Page 42 of Sparks Like Ours

After lunch and a short rest for her muscles, Gia did somestretches, put on a sky-blue bikini top and board shorts, hopped in her Jeep,and headed for South Bay, home of Hermosa Beach. The twelve-mile drive tookclose to half an hour in traffic, giving her plenty of time to second-guesswhat was probably a horrible idea. Who trained with their competition? No onedid, because it was stupid. Something else was driving her, and it had littleto do with surfing.Don’tthink. Don’t overanalyze.But she knew exactly what it was. Shecraved time with Elle. Craved being in her presence, staring at her, talking toher. It was becoming all too familiar, that want, and it came with a power likenothing she’d ever experienced.

In fact, she was beginning to wonder if she could fight it if shetried.

Elle’s directions were perfect, and when she arrived, Gia foundher on a stretch of quiet beach. Some dudes tossed a football down the shore. Acouple walked their schnauzer. Meanwhile, music blared from a radio propped upin the sand (something current and poppy that you’d hear on the radio) as Elledid lower abdominal crunches on an exercise mat in her red sports bikini. Giablinked at the skin on display. She’d seen it all before, a million times. Yetthings seemed very different now. She swallowed back the desire that envelopedher.

“What’s up, Two?” Elle asked, not so much as pausing her crunches.At least she offered a bright smile.

Gia stared down at Elle. “If that’s my cue to call you One, it’snot gonna happen.”

Elle sat up and draped her forearms across her knees. The suncaught her eyes just perfectly, highlighting the light blue. She had a thinsheen of perspiration on her forehead, and her smile, as always, could light upeven the darkest of rooms. She met Gia’s gaze. “I’m willing to let you call mewhatever you want. Within reason. Count for me?”

Gia grinned and took her spot at Elle’s feet as Beyoncé empoweredthem both from the radio in the sand. She began counting off the crunches.“Two, four, six, eight, ten.” Every time Elle raised up, her gaze met Gia’s andheld for a fleeting moment. “Twenty-two, twenty-four, twenty-six.” Her firstinstinct was to look away, to deflect, or make a joke. But, no, not this time.She held on, relishing the way their locked eyes made her feel. She feltconnected to Elle and loved every second of it. When they hit a hundred, Giatook charge. “Sit-ups. Fifty.”

“You’re a demanding trainer. You sure you want me in tip-topshape? Could be consequences. Swatch Pro is just under a week away.”

“Yeah, well, I happen to know how good your competition is, so Ithink we’re okay.” They traded off counting for each other, and as they workedout under the hot sun, Gia felt herself relax more and more and truly relishthe afternoon and how much fun the two of them were having together.Competition banter and all.

They decided to end with a run along the beach before hitting thewaves. She allowed Elle to set their pace, and it wasn’t an easy one. “Are youshowing off?” she asked.

“Maybe a little.” They ran on, and Elle tossed her a glance. “I’mglad you came by. Got my ass moving more than I have all week.”

“Same. Maybe we should have been training alongside ourcompetitors this whole time.”

“Well, the pretty ones at least.” Elle pulled ahead and Gia turnedup the gas, hot on her heels with a broad smile on her face. The exertion, theendorphins, or maybe the fact that she didn’t have to look Elle in the eye hadGia feeling lighthearted and courageous.

“Are you flirting with me?” she asked.

A pause. “Maybe.”

Maybe.Wow. Gia wasn’t inventing things. And if Elle was flirting, what exactly wouldall of that mean? Did it change anything for Gia? Would she suddenly want topursue Elle Britton officially? Sounded like a dumb idea in the larger schemeof things, but for a minute she allowed herself to enjoy the unravel. The idea.

“Were you flirting withmeat the restaurant the other night?” Elle asked. Her tone wasplayful, but Gia saw through it. Maybe Elle was just as intrigued by theirnewfound dynamic as Gia was.

What the hell. She decided to go for it. “Yeah, I’d say I was.Just in fun, though.”

“Okay. Good to know.”

They ran on as the sun continued its descent in the sky and thewaves rolled in not far from their feet. The sound of the water and distantseagulls served as their soundtrack while they each seemed to retreat to thequietness of their own thoughts.

“What about you?” Gia asked. “Were you flirting withmeat the restaurantthe other night?”

“I think so.”

Another pause, as Gia processed this. She’d guessed as much, buthearing it out loud was something else entirely. It also brought up a lot ofquestions. “But you’re straight.” The words had tumbled from her mouth.Unfortunately, Gia didn’t come with a ton of finesse and pretty much just saidthings as they occurred to her. Hearing that sentence out loud, however, hadher wishing she had employed some of Hadley’s sensitivity.

Elle stopped running, which also brought Gia to a stop. She placedher hands on her hips and took a moment as her breathing slowed. She stared atGia. “I never said that.”

“Oh.” Gia didn’t know what to say to that, but she had to saysomething. She stared briefly at a seagull splashing in the surf. “I justthought so, because you’ve always dated men.”

“Well, everyone’s straight until they’re not, right?”

Elle ran on, leaving Gia staring after her, shocked, encouraged,and shocked again. She caught up and they ran for another ten minutes with onlythe sounds of the beach accompanying them.

“You should stick around after we surf. We can have some food.” Apause. “I should have just said we can have dinner. That would have beenbetter.”

Gia laughed. “Either works for me. I’m pretty simple that way.”

“Are you, though?” Elle asked, which made Gia stop and think.She’d always considered herself a fairly what-you-see-is-what-you-get person.

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