ELLIE
18 years earlier
“Five minutes, Ellie!”Dad hollered up the stairs at me.
“Okay, I’m almost done.”I was finishing up packing my bag for my flight to California and my hands were shaking like crazy.I had the hardest time trying to figure out what I should pack.What would look good for a summer in the sun and on the beach?Should I bring my new bikini or a one-piece, or both?How much underwear should I bring, oh and can’t forget the tampons!
I zipped the suitcase closed after checking it over for the fourth time and hauled it down the stairs where Dad was waiting for me by the front door.
“Any longer and you might just miss your flight.”Dad joked, grabbing the suitcase from me.
“I just had to make sure I wasn’t forgetting anything.”
“I don’t think that’s possible.What’s in here, Ellie; everything you own?”
“Close to it!”I laughed.
* * *
At the airport, Dad walked me to baggage check and looked at the monitor to make sure my ticket showed the right gate before he hugged me goodbye.
“Alright, you’ve got your ticket?”he asked.
“Check.”I air-checked him with my finger.
“Bank card?”
“Check.”
“Phone card?”
“Got it.”
“Behave, stay out of trouble and come back in one piece.”He winced, hands on my shoulders.
“Ok, Dad, I’ll be fine, I promise!”I hugged him again and he waved goodbye just as the overhead speaker blared an announcement that they would begin boarding my flight.I rushed around the corner of the terminal, finding my gate and stood in line to board.I pulled my ticket out of my purse and read over the information again.I still couldn’t believe that I was going to spend the entire summer in California, by myself.I’m almost seventeen, so Dad thought I could be trusted to appreciate this trip and act like the almost adult that I am.
I took my seat, buckled the safety belt, and leaned my head back waiting for take-off.The flight was scheduled to take just under six hours with no layovers and that gave me plenty of time to mull over all the possible scenarios of seeing Lee again after so long.Will he recognize me?Will he be attracted to me once he sees how different I look?Will he look the same?Should I hug him, or would a kiss be too much?There were so many questions running through my head and my heart jumped every time I pictured him smiling at me for the first time in forever.By the time we landed, I had played through my mix tape twice and was getting antsy to get up and move my legs.
Lee wasn’t going to be meeting me at the airport with Steff, so I wasn’t freaking out yet, but hewasgoing to be at the apartment when we arrived; so, I knew I was going to be a ball of nerves during that drive.
Finally, they let the passengers in the back of the plane go and the anticipation coursed through me.Seeing Steff standing there, outside the tunnel, brought a huge smile to my face and all the butterflies flew away.We ran into each other, giggling like little girls and everything came rushing back; a lifetime of shared laughter and whispered secrets unfolding in an instant.In that moment, we weren’t just cousins, we were soul sisters.
“Oh my gosh, I missed you so much – look at your hair!”she screeched, and I spun around in circles so she could see how long my hair had gotten.
“Wow, you look amazing, Steff!This California sun really does it for you!”
“I agree, it does make me looks less pasty, doesn’t it.”She swiped her fingers over her sun-kissed arm in display.
We talked the entire way to her house, catching up on the last few months that we missed out on.I told her about Mallorie’s new boyfriend – that shocked her – and Amy’s broken arm fiasco – but that didn’t surprise her since Amy was always hurting herself.
“Okay, so what’s the deal with Justin?”she asked.“Where did you two leave off?”
“You had to bring him up, huh?”I sneered at her out of the corner of my eye.Justin had been a sore subject for me recently, ever since I told him I was going to be spending the summer with Steff in California.He immediately got upset about the possibility of me seeing Lee while I was here and even more upset when I told him that it was part of the plan for my trip.
He knew that Lee and I had a thing before he and I did, and he just kept telling me that he wanted me to remain “pure” and come back to him “untouched”.I didn’t like his possessiveness, especially since he was the one who told me we weren’t going to be officially dating while he was away in college.
“I reminded him that we are not together anymore, and that he couldn’t expect me to make a promise like that to him.”I spewed all of this out to Steff, and she listened without being judgmental.I loved that about her.
