Page 20 of Pretty and Loco

“The fucking girl that’s got you out here smiling like a teenager and being late for work.” He scoffed.

“I wasn’t late; I walked in with a minute to spare.”

“You were late in spirit.” He reasoned.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” I said, shaking my head.

“Yeah, I bet. I need to know these things.”

“Why do you need to know what I do, G?” I challenged.

“So you don’t end up in the blogs. You’re at the point in your career where everyone wants a piece of you,” He shot back.

I scoffed as we walked to the parking lot, and then I got into my truck. When I took out my phone again, I had a picture of Leah. It wasn’t anything crazy, just her sitting at her desk in her office. I put a heart on the picture, and no sooner had I done it than she called me.

“What’s up?” I answered.

“How did the meeting go?” she asked.

“It was cool; I think I’m going to commit to them,” I informed her.

“I’m glad. What are you about to get into now?”

“Grab some food and then head back to my side.”

I connected her to the car phone and then pulled out of the building parking lot.

“Do you want some company?” she asked.

“Nah, not for lunch,” I answered quickly. I could hear the silence on the other end. This wasn’t regular silence either. This was Leah’s silence, and it meant she had some slick shit to say.

Before she could finish, I continued. “I’m about to head to the field with a few of the guys, and then I’ll have dinner reservations made for us.”

“Hmmm. Okay.”

We disconnected from the call, planning to meet later tonight. Leah was crazy as hell; I had already figured that out. But I’ll let her make it, for now.

***

“Ricardo…. Why do I need sneakers?” Leah asked as I grabbed the bag resting on the back seat, opened the box, and handed it to her.

“Because you talk a lot of shit that you gotta back up,” I chuckled, watching the confused look on her face.

She didn’t push back; instead, she started taking off the heels she was wearing and slipping on the socks and shoes I had bought for her. We had just left dinner, and I knew she was expecting me to take her home, but I had other plans.

We drove until I reached the park where I practice. Every day, Leah and I would talk; she would ask how practice went and question what I had done. Afterward, she’d always say “oh, lightwork” and then joke about how she would take my position if she tried out. Tonight, I was about to put her bad ass to the test.

I put the truck in park, and she got out hesitantly.

“The last thing I want to do is be at a park after I just had the best food that I’ve eaten this week.” She groaned.

“We’re about to work those potatoes off, ma,” I said, going to the trunk and grabbing my bag.

We walked to the field and went through the gate to the home plate. She had her hands on her hips and a smirk on her face.

“What are we about to do?”

“You said you could take my job, right? So, we’re about to play a game.”