Page 33 of Fake Dates and Home Plates (Way Off Base #1)

Chapter Thirty-One

Henley

“I think I broke his nose,” I tell Theo with a smug smile on my face.

He chuckles. “Yeah, you kind of stole my move.”

I shrug. “Someday, you’ll learn I always win.”

Theo pulls me closer to him as I hold the ice pack against his eye.

Once all the fights were broken up and the footage was reviewed, the game was called, with Shoreline forced to forfeit.

The athletic trainers looked over all the players, and the Knights didn’t seem to have any serious injuries.

Someone called the dean and law enforcement, but so far, no one has come to talk to anyone.

Theo and I are in the Knights' dugout with the rest of his team, Sunny, Lily, and Finn. Bash keeps pretending he isn’t staring at Lily, though I swear I’ve caught him a dozen times in the last ten minutes as his sister talks about how awesome it was to see the whole field break out in a fight.

“Both the dugouts cleared, and it was chaos!” Sunny is way too excited by the violence, re-enacting some of the punches animatedly.

Lukas hides a smile behind his water bottle, though the way he’s icing his knuckles says plenty about how much fun he had. He seems to have enjoyed the violence a little too much too.

“Thanks for helping us,” I say with a nod in Finn’s direction. I stick my hand out, wanting to introduce myself properly, but Theo pulls me back by my hips.

“Sorry, my face hurts. I need you to kiss it and make it better,” he says with a smirk.

I roll my eyes but press a soft kiss to the edge of the bruise anyway, earning a satisfied hum.

Finn waves me off. “It was fun. Taking down predatory assholes is my favorite extracurricular activity.”

As I’m wondering what consequences we’re going to be facing, a lethal-looking woman in a stunning pantsuit enters the dugout. “You’re all good to go.”

There’s a small redheaded girl behind her, along with a much taller guy whose eyes match the woman’s.

Finn immediately runs over to the girl, picking her up in a hug. She laughs until the guy who came in with her tugs her out of Finn’s arms.

Then, she cackles.

After sticking his tongue out, Finn smiles at us. “I called in some reinforcements, just in case.”

“Sorry I wasn’t here sooner,” she says with a kind smile. “I had Mira and Crew at the office with me today. Then, an annoying client came in. Mira saved me from another two hours of hell when she showed me the text from Finn.”

She looks over at the redhead with absolute adoration, and Mira returns the look with a smile.

“I’m Caroline Calloway, by the way. If anyone gives you any trouble, please don't hesitate to contact my office. I’ll handle it.” Handing me a business card, she turns and exits, the rest of them following behind her.

As she leaves, I examine the business card she left behind. The material is thick, with her name in embossed in foil. Her name, email, and number are listed on it, along with the name of her office.

She’s a lawyer, one good enough to earn her own firm.

“Well, I guess we can head home,” Theo says as he stands. “Do you want to wait for me outside the locker room and ride home with me?”

I nod, following him down to the tunnel. He doesn’t take long, changing quickly and skipping the shower. When he emerges from the locker room, I hold out my hand.

“Keys,” I demand.

Theo looks confused, so I explain.

“You got hit in the side of the head. I know the trainer said you were okay, but I’ll drive us home.”

He has a goofy grin on his face as he hands me his keys. “I like it when you call my place home. You should just move in.”

I roll my eyes. “I’m already there all the time. You can’t just tell me to move in with you.”

I don’t hate the idea, but I also don’t want to leave Lily alone in our apartment. This is a conversation for another day, though.

“Hop in, buddy. I promise I’ll be gentle on your Jeep,” I tell him.

He opens the driver’s side door for me and then walks around to the passenger seat. “For the record, I don’t actually care what happens with the car, just as long as you’re okay.”

Smiling, I start the vehicle and drive us back to his place.

The silence on the drive home is welcome, given how loud and eventful the day has been. However, it does give me time to reflect on everything.

I don’t know what will happen to the Delta Alpha guys; only time will tell. The worst part of my day was watching Theo take the hit from Dakota. When he fell to the ground, it felt like someone had punched me in the gut.

My heart squeezes in my chest as my fingers grip the steering wheel tight.

Parking in his driveway, I unbuckle and follow him into the house.

“Want to take a shower with me?” he asks, walking straight to the bathroom in his room.

I nod, following him and stripping down. Grabbing the shower cap he got for me, I slip it over my hair. As much as I love it when he washes it for me, I do not want to deal with wet bed hair tomorrow.

Under the warm spray of the shower, he pulls me in close. “What’s wrong?”

Looking up at his face, I narrow my eyes at the bruise already forming on his skin. The very idea of anything happening to Theo Barlowe makes me want to rip the world apart.

He nods. “I’m fine. It looks worse than it feels.”

Theo might be trying to reassure me, but I know he’d feel the same way if the roles were reversed. But instead of focusing on it any longer, I try to show him how much I care about him by taking the time to wash all the dirt and sweat from his skin.

When I’m done tracing over every inch of him, his hands slip to my cheeks. Careful to avoid moving my shower cap, he tilts my face up to his. “I like that you’re so worried about me.”

“Of course I worry about you, Theo,” I tell him softly. “Watching you get hurt makes me feel like I’m taking the hit myself.”

He kisses me softly. “I know. I think that’s what happens when you love someone, though. Your pain is their pain.”

The words feel true.

His lips pull up in a smile. “Where’d you learn to kick someone’s ass like that anyway?”

I wink. “You scared?”

A deep laugh rumbles in his chest. “As if I have any intention of doing anything that could piss you off.”

“Mom put me in self-defense classes. She didn’t like that I preferred running alone outside and wanted me to know how to protect myself.”

Noticing I’m still a bit shaken, he pulls my head against his chest, and I find comfort in matching my breaths to the steady beat of his heart. For a few moments, we stand there under the warm water, wrapped up in each other, and I do my best to settle the anxiety still swarming my chest.

Theo doesn’t make me feel silly for worrying about him. Instead, he does his best to make me feel better.

When I look up at him again, our eyes connect, his hazel ones burning into mine.

“I love you, Theo,” I tell him as I rise onto my toes to kiss him again.

“I love you so fucking much, sweetheart,” he tells me between kisses. “You’re everything.”

He’s everything to me too.