Page 26 of Loving Ladybug: Part One
She smirked. “They finally fired you. Wow! Is Austin working tonight?”
“Don’t know. Don’t care.” I laced up my right skate, trying to hide my anger.Finally fire me?I was a good server and my co-workers were pissed since I was always willing to sub for people if I was available.
Her look went to one of mock concern. “Oh. My. Goodness. Did you and Austin break up? Haven’t you been together since high school? But did you really think once the Aces signed him he’d stay with you? I mean, you know he’s going to marry a posh omega from some fancy omega academy. He mentioned that to Windy.”
“Good for him.” I wasn’t sure about that. An omega, sure. One from a top omega academy? It depended on who his family was and whether or not he was hiding a pack, or potential pack, from me, too. I started on my left skate.
Omegas didn’t have to attend omega academies. The top ones were competitive with elite universities and conservatories.These omegas weren’t just mating top packs after graduation, they were also going into exclusive graduate programs, or taking positions with prestigious companies.
Some of them were so accomplished that they were namedomegas of note.Competition for an omega like that was fierce. My mom had been one of those omegas once.
Desiree laughed as she stood, fluffing her hair. “It’s okay to be jealous. Not everyone can be an omega. Pity he didn’t even think enough of you to have you in his pack.”
“Don’t want to be an omega and I wantnothingto do with Austin, who, by the way, didnotget signed by the Aces,” I replied, getting to my feet, and putting my whistle around my neck.
I had four perfect omega sisters and zero desire to go through all that bullshit.Do not recommend.
Desiree huffed. “It’s that attitude that lost him. That and you don’t even care about your appearance. Your hair is fried and your roots? Disastrous. What happened to your forehead? You could at least hide it with some makeup before work.”
I spun around. “I dumpedhimwhen he threw the fucking skate I bought him at my head. He also ruined all my shit when we broke up. And no, I didn’t doanythingto make him do it and I didn’t leave him because he didn’t get signed.None of this is my fault.”
“Oh.” She frowned a little.
I left the counter and turned the corner where I sat down on a bench and sobbed. The gravity of being truly alone, with no safety net, weighed on me.
“He hurt you.” Tenzin’s voice grew rough as he sat next to me, his citrusy-yet-woodsy scent wrapping around me. It was like going for a walk in a fruit grove at sunset.
“He’d never done that before, and he never will again,” I sobbed.
“I’m so sorry he did that. I’m glad you’re done with him. You deserve better.”
Did I really? I wiped the tears off my face with the hem of my work shirt. Sometimes I wondered. Given everything in my past, it would make sense if I never got a love of my life. However, Tenzin seemed like such a nice guy.
“I need to get to the ice. You… you can come with me if you like.” I sniffed, my nose stuffy with sadness.
He stood and held out his hand. “I’d love that.”
I hesitated, because you didn’t just let strange alphas touch you. But I closed my smaller hand around his large one. He helped me up, and we made our way onto the ice.
The music was loud, which wasn’t conducive to talking, but people were still laughing and having fun. Clothes glowed under the black-light, as the lights, glow sticks, and lasers lit up the rink.
The outer rink was meant for everyone to skate around clockwise. The center was mostly figure skaters showing off, even though they were supposed to keep the tricks to a minimum during nights like this given it wasdark.
Immediately, people started dancing as the song changed to one made popular by the Manhattan Maimers. I put my whistle between my lips, directing people who were trying to do the full routine, to go to the middle, so no one crashed into them.
Skate smash was like team speed skating in a circular loop where you could physically stop other skaters from getting ahead–and getting ahead scored points. They also did fun routines on the ice before games and dance battled with the other team.
People liked to learn the routines. A couple of Maimers had shown me some of theirs. However, the main part of the rink during blackout skate was not the place to do them. Because, injuries.
Blowing my whistle again, I moved some kids out of the way before teenagers crashed into them.
The night continued. Finally, a group of teenagers pleaded with me to let them have the ice to do one of the skate smash dances. Since it was near the end, I cleared it with the manager on duty and the DJ made an announcement.
“You might want to clear the ice. I’m going to stay on, since I know this one,” I told Tenzin. It was a really fun mix.
The people who knew the dance took to the ice. The music started and everyone began the routine. It wasn’t nearly as cohesive as when the Maimers did it, because they all had specific roles, while this was more of a free-for-all. I did the routine as well, keeping an eye out for crashes, since this one had a couple of jumps.
The song finished, and everyone returned to the ice for the final few songs. Tenzin came back on and stood in the center with me, and we took a couple of laps. The night finished and we cleared everyone off the ice.
