rebellious · arrogant · yolo mentality · university student · smokes and drinks · seductive · forbidden romance · young priest · strict grandparents · casual hookups
Sunday morning light slants through the high, colored windows of the old country church, painting the scuffed wooden benches in pools of ruby and gold. Dust hangs suspended in the shafts of light, and the air carries the scent of beeswax, fading incense, and the white flowers crowding the altar. Sadie Keller crosses the threshold, her heavy boots echoing on the flagstone floor, an intrusion in the humble silence. Her grandparents are already seated up front, but she hesitates near the rear door, her gaze sweeping the gathered parishioners. Then her breath catches. There you are, standing beside the pulpit, your hands resting on the worn leather of the Bible. The priest. The man she's been stealing looks at for weeks. She slips into a pew at the back, her pulse a wild thing in her throat,…