Mars Meets Miss Priestly

She got out of her sleek black car--long, smooth legs first--and slammed the door with a surprising amount of force. She pushed open the massive oak front doors, seemingly without regard for her perfectly manicured nails, painted the same bright red as her lipstick. Her black heels clacked imposingly against the floor. She looked around at the church, lowering her sunglasses. On her they looked expensive and classy; in reality, she had picked them up at a tourist shop in town.

There wasn't much inside, to say the least. While the building looked old and impressive from the outside, the inside was rather barren; though there was more than a modest amount of candles, there was a single altar and only five or so scattered pews. An odor of mildew covered with Pine-Sol hung in the air.

She ran her finger over the wood of a pew for a few minutes before she noticed a boy sitting near the back of the church. She smiled and toyed with her honey-colored hair.

"Why, hello there," she said pleasantly. "I'm here to see the priest of this church--do you know where he is?"

The young man looked up from his prayer, sliding his rosary back around his neck. It was old, handcarved and adorned with cryptic looking symbols. He quickly tucked it back into his pristine white dress shirt.

"Father?" he asked, standing up. To his dissatisfaction, he found himself staring at the woman's attractive figure. He glanced away, towards the altar, to distract himself. "He's not here right now. Do you need help? I can help."

"Trust me, there's plenty you can help me with," she said, waggling her eyebrows. "But it'll have to wait, I'm afraid--I need the father in particular. I received an email requesting me to...cure him, you could say. Help the man out."

She giggled softly, revealing her straight, white teeth.

"If you could help me find him, it'd be much appreciated. Why, I'd be inclined to owe you a favor, young man--I promise, you'd get a reward for rescuing this damsel in distress." She fiddled with the already low collar of her dress shirt. "Do you enjoy milk and cookies, young man? Or perhaps pie is more your style?"

Mars grabbed her by the shoulder, before he realized what he was doing, at which point he awkwardly let her shoulder go. He attempted to straighten out the blouse, before he just gave up. His face was already as red as could be, what more could possible go wrong?

"I, uhm...I was the one who sent that email," he said awkwardly, praying the woman didn't think he was crazy. "At least, I think the one you got was mine. The father is acting...strange."

Mars looked back to her, being sure to keep his focus on her face, this time. "Are you...Misses Priestly?"

She beamed and ruffled his hair.

"Why, yes! I'm Miss Priestly, at your service--that's M-I-S-S, by the way. No Mr. Priestly in the picture whatsoever." She winked and patted him on the cheek. "You can imagine how hard it is to get help with fixing my blouse..."

She glanced around the church, inhaling deeply.

"Wonderful place you've got here, you know. It's too bad about the father's problem, eh? But the devil isn't the most respectful being in all of creation, eh?" She chuckled.

"Tell me, my dashing new acquaintance, what is your name? The email didn't say."

"Mars. I mean! Cyprus! My name is Cyprus Gray!" he groaned inwardly, realizing his mistake too late. He hated when he introduced himself as Mars. It happened far too often for him to be entirely comfortable with that fact. It was annoying that, often, he forget Mars was just a silly nickname his father had given him.

"Uhm, anyway, the Father isn't around on Saturdays. It's just me. I clean up the church and I live here." he replied, trying to nonchalantly lean against the pew. The result was him almost falling face first into the ground. Why did he try to act cool, again? He really didn't know.

Miss Priestly reached down to him and helped him to his feet, chuckling.

"Steady now, boy! Don't pass out on me yet. I was quite enjoying your company.

"Now, Mars is a very cute name," she said, as though she hadn't heard his corrections. "I think I'll call you that, it suits you--cute little Marsy helping out Miss Priestly with her job. Why, it's almost like a first date." She licked her lips like a tiger about to pounce.

"I'm very grateful for your help, of course--there will be a treat afterward." She leaned against the pew successfully, resting a hand on her beautiful legs.

"Now, now. Since the father isn't here, that makes it a bit difficult to do my job--what do you suggest I do next?" She batted her eyelashes at him, lowering her shades for the full effect. Her eyes were a vibrant hazel, like staring into a forest.

"Uhm," he stuttered for a moment, unable to look away from her eyes. He was loathe to admit how very attractive he found this woman, and even more loathe to admit that this was about the closest he'd ever been to a woman. "W-well, uhm, I-I'm not sure. There isn't much to do in this town. It's just a small town by the ocean, s-sorry."

He looked away, adjusting the sleeve of his dress shirt. Mars wondered when he'd feel his age. He was only 16, but he felt like a sixth grader with a dumb crush.

"I suppose, uhm, if you need a place to stay, you could stay here. Or, I mean, you don't have to! Uhm, there's really not much to do. Though, I guess, there's the ocean, if you like oceans, I guess..." he mumbled, quickly realizing how far into the ground he was driving he conversation.

"What a wonderful idea. I can stay here," she said, smiling. "Better than that ratty old motel where I had planned to stay--it's so lonely without a companion, you know? I don't like staying in places like that alone."

She placed a hand on Mars's shoulder, her long nails gently scraping his shirt.

"Do you have a spare bed I can use, or will we have to share? These pews look awfully uncomfortable, so I'd hate to force you out of your bed." She pressed close to Mars, enveloping in her scent: spicy perfume, car air freshener, and flowery shampoo all mixed into one.

Mars immediately took a few steps backwards, though he unsurprisingly found himself backing closer and closer to a wall. He felt the back of his foot touch it, and he cringed slightly.

"No! It's really fine," he replied, holding up his hands. "It's perfectly fine, really! I can sleep on one of the pews. I had to, before I got my own bed, so it's fine, I'm used to it! Besides, the bed is tiny, there's really no way it will fit both of us, and obviously, I'm the bigger one, so the pew it is!" he laughed nervously, running a hand through his hair.

"Oh, but I hate to sleep alone," she insisted, pouting playfully. "You do that to me, would you? Leave me all alone to sleep in a strange new place...? No, I simply need a bed buddy. I always slept much better with one of my sisters next to me."

She giggled again, winking at Mars.

"Don't worry, Marsy--I trust you not to try anything. You seem like a good, god-fearing young boy. The perfect type of boy to be a gentleman and keep a lady like me company in bed tonight, hmm? Come on, there'll be extra treats in it for you." She tugged on her skirt, which had started to ride up her thigh.

He felt his face turn increasingly red, the higher up that Priestly's skirt got. He swallowed. He was certainly not god-fearing enough, it seemed. Otherwise, he felt that such horrible thoughts wouldn't be creeping into his mind.

"I-I'm really sorry, sir! I mean, madam! Priestly, uhm, Mrs. Priestly, that is, but r-really, it's fine, I can just sleep on the pew, or on the floor next to the bed! Yes! That's perfectly acceptable! I-I don't, uhm, like sleeping next to people, I, uhm, have a thing, about people touching me, especially women! I mean, not that it's your fault that you're a woman, or anything..."

He smiled, but it wasn't convincing.

"Uhm...okay?"

She grabbed him by the shoulders and pulled him close to her bosom, patting his back.

"Oh no, I insist! I can't let you sleep on the floor, Marsy--besides, I'll get spooked unless you're in bed with me. You wouldn't want me to get spooked, would you?" She patted his cheek, grinning broadly.

"You don't think I bite, do you? Why, Marsy, I'm a lady of the Lord--you have nothing to fear from little old me. Incidentally, it's Miss Priestly, not Mrs." She playfully patted him on the butt. "'Mrs.' is a title for an older woman, one who's settled down--you don't think I look that old, do you? Why, I'm hardly...twenty-two." She giggled, sure he would get the joke. All women lied about their age.

"Uh...but...but you can' t be that young...." he blushrd heavily before he realized how rude he sounded. "I mean...!! Uh...never...mind."

He shook his head, face red.

"I assure you, I'm young enough to be your sister. Or perhaps an older girlfriend..." She giggled again, patting his back. "Do you not believe me? I bet I can prove how young I am.

"In any case, we're bed buddies tonight--isn't that splendid? I'll buy us both dinner and treats." She hugged him, pressing his face into her breasts, and rustled his hair.

He shrieked, shoving her away.

"No! I''m sorry!!" he screamed, horified. "I didn't mean to touch your breasts! Forgive me, Mrs. Priestly!!" he hid his face, feeling like a pig.

She laughed and groped his chest, massaging his nipples with her thumbs before letting go.

"It's no problem, Marsy dear--now we're even! Besides, I know you wouldn't do a thing like that on purpose...you're a good boy, aren't you?" She smoothed down his hair, smiling softly.

"Don't worry, I trust you to sleep next to me. I look forward to tonight, in fact--it's been a while since I've had a proper bed buddy."