Chapter 2 Dangerous Proximity

The door handle rattled again, louder this time.

I yanked my hand away from Eli’s like it had burned me. My heart tried to leap out of my chest as I took two quick steps back, nearly knocking over a stack of old hymnals.

Eli didn’t even flinch. He simply turned toward the door, calm as ever, and opened it like nothing had happened.

Beth stood there, holding a box of leftover candles, her eyes wide with surprise.

“Oh! Sorry, I didn’t know anyone was..." She stopped when she saw Eli. “Brother Elijah. Hi.”

“Hey, Beth,” he said smoothly, voice warm and polite like the perfect pastor’s son. “Just helping Abby find some supplies for the youth group. You need help with that box?”

Beth shook her head quickly, glancing between us. “No, I’m good. Abby, your mom’s looking for you. She said something about helping set up the refreshment table after the next session.”

I forced a smile. “Thanks. I’ll be right there.”

Beth gave me one last curious look before disappearing down the hall.

The second the door clicked shut again, the air in the tiny storage room felt ten times thicker.

Eli turned back to me. His eyes were darker now, more intense. “You’re really shaken up tonight.”

I swallowed hard. “You shouldn’t be in here with me. Not after… what they just did to Timothy.”

He stepped closer. Not enough to touch me, but close enough that I could smell him again — that clean, masculine scent mixed with something warmer. “You think what they did to Timothy was harsh?”

“Yes,” I whispered. My voice cracked a little. “He only kissed a girl. And they humiliated him in front of everyone. What would they do if they knew…”

I couldn’t finish the sentence.

If they knew I had been reading about sex just an hour ago.

If they knew how my body reacted when Eli touched my hand.

If they knew the thoughts I was having right now.

Eli studied me for a long moment. Then he reached out slowly and brushed a loose strand of hair behind my ear. His fingers lingered just a second too long on my cheek.

“You’re not like them, Abby,” he said quietly. “You feel things deeper. That’s not a sin. That’s being human.”

His words should have comforted me. Instead, they made heat pool low in my stomach again.

“I should go,” I muttered, but my feet didn’t move.

Eli didn’t step back. “You’re trembling again.”

“Because you’re standing too close,” I shot back, but there was no real anger in my voice. Just breathlessness.

A small, dangerous smile tugged at the corner of his mouth. “Am I?”

For a second, I thought he might kiss me. My gaze dropped to his lips without permission. They looked soft. The kind of lips that could ruin a girl completely.

But he only brushed his thumb across my bottom lip once — so lightly I almost thought I imagined it, before stepping back.

“Go help your mother,” he said, voice low. “Before someone else comes looking.”

I nodded quickly and slipped past him, my shoulder brushing his chest on the way out. The contact sent electricity down my spine.

The rest of the evening was torture.

I helped arrange cookies and punch on the refreshment table while smiling at aunties who kept telling me how “pure and radiant” I looked. Every time I glanced up, Eli was there — across the room, talking to some deacons, but his eyes kept finding mine. Each look felt like a secret touch.

Mom was glowing beside me. “See? I told you something special was happening tonight. Pastor Matt said the Lord is getting ready to do a new thing in this church.”

I just nodded, stomach twisting.

By the time we got home, it was almost ten. I took a long shower, trying to wash away the guilt and the lingering ache between my legs. But the second I lay in bed, my mind replayed everything.

Eli’s thumb on my lip.

The way he said my name.

How wet I got just from him standing close.

I squeezed my eyes shut and whispered another prayer.

'Forgive me, Lord. Cleanse my thoughts. Make me pure again.'

But even as I prayed, my hand slowly slid under the covers…