Pink & Patent Leather (5 page)

After a few minutes, I couldn
’t even sing anymore. I was so full of gratitude for all that The Lord had given to me and was about to pour into my life. A tear slipped through my closed eye and rolled down my cheek, but I kept on worshiping. I had blocked out the world, keeping my mind just on my praise and worship.

Until I felt a tap on my shoulder. I couldn
’t imagine who would be rude enough to interrupt my time with God.

I opened my eyes and looked right into the eyes of Malik
’s wife, wondering what in the world did she want with me?

She stared me down and finally hissed, “
Please move over.”

At first, I just stood there because I really couldn
’t figure out what she was talking about. And then, I got it. I’d forgotten that I was sitting in what she thought was her seat. It was hers, technically. But one thing I knew about God was that He wanted us to claim what we wanted and I was claiming this seat. She needed to get used to seeing me here. I was absolutely sure that she already knew what was going to happen. God wouldn’t have told me without telling her. She had to know that a change was coming and very soon, everything that had been hers would be mine. Well, not everything. I was going to have her man, her house, and this seat on the front pew, but her funny-looking clothes? She could keep all of those.

“
I said, move over,” she repeated as if that would mean anything to me. She waved her hand, gesturing for me to move to the left.

But just like the tree planted by the water in the Bible, I was not going to be moved. Wearing a graceful
smile, I leaned in just a little. I didn’t want to get too close and draw attention to her shameless Especially Yours outfit. I whispered, “I will not. I arrived on time for service, like you should have.”

“
Well, I’ve never…”

“
Well, you just did.” I turned back around in time to see Malik strutting into the pulpit, followed by Xavier, and two other ministers. It was only because I’d lost my focus that she was able to squeeze her fat ass beside me.

But right now, I didn
’t have time for his wife. I kept my eyes on Malik as he faced his seat on the altar, then, knelt down. When he bowed his head in prayer, my heart lurched, my nipples tingled, and my mouth watered. Just seeing him brought back the memory of last night when he’d kissed my cheek and sent a message to that spot between my legs. I watched him until he stood, and then, turned to face his people, and just seeing him standing there with all of that Godly power took my breath away.

That man was too fine for words. His rich, dark chocolate skin was so
smooth, I wanted to reach out and caress him from my seat. In all his glory, Malik stood six-feet, two inches, just a few inches taller than my daddy.

Today, he wore a black robe with gold piping straight down the center. The sleeves were puffed and gold
piping circled each one. He was wearing a gold linked bracelet and of course, his rock star smile.

Malik picked up his Bible and with his long, dark fingers, he flipped through the pages. I pretended the simple gold band on his left hand was platinum. Wi
th me, he would only wear the best. With her, I assumed it didn’t matter.

My eyes stayed on his fingers and I imagined where he would touch me first. Would it be my face, or maybe my hips? Would his fingers start at my neck and travel the length of my bod
y until he came in contact with the purest part of me––the special place I’d reserved just for him?

“
Mmmm.” The thought of how he would take me caused me to moan out loud. I hadn’t meant to do that, but really, I didn’t care.

“
Humph.”

I didn
’t care about that either. Malik’s soon-to-be-ex could make all the disgusting sounds she wanted.

“
Saints, turn with me in the Bible to John 3:16.”

As he read, I watched his lips move and the way his chest rose and fell when he spoke about Jesus the Chris
t. I could feel Malik’s love for God all the way in my seat. That was just one of the reasons why I already loved him. His love for God showed me how he would love me.

Then my daydream skidded to a halt.

“Good morning, Saints.”

I folded my arms as Xavier
stood at the pulpit. “This is the day the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad in it. God is good all the time.” Of course Grace Tabernacle responded with a big, “and all the time, God is good.” And then X went on, “Here at Grace we would like to extend to our visitors a warm and welcoming hello, so if you’re here for the first time, please stand.”

I twisted around just a bit so that I could see the thirty or so people who stood. As was the custom at our church, those sitting closest to the visitors gr
eeted them.

Xavier said, “
We want to thank you for visiting us today and if by chance you’re seeking a church home, our doors and our hearts are always open.”

The whole time he spoke to the congregation, X
’s eyes kept coming back to mine and each time, he wore his usual, what I called gangster smirk. Actually, he looked like he was about to burst out laughing—at me. I had no idea what he found so funny. Was it because I’d smacked him? Or did he find humor seeing me sitting next to Sister Stroman?

Whateve
r it was, I glared back at him, still upset that he’d called me a fool. Of course I’d expected him to be upset, but resorting to calling me names? That was so uncalled for and so unbecoming of the man of God that he was supposed to be.

As Xavier moved from
greeting the visitors to making the church announcements, my anger began to fade. The more I thought about just how hard this had to be for Xavier. It had to be hard for him to give me up, just like it was hard for me to give him up. He really did mean a lot to me and I was going to miss him...and his kisses.

X was skilled, although as good as he was, I was sure that Malik would be better. And my love for Malik would be more complete, since I
’d saved the most important part of myself for him.

“
Pink!”

I bl
inked, a little embarrassed that I’d allowed my thoughts to wander like that while I was sitting so close to the altar. I looked up; Malik and Xavier stood side by side at the podium and Malik’s arm was outstretched toward me.

Malik said, “
Pink, would you come forward?”

Since my mind had been on...other things, I wasn
’t quite sure what had happened. Why had Malik called my name? Why did he want me to come up to the altar?

I almost didn
’t feel worthy to approach the altar at this moment, but in obedience, I stood, placed my clutch on the pew behind me, and slowly made my way to the front. The entire time, my eyes were on Malik, and his were on me. When I got to the two steps that led to the raised altar, he came down to hold my hand and help me up.

The momen
t we touched, a warm, tingling sensation filled me completely. The skin-to-skin contact was so electrifying, that I had to pull away. But Malik wouldn’t let me go.  The current that had just surged through me, had gone through him, too. I knew it by the way his eyes widened with surprise, then he shook himself as if he were trying to get rid of the feeling. I almost did a cartwheel right there. Malik didn’t know what hit him.

My eyes were still locked on Malik
’s, but I could feel Xavier looking at me, too. Malik positioned me to his right and he stood between me and Xavier.

“
Church,” Malik started, “I’ve asked these two young people to join me here at the pulpit today because I want you all to know that I’ve chosen them to head our Singles’ Ministry.”

What?
He wanted me to do what with Xavier?

There was light, polite applause.

When the congregation became quiet again, Malik said, “Let me tell you about these two young people. Some of you may remember Sister Sasha, or should I say, Sister Pink.” He paused and then Malik’s eyes roamed from my head to my four-inch stilettos that still didn’t bring me close enough to his lips. “Yes, we call her Pink, for obvious reasons.”

That little remark earned him a little praise from the brothers; there were chuckles of appre
ciation from the men. But from the sisters? Well, you know the deal. 

He went on to say, “
While Sister Pink was away at school, she began her own ministry on the campus of Spelman College, and then, along with Minister Xavier,” he faced X before he turned back to me, “they began spreading the word of God through prayers sessions for the young folk at both of their schools.”

Murmurs of approval rang through the sanctuary and I shifted from one leg to the other. It felt funny standing up here with Malik in f
ront of the congregation. I mean, yes, I expected to be standing here next to him. I imagined that we would announce our relationship to everyone one Sunday morning after Malik began his divorce proceedings. I was ready for that, but I wasn’t ready for this—here with Malik
and
Xavier. And the three of us standing together as Malik announced that he wanted me to work with Xavier. This didn’t make sense. This wasn’t right.

“
I’m so proud of both of them,” Malik continued, “and that’s why I want them to take on this project together. Who better to replace Sister Sherita and Brother Charles!”

Amens and laughter rose through the congregation.

I frowned. What did everyone know that I didn’t?

“
Oh, Sister Pink,” Malik said to me, but he was still facing the congregation. “You probably don’t know this, but the Singles’ Ministry has been led by Sister Sherita and Brother Charles for the last four years. And they’ve done a wonderful job. So wonderful that the two of them married...and they’re right now, on their honeymoon in Jamaica.”

“
Amen!” someone shouted.

“
And who knows,” Malik said, looking from me to Xavier.

He didn
’t have to say anything else. I got the message.

Ugh! I was ready to kill myself. No wonder X had
been wearing that silly smirk when he greeted the visitors. Malik had probably told him about this before they entered the sanctuary. Well, if he thought for one minute that I would be heading any ministry with him, he was sadly mistaken. By the time I finished my plan with Malik, he would pull me away from Malik and the Singles’ Ministry so fast...he wouldn’t want me anywhere near Xavier. In fact, I wouldn’t be surprised if when we were finally together, Malik asked Xavier to leave the church. Maybe Xavier would move back to Atlanta. Surely, he could find a position in some church there.

So talking about grinning and bearing it, I just continued to stand there, smiling and upholding my princess stature. I was way too sharp to let this little situation rai
se my temperature. The only time I wanted to feel my temperature rising was in the bedroom with Malik.

“
So for all of you singles, I’ve decided to keep the ministry going straight through the summer under the leadership of these two amazing young singles. So put this on your calendar, in your phone, on your iPads, or in whatever gadget you have....”

Laughter and “
Amen!” shouts came from the parishioners.

Malik said, “
The first Singles’ meeting will be held on not this Saturday, but the following Saturday, June 15 at three o’clock. Amen?”

“
Amen,” the congregation agreed.

People were still clapping as I walked back to my seat. After I
’d taken just a few steps, I noticed my clutch on the floor. Seemed like Sister Stroman had needed the extra room to slide her wide hips into the space where I’d been sitting. 

It only took me a split second to decide that I was going to make her regret the moment when she
’d touched my belongings. She’d never do it again.

Slowly, I turned around, faced the altar and said, “
Thank you, Pastor, for giving me this opportunity.”

He nodded with a smile. “
You’re most welcome, Sister Pink.”

I knew his eyes were still on me when I turned my back to him, bent over, retrieved my purse, and then took my time standing upright once again.

Yep, I gave him and everyone else behind me a reason to blush.

When I looked back to the altar, Malik
’s eyes were almost glazed over, and I imagined him moaning, “Mmmm, mmmm, mmmm.” Of course, he didn’t do that. He was in church. He was a man of God and way too classy to do anything like that. But I could tell what was going on in his mind. He was doing everything that he could to keep his lust in check.

His reaction was pleasing enough, but then, when I scanned my surroundings, I wanted to lift my hands and
shout Hallelujah. Gone was Xavier’s grin. Gone was Sister Stroman’s smirk. Yes! The collateral damage was even better.

Taking my time, I sat and wiggled my butt until I was totally comfortable in the seat.

For the rest of the service, I smiled, though I couldn’t say the same for Xavier and Sister Stroman. The two of them wore matching frowns and I was sure at any moment one or both of them would growl. I wanted to burst out laughing. That’s what they got for messing with me.