The Shop Girl and the Priest

Gemma blushed and giggled.

"Oh, I see what you mean, Jai." She chuckled, taking his hand for a shake. "He IS charming. Anyway, you two kids get back to what you were doing, Will here..." she pointed to her boyfriend who waved back, "was just telling me about his week-long trip he's going to have to take, away from ME!" she snapped with the usual Gemma drama.

"G'night, Hun," I said to her with rolled eyes at her usual response to things that didn't suit her.

"Night, Hun!" she said back to me and winked, nodding towards my still closed flat door.

Inside, all was warmth and I slipped off my jacket. He did the same, leaving him in a dark grey shirt with matching tie. He smelled divine and I really wanted to get back to what we'd been doing before on our walk back. I indicated the small sofa for him to sit on.

I reached across for my coffee machine, and of course, it was still in the box, still taped shut and far too much of a bother.

"The Earl Grey will be just fine, Jai," he said. "We can save the coffee for another day."

I smiled at that, filled my small kettle dropping two tea bags into two mugs, it clicked quite soon and I poured, added milk, stalking across to him in my killer heels.

I handed him a mug and sat down next to him,

"I've got to take my shoes off, Russ, they're killing me."

"They were well worth the effort, Jai. As I've already said, you look amazing."

"Thank you." I blushed. Okay, I know some of my friends had been telling me that for some time but coming from a gorgeous bloke it was so much better "You're not looking so bad yourself, Russ." I leant towards him for another kiss and we were back at it. Thinking about how Gemma had been, I turned slightly and moved to sit on his lap, his contented growl letting me know he really didn't have a problem with it.

We were arms around each other and the kissing was just as amazing as the first one had been. I felt my chin starting to redden from his faint stubble and we broke for a moment, taking the opportunity to sip from our tea mugs.

His arm stayed around me, and I felt so comfortable with him.

"So when can we do this again?" he said pulling me tighter to him, "I'm working tomorrow night, and I know you're out."

"I'm working until a six 'til ten on Saturday night—you?"

"All night," he said. "My shift starts at nine when we set the place up for the night shelter."

"How about lunch on Saturday?"

"Perfect." He smiled and told me of his favourite lunch place.

I kissed him again,

"I'll be there at eleven-thirty," I said.

"So will I." We entangled tongues for another ten minutes until he confessed he needed to be away as he had to have a meeting with his boss just before eight.

"What?" I hissed guiltily as I looked at my watch. "But it's gone midnight now!"

I stood, pulled him up and dashed to his coat, holding it up for his arms.

"I've had such a great time, Jai, thank you."

"Oh no," I said, sliding my arms around his neck for one last kiss, "Thank you!"

I felt his hand on the bare small of my back, inches away from my bottom.

Oh yeah!

We broke for air and he pulled away from me towards the door.

"Until Saturday lunchtime, beautiful Jaime."

I went to bed with a red chin, but my head buzzing with what a great time I'd had and the possibilities.

I could have invited him to sleep over, but I didn't want to come across as that kind of girl, besides, he'd still have to go back to his place for his white collar, cross, wine, bread, rosary and bible. No, when he stayed the night, it was going to be special, and it would be ALL night.

Although it was now twenty to one, I texted Cheryl with a brief update on the night and how lovely my vicar was. Her response was all smiley faces and 'I told you it would be nice, didn't I?'

I took off Gemma's fabulous dress and hung it, stripped out of my posh bra and pantyhose and climbed under my duvet with a happy heart. I felt warm and cosy with just enough longing, knowing that there was something special going on,

We met the next Saturday lunchtime and he was already sat in the coffee shop with a large latte that he was halfway down already.

"JAME!"

"Your Eminence!"

People in the coffee shop looked around at our shouted welcomes, Russ was in 'plain clothes,' wearing his usual black 501s but this time wearing a maroon Fred Perry that was tight over his fine chest and slim waist.

I wasn't doing so bad myself, wearing the tight blue jeans I'd been nagged into by Cheryl and was now such a fan of. When I took off my Barbour, it was to show a dark blue hoodie with the zip down over a white and black stripey cropped top that showed just enough of my cleavage to make it interesting, and Russ was very interested.

He stood up, beaming a big grin at me, and stepped across to pull me into a hug and lay the first of many kisses we were to share that day.

"Coffee, or an Earl Grey?" he said, stepping across to the counter.

"Tea please," I said, and hung my jacket on the back of my chair next to his and sat down.

The tea was lovely and fresh, and so was Russ. I leaned forward to pour my tea, and Russ took the opportunity to slip his arm around me and slide up close to kiss me again.

Okay, we hadn't actually met since Thursday, but he'd messaged me the morning after our first date, thanking me for a wonderful time and mentioning how much he was looking forward to our second. I was still buzzing from the night before, and him actually dubbing them both as 'dates' made me all girly and giggly again.

I replied, thanking him for dinner and offering to pay for our lunch on Saturday, and we made some small talk until I had to go for lectures.

"So, Jai," he said, handing me the three-page folded menu. "I've a fair idea what you'll choose."

"Really?" I said, leaning back against his arm. "After one date?"

"Yeah," he said.

"Oooooohkaaaay," I said, taking a look at it and casting an eye around the room at what other people were eating. There were some pretty spectacular salads going on, baked potatoes, paninis, open and closed sandwiches and cakes.

This was going to be my main meal of the day, so needed to be a bit more substantial. I flicked through some more, but eventually I figured I should just stop kidding myself and order a Full English.

"A full English please," I said to the pretty waitress stood next to our table,"

"Told yah," said Russ to the waitress and she spun her book to show FEB x 2, with 'WT' next to it. "And white toast rather than brown?"

"Okay, smartarse," I said picking up my tea, but not moving out of his rather lovely embrace.

"What gave me away?" I said, sipping at my excellent tea.

"You had steak at the Parsonage," he said, giving me just the tiniest squeeze. "You just seem so... straight up and practical. I know you're quite capable of eating a camembert, rocket and caramelised onion bagel, but you just strike me as a girl who couldn't be wasting her time on something so... superficial."

I smiled back at him and leaned in for a very delicate kiss.

"You got me," I said, kissing him again and pushing my tongue against his.

Hmmmmm...

He was quite right, of course. At home, breakfast was toast and/or cereal, with FEB's only at hotels or guest houses. I'd really gotten the bug for them since moving in with Cheryl.

We would go out for family shopping days, she had introduced me to the concept on a Saturday morning with the girls and we met her parents who dragged us into their favourite café.

I looked on at the huge plates of fried breakfast food going on, and the smell was just amazing. We tucked in and worked our way through the huge meal. The waitress even brought over small jars of marmalade, something that Cheryl's dad had always insisted on. It was yummy.

We had more tea and just sat idly chatting and making big eyes at each other. After lunch, he took my hand and we found ourselves walking along the Oxford canal hand in hand, chatting sweet nothings, it was lovely and without question the most romantic thing I'd ever done.

We walked back to his car, which was parked in his spot at the church car park,

"Come back to my place for tea," he said sweetly.

"I have to be at work at six," I said, just as sweetly.

"I'll drive you there."

It was back to his rooms, which from the outside looked surprisingly like the ones that I lived in. It turned out to be the church vicarage, a family home, and he was living in 'the flat'. Through a tall arched doorway, we stepped though into a classic English country garden, albeit one that was in sleepy green and brown January mode.

We walked though, and there was a voice.

"Hiya, Wuss!"

I looked around and there was tiny boy in overlarge wellies and a green waxed coat much like the one I was wearing.

"Jakie," he growled walking over to him and swinging him up in his arms.

"Oh, hi, Russ, I didn't expect you back this early." There was a very pretty lady walking across the garden towards us, "Oh, hi," she said brightly, seeing me. "You must be Jaime. Russ has told us so much about you."

Really? So much? This was only the third time we'd met, but hey...

"Jai, this is my lovely landlady, Ronnie. Ronnie, the lovely Jaime," he said.

She took my hand.

"Oh, Darling," she said in the same bright tones. "Your hands are FREEZING! Come into the kitchen and warm up."

With an arm around my shoulder, I was escorted into the huge kitchen decorated with drying laundry on airers, warmed by the huge green range mounted into the side wall.

"Tea, Darlings?" she said as I sat at the kitchen table.

"That would be lovely, thank you," I said.

"Jai is another Earl Grey fan, Ron," Russ said.

"Oh, thank heavens," she said with narrowed eyes. "One more of us, one less of them." She moved a large kettle onto a ring. "Cut some bread there, Russ," she said, nodding at the bread board and a large loaf.

"JAMMIE TOAST!" shouted Jake, as Russ lowered him to the floor.

"Ronnie's very own strawberry jam, Jai." He walked across and cut thick wedges of bread, sticking each on one of two toasting forks.

"Pull your chair up, Darling," she said to me and I did, coming within the heat of the range. Taking a cloth, she opened up a door and the glowing embers within were evident. Young Jake decided to come and show me what to do.

He stepped in front of me and reversed back into my arms, taking the fork Russ had handed over, I slipped my arms around him and gave him a sneaky cuddle, which he didn't object to, but did stick his arm out holding the fork.

"Careful now, Jacob," Ronnie said.

"I'm showin' Jay what to do," he said with a hint of 'boy on a mission,' and he was delightful.

He would hold the white bread closer to the opened range, occasionally pulling it back to hold it up to Russ, who would shake his head and nod back towards the heat.

Soon it was evidently the right colour.

"Turn it around and do the other side, Jay," so I did.

Within another few minutes the inch thick slice was toasted beautifully and was handed up to Russ who took it, replacing it with another slice for the same treatment. All this time Ronnie had made and poured the tea while Russ had been busy spreading the jam, and we were sat around in this lovely kitchen enjoying an amazing snack. Halfway through the toasting session, another vicar appeared, evidently Ronnie's husband and Jake's dad, introduced to me as Father Chris.

"So you're studying ancient history, Darling?" Ronnie asked.

I wiped crumbs from my cheek,

"Yes, Ronnie," I said, "It's an Asterix thing."

"Excellent, what better reason!" said Chris.

I'd had very little to do with clergy other than the pastors at Mum's church. They'd all been very strange and tried waaaay too hard to be nice and to say what they thought us 'young people,' or worse, us 'youngsters' wanted to hear. It was the sort of thing I was used to seeing on American sit-coms, and one of the reasons I stopped going.

Russ and Father Chris were much cooler than the pastors, and certainly didn't try to include God in every sentence like the Baptists did.

The warmth and conviviality of that kitchen was wonderful, and after I tapped my watch to let Russ know I had to go, I was invited back for Sunday lunch the next day.

"You're not a veggie or anything are you, Darling?" Ronnie said, and she grinned when I shook my head. "Marvellous, I do like dealing with carnivores, so much easier!"

I thanked her for the tea and toast and was presented with a jar of the home-made jam I'd so enjoyed. Russ drove me back to Oriel so I could get changed and go to work. As we drove, a light rain started that got heavier as we got closer.

"I'll wait and drop you off, Jai," he said, swinging into an empty space outside my door.

"Thanks, mate," I said, unclipping my seat belt and leaning across to kiss him. He responded and made to put a hand to my waist, but it laid on my left boob!

I flinched and he flinched, but I smiled and added a purr, kissing him again and using my arm to pin his hand back where it had been.

"Hmmmm," I said, moving just a bit closer. "That's nice."

"And accidental," he said, "but very nice for all that." He applied the most gentle pressure, stroking along and down, and I felt my nipple erect into his palm, although there was an amount of cloth between his flesh and mine.

I pulled him closer and we smooched the crap out of each other until my phone bleeped, telling me it was time for me to prepare for work.

I pulled away from him, nodding towards the front door. We dashed through the rain to the door, I fumbled my key into the lock and we tumbled in, running up the stairs. Into the room. I headed to my wardrobe and my work gear already ironed and hung there. I scuffed off my elastic sided boots and without even thinking skinned down my jeans to show... well to show my boyfriend I suppose, my rather curvy bottom barely concealed with the dark blue string panties I was wearing.

I sat on my bed, not because I was hiding anything, but so I could pull my tight jeans over my feet. As I did so, I saw that while Russ wasn't being obvious about watching the show, he was also at my small sink and filling my kettle and dropping tea bags into two mugs.

"Oh, bless you, Russ," I said, standing to grab my work trousers and to pull them on.

"Bless me?" he said with narrowed eyes. "Not a change of heart there, Jame?"

"An expression, your holiness," I said with a grin. "Just an expression, BUT, thanks for the tea." I pulled my T-shirt over my head to expose the bra that matched my blue panties. Again, I really never panicked about it—I'd never worn a bikini outside of a holiday swimming pool and it was much more material with much less flesh to cover, but hey, if Russ and I had been in the pool or on a beach I wouldn't have thought twice about this.

Particularly as he had his hand, however accidentally, on my tit just before.

As he made the tea, I pulled my blouse on and over my bra and buttoned from the bottom up, slowly so he could fully appreciate the view—but tried to make it look like I wasn't.

I pulled on the branded fleece and then hung my ID badge around my neck, just as Russ stepped across the room with a mug of tea.

"I've put a splash of cold water in," he said, handing it over.

I looked up at him and just beamed at this gorgeous bloke.

"Thank you," I said, taking the mug and taking a sip; it was just right, "It's perfect."

He leaned forward and kissed me,

"And so are you, Jai," he whispered, slipping his arms around my waist.

"Awww, Ruuuuss," I said, putting my cup down to kiss him back and wrapping my arms around his neck. We smooched for a while longer until I absolutely had to leave. I drank my tea, he finished his, and he followed me downstairs and through the driving rain. I sat back in the warmth of his car and he dropped me right outside of the staff entrance of my store, shouting that he would call me the next day. I was probably the only dry person coming on shift that evening, but I was just so entranced by my day with this amazing guy I hardly noticed.

I finished my shift at ten, and we closed the shop front down, leaving the merchandisers to fill shelves for the next morning. The weather had cleared up and the starry-night and the last of the waning moon just increased my romantic feeling. Knowing just where the focus of all that romance would be at this time of night had me walking slightly out of my way to the church with the night shelter where he would be working.

I didn't really know how I was going to act, seeing as he was 'at work.' At my work it was easy, the world came to my counter and asked me sensible questions—generally. Sometimes they were totally stupid, sometimes they were mostly stupid, but generally they were sensible and didn't have me counting down from ten and growling.

That night had been different, though. No one could piss me off that night, and I ambled through the car park to the back door with three bags of just-about-to-expire bread and eight packs of unsold donuts that were still good. Through the low window, I saw that teas and coffees were being prepared, and I knocked on the kitchen door.

An unknown female helper came to the door, and seeing my uniform fleece opened the door with a smile, looking at the bags I was carrying.

"Is Father Russell here, please?" I asked.

"Err... can ask who's... can I take your name please?"

"Yes," I said, "Tell him it's Miss Connor from the superstore." I lifted up the branded shopping bags full of free food.

"He's rather busy," she said.

"I can wait," I said.

"Can you go around to the front of the church hall, this area is for staff only," she said with a tone in her voice.

Another smartarse who can't be doing with a 'shopgirl.' Chances are she was an Oxford student, as well, wouldn't be impressed that I was, and just wanted to reach out for the bags of donations I was carrying.

Bitch.

"Okay," I said. "Can you tell him that Jaime Connor was here and get him to phone me." I handed the three bags across.

"Does he have your number?"

"Of course, I wouldn't ask you get him to ring me otherwise would I." I used my best 'grown-up talking to a kid' voice.

"It may not be until tomorrow," she said. She really was being all 'Doctors receptionist' on his behalf.

"No problem," I said, "I'll catch up with him later."

"Is there anyone else that can help you?" she said with hint of compassion in her voice, very much the same that I used with my 'annoy the customer—customer services' reply.

"No, it's fine."

I almost threw in that I was his girlfriend, but to be honest, I didn't know that I was.

I'd known him just over a week and we'd had two dates in the last three days, we'd kissed and cuddled quite extensively and while he'd seen me getting changed, we hadn't done anything else. We hadn't made another date, even though he had told me he would call me, so I turned and walked away, heading back to my rooms at Oriel.

After a few moments I heard the same running feet on stone that I'd heard on New Years Eve, and I turned.

There he was!

"Jai," he said quietly but with a real lift to his voice.

"Russ," I said back, "Your minder was doing a fine job in keeping me away."

"Oh, that was our Dinah," he said. "She's an undergrad statistician, honey," he said slipping his arms around me, "Black or white, right or wrong, zero or one—no such thing as a grey area with Dinah. You weren't part of the team, you weren't homeless so you weren't coming in." He brushed my just-damp hair back from my face. "But it's lovely to see you, nonetheless. Fancy an Earl Grey?"

"Will Dinah throw me out?"

"Nah," he said with confidence. "Once you walk in with me you'll be part of the gang."