Sex In The Sanctuary. Lutishia Lovely

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СКАЧАТЬ and juice bar. The center was relatively quiet but still busy for a weekday, with a group of twenty or so women milling about, waiting for some type of aerobics class to begin, and others spread out on the various fitness equipment. A way-too-cheery employee with a perfect smile, size four body and flawless face literally sang out her greeting as Tai approached the counter.

      “Welcome to the Full Workout Fitness Center. My name is Daphne. How may we help you become the best body you can be?”

      Tai suppressed a wide range of sarcastic responses to say politely, “I’m interested in starting an exercise program to lose weight.”

      “Well, you’ve come to the right place!” Daphne continued in her singsong voice that in another time and place may have been nice but was presently grating Tai’s next-to-last nerve. “We’ve got a variety of programs available to fit just about any need one wanting to become physically fit could have. In addition, we have a nutritionist and full-time psychologist on staff to balance your exercise program with healthy eating habits and a positive mental focus.”

      Tai stifled a laugh as she remembered who this woman reminded her of, one of the robotic Stepford wives.

      “What I’d like to do,” the robot named Daphne continued, “is give you a tour of the facility, explain our programs to you and when we’re finished, have you answer a questionnaire that will help us place you in a regimen that will best suit your needs and goals.” Daphne-robot bounced from behind the counter, grabbed a clipboard, then turned and with a dazzling smile back at Tai said, “Right this way, please.” Another employee behind the counter nodded encouragement as Tai turned to begin the tour.

      An hour, a smoothie and a manicure/pedicure later, Tai left the land of physical fitness behind, actually feeling better having joined. She’d decided on a beginner’s program since it had been a while since she’d exercised, and also with Mama Max in mind, that included water aerobics and calenetics, a series of stretching and toning exercises. She also scheduled a session with the nutritionist but passed on the psychologist. She was going to work on some of the machinery for abdomen toning and, if she really got into it, hire a personal trainer. Thank you, Mama Max, Tai thought as she returned to her car, turned on the radio and bobbed her naturally auburn curls to the sounds of 91.5, the Oldies Station. Tai felt a little better, but even as she sang “I Can See Clearly Now” with Johnny Nash, that sixth sense feeling in her stomach would not go away.

      Good, good

      King sat at the head of the table in the church’s tastefully furnished conference room. A committee of Mount Zion Progressive members joined him. Associate ministers, deacons, his personal secretary and others waited to give their progress reports on the upcoming conference.

      “As you know,” King began after a lengthy “Baptisized” prayer by Deacon Nash, “this year’s leadership conference will be the largest and I believe best one so far. The speakers are dynamic, the workshops specific and explicit, and it seems that most of the details are in place. If anyone disagrees, now’s the time to voice what needs to be done. I don’t want any surprises at the last minute. Is everybody with me?” Everyone nodded or said yes. “Charles, let’s start with you. How are things looking with respect to our speakers and other guests?”

      Charles was the church’s director of business affairs; organized, detailed and concise. His report reflected these attributes. “As you all know,” he said, directing his gaze at King, “we’ve had a few challenges. But as of today, almost all of the leaders we’ve invited have been confirmed. We’re still waiting on final word from a few session speakers and from Dr. Myles Monroe out of the Bahamas. And we’ve not finalized the contract for Dr. Hayden’s Economic Empowerment course. That is proving to be one of the more popular sessions.” He checked his notes quickly and concluded, “Everything’s falling into place.”

      “Good, good,” King intoned, pleased as always with Charles’s work. Quick and to the point, that was what King liked about him. Deacon Nash could learn a thing or two from him, especially where “quick” and the deacon’s long prayers were concerned.

      “Remind me to put in a call to Myles when we get back to the office,” King directed Joseph, his assistant, before turning to his secretary. “Denise, let’s have a rundown of the conference schedule to date.”

      Denise Williams, who had been taking notes, opened her folder and shuffled a few papers before beginning to read. She was an attractive woman in an understated way.

      “Okay,” she began, sitting up straighter and taking a deep breath. “The preconference begins Tuesday night with a dinner for the guest pastors and their wives, special guests and others on the list to be provided by Pastor King. Registration begins Wednesday morning at 10:00 A.M. in the church lobby. Over five hundred people have preregistered already, so we hope there’ll only be a few stragglers who don’t make the deadline. The first worship service is Wednesday night, and on Thursday morning, there are four sessions available: Follow the Leader, Strategies for Spiritual Success…”

      As Denise continued with her report on sessions and special guests, Youth Minister Mark found himself paying less attention to the words being said and more to the mouth the words were coming from. He’d always found Denise attractive, and he loved her quiet, sweet spirit, but here, seated at the conference table with only a few chairs between them, it was as if he was seeing her lips for the first time. They were full and thick, not so big as to be soup coolers, but in perfect proportion to her face, which was heart shaped and glowing. She wore an almost translucent lipstick, a whispery pink, or was it beige? Through the glimmer, Mark couldn’t tell for sure. He leaned forward, almost involuntarily, to inspect further.

      “Of course, Friday is Young Adult Night,” Denise continued, excitement in her delivery. She licked her lips unconsciously as she turned the page to continue.

      Pink, Mark decided, following her tongue as it traced the outline of her sumptuous mouth. And as if to confirm his decision, the color of her blouse grabbed his attention. His eyes traveled south of their own volition, and without meaning to, he visually caressed her neck, adorned with a thin gold chain that sported an equally thin cross that dipped down and hovered just above her breasts. Mark sat back and gazed at her eyes, large and inviting as they scanned back and forth over the notes she read. Her nose was lovely, and Mark noticed it turned up just slightly at the end. As if to say, “Kiss me, I’m cute.” Denise licked her lips again. Mark found himself wondering if she liked Mexican food, and if she was doing anything Friday night.

      “…so with the dance performance by the Angels of Hope, the steppers, Mixed Blessings, and Imani’s dramatic presentation, that as they say in show business, will be a wrap!”

      “Good, good,” King replied. He went around the room then, asking specific questions relative to each person’s responsibilities and assignments. Work regarding volunteers, security personnel, hospitality for out-of-town guests, and even the budget was under control. One of the assistant pastors was conducting a series of outreach endeavors for people who may not have considered church as a place they could receive instruction for practical living, in addition to food for their souls. Mark and a group of specially selected and trained teenagers and young adults were passing out flyers at the local schools and youth hangout spots. Deacon Nash had prayer covered, and Hope had designed an excellent and energetic schedule for Young Adult Night.

      “As you know, Pastor King,” Hope began, having given a more detailed outline of the extravaganza earlier in the meeting, “Righteous Rebel will be a huge draw for the young people because of his popularity and visibility when he was a secular hip-hop artist and because of his latest hit, ‘Holy Ghost High.’ With him performing, there will be tons of young people there, many of whom may have never stepped in to СКАЧАТЬ