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“Oh, so now I’m going to be pining over you, huh?” Sadie laughed, easing the moment ever so slightly.

“I’m told it’s a side effect of liking a Mackenzie.”

“Is that so?”

“Mhmm.” Ellie swallowed the lump in her throat. “So, what do we do?”

Sadie didn’t pause to think before answering. “Well, we can try long distance and if it doesn’t work, we can talk to each other about it and see what we can do differently. And I guess mainly we’d have to go into this knowing although our own lives may take us on different paths that we can always be friends.”

Ellie narrowed her eyes at Sadie, smirking.

“What?” Sadie asked with a giggle.

“Did Chase give you that advice?”

“Maybe,” Sadie playfully splashed water onto Ellie. “I had to ask someone who had dated a Mackenzie for advice.”

“I asked Alexis for advice for the same reason.”

“See, this can so work.”

Closing the gap between them again, Sadie gently caressed Ellie’s neck as she kissed her. The make out session was longer than their other ones had been, and Ellie savored it. Savored the way Sadie wrapped her legs around her body as she pressed into her. Savored the way her hands felt under Sadie’s ass.

For the first time in her life, Ellie began to seriously wonder about having sex. She always hoped she’d know when she was ready for it, but it seemed to go from zero to sixty the minute Sadie’s lips touched her skin.

Not now. Not here.

No. Ellie would know when she was ready, and she wasn’t there yet.

“So,” Ellie breathlessly said between kisses, “does this mean you’re my girlfriend?”

“Hell yeah, it does.”

Chapter 26

Sadie

Five days had never gone by so fast in Sadie’s life. It felt like she had only just arrived in the Cape, and yet now she was packing her bag to leave while Ellie sat on the bed and watched. The last two days had been absolute bliss with Ellie, as the two had hung out together and made out more times than Sadie could count.

Of course, the entire Mackenzie family seemed to have caught them kissing at some point during the last few days. Sadie wondered how they’d ever get to have an actual relationship once they got back to the Cove and added her own parents’ nosy eyes into the mix. It felt like they were under a microscope, and everyone was watching to see what would happen next. All they needed was a British narrator, and they could make one hell of a documentary.

“I don’t want you to go,” Ellie whined from her spot at the edge of the bed. Sadie had her duffle bag open on the floor and was sitting cross-legged beside it. “You should just stay.”

Sadie would have loved to stay longer, but her parents had already planned a trip to Florida for the next few days. Had Sadie known how badly she wouldn’t want to leave the Cape, she never would have agreed to go with them in the first place.

“I wish I could, but you know I can’t.” Standing, Sadie zipped her bag before sitting on the bed beside Ellie. Her dark brown eyes melted Sadie as she slowly leaned in to kiss her.

Kissing Ellie Mackenzie was unlike anything Sadie had experienced before. She loved the way their lips felt when they pressed against each other and the taste of Ellie’s toothpaste still lingering on her lips. Sadie ran her hand through Ellie’s dark brown hair as she caressed her head as their kissing intensified.

Having never seriously kissed anyone before Ellie, Sadie was surprised at how quickly she’d learned. Sure, she’d kissed people before and been kissed. Sometimes without her consent. But Ellie was different in every way. She never made Sadie feel inexperienced or rushed or pressured to move faster than she was ready.

Not that they were anywhere close to doing more than kissing. Sadie knew before they took any next step they’d have to talk about it. She’d been in the position where the person she was withdidn’ttalk about it and she knew how detrimental that had been to her own mental health. No, Sadie wouldn’t do that to Ellie. Ellie deserved all the respect in the world and Sadie would give it to her.

“Sadie?”

“Hmm?”

“I really like you.”