Shutout
Renegades 5
By Melody Heck Gatto
Shutout – Renegades 5
By Melody Heck Gatto
Copyright © 2016 by Melody Heck Gatto
License Notes
All rights reserved. This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents either are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental. This e-book is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This e-book may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to your favorite e-book retailer and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.
Editing by Bree Scalf - Vivid Editing
Cover Art by Kat McCarthy - Aeternum Designs
CHAPTER ONE
Hailee
Hailee shoved her gloved hands deeper into her coat. The rink was chilly, as always, while she sat and watched her friend Alison steady her five-year-old student on her skate blades. As Alison bent down closer to the little girl, Hailee caught Alison’s calm, soft voice as she instructed her student to keep her ankles straight.
Alison was an amazing ice skating instructor. She had the patience of a saint. Hailee smiled to herself. Alison would have to be a saint in order to be my best friend. Not to mention, she even looked like an angel. Alison had long hair, light blond with hints of almost white, as if the sun was always highlighting it. The short white faux fur jacket accented her creamy pale skin and made her crystal blue eyes pop. Not a single mark of ink on the girl and her only piercings were one in each ear lobe.
Such a strong contrast to Hailee. Alison often asked why Hailee needed so many tattoos, but never discouraged her from getting more.
“Do we have to go through this every week, Alison?” Hailee called from the open Zamboni door where the skaters entered and exited the ice. She shivered and rubbed her gloved hands together. Her cold-weather jacket was fluffy and soft, but wasn’t keeping out the bitter cold wind. The weather people kept saying warmer temps were on the horizon, and Hailee hoped they would arrive soon. It was open skate hour and the rink was full; no one else seemed to mind the winter weather. Hailee joked with Ali just as she did each week. “Tell her, Cassie.”
“Miss Alison, Hailee doesn’t ice skate.” The little freckle-faced red-haired girl said with a giggle. Her laughter made her legs wobble, and as she waivered her ear muffs almost fell off. Alison caught her before she fell, shooting a glare in Hailee’s direction.
“Sorry,” Hailee squeaked out, although knowing Alison probably couldn’t even hear her. Hailee spent every lesson standing here watching her friend teach little tykes how to skate, some for figure skating, some so they could learn ice hockey. Occasionally she had an adult student. Every week Alison reminded her of that.
Right on cue Alison called out, “You know I teach adults all the time, right? You wouldn’t be the first.” She twirled around so she was now skating backwards, showing off obviously, and holding Cassie’s hand. “Plus, if you learned you could teach lessons on the side. More money towards your goal.”
“Like I don’t work enough as it is. Anyway, as soon as I find a market to sell my paintings, I’ll be golden.” Hailee’s paintings could rake in more money than she made at the club if she found the right buyers. Her mind wandered as she looked out over the rink. It was so calm and crisp out there, a nice way to spend an hour or two. She would never admit to Alison that gliding around the ice did look like fun.
They’d been friends long enough for Hailee to know that confession would lead to days of Alison’s relentlessly trying to get Hailee into a pair of ice skates. There had been a time in her life, not all that long ago, that she’d been ready to learn how to skate…
Her mind flitted back to when strong hands had held her steady on the ice, despite her argument that she didn’t need his help. The deep laugh that rang in her ears when she stumbled and he’d caught her, and warm kisses that made goose bumps spring up on the back of her neck… A pang of regret gripped her, and Hailee shook her head to clear those memories away. Those thoughts had to stay in the past where they belonged.
Looking at her phone, she was relieved to see the hour was almost up. Alison normally took one solo lap around the rink while the student left the ice and started to gather their things. Right on schedule, Cassie was headed her way.
“Hey there, short stuff.” Hailee smiled at the girl. “Need any help with those skates?” She helped the young girl off the ice and out of the way of the other skaters who had the same idea.
Her back was to the ice as she untied each skate, and Cassie stepped out of them. “So you’re never going to learn how to skate?” The little girl’s voice waivered as she plucked the white crochet beanie off Hailee’s head.
Hailee’s dark violet hair fell into her face as she bowed her head and stared at the skates. She had no intention of dimming the little girl’s excitement about skating. Cassie was getting really good and finally wasn’t afraid to be out on the ice.
Hailee swept her hair away from her eyes and ran her hand down her face, lightly skimming her fingers over the metal stud that adorned her left nostril. “Well, don’t tell Alison, but I don’t know about never. Maybe someday. It does look kind of fun watching you glide around out there. By the way, you’re really getting the hang of it. You’ll be doing triple axels in no time.”
Cassie giggled at the silly thought of her going straight to Olympic figure skating acrobatics. Normally she fired off the wall questions about Hailee’s nose ring, like “Doesn’t that hurt?” or “How do you blow your nose?” But the little girl just stood there staring past her, a goofy smile on her face.
That’s when Hailee realized something or someone was behind her. Slowly turning around, she knew who was there before she saw. Alison. “Crap.”
“It looks fun, huh?” Alison beamed with a grin that stretched from ear to ear.
“No, I didn’t say—”
“Don’t even try to weasel out of this, Hailee. I heard you. And you’re in luck because there’s still another hour in the open skate. I’ll go get you some skates.”
“No, Alison! Don’t—” But her friend was already out of earshot and at the skate rental counter. Hailee let out an exhausted sigh. “Cassie, how do I get out of this?” She realized the ridiculousness of asking that to someone who was learning how to ice skate.
“Simple. You don’t.” Alison handed her a pair of skates. “Put these on.” Without missing a beat, Alison turned her attention to her student. “Cassie, I see your mom over there, so I’ll see you next week, okay?”
Cassie’s smile widened. “Okay, see you next week!” she said, before she ran to her mom.
“And why aren’t your skates on yet?” Alison looked down her nose and asked in a teacher type voice.
“You were serious? Don’t you have to get back to the pet salon?”
“No, I don’t. Do I look like I’m playing?” Her eyes narrowed as she looked down her nose at Hailee. “Now get the skates on.”
Hailee wanted to laugh. Even though Alison was only a part-time skating instructor, she was totally pulling this teacher crap on her. But part of Hailee was afraid that she wasn’t joking, and that part told her brain to shut up and put the skates on. Maybe this will be fun. They had both been so busy since the beginning of the year, it was nice to finally hang out together, and Hailee didn’t want to end the
day by annoying Alison.
She could do this. One quick lap around the rink, holding the sides if necessary, then I’ll be done. How hard could it be really? It looks so easy.
After lacing up her skates, she stepped out onto the ice. Her skate blades slid over the frozen water as she grabbed for the comfort of the rink wall. Who in the world decided that balancing on two thin little metal blades on a hunk of ice would be a fun time? Something was wrong with this picture; this wasn’t easy at all. There was no graceful gliding. Maybe my skates are faulty? The only thing holding her up was the wall. I’m obviously not doing this right.
She wasn’t used to doing this by herself. Last time she tried to learn, there was a pair of strong hands holding her up. At least the boards were doing their job keeping her upright. For now, anyway. But her feet wouldn’t stop sliding around.
She moved inch by inch until there was no more wall. The curved end of the rink was flush from the ice to the glass, with no ledge to hold onto. She paused, looking at the distance around the end of the rink. Why does it have to be so long?
A pair of skate blades behind her made a whooshing sound against the ice. “You want me to help you?” Alison asked, holding her arm out for Hailee to grab.
“I’m a grown ass woman. Thank you, but no thank you; I don’t need your help, so you can put your arm down,” Hailee snapped in response.
She could do this. She took one more look across the rink before she bowed her head and solely concentrated on her skates. Skating directly across to the other side seemed the shortest distance, even though she would be out in the middle of the ice with nothing to cling to. Surely if she built up a little speed, she would just glide. Sounded easy enough.
Her arms out to the sides for steadiness, she wobbled a bit before pushing off with her right skate. The metal blades dug into the frozen surface and she moved less than gracefully across the ice. Planting her right skate in front of her body, she bobbed front to back as her balance waivered. Her arms flailed at her sides and did nothing to steady her.
The noise of the other skaters suddenly went from loud to muffled, as the beating of her own heart overtook her ears. Her feet frantically tried to dig into the slippery surface to no avail. Stranded in the very center of the ice, Hailee’s body tilted backwards, and before she could correct her posture, the skates slid forward and out from under her, landing her ass on the hard, cold rink.
The noise of the other skaters returned as she lay flat on her back staring at the ceiling. This did not just happen.
“Hailee!” Alison’s voice was high pitched and frantic, but soon turned to laughter. “Are you okay?” She fought to stifle a giggle.
“Shut up.” The nastiness in Hailee’s voice was not intentional, but lying on her back in the middle of the ice rink was not her idea of a good time.
“No really, are you okay?” Alison put her hand in front of her mouth, doing her best to cover up her amusement, but eventually she gave in and doubled over in a fit of laughter.
Before Hailee could answer, a young man’s face popped into view. “Are you okay, miss?”
Oh my God. Crawling into the ice and disappearing sounds like a great idea about now. “Fine.”
The boy was younger than she was, probably about sixteen, and wore a fleece pullover with the name of the ice rink on it. He held out his hand to her. “Here, let me help you up.”
Glancing around the ice, Hailee decided that she had no choice. Before she could answer, a second young man appeared and the two of them grabbed her arms, quickly lifting her up off the ice. Her face filled with heat. Embarrassing, to say the least.
Alison was still laughing as the boys helped Hailee over to the side of the rink where she could safely hold on to the wall again. “Thanks,” she whispered to the young men before they skated off.
The brisk air bit against her heated, and presumably now red, cheeks as she glared at her friend. Her body was cold from lying on the ice and her face felt like it was on fire. Staring at Alison who had tears starting to stream down her face from laughing so hard, she wished her eyes could shoot daggers with the look she was giving her unhelpful friend.
“Hailee, I’m so sorry.” Alison muffled her enjoyment and wiped the tears away. “You went down just like a rag doll…” Her words trailed off as her giggles returned.
Hailee knew Alison meant well, and if she were in the same position, she’d probably be rolling around on the ice laughing too. “It’s fine.”
“Hailee, let me help you off the ice.” Alison finally finished laughing and smiled empathetically, holding out her arm to her friend. “I’m done laughing, I swear.”
“Good thing. Now let’s get out of here. I’m hungry.” Hailee gripped tightly to Alison as they glided together off the ice.
* * *
“I didn’t realize you meant we’d eat here. I assumed we’d eat in a real restaurant. You know, where the girls wear clothes.” Alison whispered the last part as they sat down at the bar.
“I’m getting takeout, so stop your bitching.” Hailee waved and smiled to a girl with dark black and blue hair. “Hey, Sasha! Do you know if my order is ready yet?”
“Hey girl.” The goth looking girl grinned. “I think I saw it at the window. Let me go look.” She strutted over to the order window and searched for the name on the bag. “Here it is!”
“Thanks, Sasha,” Hailee said as the girl handed the bag to her. “See you tomorrow!” She hopped off the bar stool and waved as Alison followed.
“I’ll never get used to that place,” Alison complained.
“I don’t know why you let it bother you.” The neon sign outside the building shone the club’s name, The Cat House, brightly in the dusk.
“Did you work on New Year’s Eve?”
Hailee nodded. “Yeah, I had a double shift because they were packed. Lots of needy, lonely men out there I guess, but it was a good night for tips.”
“I suppose that depends on what you had to do for those tips.” Alison grimaced as though she had just eaten a lemon.
“Nothing more than usual.” Hailee winked one eye. That meant letting them ogle her and grab at her while she still had her top on, but once she was down to just her pasties it was a hands-off policy. Not that some drunks didn’t try. The secret rooms behind the back rooms, well, that’s where the real money was made, and she wanted no part of that. Dancing was one thing, but she wasn’t for sale. “How was your party?”
“Eh.” Alison shrugged. “It was full of my brother’s frat house buddies. Nothing like fending off drunk handsy college boys all night. I cut out early and stopped in the Cupcakery. They were having a champagne toast at midnight, and unveiling their new cupcake — Champagne Kisses. It’s my new favorite flavor. The icing really does taste like champagne, and it has tiny red and pink hearts sprinkled onto the white icing. The batter is so fluffy and light I wouldn’t be surprised if it had champagne in it too.”
Hailee loved the Pink Ribbon Cupcakery. It was such a cute little store, and now thanks to all the cupcake talk, she was craving a cupcake. It’d been a while since she’d had one. Maybe she’d treat herself for her birthday. “Sounds like I’ll have to stop by and try one of those.”
“I just wish you would get out of this neighborhood. I’m sure you could find a nice apartment by me, and you know I could use the help at the pet salon. Wouldn’t it be awesome if we were neighbors?” Alison said, as they both walked away from The Cat House and past the neighboring bar to a doorway. “We’d see each other all the time and you could go to the Cupcakery every day; I know you love their cupcakes!”
Hailee sighed. If Alison only knew that was the goal. Plus, a daily stop into the Cupcakery sounded wonderful. But she didn’t need a lecture; she just wanted to eat. Alison was an awesome friend, but she was good at lecturing, and as much as Hailee loved her, that could get annoying.
“Home, sweet home.” Hailee unlocked the heavy steel door. Turning on the hallway light, she let Alison in
first, then locked the door behind them. “And I like my loft, thank you very much.”
Alison looked back at her and shook her head, keeping her hands away from the walls as they approached the stairs. “I’ll never understand why,” she said. “You’re on the third floor above a bar and a strip club. There are stains on the walls here in the hallway and stairwell that I’d rather not know what they are, and it’s so dingy looking.”
Alison complained about Hailee’s loft all the time; it wasn’t somewhere she would opt to live. This was sub-par compared to her frilly pink and white life. Alison’s apartment was right above her pet salon in a charming old school neighborhood filled with clean sidewalks, cute little shops, and lots of foot traffic. Even the garbage cans on the street were sparkly clean; Hailee swore someone must come along and scrub them every night. To overdose on the cuteness, the streets were even paved with brick. The truth was, that place was adorable and Hailee was a little jealous of her friend. But this was where she called home.
“I’ll help out at the pet salon any time that I can, you know that. And if it weren’t for me, your books would never get done,” Hailee said proudly.
The top of the two-flight stairwell opened up to a spacious loft. One time it was probably an office space that was full of cubicles, back before this neighborhood was taken over by bars and less than desirable clientele. Now it was one big rent-controlled loft, and Hailee made the best out of it. Even though there were no walls to separate the kitchen, the living area, and the bedroom, she had done her best to make it homey.
“I actually meant you could consider working there full-time, you know—”
“Quit the club. Yeah, I know that’s what you want, Ali. Maybe someday I’ll consider it, but right now I’m fine. I wouldn’t make nearly as much anywhere else as I do at the club. You know you can’t pay me that kind of money, and I don’t expect you to.”
Shutout (The Renegades Series Book 5) Page 1