Free Where I Wanna Be by Vera Roberts

about every Sunday in church. A part of the seven deadly sins. The major one, about which her parents not-so subtly instructed her on a regular basis—lust.
     
    Faith Sheppard lay in bed, staring up at the popcorn ceiling in her bedroom, fantasizing about the pizza delivery guy. What was his name? Ah, yes, Eli. She practiced saying his name over and over as it rolled off her tongue. Eli, Eli, Eli.
     
    He went to her school so that meant she would be seeing him sometime that week, hopefully. He looked so different in a pizza delivery outfit than he did at school. He was always a bit flashy, dressing in low-slung jeans and baggy clothes. His ponytail was pulled back tightly and curled a little around his neck. She’d noticed Eli from afar and that was fine by her. She liked being incognito.
     
    Faith also knew who he was, she just never knew his name. She definitely knew his reputation. It seemed that every girl either slept with him or wanted to. She could name at least five girls who bragged about his bedroom skills and how big his penis was.
     
    Penis. The word made Faith giggle.
     
    She wasn’t a prude and definitely knew what sex was. But she was a good girl. She boasted a 3.5 GPA. She was active in the Black Students Union, Rainbow Coalition, and sports. Unlike her friends, she didn’t drink, smoke weed, or have sex. She did go to quite a few parties and participated in more than her fair share of dirty dancing.
     
    She was also a virgin. Faith’s parents preached to her the importance of saving herself for marriage, but Faith also knew reality. And reality told her unless she was going to get married straight out of high school, there was no way she was going to be a 40-year-old virgin.
     
    “ Faith,” her mother, Amy, knocked on her door. “It’s time to get up and get ready, honey.”
     
    “ I’m getting out of bed, Mom,” Faith pulled back the sheets and quickly undressed. She put on a robe and hurried to the bathroom to shower. She then walked back to her bedroom and closed the door behind her to get ready for church. It was the church’s anniversary so she had to wear pale blue as her mother specifically picked out that color for the Sheppard women. She had to practice her speech in front of the mirror one more time. She also had to be on her very best behavior for the entire day.
     
    Being a preacher’s kid was not everything it was cracked up to be.
     
    *****
     
    “ Eliodoro! We are going to church, not a fashion show! Get down here, now!” Nicola yelled up the stairs and shook her head. Getting her boys out of the house when they had to go somewhere was always a battle. It was a guarantee she spent the least amount of time in front of the mirror because she had to battle her sons for face time.
     
    Now she was waiting for her second-youngest to make his grand appearance, finally. Her older sons were dressed and ready to go, along with Tony. Out of all of her sons, it seemed Eli took the role of pretty boy to heart. “Eliodoro! Now!”
     
    “ I’ll be right down, ma!” Eli yelled back. His mother was invited to a Baptist church by one of her housecleaning friends and they were having a celebration. Eli, for one, was excited. He couldn’t stand another minute being inside the sleep haven also known as mass. If it was up to him, he would spend his lazy Sundays in front of the TV watching football. Instead, he was inside a church pew and listening to the priest give spiritual readings, something he usually forgot by the time they left the church.
     
    Eli slicked his hair back a one more time and straightened his tie. It was a church they were visiting in Harlem, some forty-five minute drive away. Truth to be told, Eli wanted to go to the church to scope out the Harlem honeys. He was on a mission to bang as many women in New York as possible before he turned 21.
     
    He said a quick prayer in the bathroom and then left. Lord, please forgive me for all the sins I’m going to have