when the rebound lasts longer than the relationship

a rebound, except in basketball, is never a good thing. while a basketball rebound means you finally nailing that almost non-existent lead in the last 2.2 seconds of the game, a relationship rebound means you were too weak to be alone in your misery. while a basketball rebound is celebrated, a relationship rebound is kept hush-hush, a dirty little secret between you and the other party. and while a basketball player is praised for his ability to jump quickly to the rescue of the loose ball, a guy who preys on a girl who just got off a relationship gets thrown a look of shame, as if to tell him how dare he date someone while she's hurting.

a rebound is generally short-lived. you have to literally grab the ball a make a run for it before everyone else knows what's happening. you shoot, hoping that you score, but then if you don't, at least you had that brief shining moment where everything was in your hands.

at first i thought pat was nothing but a rebound. i did, after all, intend to set him up with my friends. i remember us exchanging sms, finding people we know in common, and setting up our first gimmick together, just you and i, without the people responsible for introducing us to each other. funny how two days later, the guy and i broke up, and funny how the reason for the break-up had nothing to do with you at all. you were my rebound relationship. i clung on to you, probably hoping that somehow, being with someone as gorgeous and amazing as you would validate my self-worth.

i doubted you. sometimes, i tried to justify what we had to myself. i didn't really believe it when you told me you loved me, and that you wanted to be with me. there were times when i probably nearly ruined what we had with my paranoia. i keep expecting this to end all too soon.

i don't know. maybe you just get a kick out of proving me wrong. or maybe, i should just learn to enjoy this. somehow, we're both learning to be comfortable with each other. we're less combative, and we're kinder to each other. we've learned that in the middle of the other one's tampong pururot (which is all it really is if you think about it) all we need is to smile and say "i love you" until the other person calms down.

the tidbits i know about you hasn't really increased in number. and while we both cheered for la salle, i doubt if we'll be cheering for the same side when the NBA opens this november. but what the heck.

if rebounds last longer the relationship, then there's nothing that a little NBA rivalry could do to hurt us.