Sins of the Flesh

CHAPTER FOURTEEN-- Irony of Impulse

"Maybe I wasn't supposed to be perfect in His image."

Blake walks out of the Christian bookstore in town, bag in hand, and stands next to his car to wait for Oliver to finish making his purchases. He honestly never thought he would step foot in a store such as this but, well, Oliver had sparked quite a few changes in Blake's life.

After their last heartfelt conversation almost a month ago, Blake had often found himself deep in thought. He knows Oliver didn't mean that Blake hadn't done anything for him. In fact, Blake knows he had been the catalyst in Oliver's world, upending everything he thought he knew, showing him another side of life he'd never even considered. He had caused some drastic changes. Whether those changes were for the better, well, that has yet to be determined. If nothing else, they had discovered love.

However, Oliver had been quite right when it came to the tangible things in their relationship. Upon reflection, Blake had seen his mistakes. He had seen times he had taken things for granted or completely overlooked Oliver's opinions in certain situations. So for the past couple of weeks, he has been doing everything in his power to rectify his mistakes. They only went for coffee every other day now and on the days they didn't, they'd usually go to their special spot by their favorite field and take turns reading to each other or simply talking about anything that popped into their minds.

Blake even attended the pot luck lunch after the most recent Sunday service held at the church with Oliver and his family. He mingled with the congregation and joined in on conversations. Oliver had stayed by his side the entire time, of course. It hadn't been his idea of a fantastic Sunday afternoon, but it hadn't been horrible either and Blake knows that church is a large part of Oliver's life.

And Blake will do anything it takes to be a part of Oliver's life.

"Sorry it took me so long," Oliver says, rushing over to Blake by the car. "My mom's birthday is in a couple of weeks so I got her a new Bible cover sleeve thing."

"It's okay," Blake smiles, setting his own bag from the store on the hood of his car. "I bought you something."

"You – what?" Oliver asks blankly.

"Mhmm." Blake reaches into the bag and pulls out a square little box. "Here. I don't know...much about anything when it comes to this stuff, but I thought this was really pretty."

Oliver accepts the box with surprise etched plainly on his face.

"You didn't have to-"

"I know I didn't," Blake interrupts. "But I wanted to."

Lifting the lid off the small box, Oliver peers inside to see what it holds.

And then he bites his lips together to keep from smiling, eyes filling with light.

"It – you're right, it is very pretty," Oliver says, obviously attempting to hold back his laughter.

From within the box, Oliver pulls out...a rosary. The string of prayer beads is comprised of small, glittering blue stones on a silver chain.

"...Why do you look so amused?" Blake wonders.

"Well," Oliver begins, smile growing on his face, "rosaries aren't...exactly in line with the Baptist tradition."

"What do you mean?"

"They're generally a Catholic thing," Oliver explains. "Other Christian denominations like um, Lutherans, I think - I could be wrong, though - they sometimes use rosaries. And other denominations use things similar but...well, let's just say Baptists don't."

"Oh," Blake says flatly, eyeing the rosary. "I can take it back if you-"

"No, no," Oliver says hurriedly. "You're right, it's really pretty."

"I didn't even know what it was for until I read the description in the store," Blake says. "You don't have to keep it if it's not something you'll use."

"I won't use it," Oliver says, "but I can hang it somewhere my parents won't see. I love the color of the beads."

"Well, luckily I got you something else, then," Blake says, reaching into the bag on the hood of the car. "You'll probably get more use out of it."

Oliver replaces the rosary back inside its box and drops it in his own bag before accepting Blake's second gift. It looks to be a plain, black book. The only bit of design anywhere on the cover is a small, gold cross etched on the upper right hand corner on the front.

"It's a journal," Blake explains. "I don't know if you ever got yourself a new one. But I figure this one looks a bit...more inconspicuous than the one you had before. Um, considering it was red and said 'My Journal' on the front. I think this one draws a little less attention to itself."

"It's lovely," Oliver says softly, thumb brushing over the little cross on the cover. "Thank you."

"You're welcome," Blake blushes as he watches Oliver place the journal reverently in his shopping bag.

"I didn't get you anything," Oliver says, looking embarrassed. "I just – I know it's not your thing, and I didn't want you to think-"

"Don't worry about it," Blake says genuinely. He unlocks his car and holds the door open for Oliver. "In you get."

It's Oliver's turn to blush as he climbs into the passenger seat.