But Benny hadn’t left it here. She looked around the office, quickly making sure it looked the same, then joined Cotton at the door. She took the diving manual from him and set it back on the empty bookshelf by the cubbies. “Let’s see what you can do.”
Needing something to hang on to, she took Cotton’s hand. He pulled back at first, but then squeezed her fingers. She led him across the spongy floor mats to the far side of the gym.
“Is that a diving board?” He dropped her hand.
“It’s a real board, the same one that’s on any pool. Except for the water.”
She climbed the ladder, walked across the board, peered over the edge into the pit of foam blocks. She bounced, gently at first, then, higher, pushing harder, launching herself as high as she dared, then a little higher, to the point where her insides were out of sync with the rest of her. Adrenaline still felt like a healing potion. Necessary doses required.
As she slowed again, Cotton clapped from his spot along the side of the pit.
“You can’t clap yet. I haven’t done anything.” She raced down the board and threw herself off with a flip and a twist. She heard the clang of the board before she hit the pit, sinking into the soft pieces of foam.
“I don’t think we’re the same species. That was amazing.”
“You’re too easily amazed. That wasn’t even a real dive.” She waded through the armpit-high mess of foam and stood on the soft and uneven floor at the edge of the pit.
“Show me something real.”
“I can, but I have to land them feet-first since there’s no water.”
This was why she’d brought him here. It’s what she was craving.
Her body remembered the moves. She barely had to think. She was on automatic, going through her collection of dives, in every direction. Front. Back. Reverse. Inward. And twisters, her favorite because they could be everything combined.
Finally, she met him where he leaned against a stack of mats pushed against the wall. “Come on. It’s your turn. You should take off your tie.”
He loosened, then slipped it off his head, tossing it to the side. He unbuttoned his shirt and removed that too, leaving on a white T-shirt with his dress slacks.
“While you’re at it, pants could be a problem too. They might get messed up.”
“No, thank you.” Cotton moved slowly across the rough and springy surface and stood at the end of the board, looking down.
“It’s like a trampoline,” she said.
“Yes. Except for all the ways it’s not.”
She laughed. “That’s true about everything. Just jump. You don’t have to do anything fancy.”
“My jumping will be fancy.” He hurled himself off the board, letting out a yell as his arms and legs waved for the brief second he was in the air. He sank deep into the blocks, then came up wide-eyed, with teeny bits of foam in his hair.
“Let’s play copycat. Whatever you do, I have to do too.”
Most of Cotton’s tricks consisted of flailing limbs and making lots of noise, so after a few very similar versions, they made their way to the edge, laughing.
“I had no idea falling was so exhausting.” He sounded out of breath.
The soft and stretchy ground of the pit sank below them each, but proportionally. The result was an illusion of being the same height. Eye to eye. Nose to nose. Mouth to mouth. Species to species.
A flash of light from across the gym startled her out of the moment. Instinct made her tense up. Freeze. She heard the door click shut before she turned to see who she knew was there.
Damn. Damn. Damn.
“Victorious?”
“Benny,” she whispered, but it was clear Cotton already knew. She hated the panicked look on his face. She shouldn’t have brought him into Benny’s territory.
“I know you’re here.”
“Go away. I don’t want to see you.” She hoisted herself out of the pit.
“This is my gym.” He sounded amused. “No one tells me to leave.”
With her stomach doing flips, Ria scrambled across the mats to join him. Her mouth felt dry and sticky. His face looked weird and shadowed under his hat. She willed Fear to stay quiet and hidden. It couldn’t help her right now.
“What were you working on? Dives or conditioning? The NDT facility is going to blow your mind. It’s going to make this place look like a kids’ playhouse.”
“That’s not it.”
“I knew you couldn’t stay away. I figured you were up to something. I sent the NDT your video of