Mr. Bad Influence

Chapter 1 - Part 2

Several gasps broke out as Nick walked behind Pastor Jay. Nick had put his cap back on and kept his head low, so he blamed Pastor Jay's light blue T-shirt, the one underneath his brown jacket, for attracting the attention to them.

Most of the church's congregation had already left, so Nick wasn't all that worried about getting mobbed.

He kept his focus on his moving feet and continued walking as if he hadn't heard anything. He followed Pastor Jay toward the door that led to the back of the building.

Nick exhaled heavily and pulled his cap off when they got to the stairwell. "Isn't there another way to get downstairs?" He didn't think having to walk all the way to the front of the church's auditorium was a good way to stay out of sight.

"Nope." Pastor Jay took off his jacket, revealing the tattoos on his arms, and threw the jacket over his shoulder. "Don't worry, you're safe here. The congregation is used to seeing famous people." His finger weaved into his short dark brown hair, tugging upwards at the ends. "I like the pomade you recommended. I couldn't find it anywhere, had to buy it online."

"I told you to just take mine."

Pastor Jay shrugged. "I'm not as rich as you are, but I can afford my own pomade."

Nick shook his head. Pastor Jay had refused to accept anything from him. He even refused to allow him to pay for any of the meals whenever they were out.

"Hey, it isn't that I don't want your stuff. It's just better this way." Pastor Jay hooked his arm over Nick's shoulders. "You always have people hanging around you because of your money. I can't allow that kind of misunderstanding to happen between us."

"I know you aren't hankering after my money."

Pastor Jay put him through too much pain. He was never afraid to confront him when he thought Nick was getting out of line, and he never shunned from telling him the cold, hard truth whenever he thought Nick needed it.

"I need to maintain the right to knock you on your head whenever necessary," Pastor Jay said. "Tell you what. You can treat me to a good meal on my birthday. I'll pick the place, and I'll let you pay. Deal?"

He grinned. "I'll think about it."

Pastor Jay gave his head a light shove. "I may not even invite you to the dinner. You just need to come over and foot the bill."

Nick laughed.

Once they exited the stairwell, Pastor Jay turned left, and Nick trailed behind Pastor Jay as they strolled down a small walkway with a room at the end of it.

"The VIP room!" Pastor Jay spread his arms wide, presenting the dark wooden door. "You'll love it," he said and laughed.

Nick didn't understand what Pastor Jay was laughing about, but he pushed his black long-sleeved shirt above his elbows, turned the door knob, and stepped into the room anyway.

Right by the door were rows of beige chairs stacked against a white wall, and the warm stuffy air was clear indication that the air-condition system didn't cover this room. He cast a sardonic glance over his shoulder at Pastor Keith, who grinned back at him.

After taking another step, he stopped and stared at the familiar stranger on a beige chair. Her chair, along with four other empty chairs, was placed in front of three towering stacks of brown cardboard boxes that didn't look all too stable.

Kerri's long brown hair, the soft hair he used to run his fingers through, was tied back in a low ponytail, its end resting comfortably over the front of her right shoulder. Next to her was another stack of translucent rectangular plastic boxes. Though they were stacked almost three-quarter way to the ceiling, Nick wasn't quite as worried about them for they appeared empty.