She and Brooke fled toward their bikes, and were furiously pedaling down the road when they saw the sheriff’s car whiz past.
Over the next few days, she braced herself for the other shoe to drop. Surely someone would want to talk to the girl who had incited the brawl with her refusal to lose a game of pool. But it never happened. Maybe the guy had been too proud to admit he’d lost to a girl. Definitely Jason and his buddies had never mentioned her name.
The next time she saw Jason at his locker, his lip looked terrible. A big scab had formed on his upper lip. He was going to have quite the scar.
She closed her locker door and faced him. “Listen, Jason. Thanks for—”
He waved away her words. “It’s al-wight.” His swollen lip made the “r” sound fuzzy. “I already got three dates out of it.”
“Like you need more reasons for girls to chase you.” That was one of the things she teased him about. She knew why girls were crazy for him—he was so good-looking—but he was too laid-back for her, not driven enough.
“Good point.” He winced as his lips formed the “p.” “There’s one lucky thing, though. I get to skip band practice. Like forever.”
“No more trombone?”
“The nurse said I’ll never play trombone again. Well, I begged her to say that. Sick of being teased for my nerdy choice of instrument.” He grinned, then winced again as the movement tugged at his scab.
“So I rescued you from band practice? I guess you should thank me then.”
“Yeah…maybe after the Tylenol kicks in.”
She laughed a little. “Seriously, I can’t believe you stood up for me like that. I could have kissed you.”
“You still could.” His eyes twinkled at her. “After I heal up.”
“Dream on.”
Carly snapped her fingers. “I knew there was something between you and Jason. I noticed him looking at you during last year’s Sunburn Fest.”
“There’s nothing between us. There never has been. We’re…friends, I guess. In high school, anyway. I haven’t seen him much since then.” For some reason, she felt self-conscious. “He’s not my type.”
“Well, he was definitely looking at you. That’s all I know.”
Gina propped her elbow on the bar and rested her curly head on her hand. “Good old Jason. Such a hottie. Who’s he dating now?”
Kendra shrugged. “If he’s anything like he was in high school, it’s probably hard to keep track. He always had someone.”
“No, I think he just broke up with someone. Ugh, my fuzzy hormone brain.” Carly rapped her knuckles on her skull. “Thomas told me. Some girl he’s dated on and off for years. Everyone thought they’d end up together, but she moved out of town and married someone else. Jason was crushed.”
Kendra shook her head with a frown. She didn’t like the idea of easygoing Jason getting his heart crushed. He didn’t deserve that. He was one of the good ones. “Are you talking about Gretchen Pilsner?”
“Yes. Gretchen. But she’s Gretchen Corsi now. I can’t believe I know this. Firehouses are so gossipy. Thomas isn’t even fire chief anymore and he still hears all the hot goss.”
“Wow. So that’s really over. Poor Jason.” She had a vague memory of Gretchen Pilsner, sunny and freckle-faced. The two of them had seemed like a good match, except that Jason was one of those not-ready-to-commit guys. “When did that happen?”
“Hmm…why are you asking a pregnant woman the tough questions? I think it was earlier this year. Recent.”
Gina pursed her lips. “Hmm. You know what that means.”
“That he deserves our sympathy and support?” said Carly.
“That, and he’s on the rebound.”
“Ooh.” Carly raised her eyebrows. “Which means don’t go anywhere near him.”
“What? No, it doesn’t.” Gina took a sip of her wine. “Rebounds are fun. The trick is to know going in that there’s no chance of it working out because it’s just a rebound. It’s low-stakes, high-reward.”
“How is it high reward?”
“Because someone on the rebound is just happy for the attention.”
“That’s cold, Gina.” Kendra shook her head at her always-sassy friend. “Anyway, that’s not Jason. He always gets attention. I don’t know why. He’s cute, but he’s no Winston.”
Everyone knew Winston Duke was her ultimate.
“But Jason has that dreamy Latin-lover look.”
“Oooh, he does, doesn’t he?” Carly made a show of fanning herself. “This is because I’m very pregnant, not because of Jason,” she explained. “But Kendra, are you really surprised he’s so popular? He’s cute, he’s a fireman, also he’s hot and he’s a fireman. Meaning he rescues people while being cute and hot.”
Kendra made a face at her. “Some of us are looking for more than cute and hot and rescue-y.”
Carly pointed an accusing finger at her. “He rescued you from a pool cue!”
“That’s true. And I did say that I wished I could kiss him for that. But his face was all swollen, so that never happened.”
“It’s never too late.” Gina pushed her glass toward Kendra, who splashed more wine into it. “Rebound, rebound.”
“Don’t do it, don’t do it,” chanted Carly.
“Hmm.” Kendra flashed a smile at her two friends. “WWBD?”
The two of them looked at each other, then back at Kendra. “Do it,” they said together. They all laughed.
“It’s been over a year since Dominic,” said Gina gently. “Don’t you think it’s time to at least try?”
Kendra opened her mouth to explain that she was fine just as she was. But the words refused to come out. Maybe she wasn’t fine.
“Rebound” meant that you were recovering, coming back from the worst of it, ready for something new.
Was she even rebound material?
If she told her friends how shaky she still felt, they’d be supportive, of course. But they were both so freaking happy right now. They wouldn’t be able to relate.
She let out a sigh as she realized that there was someone who probably could relate. Jason. They could be the Rebound Twins. Both trying to claw their way back to a normal social life after getting punched in the mouth with the Pool Cue of Rejection.
She shook off the thought. She wasn’t ready for any kind of dating, not even a rebound. This was the time for her to focus on her career—which Dominic had also ruined.
Luckily, Pop had asked her to help him out with the restaurant. Alvin’s Burgers and Blues had been a great distraction. She’d come back to Lake Bittersweet to lick her wounds, but she wanted more for herself then running a restaurant.
An idea had been bouncing around in her head ever since she saw the notice at city hall. “Can we stop talking about boys for a minute and discuss the fact that I’m considering a career change?”
“What?” Alarmed, Carly gripped the edge of the bar. “You’re going to leave us to run this place without you?”