Juicy Rebound (IceCats 1)

Shelli: I get it, you don’t want to put yourself out there. But why not? Have some fun, get to know him. I mean, what’s the worst that could happen?

I let my hands drop as I look out at the ocean. What could happen?

Simple. He could break my heart too.

Chapter Five

Chandler

I check my phone for the third time before I throw Sadie’s ball down the beach for her to run after. She runs like a jaguar, I swear. She looks so majestic, her golden hair moving with her body as she jumps through the waves, retrieving her ball. I holler out to her, praising her as she runs back to me. I bet if she didn’t have the ball in her mouth, she’d be grinning. Sadie is my girl. We have been through a lot together, and she’ll always be my best friend.

When I check my phone again, I am convinced I have a problem. Perk Me Up doesn’t open for another thirty minutes, and the fact that I know that might be an issue. For the last four days, I’ve been hitting it up before or after morning skate or practice. The first morning, it was apparent from the look on Amelia’s face that she hadn’t expected to see me. I don’t know why; I told her I was coming. I ordered my coffee to go, and I asked her out.

Again, she turned me down.

The last two mornings have been the same. She is always surprised to see me, but then she turns me down. This could dent a dude’s ego, but instead, I feel good about today. I’m not sure if I’m ready to date or even get involved with someone, but there has always been something about Amelia Justice that has me wanting to forget everything and hold her. Her smile gets me; it’s just so big, and I love to see it. Then, those eyes? Lord, they can knock me on my ass. We didn’t spend that much time together in college, but during the few moments we did, she kept me on edge. That is, when I wasn’t looking over my shoulder for her brother.

Ryan is by far the greatest dude I know. He’s loyal and would do anything for anyone. We were roommates and a defensive pair in college, and I owe a lot of my success to him. We spent countless nights practicing and going over tapes together. We worked out together, we traveled together, and we spent holidays together. The Justices are just good people, which intrigues me even more as to why Amelia didn’t go home after she and Drew split.

With Ryan’s request to keep an eye on Amelia, I know what he is really asking. I also know that even though we’re now five years older, I’m pretty damn sure his sister is still off-limits to me. If he knew I made out with her at a party back then, he’d probably beat my ass even now. That should derail me, but this time… This time is different. I don’t know. Maybe it’s who I am as a man. I have a failed marriage, and I was so unhappy for so long. I want to be happy again. She could make me happy. We were digging each other back then.

I still don’t know why she chose Drew over me. Guess they had history, but from what Ryan said, Drew was a douche. It stung for a while, but then the IceCats picked me up, and I left. I figured that meant nothing would happen for Amelia and me, even if I wanted it to. I hadn’t expected to still dig her. I should probably take the hint—she doesn’t dig me—and bugger off. I don’t believe that, though, and honestly, I need to know her. I hadn’t expected to run into her here, where I live. I figured seeing her at the wedding would be one thing. I could admire her from afar while she hung with her husband, and that would be that. But that’s all changed now. She’s here. I’m here. We’re both single; that has to mean something.

When I look up from my phone, which I have pathetically checked six times in the last three minutes, I see my dog has found a friend. A female friend, which is very rare. Sadie doesn’t like other females, another reason my marriage failed. Lana said I loved my dog more than her. She wasn’t that wrong. In my defense, Sadie isn’t crazy and never tried to kill Lana.

My dog’s friend is wearing a pair of very short jogging shorts and a sports bra, her hat positioned very low over her eyes. When Sadie jumps on her, knocking her into the sand, I cringe, but then the girl starts laughing. I start to jog toward them, but I stop mid-stride when I see who it is.