Page 58 of Sparks Like Ours

She set out for it, paddling like a maniac, monitoring the way thewave shifted as she rose to her feet, catching the ride, taking the first curvewith acute agility. She drew to the bottom of the wave, which slowed her speedand took a two phase turn just to get the board moving again. Damn it. She bither bottom lip and rode loose, trying to take back her power. But every wavehad a different personality and broke in different directions for reasons Ellewould never fully understand. This wave had a mind of its own and shifted onher, the force of the surge knocking her breathless and off the board. Totalwipeout. She caught a mouthful of water and struggled her way to the surfaceagainst the forceful current. No go.

Foz turned in a clean ride that would yield her a conservative5.7. Elle knew she could top it and refused to let her first effort mess withher head. Not today. She set out again, on her feet early, taking a big whipoff the top of the wave, power hook off the open face sending a ton of spray.This was it. This was what she needed. She slithered her way to the insidewall, closed it out off the top for a finishing move, and rode her way out.

That’s how you did it. She was scored at 7.8.

Foz offered her a nod and the game was on.

They went back and forth, trading waves. With each outing, Ellebettered her score, taking the heat easily in the end with a combined score of16.9. The crowd, as always, was supportive, and she waved to them in gratitude.She consulted with Bruce, who agreed with her more aggressive approach as theheat progressed, snagged information about her next round, and headed back tothe Reebok-sponsored locker room for recovery. A sauna didn’t sound so badabout now. She threw a glance to the competitors’ box and paused right there inher tracks. Gia smiled back at her. The smile was conservative, yes, but thatwasn’t the point. Gia had stayed behind and watched her heat, despite what musthave been an unexpected and devastating defeat in only round two of thetournament. Elle shook her head slightly and felt the smile grow on her face.Gia was there forher.She’d shoved aside her own disappointment and had showed up.

Elle crossed the small expanse of beach between them, leanedacross the rope to Gia, took her face in her hands, and kissed her square onthe lips. Gia didn’t balk or so much as pull away as long-lensed cameras turnedfrom the water to the competitors’ box in a clicking flurry. “It sucks. I’msorry,” Elle whispered to Gia, who nodded in response. “Find me later?”

“I will,” Gia said, and gave her hand a squeeze.

Jordan Tuscana, with a camera of her own a few feet away, turnedto Gia. “You have so much explaining to do.”

Chapter Thirteen

“You’ve been sensationalized!” Hadley proclaimed, from her spot atBreakfast Club. She stared in awe at the laptop showcasing the photo of Ellekissing Gia at Swatch Pro. “You’re a real life love scandal sitting in theCat’s Pajamas. And Iknowyou! I’m famous by default.”

Gia sipped her coffee. “It’s definitely getting a lot of play. Thephoto’s on every blog, website, and sports news outlet there is. My phone won’tstop blowing up. People want to know everything.”

“Well, let’s think about it,” Isabel said, tapping the table. “Tworeally attractive women, who’ve been pitted against each other for years, aremaking out on a beach in front of thousands. Oh! And one of them is wearing aswimsuit at the time.” She shook her head as if stumped. “Nope. Can’t imaginewhy anyone would be interested in that.”

Her friends laughed.

“I was shocked she did it.” Gia shook her head, but a smile creptonto her face. “She’s apologized several times for the impulsive decision, butsince when have I cared what the press has to say? Elle’s the one with fallout.Until now, she was the All-American girl who would likely fall in love with theAll-American boy and have babies photographed byPeopleMagazine.”

Autumn winced. “Shedidout herself to, well, the world in one giant gesture. That’s gotta be a lot towrap her mind around.”

“And do we know how she’s doing with that? Does she need support?”Hadley asked. “We can go to her place and be her friends. Maybe she needsfriends about now, you know? I could make brownies.” She studied the faces ofher own friends for feedback.

Gia placed a hand on Hadley’s shoulder. “You’re a nice person,Hadley. But she won’t be home from San Clemente until tonight, so you’ll haveto put your friendship on pause until then. She said she had a productive chatwith her parents, who were surprised but supportive.”

Hadley nodded. “Cool, cool. I can wait. But let her know we’rehere if she wants to talk or have coffee or eat food. It can be terrifying,coming out. And she did it on such a huge stage.”

“I can’t even imagine,” Autumn said. “I told one person at a timeover the course of nearly two years, building my courage.”

Gia smiled proudly as she thought on Elle’s big gesture. “She’spretty tough. I think she’ll be okay.”

“And you?” Isabel asked. “I know you’re bummed about your finish.”

Gia nodded, still not over how poorly she’d performed at theSwatch Pro. She didn’t understand quite what went wrong. She’d overslept, yeah,and had to race to her heat like a bat out of hell. She hoped that’s all itwas. Yet something pulled at her, made her wonder why she hadn’t been able toengage the way she normally did. She had been distracted and not feeling likeherself. “Just a fluke, I’m betting. Luckily, number three on the leaderboardwent down early as well. Not as early as me, but still helpful.”

“And Elle?” Autumn asked.

“Held on until semis. She’ll earn some decent points off thatshowing. Hold on to number one easily.”

Hadley leaned in and whispered, “We still want you to take herdown, right? Even though you’re surfing’s hottest new couple?”

“Definitely,” Gia whispered back.

Isabel tapped a finger on her lips. “How’s that going to work,exactly? You two are dating and also engaged in pretty heavy competition? Canboth of those things exist?”

Gia squinted. “Haven’t figured that part out yet.”

“Sounds promising,” Isabel said. “Nothing can go wrong there.”

“Stop that!” Hadley told Isabel. “A minor detail. They’ll figureit out. Love finds a way.”

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