Page 18 of Mass Sins

“Hey, give me a second. I need to get out of Luca’s bedroom so she won’t wake up. She needs this nap,” Sin whispered. I could barely see her on the screen because of the darkened room she was in, but once she exited it, I was able to see her better as she headed to a different room. “Okay, here I am. What’s up?”

I smiled at my phone. “I didn’t mean to bother you. I’m just nervous and I needed to talk to you.

“Nervous about what?”

I saw her sit down on the couch, and from the background, I could tell she was at Archer’s penthouse. It must’ve been super cool to have two places to call home, with four men always ready to do anything for you and your daughter. Sin was so lucky.

“I have a date. Tonight. With Joska.” I pressed my lips into a tight line, hoping she wouldn’t be weirded out by what I said.

Though she initially frowned, she started to grin right after. “Uh-huh…so you’ve been talking to him?”

“Not really. I thought about texting him all week, but I never did. Then, last night I felt this weird…pull toward him. Well, toward the card he gave me. So I texted him, and the conversation led to him asking me out on a date. Tonight.”

Sin kept grinning, and she got more comfortable on the couch, ready to hear more details. “That’s fun! Excitement is good, Bennie. Where is he taking you?”

“He hasn’t told me yet. He just texted earlier this morning that he’ll pick me up at five. I don’t know what to wear.”

“How about a cute dress and boots? Joska’s a man. He’ll love anything on you,” she told me with a chuckle.

“So you’re saying he’s a simple man?”

“God, no. Not in certain ways. But none you’d have to worry about. I just think he’ll find you amazing in whatever you choose to wear. And you do look good in anything.”

“Thank you, Sin. I’m just not sure if I should take this too seriously. You know, the first time I met him, I talked so much about myself that he didn’t even get the chance to talk about him, and I don’t think I want this to go down like that again. He is still a priest, after all. I don’t know how serious he thinks this date will be.”

Sin pursed her lips and thought about an answer for a while before saying, “I’m pretty sure Joska is very serious about this being a date. I’m going to be honest here with…Joska hasn’t really been much of a dater. Of course, that could certainly be because of his job, and the fact that he’s simply not allowed to date, but he doesn’t really follow rules.”

I figured as much.

I narrowed my eyes at her. “What are you still not telling me about him, Sin? Spit it out.”

She laughed softly. “I don’t know if you want to hear those things from me. Joska’s a good man when he wants to be and believe me when I say that he has never been as interested in a woman the way he is interested in you. It’s different for him, I can tell you that much.”

“How are you so sure about that?”

“Because since I’ve met him, he never went on dates. He did other things, but he never had a woman by his side. Tabor will tell you the same thing.” Sin moved the phone closer to her face and continued whispering, “He often complained about Joska never settling down. And their parents have been whining about it too.”

So, Joska didn’t date much, but there wereother thingshe did. “What are theseother thingsyou mentioned?”

Sin lowered the phone again, and she looked around to see if anyone—most likely Tabor—was around to hear her. It was a Sunday, and while sometimes her men worked even on Sundays, Sin was never alone with their baby.

“Joska is very…sexually active.”

“He’s a man whore!” I heard Tabor call out from somewhere in the background.

Sin rolled her eyes, turning her head in his direction. “I wouldn’t say man whore, but more like a…womanizer.”

I scrunched up my nose and watched as Tabor walked up behind Sin. He put his hands on the couch and leaned down until his face was on the screen. “You’re too good for a man like my brother, Bennie.”

Sin sighed. “I think she’ll be good for him.”

“Good to play with. My brother’s an asshole when it comes to women. Fucks them, leaves them, never calls again. If you’re hoping to restore your faith in God, my brother is not the man who can help you with that. Hell, he’s the worst priest on Earth.”

“Hey, that’s not true. You know he does his job well. It’s just that…when he’s not on the altar, he does everything a normal priest wouldn’t do. He’s a man when he doesn’t have his white collar on, and to be honest, I think that’s okay.”

“Yeah, because you and I aren’t religious and don’t care if a priest fucks around in his free time. Bennie here is a saint. She believes in God, or, hopes to keep believing. And now she talkedto Joska who is going to fuck her over. I just don’t want to see her heartbroken over my asshole brother. I have my damn manners and values, and I don’t want Bennie to think badly of me just because I’m related to that dickhead.”

Admittedly, Tabor’s words scared the shit out of me. They made me more nervous than I already was, and he made me question my decision to go out with Joska.

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