Chapter 20
Sadie
T he fact graduation was mere hours away was stressing Sadie out way more than she’d expected. She’d been anxiously awaiting breaking free from Moonflower Cove and forging her own path in college. But after everything that had happened between her and Ellie over the last few weeks, the thought of leaving the Cove was suddenly making Sadie sick to her stomach.
And that did nothing to quell the already present pit-of-her-stomach feeling of leaving her mom. Sadie had never spent more than a few days at a time away from her mom her entire life. They were basically joined at the hip, and Sadie knew how lucky she was to have that relationship. Not every kid had a mom as awesome as Delaney Baxter.
Or a stepmom as awesome as Charlie.
Ugh. Focus Baxter. Focus.
Glancing at the clock, Sadie groaned. Her mom was insistent they take pictures before graduation, which meant Sadie was running out of time to get ready. She’d chosen a simple blue dress for the event; the same one she’d worn to the softball end-of-year party the week before. But this time, Sadie had actually taken the time to curl her hair instead of stuffing it under a baseball cap.
Sadie studied herself in the full-length mirror and smiled. The dress fit her perfectly and her hair looked better than Sadie could ever remember it looking.
I hope Ellie likes it.
The mere thought of Ellie made Sadie blush. There was no denying her feelings for Ellie anymore—not that she’d want to. Ellie made her feel things Sadie had never experienced before.
Things Trevor never ever could make her feel.
Ugh. Trevor.
Sadie groaned at the memory of how she’d let Trevor ruin the end of her senior year. Yes, she knew she also played a part in what happened. But it seemed the whole world was conspiring against her to make the last few months of school miserable.
Or at least that would have been the case if it hadn’t been for Ellie.
Grabbing her phone off the bed, Sadie sent a text to Ellie.
Almost ready! Should be at your house in a few!
They’d made plans a few days ago for Sadie to join Ellie at her house for pictures. Since Ellie and Brayden were both graduating, the Mackenzies had scheduled a photographer to take pictures before the ceremony. There was also a party scheduled for after the ceremony at the bar that Sadie was also looking forward to. Not only did it give her a valid excuse for not going with the rest of the softball team to Portland to celebrate, it also gave her more time with Ellie.
Which Sadie desperately wanted. And needed.
“Sadie, sweetheart, are you almost ready?” Delaney knocked on the bedroom door but didn’t let herself in. After checking herself once more in the mirror, Sadie nodded her approval and opened the door.
Delaney gasped and started to cry, which didn’t surprise Sadie at this point. Her mom had been emotional for weeks over Sadie’s impending graduation. Ellie said her parents were the same way, so Sadie knew it was just what moms did when their babies were about to fly the coop.
At least Isla and Vera still had Everleigh at home. Sadie felt a pang of guilt every time she pictured her parents sitting home alone in the house. She’d had several offers from local schools, even the one Brayden was attending a few hours away. But Sadie had chosen Tennessee because of their softball program and that reason only. Now she wished she’d at least half-ass considered local schools instead of shutting them all out as soon as the offer from Tennessee arrived.
Of course, that was before the reality of leaving her mom and Charlie and Ellie hit her like a ton of bricks.
“Sadie, honey, you look beautiful.” Delaney pulled Sadie into a tight hug. “I can’t believe my baby girl is all grown up.”
“You said you weren’t going to cry before the ceremony.”
“Yeah, well, I lied.” Kissing Sadie’s cheek, Delaney tucked Sadie’s hair behind her ear. “I’m so proud of you, Sadie. You’ve come so far these last few years, and I can’t wait to see where the next chapter of your life takes you.”
Sadie resisted the urge to jokingly roll her eyes as she smirked. “Okay, you’re starting to sound like a Hallmark card so that means it’s time for us to go.”
Ushering Delaney out the door, Sadie grabbed her phone and followed behind her. Her dress, thankfully, had pockets, which meant she didn’t have to worry about keeping up with a bag. Charlie was waiting for them by the front door, dressed in black pants and a light blue button-up that matched Sadie’s dress almost perfectly. Sadie smiled at the way her mom and Charlie complemented each other with Delaney’s knee-length dress in nearly the same color.
I want that someday.
“Okay,” Charlie clasped her hands together, “do we have everything? Phones? Tissues? Tickets?”
“Got them all,” Delaney patted the purse that hung off her shoulder. “Sadie, are you still driving separately?”
“Yup.”
Grabbing her keys off the small table by the front door, Sadie led them all outside to the driveway. Sadie had opted to drive her own car so she could stay at the party longer than she knew her parents would want to. Ellie’s parents were going to close down the bar for the party, which Sadie knew would mostly consist of the Mackenzies and their friends. And that was perfectly okay with Sadie.
As she drove to Ellie’s house, with Gracie Abrams blaring from the speakers, Sadie couldn’t help but wonder if she’d get to kiss Ellie again soon. Thanks to the end-of-school year rush, it had been days since they’d last been together, and Sadie hadn’t realized how much she missed her.
The old Sadie would have been annoyed at her newfound codependency on someone. Sadie was used to having friends live far away; it had never been a big deal. But not seeing Ellie in over a week? A big freakin’ deal.
Arriving at the Mackenzie house, Sadie wasn’t surprised to find nearly half the Cove there, or so it seemed. The Mackenzies had a large family anyway, but add in aunts and nieces and family friends, and the entire driveway and side of the road were packed with cars. Sadie parked her car behind a black SUV with New York state tags and took a deep breath. She scanned the small crowd of people gathered out front for Ellie.
And when she saw her, her heart fluttered.
Literally freakin’ fluttered like she was in some teenage rom-com.
Ellie waved as she headed toward Sadie’s car. Sadie kept yelling at her legs to move; to get out of the damn car. But Sadie was stuck in a daze watching Eleanor Mackenzie walk toward her in black pants, a green shirt with the sleeves rolled up to her elbow, and her perfectly straight hair hanging down past her shoulders. An untied bow tie set off the look exquisitely and Sadie wondered how on earth someone could be as beautiful as Ellie.
“Hey,” Ellie leaned into the passenger-side window that Sadie had mindlessly rolled down as she approached. “I’m glad you’re here.”
“You look amazing.”
Ellie blushed.
Omg. I made her blush.
“Thanks. So do you.” Ellie waved her out of the car and Sadie did. Walking around the car, she was pleasantly surprised when Ellie took her hand. “You won’t believe how long we’ve been taking pictures.”
“That bad, hmm?”
“We’ve been out here since ten.”
As it was going on noon, Sadie felt sorry for Ellie. “Ouch,” she grimaced. “That’s rough.”
“Apparently my parents want every single picture possible from their Pinterest boards. At least it’s Brayden’s turn now.”
“Aww, I hate that I missed yours.”
“Yeah?” Ellie arched an eyebrow as she grinned at Sadie. “I’ll have to show you the pictures tonight, then. Molly said she’d send them to me as soon as possible.”
“That’s awesome.”
As they arrived with the group of people, Ellie let go of Sadie’s hand. Sadie tried not to overthink it—easier said than done—as she greeted Ellie’s family and friends and found her way over to where Chase was sitting on the front porch steps.
“You look like your mom,” Chase joked with a smirk.
“Is that a bad thing?”
“No, just an observation.”
Sadie sat beside Chase and watched as Brayden posed for pictures while the rest of the family chatted away in smaller groups. They were all dressed for the ceremony, and Sadie realized why the ceremony was at the local college’s football field. The Mackenzies alone could fill up half of it.
At times, Sadie wondered what it would be like to have a big family like Ellie’s. She only had her mom and Charlie and Chase. And, well, Mason by marriage. Which meant technically the Mackenzies were all family by marriage. In a very roundabout way.
“Sadie,” Delaney’s voice pulled Sadie’s attention away. She motioned for Sadie to join them by Molly.
“Ha ha, your turn,” Brayden chuckled as he walked over to them, loosening his tie. Sadie stuck her tongue out at him as she walked past him.
It was nearly a half hour of awkwardly posing for pictures as Ellie’s family stood nearby. At least most of them were lost in conversations about who knows what. Sadie tried to only focus on Molly Jaymes, the photographer. Molly took a ton of Sadie by herself before bringing in Charlie and Delaney as well for several.
“Ellie, you want to get a few together?” Molly asked, and Sadie snapped her head toward Ellie.
Not that she knew where Ellie was standing. It wasn’t like she’d been watching her out of the corner of her eye or anything.
Take a breath. It’s fine.
Ellie walked over to her, slower than it probably was in real time. But Sadie felt it took forever for her to join her by the side of the garage where someone had assembled a balloon arch in the school’s colors as well as a class of 2024 banner.
Molly wasted no time coaching them into different poses as Ellie and Sadie giggled. Their parents were watching—Sadie was keenly aware of that—but they didn’t care. They seemed to be perfectly content in their own not-so-private photoshoot.
After it was over, everyone started to divide up into who was riding with who to the ceremony. Sadie bumped her hip into Ellie’s and smirked.
“I got a getaway car if we wanna have some time to ourselves.”
Oh, my god. Did I really just say that??? Who?? Am?? I??
“Haven’t you heard?” Ellie’s smile drove Sadie wild in all the best ways. “Nothing good starts in a getaway car.”
“Bet.”
Taking Ellie’s hand, they headed for the Mustang. They told their parents they’d see them there as Sadie cranked up Sabrina Carpenter and headed for the college. After singing a couple of songs together, Ellie turned down the music.
“So, have you thought anymore about going to the Cape with us?”
There was no way Sadie was going to tell her she’d been thinking about nothing else since Ellie had invited her. She’d asked her parents that night, and they’d agreed it would be okay. Sadie had just been waiting for the perfect moment to tell Ellie.
“Perhaps.”
Ellie dramatically groaned. “How long are you going to make me wait?”
“Am I not worth the wait?”
Sadie had no idea where her boldness was coming from, but she hoped it never went away. As she parked the car at the college, she turned and smirked to Ellie. She was pleasantly surprised to find Ellie smiling back at her.
“You’re worth any wait.”
Leaning in slowly, their lips came together softly. It wasn’t a long kiss like the one behind the garage. But it wasn’t quick either. And when Ellie tensely put her hand on the back of Sadie’s neck, Sadie felt herself never wanting to end the kiss.
But, to her disappointment but not surprise, Ellie pulled away first. She tucked Sadie’s hair behind her ear as she smiled.
“I hope that’s a yes.”
“It is,” Sadie said quickly. “It so totally is.”