Delilah. Shelia M. Goss

at it as if they were at a buffet and hadn’t eaten in months.

      Less than thirty minutes later, Delilah viewed herself in the mirror and fixed her hair. She put on more lipstick so she wouldn’t raise any suspicion with Elaine. “Now what was that you were saying about us?” Delilah asked as she turned around to face Samson.

      Samson scared her when he fell down on his knees and started praying. “Father God, please forgive me. Lord, I’m weak. Temptation keeps knocking at my door, and I keep answering. Please remove the desires of my loins so that I can remain faithful to you, Lord. Lord, please forgive Delilah, as she is only a pawn of the enemy. Change her heart so she too can resist the temptations of evil. In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.”

      Delilah didn’t know if she should be mad or throw in an amen herself. There was some truth in his prayer. She was being used by his enemy to get him to do something he didn’t want to do. Now, the fact that he was a willing participant in sleeping with her not once, but now twice, didn’t have anything to do with William Trusts or the devil. He slept with Delilah of his own accord. Delilah knew it, and Samson did too. Delilah wanted to tell him while he was down praying to ask God to forgive him for lying—lying about not wanting her the way she knew he did, or the way she wanted him.

      “Pastor, I’m leaving you for now. This thing between us”—Delilah pointed her finger at him and then back at herself—“is just getting started.”

      Delilah left Samson staring at her as she walked out of his office. Elaine rolled her eyes at her when she walked by her desk. Delilah put more bounce in her step and slung her shoulder-length hair weave as she walked toward the bathroom.

      While Delilah was washing her hands, Elaine entered the bathroom. “I know what you’re doing, but it’s not going to work,” Elaine said with clenched teeth.

      Delilah viewed herself and Elaine in the mirror. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

      Elaine stepped closer. “Look. I can see through the games. Pastor can’t, but I can. There are plenty of single men in this church. Go try to snag one of them.”

      “It sounds like someone is a little jealous,” Delilah said. “What is it about me that you wish you had?”

      Elaine didn’t bother to respond. She left Delilah in the bathroom with a huge grin on her face. “I don’t know who she thinks I am,” she said to her reflection in the mirror. “I don’t care if you’re short or tall, big or small, I come from the Grove, and in the Grove we’ll snatch anyone up who steps to us the wrong way.”

      Elaine had Delilah reminiscing about her earlier years when she had to fight just to survive the streets. That was an era in her life she was really trying to forget, but folks like Elaine and William just wouldn’t let her.

      Chapter 4

      Samson did his best to concentrate on his upcoming nuptials, but thoughts of Delilah in his office a few days ago seemed to be on the forefront of his mind. He prided himself on walking in the Spirit of the Lord, but lately lust for Delilah had taken center stage. He stared out the window at the open space in his backyard. Thoughts of Delilah were soon replaced with thoughts of the family he would have with Julia—the woman he loved.

      “Lord, why now? I’ve been able to control my carnal nature for years. Now that you’ve sent me the woman I’ve prayed for, why now?”

      He walked away from the window and took a seat behind the desk in his study. He picked up the black leather Bible his father had given him the day he dropped Samson off on the campus of Grambling University his freshman year. He could recall the speech he’d given him also. “Son, I’ve tried to protect you as much as I could. You’re going to be faced with many temptations. Don’t try to fight them on your own. I’m giving you a new Bible to start a new stage of your life. Use it. Let God fight your battles.”

      During his time at Grambling, Samson was able to resist drugs and alcohol, but he wasn’t prepared for the onset of girls who constantly hounded him. His innocence and Creole good looks, combined with his Southern charm, was an automatic attraction. He spent many nights going from one young woman to another. He barely passed his freshman year. He gave his parents the lame excuse of trying to adjust to being away from home for his lackluster grades.

      The cell phone ringing brought him out of his thoughts. He hadn’t bothered to look at the caller ID. The voice of the one person he had been trying to avoid for the last few days squealed from the other end. “Why aren’t you returning any of my calls?” Delilah asked.

      Samson leaned his head back in his chair and swiveled it around. “I’ve been busy.”

      “We need to talk.”

      “There’s nothing else we need to talk about. What happened in my office the other day was a mistake.”

      Delilah seemed to purr her words. “We both know you wanted it as much as I did.”

      Samson couldn’t argue with her. Delilah told the truth. He hated himself for succumbing to her, so his only recourse was to keep his distance—by any means necessary. “Let’s pretend like none of this happened. We can go back to being just friends.”

      “Friends? You have got to be kidding.” Delilah laughed.

      Samson’s doorbell rang. He held the phone, listening to Delilah go on and on. He was grateful for the interruption. He would thank whoever it was responsible for getting him off the phone. He opened the door, and to his surprise Delilah stood on his front porch. She closed her flip phone. “Surprise,” she said, with an evil grin, moving past him into his house without waiting for an invitation to enter.

      She turned and looked around. “You have a nice home, Samson. I’ve wondered why you never invited me over before.”

      Samson stood by the door, never taking his hand off the door knob. “Delilah, what are you doing here?”

      She removed the dress jacket from her shoulders and threw it on the chair. “Like you don’t know.” She began to unbutton her shirt.

      Samson rushed from the door and grabbed her jacket. “This has to stop.”

      Delilah swayed her body from side to side. “It doesn’t have to.” She continued to unbutton her blouse.

      Samson’s reflex automatically threw the jacket at Delilah, throwing her off guard. She bent down to get it, but while stooped she moved closer to Samson.

      “What is going on here?” Julia asked, as she whisked through the opened door.

      Samson, stunned and lost for words, couldn’t talk. Julia asked again, “Samson?”

      Delilah winked at Samson as she stood up. “I lost one of my contacts on the floor, so Samson, I mean Pastor Judges, stood still until I could locate it.” Delilah plastered a fake smile on her face as she faced Julia. “And I did, so I’ll be going.” She turned around and with her back toward Julia winked at Samson again. “Pastor, thank you for the advice. I feel better now.”

      Delilah held her jacket in front of her, and Samson hoped and prayed she wasn’t showing too much cleavage when she whisked past Julia. Julia slammed the door behind Delilah, missing her back by inches. “Good riddance.”

      “You could have tripped her,” Samson said.

      “Humph. Like I care.” Julia moved closer to him. “When we get married, these home visits by your parishioners—that’s going to stop.”

      Samson didn’t know if he liked this side of Julia. “Dear, you can’t dictate how I run my ministry.”

      She crossed her arms in front of her. “If you think for a minute that I’m fooled by the likes of Delilah and other women like her who come to Peaceful Rest, you have another thing coming.”

      “There’s nothing going on between me and those women. I’m their pastor.”

      “Uh-huh.”