Church is not the place to meet a potential spouse, at least for me it's not. Six months ago, I spent my evenings wringing my tears dry in front of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, celebrating the end of a relationship that should've never been. Asshole. Why did I ever think he loved me? We weren't even in the same country.
I wouldn't have been able to move on if it wasn't for him, my best friend. He was there for me in a way that only he could be.
"Someone, please help set up the chairs," a voice interrupted my thoughts.
"I'll help," I answered excitedly.
I'm in the church basement helping set up for our weekly service. I'm wearing a black long sleeve tucked into a leather mini skirt to signify the end of my mourning period. I bend forward to pick up a chair when suddenly I feel something behind me. My heart stops beating, my vision goes dark. Something long and hard wraps snugly around my waist and a hand covers my eyes. I'm pulled up straight, my back meets a firm surface and my head collides with the thump of a beating heart. Heat is radiating. A faint scent of cigarettes and cologne enters my nose.
"Let go of me, Amore! You're ruining my eyelashes!"
"I don't understand why women waste their money on useless shit like fake lashes."
I bend forward and he lets go. His hands brush the side of my hips, still sore from my workout the day before. I turn around to face him and see a familiar set of eyes, blue as the Mediterranean sea on a clear summer's day in Santorini. Again, a burst of warmth fills me at the sight of his face, it's comforting. He's looking down at me smiling.
"When you're done moving the chairs, can you hang my jacket next to yours?" he says while putting his jacket on the chair I'm holding.
He walks towards a pretty brunette across the hall. Only I know that he has a crush on her. Only I know a lot of things about him and only he knows everything about me.
"Hurry up and put my chair in this spot!" He yells at me from across the hall.
"Don't tell me what to do," I answer as I proceed to do as I was told.
My best friend sits between me and his brunette crush. The mass is about to start. I give my best friend and the brunette space to talk to each other so I can focus on what I truly came here for – Jesus.
أنت تقرأ
The Ballad of My Sacred Heart
العاطفيةCarmi Bea has a complicated relationship with her best friend, Federico. They really are just friends but no one wants to believe them. How will Carmi Bea and Federico balance their friendship while they search for love?
