4. Celine
Celine
“What are you doing here?” I ask him, my eyes wander down to his priestly attire.
“Grabbing a coffee.” He gestures kindly for me to move forward in the line.
When I turn to look, the person in front of me is finished and steps out of the way. Approaching the counter, I place my order with the woman. “Can I get an iced latte with strawberry cold foam?”
“Sure can! Are you two together?” The barista asks, her eyes flicking to the man behind me.
“Oh, no—” I begin to say, but Father Alexander cuts me off.
“I’ll take a black coffee, please.” He takes out his wallet and pays for both of our drinks.
“You didn’t have to do that,” I say, shoving my wallet back in my purse.
He shrugs nonchalantly. “It’s not a problem.”
We step aside, and once we are out of the way, I say, “It’s weird running into you here.”
“A coffee shop?” He chuckles, and the sound of his laugh warms my body. “Why is that weird?”
“I don’t know,” I shrug, turning to face the pickup counter. “I figured you weren’t allowed to leave the convent.”
“Why would you think that, Celine?”
“The one nun told me that women basically live there. I just assumed that the nuns and priests also live there.”
“We do,” He responds as our drinks are being set out, “but it doesn’t mean that I can’t leave to grab a coffee.”
He hands me my drink, and I nod in understanding. “I guess that makes sense.”
“I need to get back, though. Father Keaton is expecting me in his office in about fifteen minutes.” He walks me toward the exit, and when we are outside, I head for my car, but his voice stops me just before I get there.
“Will you be at the Prayer on Sunday? Father Keaton is letting me speak a bit.”
A tight smile forms on my face as I turn to face him, and I dip my head. “Yeah. I’ll be there. Can’t wait to hear you… speak.”
My cheeks flush with embarrassment because why am I so awkward? But it makes him laugh. “Have a good day, Celine. I’ll see you Sunday.”
I wave as he leaves and blow out a long breath when he disappears from my sight. Looks like I’m not only letting my parents down, but also Father Alexander.
Why must my life be so damn chaotic?
I take a sip of my coffee, humming with satisfaction as the caffeine enters my system and begins to ease the exhaustion I was feeling. When I get back in my car, I check the time. It’s only fifteen minutes past ten. What the hell am I supposed to do for the rest of the day?
Deciding to head home, I unpack my work things once inside and grab the tub of ice cream out of my freezer. Spoon in hand, I plop down on the couch and turn on a movie. Guess I’ll shove my face full of sweets and coffee until Amelia and Vince come over.
A few hours have passed since I became a hermit on my couch. I ate all of the ice cream while rotting the day away, and now my stomach hates me. But I’m hoping the wine will take my mind off the nausea I’m feeling from the sugar overload.
Amelia and Vince arrived an hour ago, each bringing two bottles of wine. We’re on our third glass… wait… maybe it’s our fourth. I don’t even know at this point. We’ve been drinking since they got here, and they’ve been distracting me with the events of their day.
Unfortunately, we can’t go all night without discussing what happened to me today.
“Did she give you a reason?” Amelia asks.
“She said that she was tired of my attitude and my tardiness.” I roll my eyes, bringing the glass to my lips to take a generous sip.
“Tardiness?!” Vince stares at me in disbelief. “I swear, I’ll go up to the office and rip her a new one.”
“It’s not worth it.” I place the wine glass on the counter and grab the bottle to refill it. “Besides, the author we met with today, who we were supposed to sign a five-book deal with and didn’t, said she would put in a good word for me at the publishing company she ended up working with.”
“That’s amazing! Have you heard anything from her?” Amelia asks.
“Nope. I’m not expecting to hear anything today. Maybe by the end of the week.”
“Don’t stress about it,” Vince says, laying a hand on my shoulder and giving it a gentle squeeze, “they’d be dumb not to hire you.”
“Thanks, Vince.” I pat his hand before taking another sip of wine. While the liquid is in my mouth, I hum as I remember who I ran into today. “I saw the priest at the coffee shop!”
Vince gasps dramatically. “Really?”
I nod. “He paid for my coffee.”
“That is so sweet!” Vince claps excitedly. “Did you get his number?”
“No, Vince, I did not get the priest’s number,” I tell him the awful news that I did not flirt with Father Alexander. “That would be the sin of all sins to my parents if I got with a priest.”
“I don’t think you’d even be able to.” Amelia chimes in. Vince and I look at her in shock, and she realizes what she just said. “That is not what I meant! Don’t they like, not have sex?”
“Ahhh, you are so right!” Vince nods in agreement. “Not having sex would suck. Besides, I don’t think he’d be able to handle you, Celine. We all know how you like to be in the bedroom.”
“True! You’d probably scare him away with your dominance.” Amelia agrees with a giggle and then sighs. “I couldn’t imagine going my whole life without having sex.”
“Amelia, I’m sure he has had sex before becoming a priest,” I say, not sure if I’m right or not, but now I’m imagining him having sex. Heat flutters in my stomach, but I wash away the sudden sensation with a sip of wine.
“Maybe,” She shrugs. “What does he look like?”
“I am not getting into this with you guys.”
“Fine,” she pulls out her phone and removes herself from the conversation. Or so I thought. “Found him!”
“What?” I ask in disbelief.
“He is listed on the church’s website.” She smirks.
“How did you know the name of the church?” I question.
“Uhm, you told us?” She reminds me. “You said he was attractive, but I think the word hot would suffice.”
“Let me see!” Vince rushes over to Amelia, ripping the phone out of her hand. “Oh my god, Celine! He is so sexy!”
“You do know you both are talking about a priest.”
“The sins I would commit for that man.” Vince bites his lip, completely ignoring me.
“Alright, alright. That’s enough with the priest talk.” I snatch Amelia’s phone away and close out of the website. “Should we finish this wine on the rooftop?”
Vince’s eyes go wide, shining with excitement. He grabs the open bottle and hurries to the door. Amelia and I laugh as we grab our glasses, along with an unopened bottle, and follow him.
I don’t care how much I drink tonight. Why would I? It’s not like I have to be up for my job. I’m going to drown my sorrows like I never have before.