Page 15 of Sinned

“The diocese finally got approval to restore parts of the old church at home. I had the choice to stay at St. Peter’s until it was done or come here and start the church.”

We spent hours sitting there talking about whatever came to mind. Whenever we talked it always surprised me how much we had in common, but the later it got, the more tired I became. I turned away from him, trying to hide my yawn.

“Am I boring you?” he asked.

“No,” I said with a laugh. “I didn’t sleep well last night and I think it’s catching up to me.”

“We can sleep. Maybe the roads will be clear in the morning.”

I nodded and slid into the blanket. Charlie propped his head up, but kept himself out of the sheets.

“I don’t think it’s a sin to share a blanket,” I said.

“You’re right, laying in bed with a woman isn’t a sin.”

“What is a sin? Is it true you can’t have sex?”

“Why is that the one thing that always comes up?”

“Because people like it when it comes up,” I said and wiggled my brow.

“You’d get along with my brother,” he said wryly.

“You said you’d answer anything. Did you really take a vow of celibacy?”

“Yes, I did. Well, technically it’s a promise. I made a promise of celibacy and obedience when I was ordained.”

“And you were okay with that?”

“Of course I was. It’s not like I didn’t know what I would be missing, but my calling to join the Church was greater than that. It made celibacy a non issue.”

He got up and turned off the lamp then wrapped his robe around him tightly and got into bed, under the blanket.

“Do you ever think about it?” I whispered.

“About sex? No, not usually. I have some parishioners who like to remind me of it though.”

“What do you mean?”

“I can’t give you specifics, but you might be surprised how many women flirt with priests.”

His words made me feel guilty about how I was acting earlier and the thoughts I couldn’t shake from my head.

“I’m sorry,” I said. “I didn’t mean to.”

“So you were flirting. I thought you were just joking around.”

I shrugged and rolled over to face him. “I couldn’t help it. It’s just this instinct in me that when I see a hot guy, I start flirting.”

He rolled his eyes and moved onto his back. “Tell me, is it my looks or the fact that I’m unattainable and forbidden?”

“Wow, you somehow just got hotter,” I said.

He laughed. “You know what I mean.”

“For me it has nothing with you being a priest. You can’t tell me you don’t know how good looking you are. But that’s just physical. Honestly after spending all this time with you, there’s just so much more than that.”

“What do you mean?” he asked.

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