Shutout (The Renegades Series Book 5)

by Melody Heck Gatto

  Taking a long breath, she paused before she moved towards the bar. Kit was operating the bar tonight. Beautiful didn’t begin to describe Kit with long black hair pulled back into a ponytail, trailing onto her shoulders and curled around, and her chunky thick bangs made her look like a 1960s pin up girl.

  “Hey there, sunshine.” Kit smiled at Hailee, before adjusting her pink polka dot retro push-up crop top. “Ready to rock-and-roll tonight?”

  She meant it literally. At seven o’clock tonight, there was a band playing, which accounted for most of the business. The bad thing was those folks would stay after and continue drinking. Drunk requests for lap dances were the worst. They tipped big, because they didn’t know what they were doing, but they were very handsy, and security had a harder time catching that when the place was packed.

  “Ready as I’m gonna be. I hate these things.” Hailee winced. She swiped her badge in the time clock before grabbing a bottle of water. “You here all night, Kit?”

  “I am. Hopefully they tip well tonight.” She winked at Hailee, and wiggled her hips. As bartender, Kit didn’t need to dress as scantily as the others, but she liked to wear super short shorts that showed off her cheeks and the bow tattoos on the backs of her thighs.

  “In that outfit, I don’t doubt they will. See ya in a minute. Time to get dressed!” She made her way into the back room. After securing her purse in her locker, she started to get undressed. She had a rolling rack of outfits to choose from, but sometimes brought her own, especially when she was waitressing. Tonight she was table dancing, and she crossed her fingers there’d be no lap dances or private dances. Not her favorite; even though the tips were better than waitressing, the downfall was less clothing, only slightly more fabric than if she was up on stage.

  Some girls went for lingerie, lacy, cute and see through. The guys loved it. She chose a light pink plaid pleated skirt no more than six inches long, and a sexy white peasant top that tied in the front. She paired it with a matching G-string and clear stiletto heels. It was a cute outfit with all the pink, but her tattoos made it look badass. Giving her makeup one last check, she decided she needed more eye shadow and liner. She liked a very dramatic look when she was working.

  She closed her eyes for a moment and calmed her nerves. Every time she walked out on the floor, she had to remind herself that it was just a job, that someday all the grabbing and drooling would be well worth it. When she was standing in her own gallery, her artwork would be her only means of income and she’d be more than comfortable. Opening her eyes, she was still in the Club, knowing it was temporary.

  Time to do this.

  Sashaying out onto the crowded floor, she tried to ignore the drunken male faces as she sought out her section. The band was playing on the main stage and girls danced on the smaller ones. She shook and gyrated her way through the crowd, stopping at each table and moving around each guy. Some put all their attention on her as she ran her fingertips over their shoulders or across their chests, and they showed their appreciation in the form of bills tucked in her bottoms. Before going on to the next table, she collected all of the bills and folded them neatly into a little pocket on the inside of her skirt.

  The band was about halfway through their set, when she noticed a few guys file into the Club and sit in the back overlooking the whole room. They were large, muscular, and familiar looking. She narrowed her eyes, giving them a closer look, and she realized they were Renegades players. Oh no, not tonight. She looked down at her outfit and broke into a cold sweat.

  “Foxy!” her boss yelled. “Get out on the floor!”

  She was stalling, frozen where she stood.

  “Hey, cutie! Bring those tattoos over here,” a guy called from a nearby table.

  Turning her back on the hockey boys, she danced around the beckoning table, moving between the seats and around each man. She was well aware of the eyes on her. Dominic. She did her best to show each of the men at the table tons of attention, and went as far as blowing them kisses. But it was time to move on to the next table, and the closer she got to the team’s table, the more nervous she got.

  The stern glance from the manager and his motioning to the back of the room meant she needed to keep moving. The band was almost done with their set.

  “Finally!” one of them called as she approached the table.

  “I hear I’m in demand?” She smiled, but her heart was racing. Why does he keep coming in here? “You guys win or something tonight?”

  “Sure did, and it was all Dom,” Kaden said with a smile.

  “Nah, I’m just the keeper of the goal.” Dominic looked embarrassed. “So, you doing private dances tonight?”

  “Um, uh, maybe. None yet though.” Why was he asking? Please don’t ask for one, please. Maybe he was being protective, exactly what she didn’t need him to be. She wasn’t his property.

  Her manager was watching, which meant she had better start dancing.

  Hailee danced around the guys, thinking only of her well-rehearsed moves and pretending to ignore Dominic. But all her senses were tuned in to him. She could see his face tighten more, his posture become more rigid with each dance she gave. It was probably an unkind reality for him to see her like this, but with her boss always watching, she had no choice. Besides, she needed to break Dominic out of whatever it was he thought he was accomplishing by continuing to turn up here.

  That thought fueled her fire. It had turned into a game for her. She stopped by Kaden and quickly put her shoe on his chair between his legs. The guys hooted and hollered. All of them but Dominic.

  The waitress came around and refilled all of their beers. Dominic already had two empty bottles sitting by him. She wasn’t used to seeing him drink like that, but they had been so young when they were together. Shaking her boobs in Kaden’s face got a good roar out of the guys, and made the goaltender’s face pink as well.

  The song ended and she moved on to the next man, then the next. Finally, Dominic was the only one left. By the time she got to him, his eyes were glassy from all the alcohol. He eyed all the cash stuck in her skirt. She quickly folded the bills up and tucked them away with the others.

  The manager was looking her way as she hesitated in front of Dom. She had no reason not to give him his turn, plus her boss would notice if she only left Dominic out.

  She started to dance around him, her body seeming to move closer without her permission. She ran her fingers through his hair in a practiced move, but the touch seemed too intimate, and her hands trembled. Pulling them away, she avoided looking at his handsome face, and turned her back to him and swayed her hips in front of him.

  The guys shouted cat calls at her, and the ones close by tucked a few bills into her skirt. She accidentally caught Dom’s glance and was shocked at what came out of his mouth.

  “Here.” He handed her a fifty. “I want a private dance.”

  “You go, Meatball!” Matt called. Looking around, he added, “I need to find me one of those, too. Lap dance? Can I get a lap dance?” he shouted to the closest girl.

  Rayne, a new girl, saw the large bills Matt was flashing and ran right over to him. She straddled him and slid her hands into his hair. She was tiny and thin with a thick head of bright red hair and large, fake boobs. Matt was lost in her breasts and wasn’t even looking when Dominic stood up and slid the fifty into Hailee’s top.

  “Where to?” he asked as he stumbled a bit.

  Hailee glanced to the manager and saw him give a nod at her. Dammit. As long as Dominic wasn’t breaking any rules, she couldn’t turn him down. “This way.” With her heart pounding like a drum, she led him across the room to the private area, which consisted of various blocked off rooms, a couch in each one, similar to the one she’d met him in that first night.

  Bringing him back here was going to be less awkward than grinding against him with all of his buddies watching. Also, if she flaked, the manager wouldn’t see, and it would be less embarrassing for them both. But, God, being close
to him, alone with him, even the thought of it made her stomach flutter and her legs weak.

  With the door closed behind them, she pushed Dominic onto the couch along the wall. Normally she’d start grinding on the guy, giving him a good show for his money’s worth.

  But she stood in front of Dom and looked into his glassy eyes. “You’re drunk.” Drunk, but still the most beautiful man she’d ever laid eyes on.

  “Doez that mean you refuze me the dance?” He had started to slur his words.

  “I never said that. I just said you’re drunk.”

  “Yeah, zo what? I waz having a bad night, and I thought the alcohol would make me feel better. And I waz right, like always.”

  He was still arrogant, even when drunk. “But I thought you won the game?”

  His eyes were dark and heavy. He wasn’t lying; he was having a bad night.

  “We did.” His eyes followed her every movement as she marched back and forth in front of him. She rolled her hips to the beat of the music. Closing her eyes, she ran her hands into her hair and then slowly down her body.

  “Well, think of this dance as the victor’s prize then.” She ran her fingertip down his jawline, the scruffiness of his face tickling her finger. Her eyes locked onto his sexy lips, and she resisted the ridiculous urge to take his face in both her hands, and—

  In one swift movement, he grabbed her hips and pulled her onto his lap. A gasp fell from her lips as her body melted against him. His strong hands had a hard grip on her, securing her in place, but she wasn’t moving away. His warmth, the clean smell of him, his strength, surrounded her and filled her senses. Closing her eyes, she had flashbacks of good times spent on their living room couch like this. How good it felt to have him hold her. How good it was to let go with him. Her heart ached for it, and she had to push back those old feelings. The reality was, this was not their old apartment, they weren’t together, and he was intoxicated.

  He gazed up into her face, his eyes gentle and searching. “I miss you.”

  His words snapped some sense into her and she straightened her back. She couldn’t allow this to go on, or she would be lost in him. “You’re drunk.” She peeled his hands away and stood above him, her legs spread on either side of his. With his warmth gone, she suddenly felt cold and bare.

  “I am, but I still miss you.”

  “No, you don’t.” She knew she should tell him to leave. But something stopped her. It could’ve been her need to feel his body against hers just one more time, or the pained look in his eyes, or— No, dammit, it was because he’d already paid her and she didn’t want to give back the money. Or something. Whatever, she just gave in to it.

  Her voice was more tender than she meant it to be. “Just sit back and enjoy the dance you paid for.” She slowly moved around him, careful to look him in the eye as little as possible. She didn’t want to see his mouth either, because she’d always loved his lips, that sexy smile of his, and the way he always licked his lips when he was desperate to kiss her... Oh hell. Her emotions were on overdrive right now.

  Sitting back down on his lap, with her back to his chest this time, she rolled her hips against him, trying to concentrate on replicating her usual moves. But her usual moves didn’t include this insane drive to be closer.

  He reached out and put his hands on her hips, pushing her harder onto him again. That wasn’t allowed; she should remove his hands. But she didn’t move them. Arching her back, she leaned backwards into his chest.

  Rubbing against him, she felt his hard length press against her, and her breath caught. Desire uncoiled inside her as she pressed back. His strong hands still gripped her hips, and for a moment she wished his fingers would move upwards to where her nipples were taut and needy.

  Hot breath and his lips on her neck brought her out of his spell. What the hell was she doing? He reeked of beer. He was drunk and vulnerable, and she was worried what he might say in this state.

  Being turned on by him was not the plan. This was her job; she did this to make money. She didn’t get turned on by the guys here, and she certainly didn’t get turned on by Dom anymore… so she told herself. Why did he have to keep coming in here? She sat down on his knee and turned to him. This wasn’t happening.

  “I won’t do this.” She avoided looking at him as she handed him his fifty, but he pushed it back to her.

  “No, it’s yours. Keep it. Maybe if I keep throwing money at you, you’ll stay with me.”

  “What the hell did you say? I’m not a whore!” Her hand flew up to his face, but even as drunk as he was, his reflexes were spot on, and he caught her wrist before she made contact with his cheek.

  “C’mon, Hay, you know I didn’t mean it like that.” He shook his head like he was trying to clear out the cobwebs, but alcohol is an evil thing. “If I’m giving you money, then no one else is. I didn’t like seeing you dance all over the guys on the team, and that room is full of other drunk douchebags just waiting to get their hands on you.”

  He wasn’t wrong.

  There was a good chance he wouldn’t remember any of this in the morning, so now was her chance to ask him. “Why do you keep coming in here?”

  “To see you.”

  Her pathetic heart fluttered before it dropped. That is what she thought he’d say and hoped he wouldn’t. “You shouldn’t keep doing this to yourself.”

  “Doing what? Supporting you? I’ll always be here for you, Hay. No matter what you do, even if I don’t like it.” His face was serious, and his eyes trained on her, not searching the floor, and not running over her bare skin. He simply looked her in the eyes. Oh hell. That look, intense, gentle, and sexy all at once, had all the power to make her resistance crumble. She had to get out of this.

  “I think you’ve had enough to drink. Dance is over. Let’s get you back to your friends.”

  Grabbing Dominic’s wrist, she led him back to his table. Before she could stop him, he grabbed another beer and gulped it down. Kneeling down beside his buddy Kaden, she whispered so Dominic wouldn’t hear. “He’s drunk. Can you make sure he gets home okay?” She felt like it should be her making sure he got home okay, and she hoped his friend could be trusted to watch out for him.

  “No problem.” Kaden nodded.

  The team started to disperse within the next hour, but Kaden and Dominic stayed with a few other guys. With each table she went to, she could see him watch her and continue to down beers. They should’ve stopped serving him by now, but the way he flashed that sly smile at every waitress, and the sparkle in those dark eyes, they were putty in his hands, and he always had another drink.

  CHAPTER TEN

  Dominic

  Dominic rolled over in bed. His head throbbed. What the hell did I do last night? The pain told him he had drunk way too much. Seeing as how the last thing he remembered was stifling his anger as he watched Hailee sensually dance around his teammates, he knew there was more to his night than that.

  He couldn’t stand seeing Hailee dance around all those guys, waiting for one to pay for a private dance and see her lead him to the back room. Thank God she didn’t. If that had happened, he didn’t know what he would’ve done.

  Some band was playing at the club; they didn’t know that before they got there. They were simply there to celebrate their win against Los Angeles. It was supposed to be a fun night of hanging out and light drinking. He suggested The Cat House in the hopes of Hailee being there again. What he found was her table dancing in a tiny ass outfit. He never saw her give a lap dance, but the rubbing up against the men and shoving her tits in their faces was too much for him to handle.

  He’d already had too much beer by the time she came to their table. He shouldn’t have done it, but after too many drinks, he did vaguely remember handing her a fifty, and then they were in a room. After that, his memory was pretty much black.

  Thinking about it made his head hurt worse. Thank God they had a day off today.

  There was a knock on his door, then Kaden pok
ed his head in. “Yo, bro, you getting your lazy ass up yet?”

  “Shut it, Kaden.” He pulled the pillow over his head to avoid the light shining in from the hallway. “What time is it?”

  “Almost noon. I’m headed out. Me, Ty and Kris are meeting at the gym if you want to join?”

  “No way in hell, dude. I might not even get up today.”

  “The old hangover hell, huh? Haven’t seen you there in a long time. You sure drank enough for it. Well, I hate to tell you that we’re out of coffee.”

  Dominic groaned. “Dammit.” He couldn’t fight a hangover without caffeine.

  “Well, if you change your mind, we’ll be at the gym. Never know, exerting yourself might make you feel better.”

  “I’m sure it’d just make me puke.”

  “Yeah, then you’d feel better!” Kaden’s laugh cut through his head like a knife and made him wince. “My bad.”

  “How drunk did I get?” His memory was full of holes like Swiss cheese and the only thing he remembered was Hailee and all those men.

  “What do you remember?”

  “My ex hanging all over you, and all but pulling out your dick.” Anger filled his body, but the blood rushing to his head just made him nauseated. He threw the pillow off his head and ran to his bathroom, barely making it to the john in time. Whatever it was he ate last night didn’t fare so well revisiting him this morning.

  “That’s nasty, dude.” Kaden called from the bedroom doorway.

  Dominic rinsed his mouth and swished around some mouthwash before returning to his bed. “Don’t start with me.”

  “Don’t get all mad. She was not getting ready to whip anything out. She was just doing her job, and I would say probably a little too well because you were there. She was egging you on, dude.”

  He’d never considered that. Her moves and the way she gave every guy what he wanted, all along barely even touching them. Was it all an act?