by J.M. Downey
As they started another song, Keith leaned into Katie’s ear and said, “what is this, a cult?”
Katie turned a sharp gaze to him. He raised his hands. “I was just joking.”
She smiled and started singing the words again.
After the song ended, the youth minister set aside his guitar and said, “let’s pray.” Everyone bowed their heads. Keith looked around. He had been to churches before, but they were more formal, holding to customs that spoke of order. But this group worshiped as if they were celebrating.
The youth minister finished the prayer and then said, “wow, what an awesome day.”
And the minister was corny. In fact, he reminded him of Katie’s secret admirer. He stole a glance at the young boy, sitting next to his fiancée, but he caught sight of Katie’s eyes, noticing the brightness they contained. She was in her element. He dug his hands into his pockets. Religion was something for observance but Katie took joy in the simple songs and sophomoric prayers. Why?
“We’ve got our college kids back. Does anyone want to come up and share their experiences?”
“Jeff,” the youth minister said. Jeff came up to the front, and talked briefly about how he had joined Campus Crusade, and that he helped to start a purity pledge support group for young men.
“The what?” Keith whispered in Katie’s ear. The bright look on her face disappeared as a pale color crept over it.
He poked her side. Katie forced a smile, a slight tear in her eye. He dug his hands further. What’s up with her? Several more students talked about college, but Katie slid behind him, trying to hide away. Her face slowly gained color but her eyes still looked watery. He’d have to ask her about that later. He shook his head. What could have made her so upset? Was it that silly group her neighbor had started? But what did she care, he’d never let her touch another man. She was his.
Keith slipped his arm from Katie’s shoulders as they walked into the house. Katie took in a long whiff of spices. Her mother had made chamomile tea tonight. Memories of her childhood flooded her mind. How many times had she found her mother sitting on the couch, curled up against her father’s shoulder, sipping her tea with a splash of lemon?
They walked into the living room and found her parents just as she’d pictured them.
“Looks familiar,” Keith whispered into her ear.
Yeah. It did. She had begun the routine with Keith as if they were already married.
“Did you have a good time, Keith?” her father asked as he sat up, turning the volume off the T.V..
Keith clasped his hands in front of his waist, and bent his head to the side. “It was fun. A lot more casual than the church I grew up with.”
Her father turned back to the news show, clicking on the sound. “So what do you think about this car tax, the Senate is trying to get passed?”
Keith smiled and walked over to the T.V. The President was on, talking about the tax and Ashley’s father, a senator from New York, was next to him.
“Sit down, son,” her father said. Keith sat down in a faded plush green chair and finished listening to the clip of Arther’s short speech. When Arther was done he said, “they’re going to use the money for education, so I don’t know how it could go wrong.”
Katie rolled her eyes. Those two fell back into the conversation as if it hadn’t stopped. Every Thanksgiving, Christmas and family visit would be like this until death parted Keith and her father.
The bedroom door opened, letting in a small stream of light. Soft footsteps sounded on the hardwood floor, only becoming muffled when they reached a pink shag rug. Those steps could be no one’s but Katie’s. He half laughed to himself. He had not expected his timid girl to be so daring. But here she was. What could this mean? She lifted the sheets and slipped under them, resting her head on his arm. A warmth filled him as she nestled her head on his shoulder and her loose curls tickled his chin - the scent of her strawberry perfume filled him.
“You’re breaking the rules,” he said, running a finger down her cheek and twirling it in a silky curl.
“I know.”
He wrapped her in his arms and pulled her close, her small frame arousing every inch of his body.
“I’ve wanted to be in your arms all night,” she said.
He bit on the bottom of his lip. “Really.” She had no idea how her simplest words could arouse so much in him. Moments like this, he desired nothing more than to taste the sweet innocence that covered her like the lavender lotion she spreads on her legs.
“Yeah. I think my daddy really likes you.”
“He’ll like me more when he meets Arther.”
Katie squeezed his shirt. “You’re going to introduce them?”
“They’ll have to meet before the wedding.”
“Yeah.” She ran a finger down his shoulder, sending energy through him and reminding him how soothing she could be after a long day of business law lectures; there was so much of this girl he wanted, needed.
“I’m glad my daddy likes you.”
Keith caressed her side, sliding his hand under her pajama top to where he wanted it. She stiffened, but he was too aroused to stop. He kissed her on the lips, moving on to her neck and then reaching for her shirt.
“I don’t know if we should do this here,” she said, scooting away.
Keith yanked her shirt back down. “I guess you better leave then.” Katie wrapped her arms around him. In the moonlight streaming through the half-opened blinds, he saw her eyes moist up reminding him that she had been sad tonight, but he never got a chance to talk to her about it.
He ran his thumbs over her cheeks, gazing into her eyes. He had a feeling she was ashamed of what they did, but there was no shame in exploring their passion, especially when no man would ever touch her but him. A silly promise made as a girl was nothing compared to what she needed to give him as a woman. He’d make her understand that.
“What was wrong earlier?”
Katie knit her brows. “When?”
“When that kid, your neighbor was speaking.”
“Oh.” Katie kissed him, sucking in his bottom lip and running her hands down his chest. What a cunning move, but one she wouldn’t get away with.
“Katie.” He sat up, and pulled her up as her eyes widened. He placed his hands firmly on her face and made her focus on him, so he could peer as far as he could into her eyes, entrancing her. When she completely stilled, he asked, “Why were you upset?”
“I wasn’t.”
“I can tell you’re lying.”
Her mouth dropped open. “You’ll think I’m silly.”
“Tell me.” He took her chin with his fingers, holding her still as his other hand ran to the back of her head. “Do you like that boy?
“I did, but that was before I started dating you.”
A smile slipped on her face, but her bottom lip trembled. She was scared. Something inside of him turned at the idea of scaring her, but as his father taught him, just a little bit of fear would breed submission. And he needed to make sure she’d stay submissive, letting him guide her through life to where she needed to be. Just like he would do now.
“Why were you upset?”
“I really….”
“Katie.” He paused. “Tell me.”
She took a couple deep breaths, letting them stream out from her plump lips. “Don’t be mad.”
He bent his head to the side. “Why would I be? I love you.”
“I.” She tried to move her head a little, but he held it firm, so she lowered her eyes.
“Look at me.”
She snapped her eyes back to his, they wavered in the moonlight. “It’s just I signed the pledge that Jeff spoke about. So, I guess I was a little sad because I didn’t keep it.” She took his hands. “I’m not sad anymore.”
He was right and now to make her understand all they lacked was a legal document. Every day he was making sure they molded into one like preachers often declared a man and wife should be. �
�I’m the one for you.”
She nodded.
“So you have nothing to be upset about since you’ll never sleep with someone else.”
“I’m not going to.”
“Well, I wouldn’t let you, you’re mine.”
Katie lowered her eyes, and ran her fingers over the flower pattern of the quilt. “All right.”
And now that she was completely bending to him, it was time to make sure she fully understood what he meant when he said no one was to touch her. “I don’t want Jeff hugging you.”
Katie grasped his hands on her cheeks. “He’s just.…”
“I don’t want another guy touching you. I would never hang onto some other girl like that.”
She smiled. “Okay.”
Keith kissed her head. “Now, get out of here. I don’t need your father showing up with a shotgun.”
Katie slipped from the bed and then out of the room, taking her warmth with her. Keith lay back against the bed, with his hands behind his head. If his father could have seen how he made her bend to his will, maybe then he’d understand, he’d have no problems with Keith slipping into the role he’d designed for him.
Katie took a long sip of her hazelnut coffee as Keith stood from the breakfast table, clenching his plate that contained a few scraps from the Colby cheese and pepper omelet her mother made earlier. He copied her sister and placed it in the sink before he looked her way; their eyes connecting, sending a warmth through her. From the corner of her eye, she saw a smile stretch across her father’s face. Keith left the kitchen, to get ready before they took their annual trip to Durham to get a Christmas tree.
Once the door swung closed, she turned to her father, buried behind a newspaper. “So you like him, Daddy?”
Her father lowered the paper. “Yeah, I do. He’s very polite, and smart.”
A smile widened across her face. “I’m glad you do.”
“Come here, baby.” Her daddy scooted his chair back and reached for her.
The time had come for questions. She would just play her cards right, like she always did as a little girl. Her daddy would melt. Before they had left New Haven, she had practiced just how to answer her father’s questions so he’d see Keith as nothing but a Godly man.
Katie sat on her daddy’s lap, wrapping her arms around his neck. He smelled like ink and palm oil soap. She laid her face against his scratchy, unshaven cheek as the feeling of being a little girl washed over her. But she wasn’t a little girl, she was an engaged woman. And she would need to stay strong and not crumble if he gave her that fatherly glare.
Her father kissed her and pulled her closer. “I’ve been quiet about it, but I’m quite curious about the extent of this relationship,” he said.
“We like each other.”
“Are you dating?”
She nodded.
“Well, I’m guessing it must be somewhat serious, if he came to meet us.”
Katie kicked her feet out in front of her. “We’ve been dating since September.”
Her father bent his head to the side and stroked one of her curls. “Does he go to church?”
Katie sat up and looked her father in the eyes. “We go to church every week together. One of the first things he did was quiz me on my faith. I wouldn’t date someone who didn’t have the same values as me.”
“Of course you wouldn’t. I trust you, baby.” He patted her shoulder.
Katie smiled, feeling her body relax. That was easy to get around.
Her father motioned for her to get up. “You better go get ready.”
Katie folded her hands together as she walked out of the room. She didn’t feel one ounce of guilt for lying to her father. In the past, she couldn’t even lie about accidentally breaking a glass, but now she could lie about something this important. She would have to pray about that later. Hopefully, God would listen to her.
Keith ran his hands down his face and pulled the quilt further up his body. He hadn’t told Katie, but he had never decorated a Christmas tree before, and he had never enjoyed chocolate chip cookies with milk so much. Future Christmases with her family would be the same. He was making the right decision for himself. He closed his eyes, taking a deep breath, but his eyes popped open. Every part of him was energized.
Katie had looked so beautiful as she placed the Angel on top of the tree earlier. The tree lights had reflected in her eyes, and glowed around her, making her innocence stand out more. He was never going to fall asleep. Keith pushed from the bed and walked into the hall.
He wanted to knock on Katie’s door and ask her to come downstairs with him, but her father wouldn’t approve. Keith headed downstairs to the den in order to turn on the TV, but he stopped, noticing that the light of the adjoining room, a room they used as an office, was on. He walked to it and knocked on the door.
“Come in,” he heard her father say. He smiled. He had hoped it was him.
Keith opened the door and walked in. Her father sat at the computer, gazing at a website. He turned to look at Keith and smiled. “Can’t sleep, son?”
“Nah, too happy from the day.”
The smile on her father’s face widened. “Pull up a chair.”
Keith sat across from him and glanced at the computer. The image of a white two-story house on stilts filled the page. Apparently, he had been looking up information about beach houses in North Carolina.
“We take a trip every year. You’ll have to come with us,” her father said.
“I’d love to.”
Her father sat back from the computer, put his hands in his lap and turned to Keith. “You like my daughter a lot, don’t you?”
Keith smiled. “Yeah, I do, sir.”
Her father nodded and bent his head to the side, his eyes narrowing. Keith clenched the arms of his chair. What was that look?
“Tell me, boy, about your walk with God.”
Keith took a deep breath. Walk with God. If this man knew the heathen he was - the heathen he had been bred to be, he wouldn’t want him around his daughter. But he was a Wilkerson. He could get through this.
Keith squared his shoulders, tracing all the talks he had heard on campus from pastors clenching Bibles. All they said was one needed faith. “Well, sir, I will admit my faith isn’t as strong as Katie’s. It’s much newer.” That sounded believable. He would never be able to pass himself as Godly as dear neighbor boy.
“And what do you believe?”
“That Jesus died on the cross for my sins.” He swallowed hard.
A smile seeped across her father’s face as he turned to the computer. “You have my blessing, son.”
Keith exhaled. “Thank you, sir; that means a lot to me.” From the moment, he had walked into this simple dwelling, he had wanted to impress Katie’s father. Something about the man drew him. Mr. Morris loved his family like they were precious jewels and yet maintained a realm of influence over them. How did he do it? Was it respect? Love? He’d have to figure it out. And he had nothing but his daughter’s welfare in mind as he drilled him. What a contrast to what he had always known. Even Arther expected something from him. Part of him wished, he could be that clean-slate boy, Mr. Morris wanted for his daughter. But that could never be. His father would make sure of that.
FOURTEEN
Katie kissed her family goodbye and rushed onto the plane, finding her seat in first class. She sat firmly down and prayed that God would let the trip seem like a second. The amethyst earrings Keith had given her for Christmas dangled from her ears, matching the necklace that looped around her neck. Hopefully, he’d like the cute purple dress she had bought to accent the jewels. In her hands she held her other gifts: a Kindle packed with clean romance novels and a copy of a ticket to New York City, so she could meet his family.
Katie turned on the Kindle, tapped on a book that she had wanted to read for many months, but she rested it in her lap. Three days they had, and then two weeks before school started again. Soon, his lips would caress hers, his
hands would run through her hair. Soon he would be all hers again.
Katie walked down the tarmac and stopped as a smile spread across her face. Keith stood at the end holding one white rose. She flung her carry-on over her shoulder, and ran to him, throwing herself into his arms as he spun halfway around, pulling her as close to him as he could. He set her feet on the floor, pressing his lips onto hers.
“Man, we need to get married this summer,” he whispered into her ear.
She nodded as she played with the hairs on the back of his neck. They did need to get married soon; the separation had about killed her. All she could think of was him and count down the days until she could hold him again and love him the way he deserved.
She snuggled close to him in the limo that would take her to his family’s home. It was her first time in New York City, but she didn’t want to look at the tall buildings that encompassed each side of them, the people walking down the streets or the attractions on the sidewalks. She only wanted to look at him, and allow herself to be completely mesmerized by his beautiful blue eyes. She wrapped her arms around him just as her phone began to vibrate. It was probably her father, checking up on her. She would call him later.
Moments later, Keith’s phone vibrated. Katie kissed him on the lips, letting the intense emotions only he could produce rise in her as he reached for it. He looked over her head as he answered it. He laughed, moving his face from her lips. “Yeah, she made it in one piece and I have my eyes locked on her.”
He said goodbye to her father and hung up. “Missed me, huh?” He laughed and pulled her into his arms. Her mind swirled as his lips found hers. This was what she wanted, and nothing else, just this moment of peace in his arms.
The limo slowed to a stop. “We’re here,” he whispered - his lips brushing her ear.
Katie turned from Keith to the window. She rolled it down and stuck her head out. Her eyes opened wide. She was expecting a mansion, but she wasn’t expecting this: an Old English-style mansion, built with white stone, and brown shutters. Jane Austen would have lived in a house like this. The limo had pulled up around the curve of a driveway made of cobblestone.
