My eyes rolled back in my head as I tried to stay awake through the preacher’s blabbing. The pew was hard against my ass and back and I was getting a kink in my neck from trying to lay my head back against the wood. I prayed silently that it would be over soon, but the preacher continued his rant about Peter. So much for prayer making things happen.

My lashes tickled my cheeks as my eyes fluttered closed once more. The sermon faded to the background and my breathing evened out. Sleep had slowly come to take me away, and I was well on my way when someone bumped into me.

My brain rattled and my teeth clicked. My body jarred to the side and my eyes popped open. The sweet scent of roses filled my senses as warmth invaded my side. As quickly as the warmth came, it went as the person who bumped into me hustled to move away.

Soft pink and luminous light surrounded me. It’s all I saw. Her sweater, her cheeks, and her lips… they were all soft pink and pretty. The light haloed around her, giving her an angelic glow. The way she stared back at me made me want to laugh. Her big doe eyes were wide, a mixture of brown and hazel swirling back at me. Perfect white teeth showed as her pouty lips gapped open in what could only be interpreted as shock.

Chocolate waves hung loosely around her untouched face. She looked like an actual angel, or at least the way you’d picture one. Maybe they were real. Maybe I never saw them because they only hung out in churches. All she was missing was her wings. She was beautiful, but in a church-girl, skirt-too-long kind of way. Lucky for her, I wasn’t into the wholesome, angelic girls.

The last girl I dated was far from wholesome. Of course, that only lasted a week, but still, I could smell virgin on this girl a mile away. I’d lost my virginal blood when I was fourteen and since then I hadn’t really slowed down. I didn’t sleep around so much; I just dated… a lot.

The pastor stopped preaching and his eyes focused in on us. The entire congregation turned to face us, but she was too busy staring at me like I was about to catch fire to even notice. I didn’t mind having attention on me. I actually thrived on it, but I didn’t want everyone in the church thinking I’d corrupted the chick next to me.

I could still feel the stares on my back when I made it outside. Damn nosey-ass holy rollers. I walked to the side of the church and lit a cigarette. I hadn’t had one since earlier that day and I was having a nicotine fit. The moment I inhaled, my skin felt tingly and my blood slowed in my veins. Relaxation. It wasn’t like smoking some of that mean green, but it would have to do until I was no longer on holy ground.

“That’s bad for you, you know?” A soft voice slid across me and soothed me like a drag from my smoke.

I dropped the cigarette to the ground and smashed it into the freshly cut grass with my boot.

The angel from inside stood before me with her hands locked in front of her. All her hair was pulled to one side and spilled over her shoulder. I wanted to run my fingers through it and see if it was as soft as it looked.

“Everything that feels good is bad for you.” I grinned down at her.

“I have to disagree.” She smoothed out her skirt with her hands and stepped closer. “I’ve never seen you here before.”

“Maybe that’s because I’ve never been here before.” I leaned against the wall, careful not to touch the newly painted section.

“Makes sense, but why are you here now?”

I didn’t respond. Instead, I pointed to the big beige square. It looked dry already, but the smell of fresh paint was still strong.

“Oh.” Her face dropped. “I’ve always loved the brick on this church.” She looked away from me and ran her fingers across the jagged brick. “When I’m older and I have my own home, I hope it has brick just like this. Please don’t ruin it anymore,” she asked sweetly.

I wouldn’t defend my innocence anymore. It was pointless. No one believed me anyway. The day I was busted, my ex-girlfriend, Jenny, had kicked me out and I had to walk home since I’d blown a head gasket in my fixer-upper mustang while racing my boy Leroy like a dumbass.

It wasn’t my fault I’d used the churchyard as a cut through or that I’d stepped into some paint that ruined my favorite shoes. Who would’ve known there were people inside the church that late and that they’d come out at exactly that moment to catch me beside the church, trying to wipe the paint from my shoes?

“It won’t happen again,” I said stiffly.

She nodded at me and then smiled.

“Faith?” the pastor asked from behind her.

I hadn’t even noticed he was there. He was a big man, taller than me by an inch or two, and from the way he towered over her, I assumed he knew it. His black dress pants were perfectly creased and his tie was neatly tied. I’d never learned how to tie a tie in all my life, but the shit looked hard. Salt-and-pepper hair dotted the sides and back of his head, leaving a bald spot on the top that attracted the overhead light.