Rebound Revival (Book 3 in the Rebound Series

Chapter Three

On Friday I wake up determined to find a place to live, firmly pushing aside all thoughts of the night before. I don't know how I feel about what happened yet, and I don't want to think about it right now. My suite downtown is comfortable enough, but it isn't a home. And I can't stay here without memories of last night making me squirm and rub my thighs together.

After breakfast at a little cafe down the street, I turn on the TV for mindless background noise and pull out my laptop to search for rentals that are available right away. I'd planned on getting a one-bedroom apartment somewhere, but the nice apartments around here cost almost as much as my old apartment in Chicago. Of course, the apartment in Chicago was a little more run down, but still. I could get a house for about the same price. A whole house, all to myself. It sounds tempting, though the thought of having to do all the yard work is daunting. Maybe I could find a neighborhood kid to mow the lawns for me during the summer. Deciding to at least check out all my options, I write down some addresses of houses and apartments that look promising.

While I'm stopped for lunch between checking out neighborhoods, I get a phone call from Amy, my new sister-in-law's best friend and the maid of honor at their wedding a couple of months ago. "Hey! I just wanted to see how things are in the small town!"

I smile at her enthusiasm. I just saw her yesterday before I left Brian and Jenna's. We became friends over the last few months while helping plan Brian and Jenna's wedding and have stayed in touch. She's a high school English teacher and still on summer vacation for a few more days. Monday starts the meetings that teachers endure at the beginning of the year before the students come back, which she complained about at length earlier. Classes start after Labor Day the following week.

"Things are good. I'm out looking for a place to live."

"Anything promising?"

"A couple spots. I'm trying to decide between a house and an apartment."

"Get a house. I promise you won't regret it."

"But furniture. And more rooms than I need. And yard work."

She makes a dismissive noise. "You'll need to furnish an apartment just as much as a house since you didn't bring any furniture with you. And you can turn one bedroom into a guest room and one into an office or workout room or library or whatever you want."

I chuckle. Leave it to the English teacher to suggest a library. "Yeah, okay. I guess that could work."

We chat for a few more minutes about my new job and her upcoming school year before saying goodbye. Amy's phone call reminds me that I should call Sheila, my best friend, and let her know how things are going. I'd texted her along with everyone else that had a right to know that I'd made it and was still alive when I got here yesterday, but we haven't talked since I left Chicago a week ago. She'd been nice enough to let me crash at her place for a month after I broke up with Pierce and figured out what to do with myself.

My summer internship hadn't turned into a management trainee position like I'd hoped. Being away for a week within the first month might've had something to do with that, because they'd loved me when I'd interviewed for the internship. But the love had cooled after I asked for time off to go to my oldest brother's wedding. I'd been interviewing around to find something, but hadn't gotten any offers. I didn't want to get a job as a receptionist somewhere, and since I was living with my boyfriend, I thought I could take my time finding a job that was a good fit while I continued my waitressing job I had while in school.

That ended when I came home after an interview to find Pierce in bed with someone else.

I came around the corner into the bedroom already unbuttoning my blouse and pulling the tails out of my skirt, intending to change into comfy clothes and treat myself to the half pint of Ben and Jerry's in the freezer after a less-than-stellar interview. I thought the moans I heard were coming from the upstairs neighbors. They were loud and enthusiastic, and I heard them going at it at all times of the day and night.