I slept in until eleven the next morning, needing that long for the adrenaline to finally fade. When I checked my phone, a text from Sierra was already waiting: Had a great time! Hope we can do it again 😀
“Me 2 😀,” I shot back.
Right then, I decided to throw caution to the wind. It was time to spill my heart out to her. Now, I just had to find the perfect moment.
That moment presented itself the following Tuesday.
“Hey, wanna hang out with me at the park across from my place?” Sierra asked as we navigated the crowded hallway between classes. “I go there to sketch sometimes. It’s a quiet place to just sit, talk, and admire this gorgeous weather.”
My heart did a sudden, violent flip against my ribs. This was it.
“Sure,” I replied, trying to sound completely casual. “Nothing else going on, and I don’t have any homework.”
I raced home, threw on a clean shirt, and flew back down the stairs. I nearly leveled my mom as she walked through the front door, fresh off a shift at work.
“See you later Mom, going to the park with Sierra!” I yelled over my shoulder.
I glanced back just in time to catch the look on her face. Wise. Knowing. Yeah, she definitely knew what was on my mind.
My hands were suddenly sweaty, and the casual cool I’d practiced for the past few days evaporated as I got on my bike and headed out.
When I got to the park, Sierra was already there, transferring to the bench, her wheelchair off to the side but close by. She pulled her sketchbook out, beginning to do a drawing of people passing by in the park.
“Have a seat,” Sierra said while patting the bench seat.
I sat down, trying to steady my breathing.
“I’ve got something to show you,” she said, flipping past a few pages of charcoal landscapes until she hit a vibrant, colored-pencil piece. “I call it ‘wishful thinking’.”
I stared at the page, and the air completely left my lungs.
It was a drawing of us from the dance. Only this time, there was no wheelchair. It was just the two of us, on our feet, spinning beneath the canopy of lights. I looked from the paper to Sierra's face, my heart melting into a puddle in my chest.
We both started to talk at the same time.
“You go first,” Sierra smiled.
I took a deep breath, watching the world shrink down to just the two of us. “Sierra, these past few months have been the best times of my life. You are one of the strongest, most incredible people I’ve ever known. I really, really like you—maybe even love you. So... will you be my girlfriend? I just—I don't want to lose what we have, but I want it to be more."
Sierra got a massive grin on her face and reached out, squeezing my hand.
“What took you so long? I’ve been waiting for a month," she laughed, though her eyes suddenly grew serious. She gripped my fingers a little tighter. "But I need you to know something. Back in Miami, before the accident, I had a boyfriend. As soon as he found out I’d never walk again, he bailed. Called me 'damaged goods.' So listen to me: if I ever find out you’re asking me out of pity, I will drag your reputation so deep into the mud you’ll never dig it out.”
The fierceness in her voice caught me off guard. I looked at her, the playfulness draining from my face. Her heart had been broken by some jerk before, but that would not be repeated by me.
"Sierra, I swear to you, pity has nothing to do with this. I'm here because of you, because of the way you make me feel when I’m around you.." I softened, giving her a small, mock salute to break the tension. "But understood, loud and clear."
“Close your eyes, and I’ll give you your answer,” she said softly.
I closed my eyes, felt her hand cup my chin, and she pressed her lips to mine in a kiss that made fireworks go off behind my eyelids.
When she pulled back, I let out a breath I didn't know I was holding. "So... I'm guessing that's a yes?"
"Smart guy," she teased, resting her head against my shoulder as we looked out over the park.
We spent the rest of our time just talking about what came next. We were most definitely going to schedule that dinner with our parents that we talked about a while back, and I promised her that I’d ask my dad to build a ramp to our porch, widen some doorways, and put in some rails so that our visits would not be limited to her place, school, or outdoors.
“Sierra Duncan, you have just made me one happy guy.”
“Jimmy Patterson, you’ve made me one happy girl.”
The rest of the afternoon passed us by, and when it was time to go home, I escorted her down the path to her house, instead of letting her travel by herself.
When we got to her front door, I leaned down and kissed her again.
“I love you,” I said, running my hands through her hair.
“I love you too,” she said while taking my hand in hers and gently rubbing it.
And with that, the best day (so far) of our lives came to a close.
They say that high school romance never lasts.
I say never say never
Check back in in a few years.
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