Head Over Wheels Read online

  Contents

  Head Over Wheels

  Head Over Wheels

  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

  Share Your Thoughts

  Head Over Wheels © Diana Morland 2017.

  Amazon Kindle Edition.

  Edited by Elizabeth Peters.

  Cover design by Kit Tunstall.

  All rights reserved. No part of this story may be used, reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means without written permission of the copyright holder, except in the case of brief quotations embodied within critical reviews and articles.

  This book is a work of fiction. The names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the writer’s imagination or have been used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, actual events, locale or organizations is entirely coincidental.

  The author has asserted his/her rights under the Copyright Designs and Patents Acts 1988 (as amended) to be identified as the author of this book.

  First LoveLight Press electronic publication: June, 2017.

  http://lovelightpress.com

  Head Over Wheels is set in Philadelphia, USA, and as such uses American English throughout.

  Head Over Wheels

  Roller Derby Romance: Book 3

  Diana Morland

  Chapter 1

  Mindy, known on wheels as Thin White Duchess, was so pumped to try out for the all-star roller-derby team that she felt like she was flying even as she signed in. Today they were choosing Philadelphia’s roller-derby championship team, the one that would go to the tournament in December… and someone, at least, thought she was good enough to bother trying out.

  But maybe she shouldn’t feel so flattered, she realized as she made her way to the seating area designated for the all-star hopefuls. There were a lot of girls here. She grinned, letting her eyes sweep over the crowd. A lot of hot, fit derby girls. Even if tryouts didn’t go well, she was going to have a lot of fun.

  Not that she didn’t know that already. After all, this was derby.

  Jane the Ripper, one of her teammates, was waving at her, so Mindy waved back and aimed through the crowd toward her.

  A lot of the women looked familiar—of course, she’d probably played against most of them in her three years as a member of Monstrous Regiment, her roller-derby team. A really hot girl in black leggings and a white top, with her brown hair done up in victory rolls, was climbing up on her chair, presumably to look better over the crowd, since she was short. Hadn’t her team beaten Monstrous recently? Mindy was pretty sure she recognized that hair, if not the figure.

  Mindy gave the girl—Manson Girl, if she remembered correctly—a grin as she went by, but she didn’t think the other player noticed. She was almost tempted to stop and say hi, except that Jane the Ripper was waiting for her.

  She could see her other teammates, all of those who had been invited to come try out, in the seats, but they seemed to be scattered. Of course, Leya Out always kept to herself, and Margaret Splatwood seemed to have her own thing going on. Mindy had no idea what was between her and the blocker from Rolling in the Street, but she hoped it was good, and sexy.

  She finally made it to a seat next to her teammate and sat down. “Hey, Helen. Wow, what a crowd. You think you’re up for this?”

  Jane the Ripper—Helen—shook her head. “I have no idea, but it’s worth a shot, I think. What about you?”

  Mindy grinned. “They have to pick me! There’s no way they can pass this up.” She slapped her thighs.

  Helen snorted and looked around. “I didn’t know there were this many derby teams in the city. I would have thought I would recognize everyone.”

  “I recognize most of them,” Mindy said. “But they probably pulled from the suburbs as well. Maybe Jersey. Just to make sure they have the best talent, wherever it comes from.”

  “I guess you’re right,” Helen said. She looked nervous, so Mindy tried to come up with something to say to cheer her up, but then a woman was going through the crowd giving out little tickets, and they had to stop talking and pay attention.

  They were told to look at their tickets for numbers to tell them whether they were in the first set to get on the track and skate. Mindy was, so she rushed to get her skates on, then bounced off with a cheery wave to Helen and got onto the track. She knew this was a good sign.

  Leya Out was on the track, too. “Hi, Leya! Good luck!” Mindy said with a grin.

  Leya smiled back, but didn’t say anything. Mindy didn’t mind, mostly because she never said much, but also because Manson Girl—she of the gorgeous figure—had just skated to join them on the track.

  “Oh, I’m in trouble,” Mindy said under her breath. Leya shot her a questioning look, so she grinned. “Just kidding.”

  Manson Girl was super hot, but Mindy knew what she was doing. There were a lot of attractive women on the track today—Mindy wasn’t going to let any of them distract her.

  They were divided into groups, to start skating at different points. Manson Girl ended up behind Mindy, which was disappointing. Now she had no chance of admiring her figure as they skated… unless Mindy skated fast enough to catch up? Maybe she could use that as motivation.

  She waited for the whistle to tell them to start, then sped off as fast as she could, her skates whirring. She laughed in exhilaration as the wind of her movement picked up her thick, curly hair, sending it whipping behind her. This was always so much fun.

  She was enjoying herself too much to notice how well she’d done by the time they sat down, and maybe it hadn’t been a race at all. They certainly weren’t sending home the slowest skaters. And she did get a chance to admire Manson Girl’s figure, this time from behind, as they went back to their seats.

  As the next groups went up to speed skate, she cheered for her teammates. Maybe they would all get on the team. That would be awesome—then the all-star team would be more than a third Monsters.

  She saw their team captain, Shelly, in the stands near them, watching the tryouts. Mindy waved, but she didn’t think Shelly saw her.

  Helen looked nervous again as she rejoined Mindy. Mindy nudged her affectionately with her shoulder. “You did great.”

  “No, I didn’t,” Helen said, frowning. “I wobbled, didn’t you see me?”

  Apparently Mindy hadn’t been paying enough attention, because she’d missed that entirely. “I’m sure it’s fine. They won’t kick you out for one little wobble.”

  Helen smiled at her. “Sometimes your optimism just sounds like stupidity, Mindy.”

  Mindy laughed. “Hey, you have to take what you can get!” But she’d made Helen smile, which had been her entire goal.

  The next round of the tryouts was an obstacle course on the track, and this time Mindy actually did get to follow Manson Girl. She watched those curls bounce and didn’t miss a jump. Nope, she wasn’t being distracted at all.

  She was getting a bit tired, though, so she was relieved when the people running the tryouts told them it was time for a ten-minute break. She grabbed her snack and water out of her bag while Helen hunched over her phone.

  She glanced over th
e group of women trying out, but people were moving around, entering and leaving and talking to people in the stands, and she couldn’t see Manson Girl anymore. Not that it was important, she reminded herself.

  But when she turned to sit back down in her chair, Manson Girl was right behind her.

  Mindy managed to hide her surprise—at least, she hoped she had—in a swallow of water, then grinned at Manson Girl. “Hey. I saw you skating. You were doing a great job—I bet you make it to the team.”

  Manson Girl raised her eyebrows, but smiled back at her. “Thanks. You’re pretty good, too. I don’t know, though. There are a lot of amazing skaters here. I mean, did you see that red-haired girl? I know she’s familiar, but not from what team.” She nodded toward Megan.

  Mindy grinned proudly. “That’s Margaret Splatwood. She’s on Monstrous Regiment with me. Your team beat us a few weeks ago, but that was only because she was injured. She’s probably the best jammer in existence.”

  Manson Girl laughed. Her laughter was low and sultry, sending tingles through Mindy’s nerves, but it didn’t match the light in her eyes. “Is that so? Then I can’t wait to play you guys again.”

  Mindy nodded and held out her hand. “I’m Thin White Duchess. Mindy.”

  “Right, I remember you now. You look different without your white shirt and vest.”

  “You look different without your jeans.” When they had played the Rittenhouse Rioters, Manson Girl had been wearing jeans cuffed to the middles of her calves.

  “I figured I shouldn’t restrict my range of motion any more than absolutely necessary today.” She finally put her hand in Mindy’s and shook. It was warm, and surprisingly dry, considering how much skating they’d all been doing. “I’m Shayna.”

  Mindy’s heart gave a little jolt. Was this girl not just gorgeous, but also Jewish? “Yes, you absolutely are,” she said, shaking Shayna’s hand. “Shayna maidele.”

  Shayna snorted, but Mindy was also rewarded with a blush. “Yeah, like I haven’t heard that one before.”

  “I could get more creative,” Mindy offered. “Shayna punim.”

  This time Shayna laughed out loud. “Now you just sound like my bubbe.”

  “Okay, I don’t want that,” Mindy said with a laugh. “I could compliment other parts of your body, if you want.”

  “Do you really want to go there?” Shayna’s eyes were sparkling.

  Mindy opened her mouth to come up with another Yiddish term for a body part, but luckily—since her mind was blanking on the word for “chest”—the woman who’d given out the tickets came back with a paper in her hand and waved for them to sit down.

  The group of derby girls quieted down in record time. The woman grinned and began to read off a long list of names. Mindy heard Leya Out, Manson Girl, Margaret Splatwood, Sir Blocksalot—and finally, Thin White Duchess. She grinned and looked back to see if Shayna was still sitting there. They were on to the next round!

  But Shayna had her hands in her lap, gripping each other tightly, and she was frowning so hard she had lines around her mouth. What was she so upset about?

  “If I’ve called your name, congratulations,” the woman said, and Shayna’s shoulders suddenly straightened, her hands falling to her sides. Her eyes widened and she grinned. She hadn’t thought the same thing as Mindy at all—she must have thought the names being called were those being sent home.

  Mindy, of course, had had the right idea all along.

  “Ah, damn,” Helen sighed, next to her. Mindy turned to see her bending down and starting to unlace her skates. “I would be the only one from Monstrous Regiment not to make it. Good luck in the next round, Mindy.”

  Mindy bit her lip, sad to see her friend go. Of course, she hadn’t realized it, but the woman hadn’t called Jane the Ripper. “Next year,” she said, trying to bring Helen’s spirits up.

  Helen smiled at her. “Well, I’ll see you in a few days or a few months. Have fun.”

  As Helen and the others left, the woman called the rest of them up and organized them into scrimmages. Mindy and Manson Girl were organized onto the same side, with Megan, Leya, and Megan’s friend. “We can take them,” Mindy whispered to Shayna, who snorted again.

  But the groups weren’t teams—they were sorted into jam groups of five each and told to play scrimmages against each of the other teams on their side. Mindy was delighted to end up with Shayna again, especially since neither Megan nor Leya was on her small group, and Gayle was on the other side entirely.

  They had to pick among themselves who would play jammer and who would be pivot and blockers for each of their two scrimmages, so Mindy spoke up as soon as she got the chance. “I’ve seen Manson Girl play—actually, I played against her—and she’s awesome. She definitely has to be one of the jammers.”

  Shayna laughed and looked sideways at her, but didn’t say anything. They quickly agreed among themselves that Shayna would be the jammer for the first jam, with Mindy playing pivot, and a woman called Playing Mantis would be the jammer for their second jam.

  Skating the track and the obstacle course had been fun, but getting on the track for a proper jam was even more fun. Shayna looked amazing coming at them on the track—and, more important, she played well, making lead jammer ahead of their opponent.

  Mindy thought she acquitted herself well, blocking the opposing jammer for at least thirty seconds. She wasn’t sure she would have done as well against Megan, who was on the opposing jam group, but apparently she wasn’t jammer this time around. Her group might not have been doing so well if Megan had been a real opponent, but Megan wasn’t very practiced as a blocker.

  Gayle did fabulously, of course, as did Leya. Mindy couldn’t have been more proud of her team.

  “That was awesome,” she told Shayna as they waited for the verdict. She was sweaty all over and couldn’t wait for a shower, but she was happy to have the time to sit and chat. “How did you get so good at roller derby?”

  “Practice,” Shayna said, looking at her like she was crazy but then flashing a grin. “How did you?”

  “Natural talent, obviously,” Mindy said. “It must be genetic. Maybe my dad was a roller-derby player, because my moms definitely aren’t.”

  This time Shayna laughed so hard her breasts bounced, even though it had been obvious during the jam that she was wearing a heavy-duty sports bra. Mindy greatly appreciated the view. She wondered if she could find a way to see it more often.

  Finally, the woman who’d been running the practice returned and grinned at all of them. “That was awesome. This is going to be a really hard decision, and thank you for that. We have all of your email addresses from when you registered, so you’re going to get an email with who is on the team. That should be within the next week. We’ll also let those of you who are on the team know when and where practices will be. And those of you who don’t make it—definitely come and try out next year.”

  Shayna groaned, leaning back and pressing the heels of her hands to her eyes. “Of course they can’t tell us right now! That would be too easy.”

  “I think it’ll be fun,” Mindy said, bouncing in her seat a little. “We get to savor the expectation for a week, and whenever the email comes, it’ll be a great surprise.”

  Shayna gave her the side-eye again. “You really are relentlessly happy, aren’t you?”

  Mindy grinned at her. “I try.”

  “Well, at least someone is looking forward to the wait.” Shayna bent over to unlace her skates.

  Mindy joined her. “If you need a distraction to make it go faster, I’m available.”

  “Yeah?” Shayna pulled one foot out of her skate and looked at Mindy. “What are you doing on Monday?”

  “Halloween?” Mindy’s plans were the same as they were every day and night—if she didn’t have roller derby practice, she was working. Her graphic design business sustained her, but it was a tightrope, and she had to be constantly seeking out new leads, finding new clients, and improving her skills i
f she ever wanted to make it to the platform at the rope’s end.

  Still, it wasn’t every day that a hot Jewish derby girl asked her out. In fact, it had never happened before. And on a holiday, most of her friends at the coworking space were going to be doing their own thing anyway.

  “I don’t have any plans.”

  “You do now.” Shayna straightened up. “Meet me outside the Walnut-Locust subway station at six and we’ll do something fun.”

  Mindy raised her eyebrows, straightening up slowly. “We’re going to party on the subway?”

  Shayna grinned and shook her head. “You seem like someone who appreciates a surprise. So I’m going to surprise you.”

  “That is true,” Mindy said, unable to help grinning back. “Okay, I’ll be there.” It would mean a bus ride to the subway, but it wasn’t as though she didn’t do that all the time. She’d had to take an even longer trip to get here.

  “Great. And don’t forget, it’s Halloween.”

  “I don’t think I could ever forget anything you told me,” Mindy said.

  Shayna shook her head but didn’t say anything else. She stood, grabbed her bag, and walked out of the building, threading her way through the crowd that, though dwindling, still remained.

  Mindy watched Shayna until she couldn’t see her anymore, then laughed to herself. She looked around, wanting to tell one of her teammates about her date, but not a single one was left.

  Oh well. They’d all hear about how great it had gone on Tuesday at practice. She grabbed her own bag and headed for the door, practically bouncing on her feet.

  Chapter 2

  Mindy looked at the clock on her laptop and almost jumped out of her seat. She should have left to get ready for her date with Shayna five minutes ago.

  “I have to go,” she said, hurrying to save everything she’d been working on and close her programs down.

  Rashee, the only other person left this afternoon at the coworking space, ArriveSpace, leaned back in her chair and grinned up at Mindy. “I can’t believe you have a date!”