Page 13 of Slice

She was, but was this a good call or a bad call? Was that why he hadn’t contacted her all day? Well, she was a big girl, and she needed to deal with this despite being scared of what he would say.

Faith: Yes.

Her phone rang, and Faith picked up.

“Hello,” she said, then swallowed, hoping he couldn’t hear the fear in her voice.

“Hey, Faith, I wanted to call because it’s been pointed out to me that I’m a dork. So this is me clearing up any misconceptions. That kiss last night meant that I want you. But I want you more than just wanting you in my bed, though that’s pretty important too. I want to date you and get to know you. I want to see if you like me as much as I like you and see if what we have can be forever. I know you may think this is fast, but from the moment I saw you, something told me that you were the one for me.”

Slice’s voice trailed off. Faith wasn’t sure what to say. Did he really just offer her everything she had ever wanted?

“Faith, are you okay? I know that was a lot of word vomit. If you don’t feel that way about me, then I’ll survive. It’ll suck because I can’t imagine a future without you and the boys in it, but I can be a big boy.”

She needed to tell him, but she was so terrified. She’d never been the one that dreams came true for, but maybe it was time.

“I do,” she said.

“You do what?” Slice asked softly.

“I do like you.”

Slice’s sigh through the phone had her smiling.

“Oh thank goodness. I said I was going to be a big boy, but I was hoping I wouldn’t have to. Locks and Bear offered to babysit so I could take you out on a date with just us. Do you think you’d like that?”

She grinned even though he couldn’t see her face through the phone. “I do. I would love that. I also need to figure out where I can get childcare for LB.”

“Oh, during the help-the-dork-out conversation, War offered for LB to be at the bail bonds daycare. He said he’ll check with Sarah to see if they can accept another infant. If not, he said he and Remi can cover until they get another employee hired. He mentioned something about baby-to-adult ratio. I had no idea what he was talking about.”

Faith chuckled. “The state only allows a certain number of infants of a certain age per childcare worker. It’s to keep the kids safe. It’s really sweet that they are offering to help.”

“It’s one of the things I love about the MC is that they care. It’s a family. When do you think we could go on our first date?” Slice asked.

“How about next weekend? Maybe you could come to lunch or supper tomorrow if you’re not working. Hope and I made my homemade hot applesauce cake so I could thank all of you, but I made one just for my house.”

Faith waited to see what he’d say. They still had a list of things they’d need to discuss, including her infertility. But for once, she wasn’t automatically thinking of all the things that could go wrong. She was going to stay positive and see where this led.

“Next weekend sounds perfect. How about dinner and dancing at Nelson’s?” Slice asked.

“I’m not sure how good a dancer I am. It’s been years, but I’d love to,” Faith said.

“We won’t take my bike because it’s too far for a first ride for you, and the forecast is possible snow. I’d also love to see you tomorrow. Whichever works better for you.”

“Let’s do supper. I’m going to let the boys sleep in as late as they want. We only have a little bit longer before school starts, and we’ll have a routine we have to stick to.”

“Perfect. Just text me what time works. Faith, I wish I could kiss you good night, but since I can’t, I want you to know I’m thinking about you.”

“Me too, Slice,” Faith whispered. “Good night.”

“Sweet dreams,” Slice whispered, then hung up.

Faith was glad Slice had called and cleared stuff up for them. She wanted to go on a date with him, but knowing he wasn’t just wanting to get in her bed had her even more excited. She hadn’t danced since a school dance in high school. Well, with someone. She danced around and sang while she cleaned the house sometimes, but it had been years since she’d had a man’s arms around her on the dance floor.

Maybe this might work out.

Chapter Nine

Slice led Faith onto the dance floor at Nelson’s Honkytonk Saloon & Bar. Two couples were already dancing to the jukebox, and he and Faith had just placed their dinner and drink order.

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