A Time For Love (A Time For Love Series-Book 1)

Pizza

A week before the shooting

"Order as many slices as you like sweets and with whatever toppings you want." The blonde says to little Bird as she was treating her to some pizza after showing her a few basketball moves.

With the girl promising to no longer cut school, even if Stef had her doubts, she found no harm in taking her for a quick bite. The cop could see the girl was starving by the way she inhaled Stef's little bag of peanuts, along with her trail mix.

Taking her to get a slice of pizza was the least she could do and to make sure she ate something. In Stef's eyes she had a strong feeling Bird may not get any dinner at home, which of course made her sad and worried.

"I know you must be starving. Basketball always has me working up an appetite."

"Really? I thought that was just me!" Bird grins eagerly as Stef winks at her.

"Nope! Plus, you learned some new stuff, love, so you used that brain of yours, which also can work up an appetite."

Bird can't help but smile once again at the blonde as she glances back at the display of pizza, wanting the slices with ziti on top. She could never get that kind of pizza, and even if Stef said she could get what she wanted, Bird was still rather nervous to ask for it.

"See something you want, love?" The blonde asks standing beside her as she holds the girl's bag and basketball.

"Mm plan is okay."

"You sure? I saw you eyeballing that ziti slice. Looks pretty good." Stef smiles as Bird bites her bottom lip, staring at the ziti slice once again, and the blonde laughs. "How many slices do you want sweets? You can get it. Honestly."

"Mm, can I get two, Stef?"

"Sure love. Do you want to take a pie home? A few extra slices for later, maybe?" Stef, known for her generosity, offers, but Bird hesitates, not wanting to draw any suspicion at home. Moreover, with Randy around, there was a high chance that he would devour all the pizza, leaving Bird and her mother with nothing, while Stef footed the bill. But part of her knew she'd be starving later, but she'd deal. Like always.

"Just two is okay. I'm sure my Mama made dinner."

"Alright, love two, it is." Stef orders the pizza slices for both her and Bird along with fountain drinks as she finds a table by the window. Stromboli's was a pizza place she and Mike frequented often after shooting hoops and had been going ever since she started worked for the NYPD.

Happily, Bird joins her, and Stef extends her hand, offering her a few napkins.

"You look different out of your uniform," Bird says, taking in Stef's casual attire as she smiles back, savoring the taste of her warm pizza slice.

"Yeah? Different how, sweets?"

"Mm less scary?" The little girl says, carefully folding her pizza like she sees the cop doing and taking a tiny bite. The cop, sipping her cola and handing Bird a soda, always came across as a very approachable person to children. She was kind. She listened well and tried very hard to get even the ones who did wrong to come clean. It was just the way she was, and it was no different with Bird.

"You don't need to be scared of me, honey. I'd never hurt you. I know we just met, but I'd never hurt you, love. I signed up to be a cop to help people, remember?"

"Yes." The girl nods, taking another sip of her cold drink.

"Honestly, sweets, the only people I want to scare are criminals and people that do wrong and don't care. I want the streets safe for people, honey, so you don't need to be scared of me, ever."