Out of the Shadow (36 page)

He chuckled and gently jerked her closer. He dropped her hand and placed his arm around her shoulders. “Fine. You find a place and that’s where we’ll go.”

“
Dressed like this?” she challenged.

He stopped and turned to her, holding her shoulders. “Trust me, Ally – once you walk in the door, nobody is going to even notice me.”

She didn’t have time to blush as he enveloped her in his arms and kissed her soundly, in the middle of the empty sidewalk, while happy people partied in the bars and pubs around them.

He broke the kiss and smirked, shooting her a wink. “So, where to?”

She twisted back and forth, considering her options. She screwed her face up in mock concentration then pointed to a tiny pub with multi-colored Christmas lights blinking in the frosted windows.

“
There,” she said, pointing across the street.

He followed her finger then lifted a brow at her. “That little place?” She nodded. “Sure, whatever the lady wants.”

“
She wants,” she said, lacing her fingers through his.

They checked for traffic and then hurried across the street. Robby opened the heavy door for her and she stepped inside, relishing the warmth that kissed her cheeks.

A long wooden bar stretched across the same wall as the door with a tiled mirror behind multi shelves of booze. Several men and women occupied the stools, all happily toasting each other as they waited for the countdown to midnight to begin.

There were several tables squeezed together in the tiny room and all were taken by rambunctious couples. Ally couldn’t locate a single person close to her age.

“
Welcome!” a jolly little man called from behind the bar. Heads turned and smiled, shouting out similar greetings. Ally smiled back.

“
There are a couple of empty seats here,” a woman said, moving over to make room for them. “Sit, quickly, and grab a glass of champagne. It’s almost time.”

Ally scrambled for the seat, Robby right behind her. “Thank you,” she said as the other woman wringed her hand.

The bartender set two glasses of champagne in front of them and refused Robby’s offer of payment. “Champagne is on the house for the countdown, young man.”

“
You picked a great place,” Robby whispered in Ally’s ear. “This is really cool.”

“
I know,” she said as a hush swept over the crowd and the bartender turned up the volume on the lone TV hanging behind the bar.

Everyone watched as the host of the New Year’s Eve show declared it time to count. Everyone in the bar counted along with him. When they reached one, they all clinked glasses and kissed each other.

Robby touched his glass to Ally’s but before she could drink, he kissed her hard enough to take her breath. When he drew back and lifted his glass to his lips, he was fighting a smirk. She did blush that time and sipped her champagne.

“
Happy New Year,” he said, kissing her cheek.

***

RJ gathered Ren and Parker on the deck and passed out glasses while Jamie and Cole filled them. They stood together, with Lila and her two friends, and waited to begin their own countdown.

“
Do you realize that it’s already the New Year in Chicago,” Ren said, a slight tilt to his head.

“
I know,” Parker snorted. “Deidre texted me. She’s still too pissed to call me, though, because I’m here for New Year’s and not there.”

“
She’ll get over it,” Cole reassured him. “She’s cool like that.”

“
I know,” Parker sighed, running a hand through his hair. “But it sucks that I leave her so much.”

Cole didn’t respond even though he could certainly relate. He wondered vaguely how Ally had celebrated the New Year. Was she with her family or maybe with Shannon? Or had she gone out with Robby? He didn’t want to think about it.

Lila looped her hand though his arm and he flashed a grateful smile at her. Maybe she wasn’t so bad.

“
Hey,” he asked her as if the thought had suddenly occurred to him. “How come Doug isn’t here? This is his place.”

She laughed, her eyes sparkling in the light from the tiki torches. “He had another party to attend. He just told me not to trash the place.”

“
Wow, he’s trusting,” RJ said. “Hm. Never saw that in Dougie before.”

They laughed until Ren shushed them and turned up the radio someone had brought out on the deck. The DJ started counting down and they joined him. At exactly midnight, they toasted each other and sipped their champagne.

Lila pressed a kiss to Cole’s cheek. “This is going to be your year, Cole.”

He forced a grin. He certainly hoped it would turn out better than the previous one had.

Chapter Twenty-Two

Ally felt as though she was floating on clouds high above the ground when she returned to her dorm the Sunday night before classes were to resume. She went about unpacking and was actually singing in a low voice when Shannon stormed through the door.

“
Hey, Ally,” Shannon greeted cautiously. “How were your holidays?”

“
Fine,” Ally said and pulled Shannon into an impromptu hug. “Yours?”

“
Good,” Shannon said, puzzled. “Um, did you and Cole get back together or something?”

“
No,” Ally said as her smile faltered. “No, that’s over.” She turned away so she could banish the pang in her heart to the farthest reaches of her body. “He’s dating someone else, I guess.”

“
Ally, I’m so sorry,” Shannon said, sinking to her bed.

“
Don’t worry about it,” Ally said as she sat on the edge of her bed. “I actually dealt with it. I’ve, um, started dating Robby Redden.”

Shannon’s eyes bulged as she leaned over, resting her elbows on her knees. “Wow. I mean, Robby Redden is so adorable. Um, does Cole know?”

Ally winced as Shannon finally voiced what Ally had been most concerned about. “No, not yet. I haven’t told him.”

“
Ally, I’m no expert in these matters, but I really think you should,” Shannon said. “I mean, he’ll be really hurt if he finds out, won’t he?”

“
Yeah,” Ally said with a sigh. She rubbed her forehead as her euphoria over Robby started to wear off due to a hard smack from reality. “Yeah. I’ll tell him tomorrow. I’ll have to. I’ll call him after practice.”

“
That’s a good idea,” Shannon said. Sensing Ally really didn’t want to discuss it further, Shannon started pelting her with questions about Robby which Ally was only too happy to answer.

The next morning, she dropped her tray next to Jamie in the cafeteria and placed a sloppy kiss on his cheek. “Morning, cuz,” she said, grinning as she sat. “How are you?”

“
Someone is in a good mood for a Monday morning,” he said. “Why is that?”

“
No reason,” she said with a shrug as she lifted a fork and dug into her eggs.

“
I didn’t see much of you over the break, cuz,” he said as he finished his juice. He watched her eat and when she was done, he shouldered his bag and picked up his tray. She followed him and shivered against the angry, January wind.

“
I spent a lot of time with Robby,” she admitted, answering his earlier question. She pulled her coat tighter against her body as she picked up her pace, eager to reach the warmth of the sturdy brick building where her first class was located.

Jamie nodded thoughtfully as he adjusted the beanie on his head. “Are you dating now?’

“
Yes,” she said succinctly. “We are.”

“
And when do you plan on telling Cole?”

She stopped and snagged his arm, yanking him around to face her. Fire burned her insides, instantly warming her. “I don’t know, James, maybe when he decides to tell me that he’s dating someone else.”

Jamie’s brow furrowed. “He’s dating someone? I didn’t know that. I was with him most of the break and he never mentioned it. Are you sure?”

She released a long, drawn-out breath, clinging tightly to the remaining threads of her patience. “I am positive. He made a date with her that night we were at RJ’s house. He planned the damned date while I was sitting there next to him.” She spun on her heel and shrugged. “If he can move on then so can I.”

Jamie jogged to catch up with her. “Ally, I don’t remember him ever mentioning a date.”

“
Maybe he didn’t tell you because of me,” she said as they reached the building. She yanked open the door and hurried inside, unzipping her coat. “I have no idea, James. You’d have to ask him.”

They started up the stairs together, avoiding the students that tended to linger on each step, texting or speaking quietly on their cell phones. “Okay, so Cole was a jerk to not tell you,” Jamie reasoned. “But that still doesn’t mean you shouldn’t tell him.”

“
I know,” she said as they reached the top and turned a corner. “I know and I will. I was planning to call him after practice tonight.”

“
Good,” Jamie said as they entered their classroom. “And good luck with that.”

“
Gee, thanks,” she said sarcastically as she found a desk.

***

Ally’s mind wandered to her impending phone call to Cole as she dressed into her sweat shorts and battered t-shirt. She tied her shoes and was in the process of shoving her gym bag in her locker when Sami bounced over, excitement shining in her eyes.

“
Hey, Ally!” Sami greeted, grabbing Ally’s arm. Ally dropped her gym bag to the floor.

“
Hi, Sami,” Ally said. “What’s going on?”

“
I made the A Team,” Sami blurted. “Coach Thornberg sent me an email last night and asked me to practice tonight.”

Ally smiled and hugged the other girl. “That’s great! I knew you they’d have to move you – you’re too good.”

“
She’s too short,” Danielle said, edging in on the conversation. She leaned against the neighboring lockers, nasty sneer on her face. “Way too short.”

Ally brushed past Sami and straightened in front of Danielle, her fists clenching and unclenching at her sides. “She’s at least two or three inches taller than me and I’m the top scorer on the team. Her height makes no difference.”

Danielle pushed away from the lockers and towered over Ally, her eyes darkening, her sneer evolving into a knowing smirk. “I knew it was only a matter of time before the real Ally Jones appeared – the conceited Ally Jones. MVP of the National Tournament, daughter of a famous rock star, girlfriend of an up and coming rock star.” She paused to press her fingers to her lips. “Oops, that’s right! You’re no longer girlfriend to that rock star, huh? He dumped you, didn’t he?”

“
It’s none of your business what happened between me and Cole,” Ally said, grinding her teeth.

“
Why? Embarrassed to share the details?” Danielle taunted. “Ashamed to tell the truth?”

“
Leave her alone!” Sami said, gripping Ally’s arm. “She’s right – it’s none of your business.”

Danielle snorted and flashed Sami a look of superiority. “What, you think she’s going to tell you everything just because you somehow managed to weasel your way on the A Team?”