Page 63 of Fake Dates and Home Plates
She doesn’t say anything for a while. Her hand comes up to hold my wrist where it’s resting near the side of her head.
“How much do you like me?” Her question sounds silly, but the look on her face is serious. She’s nervous, and I think I understand why.
If she needs me to be the one to say first, I will. She can be first in everything else, always winning at everything we do.
But not this.
“Oh, sweetheart. It’s so much more than that. Looking at you makes me feel whole, as if my ability to breathe is contingent on the fact you exist,” I tell her honestly. “I love you, Henley Harkin.”
She smiles smugly. “I thought you might.”
Her leg swings over mine, and I adjust so she can straddle me.
“I love you too,” she tells me as she kisses me.
The words set a fire off inside me. My entire body feels warm.
She loves me too.
I’m not sure why we even put clothes on, but we remove them quickly.
Henley sinks onto my length, and I let her set the pace. Her hips grind down as I circle her clit, and she clenches around me within a minute.
“That’s it. Come for me, Henley,” I tell her.
Tonight is different than last night and what we did back at her apartment. This is about integrating what we’ve just shared with each other into the physical aspect of our relationship, combining all our feelings.
She continues to ride me, and I drag her down to kiss me.
“I love you,” I tell her again.
The words seem to send her over the edge a second time, and the way she scratches at my chest has me pumping my hips up into her until I’m coming too.
Henley Harkin is in love with me, and I’m beyond obsessed with her. I’m so fucking lucky.
Chapter Twenty-Six
Theo
The next few months fade by quickly. Finals week is hell, like always, but it’s followed by the holiday season. For once, I don’t have to celebrate alone or at one my parents’ social commitments.
I spend Thanksgiving and Christmas with the Harkin family, who have welcomed me with open arms. Once training starts in February, even that seems to fly by. Every moment in between classes and baseball practice is spent with Henley.
Or inside Henley.
She continues to train, working toward her first half-marathon in just a couple of months, then on to a full marathon at the end of the summer.Now that baseball season has officially started, I don’t get to run with her nearly as much as I’d like.
Dakota’s been quiet lately, which surprises me. Part of me wonders if he’s planning something or just moved on to another target. When Henley mentioned how her teammates were being harassed, I made the decision to hire a private investigator.
It’s been weeks, and all the updates I’ve gotten have been mostly vague, but he was recommended by Finn, who offered to pay for half. I declined, knowing this was all my idea to pursue in the first place.
I throw my headphones in my ears while sitting on one of the locker room benches. It’s the same playlist I’ve listened to for months, the one I had Henley send me when we ran together the first time. The song is upbeat, and the lyrics talk about some sort of escape; I can visualize Henley singing it in my passenger seat.
All my teammates fill the space around me, some doing their own pre-game routines, others acting like idiots. There’s a new energy in the room today, though. The team has been working hard, and I know it’s going to be an incredible season.
My last college opening day.
The spring weather is a little chilly, but I know once we’ve warmed up out on the field, it’ll be fine.
