Free Where I Wanna Be by Vera Roberts Page B

curfew,” Faith replied, “but I don’t date your kind.”
     
    Eli could still hear Meredith’s words ringing in his ear when his mother confronted her about him and Simone. “My kind? What kind is that?”
     
    Faith walked closer to Eli and wrapped her hand around his head, pulling him down to her level. Her lips tickled his ear. “The kind that’s bad for me,” she whispered.
     
    Eli wrapped his arms around Faith’s waist. She felt so heavenly pressed against his body. She was a good girl and he was going to treat her as such, despite his lustful urges begging him to do otherwise. “I can be really good for you, if you let me,” he whispered back.
     
    “ Mmm, mmm,” David cleared his throat, causing Faith to pull away from Eli. “Faith Marie, are you going to introduce me to your new friend?”
     
    “ Sure,” Faith smoothed her hands over her gown and brought Eli to her father, “Daddy, this is my new friend, Eli D’Amato. Eli, this is my father, the Reverend David Sheppard.”
     
    David eyed Eli up and down as he shook the young man’s hand. Had he not caught his daughter in a sensual embrace with Eli, David might have been impressed by him. Instead, he knew Eli’s type before Faith had to say a word—the type who would run wild with his daughter, having her stay out to all hours of the night, and possibly knocking her up before wedlock.
     
    He was going to put a stop to Eli before Faith had a chance to. “Pleasure to meet you, son,” the pastor smiled.
     

Three

     
    He was already scoping her out. Well, attempting to scope her out. He really had no idea where to start.
     
    Roth High School was big—a population of 2500 students from ninth to twelfth grade. Classrooms had at least forty students in them; some topping off at fifty. It was spread out over a city block and out of the three high schools in St. George, Roth was considered the best one due to a high graduation rate, national test scores, and its athletic program.
     
    In later years, Eli would not care about any of that. He would tell his future children it was the place he courted their mother.
     
    He was on a modified schedule during his senior year. He had taken so many classes and had more than enough credits to graduate early. But his mother was afraid Eli would be out running around in the streets and encouraged him to stay in school and graduate with his friends.
     
    Now Eli had another reason to stay in school—the incomparable Faith Sheppard.
     
    Had he noticed her before? Probably. He must have. There was no way a girl—a woman, really—with such class, style… the epitome of grace could go unnoticed. Maybe she was like a ghost, coursing through the school campus seemingly unnoticed and barely above a whisper.
     
    Worse yet, Faith was in his class. She was a senior just like him. So Eli felt even more stupid for not noticing her. They probably had classes together. She had probably seen him in study hall. And yet, he had no idea she even existed until a few days ago.
     
    “ You seem to be looking for someone.”
     
    Eli was startled at the soft voice. He looked over and saw Faith beside him. She was wearing black frames and had her hair in a tight bun. Completing her look were jeans, a long sweater, and sneakers. She looked unassuming. She looked to blend in. She looked like… everyone else. It didn’t take Eli very long to figure out that was what Faith wanted to do all along.
     
    “ I’m looking for you, actually.” Eli smiled. He offered to take Faith’s backpack and she let him carry it. “You already put some sort of spell on me.”
     
    Faith smiled. She couldn’t tell if Eli was being sincere or that was the same line he used on many other girls. “How so?”
     
    “ I never noticed you before and yet I’m carrying your backpack,” Eli glanced over to Faith. “I normally don’t do this.”
     
    “ Why am I the exception and not the rule?” She asked.
     
    “ Because you’re a good