FORBIDDEN PLEASURES
“But I will not pretend the air between us is clean. Every time you sing, I hear the want in your voice. Every time I preach about the flesh, I see the colour rise in your cheeks. We both know what this is.”
My mouth is dry. “What is it?”
“Forbidden Pleasure.” He says the word like it tastes good. “And you are already half lost to it.”
I cannot answer. My heart is beating too hard. My skin feels too tight. Between my legs there is a low, steady pulse that has no business being there in a church.
Pastor Hale sets the sheet music down on the stall. He straightens his coat.
“Practice is over for today. Go home, Grace. Sit at your mother’s table. Bow your head for evening prayer. But when you cl