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My heart pounded as I looked at all the expectant faces staring my way.
“We’re new!” I blurted.
As in, thirty seconds ago, new.
I shouldn’t be surprised, really I shouldn’t, but I was sure that surprise was still showing on my face.
“Ms. Panchek is great,” Dayden said quietly.
I smiled at the kid. Gosh, he was definitely one of the good ones.
And it was amazing that he’d found Lolo. At sixteen, for both of them, they couldn’t have found a better pair. Both of them would definitely understand the other, and they wouldn’t have to explain their darkest secrets without someone that completely understood being on their side.
Yes, they would be perfect together.
“She is,” Wake said quietly. “Grab a seat, Dan. I’ll grab an extra table setting.”
Dan left to go snag a seat in the hall, while Wake walked to the kitchen and gathered a plate, which he had to reach up high in a cabinet to get, revealing a strip of skin that was tanned and toned.
I watched with unabashed desire as he methodically collected the things I would need to eat, and then turned to head back toward me.
He grinned when he caught me watching, and I looked away to find both Dayden and Lolo watching me curiously.
Yeah, I really had a thing for her dad.
No, I hadn’t been with him long.
Hell, the only ‘relationship’ I could say that I had with him besides today’s round of sex was me asking him how to get away with killing a guy.
Speaking of killing a guy…
“Dayd, do you know a teacher that goes by the name Annalise Graydon?” I asked as I took the chair that Danyetta brought out.
That’s when Bowie hissed as if I’d used the Lord’s name in vain.
Wake’s eyes went wide, and he looked at Bowie as if his heart had just been ripped out of his chest.
“Worst teacher ever,” Bowie snapped. “I’ve watched her make kids cry just because she could.”
My shoulders slumped.
Okay, if that had gone a different way, I wasn’t sure that Wake’s reasoning from earlier would’ve stuck.
“Bowie had her this year for about two months. Remember that teacher I told you about, Wake? The one that was being trouble because of who Bowie’s uncle was?”
Wake fisted his hands on top of the table.
“That was her?” he asked as he calmly reached for the spoon that was in the casserole in the middle of the table.
Damn, how was he being so calm?
“Sounds like he dodged a bullet,” I muttered as I watched Wake pile food onto first Bowie’s plate, then Lolo’s, before he started on Danyetta’s, and finally mine. Then he handed the serving spoon over to Dayd to allow him to dish out his own.
That was sweet. The only men that I’d had dinner with—my dad and any boyfriends included—had always served themselves first. It’d always annoyed the crap out of me when we were younger because my dad would eat three-quarters of the food and then expect my mom, brother, and me to split the last quarter between us.
That had to be why I no longer talked to my dad anymore.
Mom always deserved better than him.
Though, my dad wasn’t a terrible guy. He was just selfish and really liked to do what he wanted to do.
That included going out and doing whatever he wanted, spending what money he wanted to spend, and pretty much saying ‘fuck them’ to us that were stuck at home while he did fun things.
Hell, I can remember one time in particular that he’d gone to the damn water park with his best friend and his kids, and didn’t bother inviting my mom, brother, or me. I’d found out he went because my dad was tagged in photos on Facebook of all things.
So, needless to say, seeing Wake doing something so simple as making sure everyone ate, including the kids first, before he portioned out his own food, was a shot of happiness to the heart.
Wake was the last, and I assumed he was splitting with Dayd so they didn’t eat it all. Because it was more than obvious that Dayd and Wake could put away the food. Easily.
“What is this?” Dayd asked curiously.
“This”—Lolo practically wiggled in her seat—“is sausage casserole. It’s super simple. Easy. And the best meal anyone could ever ask for.”
I eyed the food in front of me. It was egg noodles, cheese, sauce, and sausage. There really was no way this could go wrong.
I took a bite, and there was a flavor explosion in my mouth. Who knew that something so simple would be so good?
“I usually make this when people are coming over,” Danyetta explained. “It’s a family favorite, and nobody ever has any complaints about it.”
Dayd shrugged. “I’ll eat just about anything, to be honest.”
I smiled before taking another bite. I could tell that Dayd ate just about anything, based solely on how big he was. Damn, the kid would be massive when he finally stopped growing.
