“How do you feel about that?”
How did she feel? That wasn’t an easy question to answer, and it also wasn’t exactly romantic. She was relieved Mack hadn’t woken up spouting love poetry, but also a little disappointed. Mack was her safe place, not her sexy place. Kayla was the one who’d made it weird with her wildly inappropriate sleep humping.
Kayla forced a smile onto her lips and a sunny lightness to her voice. “I feel great. You’re an amazing kisser, and last night was fun.”
Mack tensed beside her. “Yeah, it was.”
A noncommittal answer if there ever was one. Kayla said, “We should probably hit pause on anything more until we figure out what’s going on, though.”
Mack’s body visibly relaxed, and she even let out her breath in a rush like she’d been holding it waiting for Kayla’s answer. “Absolutely. I want to go slow, too. More talk, less action.”
Before Kayla could ask what she meant by slow, they turned a corner by the beach access and nearly collided with Skye and Amy coming out of the gym. Skye was drenched in sweat and beaming. Just looking at that smile brought a veritable flood of memories over Kayla. She’d forgotten how much she loved that wired, manic energy Skye always got from a serious workout. Some of their best times as a couple were hitting bars or being flirty right after the gym. Something about muscle fatigue and calorie burn ramped Skye’s personality up to eleven. Kayla missed that. She missed the adventurous spirit Skye brought to her life.
Skye gave herthatlook, one eyebrow raised and mischief twinkling in her eye. “What’s this? It’s nearly six a.m., and youhaven’t even broken a sweat yet. Clearly Mack isn’t pushing you hard enough.”
And just like that, her competitive fire was stoked. “I’ve got plenty in the tank.”
“Oh yeah? Prove it.”
“How about a race?”
Mack cleared her throat. “Do you think that’s a good idea, LaLa?”
Somehow, with the glint in Skye’s eye and the sweat on her forehead, time flew backward. The previous year melted away, and they weren’t standing beside two other people they were supposed to marry. The only things that existed were Kayla, Skye, and the thrill of the challenge. The future she’d lost when Skye walked out was standing right there. The prize at the end of one more competition.
Kayla didn’t think. This was what she’d come to St. Lucia for. All she had to do was act. She surveyed the scene around them and spotted the perfect racetrack at once. “Down the beach, around the bend, to the rock cliff.”
Skye’s smile was answer enough. “You’re on.”
Mack’s voice came from a long way off. “Seriously. That cliff is super steep. It’s not a good idea.”
Skye didn’t break eye contact. “On the count of three?”
Kayla’s cheeks hurt with the ferocity of her smile. “One…two…”
“Three!”
Skye turned on her heel and bolted before the word was fully out of her mouth. It didn’t matter, though. Kayla knew her well enough to expect it. She tucked her shoulders and sprinted hard. She leaped from the foot-high stone wall onto the sand without breaking stride. A slice of white-hot pain shot through her leg on impact. It was enough to take her breath away, but she had run without breath most days during her playing career. She knewhow to fight through it when it really mattered, and it mattered right then.
Skye was three strides ahead of her, but Kayla had always been a better runner. She had been seven years old when she realized she could run longer and faster than anyone else her age, even the boys. She had been ten when her father taught her to keep running even when it hurt. There was a corner of her brain permanently reserved for shoving the pain into so she could keep up the push. She used it now for the first time in ages.
When she pulled even with Skye, she had enough breath to tease. “That all you got, Skye? You run like a girl.”
“I am a girl, and we run fucking hard.”
Skye surged, the strain showing in her face, and gained back a stride. Kayla knew the signs of weakness in an opponent, though. Her mouth was tight, and her arms were pumping too hard for the start of this sprint.
Kayla dug deep and clawed back the distance. “Your new girlfriend doesn’t push you like I did. You’re going soft.”
“Bullshit,” Skye said, but she was breathless.
“Admit it.”
“Just wait and see who wins before you start crowing too loud.”
They whipped around the corner, Kayla laughing. She had chosen the inside track, closer to the water, so she had a shorter distance. Skye had never been the type to strategize. She had given up the best position, and it was going to cost her. Kayla pulled ahead, but she heard Skye’s panting breath right on her heels. The rock face was in sight, but Kayla couldn’t afford to slow down. She called on the last of her reserves, pressing the pain in her knee farther back in her mind, and threw herself into the race.
Kayla’s hands slapped the sun-warmed stone as she crashed into the cliff face. She should have slowed to spare her body, butthat might’ve been the difference between winning and losing. She couldn’t afford to lose this one.
