Rebound Boyfriend

by Daphne James Huff

  Ryan arrived with Anderson about an hour later and wrapped his arm around my shoulder quickly then headed right into the kitchen where the drinks were. Trying not to pout, I kept talking to Staci, who raised an eyebrow at his less than enthusiastic greeting. I knew I should go find him, but I also didn’t want to be seen chasing after him. I took a sip from my cup and looked around. Everyone seemed pretty calm, but I knew from experience how quickly things could turn. I had to stay alert for trouble.

  It was weird that having so many people in the house, and dealing with the stress was actually kind of soothing. I’d been on edge for weeks, worrying about Jeremiah and my parents, but having a party finally felt like something I could control. Something normal.

  Until Jeremiah made an appearance with Linzie, and everything suddenly sucked.

  We were all standing around the den, watching Mackey and Preston play darts. After the way they’d been playing on the court, I could practically see them picturing the other teams’ faces as the bullseye.

  “So, where did your parents head off to this weekend?” someone on the girls’ basketball team asked.

  My parents used to take these long trips to really random places, and that was when I’d throw my parties. Another advantage of being the youngest with two very responsible older siblings was that my parents trusted me to be on my own for a few days while they did all the traveling they’d missed out on when we were young. They had so much fun on their trips, bringing back stories and souvenirs.

  But apparently it wasn’t enough fun to keep them together.

  “A concert in Boulder,” I said smoothly, hoping no one could hear the pounding of my heart over the music.

  “I heard it was just your mom,” said a voice behind me.

  Trying to control the shaking of my hands, I turned around. Linzie was standing there, a hand on her hip and a smirk on her face. Her dress was even shorter and lower than mine, and with a pang, I realized she looked better in it than I would have.

  “I heard your dad left weeks ago.”

  My cheeks grew hot, but I did my best to stay calm. All eyes were on me.

  Geez, nosy much, everyone?

  Ugh, and of course I spotted Veronica in the corner, her eyes lit up at the juicy tidbit. You’d think there’d be more interesting stories than a cheerleader’s parents splitting up, but I knew she liked to take down the high and mighty any way she could. I regretted telling her about the party now.

  “Linzie, shut up.” Jeremiah appeared behind her and brushed past her, making his way to the other side of the table. “Nobody cares.”

  Warmth spread through me at the very subtle save he’d provided. I shot him a tiny smile of thanks, but he wasn’t looking at me. His face was twisted into an angry frown. My heart jumped. Were they fighting? Was this my chance?

  I shook my head. No, I was over him.

  Rather than contemplate that exciting line of thinking, I walked out of the room—slowly, so no one would think I was running away—catching Linzie’s eye as I passed her. Her eyes were shooting daggers at Jeremiah, who was completely absorbed in the game of darts. She turned her fierce expression on me, and I couldn’t help but say something.

  “What’s your problem?” I kept my voice low. I tried to push past her, but she grabbed my arm, her fake nails digging into my skin.

  “Don’t think just because you have this big fancy house he’ll come back to you. No matter how many parties you throw, he’s mine.” She hissed, her painted red lips a jagged line across her face.

  I jerked my arm out of her grasp.

  “Yeah, I got that by the way he’s totally hanging off of you,” I said, not able to hide a smirk. “Trouble in paradise?”

  “You’d know best. Where’s Ryan?”

  I flushed. Right. I was supposed to be his girlfriend. He was…somewhere around here.

  “Just getting me another drink.” I smiled sweetly. “He’s so attentive.”

  She pursed her lips and narrowed her eyes. I hurried off before I said anything else. Linzie could always tell when I was lying.

  I went quickly through all of the rooms, trying to find Ryan. He was in the living room, dancing in the way tall awkward boys do: bobbing his head and shuffling his feet. The room was packed, and I definitely recognized a few people from Pinebrook. Charlie and Jackson would be getting an earful later, but right now, I needed to do some damage control.

  It was time for our first PDA session. Our relationship needed to be firmly established without a shadow of a doubt. Three dates to Pizza Pete’s and holding hands in the hallway wasn’t going to cut it. I was over Jeremiah, we were friends now, and I had to prove it to everyone.

  I shimmied up next to him and placed my hands around his neck. He smiled down at me, his eyes focused on my chest rather than my eyes. We started to move together to the music, his hands at my waist, but his feet kept stepping on mine. I tried to turn around and dance that way, but he just kept dancing the way he had before. It was like I wasn’t even there.

  Dragging him off the dance floor to save my poor feet and my pride as one of the best dancers at Rosemark, I fell onto the couch against the wall. I giggled as he collapsed next to me, a dopey grin on his face.

  “Hey,” he said, shouting to be heard above the music. His hands rested awkwardly at his sides.

  I held back a sigh and placed one on my knee.

  His eyes lit up. “Hey,” he said again, a small smile now on his lips.

  I shifted and put my arm around his neck. I gazed up at him through my slightly lowered lashes, biting my lip. “Hey,” I replied.

  Not the most original, but it wasn’t like this was the time or place for serious conversation. This was the time for serious making out publicly and cementing our relationship in front of everyone.

  I tilted my head up, giving him a shy smile. His breath was hot on my face, and I placed a hand on his chest. His heart was beating so fast. I waited.

  He just kept smiling down at me.

  This time my sigh was audible, and I leaned my head up a little more, hoping he’d get the idea. Finally, finally, he seemed to understand.

  As his lips brushed against mine, I could feel the eyes of everyone in the living room focus on us. I moved closer to him, wrapping my arm tighter around his neck and dug my hand into his chest. His lips were soft, but his kiss was all over the place. He opened his mouth too much at first, and then clamped it up, realizing his mistake. His tongue seemed to have a mind of its own, ignoring every attempt I had to guide it. After a few more painful attempts to turn the kiss into something enjoyable, I pulled out of his embrace.

  “Are you okay?” I asked, trying to keep my brows from furrowing.

  “Yeah,” he breathed, a grin stretching his face. “That was awesome.”

  I quirked an eyebrow up at him. “Really?”

  “Best first kiss ever,” he said softly, reaching down to bury his head in my neck.

  Wait, what?

  “You mean…First kiss ever, ever?” I whispered.

  He nodded, his breath on my neck sending shivers down my spine. But not in a good way.

  I thought back over the few times we’d hung out. His hesitation to hold my hand. His over eagerness at any of my suggestions. His puppy-dog enthusiasm. I knew he was younger than us, but only by a year.

  Who had Staci set me up with? The one jock who had gotten over halfway through high school without kissing anyone?

  I repressed a groan and plastered on a smile. He pulled out of my arms and gave me a chaste peck on my cheek. “I gotta go. The guys all had bets that we’d make out tonight. Looks like I won.”

  He winked and got up, leaving me alone on the couch, wondering what I had just gotten myself into.

  I kept the smile on my face, doing my best to look like a girl who had been thoroughly and expertly kissed. I caught a few people giggling and pointing, and I gave them my best head cheerleader look to send them scurrying away. As the crowd shifted, I caught the flash o
f familiar amber eyes, and Jeremiah’s forehead wrinkled in a frown before he turned away and disappeared into the crowd.

  Chapter Twelve

  The rest of the party passed in a blur. There was more awkward dancing with Ryan, hopefully enough to make it clear we were a couple, but mostly I played the good hostess, checking that everything was going smoothly. There were no fights, no tantrums, and no cops, which in my mind made it a huge success. Even Veronica made sure to tell me she had a good time when she left. My reputation as party queen was safely intact.

  Sunday morning clean-up went faster than I’d expected since Penny and Shannon, two other girls from the cheerleading team, had spent the night. I made them all pancakes as a thank-you (whole wheat with berries instead of syrup as per Coach’s orders, even though the season was mostly over), and as we all sat around the giant island in my kitchen, we talked about our plans for the rest of the day.

  “I have this huge math test to study for,” said Penny, her dark eyes serious.

  Shannon nodded, her tight brown curls bobbing. “Me too,” she said. “Do you want to come to my house to study?”

  “Sure.” Penny smiled and turned to me. “Sammi, do you and Staci want to join us?”

  I shook my head. Staci did the same, her mouth full of pancakes.

  “I have this history project to work on,” I said.

  “Oh, for Mr. Carter?” asked Penny. I nodded. “Ugh, I haven’t even started. Who’s your partner?”

  I hesitated a beat. But there was no reason to. We were friends now. I was with Ryan. Last night had established that.

  “Jeremiah,” I said. “I’m meeting him at Target later to get supplies.”

  Shannon and Penny’s eyes grew wide.

  “What?” I said as they bit their lips in identical expressions of concern. We’d made the plans Friday during our study session, and it had seemed like a perfectly normal thing for us to do as friends and partners on the project.

  “Are you sure he’ll be up for it today?” said Shannon, frowning.

  “Why wouldn’t he be?” I glanced at Staci, and she shook her head. Whatever had happened last night, she didn’t know about it.

  “Just that he and Linzie looked super cozy last night in the den.”

  I shrugged like I didn’t care. Because I didn’t.

  Really.

  “I heard her say her parents were out of town and he could come to her house if he wanted. He sounded really excited by the idea.”

  I inhaled sharply. I shouldn’t ask. I didn’t care anymore.

  Don’t ask, don’t ask, don’t ask.

  “What do you mean ‘really excited’?” Staci asked.

  I gave her a grateful eyebrow raise from across the kitchen. She narrowed her eyes, and I swallowed hard. Oops. I’d have to do better than a few sloppy kisses with Ryan to convince her I was over Jeremiah.

  “He was all, like, ‘Yeah, sure, that sounds awesome,’” said Penny, deepening her voice a little to sound like a guy.

  I tried not to roll my eyes. Totally not what Jeremiah sounds like.

  Shannon nodded, confirming the accuracy of the impression and his words.

  “And then Linzie came over to a group of us all excited while he went to get their coats,” Shannon continued the story as Penny helped herself to more strawberries. “Saying she couldn’t wait to finally have Jeremiah all to herself.”

  A sticky ooze of jealousy seeped through me.

  “When they left, they looked really happy,” said Penny, her eyebrows drawn together in sympathy. “I’m sorry, Sammi.”

  “Don’t be,” I said, turning my attention to the hot griddle in front of me. I scooped another few spoonfuls onto it, watching carefully for the telltale bubbles. “I don’t care what Linzie does with her boyfriend. I was having a good time with Ryan last night. I didn’t even notice they left.”

  My eyes were focused on the griddle, not letting them see how much I one hundred percent definitely cared and was about to throw something. Instead, I flipped the pancakes, smiling at the perfect golden circles.

  “That’s right, you had your own fun last night,” giggled Shannon. “Looked like Ryan is a way better kisser than Jeremiah anyway.”

  I smiled and made a zipping motion across my lips.

  “You guys know I don’t kiss and tell.” Unlike that witch Linzie.

  They both giggled, clearly satisfied with that explanation. I caught Staci’s eye, and her eyebrows tilted up in question. She’d be getting the full story later, for sure, and hopefully she had some tips on how to get a sloppy kisser under control.

  We all talked a little more about school and gossiped about some more basketball drama at the party (Preston and his longtime girlfriend, Beth, had gotten into a huge fight), but before long, Penny and Shannon left to go study, and it was just Staci and me alone in the kitchen.

  She folded her arms across her chest, her eyes serious. I busied myself at the sink, cleaning up the breakfast dishes and putting them into the dishwasher.

  Just as I turned to face what was sure to be another tarot intervention, possibly with incense and chanting, I heard my mom come in the front door.

  “Oh, hi girls, I thought you’d be out shopping or something,” she said, walking into the family room off the kitchen. She glanced around, and I held my breath. It was all in perfect shape; Penny and Shannon had been particularly good at spotting the little things. Somehow all the knickknacks in the biggest china cabinet had been rearranged in appropriate positions, and they’d spent a good fifteen minutes putting them all back into place.

  “Did you clean up?” My mom turned to me with raised eyebrows.

  “Penny, Shannon, and Staci spent the night,” I said. “We got kind of messy with the pizza boxes.”

  She smiled. “Pizza? I’m glad that coach of yours is letting you eat like a normal person again.”

  “Mom,” I said, rolling my eyes.

  Staci had moved to a seat at the island, picking blueberries out of the bowl of leftover fruit. While I was grateful to avoid her interrogation, I wasn’t up for another one with my mom.

  “I’m an athlete. I need to pay attention, that’s all. The doctor says I’m perfectly healthy.”

  “Hmm” was all she said.

  I attempted to divert her attention. “Did you have fun?”

  “Yes, it was a great concert. I have a t-shirt for you in here somewhere.”

  I could add it to my pile of t-shirts from all the different places she’d been with Dad over the years. It was a running joke, how ugly a shirt they could find for me. I mainly wore them on my most casual of days—cleaning my room or washing the car. Definitely not for wearing in public.

  She was digging through her bags, and Staci gave me a look with a nod like she wanted to continue our conversation upstairs.

  “Do you want some pancakes?” I asked my mom, ignoring Staci. “I didn’t use all the batter.”

  My mom gave me a small, sad smile. Pancakes on Sundays had been something I’d done with my dad. She’d stay in bed late, reading or working, and come out to find a feast for brunch. We’d eat together before she headed into her home office to shut herself away for a few hours.

  “I ate before we left Boulder, but thanks, sweetie. Maybe next weekend. Did you put syrup on it?”

  I shook my head. “Just berries.”

  She pursed her lips. You’d think she’d be happy I was eating so healthy, but apparently if I wasn’t gorging on junk food, she thought I wasn’t normal.

  “Come on, Sammi, I need to go get my bag,” said Staci, shooting me another look.

  As much as I wanted to avoid it, I also wanted to get away before my mom could make any more comments on what we did or didn’t eat.

  As soon as we got to my room, Staci turned her smile for my mom upside down into a deep frown.

  “Why do I feel like you’re somehow less over Jeremiah than you were a week ago?” She launched right into things, hands on her hips.

&n
bsp; “I made out with Ryan last night!” I sat on my bed and wrapped my arms around my knees.

  Staci rolled her eyes. “Yeah and that convinced like, one person. Ryan.”

  I flushed. Had it really been that obvious I wasn’t into it?

  “Well, he’s not exactly an expert kisser,” I said, then remembered what he’d admitted the night before and turned my own annoyance onto Staci. “Why would you set me up with someone who’s never kissed a girl before? How does that even happen? He’s a junior.”

  She shrugged. “Maybe he was waiting for the right girl—you.”

  Now it was my turn to roll my eyes. “Probably because I’m the only one who’ll put up with his constant yammering about basketball. Seriously, how many times does he need to go over the same plays? I was there. I remember.”

  “Sammi, you’re not even giving him a chance. You just keep comparing him to Jeremiah.”

  “No I—” I bit my lip. “Well, it’s hard not to. He’s just so…” I searched my brain for the right word. He wasn’t boring, not really. He was far from mean or annoying. He was just…“Inexperienced.”

  “Even better. He’ll be willing to do anything to make you happy. You can mold him into the perfect boyfriend.”

  “I had the perfect boyfriend.”

  “Yes, one who dumped you the second you really needed him.”

  Anger bubbled up in my chest, followed quickly by hot tears of embarrassment. This was tough love, but I knew I needed to hear it. A few tears escaped and Staci sat next to me on the bed to wrap me in a hug.

  “I know it’s still hard. But this is your chance to start fresh. Ryan can be whatever you want him to be.”

  I sighed.

  “I know it’s not what you pictured for your rebound boyfriend, but he’s hot and almost as good at basketball as Jeremiah. I figured it was the perfect transition for you.”