Juicy Rebound (IceCats 1)

When my phone vibrates with a text, I reach for it to see it’s a picture from Ryan. A slow grin pulls at my lips as the photo of Ryan and Sofia appears. They’re dressed as Nintendo’s Mario and Peach to pass out candy in their new neighborhood. They look absolutely adorable. I send a quick text back saying that and promising to send one of Shelli and me. Though, that may be a lie. I don’t know if I want people seeing me in this fluffy yellow jumpsuit with matching llama head. If that were really the case, though, I wouldn’t be going to Chandler’s Halloween party.

I can’t wait to see him.

In the mirror, I see Sadie is sleeping on my bed behind me. Her head is on my pillow, while the rest of her is sprawled out as if she belongs there. When I offered to keep her here during the party, I was worried Chandler would say no, but he agreed almost immediately. He didn’t want her getting lost while we’re having a good time. He’s such a good dog dad.

A little grin slides across my lips as I apply my mascara. Once I am done with that, I swipe my lip gloss on my lips before nodding my head. I did my eye shadow to match the yellow of my jumpsuit, with a nice nude lip for when I’m not wearing the helmet. I guess I look okay. Satisfied, I get up and head out of my room to the living room where my llama twin awaits. When Shelli sees me, she grins.

“You make a cute llama.”

I roll my eyes. “I can’t believe you’re making me wear this.”

She hands me my head before putting on hers. Her words are muffled as she says, “We’re amazing!”

So she says.

After I put my llama head on, we lock up and head down the stairs to the beach. I was surprised by how easy it was to talk Shelli out of passing out candy. I thought for sure she’d fight me, but she was cool going to Chandler’s. Maybe she does like Nico? Or maybe it’s the possibility of hanging out with all the IceCat players. Who knows.

As we head down the beach, I can already see the bonfire and the group of people that are outside Chandler’s house. It’s rowdy and loud, but from what I heard, Chandler paid off the neighbors so no one would call the cops. He won’t own up to it, but I’m pretty sure that’s a new grill on Mr. Kowalski’s back deck. He’s been saving up for one for months, but he wasn’t sure he would ever have enough. He doesn’t get enough money on social security to buy one. If Chandler did get him the grill, he’s smart because Mr. Kowalski would be the one to call the cops. He yells at me for playing my music too loud when I’m cleaning my car.

Surly old man.

When we reach the party, I see Nico first. He’s wearing a pair of extremely short red shorts with socks up to his knees. His white shirt is tight on his body, and he’s wearing a red sweatband around his head. A whistle hangs from his neck, and he has a fake ’stache on. Not sure if he is going for the creepy gym teacher, but if so, he nailed it.

“Hey! My llama twins!” he exclaims as he comes toward us, two beers in hand. “You guys look fluffy.”

He reaches out, rubbing Shelli’s arm, and she laughs. As much as I would like to say they’ve started something up, they haven’t. He wants her, but Shelli isn’t having it. She tells me it’s because she’s so busy in New York, but I think it’s because she’s holding out hope that one day, her prince will come. The prince? Aiden Brooks of the Rangers. I don’t actually think it will happen since it hasn’t yet, but who am I to go against fate?

“Thanks,” I say, even though I don’t think he can hear me. “Where is Chandler?”

“Moon? He’s upstairs, stocking the fridge with more beer.” He hands Shelli the beer in his other hand. “You don’t drink beer, right?” he asks me.

“Nope. I’ll be back.” I head up to Chandler’s house. Like in mine, there is a large staircase that leads up from the beach to his even bigger porch. People are everywhere, dressed as all kinds of things. It’s a great turnout. After I make my way through the crowd, I enter the kitchen. When I see Chandler standing in front of the sink, I am thankful for my llama head. Because if he saw the way my tongue was hanging out of my mouth like a damn dog’s, he’d be concerned. In my defense, my reaction is only because he is standing in nothing but a loincloth.