Page 22 of When Ellie Falls in Love

As Trevor drove to the school, Sadie noticed how he kept his right hand on the wheel. Was it so he didn’t feel obligated to hold her hand? Or did he normally drive that way? She wasn’t sure which answer would bother her least.

Arriving at the school, Trevor parked the truck and got out. Sadie waited a beat, seeing if he would open the door for her.

He didn’t.

Sighing, Sadie got out of the truck and adjusted her dress. For late March, it was still chilly and Sadie regretted not grabbing a jacket. Her arms were cold as she walked around the truck to Trevor, who was unbuttoning the top button on his shirt.

“This is too stiff.”

“I think it looks great,” she smiled, attempting to flirt. Trevor smiled back, nodding his head.

“You think so?”

I just said so, didn’t I?

“Yeah.” Looking toward the gym, Sadie nodded her head. “Shall we go in?”

“Let’s go.”

Surprisingly, Trevor took her hand as they walked toward the gym doors. Sadie couldn’t help but notice how weird it felt to be holding his hand. They were big and rough and… weird. Granted, aside from her mom and Charlie and maybe a handful of other people, she’d never held hands before. And she’d definitely never held hands with someone she was dating.

Or well, not dating exactly. Going to prom together and dating were not the same thing. Sadie was smart enough to know that.

Trevor opened the gym door for her, following her inside with their hands still clasped. He pulled the tickets out of his jacket pocket and handed them to the teacher who had clearly drawn the short straw and been forced to work the prom.

Sadie was surprised that Trevor continued to hold her hand as they walked into the gym that was decorated in a midnight in Paris theme. There was a large replica of the Eiffel Tower in the middle of the gym that extended all the way up to the ceiling. Under it was a dance floor, where many of her classmates were already dancing. Streamers and disco balls hung around the rafters, and Sadie tried to figure out how disco balls related to Paris.

She was about to ask Trevor—less to get his opinion and more to just have something to talk about—when she saw Ellie on the dance floor.

Sadie lost the ability to breathe as she stared at Ellie. Ellie looked stunning in her navy-blue suit, white collared shirt, and matching bow tie. She had on a gray pair of Converse that Sadie would have never put on with that outfit, and yet it worked. It was perfectly Ellie.

And her hair.God, that hair.It was pulled back around her face in a half-up, half-down look that Sadie only thought could be achieved in magazines. Her long brown hair was curled in flowing waves that bounced as she danced with her friends. Suddenly, Sadie’s simple braided hair felt inadequate.

“Did you hear me?”

Startled, Sadie turned her attention back to Trevor. “What?”

“I asked if you wanted to dance.”

“Oh, um, sure. Yes. Let’s dance.”

She let Trevor lead her out onto the dance floor, but her eyes were locked on Ellie. How could someone be so beautiful without even trying? Sadie didn’t know. All she knew was she would have to tryhardto focus on Trevor and not Ellie as they danced.

Having never danced before, Sadie had no clue what she was doing. Her limited knowledge of even the vaguest dance moves came from movies, and she wasn’t sure how relevant they were in real life. After a few songs, Sadie took a step back from Trevor and nodded toward the table of food and drinks in the corner.

“Let’s go grab something to eat.”

Trevor didn’t protest. He followed her to the drink table, where Sadie quickly downed the too-small cup of water and refilled it from the glass jug at the end of the table.

“Hey, I see some of my buddies. I’ll be right back.”

Without another word, Trevor walked across the gym to where a group of his baseball friends were gathered. Sadie watched how comfortable he looked around them; it was a stark contrast to the boy she’d been hanging out with for the last hour.

Shouldn’t I be having more fun than this?

Sadie sulked in the corner of the gym as she scanned the room for Ellie. She found her easily—like finding Waldo when the rest of the page was black and white. Ellie was still on the dance floor with her friends, still seemingly oblivious to Sadie watching her.

Not that SadiewantedEllie to notice her. She most definitely didn’t. It was probably for the best that Ellie was ignoring her.

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