Page 1 of Rim Shot Rebound

Chapter One

 

 

Don’t puke.

Kelsey had been giving her body that one little command ever since she drove onto Robin’s property. Unfortunately, her stomach was completely ignoring her and currently staging a mutiny.

She wasn’t usually sick this late in the day, especially if she’d eaten a decent dinner. Her little pep talk had been working all through the long drive down country roads to Robin’s adorable house out in the middle of Nowhere, Louisiana. Kelsey shouldn’t have had any problem keeping her stomach in check through their weekly rehearsal.

But then she’d heard that familiar knock—their old college drum cadence—on Robin’s kitchen door.

“Eric!” Robin, their accordion player and band ring leader, pulled his tall, lanky-but-solid frame in for a hug. She was a full head and a half shorter than him, but she made up for her lack of height in enthusiasm and heart.

Kelsey kept her eyes glued to the floor in front of her. If she didn’t see him, maybe she could squash this nausea.

“Sorry. Had to wait with a kid. Parent was running late after their lesson.” That smooth, baritone voice drew Kelsey’s eyes up to the apologetic smile stretching through the short boxed beard on his dark face, and she felt that familiar heat wash over her. He wore nearly black jeans with a light gray dress shirt unbuttoned at the top and a light gray newsboy cap, Kelsey’s favorite from his hat collection. He had this jazzy cool vibe, no matter what he wore, like he was the walking personification of an old blues bar. An incredibly sexy old blues bar.

She dug inside her purse for her little bag of magic and poured a few yellow lifelines onto her hand. As soon as she popped one in her mouth, the tart zing instantly settled her stomach.

“You all set?” Robin asked Eric.

“Yup. Bass is in the studio.”

“Good.” Robin sniffed and gave a double take at Kelsey. “What’s that?”

“Lemon drops?” Kelsey held out the rest in her hand to show Robin. She willed her hand not to shake and mentally begged Robin not to ask any more questions about her snack choices. Kelsey didn’t have much of a sweet tooth, and they all knew it. If there was an opportunity for dessert, she’d rather have more fries or chips and dip.

Robin examined Kelsey for another moment. “Well, let’s get this thing rolling. I’ve got fun stuff to discuss before we break tonight.”

“Fun stuff?” Eric’s dark eyes sparkled at the word and possibilities. He looked at Kelsey with a raised eyebrow, as if she might know what fun stuff Robin was referring to.

Kelsey leaned against the counter beside her as her body began to sway under that curious stare of his. The one that made her want to tell him all her secrets and anything else he wanted to know.

She gave a small shrug. Truthfully, she had no idea what Robin was hinting at, which meant it probably wasn’t going to be as fun as Robin was hyping it to be. But there was no point asking more questions at this point. Robin would tell them all when she was good and ready. No sooner.

“I’m always down for fun.” Eric made an exaggerated flourish with his long, muscular arm to gesture for Kelsey to go ahead of him through the back door. Ever the gentleman. Except when he wasn’t.

She started to walk through the door, but realized that would put her walking beside him across the yard to Robin’s rehearsal studio out back. The awkward silence and Eric’s strained small talk would make that walk of a few yards feel like five thousand miles. She used to feel so comfortable beside him, but now she spent most of her time avoiding him, resisting that constant, undeniable pull she felt towards him.

“I’m gonna grab Nat and Lauren. Be there in a sec.”

Eric tilted his head and gave the same concerned look Robin had given her earlier. “Everything okay, Kel?”

“Great!” Her voice was an octave higher than normal and downright perky. For Christ’s sake. She was wearing a black T-shirt with a cymbal dripping blood. She wasn’t perky.

Get it together.

Eric frowned, clearly not buying her act, but he followed Robin outside anyway. A few months ago, he would have cracked a joke and called her on it. But things had been weird between them ever since the last time they were together—one of their many “this doesn’t mean anything” hookups—right before Bria, an old high school girlfriend Eric had recently gotten back together with.

Maybe things were getting serious with Eric and Bria.

Her breath and pulse sped up as her stomach did flips, and she fought not to think about Eric or his girlfriend or any of that. Not now. She had to keep it together now. At least through this rehearsal.

Kelsey breathed a sigh of relief when the door shut behind Eric and Robin. She went to the living room to tell the other two band members that they were heading out back for rehearsal, but Natalie and Lauren were already walking together toward the kitchen. Kelsey still wasn’t used to seeing them getting along. Heck, she’d even heard they went on a double date together a couple weeks ago.

Natalie, their guitar player and Kelsey’s closest friend in the group, narrowed her eyes when she saw Kelsey sucking on a candy and shaking a handful more in her fist. Her blonde hair was pulled back in a loose braid, and she put her hands on the plaid shirt tied at her waist. “Tell Robin we’ll be there in a minute.”

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