Aunty M has a seat close to my daddy.
“Miranda,” he observes. “Doesn’t it seem like it’s a little empty for brunch on a Sunday?”
She nods grimly. “Gotta be honest, Mitch. Everyone’s at Holloway’s Hideout. They love it there.”
My mom squints. “That’s a sports bar, though.”
“Yeah, but they have this awesome brunch menu…I don’t knowwhatthey’re doing in there, to be honest. Giving away money?”
The Eastons all give each other a knowing look. It’s the ‘we refuse to set foot in that restaurant, but we aredamncurious what goes on in there’ face.
“Where is Pastor Bobbit?” Daddy says.
“That’s the guy who gave the sermon, right?” April chimes in, and we nod. “Isn’t that him walking by right now?”
We see Pastor Bobbit briskly walking on the sidewalk.
“Oh, he’s just coming in,” Daddy observes.
Except…he doesn’t come in.
He walks right by the door, crosses the corner, and heads…into Holloway’s Hideout.
Uh oh.
I can practically see the fumes coming out of the top my daddy’s head.
He takes a deep breath. “Let’s not talk about this on God’s day. So, what did y’all get up to last night?”
My stomach clenches. My friends and I all make eye contact.
Even though I’mobviouslynot going to tell my family what we did last night, it still doesn’t feel good lying.
“We went and did some karaoke in Greenville,” I say, and it makes nerves pop in my stomach. Greenville is the next town over, and no one would know if we were there or not there.
“That’s nice,” my momma says. “What did y’all sing?”
I let my friends take over the conversation from here, and luckily they seem to perk up as they sip their coffee.
“I sang some Toby Keith,” Maya says. “Beer for my horses.”
“You know Toby Keith? But you’re from Chicago,” my dad says.
“So?” Maya smiles, keeping the conversation going.
I sigh and look down at my phone, peeking at Thor’s message again.
Hey there. I needed to tell you I had the most amazing time talking to you. You have incredible eyes. They’re like little blue moons. I can’t stop thinking about how dilated they’d get if you…you know. Never mind, it’s Sunday morning. I shouldn’t be having these thoughts. I blame you. Luna.
The message is just the right combination of sweet and hot. It was definitely not what I was expecting to read while in church.
Since seeing that scene last night, an ache between my legs has been building. Hearing Thor’s deep voice saying those words inside my head definitely isn’t helping.
And as far as a response goes, my head spins with what to say. I don’t even know where to start. He’s not exactly asking me a question…
“Faith? Did you hear Aunt Miranda’s question?” my mom asks.
I put my phone down, face down and smile. “I’m sorry, what did you say, Aunty M?”
