Juicy Rebound (IceCats Book 1) Read online

  “I could be playing Fortnite and getting drunk.”

  I give him a dry look. “Yes, if you want to be a fourteen-year-old, go do that. But if you’d like to be an adult, let’s go to dinner.”

  “Fuck you,” he says to me as we head up the drive. The lights are on in Amelia’s little bungalow, and I see her moving around the dining room table. I can’t make out what she’s wearing, but I can tell her luscious hair is falling down her stunning back. Her cousin stands before her and looks as if she hasn’t changed. Shelli has always been on the shorter side but thick in the legs and hips. Her long brown hair is wavy along her shoulders. But for some reason, in that dress, she looks way older than I remember her looking.

  My gaze shifts to Amelia’s back, and I go hard everywhere. It’s been a long nine days on the road. We FaceTimed every night, and I am really enjoying getting to know her again. We’ve talked about all the trivial stuff like favorite foods—she’s a pizza girl, and I sure as hell don’t say no to pizza. She only drinks water and wine, which I find very healthy, but she says it’s because she doesn’t like anything else. I told her that Dr. Pepper was life, but she disagreed. I thought she would be one of those girlie-movie girls, but she actually is a huge fan of Lord of the Rings. I belong in the Shire, so it was fun to find we both enjoy the same thing. I told her we needed a movie night, and she didn’t disagree. She was eager, which excited me. Then, I really don’t know why, we decided to play Words with Friends. She sucks, and I’m a winner. But if you ask her, it’s the other way around. So hopefully no one asks her.

  I love talking to her. We talked more than I did with my parents on our trip, but damn it, I’m yearning for something deeper. That stuff will need to be discussed in person. I feel she’s holding back. I get it, I do, but I want more. I was really excited she wanted me to come over tonight, but then I found out her cousin is in town. So while here I thought I was getting somewhere, come to find out, I’m not.

  But I won’t quit.

  I rap my knuckles against the door as Nico says, “The cousin better be hot so I can at least stare at her.”

  I glance back at him. “Okay, weirdo.”

  He snorts in response as the door opens. There she is. Good Lord. FaceTime does not do this girl justice. She’s wearing a short halter top that cuts down low on her breasts and shows a thin line of skin along her stomach. Luckily for her athletic career, she doesn’t have large breasts, but I’m sure there is enough for me. Her pants are high cut, wrapping around her waist and almost like a second skin on her bottom half. She has makeup on, dark over her eyelids, making her eyes pop with color. Her hair is down over her shoulders, bone-straight and dark.

  “Hey,” she says, her lips curving up.

  I move in closer, and when she doesn’t pull away, I lose my train of thought. I wrap my arm around her waist, pulling her in as she wraps her arms around me, hugging me tightly. Not what I want, but I’ll take it. I move my mouth to her ear, and hell, she smells like roses.

  “You leave me absolutely breathless,” I whisper, and I feel her body go still.

  She pulls back, her eyes hesitant but sweet. “Thanks.”

  I hand her the bottle of wine and the flowers, and her grin grows. “Well, aren’t you bringing all the goodies.”

  “All for you.”

  She draws in a deep breath, her cheeks rosy with color. “Come on in.”

  She turns, and I take in that sweet ass of hers as she walks toward the counter that separates the kitchen from the living room.

  Nico leans in, looking up at me. “Dressed like that, it’s easy to say she wants you.” He then passes by me and says, “The party is here!”

  I’m going to kill him.

  I shut the door behind me and turn just as Shelli comes out of her bedroom. “Hey, Chandler.”

  “Hey, Shelli,” I say with a wave. I’ve met her a few times, usually at Ryan’s house. “How’s New York?”

  “Great. Living my best life.”

  “Awesome,” I say with a grin. Nico smacks my hip, and I look over at him with an annoyed expression. He nods toward Shelli, and I roll my eyes. “Shelli, this is my buddy Nico.”

  He holds out his hand, and she takes it as she says, “Nico Merryweather, goalie for the IceCats, save percentage .939 right now. Pretty damn impressive. My dad would be so jealous I got to meet you before him.”

  Nico looks as if he just creamed his pants. “Wow, and you are? And who’s your dad?”

  “Shelli Adler, daughter of Shea Adler.”

  Nico’s mouth drops open. “Marry me?”

  “Nope, sorry,” she says with a wink and then walks off like it’s nothing.

  “Nico, what the hell?”

  “What? Adler is the greatest player of all time!”

  From the bar in the kitchen, Amelia laughs. “That happens a lot.”

  I grin back at her. “What, the proposal?”

  “Yup. All players want Shelli because of my uncle—”

  “Except one,” Shelli complains.

  “I’ll be him,” Nico says, and we all laugh. Well, not Nico. He’s serious.

  I really shouldn’t have brought him.

  I lean on the bar, held up by my elbows as I watch Amelia make a salad. “Need some help?”

  She raises a brow. “Thought you couldn’t cook?”

  “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