Game Changer by Kelly Jamieson Page 0,77

of sexy babe men go crazy over.

But maybe this is the answer. Meet new men. Have some fun. That will get Jax out of my system.

“Why are you so sure it’s a rebound relationship?” Brielle asks about Jax.

“You said it would be! The first relationship after a breakup is a rebound.”

“I said that? Huh.” She frowns. “Well, I mean, chances are good it’s a rebound, but it doesn’t have to be. I was just reading about this the other day.”

“Rebound relationships?” I lift my eyebrows.

“It was an advice column. The guy was asking if he’s a ‘rebound.’ The advice columnist told him…wait, let me pull it up.” She swipes her own phone to find the column. “It’s a rebound if she’s still bitter about her ex. If she wants to make him jealous. If she’s fixated on her ex in general. If she’s totally in love with you for no reason. If you have lots of sex.”

I grin. “Well, that’s the only one that applies.”

“I’m jealous,” Brielle says. “Jax is so freakin’ hot.”

“Okay, I’m definitely not fixated on Steve. I don’t even care anymore. And I don’t care about Jax for no reason. I always liked him, and I got to know him better and he’s such a great guy. Just a little…repressed.”

“Sexually?” Grace frowns.

“No! God, no. Emotionally.”

“That’s not a good thing,” she replies, lifting her hands.

“I know. If he would just open up a bit more about his feelings, he’d be better off. His family’s a bit overwhelming though, and I know he was hurt by his parents’ divorce, so I can kind of see why he’s like that.”

“Maybe it’s not a rebound,” Grace points out. “Maybe you have real feelings for him.”

“It doesn’t matter.” I shrug. “He obviously doesn’t feel the same. It was just a fling for him, which is all he ever does with women.”

“The advice also says that when someone gets dumped unexpectedly, they don’t have as much time to heal as someone who knows a relationship is over for a while before it actually ends.”

“Well, that’s true,” I say slowly. “I don’t know how much time someone needs to heal, but it’s probably more than a day.”

They all laugh, even though I’m not really joking.

“I think that’s different for everyone,” Grace says. “Although I do believe time to heal is important before committing to someone else.”

I nod slowly. Maybe I do need more time. Maybe my feelings for Jax weren’t real.

“One thing I can say in Jax’s favor is that he never made a pass at me,” Brielle says. “Sadly, for me.”

I laugh. “Steve denied doing that. But then he said it didn’t mean anything. Bastard.”

“Hell yeah. You’re better off without him. Lying cheating motherfucker.”

We all lift our glasses in a toast.

22

Jax

It’s nearly the end of August. And I still don’t have a contract.

Fuck.

I started skating with some of the guys when I got back to town. It feels great to be back on the ice again. I’ve been working out harder too, training at the gym.

I have to admit, the first time I stepped onto the ice with Chucky, I kind of wanted to drive him hard into the boards and then punch him in the face. I did none of that. I greeted him casually and pretended nothing had changed.

I fucking hate it.

I feel like I’m lying, even though I haven’t said a word to him about Molly. I don’t know what’s happened between them because I haven’t heard from Molly since the day she arrived back in Chicago. It’s killing me, but it is what it is.

For all I know they could be back together.

That only makes me want to punch him even more.

I don’t have to worry about that anymore though, because everyone else is now skating every day at the Aces’ practice facility, and I can’t.

Because I don’t have a contract.

It’s less than three weeks until training camp starts, and I’m still at the community rink, basically on my own.

It’s really bugging me, even though Paul keeps assuring me it’s fine. I’m trying not to get snarky with him, not to blame him for the delays. This happens every year to a few players. And even if I have to miss training camp, it’s not the end of the world.

I’m not so sure about that. I’m working hard, but it’s great to have other elite-level players around to push you to work harder and do better. It would be tough coming in without having that kind of preparation and