Page 15 of Racing Hearts

What the hell?Ellie shook these thoughts away and stood at the spot she would be in if she was actually waiting for a relay handoff.

“Go back about fifty meters and start from there. I know it’ll be tough, but try to keep your speed around what it would be at the end of a race,” Coach instructed Sierra.

Sierra nodded in understanding, then walked to the spot coach had told her to. When they both looked over at him, he nodded in silent instruction.

Ellie watched as Sierra took a deep breath and bounced up and down a few times. Her limbs were long and graceful like a gazelle, and at that moment she appeared more relaxed than usual, like this was where she felt most at home. Ellie understood that feeling completely. It was the exact same for her.

Sierra brought her eyes up to meet Ellie’s, and it felt like all of the air was pulled from Ellie’s lungs.Those eyes… there was something about them. They were blue and deep like the ocean, and Ellie wanted to stay lost in them forever. She wanted to search within them and find out what secrets they held. She tried to look away, but she couldn’t. This was the first time Sierra had ever looked her in the eyes, and even though there were so many reasons she shouldn’t be thinking like this, Ellie found herself hoping that it wouldn’t be the last.

“Ready?” Sierra asked her, and Ellie nodded in response.

Get ahold of yourself, Finch.

Ellie watched Sierra running toward her and counted her steps as she decided the best time to start running. Most times with Juniper, she took off too early and had to slow way down to grab the baton. Then there were times she would try to overcompensate, and Juniper ran right into her. As she turned to start running, she wondered which of those things would end up happening with Sierra.

Much to her surprise, when she looked behind her and reached out her hand to grab the baton, it was at the perfect spot. The handoff wasn’tflawless, but it was pretty damn close. It was definitely better than any handoff between her and Juniper, but she would never repeat that out loud.

“Wow! What a start!” Coach shouted. “Let’s do another to see if that was a fluke.”

After five more nearly-perfect handoffs, it was clear that it hadn’t been a fluke. For whatever reason, the handoff just worked with Sierra and Ellie.

“Wow,” their coach said the same way he had after every single handoff. He pointed his finger back and forth between the two of them. “Not many people have it, but you two do.”

“Have what, exactly?” Sierra asked before Ellie could.

“Chemistry. Ellie, it’s like you just know when Sierra is at the right spot without even looking. Almost like you feel it in your bones. Do you know what I mean?”

More than you know.Ellie was very aware of Sierra. Every move Sierra made, Ellie felt. She had no idea why, but she did. Chemistry, though? That word seemed a bit strong for two people who were good at relay handoffs.

Ellie shrugged to try to play it cool. “I guess I do, maybe.”

“Well, I think I’ve kept you girls here long enough for today,” their coach said. “Thanks for always being willing to go above and beyond.”

Ellie knew this was her chance to talk to Sierra, so she quickly packed up her things. Apparently, she wasn’t fast enough, because by the time she stood up, Sierra was already walking out the door of the indoor track facility.

“Hey, wait up!” Ellie yelled as she ran after her.

Sierra didn’t stop completely, but she did slow down, which was honestly more than Ellie expected. When Ellie caught up, she walked in stride with her. “Can we talk?”

“I don’t know. I had a really bad weekend. I want to get back to my dorm, so I can get my homework done and go to bed.”

“This weekend is kind of what I wanted to talk to you about. Or, at least, part of it. Are you—”

Before Ellie could finish her sentence, she was cut off by the sound of her phone ringing. She pulled it out of her pocket to find it was Juniper calling, and hit the ignore button. She’d be okay if she had to wait a few minutes.

“Sorry. I just wanted to ask—”

Ellie’s phone rang with another call from Juniper.I guess I better pick up in case it’s an emergency.She held up a finger to Ellie. “One second. Sorry.”

Before she could even say hello, Juniper shouted on the other end of the phone. “It’s official, isn’t it? That fucking bitch took my relay spot, didn’t she? I swear to god, that homophobic son-of-a—”

Ellie looked over at Sierra and it was clear from the down turning of her lips and slightly red tinge to her cheeks that she had heard what Juniper said. Ellie took a few steps away from her in case Juniper had any other choice words to say about her. “Hey, could we talk about this once I get back to the apartment?” Ellie asked Juniper before she could continue. “It shouldn’t be much longer.”

“Ugh.” Juniper groaned. “The fact that you want to talk about it in person means I’m right. Howfuckingawesome.”

“We’ll talk soon, okay?” Ellie spoke gently, because she could tell how fragile her best friend was right now. “Make some popcorn and pick out a Hallmark Christmas movie. I’ll break myno Christmas before Thanksgivingrule just for you.”

“Pulling out the Hallmark Christmas movies? Shit. This must be even worse than I thought.”

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