Chapter 23
Ellie
In the week following Christmas, Ellie and Sierra texted constantly and talked on the phone most nights.
Their conversations were about their days or funny things their family members did.
They didn’t broach the topic of what this was or where it was going, but if this week had shown Ellie anything, it was that she really wanted to pursue this further.
She was pretty positive Juniper wouldn’t be too happy about this development, but she had already decided she needed to wait to see what came of it before she told her best friend.
There was no use in pissing Juniper off if Sierra decided this wasn’t what she wanted.
As if Juniper somehow knew Ellie was thinking about her, a phone call came through from her at that very moment.
“Hey! What’s up?” Ellie asked when she picked up the call.
She felt bad that she hadn’t been keeping in touch with her as well this break, but if Juniper had noticed, she hadn’t said anything about it.
“Not too much. Getting ready to head to West End for Chris and the guys’ party. Sure you don’t want to go?”
“Nah. I’m good.” The sprinter guys had been planning to have a New Year’s Eve party at their apartment pretty much since the beginning of the school year, but Ellie was never planning on going.
It was too far away to justify driving there on New Year’s Eve just to drive back home on New Year’s Day.
She already had plans to spend the night with her moms, and she was more than happy to do that.
“Are you sure?” Juniper asked in a whiny voice. “You won’t be the only one not drinking this time.”
“Oh yeah?” Ellie laughed. She highly doubted there was anyone from the team who was driving back to school just to stay sober for the party. “Who is planning on staying sober?”
“Me,” Juniper answered nonchalantly as if she didn’t think that answer would shock Ellie.
“I’ve been thinking a lot about what you said, and it’s probably too little too late, but I’m going to take this season more seriously.
Since you never drink during the season, maybe that’s the secret, so I’m going to try it. ”
“Wow.” Ellie wasn’t sure what to say. This was a big change for her best friend. “That’s awesome. You don’t have to give up everything, though. Even I’ll probably end up a little wine-drunk tonight.”
Juniper laughed. “I don’t doubt that if you’re spending the night with your moms. I know I can have fun tonight without drinking, so I figured I might as well not do it.”
“That’s awesome, June. I’m super proud of you.”
“Thank you! You’d also be happy to know that I’ve been working out like crazy over break. I honestly think I might be in the best shape of my life right now.”
Juniper was really blowing Ellie’s mind right now. It’s not that she didn’t believe in her best friend, but she wasn’t expecting such a one-eighty from her. “You’re making me so happy right now.”
“I figured, but now that I’ve buttered you up, I do have some bad news.”
“What’s up?” Ellie wasn’t sure what Juniper needed to butter her up to confess, but the warning did cause a nervous ache to settle in her gut.
“I know I said we should go back to school a few days early to hang out before things get crazy, but it turns out, I won’t be able to get back until Sunday. I’m going on a ski trip with a friend for a few days.”
The ache immediately left Ellie’s gut. She had no idea why Juniper had been so nervous to tell her that. It wasn’t a big deal at all. “Oh, that’s fine. No worries.”
Juniper blew out a long breath. “Phew. I’m so glad you’re not mad. I’ve been scared to tell you.”
Ellie laughed. “It’s really not a big deal at all.”
“Thank you. Have fun getting wine-drunk with your moms tonight.”
“Don’t worry. I will.”
***
By 11:30, Ellie was much more wine-drunk than she planned to be, but she was too happy to worry about it.
She and Sierra had been texting all night, and even though their conversation only involved them sending each other funny videos and telling stories about their families, it still had her feeling giddy.
“So, it seems like you and Sierra get along much better now, huh?” her mom asked with a raised eyebrow.
Her parents had tried to bring Sierra up once or twice since her family left, but Ellie had done her best to avoid the subject. Now that she had this much wine running through her veins, it was no use trying to hide it. “Just a bit,” she said with a giggle that completely gave her away.
Her mom turned to face her more fully. “Okay, spill. I’ve been trying to be the cool parent who doesn’t pry, but I need to know. What’s going on with you two?”
Ellie sighed and clutched her phone to her chest as if it was Sierra she was holding. “I’m not really sure. She got her heart broken a few months ago, so she’s reluctant to jump into anything new. But, I think I can charm her into it.”
“You are very charming.” Her mom winked at her. “You get that from me.”
“And me,” her mama chimed in.
Her mom waved her hand dismissively. “Uh yeah, sure, sweetie.”
“For what it’s worth, we both really like Sierra,” her mama told her. “Not that you’re asking for our approval, but for what it’s worth, we do approve.”
“Good to know.”
Their conversation eventually shifted from Sierra to the upcoming track season, and before Ellie knew it, the last half hour of the year had passed, and they were counting down to midnight.
At midnight, her moms both gave her a kiss on the cheek before kissing each other. Ellie sighed. She wanted someone to kiss at midnight. But, not just any someone. She wanted Sierra, and she was going to make sure that happened.
She slipped out of the room while her moms were stuck in their “love-bubble” and went upstairs to her bedroom. As soon as she was inside with the door shut behind her, she called Sierra.
“Hello?” Sierra asked when picking up after only two rings.
“Your voice is so cute,” Ellie said, unable to control this confession after how much wine she drank that night. “I missed it so much.”
Sierra giggled. “We just talked last night, remember?”
“I know, but that feels like so long when all I want to do is talk to you every minute of every day,” Ellie confessed.
“You’re drunk.” It was a statement, not a question.
“Only on you,” Ellie said in a sing-song voice. She held her thumb and forefinger close together even though Sierra couldn’t see her. “And a little bit of wine.”
Sierra sighed. “You’re really cute.”
Ellie’s heart warmed at her confession. It was probably the first thing Sierra had said since going back home that actually hinted at the fact that they might be more than friends. “Speaking of which, what are you doing the weekend before school starts again?”
“Umm… hanging with my moms, then heading back to school on Sunday afternoon.”
Ellie made the sound of a buzzer. “Wrong answer. You’re hanging out with me… please?”
“I’m going to need more details about what you’re asking me to do before I agree,” Sierra said with another giggle.
“I think we should both go back to school the Thursday before and spend some time together before everything gets crazy again.”
“How would that even work? They don’t open the dorms back up until Saturday.”
“Lucky for you, I live in an apartment that I have access to anytime.”
“Are you asking me to stay over? Are you sure that’s a good idea? We haven’t talked about what this is yet.”
“Even more reason to stay over,” Ellie said, trying to make her voice sound much more confident than she felt. The truth was, Sierra was holding Ellie’s heart in her hands and that scared the shit out of her. “I’m going to come with a list of all the reasons you should give me a chance.”
“Okay.”
“Okay? Really?” Ellie couldn’t have kept the giddiness out of her voice if she tried. “You’ll come?”
“I’ll be there.”
Sierra’s words made Ellie feel like she was floating. The last week and a half of break couldn’t go by fast enough.
***
Because of her plans with Sierra, the last bit of break did not fly by.
In fact, it dragged by, every day seeming to last forever.
By the time the Wednesday before spring semester rolled around, Ellie couldn’t take it anymore.
She went into the office and had lunch with her moms, then packed up her bags and headed back to school.
Even though Sierra wouldn’t be there until the next day, Ellie needed the change of scenery.
She used the extra time to clean the apartment so she could impress Sierra.
Even though the list had been a drunk joke, Thursday morning, Ellie sat down and wrote a list of reasons why Sierra should give her a chance.
She hung the list on the door of her apartment so it would be the first thing Sierra saw when she arrived.
When Ellie opened the door after Sierra knocked, she found Sierra standing there with the note in her hands, already reading it to herself.
She held the note up in the air and smiled at Ellie. “This is absolutely ridiculous, but also hilarious.”
Ellie grabbed the bag Sierra was holding and opened the door more fully so she could walk in. “What do you think? Did I convince you?”
“It definitely helps, but do you know what helps even more?”
Ellie shook her head because she honestly had no idea.
In a move that shocked Ellie, Sierra closed the space between them and put a hand on her cheek. “Seeing this face. In case you didn’t know, it’s kind of irresistible.” Sierra placed a quick, light kiss on Ellie’s lips, then sighed and rested her head on Ellie’s shoulder. “You really scare me.”
Ellie wrapped her arms around Sierra’s back and held her tight. “There’s nothing to be afraid of. I promise.”
“There is, though.” Sierra kept her head resting on Ellie’s shoulder and took a deep breath as if she was breathing her in.
“I told myself I would take things slow this weekend. That I wouldn’t let anything happen until we really talked this out and figured out what made sense and if it even makes any sense at all.
Then I get here, and you have this super cheesy note waiting for me and a huge-ass adorable smile on your face, and all I can think about is kissing you senseless. ”
“Well, just for the record, I’m more than okay with you doing that.
” Ellie laughed, but her body was on edge.
Hearing Sierra talk about kissing her caused her body to ache for it.
That one kiss wasn’t enough. She needed more.
She also understood how important it was to respect Sierra’s boundaries, though, so nothing was going to happen unless Sierra initiated it.
“Of course you are.” Sierra’s stomach growled, causing the slightest bit of sexual tension to float away, but not enough. “Maybe we should eat before we do anything else. I was so nervous about coming here, I didn’t eat anything before I left, and now I’m starving.”
“Perfect. The way I see it, we have two choices.” Ellie held up two fingers to emphasize what she was saying. “We can either go out to eat or we can order pizza and eat in bed.”
“Going out to eat sounds like the much safer option,” Sierra said as she finally lifted her head to bring her eyes to Ellie’s.
“Maybe.” Ellie ran a finger down Sierra’s cheek because she couldn’t help herself. She needed to touch her in one way or another. “But the other option sounds like much more fun. Don’t you agree?”
Now Sierra put her hand onto Ellie’s cheek as well. “It does, which is why I think we should save that for later.”
There was a sultry tone to her voice that made Ellie’s breathing pick up. She had no idea where this was going, but she had a feeling she was really going to enjoy the ride.