“What’s a spark feel like?” Dani wasn’t being a smart ass.
She looked like she really wanted to know.
Emily gasped. Her breath came out again, wobbly and high
pitched, more like a whistle. It was sudden and unexpected,
the way her breath rushed out of her lungs. Her pulse leaped
and her heart skittered madly in her chest. Emily didn’t know
what a spark felt like. She’d never felt one before Not really.
Not like this. Her brain felt addled, and her skin felt like it was
burning.
It had been over a year since she’d been kissed. Since she’d
wanted to kiss anyone. Watching Dani’s lush red lips bite
down on that apple, Emily realized she very much wanted to
kiss her.
“I-I don’t know,” Emily whispered. “They’re just so…they
just act like they tolerate each other’s existence. Like they’re
so used to each other they barely see each other.”
“You think it wasn’t always like that?”
“I have two older brothers. They’re way older. My mom
was already focusing on other things by the time I came
around and surprised her. They’ve raised three kids. Done a lot
of life stuff together. I don’t know. Maybe everyone acts like
that after thirty-seven years together.”
Dani whistled. She ate the apple all around the core, then
dropped it down into the sand. “I’ll pick it up when we leave.”
She slipped one elegant foot out of her sandals. Her toenails
weren’t painted, but they were cut perfectly square. She dug
one foot into the sand and followed it with the other. “Thirty-
seven years, huh? That’s a crazy long time.”
“I know. I wonder if I’ll ever have that. With…”
“With someone?” Dani leaned back on her arms and stared