The way you made me feel, how you didn’t hesitate to give me what I asked for, what I needed...it was more than incredible. Mind-blowing feels appropriate.”

He smiles, his lips reaching as high as they can on his face. “Not too bad for a virgin, then?”

I laugh when he winks. “It’ll do,” I tell him with a shrug.

“What are your plans for the day?” he asks as he settles in beside me in bed, wrapping an arm around my shoulders.

I reach over his lap to grab our coffees, enjoying the way we’re starting our day. “Nothing much. Dinner with my parents, who have requested your attendance as well,” I say between sips.

Snuggling into his side, I slide my legs over his lap, wanting to touch him as much as possible.

“I’d make a joke about how fast things seem to be moving, but I did purposefully seek them out to introduce myself,” he says with a chuckle. “I’m up for dinner, though. Do you want to hang out here for a little while and I can take you home to get ready?”

“Sounds good to me.”

We spend our morning lounging around. He reads his latest book while I watch reality television.

We order tacos for lunch, getting them delivered to his house to eat on the couch.

His bathroom has a giant tub, and he insists I use it to relax.

I insist he joins me. He washes my hair again, and I want to demand he take over the task indefinitely.

It all feels so routine, and I find myself wanting to do this every weekend.

When he drives us back to my apartment, we walk in to see a worn-down vanity in the middle of the living room.

Lily is sitting on the couch with her sketchpad as she stares at it intently, as if she can bend it to her will with her glare.

She turns around as we walk in, waving hello. “Don’t mind me. I saw this on the curb and knew it could be special. I’m still figuring out how I’m going to make that happen, though.”

I explain to Theo, “Lily repurposes furniture. Sometimes, it gets added to our apartment, and sometimes she sells it online. She’s an interior design major.”

While Lily might still run for fun in the future, and we’ve talked about potential marathons we could do together while I keep training, she’s planning to launch her own small business after graduation.

I’m proud of Theo for not bringing up the Bash thing, even though we’re all very aware of the awkward moment at the meet yesterday. He must have had his own conversation with his friend afterwards. If it was anything like the one I had with Lily, very little information was shared.

Lily may have mentioned the asshole she met freshman year before, but I have a feeling she left out some details to hide how much it really hurt. Instead, she made it a funny anecdote for a drinking game or a night out.

She’ll tell me when she’s ready. Or maybe she’ll never speak of it again.

Throwing her sketch pad on top of the vanity, she groans. “I have a meeting with my group for our final project in an hour. I’ll probably be gone for a while. Are you going to your parents’ house tonight?”

I nod. “Yeah. Theo’s coming with me. Do you want to join us?”

She shakes her head. “Not that I mind letting Theo be our third wheel, but I’m drowning in school assignments for my other classes, and of course, I get the classmates who want one person to do all the work for this one.”

“Alright, text me if you change your mind. You know they’d love to see you.”

Lily nods then heads into her room. Grabbing Theo’s hand, I lead him into mine.

His eyes immediately focus on the contraband he dropped off a few weeks ago. The bat is in the corner of my room, leaning against the wall. I’ve taken some of Lily’s supplies and painted it black, though it looks uneven on the aluminum. I’ve put pink tape around the grip area too.

Even if someone tried searching for it, it’ll never look the same. Sure, they could strip the paint, but it would be a lot of trouble for someone to go through to prove it’s stolen equipment.

“You okay?” I ask, seeing the odd way he’s looking over at that spot.

His mouth curls up. “It was funny when I took it, but now I kind of hate that something of his is sharing space with you.”

Oh.

I think about how I’d feel if Theo kept something from another girl in his room.

The thought has me biting my lip in confusion.

“To be fair, it’s my bat now. I was thinking of dipping it in some glitter and making it shiny.

Then, I can use it if anyone ever tries to break in,” I tell him with a laugh, hoping to lighten the mood.

Theo’s head tilts back on a groan. “I hate the idea of you needing to use it for that reason even more.”

I get what he means about that too. The idea of someone putting him in harm’s way makes my gut stir in an ugly way. Shrugging, I tell him, “We can throw it away if you want.”

Walking over to the bed, I sit on the edge. He looks over at me, mischief stirring in his eyes.

“What’s that look for?” I ask as he grabs the bat and leans it against the bed.

He stands in front of me, caging me in with his arms and forcing me to lean back against the bed. His hazel irises are barely visible around his pupils. “It might be yours now, but I think we should make it ours.”

I have no idea what he’s planning. That look on his face could make me do anything, though, so when he tells me, “On your knees, baby girl,” I’m dropping from the bed and in front of him as quickly as possible.

Theo pulls his jeans and boxers down, standing before me. “Lick.”

His voice is demanding, and I want nothing more than to please him. Taking his length in one hand, I run my tongue over him. He’s huge, both long and thick.

And mine. All fucking mine.

“Good. Now, I want you to suck my cock while you rub your pussy all over the bat,” he says as he moves the bat under his length.

The metal is cool, even with the paint on it. I hope like hell whatever paint I used is non-toxic and doesn’t irritate me, because I’m rubbing up against it like my life depends on it.