Sex in the Sanctuary by Lutishia Lovely Read Free Book Online Page A

impeccably in designer suits, shoes and handbags. Her best shopping buddies were MasterCard and Visa. Millicent always had a number of admirers swooning around her. But she had eyes only for Cy.
    When she saw him exiting the church after service, she made a beeline in his direction. Unfortunately, she was trying so hard to act as though she wasn’t approaching Cy that when she casually looked behind her, she almost knockeddown another member. Even more, her heel caught on a cobblestone, and when she grabbed a post to steady herself, everything she’d been carrying—purse, briefcase and a box of flyers for an upcoming book sale—went flying. Cy had his back to her and missed the entire spectacle, except for the fluttering flyers. Mother Moseley, who didn’t miss much, had seen it all.
     
    “Lawd, I thought the child was gon’ fall and hurt herself or somebody else. She was trying to unhook her heel, grab the flyers and keep an eye on Cy all at the same time. She looked like a human pretzel!” Mother Moseley wiped her eyes, which were tearing up from her laughing so hard. “God’s got a wife for ya,” she continued as she grabbed another piece of chicken and put a scoop of potatoes on her plate. “You just wait and see.”
    Stacy, who’d been staring at Cy, now glanced at Darius and then at Mother Moseley, wondering if she had a word on Darius’s wife, and if her name was Stacy.
    Stacy had had a crush on Darius from the beginning. She remembered when he first came to the ministry, when it was still called Good Rest Baptist Church, the name before Dr. Montgomery left the National Baptist Association, renamed the church Kingdom Citizens’ Christian Center and aligned the ministry with the Total Truth Association. He’d joined the ministry as a keyboard player but also played saxophone and drums. He was married then—to a very possessive, diminutive woman. She sang in the choir, a powerful soprano, and led many of the songs. Darius quickly became an integral part of the music ministry, writing many of the choir’s songs and charts for the band members. He also traveled several times a month as part of Dr. Montgomery’s evangelism team.
    It was upon returning early from one of these trips that Darius came home and found a strange car in the driveway.That wasn’t unusual. Gwen was always inviting people over. But the car belonged to Bobby Perkins, Gwen’s former, and it would seem present, lover. Things looked normal enough as he opened the door, but Gwen’s greeting seconds later was a bit too hurried, a bit too forced. She seemed breathless, her make-up smudged, hair thrown back in a hasty ponytail. She couldn’t look him in the eye, and when a toilet flushed, and Bobby came out moments later heading straight for the front door with a quick “Hey Darius! Nice to see you again,” and “Gwen, thanks for letting me use your rest room,” he knew without a doubt the rumors that had been circling about his wife were true. She fought for the marriage valiantly, but in effect it ended when the toilet flushed. They divorced some months later. Darius had been cautious since then and had rarely dated. Rumors had him dating Vanessa, the praise team captain. But Stacy had always had a crush on Darius, and after her most recent relationship ended, she again hoped that Darius was “the one.” Of course, like everybody, she thought Cy was “all that and a bag of chips,” but when it came to the women who were vying for the title of Mrs. Cy Taylor, the line was way too long.
    Derrick watched Cy gracefully handle being the topic of conversation. As pastor of a mega-church, he knew firsthand what it was like to have one’s business, or what others assumed was one’s business, discussed openly. He thought of King and hoped his friend’s indiscretions didn’t become dinner chatter for Mount Zion Progressive. That was a conversation that clearly belonged between King and Tai Brook.
    After dinner, with company gone and