Score On Me: The Renegades (Hockey Romance), #1

SCORE

ON ME

A Renegades Novel

by Melody Heck Gatto

SCORE ON ME

By Melody Heck Gatto

Copyright © 2015

License Notes

THIS BOOK IS A WORK of fiction. Names, characters, places and events are the product of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner.

All rights reserved. This book is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This 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 book retailer and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

The Pittsburgh Renegades™ is a fictional sports team. Their name and logo are created for the sole use of the owner and covered under protection of trademark.

SECOND EDITION, 2015.

Editing by Bree from Vivid Words Editing

Cover Art by Melody Heck Gatto

Contents

CHAPTER 1

CHAPTER 2

CHAPTER 3

CHAPTER 4

CHAPTER 5

CHAPTER 6

CHAPTER 7

CHAPTER 8

CHAPTER 9

CHAPTER 10

CHAPTER 11

CHAPTER 12

CHAPTER 13

CHAPTER 14

CHAPTER 15

CHAPTER 16

CHAPTER 17

CHAPTER 18

CHAPTER 19

CHAPTER 20

CHAPTER 21

CHAPTER 22

CHAPTER 23

CHAPTER 24

CHAPTER 25

CHAPTER 26

CHAPTER 27

CHAPTER 28

CHAPTER 29

CHAPTER 30

EPILOGUE

Thanks to my very patient husband, who allowed me all the time I needed to complete Score On Me. The endless writing and re-writing, the reading and re-reading. It was a labor of love, but couldn’t have been done without his love and support.

And to all of the girls out there who ever thought that they weren’t pretty enough... no matter what size or shape, you are all beautiful! There will always be someone trying to knock you down, but stand tall. Be confident and be happy.

Remember, don’t ever let anyone dull your sparkle!

Do what you love and love what you do.

Smile. Dance. Laugh. Love.

Remember, happiness isn’t measured in pounds...

From the Author:

A FEW WORDS ON KAT Torella.

I love Kat!!

Score On Me features Kat Torella - a curvy girl. She's not overweight, but she's no size 0 either. She enjoys junk food (like most of us do-no matter what size jeans we wear) and she tends to eat according to her feelings (which in 2014 when I wrote this, I totally did stress eat. Stress=chocolate or pizza). All common things that folks (men or women) tend to do. I hope no one sees it as fat shaming because let me tell you, I am in no position to do that, lol, and that is not how it’s meant. I have battled with my own weight for my entire life. I'm still battling it. (check out my social media photos, it's no secret that I love a good slice of pizza or burger)

But I did interject some of my own emotions, or thoughts in Kat. I enjoy a good fast food meal out and in no way try to show Kat as being a pig. (I personally love burgers). I just hope you understand Kat is awesome, and she doesn't even know it. All she sees is a less than perfect girl in the mirror. And a lot of us see that when we look at ourselves. This book follows Kat as she deals with those feelings. She still loves her junk food - and that's not a knock against her as a woman. It's simply her thing. She likes a good burger and fries, or arena nachos. I have a favorite tv character who has always loved frozen pizza and potato chips – for years it has been written to her character, it's just her thing. (and if I'm being honest, French fries and potato chips are a weakness of mine) So if you'll just go into Kat's story with an open mind, and remember I love Kat! In my mind she is just a gorgeous woman who prefers burgers and fries over veggies (it happens, lol).

And, I'm trying to adapt to a healthier lifestyle, but not denying myself a good burger or slice of pizza. I am learning how to eat healthier, but this girl still loves her pizza!

And to all of the girls out there who ever thought that they weren’t pretty enough... no matter what size or shape, you are all beautiful! There will always be someone trying to knock you down but stand tall. Be confident and be happy.

Remember, don’t ever let anyone dull your sparkle!

Do what you love and love what you do.

Smile. Dance. Laugh. Love.

#AlwaysSparkle

Remember, happiness isn’t measured in pounds...

CHAPTER 1

IT WAS A TYPICAL JANUARY night in Pittsburgh. Snow fell in large flakes as Kat drove to the Rivers arena for a Pittsburgh Renegades hockey game. The stupid heater stopped working again, and her hands were almost numb from the freezing cold. Silently she cursed at herself. How could I forget my goddamn gloves?

Stupid piece of shit car, she muttered. She was irritated, but it wasn’t really because of her stupid car.

She was supposed to meet Liz at the game, but something had come up and her friend had to back out, which left Kat on her own. Her knuckles whitened as she tightened her grip on the steering wheel.

At twenty-four years old, Kat Torella lived alone in a tiny, but cute, apartment. She drove a junky little two-door, powder blue coupe. Kat loved her hockey; specifically, she loved Kris Lafleur. He was the team’s best defenseman. He was young, about her age, and a favorite amongst females. She fangirled over his flowing dark hair—his signature look—falling almost to his shoulders. It begged to be touched, and it always seemed to look effortlessly perfect.

She wore her Lafleur jersey, her Lafleur earrings and she had her Renegades purse. The purse signed by Kris Lafleur. That day was forever burned into her memory...

The hot sun beat down on her black jersey as she waited for practice to be over. She stood there for what felt like forever, but it was well worth the wait. Even with her long, dark brown hair gathered up in a ponytail, she was getting hot. The black fabric absorbed the heat, and she wished she’d worn a t-shirt instead, or at least a tank top under the jersey. Finally, a few of the guys walked out to the waiting crowd. Her breath caught as she gawked, motionless. Lafleur was standing right there, just a few feet away.

The people in front of her had brought sharpie markers and a t-shirt for the guys to sign. Looking over at them, her heart sped up and she started to sweat as panic set in. She didn’t have a marker or anything for him to sign. Why hadn’t she thought of that? She had her jersey on, so short of shoving her chest in his face to sign the black fabric, she was out of luck; but she had seriously considered it.

She asked the people in front of her if she could use their marker. When they moved over to hand it to her she looked up. Suddenly, she was face to face with Kris Lafleur. She froze.

The corner of his mouth turned up until a smile crossed his lips. He was even more handsome in person. His incredible smiling eyes mesmerized her, looked right into her. Somehow, she managed to smile back. At least she was able to do that.

Once he said hello she pretty much lost it. She didn’t remember standing next to him, or how she got there. She did know that she smiled a lot and had held out her Renegades purse and asked him if he would sign it. The couple standing next to her were nice enough to take her photo with the hockey hunk.

That photo now hung on the wall in her apartment.

Kat loved her hockey team, and was psyched to be going to the game, even if it was by herself. Her heart sank a little. As excited as she was to be going, it would be more fun with someone.

Snapping out of her self-pity, she concentrated on the road. She missed the rush hour traffic, so it took her only ten minutes to reach the university. Once she cut through that neighborhood she would be at the new arena.

She parked her car in the giant parking garage, pulled on her coat, and made the quick walk through the chill night air. Walking out of the garage, she admired the huge statue in front of the arena of the team’s owner and original golden boy, Ben Nolan.

The arena doors were already open, so she filed into the huge building with the other early fans, and headed over to the team store. Her eyes lit up as she walked through the rows of jerseys, and t-shirts. She brought a beautiful soft Renegades blanket to her cheek and then dropped it when she saw the hundred-dollar price tag. Stay focused. She wasn’t here for herself. She was here to buy a Tyler Kidd t-shirt for Gia, her sister, who also loved hockey. When they were younger, they would watch the games together on television and go ice-skating.

At the moment, Gia was in the Florida Keys enjoying the sun and warm weather with their parents. They always asked Kat to go too, but she had to work. Well, that was her ‘go to’ excuse. Catching a glimpse of herself in a mirror, her heart fell a little. Her stomach rumbled. Spending a week or more in a bathing suit with her parents was less than enticing.

After picking up the Tyler Kidd jersey, she had her ticket scanned and then made a beeline for the cafe.

Unfortunately, the line of hockey fans spilled out the door into the arena lobby. Disappointed and pouting, Kat slowly walked to her seat instead. She didn’t want to miss warm ups; that was her favorite part. Coffee could wait until after the game. Since she was there alone there was no reason to rush tonight. She could take her time after the game.

Walking leisurely towards her section, the tasty aroma of her favorite game time snack flooded her senses—nachos with jalapeno cheese. She raced to the counter, forgetting all about the coffee.

Once the tasty nachos were in her hands, she crossed the arena to her section. Kat pulled out her ticket, handing it to the female usher.

You know, warm ups are getting ready to start. They’re allowing people to stand down by the glass to watch. The usher pointed to the row by the glass.

Kat smiled at her. Awesome, thanks! Juggling all that she was carrying, she hurried down towards the ice. She had only sat close to the glass at practices, never at the Rivers Arena. She beat most of the crowd to the front row.

A Zamboni slid up and down the ice, making sure it was fresh for game time.

The girl next to her jumped up and down, flipping around her teased hair, and almost dipping it in Kat’s nacho cheese. A heavy sigh escaped her lips. Scanning the crowd she knew she didn’t belong here. She was in a sea of skinny blondes. For a moment the excitement drained out of her. She felt invisible. Her eyes ran over every tiny waist, large breasts trying to pop out of snug tees, and perfect asses that looked like their blue jeans were painted on. She hadn’t seen jeans that size in—well, she probably never saw jeans that size. Her fat ass was nothing to stare at, unless someone was making fun of it. They might as well put her up on the Jumbotron for all to see: the wide-load in the front row, stuffing her face with nachos.

Crunching down on another chip, her eyes landed on a thin girl glaring at her as she looked Kat over.

Hey watch it! The girl snapped, as she flipped her hair practically in Kat’s cheese sauce. Don’t get that cheese on me, fatty.

Ignoring her, Kat turned her attention to the ice. She could see her reflection in the glass, that round, chubby little girl was staring back at her. The one that was teased in school when her chubby thighs rubbed together and made her shorts ride up. The chubby girl that other kids chased around at recess, laughing at her attempt to run. The chubby girl people always stared at as she ate.

The smallest thing could set her off. As an adult she was generally happy with herself. Sure, she wasn’t anywhere near skinny. But, she was happy, until she saw a reflection of herself. Well, and then there was her mom. She wasn’t a bad person, but she never hid her disgust at Kat’s size. She was a catalyst behind her weight worries. Kat was only a size fourteen, but that wasn’t approved weight in the Torella household. That was fat. She was fat.

She closed her eyes for a moment and took a breath. Maybe she shouldn’t have sat in the front row. It would have been easier to hide farther back. Opening her eyes back up, she searched the ice for the players.

The music started. She ate some of her nachos watching the guys skate out onto the ice. She could almost reach out and touch them from here, if the glass wasn’t in the way, that was. The goalies were on the ice first. They skated to their nets, and started to stretch. Kaden O’Conner, was in the net closer to Kat. He sprawled on the ice, doing splits and stretches that she didn’t even think she was capable of doing! Lifting his helmet up, his dark blond hair fell in his eyes. He poured some water in his mouth, then spat it out onto the ice.

Waiting for his teammates, he skated in wide arcs around the ice, passing right by where she was standing. He was so close to her. Before she had much time to think about being that close to a Renegades player, the other guys started to hit the ice. There was Kris Lafleur! She could see his number from across the ice. He didn’t have his helmet on and his hair blew around as he glided along the ice.

He is so damn hot. Her breath caught in her throat as her heart skipped a beat.

Watching him skate gave her butterflies. She normally wasn’t the type of girl to go ga-ga over movie stars or anything like that. But she had a crazy thing for this hockey player! She couldn’t explain it, there was something about those deep, brown eyes, the way they captivated her. However, Kat was no puck bunny. She loved the game itself. She’d loved it for longer than she could remember; the hot guys were just a bonus. A big bonus.

Gia had bought her a puck bunny t-shirt for her birthday last year as a joke. She always teased Kat and said she wouldn’t know what to do with Lafleur if she was ever lucky enough to get her hands on him. On the contrary, Kat was pretty sure she would know exactly what to do with him!

She tossed a huge chip into her mouth. Nacho cheese dribbled down her chin. Of course, at that very moment Kris Lafleur skated towards where she was standing. He was only a few feet from her. Even though they were separated by glass, her heart raced. Lafleur looked into the crowd, catching her eye. His gaze stayed on her as his teammates skated around him.

He wasn’t just looking at the fans, he was looking at her. She blinked a few times. Were her eyes playing tricks on her? But it was real. He was staring directly at her, the girl with nacho cheese dripping down her chin.  She quickly wiped her chin with her napkin. Kat, you are such a slob. Her face burned with embarrassment.

She watched as his eyes moved to the ice and he skated backwards a few strides. He was farther away from the glass, but he looked back up at her and grinned. Her heart skipped a beat. This couldn’t be happening.

Kids and girls screamed, Lafleur! and pounded on the glass. There was even a girl with really big boobs holding a Marry Me Kris sign, and bouncing more than she needed to. But he never moved his eyes from Kat, ignoring the other fans around her, ignoring the homemade signs and even ignoring all of the big boobs. He nodded in Kat’s direction with that small smile on his lips, then skated to the other end of the ice.

She watched him speed up, skating around the net. Did Kris Lafleur just smile at her? At her? No...

CHAPTER 2

KRIS STEPPED ONTO THE ice as the music started to echo throughout the building. His heart pounded in his chest when he looked around the arena. Fans packed the first few rows of the lower bowl. Little kids had their noses pressed up against the glass. Well-endowed young women were bouncing up and down, their boobs barely staying in their tight shirts.

He always enjoyed warm ups. He liked being out there and taking it all in before putting on his helmet and suiting up for the game. He quickened his stride, grabbing a puck and controlling it with his stick as he sped around the ice. He stickhandled it gracefully down the boards and shot it between the goalie’s legs. Gliding behind the net, he circled back in front and caught the rebound from Jasper’s shot. Tossing it towards the net, it bounced off of Dominic’s pads and spun into the goal.

Poor kid.

Dom was new this year and doing his best as the Renegades backup goalie. Luckily, with Kaden in net they didn’t need to call on him too much. He had talent; he just needed practice to build up his confidence.

The cheers from the fans became louder as he approached the glass.

Looking up into the crowd of people, he laid eyes on a beautiful brunette. She was eating nachos, and a bit of cheese dripped down her chin. Wow, she had the most amazing blue eyes. Even from the ice they sparkled. Kris probably stared longer than he should’ve, but he couldn’t help it.

Once she realized she had cheese on her face, she nervously wiped it away. The whole time, his eyes never left her. She was beautiful, even with the smear of cheese. He didn’t know why he couldn’t stop watching her. He could hear the fans screaming. He could hear the females and the little kids calling out players’ names. Normally he scanned the crowd, admiring the big breasts and hard female bodies. But tonight his attention was stuck solely on her.

He continued to watch the mystery girl as he skated backwards a bit. She had his jersey on. That was cute. She was cute. She wasn’t flaunting her body and her boobs weren’t bouncing around, but she held his stare.

The whistle blew; Coach Walker called the team over. Kris tore himself away from her eyes and looked down at the ice. He started to skate away, but not before recapturing her attention and flashing a small smile at her.

After the team paused for a little pep talk from Coach Walker, players slowly started to leave the ice. Dominic was the first to go.

Tyler Kidd, the team captain, was talking to Coach Walker by the bench as the crowd chanted his name. Tyler was always appreciative of his fans. He waved to the crowd before he left the ice.

Kris was still shooting pucks at O’Conner.

The girls continued to scream for him. Wondering if that cute brunette was still there, he took one last skate past where she was standing. His eyes met with hers. The young girls went crazy, screaming and banging on the glass for him. He just shook his head, laughing.

Coach Walker skated towards him also laughing, Oh those girls, Kris.

He looked up at the brunette for just a second. Hoping she knew he was watching her. Were her seats along the glass? Or maybe behind the bench? He would certainly love to meet up with her later, but the chances he’d ever see her again weren’t good. He hoped if nothing else he would be able to get a glimpse of her during the game.

Sighing, he followed Coach Walker off the ice. Hopping onto the runway, he disappeared into the locker room.

THE TEAM SPLIT INTO two groups, each skating in a circle on half of the ice. Even though it was always fun to see the players drop and stretch a little as the goalies practiced moving side to side, pretending to protect their net, Kat’s eyes never left Lafleur. He skated to the bench, took off his glove and examined the blade of his stick. She watched intently as he tugged at the hockey tape to make sure it was secure.

Obviously she’d just imagined that little bit of interaction between the two of them.

There is no way in hell he was just smiling at me, the fatty with nacho cheese dripping down her face. He was probably looking at that Barbie doll blonde over there with her boobs hanging out. Kat was not blonde, nor did she look like a Barbie doll; she was a curvy brunette. She sighed. It was highly unlikely that he’d been looking at her, but it was nice to dream.

Warm ups were over, and all of the players had left the ice. Kat couldn’t stop thinking about Kris Lafleur. Had he really been looking at her? Was she insane for even thinking that he had? In a daze, she slowly made her way to her seat. Her seats were pretty good. She was in the upper bowl, but in the second row. She set her jacket and bag on the spare seat beside her, and took a look around the arena. Two championship banners hung from the rafters. The scoreboard played video highlights and showed previously recorded player interviews. Music played; it was low and up tempo. Snacking on her nachos, she finished them off just as the lights dimmed.

The video on the scoreboard switched to live feed of the players standing outside the locker room. In preparation for the game, they joked and tapped each other with their sticks, getting pumped as they did before every game. Kaden O’Conner, the goalie, had his mask resting on his head. He was the first one to head out onto the ice. As he passed the camera, he tapped the cameraman with his stick. Kaden then flashed a sexy smile into the camera followed by a goofy face sticking his tongue out. The crowd roared with laughter as Kaden flipped his mask on and headed down the runway to the ice.

The camera followed them to the tunnel leading to the ice as the music changed to the Renegades entrance song. The bass rumbled in her chest, lights flashed around the ice and sirens blared. The crowd yelled and screamed, and the music volume increased. The lights turned back on once the players poured out onto the ice again and the buzzer rang. Through all the noise the announcer yelled, Your Pittsburgh Renegades!

They skated around to the loud music until it stopped. They either took their starting position on the ice, or on the bench. When it was time for the national anthem, Kris Lafleur stood on the ice, holding his helmet in his hand. He bowed his head while a small girl sang. Kat watched as his damp brown hair covered his face. She couldn’t take her eyes off of that image.

At ten after seven the puck dropped. Tyler Kidd took possession of the puck first, stealing it from Colorado and moving it clear into their end. Kidd spun around and passed the puck to Matt Jasper. He shot at the net, but the goalie deflected his shot. Lafleur skated across in front of the net to catch the rebound and tossed it over the goalie’s shoulder into the net. Score! The buzzer rang throughout the arena.

Colorado didn’t like the fact that the Renegades scored on them so quick. As Lafleur and Kidd were skating to the bench to change lines, a player from Colorado tried to slew foot Tyler Kidd, but he lost his balance and instead shoved Lafleur into the boards. Lafleur and Kidd waved their hands in the air, calling to the refs looking for a penalty, but nothing was called.

When the second period started, Lafleur skated right after the Colorado player who knocked him down. While trying to knock the puck away from him, Lafleur’s stick got caught under the Colorado player’s skate. The Colorado player stumbled, but instead of regaining his footing and continuing to skate, he looked back at Lafleur, then purposely sprawled on the ice, drawing a tripping penalty on Lafleur.

Lafleur was sent to the penalty box for a two-minute minor penalty. The arena erupted in disgust. Kat booed along with them. It was a bad call—it should’ve been diving on Colorado! Kat had a good view of the penalty box. Lafleur took off his helmet and pushed his damp hair back with his hand. That same image appeared on the Jumbotron as the female fans cheered and made catcalls for the attractive player.

His image faded off the screen and play continued. Kat watched him in the box, checking the tape on his stick.

Once his penalty expired, he flew back onto the ice, joining his line at the rush in front of the