Page 6 of Fake Dates and Home Plates (Way Off Base #1)

Chapter Six

Theo

It takes about half an hour to drive Henley to her place. Normally, I’d be listening to an audiobook or rolling the windows down to enjoy the breeze, but it’s impossible to think with my brain short-circuiting because of the beautiful girl riding shotgun.

The girl I’ve had a crush on since freshman year of high school is in my car, wearing my clothes she borrowed as well as a pair of slides that definitely don’t fit her, looking out the window with her brows furrowed in thought.

Besides asking for her address for my GPS, the ride has been quiet.

“Do you want to listen to some music?” I ask as I hand over my phone.

She looks at me with her mouth pulled down in a frown.

I laugh. “It’s just a phone, Henley. I don’t think it’s going to shift into a monster.”

The joke flies over her head. I suppose reading romance books about sentient objects isn’t for everyone.

“You handing over your phone without a second thought made me think of how closely guarded Dakota kept his. I thought maybe it was the buzz about him going to the professional league, but it was probably the stupid game.”

Telling her about the rumored fraternity game wasn’t meant to hurt her any more than she already had been. I might not be upfront with my crush on her, but I’m going to be honest with her about everything else.

I pick up my phone long enough to open it with my face ID and toss it over to her. “Just open the streaming app and turn on whatever you want.”

She smiles, her mouth turning upward to reach her ocean blue eyes, and I swear, my entire body lights up because of it.

“You have no idea what you’re saying, Baseball Boy.”

“I’m up for whatever you got, Getaway Girl.”

She lets out a humored scoff as she types and scrolls. “Getaway Girl?”

“Yeah, ‘cause you try to run away from everyone else, right?”

She just hums in return.

It’s a clever nickname, and we both know it.

The sounds of a song I’ve never heard begin to filter through, and she sings along quietly.

“What is this?” I ask.

“My mom was really into pop punk in college, and she never grew out of the phase. I guess I inherited the emo-girl thing. It’s my running playlist.” She shrugs without shame.

The song fades into another as we approach her apartment near her campus. My Jeep is pretty recognizable on both campuses, which means talk about me dropping her off will be going around soon.

As I come to a stop on the curb outside her building, I feel a little pinch in my chest. I don’t care that I got to hold her all night; I’m worried about her being alone.

“Do you have roommates?” I ask as I put the car in park.

She nods. “Yeah, I live with one of my teammates. She’s probably waiting with a bucket of ice cream on the couch.”

Good.

She unbuckles her seatbelt, and I do the same, hopping out of the car and running around to open her door. Henley’s already climbing out before I can get there, though.

“Next time, it’d be helpful if you let your fake boyfriend do that for you. I’d hate for people to think I’m anything but a gentleman.”

She frowns and looks down at her feet.

“Hey, what’s wrong?” I lift her chin to face me.

“Even though he cheated on me—in public —I’m still going to be judged for moving on too fast.”

Double fucking standards. This girl is a goddess who deserves so much more than that. I’ll prove it to her.

“Caring what others think doesn’t really seem like your thing, Getaway Girl.”

Her lips tug up into a barely there smile. “No, I guess it isn’t, really.”

“Good girl.” The phrase slips out so easily, despite never having used it before. I think all those books I’ve read are getting to my head.

But there’s no time to backtrack, because the most beautiful blush takes over her cheeks.

My girl has a praise kink.

“Let’s take a couple of pics so I can use them on my social media this week,” I tell her as I grab my phone from her seat in the Jeep.

We take a couple of selfies, but they look too staged.

“Hold on. We look like we don’t even know each other,” she says before grabbing my arm and wrapping it around her shoulders with her back against my chest. “Now take one.”

She’s pretty tall, but my head can rest on her chin, and honestly, holding her like this feels natural.

I reach my free hand out and snap a couple of photos with us both smiling. As I’m taking the last one, she maneuvers in my arms and reaches on her tiptoes slightly to peck my cheek.

There’s no faking the surprised smile I wear, and I can’t wait to make this photo my new phone background.

“Theo…” Henley says as she separates from me.

“Yes?”

“Thank you.”

I can see the exhaustion on her face from last night, and I know she needs to rest.

“For you, Henley? Any time,” I say playfully, but I mean it.

Pressing my luck, I wrap her up in another hug, simply because she looks like she needs one. Her arms come around my sides to hold me back.

Breaking away, she gives me one last smile. “See you soon, Baseball Boy.”

I watch as she disappears into her building. Once I’m sure she’s safe inside, I get back into my Jeep to head home.

Fake dating Henley Harkin. What a fucking dream.

Back in high school, we all knew she would only hook up with guys from other schools because she didn’t want any distractions. Until Dakota, I was under the impression she didn’t date at all.

How did that walking dildo keep her for as long as he did? I’ll never understand.

I wish she remembered the night she ruined my shoes. I do. I’ve replayed it a hundred times in my head. I was leaning in to kiss her because she dared me to when she bent down and vomited on my feet.

I didn’t care. After that, I spent the rest of the night in the bathroom with her, holding her hair back while she hurled with the force of an exorcism. In between, I got to see the side no one else had. Not the party girl or the sexy girl. Not the daredevil.

Just Henley.

And I’ve been gone for her ever since.

Hanging around the cross-country meets both of our schools competed in, turning up at parties she might be at, probably bordering on stalker behavior.

When she walked into the diner last night, I knew the universe was sending me a signal.

Thank fuck I finished that chapter when I did, because I never would have paused my reading otherwise.

I would have missed the most beautiful woman in the world walking into my favorite diner, looking like a mess.

Now, I get to spend who knows how long pretending like I’m head over heels for her while I convince her she’s just as crazy about me.

Because Henley Harkin is going to be mine.