Page 9 of Fake Dates and Home Plates (Way Off Base #1)

Chapter Nine

Henley

I’m halfway across campus when I hear him.

“Henley.”

Dakota’s voice somehow sounds whiny and angry at the same time.

I keep walking.

It’s been a few days since my bookstore date with Theo, and I’ve had to block two different numbers I’m assuming Dakota used some sort of phone app to create.

Theo and I both posted photos from the bookstore, and it has people foaming at the mouth.

I’ve only seen a few of the comments. Some people who have clearly heard about the frat party incident seem to be in favor of me jumping into bed with a new guy.

Others wish it were someone from Shoreline, or really anywhere other than Hudson View.

And some clearly need a lobotomy with the level of misogyny they are willing to type out for the world to see.

But honestly, if I gave even a single fuck about what someone thought, I wouldn’t be me. If someone wants to give their opinion that I didn’t ask for in the first place, let them waste their time.

“Henley,” Dakota snaps again, louder this time, and I roll my eyes so hard, it hurts. I know him too well to think he’ll just let it go.

So, I stop, slowly. Like a creepy doll in a horror film, I turn to face him, my face devoid of any emotion.

He’s already marching toward me with that cocky scowl he wears like it’s stitched into his DNA, but I see the small flinch when his eyes scan my expressionless face. His backward baseball cap and designer jeans don’t look nearly as appealing to me now.

“What?” I ask flatly, crossing my arms over my chest.

He doesn’t stop until he’s too close, like he wants to intimidate me. “You think this is funny?”

“Think what is funny? Did you tell a joke? Oh wait, you are the joke.” I don’t let my lips curl into a smirk, despite how much I want to. Interacting with him at all is a waste of time, but showing any kind of emotion will just fuel him into thinking he can get a reaction from me.

He scoffs. “You and Barlowe. Posting pictures. Walking around town together. Everyone’s talking.”

“Good,” I say with my best impression of a dreamy smile. “Let them talk.”

“Cut the shit, Henley. You don’t even like him.” Dakota’s voice is a snarl, full of hatred.

His shoulders hunch in, his face turning red with anger.

I force myself to stand still, despite wanting to take a step back. I’ve never seen him look this way and if I’m honest, it’s a little scary.

“My feelings for Theo are none of your business. Nothing about me is your business anymore,” I say, and I mean every bit of it. As far as I’m concerned, how I might be starting to feel about Theo isn’t any of my business either.

Future Henley can worry about that.

I see when my statement hits. He flinches like I’ve slapped him, and for a second, I think he might actually say something honest. Instead, he laughs, mean and bitter.

“This is what you’ve come to?” he sneers. “Desperate for attention? Playing games with my rival like we’re in high school? Very mature, Hen.”

I smile wider, ignoring the way he shortens my name like he’s entitled to any kind of familiarity. “Aw. It’s cute you still think everything’s about you.”

Dakota’s jaw tics. “He’s not who you think he is.”

His words are empty. If he had any kind of dirt on Theo, I would have already heard about it. Dakota wouldn’t miss any opportunity to talk shit about the guy he hates so much.

“Neither were you,” I snap, pivoting before I lose it in front of everyone. This fucker isn’t getting another public display from me.

I don’t look back.

By the time I get to the student union, my stomach’s still coiled tight, but I paste on an unbothered expression. I grab a coffee before heading to the library for a study date with Lily.

It might be the first month of school, but senior-level classes are brutal no matter what your major is. Sports management is full of business and finance classes that bore the shit out of me, even if they are a necessary evil.

“What happened?” Lily asks, falling into the seat across from me.

I groan. “Can there be one person today who doesn’t harass me about my love life?”

“Did Dakota finally find you?” she asks as she digs out her sketch book.

“Un-fucking-fortunately. And shockingly, no apology, just him raging about Theo,” I tell her, sarcasm and annoyance dripping from my tone while I fish out my laptop and notebook.

Lily snorts. “At least he’s predictable with the lack of accountability.”

I knew he’d track me down when I ignored all his communication efforts so far, but I’m unnerved by the blatant anger he displayed in public.

Just as I’m about to turn my phone on silent, I see a text from Theo.

“Miss me, girlfriend? Should I show up to Shoreline with an ‘I heart Henley’ shirt?”

It actually makes me smile, deflating some of my earlier frustration.

Probably not a good call today. Dakota’s on a rampage.

Right away, there’s a response.

Are you okay, Henley? Can I help?

The message has me biting my lip. Theo is so damn sweet. The opposite of Dakota in every way.

And I’m scared to grow too dependent on it.

I’m fine. I handled it.

I leave it at that and silence my phone, wanting to get started on my assignments.

Lily lets out a noise somewhere between a gasp and a snort.

“Oh, hell no.”

“What?” I ask, leaning over.

She turns her screen toward me. It’s a blurry picture of Dakota leaving one of the senior house parties last night. Next to him is a girl in a cross-country hoodie. The caption underneath it is just a bunch of random emojis and the word ‘Oops.’

My stomach drops.

The hoodie is one of ours. The girl is tall, blonde, and easy to recognize, even in poor lighting.

Maddie.

A sophomore. Talented. Fast.

“The audacity of him to yell at me about Theo when he’s trying to run through my fucking team,” I start.

Lily nods grimly. “They definitely hooked up, according to Jess.”

Jess is another one of our teammates. She’s a junior but has a class with Lily.

The silence around the table is deafening.

Lily bites her lip. “You okay?”

I don’t answer right away. I blink down at the screen, willing myself to feel something other than numbness.

“I mean,” I say finally, voice even, “I shouldn’t be surprised.”

“Still,” Lily says, “it’s low.”

“It’s Dakota ,” I say with a forced laugh. “His bar is in hell. Just sucks Maddie would go there.”

I shake my head and read the email from my professor about ten times before my brain decides to focus on my work instead.

What else can I do?

Staying angry feels like giving him power. So, I smile, sip my iced coffee, and pretend it doesn’t bother me that a girl I’ve trained with for almost two years stabbed me in the back.

The drink tastes bitter as I realize she might not even be the first, depending on when their little game started.