Page 64 of Sunday Morning
At five, I was waiting outside with my bangs pulled into a barrette, white denim shorts that hit my knees, and a loose tee that said: “Jesus Loves Me.”
I had a drawer full of Vacation Bible School shirts, and I secretly hoped Matt wouldn’t feel as eager to remove my clothes if I wore a billboard reminding him that I was his pastor’s daughter. And it made my parents proud to see me leave the house representing Jesus. There’s no way they suspected Matt was planning on having sexagainwith their faithful daughter.
“Hey!” Matt smiled when I slid into his car with Isaac’s guitar. He leaned over and kissed my cheek.
“Hi. You smell good.” Matt always smelled good—not Drakkar Noir good, but Irish Spring good. “Where are we going to eat?” I asked.
“Pizza Hut?” he suggested, jockeying his El Camino in the opposite direction to pull out of our driveway.
I nodded. “Sounds good to me.”
“How’s it going with Isaac’s guitar? Do you know any songs?”
I shrugged. “Yeah, I’ve figured outquite a bit.”
“Consider yourself lucky that you’re Pastor Jacobson’s daughter.”
“Why is that?” I glanced over at him.
“I’m pretty sure that’s the only reason Isaac’s being nice to you. He can be a jerk about his stuff. He’s never been good at sharing.”
“Lucky me.” I gripped the side of the seat, feeling like my emotions were all over my face no matter how hard I tried to hide them.
We ended up eating at Pizza Hut with a group of school friends. Throughout the meal, Matt gave me bedroom eyes, which made me anxious.
Take one for the team.
We got to his house a little after seven.
“What time are your parents coming home?” I took his hand as he led me into the house.
“Between nine and ten. So …” Matt glanced back at me, biting his lower lip.
So we needed to get to having sex.
Yay.
“Figured you’d be in the barn half drunk by now,” Matt said to Isaac, who was in the kitchen.
“I’m half drunk but not in the barn yet. I’m making a sandwich,” Isaac mumbled, keeping his head bowed as he spread mayo on the hoagie. “Then I’ll get out of here so you can disappoint God.”
“Shut up,” Matt grumbled, shaking his head while we removed our shoes. “Ignore him. He’s having nicotine withdrawal. Some girl he met won’t kiss him until he quits smoking.”
I set Isaac’s guitar on the floor next to the stairs just as he glanced upat me and smirked.
With a fake smile, I cleared my throat. “Did this girl say that?” I asked.
Isaac screwed the mayo lid onto the jar. “Not in so many words. But she’s mentioned my ‘disgusting’ habit on more than one occasion, so I’ve read between the lines because I’m smart.”
“Maybe she just thinks you’re disgusting and has no intention of kissing you even if you quit smoking.” I returned a toothy grin.
Matt laughed. “That sounds more likely.”
Isaac fought his grin while wrapping his sandwich in several paper towels. “Perhaps. However, when I touch her, she gets breathy and blushes from nose to toe. So I think it’s only a matter of time before she’s begging for it.”
“It’s so obvious why you’re single.” Matt rolled his eyes and headed up the stairs.
I didn’t follow him quite yet because Isaac had me ensnared in his gaze as he walked toward me. At the last second, his gaze dropped to my shirt, and an enormous grin overtook his face as he leaned down to pick up the guitar case.