𝐂𝐎𝐌𝐏𝐋𝐄𝐓𝐄𝐃 𝐂𝐎𝐋𝐋𝐄𝐆𝐄 𝐑𝐎𝐌𝐀𝐍𝐂𝐄 with soft and mature themes.
College senior Sierra adores her best friend Brian, but he inadvertently thwarts her love life on occasion. She didn't expect to meet Nick that night, but they quickly fel...
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My family must want to murder me. I've lost count how many times I've checked my phone in the last few hours, waiting on a text back from Sierra.
My parents married young and had me when they were roughly twenty years old. For me, they're relationship goals, and I'm close with them both.
Still no reply after we winterize the pool or when we begin assembling new bed frames for my brother and sister. I show him our photo. "Isn't she beautiful?"
My dad pushes dark brown hair from his eyes. He let it grow this summer, and it's peppered with gray near the front. Peering at the photo, he nods, his eyes carrying a knowing glint. Tools clank as he rustles around. "Yeah, what's Dream Girl's name?"
"Sierra."
"What's she like?"
"Well, she's easy to talk to; warm and funny. I don't know, Dad, she's just like, really great."
"Blushing."
"Shut up." I settle on the ground with the electric screwdriver, daydreaming.
"Hey, bub, bring the flathead, please."
"Earth to Nick."
"Nick!"
A gentle kick to my leg brings me back to reality. "Hey, what the heck?" I complain, spotting my dad struggling to hold something steady.
"Flathead, please."
"Sorry!" I pocket my phone and hand him the screwdriver.
"You are losing it," my dad says, shaking his head.
"Sorry!"
Call me superstitious, but I have to see Sierra before classes begin. My mom and fifteen-year-old sister Ariella pout as I gather my things to head back to school.
"He's got a girl to impress," my dad says, pulling my mom in for a hug to rest on him. She is about a foot shorter than he is, and always seems to be on the verge of smiling. Where my dad is a quiet reservoir, my mom is a bubbling fountain.
"You do?!" Ari squeaks, hugging herself. My sister is a ball of energy in a five-foot-two body; dancing and singing around whether or not you tease her, and is the first to volunteer to help.
"Let's not get ahead of ourselves." I smile while my mom beams. "But, yes, I met somebody that I think is, you know, special."
My dad lifts an eyebrow. "I hope she's nicer than the last girl."
"She is," I reassure him. Like, one hundred times nicer, and I'm sort of dying to spend time with her.
I zip down to the basement and hug Luke goodbye before high-fiving his best friend, Mike. "See ya, guys."
My pocket buzzes, and my heart leaps. "Hello?"
"Hi, Nick, it's Sierra."
"Hey! I'm about to drive back to school. Would you like to have dinner with me?"
