Page 54 of Rebound
I nod, and once he checks that no one’s around, he leads us around the corner and gets in line with me for the restroom. The girls waiting ahead of me turn to give him a once over, appreciation lighting up their eyes as they take in all six foot four inches of him. I don’t think Roman even notices because he’s too busy playing with my hair.
“I can wait on my own, you know,” I tell him.
“Wouldn’t want you having second thoughts,” he whispers in my ear.
“If I was going to have second thoughts, it would’ve been before.”
The line moves forward and Roman very reluctantly lets go of my hand when I have to step into the restroom. Maybe he’s right not to leave me alone because stepping into the restroom is like stepping into a different universe. I go into a stall to pee and clean up as best as I can and the whole while, my mind is whirling.
I have nothing to feel guilty about. Guilt is the least of my problems. As much as Roman is the boy I grew up with, he also has a complicated relationship with my ex-fiancé and my brother. It doesn’t get messier than that and I don’t want to be the woman who’s known for having messy relationships.
Because guess what?
As soon as anyone finds out, no one is going to care what Josh did. No one is going to care about my accolades. All I’ll beknown as is the woman who got dumped by one man and then later dated his old teammate.
“Do you need something to cover that up?” I look up from washing my hands to the girl who’s standing beside me. She’s got this gorgeous blue tint in her blonde hair that makes me wonder if I can pull it off.
“I’m sorry, what?”
“The hickey.” She nods towards my neck, and I look in the mirror. There’s a dark bruise blooming under my ear. “It’s from that guy who’s waiting outside, right?”
Now three other girls are listening to our conversation, and I think they’re the ones who were admiring him outside.
“Yes, it’s from him.”
“Where did you find him?”
“I’ve known him my whole life.” Give or take some eighteen odd years in which we didn’t speak. “Can I ask you girls something?”
They draw in closer and I turn off the tap, pick up a paper towel to dry my hands.
“How messy is it to date your ex-fiancé’s old teammate who is now your brother’s teammate?”
The one with the short black hair leans her hip against the sink. “Girl, the question you have to ask yourself is, would a man care before he dumped you and hit on your best friend or sister?”
“And then you have to ask yourself a follow up question, which is did you enjoy yourself when you got the hickey?” Blue Tint girl says.
“Question two is more important than question one because you should never warp yourself into knots over what a man thinks,” another dark-haired girl adds.
“Yeah, men are only useful as long as you need them to be, and few are nice enough to keep around. Your boy is veryhot, but is he nice enough to keep around? Does he give you butterflies?”
“Does he want to give you more than butterflies?”
“Will he put your needs above his own?”
“Yes, yes, and yes,” I answer honestly and with conviction. I know Roman said he doesn’t want a relationship, but we can talk about that. He clearly wants to be with me, and I want him so much I daydream about it.
“Then you don’t have to worry about what anyone says,” the dark-haired girl says. “People are always going to talk shit; that’s literally what people are good for. Someone will always be jealous of you and what you have or unhappy because you got it before they did. That shouldn’t stop you from wanting what you love.”
That’s the most sensible advice I’ve ever received from four drunk girls in a club restroom and they’re not even wrong. People will talk shit. They talked shit when I started dating Josh as well, but I was kind of numb then so I couldn’t care less. I spent half our relationship thinking marrying Josh would fix me and the other half questioning my choices.
“Is one of you Lavina?” A girl asks, stepping up to the sink. She glares at us in the mirror suspiciously.
I start to reply when one of the dark-haired girls speaks first. “It’sLavinia.Put some respect on her name.”
Blue Tint elbows her friend in the side as my eyes widen in surprise. The group gives me weak, guilty smiles.
“Whatever. Your boyfriend is outside wondering if you’re okay.”
