Page 28 of When Ellie Falls in Love

“Oh, okay.” Sadie didn’t look too sad about the lack of a kiss, which was a relief to Ellie. “Maybe we can hang out sometime. You know, under different circumstances.”

“I’d love that.”

“Me, too.”

“I’ll text you when I get home.”

“Okay. Be safe.”

“I will.”

Ellie could feel Sadie’s eyes on her as she carefully walked back toward the trellis.

“Do you want to just go out the front door?” Sadie asked with a giggle.

“No, this is sexier.”

“Yeah, it is.”

Winking, Ellie very unsexily descended the trellis back down to the ground. She waved up at Sadie before running in the direction of Blake’s car.

It wasn’t until she was at Blake’s house later that night, tucked into bed after texting her parents where she was, that Ellie fully processed what Sadie had said before she left.

Yeah it is.

Sadie thought Ellie climbing her trellis to knock on her window wassexy? Ellie smiled from ear to ear. Maybe she wouldn’t be in the friend zone for too long after all.

Chapter 10

Sadie

Showing her face at school was the last thing Sadie wanted to do. How was she supposed to walk the halls as if everyone hadn’t seen her boobs? How could she keep her head held high when she knew everyone at prom probably got that picture? Even faculty and parents. The only thing holding her together was the picture had been cropped so it didn’t show any identifying features. It could have been anyone’s chest. That made Sadie feel the tiniest bit better about what happened.

Well, that and the image of Ellie climbing the trellis to check on her.

Never in her wildest dreams would Sadie have pictured Ellie tapping on her window, waving nervously at her, or holding her close as she cried. And she definitely wouldn’t have dreamed they would come so close to kissing.

Okay, well, that part was a lie.

Sadiehadhad dreams of kissing Ellie.

She just didn’t think it would comeso closeto actually happening.

Of course, the near kiss only added to Sadie’s bountiful feelings on prom night. It had gone from uncomfortable to a nightmare to a happy ending so fast that even two days later Sadie was still reeling. She barely left her room the rest of the weekend, not wanting her mom or Charlie to ask her questions.

They had anyway, of course. It seemed as if they were on shifts coming to her room and checking on her. Sadie tried not to let it bother her; they were just concerned about her. But she also wanted them to leave her alone so she could get over the awful event that was prom.

Which also meant she had to face the music and head to school. She’d waited in her car too long and would barely have time to make it to her locker before her first class started. Maybe if she didn’t acknowledge anything was wrong, no one would bring up what happened. That was possible, right? The news cycle was fast in high school, right? Sadie hoped so.

Taking the keys out of the ignition of her Mustang, Sadie put her backpack on her lap and sighed. She flipped the visor down to check herself in the mirror and smiled at the picture she’d taped in there. It was of her and her mom, who was kissing her cheek while Sadie laughed. The picture always made Sadie smile, and she definitely needed a smile now.

“Okay, we can do this,” she told her reflection. “I’m sure everyone’s forgotten about you running out of the gym. No one cares that they saw your boobs. Just get out of your own head and get your ass into school.”

Flipping the visor closed, Sadie got out of the car. Her father had gifted her the car for her sixteenth birthday and promptly never said another word to her. Or, well, that was a lie too. He’d messaged her a few times and sent her a check for her eighteenth birthday. But otherwise, that was it. Todd Glassgow was never meant to be a father. Sadie knew that and tried not to fault him. Her mother more than made up for his absence, and Charlie had filled any void she’d been missing in the parental department.

“Okay, let’s do this,” Sadie encouraged herself as she began the walk up to school. The brick building loomed large in front of her, and Sadie wondered how, with each step, it seemed to grow. Maybe it was her overthinking brain that was catastrophizing the whole situation.

Whatever it was, Sadie was relieved when she pulled open the front door and stepped inside the fluorescent-lit hallway. Unlike in the movies, no one stopped to stare as soon as Sadie walked into the building. There were no dramatic mumblings as she walked down the hall to her locker. No one avoided her glance when she looked their way. In fact, the day seemed perfectly normal.

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