Page 21 of Slice

“Yep, I think Sarah and I need to allot some time to check into Candace along with our investigation into LB’s birth,” Scoop said.

Slice was happy they were taking this seriously because he had a bad feeling about how LB came to be left.

“What about if we have Dex apologize for not taking Candace out and have him take her on a date?” Beth suggested.

“I like that idea. See if he can get any information from her,” Winnie said.

“I’m not sleeping with that woman for information,” Dex growled.

Remi chuckled. “We’re not asking you to. Just take her out and chat her up. You could always say you caught something and can’t have sex until the antibiotics are finished.”

Slice laughed along with everyone else as Dex sputtered.

“I am not telling her I have a disease that needs antibiotics. My cock is just fine.”

War held up his hand to get everyone to stop laughing. Slice wondered how they’d gotten so far off track.

“Let’s calm down. I don’t need to know anything about your cock, Dex, but if you want to take her out, it might help us learn something.”

“Fine, but I want a rescue number I can text to get out of any uncomfortable situations with her,” Dex said, mulishly.

“We can do that. I’d really like to go kick Candace and Prim’s asses. They were mean girls in school, and it doesn’t look like they’ve changed,” Remi said.

“How about you let the non-pregnant women go kick their asses after we find out if there’s more going on?” War suggested.

“I am pregnant, not an invalid,” Remi growled.

“Remi, chill. He just wants to keep the baby safe, and let’s face it, one of us non-pregnant ones should be the ones to set them straight later. If you don’t participate, we’ll tape it.”

Slice really hoped that hearing the women talking about beating up her tormentors meant something to her and didn’t scare her off. But if she was going to be around long-term like he wanted, then she’d need to understand that sometimes they bent the law a little.

“Fine. But I want to watch if it happens,” Remi said, glaring at War as she left the room.

“So, to recap: Scoop and Sarah will do some digging into Candace while Dex does his own kind of investigation. Then atsome point, if Faith would like it, the women will have a chat with Candace, where the result will probably be her leaving town to get away from their threats. Anything else?” War asked.

Slice waited until no one said anything and War dismissed them.

“Meg and Stella have the kids. Could I show you my room?” Slice asked.

“Is this your version of ‘can I show you my etchings?’” Faith questioned.

“No, I just wanted a little privacy to apologize and see how you’re doing,” Slice said.

Faith nodded, and he led her down the hall to his room. He unlocked it because on Sundays, with the younger kids playing everywhere, he kept his room locked. He didn’t trust them to not do something or get into something they shouldn’t.

He opened the door, and Faith walked in. He wondered what she thought about his room.

Faith looked around Slice’s room and debated whether to sit on the bed or the recliner in the corner. Slice took the choice out of her hands when he led her to the recliner, sat down, and pulled her onto his lap.

“I’m sorry. You tried to tell me that you didn’t want it handled, and I still brought it up in front of everyone. I’ll try to do better and listen to your needs. It’s not an excuse. It’s a glimpse, maybe, into my thinking. I’ve never had a long-term relationshipwith a girlfriend, especially one who I want to build a life with. I’ve never had to consider what the other person wants because my encounters, for lack of a better word, were physical only. I’m going to need your help teaching me how I can be one-half of a couple and what you need. I do get now that I don’t need to try to solve all your problems. Sometimes you just want me to know and not do anything. Do I have that right?”

Faith slid her hand around Slice’s neck, leaning her forehead against his. “Yes, you do. I appreciate you letting me know why you did what you did. It was probably a good thing anyway, or everyone wouldn’t have known that Candace seemed to be trying to work her way into the MC or quizzing Phoebe. I don’t have a lot of experience with relationships either, Gabe. We’ll learn together.”

Faith shifted so she could kiss Slice. Everything he did had her wanting to be closer to him. Their time on the side of the road had just started everything simmering. Kisses and his hands running over her while they kissed continued to build it.

Faith wasn’t sure how they could become closer because she always had the kids. She was also a little tentative to take all her clothes off because, although he’d seen her breasts, nothing else had been uncovered around him.

He said he loved her curves and didn’t care about the extra fat around her tummy, but there was still that little part of her that took Candace’s words to heart and worried he wouldn’t like her as much when her clothes were off.

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