We share a laugh as we head off the ice and into the showers. I squirt some body wash on my puff that is a manly green and start washing myself. From beside me, Merry asks, “You don’t miss her, do you?”
Even though he can’t see me, I shake my head. “I don’t. That ship sailed when she set my house on fire with my dog in it.”
Merry snorts before he jokes, “But remember, Moon? It was an electrical fire.”
I roll my eyes. I still don’t understand how she got away with that. If she hadn’t had my dog in her arms when I pulled up, I probably would have been sent away for murder. My poor Sadie would be parentless. “She’s a crazy person.”
“I told you not to let her back in.”
“My parents were out of town, and I needed someone to feed Sadie. I thought she would go in, do the task, and leave. Not try to move back in and freak when I told her no.”
When he starts humming the music from Psycho, I laugh. “You’re an ass.”
“I still think you should set that as her ringtone if you don’t block her number.”
I shake my head as I wash myself free of soap and then turn off the water. After drying myself and getting dressed, I sit down while he finishes up. I lean back into my locker with my Gatorade in hand as I say, “Women are crazy.”
“Preach, son.”
“But damn it, if I don’t want me a good one.”
“Man, I don’t know. If her profile says ‘Comes hard and loud,’ beware. She could mean that she farts hard and loud.”
Of course he would say that as I’m taking a long pull of my Gatorade. When the yellow liquid comes out my nose, he laughs hard as I flip him off. “I dislike you greatly right now.”
“In other words, I’m an asshole.”
“All day. I was trying to be kind.”
“Such a good guy,” he teases, wrapping his arm around my neck and squeezing it hard. “Want to go get a cup of coffee?”
“There is that place by my new house I haven’t tried.”
“Cool, let’s go. And then I can go lie on the beach and see if I can find a sexy little honey.”
I side-eye him. “You know all women fart, right?”
He scrunches up his face. “Yeah, but isn’t it supposed to be like fairy dust or something? That chick was rank.”
I picked a great friend with this one.
***
We get to Perk Me Up about thirty minutes later. Malcolm Peterson Arena is built in the middle of fucking nowhere. Only thing out there is the training facilities. Not even a Walmart. It’s sort of inconvenient. The town I live in, Molten, which is where most of the team lives since it’s the closest city to the arena, has everything I need. After living in Nashville, Tennessee for almost my whole life, I was nervous to come to an area so new. Thankfully, because I might be a mama’s boy, my parents came with me.
What? I need someone to do my laundry and cook for me. That’s all changed now, especially after my shitshow of a marriage, but they’ve stuck around.
After only a month of living in South Carolina, we learned Molten was the place to be. Small-town living in a big city. It’s nice. I used to live on the west side so I was the closest I could be to the arena since I am there almost every day. But when Lana burned down our house, I decided I needed a big change, so I moved to the east side. The east side has a beach, and man, is it gorgeous. After moving in to my little bungalow four days ago, I can’t help but think I’d rather have started taking the extra fifteen-minute ride to the arena a while back. The ocean alone is worth the time it takes to get there.
Since I haven’t been on this side of town long, I haven’t had a chance to hit up Perk Me Up. I love me some coffee, and so does Merry. We head inside, and it’s got a groovy kind of feel to it. Very hippie-dippie.
“They probably have specialbrownies.”
He’s such a dork.
As we head to the counter, though, something catches my eyes. Better yet, someone. Someone I know. Her long brown hair flows down her back in beautiful, thick curls. Her arms aren’t as toned as I remember, and I need to know if she still has those thighs and ass that do not stop. Her lashes are long, kissing her rosy cheeks, and she speaks quickly into her phone. Her lips are thick and a nice glossy pink color that has me tight in all the right places. She’s in a pair of hip-hugging jeans and a weathered teal Bullies tee. The shirt has seen better days, but it looks awesome on her and brings back crazy memories of my time on the Bellevue Bullies. All that should be enough to stun me in place, but it’s her bright-blue eyes that do just that. My heart starts to race, and shit, my palms are sweating. The memories from college come back tenfold. Almost like taking a puck to the ribs, right where there isn’t any padding.
Good Lord, it’s Amelia Justice.
My best friend’s sister.
* * *
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Juicy Rebound
Also by Brenda Rothert
Bound
Hooked
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