Juicy Rebound (IceCats 1)

Hell, I know nothing. Adulting is way harder than I thought.

I reach for the inventory book and lay it out on the counter with my iPad. When I took this job, I was only supposed to serve coffee, but somehow, I’ve become the manager of this place. Not sure how, not sure I like it, but here I am. I should be in a gym—there are two here in Molten—but I can’t bring myself to go. I’ve already failed at so many things, walking into a gym and asking for a job would just turn into another failure. Who wants a college dropout? Especially when that dropout had a full-ride scholarship for gymnastics.

Yup, I’m a winner.

When a cup appears by my book, I look up and then up some more to meet Chandler’s gaze.

“Hey.”

I stand up, and still my head tips back to look at him. “Hey, need some more?”

“No, I was bringing it to you.”

“Oh. I would have cleaned up when you left.”

“Save you some time so you can give me your number.”

I can’t help it, I grin. I lean my hip into the counter. “Wow. Just assuming I would give you my number?”

He shrugs, the gold of his topaz eyes sparkling back at me. “I don’t know about assuming. Maybe hoping?”

I look away, sliding my fingers along the papers of the inventory book. “I’m not really—”

“Ha, take a hint, dude. She’s blowing you off again. She doesn’t like you,” Nico calls from the door. When Chandler looks over his shoulder at him, glaring, Nico goes out the door. “Bye, Amelia!”

When Chandler turns back to me, his face is full of color. “I hate him sometimes.”

“Having no filter will cause that.” We share a small laugh. “I’m sorry, Chandler. I’m not dating right now.”

“Who said anything about dating? I just want to know you.”

His words knock the air out of me. “You do know me.”

“Not this version of you.” Out of nowhere, he takes my hand, and heat shoots up my arm. He grabs a pen with a huge yellow sunflower on the end and writes his number on my hand. “If you get bored and want to chat, this is my number.”

When he lets go of my hand, I wish he hadn’t. His eyes move along my face to my lips before meeting my gaze once more. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

He starts for the door, and I’m wrong for checking his ass out, but I do before I croak out, “Tomorrow?”

He grins over his shoulder at me. “Gotta start my day with a cup of joe—and a shot of the most gorgeous girl I’ve ever seen.”

“Wow, that’s some line.”

“What? I thought it was brilliant.”

I giggle. I giggle like a little girl. His eyes light up as he heads out the door, and I realize I’m grinning. For the first time in five years, I’m smiling for real.

All because of Chandler Moon.

I park my little Kia up against the side of my small house. It’s only a two-bedroom, mostly because that’s all my grandparents need. They only come here once a year, and they don’t need much space. While my grandpa hates how pink the outside of the house is, I love it. I feel like it’s a tiny dollhouse, just for me. When Shelli suggested I move here for a while, I wanted to fight her, but I’m glad I listened. I like it here, but I do miss my family.

Ryan.

Damn it, I have to call him. I don’t want to—God, I don’t—but I know I have to. It’s hard, though. I still find myself hurt by how everything went down. I head up the stairs onto the porch that overlooks the amazing ocean before sliding the doors and entering my living room. When I arrived, the house didn’t have much. Grandma wanted to remodel but hadn’t had the time. Somehow, she gave me the task, as rent I guess, and I think I’ve done her justice.

The walls were a pale green, but I changed them to a robin’s egg blue. I made the décor very nautical-inspired. Anchors, boats, and most of my grandpa’s catches that he had mounted. While the dead fish freak me out, especially the marlin he caught the last time he was here, it ties everything together. On the south wall by my TV hang loads of pictures of my whole family. Really old, black-and-white ones of my great-grandparents, then snapshots of my mom and uncle growing up here, and then modern photos that were taken with our cell phones when we were here for family vacations.

The kitchen is small and connects to the dining room with only a bar between them. My room is bigger than the living room and painted a nice pale purple. The white wicker bed from the seventies goes great. I had to replace the mattress, but hell, the bed itself was just fine.