The Minister Ch. 01

"Sure Gran" Ivy lied. She had no intention of taking a cab.

"Ok, see you cupcake." Her Gran said and then hung up.

Ivy shivered against the cold and in that moment the young priest came out of the front doors of the church. He saw her immediately. He had left the ministers gown behind and was wearing a well-tailored suit through which strong biceps could be made out. He was holding a brown leather brief case with a coat slung over one end of it.

"What are you doing out here? It's freezing; you got something to put over that?" He asked, gesturing to Ivy's flimsy school blouse.

"Uh no, I'm not cold, I'll be fine. My place is only a 10 minute walk from here." She replied but a shiver gave her away.

"Which way?" He asked.

It was none of his business Ivy thought. "22nd street. Why?" She asked.

"Well, my place is near there, two blocks further to be exact. May I walk you? It is only my duty as a priest. Can't have young girls roaming the streets alone at night." He said.

Though his words had been nice all evening and his intentions good (he was a priest after all) his tone had been cold and distant. She did not particularly want to be walked home by him but she didn't want to be rude either.

"Um, I think I am ok thanks." She said. She shivered again.

"Well, I will call a cab for you then. You can't walk alone in the cold and the dark." He said.

"What? No, no, don't do that! If you have to, you can walk me." She said, trying not to look at him.

"You look freezing, here." He picked up his coat and handed it to her.

She looked at him a moment then thought, what the hell. She put it on, grateful for the warmth, and then started walking. He walked along beside her. A respectable distance away. They walked in silence for a while. She felt weird with him. She didn't know him. She knew all about stranger danger. But he was a priest after all. Though a devilishly good looking one. The silence continued.

Derek didn't know what came over him. He didn't know why he insisted on walking this beautiful school girl home. He didn't know why he had given her his coat or offered to get her a cab. He had planned on none of it. He had wanted none of it. He was a Minister. He needed to be able resist temptation; and this girl? As far as temptation goes, she was the devil. Walking a young girl home was kind and innocent, as far as most Ministers were concerned. But this girl; she was different. She wasn't just a girl, she was a woman. A jaw-dropping, breath-takingly beautiful woman.

He forced himself to stop thinking about her and tried his best not to look at her ass as she walked. He tried to distract himself.

"So, you go to Eastwood Private School?" he asked, looking at her uniform. Which he couldn't help but notice was too small for her.

"Yep, every day." She said bluntly.

"What classes do you take?" Derek asked, trying to make conversation. She seemed to lighten at that.

"I am majoring History, and doing Maths, Biology, Chemistry, Art and Outdoor Ed." She said, lighting her tone.

"You are a history major? Well, I am quite the history buff myself, you know. Did you know that the St. Pauls Catholic Church was built in 1923? And was the 16th church built in Chicago at the time. They were going to put it right where Sloppy Joe's on 7th is today but there was an environmental issue and the land there ended up being conserved for the next 50 years." He rambled.

"Cool." She said, as though she couldn't care less.

She wasn't the friendliest he thought. Conversation would have to happen though, so that he could maintain an easy, friendly distance and avoid looking at her ass or breasts.

The Minister kept rambling and trying to start conversations. Ivy wasn't interested. She just wanted to get home and curl up on the couch in front of her beloved television.

"So you do any hiking in Outdoor Ed?" He asked.

How did he manage to sound happy and interested but yet cold and distant all at the same time?

"Yes actually. We went to Japan for two weeks last year. A small group of us and hiked through-out the country. It was amazing." She said.

"Japan? That's pretty cool. Japan is great. I've been there before." He said.

"Hiking?" She asked, slowing a bit to walk next to him, now more interested in the conversation.

"Among other things, yes." He said.

"It's great isn't it? What were you doing there anyway? I wouldn't have thought being a minister allows much travel." She speculated.

"Believe it or not I had a life before this." He said dryly.

She laughed. "You are like the youngest minister ever and you are telling me it's not even the first thing you've done."

"I have done many, many things before this life. Many things that I regret which have led me to this path." He sounded distant, as if recalling a memory.

"Soo, you're older than you look huh?" She questioned.

"I am 35 to be exact." He said coldly.

"Damn, you look pretty good!" She said it before she realised she had.

He looked across at her, eye brow slightly raised. He looked her up and down slowly and then said "I'll take that as a compliment."

From there the conversation flowed easily, talking about weather, politics and random historical facts. Ivy was surprised by how worldly and open-minded this Minister was. It seemed as if he was well travelled and very intelligent. He knew a lot about everything, when they walked past an old building he would tell her everything about it, from the date it was built to the tiles on the floor. A short walk soon turned into a long walk and it was only when they finally reached her apartment Ivy realised how slowly they had been walking. She looked at her phone again. It was just after 6.00pm.

Ivy stopped in front of her building.

"Well, this is me." She said.

"Oh." He was cold but seemed almost disappointed. "Ok, well see you then. I hope to see you at Church again" He said.

She nodded and turned to walk in the door.

"Wait." He said just before she went inside. She turned around slowly. He looked her up and down again. Slowly.

"Do you have a name?" He asked.

"Of course" She smiled, and then she turned on her heels and disappeared into the building.

She took the next elevator up to the 16th floor and was soon in her grey and black apartment number 314.

Derek felt confused. He had not meant to call out to her. He was going to turn and leave but he felt a sudden impulse to call out. He was disappointed that she had not given him a name but at the same time he was glad. A name may have been too much temptation; especially after talking to this girl. He had thought that talking would make it better, get his mind off her perfect body. But it only made it worse. It had made him realise that there was so much more to this girl than just her stunning beauty. He forced her out of his mind, dropped his head against the cold wind and walked home.