Page 3 of Loving Ladybug: Part One
“I can’t. I specifically took tonight off.” With a sigh, I started up the five flights of stairs, since we didn’t have an elevator.
Ernie huffed again. “This isn’t a request. Show up or you're fired.”
“I… I can’t. It’s a big night for Austin.” My heart twisted. I needed all the hours I could get. Austin hadn’t gotten any extra summer jobs this year so he could be free in case a team was interested.
“You’re both fired. I’m so sick of your bullshit. Especially his. You at least make sure your shifts are covered, while he’s been out every day this week and hadn’t even called in,” he snapped.
“What? Don’t punish me for whatever he did.” As far as I knew, he’d been on lunch shift all week–including today.
“I’m done with both of you,” he retorted.The line went dead.
Fired? Tears pricked my eyes. I wiped them away. I’d deal with it tomorrow. Maybe Tony would give me more hours.
There was surely a good explanation for Austin not going to work. His agent must have him doing phone meetings or extra practices. Maybe one of his rich friends included him in their summer training group and he forgot to tell me.
Mrs. Jenkins’ door flew open as I passed. She probably saw me on her door camera.
The older beta woman had her red hair in curlers. Her marabou feather robe was pink, a cigarette dangled from her lips. “Keep the fighting down.”
The door slammed in my face before I could reply.
Well, then. What was she talking about? We hadn’t had any loud fights lately.
I unlocked our door and called, “Hey, are you home?”
We’d gotten this one-bedroom furnished, but tried to make it a home. Right now, boxes of his stuff were everywhere, in case he needed to move quickly when a team called.
“In the kitchen making you brownies,” he called.
I came into our tiny kitchen as he took a pan of chocolaty goodness out of the oven and set them on the counter. The scent made my mouth water. Mmmm. While I did most of the cooking, because I liked it, he was the baker.
Austin dyed his blond hair blue, wearing it long and shaggy. A blue eye winked at me, and he gave me a dimpled grin, chin clean shaven.
“Hi.” I fell into his arms. I was almost five-eight and had an average athletic build. He was six-foot-one. Not a giant alpha, but still tall and solid, with classical broad shoulders, a narrow waist, and lots of muscles. His large hand stroked my wavy hair, which was currently shoulder-length and pale pink with an undercut.
Austin planted a kiss on my forehead. His scent whirled around me, stronger than mine, since he was an alpha, and I was just a beta. It always reminded me of fabric softener. Of comfort. Safety.
Nothing else mattered because with Austin, I washome.
We’d met in junior hockey back when we were teenagers. Both of us had moved to play on that team, so we lived with host families that were down the block from each other and fell in love. After we’d graduated high school, we’d moved to New York together.
Neither of us had any family we really spoke to. But we had each other–and that’s all that mattered. Sure, we argued, especially when money was tight and stress was high. All couples fought.
“Chellos, brownies, movies?” Austin asked, getting mismatched dishes down from the cupboard, his large body filling the small space.
“Perfect. I got you a present.” Placing the box on the cracked counter, my belly fluttered.Please like them.
“Gwen.” He opened the box and took out the custom, top-of-the-line hockey skates, sucking in a sharp breath. “This is too much. I thought you were saving to getyouskates.”
“You’ve got to look good out there when those teams call at 12:01. They’ll call.” I wrapped my arms around him.
Plenty of players were drafted, but not signed right away. The teams could sign them atanytime until thirty days after university graduation. After that, the player became a free agent and could play for whoever they wanted as soon as the signing window opened.
We were on day thirty. Lucky for him, the signing window recently opened, so he didn’t have long to wait if the Aces passed.
“I’ve been doing informal interviews all week. Though the most promising teams are abroad,” he told me slowly.
“Oh, is that why you missed your shift? Not prying, Ernie called me.” I’d mention us being fired later.
