AllFreeNovel
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Here we go. I’ve got this.
I just have to do as the roller derby captain said… but skating backward feels like leaving my future in the hands of a rabid kangaroo. Whoa! Uneven asphalt, my new nemesis!
A quick jump, and I’m facing forward again. I’m getting the hang of this!
“Alli!” Cass sticks her head out the window of our second-floor apartment. “The dog!”
Ranger’s face appears beside Cass in the window. He looks worried, poor guy, with his mouth closed and his big brown eyes watching me with an intensity that only Ranger can have.
“I’ll be back in a min. I just have to master this one-footed glide…”
“Don’t do it, Alli!”
I’ve got the wheels of my left foot in my right hand, and by golly, I’m rolling on one foot!
“Oof.”
Until I’m not. What happened? Sewer grate. Man, oh, man.
Ranger comes barreling at me, circling my landing spot, licking my face, nuzzling under my arm to help me up.
“It’s okay, Ranger. Only things that got hurt are the skates.” They got a good scratch up the side. I’d better shine them before tomorrow morning’s practice. The rule is that we have to show up looking good, even if we’re total messes by the end of the session.
I don’t think Ranger believes me when I say I’m fine, as he’s giving me the canine side-eye and is glued to my ankles as I head up to the apartment. I don’t blame him. In his five years of life, he has seen me in many unfortunate situations. But that’s what happens to cheerful, adventuring daredevils like yours truly.
“Okay, Ranger, how about I wear normal shoes over to Terence’s for Sunday barbeque? Will that make you happy?”
He wags his tail, and even though he likely didn’t understand my negotiation, a part of me believes he understood it one hundred percent.
“Heading out!” I call to Cass. “You coming now?”
“I’ll be there in a bit.” The shower starts up. “After the shift I had, believe me, it’s better for everyone this way. Tell me you’re not going over on wheels.” She sticks her head out of the bathroom.
I strike a pose with my foot in the air. “Kicks only on these feet.”
“Thank goodness,” she mutters as she closes the bathroom door on my face.
Terence’s bungalow is adorable, especially the way he’s done it up. Cozy and homey. You’d never guess it was a single dude living there. But that’s Terence. Straight-laced and rules for living. Exactly how he likes it.
I let myself in with my copy of the key, which I attached to a giant pink pom-pom to Terence’s horror. But this way, I cannot lose it. If I lose my own key (which I do at least once a season), then that’s one thing. But to lose Ter-Ter’s key? No way.
Ranger rushes in and settles on his bed, clearly thankful that I didn’t do anything too dangerous that would require him to save my life. He rests his chin on the side of his fluffy bed, watching my every move.
Terence loves prepping the meat, so I set myself on the vegetables. It always takes longer than I think it will, and before I know it, the front door swings open.
“Hi, Honey,” Terence calls out. “I’m home!”
I wipe my hands on the tea towel and poke my head out of the kitchen. “Honey?”
“Wasn’t talkin’ to you!” Terence laughs as Ranger throws him a party like he’d been gone for five years, not five hours. The two of them wrestle in the front hall. When Terence finally gives up, he walks into the living room where I’m standing with my hands full of broccoli florets.
He lifts his nose in the air. “Something smells good.”
“Roasting some peppers.”
“I like this.” He looks around. “The house feels completely different with you in it. Did I even say hello to you yet?”
“I believe you gave much more attention to the pup, as was expected. And no, no hello yet.”
