Chapter 14
Sadie
T wo days had passed, and yet Sadie still couldn’t think of anything but how she’d almost kissed Ellie.
Again.
Sadie had kissed people before, so it wasn’t like it was new to her. What was new, though, was Ellie. There was just something different about her. She wasn’t like the girl Sadie had dated back in Florida, and she wasn’t like Penny— definitely not like Penny. Ellie was a better person than Penny all around. Their only similarity was that Sadie hadn’t kissed either of them.
Their main difference was that Sadie wanted to kiss Ellie—desperately. It was all she’d been able to think about for days, ever since Ellie had sexily climbed up the trellis to check on her. No one had ever cared enough about Sadie to do that—well, her mom, sure. And Charlie. And Chase.
But they were family.
They had to love her.
But Ellie didn’t.
Not that Ellie loved her. Sadie knew it was way— way— too early to be thinking about that. They weren’t even dating. They hadn’t even gone on one date. Well, not officially. Sadie had overthought their arcade date the other day to the point she had spiraled the night before wondering if the reason she hadn’t heard from Ellie was because she hadn’t kissed her.
Ugh.
Sadie knew better than that. Ellie wasn’t that shallow. She wasn’t Trevor.
But why hadn’t Ellie kissed her? Why hadn’t Sadie kissed her? Sadie didn’t know the first answer, but she knew the second.
She was scared.
Scared she wouldn’t kiss her right.
Scared she was misreading Ellie.
Just… scared.
Sighing, Sadie tucked the front hem of her shirt into her jeans. She’d settled on a casual look of a white tee, black unbuttoned blazer, and jeans. Sadie paired the look with low-heeled ankle boots and her hair down in a simple curl. Ellie seemed to like it that way the other day.
Not that Sadie was trying to get Ellie’s attention.
Oh, fuck it. Yes, I am.
“Sadie, are you ready? We need to get going so we’re not late.”
“Yeah.” Grabbing her bag off the bed, Sadie ran down the stairs to find her mom and Charlie waiting for her at the bottom of the stairs. They had dressed up for the occasion too, which made Sadie giddy about attending the play. “I’m ready.”
“Well, well, well,” Delaney teased. “Don’t you look gorgeous?”
“No, I don’t.”
“No, you do,” Charlie smirked. “Are you all dressed up for Ellie ?”
“I’m not dressed up for Ellie.” Sadie rolled her eyes, pushing between them. She opened the door and walked outside with her mom and Charlie following behind her. “Who’s driving?”
“I’ll drive.”
Piling into Delaney’s SUV, Sadie was thankful the drive to the high school was relatively quiet. As they walked into the auditorium, there was only one more remark about how well-dressed Sadie was. She looked around the place for Ellie, unsure why she’d not be backstage but looking for her nonetheless.
They handed their tickets to the faculty advisor at the ticket table before walking down to their seats. Ellie was right; they were literally front and center. The Mackenzies were already there, and Sadie nervously smiled at them.
Do they know Ellie and I almost kissed? Do they know Ellie gave us these tickets? Do they know that I like Ellie? Or, possibly worse, do they know Ellie likes me?
Sadie shook her head slightly as she hugged the Mackenzie moms and older sisters. She fist-bumped Brayden before giving Everleigh a quick side hug. Their seats were beside Mason, of course, and Sadie sat beside her after Charlie and Delaney left that seat open as if on purpose.
It wouldn’t have surprised Sadie in the least if they had discussed it with Mason the fact that Sadie liked Ellie. Nor would it surprise her if Mason knew about everything that had happened between them. Sadie knew she and Ellie were close; it made sense.
And made Sadie wish she had a sister like that.
Mason leaned over slightly toward Sadie. “Did you have fun at the arcade the other night?”
Her question seemed so simple on the surface, but Sadie’s stomach dropped at the implications of its deeper meaning. She turned to her, trying to remain calm and nonchalant.
“Yeah. I did.”
“Ellie did, too.”
“Good.”
“Yeah.” Mason waited a beat before asking, “Do you think you’ll do it again?”
“Go to the arcade?”
“With Ellie. ”
Rolling her eyes, Sadie opened the small program they’d been given upon entering the auditorium. She scanned the pages as if she were reading them until the lights dimmed and the music started.
Sadie was glad she had seen the Disney movie before because there was no way she was about to focus on the plot of the play. Ellie was absolutely captivating on stage. She owned every scene she was in and hit the notes better than anyone else in the cast. If she wanted a professional career in theater, there was no doubt in Sadie’s mind that she’d excel at it.
Just like Ellie had excelled in making eye contact with Sadie every chance she could.
She was sure everyone in the audience noticed it, too. There might as well have been a spotlight shining right down on her head, because that was how it felt to be the focus of Ellie’s attention.
And Sadie didn’t ever want it to end.
Shifting for the hundredth time in her seat, Sadie swallowed and tried to focus on the play. Ellie wasn’t in the current scene, which bummed Sadie out more than she wanted to admit. She shifted again, accidentally bumping her elbow against Mason’s arm.
“Sorry,” she whispered.
“It’s fine,” Mason waved her off with a wink. “Ellie’s great, isn’t she?”
“She is.”
As the last song finished, the crowd was on their feet with applause. But no one was louder than Sadie. She didn’t care; Ellie deserved it. Sadie loudly clapped and called out Ellie’s name as their eyes locked once more. Ellie blushed, making Sadie’s smile widen.
When the final curtain went down and the lights came up, Sadie mingled with everyone as they waited on Ellie. They were all going to go to the bar afterward to celebrate, and they invited Sadie and her parents along, too. Sadie was hesitant at first, unsure if Ellie would want them to crash her celebration.
But as soon as Ellie came out the side door, it was over. She made a beeline for Sadie, seemingly surprising everyone, including Sadie. Ellie wrapped her arms around Sadie, and they hugged as if it was something they’d done a million times before. They swayed back and forth in each other’s arms for a moment as Sadie told her how great she was in the show.
“I didn’t know you could sing that well.”
Ellie rolled her eyes as she took a step back from Sadie. “Liar. You’ve heard me sing before.”
Winking, Ellie excitedly chatted with the rest of her family as Sadie stood off to the side with Delaney. She knew there was no way her mother hadn’t seen that hug, but she was thankful she didn’t mention it. Not yet, anyway.
“You’re going to the bar with us, right?” Ellie asked, and Sadie nodded. “Good. I’ll see you there.”
“Yeah, see you there.”
Sadie tried not to appear as bummed as she felt that Ellie hadn’t asked if they wanted to drive together. She tried not to overthink that or the hug as they drove to Straight to Ale. Isla had decorated one corner of the restaurant with balloons and streamers for Ellie and the gesture was beyond sweet. Although there was another show the next day, the fact they were celebrating her last first show of her high school career made Sadie sentimental. All too soon, her own last day of softball would arrive. But Sadie didn’t want to think about that now.
No.
She only wanted to think of Ellie and how beautiful she looked in the black dress she had changed into. It didn’t go down far past her behind, not that Sadie noticed, and looked amazing on her. Paired with the heels and her seemingly always tanned skin made her look like she’d stepped out of a magazine.
Ellie took a seat across the table from Sadie, and Sadie wondered if it was on purpose. It had to be, right? All throughout dinner, they made flirty eye contact and shared their fries and onion rings off their plates with each other without asking like an old married couple. And under the table was just as exciting. Every time Ellie’s foot accidently brushed against Sadie’s, her entire world spun faster.
Damn. I have it bad.
“Sadie? Did you hear me?” Ellie furrowed her brow as Sadie snapped out of her thoughts.
“I’m sorry, what?”
“Do you want to play pool?” She pointed at the pool table in the corner of the bar. Sadie nodded, and the two of them walked across the restaurant to the game area.
There were a handful of mismatched barstools and high-top tables reserved for those playing the games. A pool table sat in the middle, along with a few arcade games and a dart board. While Sadie couldn’t remember ever playing pool, she wasn’t going to let that stop her. She’d seen it on TV shows and movies enough to get the gist of it. How hard could it be?
Judging by the way Ellie used the blue cube to do something to the end of the stick, harder than Sadie had anticipated.
She watched as Ellie lined up her shot, smiling, and trying to get it exactly right in front of Sadie. Not that Sadie would have known any different. Ellie could have picked the balls up with her hands and rolled them into the pockets for all Sadie cared. All she cared about was being with Ellie.
Even if both of their families were undoubtedly watching them from the other side of the restaurant.
Sadie would just have to try not to think about that.
“Dammit,” Ellie whined after hitting the colored balls with the white ball. They had gone all over the table, which Sadie assumed was the point.
Apparently not.
“What?”
“I didn’t get any in.” Pausing, Ellie narrowed her eyes at her. “Wait, do you know how to play pool?”
Sadie chuckled, “Not a clue.”
“You could have told me.”
I just wanted to spend time with you , was what she wanted to say. But instead, she went with, “You can teach me.”
Ellie’s lips curled into a smile as she bit her lip. She walked around the table slowly until she arrived by Sadie’s side. Slowly, she extended the stick out to Sadie. Sadie nervously took it as Ellie walked behind her.
She could feel Ellie’s breasts pressed into her back as Ellie positioned her hands and the stick where they should be. But Sadie knew there was no way in hell she’d ever be able to remember what Ellie was saying. Her heart was beating so fast in her ears that Sadie could barely focus on anything else.
Well, aside from the feel of Ellie’s body pressed against hers.
“And then you just pull it back like this,” Ellie put her hand on top of Sadie’s, pulling it back along with the stick, “and then strike the ball.”
As she said the words, she made the motion with Sadie’s hand. To her surprise, the white ball hit a colored ball and knocked it into one of the pockets. Ellie clapped her hands as Sadie turned around. She was expecting a hug—she didn’t know why—but was met with a high five instead.
“That was great.”
“I think I should stick to softball.” Trying to be as casual as possible, Sadie leaned up against the pool table and smiled at Ellie. “Or air hockey.”
“You’re not very good at air hockey either.” Ellie took a step toward her, her voice slightly lower than before.
“Only because you cheat.”
“Are we going to have to have another date to play air hockey to prove I didn’t cheat?”
Sadie’s mouth was dry, and she nervously licked her lips as Ellie took another step toward her. Her voice was still low, and her eyes seemed darker, if that was even possible. And did she just say another date ? Had their time together the other night been an actual date?
Dammit. I knew I should have kissed her.
“I—I’d like that.”
“Yeah?” Ellie arched an eyebrow as she raked her eyes up and down Sadie’s body. “Me too.”
Just like down on the pier, Sadie thought Ellie was going to kiss her. They were mere inches from each other when Everleigh appeared like a ghost out of thin air.
“Moms are ready to go.” Even at twelve, Everleigh had a slight attitude about her. She wasn’t mean by any means, just sassy. And her hand on her hip made her look like a mini-Vera.
“I’ll be there in a minute, Evie.”
Once Everleigh walked off, Sadie put the stick back into the holder with the other sticks and sighed. She hoped it wasn’t too loud; she didn’t need Ellie to know how upset she was over their kiss getting ruined again .
“You’re lucky,” Ellie said as they walked back to their table.
“How so?”
“You don’t have a large family to keep interrupting you.”