Juicy Rebound (IceCats 1)

“I can open a bottle of wine,” I suggest, and she looks up at me through her lashes.

“Get to work, then,” she says, and I do just that. The kitchen seems so small with both of us in it. I don’t know if I’m crowding her, but I refuse to move as I open the bottle. Shelli is getting some kind of dish out of the oven as I lean into the sink, pushing the wine opener into the cork. When she leaves, I look over to Amelia and notice that her shirt is backless.

My mouth goes dry, but I somehow ask, “How was your day?”

“Good,” she says as she cuts up some tomatoes. “How was yours? Aren’t you tired from traveling all day?”

“Nope, not at all.”

She grins over her shoulder at me. “Well, that’s good.”

I hold her gaze, and I want to kiss her so fucking bad. “Did you get all fancy for me?”

She makes a face, snorting a bit. “Fancy? Jeans and a top?”

“Jeans that show off that spectacular ass of yours and a top that’s making it hard to breathe.”

She giggles softly as she drops the tomatoes into the bowl. She then grabs the bowl and heads toward the dining room. Before she leaves, though, she looks back at me.

“Maybe.”

Yup, she’s going to kill me.

Once we’re all seated around the table, we dig into the amazing chicken parmesan Amelia made. The conversation is easy and fun. Shelli talks about New York, and then we talk about our road trip where the IceCats went 5-1, which is really great in my opinion. The game we lost was bullshit. We were tied, but then we got a shit penalty and they pulled their goalie for the extra man. Risky but rewarding play by their coach. Bullshit for us, though.

“I thought that one save you had on Ratatin was phenomenal,” Shelli says, and Nico leans on his hand, his eyes burning into hers.

“I’d save you any day.”

I scoff as I roll my eyes.

Shelli grins but then looks at me. “You had two goals, right? You’re on a streak? A point a game?”

“Yeah,” I say, impressed. “I didn’t realize you followed the game that closely.”

“Oh yeah, it’s her life. It’s funny… She didn’t want to play hockey, but she loves it. Her sister, Posey, is the one who plays, but she’s still a massive fan like Shelli,” Amelia adds, her eyes meeting mine. “They’re weird.”

“We grew up with hockey shoved down our throats. We love it, and you’re weird. She doesn’t even watch it now, when she used to be a huge fan,” Shelli gripes at her, and immediately, Amelia becomes visibly uncomfortable.

“Maybe she just needs to go to a live game. If you two want to go while you’re in town, I can get you tickets.”

Shelli lights up. “I’d love that.”

“And I’ll win the game only for you,” Nico says then, looking at Shelli dreamily, but she just laughs.

“Isn’t going to happen, buddy,” she retorts, but he doesn’t seem derailed.

When I reach for my glass, I notice Amelia is watching me. I smile. “Did you quit your job yet?”

She looks shy as Shelli exclaims, “I told her to do that!”

“I told you I don’t want to be bored,” Amelia reiterates. But she wouldn’t be bored.

“You could get a job at the gym on Meeker Street.”

Shelli looks from me to Amelia. “Yeah, do that.”

But Amelia shakes her head. “I’m good.”

I don’t want to fight her on this, but apparently, Shelli does. “For real, Am, that would be awesome for you. You’d be so happy. Back in the gym, coaching. Go. Let’s go now.”

Amelia rolls her eyes. “They’re closed, for starters, and also, they wouldn’t want me.”

“They would,” I say, and Amelia’s eyes meet mine. “Any sane person who can YouTube would know in three seconds they want you.”

Shelli holds her hand out to me. “Exactly!”

Nico smacks his lips together and pushes his plate away. “I think I want to marry Amelia now. That was damn good.”

Amelia chuckles as Shelli glares. “Not that I want to marry you, but I can cook too.”

He leans on his hands. “You were always my first choice.”

“Lies. He hit on me when I sidestepped Chandler,” Amelia teases, and I laugh.

“Sidestepped?”

“Yeah, I tried to ignore you. But for some reason, I can’t get rid of you.”

My eyes burn into hers. “You don’t want to get rid of me.”

“Gag. If Shelli won’t marry me, I’m not going to sit here and listen to you two flirt all night.”

“The eye-fucking is what’s getting me,” Shelli complains. “Why did you two even want us here?”

“What she said,” Nico says, pointing to Shelli. “For real, are you sure you don’t want to marry me?”

“Really sure. But I will watch highlights with you so these two can figure out what they’re doing.”

Nico thinks that over. “Will you tell me how great I am?”