Page 20 of Rim Shot Rebound

She looked around the noisy, crowded taproom and actually felt disappointed. She wasn’t going to drink, but, to her surprise, she didn’t want to leave. She didn’t want this afternoon with Eric to end. “Actually, could we sit outside for a bit? You should get something, though. I don’t mind.”

He paused and looked back at the register, then put a hand on her lower back, sending tingles up her spine. That gesture used to be so familiar and comforting, but she’d long forgotten the soothing yet invigorating feel of it.

They sat across from each other on one of the picnic benches in the shade of a colorful umbrella. He removed his dark, metal-rimmed sunglasses from the brim of his hat and placed them over his eyes, creating a barrier to his emotions. He was fun and easygoing and everyone loved him. But Kelsey could always see the real Eric in his eyes.

“You sure you’re okay?” he asked.

“Yeah, I’m fine. Just a long day. I guess I’m tired from the gig. It’s the sun, I guess.”

“Yeah, you got a little color in your cheeks today.” He grinned. “I can see a few extra freckles.”

She felt herself blush and was thankful for that extra color to hide it. She looked down at the table and picked at the edge of the wood.

“Sorry,” he said. “Didn’t mean to make you self-conscious or anything. It’s cute.”

With her head still aimed downward, she raised her eyes to give him a look.

He laughed, that deep soothing baritone that set her insides on fire like no other sound could. “Okay, fine. I won’t talk about how cute you are anymore. Promise.”

She stifled her own laugh, but felt herself relaxing. As much as she didn’t want to welcome any compliments from Eric, she also couldn’t help having a good time with him.

It had been so easy to fall for him. Again and again and again. Every time. No matter how different they were. No matter how different their backgrounds were. They always seemed to fit somehow.

And maybe those differences were exactly why she fell so hard for him. Maybe he and his solid family, with their loving bonds and deep connections, were exactly what was so shiny and attractive to her. Even if she couldn’t imagine letting herself get pulled into something like that, because those kinds of connections made the risk too great. They made the inevitable letdown that much harder.

If only she’d remembered that and stayed away from Eric in the first place.

Still, even if they never got back together, even if she never got to spend another moment with him after this, she couldn’t regret one single second. Her time with him had all been worth it.

“You ready to get to work?” she asked.

He let out a tiny sigh of disappointment. No one else would have noticed, but she knew his movements well enough to catch it.

“Sure.” He stood from the picnic table and held out a hand to help her up. “You excited to show off those self-proclaimed crappy lyrics?”

“Crappy right now or crappy an hour from now,” she said with a smile as she took his hand and stood. “Let’s get this crap show on the road.”

He laughed again, and her heart ached over how much she’d missed being the one to make him laugh.

They walked together toward his van. Within a few steps, she felt his hand once more against her lower back, and those welcome tingles ran up her spine again. A few steps later, he removed his hand and dug his keys out of his front pocket, leaving Kelsey’s back cold and the rest of her desperate for more of his touch.

By the time they reached his van, her brain was once again second-guessing all of her carefully laid-out plans. Doubting her doubts.

Kelsey climbed into the front seat. She had a fifteen-minute ride back to her car, then another fifteen minutes to Eric’s house. Hopefully that would be enough time to put her brain back in check. And the rest of her.

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