Page 58 of The Baby Dragon Bakery
Theo’s gaze shifted from Lavinia to Calahan. His expression darkened, and she felt her stomach twist.
She looked over at Calahan, who was noticing the look on Theo’s face. Then, it was Calahan’s turn to frown.
Anxiety spiked through Lavinia. She felt stuck in between them.
Maybe it was good that the three of them hadn’t hung out together.
Now she just needed to get through this match in one piece.
Chapter 21
It was towards the end of the game now, and Lavinia had sat down on the grass with Calahan, both of them huddled together as the sun set over the field, bringing a chill into the evening. They hadn’t opened the Baby Dragon Bakery box Calahan had brought, and finally Lavinia reached for it.
“What did you bring?” she asked, opening the box to reveal two cupcakes with swirls of frosting on top. They smelled divine. She pulled a cupcake out of the box; it was dark orange and spongy.
“I was told they are pumpkin spice vanilla chai latte cupcakes,” Calahan replied, really working to remember that whole name. She snorted.
“Why is that so hyper-specific?” she asked, pulling the wrapper off the cupcake.
“I have no idea,” Calahan replied. “But it sounded like something you’d like.”
“And you’re absolutely right, I love all of those things.” He bumped her shoulder with his. She took a bite, not caring about the frosting getting on her face. It was sweet and perfectlyspiced, all the flavors mixing together effortlessly. “Ohmygod, soooo good.”
Calahan laughed. “I can tell,” he said, reaching over to swipe her nose. He held up a finger, where there was a huge dollop of frosting.
“Oops.” She reached forward to lick the frosting off, and he pulled his hand back. “Hey!” she cried, grabbing his wrist. “That’s my frosting!” Calahan laughed, letting her lick the frosting off his finger. “Mmm,” she said, as the sweet buttercream melted on her tongue.
“Insatiable,” Calahan said, shaking his head fondly. She laughed, letting go of his wrist.
She turned back to the field, still laughing—until she saw Theo. He had stopped in his tracks in the middle of the field and was watching her and Calahan.
The smile vanished from her lips at the expression on his face. Time seemed to slow around them, until all she heard was the loud roar of her blood rushing in her ears.
Then, Theo got rammed into.
Lavinia gasped, watching as he went flying into another player. Three bodies collided, crashing to the ground in a tangled heap. The referee sounded the whistle.
Lavinia shot to her feet. “Theo!”
She dropped her cupcake, running to the field. All three guys were groaning as they rose to their feet, and Lavinia reached between them for Theo.
He was in the worst shape, his face covered with blood that seemed to be coming from his nose and lip. He stood up, swearing profusely to himself.
“Oh my god, Theo,” she said, going to his side. Another guyin a black jersey jogged over—Lavinia recognized him. He was the team captain.
“Do you still want to play?” the captain asked Theo.
Theo shook his head, and the captain nodded, jogging off. Theo limped off the field, Lavinia walking with him, but he didn’t look at her. Once Theo was off the field, the referee sounded the whistle again, and the teams resumed their match.
When Lavinia returned to the sidelines with Theo, Calahan stood.
“Shit,” Calahan said, holding out a napkin for the blood. Theo didn’t take it, not looking at Calahan.
Lavinia turned to Calahan. “I’m going to take Theo home,” she said. Calahan paused, as if he wanted to say something, and she remembered too late that they were supposed to get dinner after the match.
Calahan swallowed. “Alright,” he said. He reached over and kissed her cheek. “See you later.”
Calahan left, but she hardly spared him a glance as she turned back to Theo. “Where’s your bag?” she asked. He was standing very still, but his hands were shaking, and there was a stormy expression on his bloodied face. “Theo,” she said. He wasn’t looking at her, nor did he meet her gaze.
