Chapter 29
Ellie
E llie’s brown eyes were glued to the phone as she watched her blue circle get closer to Sadie’s blue circle on the location sharing app. Sadie had already arrived at the Mackenzie house, and it would only be a few more minutes until they were back together again. Although it had only been a few days, it felt way longer to Ellie. She missed Sadie so much and couldn’t wait to see her again.
“Are you stalking Sadie ?” Everleigh teased as she leaned into Ellie.
They were crammed into the third row of Blake’s SUV, along with Harper. Archer and Reese were in the middle row, while Alexis and Blake rounded out the vehicle. Her parents, Brayden, Chase, and Mason had all driven back in the Jeep with their dogs.
“I’m not stalking anyone.” Locking her phone, Ellie placed it on her lap. She turned slightly toward Everleigh and smirked. “Thank you very much.”
Everleigh rolled her eyes. “Whatever. It’s so obvious even Harper knows.”
“No she doesn’t.”
“Yes I do,” Harper interjected with enough conviction to make Ellie think that maybe she did know.
“Oh yeah?” Ellie teased her niece. “What do you know?”
“That you like Sadie , duh.” Harper’s eye roll looked identical to Alexis’s. “Everyone knows that.”
“Everyone, hmm?”
“Everyone,” Everleigh and Harper said in unison.
Rolling her eyes, Ellie turned toward the window and looked out. They were finally on the road that led to their house, which meant it would only be a few more minutes until she would see Sadie again.
Gosh, when did I become this person?
Never in her life did Ellie imagine herself as the love-struck type of woman. But clearly things were very different now that Sadie was in her life. Ellie finally understood why her sisters always wanted to be with their wives and why her friends ghosted her when they got into relationships.
Shit.
Picking her phone back up, Ellie quickly opened up her text thread with Dylan. Dylan had texted days ago and Ellie had yet to respond, which wasn’t normally like her. Ellie was usually the friend who instantly texted back unless she was in rehearsals or a show. But in the last few weeks, that courtesy had only been extended to Sadie while most other messages went unresponded to.
Heyyyy sorry. Been a crazy few weeks at the Cape. Hopefully soon we can hang out and catch up!
Ellie hated sending the message, but she hoped Dylan understood. She wasn’t ignoring Dylan. Dylan was a great friend after all. They’d grown up together and were planning on starting the same college together in the fall. They had plenty of time to catch up and hang out.
At least that’s what Ellie told herself.
Her phone buzzed, signally a new message as they pulled into the driveway.
I know I’ve been stalking your Instagram. Ha. Enjoy your time with Sadie!
Blake parked the SUV beside their parents’ Jeep as Ellie’s eyes met Sadie’s through the tinted window. She was sitting on the front steps and slowly stood as she walked toward the SUV. Ellie waved at her, and Sadie waved back. For a moment, Ellie contemplated climbing over the backseat and over the luggage to get to Sadie faster than waiting for Alexis and Blake to get their kids out of their car seats first.
Everleigh must have sensed Ellie’s anxiousness, if her smirk told Ellie anything.
“What?”
“You gonna climb out the sunroof?”
“There’s a sunroof?” Ellie looked at the SUV's roof, only to realize Everleigh was teasing.
“Dude, were you seriously going to climb out a sunroof?”
“Shut up.”
“You’re not supposed to say that,” Harper, Alexis, and Blake all chimed in.
Finally, Alexis got one of the car seats out and put down the middle row for them to get out. Ellie tried to be the nice big sister who let her little sister and niece get out first, but they both seemed to be taking their time. And as soon as Ellie jumped out of the SUV, she made a beeline for Sadie.
Their embrace felt more amazing than Ellie remembered. She savored the way Sadie’s chin rested on her shoulder as her arms wrapped around her waist. Ellie didn’t care that her entire family was watching them; all that mattered was being back with Sadie.
After a few minutes, Ellie pulled away just enough to see Sadie’s face. There were more freckles on her cheeks and nose than the last time she saw her, probably from the sun. Ellie gently tucked a loose strand of her hair behind her ear.
“Hi.”
“Hi.”
“I missed you.”
“I missed you more.”
“Get a room,” Mason jokingly walked past them and into the house.
Their parents had picked up pizzas on the way home. Everyone was going to have a last meal together before they went their separate ways. Not that the Mackenzies knew what that even meant. More often than not, family dinners included not only the ones still living in the family home but everyone else as well. They had that special familial bond that people were jealous of, and Ellie never wanted it to be any different.
“Shut up.” Ellie stuck her tongue out at Mason who did the same.
“Don’t say that,” Blake playfully flipped Ellie’s arm as she walked past her into the house. “Your bag’s in the back still. Close the door when you get it out, okay?”
“Will do, sis.”
Nodding her head toward the SUV, Ellie and Sadie walked over to it. Ellie took out her backpack and suitcase, which Sadie offered to carry up the stairs for her.
“You don’t have to do that. It’s heavy.”
“I can do it.”
Sadie smirked at her as they walked toward the garage. Ellie unlocked the door to the stairs and let Sadie inside. She watched as Sadie lifted the suitcase and carried it up the stairs. Her eyes focused on the way Sadie’s arm muscles were more pronounced than before as she walked in front of her.
As Sadie sat the suitcase down at the top of the stairs, she turned to look behind her.
But Ellie had yet to move from the bottom of the stairs.
“What are you doing?”
“Nothing.” Blushing and shaking her head, Ellie quickly scampered up the stairs to Sadie. She put her backpack beside the suitcase and suddenly realized she hadn’t cleaned her room in weeks. “Sorry for the mess.”
“It’s fine.” Waving her off, Sadie walked around the apartment.
Her parents had originally built the apartment to be a guest house. The whole room was open, aside from the bathroom, and featured a large living room, a small kitchen, and a queen-sized bed. Most of the artwork on the walls were family pictures from over the years along with several cast photos and posters from plays at the community theater.
Sitting on the couch, Ellie watched Sadie walk around the room. She seemed to be taking it all in, and Ellie wasn’t sure how she felt about that. Not that she cared that Sadie was looking around her room. Ellie didn’t. It was more than Sadie was getting to know her and that excited Ellie in ways she didn’t understand yet.
As she walked by the small table, Sadie picked up Ellie’s script for Mamma Mia! and held it up.
“Shouldn’t you have taken this with you?” Sadie asked with a laugh.
“Babe, please,” Ellie jokingly waved her off. “I’ve had that script memorized since I was four.”
“Oh, really now.” Sadie smirked as she walked over to the couch and sat by Ellie.
“Yup. And Mom is playing Donna, so we’ve been able to practice before rehearsals start next week.”
Sadie flipped through the script. Ellie wasn’t sure if she was actually looking at it or just mindlessly glancing at it. “How long do rehearsals last?”
“Three hours, four nights a week for six weeks.”
“Damn. That’s a lot of work.”
“You’re telling me.”
As Sadie sat the script down in her lap, she leaned toward Ellie. Their lips met softly as Ellie felt her entire body come alive again. Ellie hadn’t realized how much she’d missed kissing Sadie until she was doing it again. She gently caressed Sadie’s neck as Sadie ran her hands through Ellie’s hair.
Ellie could have stayed there for hours, but she knew someone from her family would come looking for them sooner rather than later.
And Ellie knew if she didn’t stop kissing Sadie, she’d want to do more. Which was something Ellie had never felt before. Those feelings would definitely have to be explored before anything more happened between them.
“Do you want pizza?”
Sadie giggled as their kissing stopped. “What?”
“My parents got pizza for everyone. And if we don’t go down there soon, they’ll come looking for us.”
“And it probably wouldn’t be good if they found us making out on the couch.”
“Correct.”
Nodding, Sadie stood. She extended her hand out to Ellie and pulled her to her feet. “So, pizza, hmm?”
“Do you like pizza?”
“I love pizza.”
“Good.”
After another kiss, they headed down the stairs and over into the main house. Everyone was gathered around the dining room table already. Ellie couldn’t help but notice how well Sadie seemed to fit into their family during dinner. She noticed it at the Cape, but it was different seeing it happen in the Cove.
Under the table, Sadie had her hand on Ellie’s thigh. It was the first time in her life that Ellie was thankful to be left-handed. Because she could not only eat her pizza comfortably, but she could also hold on to Sadie’s hand under the table.
Across the table, Ellie caught Vera’s gaze and smiled. Her mama winked at her, making Ellie feel more loved than she thought was possible.
As dinner ended and everyone started to head to their own homes, Ellie walked Sadie out to her car.
“Your car is so fancy.”
Sadie rolled her eyes. “It was a birthday gift from my dad to piss my mom off.”
“How so?” Ellie tilted her head slightly.
“Mom didn’t want me to have a new car. She wanted something older because, ya know, teens.” She laughed, but Ellie knew she didn’t find it funny necessarily. “Then Dad bought me a brand-new Mustang and Mom let me keep it.”
“Well, for the record,” Ellie’s smile spread wide on her face, “you look hot driving it.”
“Yeah?”
“Totally.”
On the porch, the lights flickered on and off twice. Ellie knew what it meant. After all, she’d been in charge of flipping the switch when Mason was outside with her suitor of the week longer than their parents wanted her to be. And now it would seem it was Ellie’s turn for the signal.
“Is that a sign I should be leaving?”
“Subtle, isn’t it?”
“Totally.”
Ellie leaned in and kissed Sadie once more. “But I should head inside. I don’t want to make them mad.”
“Yeah, I don’t want them to hate me.”
“They wouldn’t hate you.”
“Then you better get inside so we can keep it that way.”
The lights flickered once again, and Ellie’s heart began to race. She was torn between wanting to stay with Sadie longer and not wanting to make her parents mad. In the end, the latter won out.
“I’ll text you tomorrow.”
“Sounds good.”
They shared another kiss before Ellie opened Sadie’s car door for her. She waited until Sadie was out of the driveway before heading inside. Ellie wasn’t surprised to find her parents waiting on her in the living room.
“Sorry,” she grimaced.
“It’s okay, you’re not in trouble.” Isla was sitting on the recliner with her legs hanging off the side of it. “We were just having Mason flashbacks and wanted to relive a memory.”
“Yeah,” Vera chuckled, “it’s been a while since we’ve had to flicker the lights.”
“Fitting it was with that one.”
“She is a Mini-Mason.”
“You say that about all your kids.” Ellie flopped onto the couch beside Vera. Her mama pulled her into a tight hug and kissed her head. “I promise I’ll be better than Mason and won’t make you flicker the lights for five minutes before I stop necking with a girl.”
Both Isla and Vera chuckled at Ellie’s comment.
“Well, at least we know you can’t get pregnant with Sadie.”
“You’re welcome,” Ellie teased as she hugged her mama.