20 years earlier
I had no idea when Ellie was supposed to be in our area to visit so I called Steff every day this week to ask her.She was annoyed at me and told me she would call when she knew.
But ever since our call on Monday, I’ve been thinking about what it will be like to see her again.I remember her smile and how soft her hands were and her eyes, oh I remember her eyes.
Damn!Those eyes.
I could get lost in those eyes.
I finally got her letter in the mail.She told me she missed me and that she’s been waiting for me.Last time she was here, I asked her if I could be her first kiss and told her to wait for me.I actually can’t believe someone hasn’t taken that away from me yet.I know Ellie had a boyfriend this year at school, well she said it wasn’t a boyfriend, but that’s what I’m calling it.She told me it couldn’t be called a relationship, that she only hung out with this guy in their friend group a couple times, and he tried to hit on her, it didn’t last long.But it still hurt.I didn’t want to look at any other girls; I only wanted her.I wish we lived closer.I told Mom we should move to Virginia – she thought I was joking at first and when she realized I was serious, she told me I would find someone else, and my crush would go away.
It’s not just a crush though.
I don’t know if I deserve her, but I want to prove that I do.I got in trouble at school this year; I did some pretty bad shit and I wanted to tell Ellie about it, but I didn’t know how that would make her look at me after she knew.I’m not a good guy, I’m all messed up and she’s perfect.She makes me want to change – in all the good ways.
This week has been literal hell waiting for her.I couldn’t wait to see her and when Steff finally called me the next day and told me Ellie would be here soon, I jumped out of my bed and made sure I was ready for her.
They were going to meet up at the go-cart place on El Dorado at 1’oclock.I told Mom she was on her way and asked if she could drop me off when she gets home.
“No, honey, not today.I have a million things to do once I get home from work.”She said.
“Mom!Ellie’s only going to be here today, Ihaveto see her!”I begged.
She sighed in resignation because she knew how much this meant to me.“Okay, I guess.”
By the time Mom and I arrived at the track, they had already been there for almost an hour.I thanked her and slammed the door, racing to the entrance to find Ellie.My eyes scanned the place and eventually landed on her, she was facing away from me and stepping out of the passenger side of a red go-cart.When she turned around, she spotted me and the smile she gave me lit up her face, making me loosen the grip I had on the handrail of the walkway.
I made my way down the ramp and crashed into her with the biggest hug.She stumbled backward from the force of my greeting but pushed back into me, burying her face in my neck.Her breath on my skin was enough to send chills down my arms and I kissed her forehead.
I didn’t even care that everyone was staring at us, until her brother walked over and cleared his throat.Great.He’s back in that over-protective big brother phase, I see.I peeled myself away from Ellie and she grabbed my hand, “Hi Leebie!”
I laughed becausehelloshould have come before that hug, but I squeezed her hand in mine in response, making her smile again.
We walked toward the rest of the group where Steff was, and I could see that there were more of their cousins here today.“There’s time for one more round, who’s racing who this time?”Steff asked.“Ellie, you haven’t driven yet, do you want to go?”
“Okay.But wait… which pedal is the gas?”she asked, and everyone laughed.“Serious question, guys!”
“You really don’t know which one is which?”I asked her.
“Nope.Wanna be my passenger?You can help me!”
“Sure.”I said and I hopped over the rail, beating her to the car so I could hold open the driver’s side door for her.
Once we were seated and buckled in, I pointed to the pedals and told her the left one was the brake and the right one was the gas.Instead of moving my hand back to my side of the car, I rested it on her knee, and she glanced over at me, a flicker of a smile forming in the corner of her mouth.She slammed on the gas and we both laughed as we were thrown back into our seats.
“Maybe not so hard on the gas pedal, lead foot!”I hollered over the noise.
She laughed and then screeched “Ahhh!What do I do?”as we neared the first turn, and she wasn’t turning the wheel.I reached over and grabbed the steering wheel and turned it so we wouldn’t hit the wall.By the second turn, she had figured it out but didn’t let off the gas and we ran into the car in front of us.Luckily there are bumpers on these go-carts, I shook my head and laughed out loud.
“Remind me not to get in a real car with you when you get your license!”
She tried to smack my arm but when she let go of the steering wheel, the car jerked toward the wall and she quickly corrected us, looking over at me with a big grin and a shrug.“Your loss!Driving with me would be the highlight of your day!”
Yeah, it was.
We pulled back into the parking area, and I jumped out of the car so I could open her door.
“Well, thank you!”