Page 50 of Racing Hearts

Their conversation eventually shifted from Sierra to the upcoming track season, and before Ellie knew it, the last half hour of the year had passed, and they were counting down to midnight.

At midnight, her moms both gave her a kiss on the cheek before kissing each other. Ellie sighed. She wanted someone to kiss at midnight. But, not just any someone. She wanted Sierra, and she was going to make sure that happened.

She slipped out of the room while her moms were stuck in their “love-bubble” and went upstairs to her bedroom. As soon as she was inside with the door shut behind her, she called Sierra.

“Hello?” Sierra asked when picking up after only two rings.

“Your voice issocute,” Ellie said, unable to control this confession after how much wine she drank that night. “I missed it so much.”

Sierra giggled. “We just talked last night, remember?”

“I know, but that feels like so long when all I want to do is talk to you every minute of every day,” Ellie confessed.

“You’re drunk.” It was a statement, not a question.

“Only on you,” Ellie said in a sing-song voice. She held her thumb and forefinger close together even though Sierra couldn’t see her. “And a little bit of wine.”

Sierra sighed. “You’re really cute.”

Ellie’s heart warmed at her confession. It was probably the first thing Sierra had said since going back home that actually hinted at the fact that they might be more than friends. “Speaking of which, what are you doing the weekend before school starts again?”

“Umm… hanging with my moms, then heading back to school on Sunday afternoon.”

Ellie made the sound of a buzzer. “Wrong answer. You’re hanging out with me… please?”

“I’m going to need more details about what you’re asking me to do before I agree,” Sierra said with another giggle.

“I think we should both go back to school the Thursday before and spend some time together before everything gets crazy again.”

“How would that even work? They don’t open the dorms back up until Saturday.”

“Lucky for you, I live in an apartment that I have access to anytime.”

“Are you asking me to stay over? Are you sure that’s a good idea? We haven’t talked about what this is yet.”

“Even more reason to stay over,” Ellie said, trying to make her voice sound much more confident than she felt. The truth was, Sierra was holding Ellie’s heart in her hands and that scared the shit out of her. “I’m going to come with a list of all the reasons you should give me a chance.”

“Okay.”

“Okay? Really?” Ellie couldn’t have kept the giddiness out of her voice if she tried. “You’ll come?”

“I’ll be there.”

Sierra’s words made Ellie feel like she was floating. The last week and a half of break couldn’t go by fast enough.

***

Because of her plans with Sierra, the last bit of break did not fly by. In fact, it dragged by, every day seeming to last forever. By the time the Wednesday before spring semester rolled around, Ellie couldn’t take it anymore. She went into the office and had lunch with her moms, then packed up her bags and headed back to school. Even though Sierra wouldn’t be there until the next day, Ellie needed the change of scenery. She used the extra time to clean the apartment so she could impress Sierra. Even though the list had been a drunk joke, Thursday morning, Ellie sat down and wrote a list of reasons why Sierra should give her a chance. She hung the list on the door of her apartment so it would be the first thing Sierra saw when she arrived.

When Ellie opened the door after Sierra knocked, she found Sierra standing there with the note in her hands, already reading it to herself.

She held the note up in the air and smiled at Ellie. “This is absolutely ridiculous, but also hilarious.”

Ellie grabbed the bag Sierra was holding and opened the door more fully so she could walk in. “What do you think? Did I convince you?”

“It definitely helps, but do you know what helps even more?”

Ellie shook her head because she honestly had no idea.

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