Page 63 of Racing Hearts

When Juniper walked out of her room, Ellie checked her phone to find a text from Sierra explaining that she was still in the parking lot, and Ellie should let her know when or if it was safe to come back in so they could finish what they started.

Juniper might not fall in love with Sierra, but there was a really good chance that somebody else already was.

Chapter 28

Sierra

I won’t be back until Monday afternoon, but is there anything you need me to grab from your house and bring back for you?

Sierra had been staring at the text she received from Teresa for the past ten minutes. It was almost as if Teresa knew this was a huge weekend for Sierra and wanted to mess with her head by suddenly being nice out of nowhere.

She was about to take a screenshot and send it to Ellie (who was sitting three rows ahead of her on the bus) when another text came through from Teresa.My dad told me to send that text, then watched over my shoulder to make sure I did. I couldn’t tell him we don’t talk anymore because you’re weirdly obsessed with me, so I had no choice but to send it. You can ignore it (which I’m sure is what you were planning to do anyway).

Weirdly obsessed with her? Sierra scoffed. If Teresa had been paying any attention this semester, she would have noticed that none of Sierra’s focus was on her.Thank god.She sent a screenshot of those two texts to Ellie, who immediately responded with two texts of her own.

Aw man. I thought you were obsessed with ME :( it’s a shame since I happen to be pretty obsessed with you…

In all seriousness, she’s a bitch. I’m sorry you still have to put up with her. Are you okay?

Sierra typed her reply as their bus pulled into the parking lot of the hotel they would be staying at for the weekend.I’mgood. I have more important things to focus on this weekend.

Like me? ;)

Sierra smirked when she thought of the perfect response.Exactly. Like how I’m going to kick your ass in all of these races and be conference champ in the 400.

In your dreams, Rookie.

After getting off of the bus and filing into the hotel lobby, Coach Kraemer started to read off their room assignments. By now, it was pretty evident who they would all be rooming with. Ellie and Juniper were always together and there were two other freshman sprinters who Sierra switched between, when all three of them weren’t shoved in a room together. She knew Coach would only put her with one of them for this meet so they could each have their own bed since it was the conference championship. She was happy when she found out she was sharing a room with her bus buddy, Avery.

They grabbed their keys from Coach and headed up to their room, but Sierra had barely gotten her bags down before another text came through from Ellie.Juniper is going to Chris’s room for a little bit. I’m in room 336. Come give me a kiss before we have to morph into mortal enemies.

Sierra let Avery know she would be right back, then rode the elevator up a floor to get to Ellie’s room. Seconds after knocking, Ellie opened the door and pulled her into the room. Before Sierra could even comprehend what was happening, she was lying on the bed with Ellie on top of her.

Ellie kissed Sierra’s neck while her hands ran up and down her sides. “Do you know how fucking turned on it makes me when we shit-talk each other?”

Sierra had trouble getting words out since she could hardly breathe. “I think I’m… starting to realize that.”Shit, this feels good.

Sierra couldn’t remember Ellie’s hands ever touching her as much as they were at this moment, and she wanted to feel them everywhere. She wanted them on her skin. She wanted those fingers buried deep inside of her.Fuuuck.Why was Sierra having this realization when they only had a few minutes together?

She focused her attention on kissing Ellie since she knew they couldn’t go farther than that. Not tonight. She hadn’t waited just to have a quickie in a hotel room where they had to be worried about someone walking in on them. No. For now, kissing had to be enough. Luckily, the kissing was pretty damn great, and when Sierra and Ellie were finally able to force themselves apart a few minutes later, they both had swollen lips and messy hair.

“Do I look as disheveled as you right now?” Ellie asked with a laugh.

Sierra laughed along with her. “That depends. Do I look like I just fought a war? If so, we’re in the same boat.”

Ellie sat up and ran her fingers through her hair, then took Sierra’s hand. “Good luck tomorrow. I have no doubt that you’re going to do fucking amazing and exceed every single one of coach’s expectations. You’re also going to look ridiculously sexy standing on the second-place podium after the 400 finals on Sunday.”

Sierra let go of Ellie’s hand so she could playfully shove her. “Funny. I was just going to say the exact same thing to you.”

Ellie laughed with Sierra for a few seconds before her face became serious and she grabbed Sierra’s hand once again. “Sierra, I…” Ellie shook her head as if she had changed her mind about what she was going to say. “I’m really proud of you.”

Had Ellie almost told her she loved her? The possibility both terrified and excited Sierra. It had barely been over two months since they shared their first kiss, but Sierra’s feelings for Ellie were also bordering on love. It wasn’t something she was ready to admit out loud, and even thinking it made her want to throw up, but she couldn’t deny it.

“I’m really proud of you too,” Sierra choked out.

That night, as she fell asleep, her mind wasn’t on the big weekend ahead of her. All she could focus on was the possibility that Ellie Finch might be in love withher.

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