Page 81 of Loving Ladybug: Part One
“I don’t know?” I didn’t expect to actually get one, but Knights’ jewelry would be fun. Sometimes the MASOs ordered cute stuff, like earrings and bracelets. They’d had matching jackets for playoffs.
“Ring. You want a ring. Do you know your ring size? Devon has the sizer.” He typed on his computer.
“Um, yeah, I do.” Because we’d been sized for our NYIT championship rings. I gave it to him and he added it to the sheet. “Thanks. Anyway, I have to go. See you later.” I waved and left.
Clark was in one of the workout rooms with one of the trainers.
“We’re going to Tito’s. Come? You’re not working tonight, right?” Clark asked as he did his exercises.
“Not working tonight.” I should make an appointment with the physio. I liked the ones here more than at NYIT. My hip had been bothering me, but I’d broken it when I was in high school and it happened sometimes.
“Okay, then, after Tito’s, do you want to go to the movies? Since you’re not working?” He grinned.
I sucked in a breath. “I haven’t been to the movies in so long. Can we get fancy popcorn?”
He nodded. “Yes. We can even put chocolate candies in it.”
“I’m so there.” Though he had me at popcorn.
I found Dean and his pack over by the bar at Tito’s. This included Team Mom and AJ, who wore a suit and looked like he’d just got off work.
“Hey, Ladybug, great job today,” Dean praised. “You’re so good with those kids.”
“Thanks.”
“Do I have you this semester?” Verity asked me. In addition to getting her PhD she taught some classes. Last semester I’d been in her plant mythology class with a bunch of my teammates.
“Nope. It’s all stuff for my major, pity.” It had been a fun class. I turned to AJ. I’d given Coach Hirata the thank you note for him at practice yesterday. “Thanks, AJ.”
“For what?” He kept his face passive.
“For being amazing.” I turned back to Verity. “And thankyou.”
She gave me a hug. “Anytime. It was all Mercy’s idea. Are you okay now?”
“I am, thanks. Especially since Tony’s cutting my hours at the rink.” I made a face.
“Why?” Dean frowned.
“Something about how much I can legally work. Laws, am I right?” I rolled my eyes. I understood wanting to protect people from beingforcedto work a lot, but Iwantedto work a lot. There wasn’t much summer left.
AJ chuckled. “Oh, yes, those pesky labor laws.”
“Oh, I remember that. It gets hard to work, go to practice, and class, but shit’s expensive.” Grif made a face.
I waved and joined everyone. We finished up and I followed Clark to his motorcycle. He handed me his blue helmet with the Captain Everything shield on it.
“I’ll leave my keys with you. You can take it whenever you want. I’ll show you how to drive it.” Clark climbed on and I took my place behind him.
“I can’t even legally drive a car, let alone a motorcycle,” I admitted, wrapping my arms around his waist. “Never needed to.”
“We should work on that. It’s good to at least have one,” he told me.
“True. I know the basics. Here you have to go to driving school and I could never afford extras like that,” I told him. Okay, also, I was sort of afraid to drive after my grandparents died in a car accident.
We zoomed through the streets and I sucked in a breath as we pulled into the underground lot of an entertainment plaza.
“We’re going to the fancy theater?” I took off his helmet. It had big seats, and they brought you food while you watched the movie, like it was a restaurant.
