Page 15

As I knocked on the door to the guesthouse, I felt like a teenage boy all over again—heart racing, anxiety through the roof—as if I were going on a date for the first time ever.

This technically wasn’t a date, but I was always nervous around Ellie regardless of the circumstances.

Knock. Knock. Knock.

“Coming!” Ellie yelled from the other side of the door.

After a few seconds, I could hear the click of the lock unlatching, then the door opened.

Fuck me, she was beautiful.

Ellie had on a pair of blue jeans that looked like they had been painted onto her body. Her pink blouse displayed the most skin she had dared to expose since she’d arrived, and her blonde hair fell in waves over her shoulders.

“Come in, I’m almost ready,” she said. “I just need to get my purse, and we can head out.”

“Take your time,” I said as I walked into the living room, admiring her curves from behind .

She turned suddenly, looking around for her purse.

I quickly averted my eyes, hoping she wouldn’t notice the way they’d been tracing her body.

“Does this outfit look okay?” she asked with genuine concern, as if she wasn’t drop-dead gorgeous.

“Are you kidding me? You look amazing,” I replied before I could stop myself.

Her cheeks turned pink, and she tucked a strand of hair behind her ear.

“Oh, um thank you,” she said, clearly caught off guard by my comment.

I walked ahead of Ellie as we made our way towards my truck, ensuring I had enough time to open the passenger door for her.

“And they say chivalry is dead,” she joked as I helped her climb inside.

Sitting in the driver seat, I turned the key in the ignition, bringing the truck to life. As we drove along the two-lane highway into town, I thought about the text Jason had sent Ellie the week before.

“Have you gotten anymore messages from Jason?”

She paused, caught off guard by my question.

“No, I haven’t, actually. I blocked his number that night, though, so he doesn’t really have a way to contact me anymore,” she explained.

“Good. He doesn’t deserve to take up space in your life,” I said.

She nodded slowly, her fingers clutching her purse tighter. “I know. It just… still feels weird to have it be over, you know?”

“I get that,” I said. “But sometimes closing a door is the best thing you can do. ”

She released a breath, her shoulders dropping slightly. “Yeah. Maybe it is.” She was quiet for a moment. “I just wish people understood how hard it is to actually leave,” she added.

I stayed quiet, letting her speak.

“People say things like, ‘Why didn’t you just walk away?’ like it’s that easy.

Like you haven’t spent months—years even—convincing yourself it wasn’t that bad or that maybe it was your fault.

” She swallowed, shaking her head. “I used to tell myself he hadn’t always been that way.

That maybe if I tried harder, if I didn’t upset him, things would go back to the way they were in the beginning. ”

My hands gripped the steering wheel, knuckles turning white with the effort. The thought of Ellie blaming herself for someone else’s cruelty made my stomach turn. “You know none of it was your fault, right?”

She gave me a small, sad smile. “I do now. But in the moment… it wasn’t so clear.

And the worst part is, unless someone’s been through it, they don’t really get it.

They don’t understand how deep it runs—the fear, the guilt, the way they make you believe you’ll never be able to leave. Or worse—that you don’t deserve to.”

I shook my head, my chest tight. “You deserve so much more than that.”

She let out a shaky breath, her eyes meeting mine. “I think I’m finally starting to believe that.”

As the words left her mouth, we pulled into the parking lot of Maggie’s. The neon sign flickered against the dark sky. The place was busy with cars scattered across the lot, their windshields reflecting the buzzing light.

I killed the engine and glanced over at Ellie. She was staring out the window, lost in thought, her fingers nervously twisting in her lap.

“You okay?” I asked gently.

She blinked, as if snapping back to reality, and offered a small smile. “Yeah. Just… thinking.”

I waited, giving her the space to say more if she wanted to. After a beat, she sighed and reached for the door handle. “Come on. Let’s eat.”

As we stepped inside, the familiar scent of greasy cheeseburgers and fresh pies engulfed us. We slid into a booth near the window, and before we could even grab the sticky laminated menus, a familiar voice called out from behind the counter.

“Well, well, look who finally decided to stop in,” Maggie said, a grin spreading across her face as she wiped her hands on her apron. She was in her sixties but had the energy of someone half her age, her silver-streaked hair pulled up into a messy bun. “You two hungry?”

“Starving,” I admitted, glancing at Ellie. “What sounds good?”

She scanned the menu briefly before setting it down. “Cheeseburger and fries,” she said, confident in her choice.

“Make that two,” I added.

Maggie smirked. “Coming right up. And you picked a good night—trivia starts in ten.”

I raised a brow. “Trivia?”

She cocked her head towards the corner where a small microphone and a pile of question cards sat on the counter. “Monday night tradition. Winner gets movie tickets and a free slice of pie.”

Ellie chuckled. “I haven’t played trivia in forever.”

I grinned. “Then I guess we better win.”

She met my eyes, a smile spreading across her face. “Let’s do this.”

As our burgers arrived, the diner started to fill with a low buzz of excitement. A few regulars moved closer to the front, settling in for trivia night, as Maggie grabbed the microphone.

“Alright, folks! You know the deal—answer right, rack up points, the winner gets pie and two tickets to a movie of their choice at Silver Creek Theater. Let’s see who’s the smartest in the room tonight.”

I nudged Ellie playfully. “You ready for this?”

She smirked, picking up a fry and pointing it at me. “I hope you know random facts, because I’m not carrying this team by myself.”

I held up my hands in mock offense. “Hey, I’m full of useless knowledge. Prepare to be impressed.”

The first question was not my forte—a pop culture one about recent rom-com movies. Ellie answered before I even had a chance to think.

“Okay, show-off,” I teased. “Let’s see how you do with history.”

As the game went on, we leaned in closer, heads nearly touching as we whispered, discussing our answers. Sometimes we were right; sometimes we were hilariously off.

“What’s the capital of Finland?” Maggie read.

Ellie hesitated, glancing over at me. “Uh…”

I grinned. “It’s Helsinki. ”

By the final round, we were tied for first place with an older couple who looked like they came to trivia every week. The final question would decide it all.

Maggie grinned as she read it aloud. “What is the only letter not used in any US state name?”

My mind blanked. I turned to Ellie, searching her face.

She bit her lip, eyes sparkling. “It’s Q,” she whispered.

“You sure?”

She nodded. “Trust me.”

I did.

We wrote it down, giving our final answer to Maggie.

She walked back to the platform, reading each teams answers out loud.

“Quiztopher Columbus said the letter Z. However, Espresso Yourself said the letter Q. And the correct answer is… Q!” Maggie announced happily, looking our way.

Ellie threw her arms around me with a victorious cheer. I hugged her back, not sure what to do in the moment.

“You are officially my favorite teammate,” she said, grinning.

“I’m your only teammate,” I said, looking around as if there were someone else playing with us the whole time.

She laughed, swatting my arm. “Details, details.”

Maggie slid two movie-ticket vouchers onto our table along with two slices of her famous huckleberry pie .

“Fresh pie for the winners, and looky there. Now you two have got yourselves a second date already planned out,” she said.

“It’s not a date,” we both said in unison.

Maggie ignored us, walking off as if she didn’t hear anything we said.

Ellie just brushed it off, grabbing the two tickets and smiling, holding them up as if they were winning lottery tickets.

I liked seeing her this way—light, unburdened. If I could give her more moments like this, I would.

Her eyes met mine, catching me watching her. “What?”

I shook my head, smiling. “Nothing. Just glad that you’re havin’ a good time.”

Ellie’s expression softened, and for a moment, neither of us said anything. The noise of the diner buzzed around us, but all I could focus on was the warmth in her eyes.

On our drive home, Ellie suddenly turned up the radio, recognizing the song that came on.

“Oh my gosh, this is one of my favorite songs of all time!” she squealed before singing the chorus to Strawberry Wine, using her cellphone as a microphone.

Everything about this moment was perfect, and I couldn’t help but laugh as she belted out the lyrics, completely unbothered by how off-key she was.

“You’re really going for it, huh?” I teased as she swayed in her seat, eyes closed like she was performing on stage.

She peeked one eye open, grinning. “Obviously. It’s a classic. ”

Her eyes lit up as I sang the next line with her, our voices blending—badly—but neither of us cared. Our concert continued until we reached the driveway of the guesthouse.

After pulling in, I jumped out of the truck, making my way towards Ellie’s side and opening the door for her.

We made our way onto the wooden porch, pausing at the door. Ellie turned to face me, her keys dangling loosely from her fingers.

“Tonight was really nice,” she said, her voice softer now, almost hesitant.

I nodded. “Yeah, it was.”

For a second, neither of us moved. The night air was cool, crisp.

The glow from the porch light cast a golden hue over her face, highlighting the warmth in her eyes, and her lips parted like she was about to say something but thought better of it.

She shifted, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear.

“I—I can’t remember the last time I laughed as much as I did tonight.”

“You should do it more often,” I said smiling, my voice low.

Ellie’s gaze flickered to my mouth.

My pulse kicked up, my breathing felt shallow, and before I could stop myself, I leaned in. Close enough to catch the faintest trace of vanilla and something sweet on her skin.

I pinned Ellie against the door, my arms on both sides of her body.

She met my eyes, her breath hitching, but she didn’t move away .

It would be so easy to close the distance, to let this moment turn into something more.

Her hands made their way up my shirt, her fists clutching the fabric for dear life.

My brain was telling me to stop, but the way her body pressed against me, the way her lips hovered just beneath mine, made every part of me want to keep going. Her breath was warm on my skin, her hands trembling as they traced the edge of my jaw.

Heat radiated from her, the pull between us so strong that I couldn’t think straight. The weight of the moment hung heavy in the air, thick with the tension of everything unsaid.

I wanted this—wanted her. But even in the charged haze of it all, a part of me knew it wasn’t the right time, that it wasn’t the way I wanted to start something with her.

“Ellie,” I whispered, my voice low, filled with the struggle. “Tell me to stop.”

She froze for a second, her hands stilling against my chest, her eyes searching mine, vulnerable and intense. Her breath was shallow, and I could see the conflict in her eyes.

“What if I don’t want you to, Colt?”

Everything inside me screamed pull her closer, to let the kiss I had been holding back finally happen, but I forced myself to take a step back.

“We can’t,” I said softly.

Her gaze dropped, a flicker of disappointment shooting across her face before she stepped back, breaking the closeness between us .

We stood there for a moment, just looking at each other, both of us trying to catch our breath, to settle the storm of emotions swirling in the air.

“Goodnight, Ellie,” I said finally, my voice thick, as I turned away to head for my truck.

“Goodnight,” she replied, her voice barely audible over the distance growing between us.

I didn’t look back as I drove away, but I could feel her presence lingering, the weight of what almost happened heavy on my chest.