Page 15 of Fake Dates and Home Plates
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 withthe 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.
Chapter Seven
Henley
Taking the stairs up to my apartment in Theo’s shoes that are a few sizes too big, I brace myself for what’s waiting on the other side of the door.
Lily could already be out hunting Dakota down for all I know.
Instead, I find Lily sitting on the couch, talking animatedly on the phone.
“She just walked in, Kate. I’ll text you later,” she says before hanging up. Lily’s been on a first name basis with my parents for years now.
I join her in the living room, flopping down on the opposite side of the couch. “I don’t know if it’s weirder you and my mom text, or that I know you’re probably plotting something together.”
My legs feel like overcooked noodles, and my entire body is starting to feel heavy.
