Page 17 of Slice

Slice rolled up the window and stared at her. He leaned up and kissed her.

“Since he’s still sitting there and it’s getting close to when we need to get back, shall we put this underto be continuedat a later date?” Slice asked, chuckling.

Faith smiled. “Yes, I believe so.”

Slice lifted her back over the console and buckled her in again. It didn’t take him long to get them back on the road. Faith had been so embarrassed, but Slice had just gone with the flow.

“I’m so glad no one else saw us. How embarrassing,” Faith said.

Slice shook his head. “Umm, that officer is friends with Locks. I have no doubt the gossip network will eventually let everyone at Bluff Creek know exactly what we were doing. But who cares? They’ll just be jealous they weren’t there with their woman. They might tease us a little, but it’s all in good fun.”

Faith guessed he was right. Maybe she needed to start remembering she was an adult, and she didn’t need to worry about what others thought about her. At least she’d try to remember that. She had a really good friend who taught first grade right down the hall from her, but she also had a couple of mean women at school who took every opportunity to put her down. For now, she’d concentrate on the positive. Slice was so special, and he wanted her. Yep, book boyfriend come to life.

Chapter Eleven

Faith walked into the teachers’ bathroom and hurriedly pulled off her clothes and shoes, stuffing them in a trash sack and tying the knot before going into one of the stalls to put on her clean clothes. Slice had run by her house and brought her new clothes and shoes after one of her kindergartners threw up all over the front of her and her shoes. With no way to lock the outside door, she didn’t want to chance anyone seeing her unclothed.

She used a couple of wipes to freshen up even though the fluids hadn’t soaked through her clothing—nope, it was too chunky for that. It had taken all she had not to puke beside her student. She’d sent the child to the nurse’s office with a trash can and called the janitor for a clean-up. She was so thankful Slice was able to bring her extra clothes.

It had been three weeks since their first date. They’d spent evenings together with the kids, and this weekend, she and the kids were invited to Sunday lunch. They’d planned on going lastweek, but Micah had run a slight fever with some bug going around the school, and they’d stayed at home for him to rest.

When they didn’t see each other, Slice and she would talk on the phone after the boys were in bed. Slice had shared when and how he’d gone into foster care. The pain she felt for what he’d gone through had her crying for him. She and Hope had been incredibly lucky to have their parents as long as they had.

She closed the toilet lid to put on her socks and tennis shoes. The sound of the restroom door opening had her thankful she was in a closed stall.

“Did you see the hot, tattooed biker dropping off clothing for Fatty?” Prim said.

Faith didn’t know who she’d pissed off, but today seemed like it had lasted a week. First, she was puked on, and now the mean women who taught second and third grade were talking about her.

“I did. How the heck does he find her pussy with all the flab around? I mean, what is she holding over him?” Candace remarked.

Faith needed to get back to her room, but she didn’t know if they knew she was there and were doing it on purpose or if it was an accident. Faith didn’t want to cry in front of them. She was a nice person, and being mean because she wasn’t a twig like Prim or Candace wasn’t a good reason for them to be bitchy.

“I don’t know. I need to get back to class. Today can’t end soon enough. I’ve got my own biker taking me out tonight. I met Dex at the diner, and he asked me out. I’ve been waiting to catch the eye of one of them,” Candace said.

Faith waited until they left and then quickly texted what she’d heard to Slice. Her phone immediately rang.

“Hello?” she said.

“Don’t you dare let those jealous wastes of space get into your head. You are my woman and gorgeous. Screw them. And trustme, I’ll be letting Dex know the type of woman Candace is. Do you want me to run by the school to give you a hug before I leave?” Slice asked.

Slice and a couple of the other brothers were driving to Kansas City tonight to pick up some parts and would travel back on Saturday. She wouldn’t see Slice again until lunch on Sunday.

“No, I’m good after talking to you, plus I don’t want to deal with any more of their crap today if they see you. Thank you for bringing me clean clothes,” Faith said.

“You’re welcome. I’ll see you Sunday at lunch. I’ll text while I’m gone,” Slice said.

“Safe travels,” Faith whispered.

“See you soon, babe,” Slice said before hanging up.

Faith grabbed the bag and walked it out to her vehicle, putting it in the trunk. She’d hose off the shoes and wash the items sometime this weekend. At least she had more tennis shoes and didn’t need to worry about cleaning them today to wear.

She walked back to class thinking about how, before Slice, an empty Saturday would have been welcome. Now that they’d been together the last three weeks, she was going to miss him tonight and tomorrow. In such a short time, he’d become a part of her life and the boys’.

The DCFS social worker had followed up that they still didn’t have any leads on who LB’s mom was. For now, they were taking a wait-and-see approach. Slice said that Sarah and Scoop, the tech people for Bluff Creek and the bail bonds, were working on figuring out who his mom was also.

Faith wanted to be able to give him a real name before he was old enough to know he didn’t have one.

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