First thing Sunday morning, Joe found Danita outside the Sanctuary. He kissed her in front of God and everyone. He hadn’t been able to get to sleep the past two nights because of her. He went in for another kiss, but she held him back. She said, “You know I don’t believe in PDA.”

  “You don’t?”

  She shook her head.

  Joe couldn’t tell if she was mad or not, the last thing he wanted was to make her mad. “What do you believe in?”

  She smiled and said, “God and Jesus.”

  Joe smiled but inside he was cursing.

  “Why don’t you come over after church? Mama said you could have lunch with us.”

  “Okay. But what did Darryl say?”

  “Darryl doesn’t care.”

  “He doesn’t?”

  Her expression was as puzzled as Joe’s. “He told me he knows where you live and he can break you if you try anything.” Her warm brown eyes looked up at him. “You aren’t going to try anything are you?”

  “No.” Second thoughts about Danita began to stream through his brain, until she touched his arm. The sensation tingled up his arm and exploded inside of brain. No one, not even Christy had made him feel like this.

  “You are going to sit with me aren’t you?”

  Joe nodded. She tugged on his arm and led him to where her parents were sitting. Crap, he didn't want to sit with them! Her mother smiled at him, her dad just grunted. Danita sat down between her parents and Joe. Darryl, who sat on the other side of his parents, pretended not to see him.

  The music began. In the front row of `the choir, wearing a royal purple robe was Mama. When Joe was little she used to sing him to sleep. Her voice was so rich and deep. It wasn’t flat or too high. As far as he was concerned it was perfect. As the choir sang, Danita moved a little in the pew. Just a little, but it was enough to put Joe’s entire left side in contact with her. A squeal of delight rose in him that he had to suppress.

  When the sermon began. Joe smiled to himself. Brother Greene could preach until his hair turned white and his teeth fell out. Sitting beside Danita was bliss. She smelled good, like flowers and something warm and sensual. He turned to her, hoping to get her to look at him, but she wouldn’t. She kept her eyes straight ahead on the preacher. Mr. Bowen did look at him and Joe turned quickly away.

  For a couple seconds he tried to focus on the sermon, but it was no good. All his attention was with Danita, until the choir began to sing. He heard his mother's voice rise above the others with such power and clarity a shiver ran through him. He turned to her, her eyes were closed and her hands were raised. Her voice rolled out the words, "God's merrrcy." "Amens," rose from the congregation, the loudest was Brother Greene's. Joe's gaze swung from Mama, to Brother Greene. He did NOT like the way the preacher looked at his Mama. In fact he HATED the way the preacher looked at his Mama. A sharp elbow jabbed, him in the ribs. Danita whispered, “Stop looking at him like that.”

  Playing dumb, he leaned closer and asked, “Like what?”

  “Like Darryl looks at you.” Her breath was minty. Her lips soft. It took everything Joe had not to kiss her right there. Danita turned away from him.

  Was he being stupid about the preacher? His eyes went back to Brother Greene. No he wasn't. Brother Green was a man, and no degree from seminary would change that. Men wanted things from women. Did Brother Greene—oh God he couldn’t go there. THIS MUST NOT HAPPEN! But how was he going to stop it? He saw his mother's eyes open when the song was over. The first person she looked at was not Joe, but Brother Greene. The look that passed between them, turned Joe cold. It was worse than he feared. Even Danita faded from his mind. He watched his mother sit down with the rest of the choir. He heard Brother Greene begin the closing prayer. For one brief instant Danita, slipped her fingers through his. She squeezed his hand hard, like she understood, and then quickly let go.

  This narrative has been purloined without the author's approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.

  *

  The table was set. Mrs. Bowen sat at one end, Mr. Bowen at the other. On one side was Darryl and Danita. Joe was sitting across from Danita. The food might have been good, but Joe was too nervous to taste it. Darryl was in a friendly enough mood, but there was something about the way he kept eyeing Joe that made him uneasy. Mr. Bowen was doing the same thing. When dessert was brought out, it was all Joe could do, to choke down his chocolate cake.

  Darryl got up first. “I’m going to Trent’s.”

  Mrs. Bowen protested, “But Joe’s here.”

  “He ain’t here for me Mama, or did you forget?”

  Mrs. Bowen laughed. “I did.”

  Darryl jabbed his thumb in Joe's direction. In a hard voice he said, “Mom, Dad, you best watch that boy, he’s got design’s on your daughter.”

  Joe wanted to deck Darryl.

  A glance of alliance passed between Darryl and his father. Mr. Bowen said, “I got this, you go on son."

  Reassured, Darryl nodded and left the room.

  While Danita and Mrs. Bowen cleared the table, Mr. Bowen took Joe into the family room and told him to sit down. He slipped into his recliner and said, “I have certain expectations of a young man, when it comes to my daughter. And I know your Mama raised you right so I am certain I don’t need to go into graphic detail, but bottom line is, if it isn’t visible on a daily basis, you don’t touch it.”

  Joe started sweating. “Uh, yes sir of course.”

  "Good. Now, how about some football." He reached for the remote and turned on the television. In his anxiety, Joe had completely forgotten about the game. The score bar came across the screen. The Texans were ahead by seven points. For ten long terrible minutes Joe sat on the sofa watching a game he was unable to follow. Finally, Danita came into the room and asked, “Joe want to go for a walk.”

  He glanced at Mr. Bowen. Mr. Bowen gave him a nod. "Uh, yes." He stood and followed Danita out of the room and through the front door.

  Outside the sky was brilliant blue. Danita reached for his hand and wrapped her fingers through his. He teased, “I thought you didn’t believe in PDA.”

  “Holding hands is not PDA.” She led him to a small park. No one was there. She took him behind a large oak and kissed him, and she kissed him again. O God, she was good at it too. Joe felt like he was drowning. If she kissed him like this in private he could do without the PDA . When she pulled away, she smiled up at him and said, “You don’t have to look so surprised.”

  He stammered, “It’s just- just no one ever kissed me like that before.” Joe wracked his brain, how many boyfriends had she had and who were they? Since he never paid much attention to her before he had no idea.

  She laughed. Her laughter was warm and bubbly. “Thank you. I’ve been saving up.”

  Joe wasn’t sure what that meant. She took his hand and they continued their walk. They passed by Trent’s house. Darryl’s car was not in the drive. Danita stopped. “Ooh, Darryl is gonna get it for lying.”

  “Uh, maybe they just went to shoot some hoops or something.”

  “Maybe.” Her eyes filled with mischief. She made a humph sound in her throat. "I bet I know what they are up to."

  Joe refused to take the bait. The Danita he now liked and the one he had always known somehow had not become one in his brain until this moment. She had been a tattle tale her whole life. God she had gotten him and Darryl into some awful messes in Junior High. A slow smile spread across his face as he remembered her from back then. All hair and eyes and a great big mouth that shouted, "I am tellin'!" And then Darryl would start to beg.

  Getting a tighter grip on his hand, Danita asked, "What are you thinking about Joe?"

  Coming back to the present he said, "You." His answer made her smile.