Page 74 of Salto

I groaned. “Do not get any ideas.”

“Long-distance running is great cross-training for gymnastics.” He sounded so serious it genuinely worried me. I hated running.

“Are the breathing exercises not torture enough?”

His head fell back, and he laughed at my word choice. “Torture? You want this, remember?”

“Do I?” I pretended to think about it. “I probably need to be studied if pain is what I seek.”

“Probably,” he admitted. “But it’s not just you. I trained until my body basically gave out, so I think both our brains need to be scanned.”

“I’ll book us an appointment after the Olympics.”

“Good idea.”

“Maybe if I win a medal, I can show it to the brain scientists when I end up in a controlled study lab.”

A laugh escaped both of us before the conversation settled into a comfortable silence. We watched the waves roll in for another few minutes, neither of us seeming in much of a hurry to leave.

Eventually, I brushed the sand from my legs. “Well… um. I should probably be heading back.”

Rove brushed the sand from his shorts and stood. "Yeah. Me too."

His eyes followed the path leading back toward our apartment building. He lingered for a beat before looking at me again.

"Can I, uh... walk with you?" One hand slipped into his pocket as though he suddenly wasn't sure what to do with it.

“Sure,” I said.

The walk back from the beach toward our apartment building felt strangely familiar, much like that first day we'd met on Muscle Beach.

Neither of us seemed in any hurry. We fell into an easy silence that somehow didn't feel awkward at all.

The rush of the waves and the crunch of sand beneath our feet faded into the click of my flip-flops against the pavement.

When we reached the parking area at the base of the complex, my steps slowed.

"Well..."I didn't know exactly where his apartment was located, so I just gestured toward my tower at the top of the building and started up the stairs. "I'll see you tomorrow?"

He leaned against the stair railing, folding his arms across his chest.

"Yeah." His mouth tugged into a small smile. "Tomorrow."

I did my best to climb the steps nonchalantly and not look back at him.

But something tugged at me anyway.

When I reached the third floor, I couldn't ignore it any longer, and I glanced over my shoulder.

But he was already gone.

CHAPTER 28

When I fell asleep, my mind took me back to the parking lot almost instantly. It was like my subconscious knew where I actually wanted to be.

Rove was leaning against his motorcycle, his arms crossed over his chest.

"Wanna go for a ride?" he asked.