Juicy Rebound (IceCats 1)

My mom combs her fingers through her hair as my dad leans back, crossing his arms over his chest. The air in the room is thick with tension, but I won’t budge. I love Amelia, and I always will. I clear my throat of emotion as I look at the floor. “I know you guys are looking out for me and I appreciate it, but when it comes to Amelia, there is no one else I want to spend the rest of my life with but her. I hope you two can support that.”

Before I even finish my sentence, my mom is across the room and has me wrapped up in her arms. “Of course we can,” she promises. “We just want you to be happy.”

“I am.”

“Then we are,” Dad says, sending me a grin.

When my mom pulls back, I look down into her beautiful face. “I don’t know how this conversation escalated like it did, but I don’t want you to be mad that I’m going to Amelia’s mom’s house.”

“It escalated because we’re all so passionate and don’t want to spend time apart,” she says, cupping my face. “But no, I’m not mad. I’m jealous of Amelia.”

I give her an exasperated look. “Mom—”

“Because I think you might love her more than me.” Didn’t see that coming. My shoulders fall as I look down at her.

“No one can come close to the love I have for you and Dad, but Amelia is almost right there.”

Mom pats my face as her eyes swim with her tears. “Then, Chandler honey, you love that girl. And I’ll pray and hope she loves you just as much.”

She does. I know she does.

Chapter Twenty-Seven

Chandler

When I get to the airfield with the team, Amelia is waiting for me. She flew into town with my parents, but she came back with the car I keep here to bring me home. She looks absolutely beautiful, standing beside my car in a long black jacket that goes to her knees with only a little strip of jeans showing before her black boots cover the rest of her legs. Her hair is down, blowing in the wind, and I can’t help but laugh at her bright-pink nose. Leave it to Tennessee to be cold as fuck today, when yesterday, the high was sixty-two.

As I step off the last stair of the plane’s staircase, a grin pulls at my mouth. Her eyes sparkle as she watches me, waiting for me. We haven’t seen each other in four days, and I swear it feels like nine months.

“Aw, is that your woman waiting for you, Moon?”

“Nope, she’s too pretty!”

“Way too pretty!”

“Hey, maybe I can get her to give me her number?”

Nico laughs at our teammates. “Already tried. She’s into Moon, for some reason.”

Hell, I don’t know all her reasons, but I’m one thankful dude for them.

I wrap my arms around her, dropping my bag so I can hold her tight, and our lips join in a heated embrace. I don’t even hear the guys anymore; all I hear is my heart pounding in my ears for this girl. The conversation with my parents has weighed heavily on me for the last couple days. A part of me is worried that maybe I am rushing this, but the other part reminds me I’ve never been this happy. She does that for me. Right now, I’m on fire from the top of my head to the tips of my toes. My heart is swelling to ten times its size, just for her. I hate how I feel without her. But now, I feel complete.

I pull back only a breath, just to kiss her top lip. “Hey, you.”

She grins up at me, her eyes bright and so full of love. Her lips trail along my chin as she whispers, “Hey, so I have to tell you something.”

“Yeah?”

“I missed you.”

My face breaks into a wide grin. “I missed you more.”

“Good,” she says before I lift her up on her toes, kissing her hard on the lips. I want to do more, but I can hear my teammates again.

I place her back on her feet before grabbing my bag with one hand and taking her hand with my other one. “Do we have time for a detour?”

She giggles. “No, I told my mom I’d be at the house in twenty minutes. And she’s called me nine times since I’m late.”

I grimace. “So, is she in a good mood or bad?”

She shrugs. “She’s excited I’m coming home, but she’s annoyed I’m not there yet. She’s complicated.”

“Like mother, like daughter,” I tease, and she sticks out her tongue at me. I open her door as I laugh, kissing her temple. “What? I adore complicated women.”

She scoffs. “Well, you got your hands full with me.”

As she sits down, I nod. “I wouldn’t want it any other way.”