Small Town Sinners by Melissa Walker

Author:Melissa Walker
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Publisher: Bloomsbury USA
Published: 2011-06-13T16:00:00+00:00

In the morning I wake up feeling like a slut. I don’t even like thinking of that word, but it’s what I hear in my head when I think about what I’ve done. How could I have pressed Ty into kissing me? He obviously didn’t want to. He obviously felt sorry for me after I practically threw myself at him. Maybe he even thinks I’ve gone out there with him to Ulster Park—alone and on a sleeping bag for goodness’ sake—just so we could hook up.

The thought makes me sick to my stomach, and I wait until the last minute to get in the shower and get ready for church. When they ask me about me missing breakfast, I tell my parents that I’m tired from work, and I grab an apple to eat as the three of us head out the door.

When we walk into the sanctuary, I look down at the floor until we reach our row. I don’t want to catch Ty’s eyes, not after I shamed myself so wholly last night. I’m unable to concentrate on Pastor Frist’s sermon, and when I stare up at the stained-glass windows behind the pulpit, all I see are muted colors and messy imperfections in the glass.

We have a Hell House rehearsal today, and I’m thankful to see Ty and Miss Moss exit the building after the service. That means there’s less chance I’ll run into him this afternoon. I wonder if he’s avoiding me as much as I’m avoiding him.

As Mom and Dad get caught up in their Sunday greeting rituals, I pass Starla Joy’s row and nod. She follows me out the back doors and around the side of the church facing the woods.

“What happened?” she asks. “Lacey, you look awful.”

“I feel awful,” I say. And then I just come out with it: “Ty and I kissed last night.”

Starla Joy’s eyes open wide and she grabs my arm. “You did not!” she says.

“We did.”

“And are you happy?” she asks, dropping her grip.

“Well, I was,” I say. “But then he ran off and said, ‘We shouldn’t have done this’ or ‘This was wrong’ or something like that. He just left me there.”

“In Ulster Park?” asks Starla Joy.

“Yeah,” I say. “It was a total disaster. He didn’t even say hi to me today.”

“I saw you barrel past everyone with your head down when you walked into church,” says Starla Joy. “I don’t think you gave him much of a chance.”

“Still …,” I say. “He’s the one who kissed me and then ran away like I’d shot at him.”

Starla Joy sighs and looks at me seriously.

“Do you think he’s super conservative and thinks that kissing before marriage should be off limits?” she asks.

“That’s what I wondered!” I said. “Before the kiss, I mean.”

“And after?” Starla Joy asks.

I flash back to his warm lips on mine, the way our bodies folded toward each other as our mouths touched ever so gently.

“I don’t think so,” I say, starting to smile. “He was too into it.

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