A/N: Back-to-back update! Only because I like you guys. On the last chapter Elsa had a good argument about sexuality and religion. She explains things to her new love Anna, who is having uncertainty about going to church.

This chapter continues their conversation.

Chapter 8

"So why don't some Catholics not mind homosexuality?" I asked my love.

"I guess they feel that the world is already over-populated," Elsa replied with a smirk. "God made us in His image. That includes people who are black, people who are white, people who like dogs and people who don't like sushi. And it includes gays and lesbians. God loves me, despite all my flaws and no matter who I have in my bed."

She squeezed my hand.

"When you hear people say, 'God hates fags' and other shit like that, they're not speaking for God," my lover said, "They're speaking for themselves. They've read His Word and have interpreted it one way, but you can use the Bible to justify just about anything."

"Like what?" I said. Not only was Elsa beautiful, but she was smart, too.

"People have used the Bible to justify slavery, misogyny, you name it. And lately, homophobia." Our breakfast was forgotten. She took my hand and led me to the back of her house, past her bedroom.

In one of the spare rooms, she had set up a small private office. In another, there were stacks and stacks of books. Elsa is a neat person. Think of every anal-retentive accountant stereotype you know and that's her.

But this room was unlike any other in her house. Along one wall, a set of mahogany bookshelves stretched from the floor to the ceiling. The shelves were filled with books of all types, but that wasn't all. On the floor, on tables, in boxes. Books were everywhere. They weren't messy; everything was in an ordered pile, but it seemed to me that she was reading books faster than she could find space on the shelves for them.

She went straight to the desk and picked up a book with a well-worn leather cover and pages that had been read through over and over. Elsa flipped through the first part of the Bible and then handed it to me, pointing to a spot on the page. "Read this. Leviticus, chapter 18, verse 22."

"Thou shalt not lie with mankind, as with womankind: it is abomination." My spine shivered as I realised what she was showing me.

I looked up from the page at Elsa, wondering why she would be showing me a verse that seemed to tell me quite clearly that what I had spent the night (and next morning) doing was wrong.

"There it is, in black and white," my lover said. "God has spoken and given us His word. Homosexuality is wrong."

She smiled, as if to let me in on a secret, and then took the book from my hands.

"Now read this," she flipped to a couple pages earlier then handed it back to me. "Leviticus, chapter 11, verses 9 and 10."

"These shall ye eat of all that are in the waters: whatsoever hath fins and scales in the waters, in the seas, and in the rivers, them shall ye eat," I wondered where this was going. "And all that have not fins and scales in the seas, and in the rivers, of all that move in the waters, and of any living thing which is in the waters, they shall be an abomination unto you."

I stared at the page, letting it sink in.

"The fishes 'that have not fins and scales in the seas', which ones are those?" she asked me, that glint back in her eyes. "Shrimp, lobster, crab. 'They shall be an abomination unto you'. Just as a man laying with man and a woman laying with woman."

She lip turned up into a mischievous smile. "The Bible tells us lots of things. Some of which we follow and some of which we ignore. We are told quite clearly not to eat pork or some other things, yet we do. Why? Because technology and modern health standards make them okay to eat. So why do some of us hang on to ideas that may also be out of date?"

As she talked, I think that was the moment I fell in love with her. She knew herself. She was so secure in her sexuality, in her person and in her skin, that I felt nothing but envy for her.

"I love listening to people quote Leviticus and tell me that being a lesbian is wrong because when I tell them that after having the shrimp cocktail or lobster bisque or crabcake for dinner, they just committed a sin equivalent to having homosexual sex, they go apeshit," her smile changed from mischievous to straight-out wicked. "The Bible is a guide for us all. It's generally good, but contradicts itself in places and it's dated in other ways. Our calling today is to discern God's Word and how it affects our lives. I believe the Bible was inspired by God, but written by humans. That means it is flawed."

Elsa seemed to know what she was talking about and she drew me in immediately. I felt the conviction of her faith and knew her sincerity. In all my life, I had never devoted much time to thinking about church things; sure I knew a few of the "essential stories", but I hadn't devoted much mental energy to them.

"Choosing to ignore some parts of the Bible doesn't mean we have to throw it all out," she said, gently placing the book back on the desk. "It means we have to discover its larger meaning. For instance, if you listen to the talking heads on TV, you'd believe that the entirety of the Bible is devoted to two causes: opposing abortion and homosexuality. But how many verses of the Bible discuss homosexuality?"

"I couldn't tell you," I said, shaking my head.

"Four." Elsa said, taking my hand and leading me back to her living room. "How many are related to poverty?"

"Couldn't tell you that, either."

"Over two thousand. What should that tell us, as Christians?" Elsa asked.

"Homosexuality shouldn't be high up on our priority list." I let her lead me on.

"Exactly," she said. "I don't believe being a lesbian is wrong. I know God made me this way. It's not a choice. It's not something I would have chosen. But it's who I am. God would not have made me gay if He didn't want me to be that way."

"What does that say about me?" I whispered. "I've never thought of myself as being a lesbian . . . but . . . but I like it . . . at least when I'm with you."

Elsa reached out and took me in her arms. I felt so comfortable in her embrace. So safe.

"It says that I've still got my touch," she whispered in my ear, a gentle teasing tone to her voice. "I'm so hawt I can make straight girls go gay."

We giggled together and her soft lips pressed against mine.

"Does it feel right to you?" Elsa asked, her voice a little more serious.

"Yes," I breathed.

"Then what's to wonder about?" She leaned in to kiss me a little harder this time. "One of the things I believe about Christ's message is that love is never wrong. I don't think it matters whether it's between a man and a woman, two men or two women. The things we do are just acts, but how we treat each other is how God will judge us."

"So we just shared an 'act'?" I asked, my turn to have that teasing tone.

"Several." Elsa winked. Her hand went to the back of my neck. I tilted my head back and opened my mouth. Her tongue intertwined with mine. "And I plan on sharing many more with you later today."

"Mmmmmm," I purred. "That sounds like a plan."

"What do you want to do now?" Elsa asked. "Finish breakfast?"

"Maybe later," I said seductively. "I think you need to pray some more."

"Pray?" she gave me a quizzical look.

"Yes, sweetheart, you're going to pray." Taking her hand, I pulled her toward the bedroom. "Are you ready? Repeat after me . . . Oh, god . . . OH! God . . . Oh, GOD!"

We laughed and fell into each other's arms.

That night, I tried to convince Elsa to call in sick with me the next day, but she had some important meetings. I had to be at work early, too, so I headed home late Sunday. I also needed some time to think.

What was I doing? My feelings for Elsa were becoming stronger. There was definitely an attraction between us, and not just because of the sex. I was intrigued by her intelligence. She was interested in the world. We talked about nearly everything. She was funny. She was kind. The only way she could have been more perfect was if she spent her weekends volunteering at a shelter for homeless kids and donated a kidney to a random stranger.

Yet a little part of me wondered if I was willing to completely change my lifestyle. I felt some of that while at church and out in public with her. I felt like people were staring at us. Judging us. Judging me.

I felt so alone that night. Laying in my bed, without her arms around me, I wished she were there to comfort me. I had never felt that way with anyone before. Even with my ex, for the two years we were together, I don't ever remember wanting him touching me as I slept. And there I was, missing the gentle touch of my female lover.

A part of me wanted to call her, but would that make me come off as being desperate? Or would that scare her off? After all, Elsa was already cautious of relationships; the last thing I wanted to do was smother her. So I lay there alone, counting sheep and wishing my lover was next to me.

When I finally fell asleep, it was only bundled up under my heavy comforter and surrounded by pillows. They were poor surrogates for my blonde hair beauty with the charming smile and tender touch.

The next day, I had lunch with Kristoff and Sven. We met at the Chinese place in the strip mall. I didn't say much. They seemed to be staring at me.

"Sooooo?" Sven asked, finally breaking the tension. "How was it?"

"Don't you mean, 'How was she'?" Kristoff snickered.

My face flushed with embarrassment.

The guys hand slammed down on the table. "I knew it! Elsa had the exact same look this morning when she came in!"

I looked away, worried that the other people in the restaurant might be staring.

"You mean the I-just-got-some look?" Kristoff grinned.

"Stop it!" I said with no threat in my voice. The guys spent the rest of the meal teasing me and trying to get me to blush some more. They succeeded.

Kristoff pulled me aside as we were leaving. His face suddenly turned serious. "Anna, I don't know what you did to her, but she's got it for you. Bad. She's had that dreamy look in her eyes all morning and this neverhappens. Not to Elsa. She almost missed her lunch meeting because she was too busy obsessing about you."

My jaw dropped.

"I've known Elsa for almost for only a month. She's had more one night stands than the three of us put together. Usually after one of these weekends, she comes in and is as cool as ice. She's a mess today," Kristoff paused for a second. He looked me in the eyes. "If you're getting together, I want you to know that no one is happier for you two than me. She deserves so much better than she's had, and she's got so much to offer . . . Hell, you know that."

I tried to say something, but couldn't. It was as if my voice had been stolen.

"Just don't break her heart, Anna," Elsa said, her voice dropping to a whisper. "I don't think she could handle it."

For a long moment, I just stood there, mute. Sven finished paying his bill and Kristoff pulled me out the door with them.

I went back to work but didn't get anything else done that day. Kristoff's words echoed over and over in my mind. He could have said the exact same thing to Elsa about me and he would have been just as right.

When my watch read 4:00, I figured that it was 5 o'clock in Nova Scotia, so I made up an excuse and left work early. My boss didn't care; all the reports had been run and in truth, I could have just left and he never would have said anything to me.

As soon as I got back to my apartment, I picked up my phone and called Elsa.

"Hey, baby," she said quietly.

"Are you busy?" I asked.

"Kind of," her voice was soft. I could hear someone talking in the background. They were going on and on about something financial. "I'm in a meeting."

"I was wondering what you were doing for dinner." Was it too soon to see her again? Was I coming off as too eager? I really didn't care though, I just wanted to be with her again. I needed to be with her again.

"I don't have any plans," she said.

"Well," I said seductively. "Why don't you come by my place after work? I think I can find something for you to eat."

"That sounds delicious," Elsa replied, and I could picture the mischievous grin on her face.

I decided to tease her some more. "And right now, it's happy hour. Two for one until 5:00."

"I'll be there as soon as I can."

"The apartment will be unlocked."

She burst through the front door at 4:58.

I was in my bed. Naked.

Elsa stayed over that night and I found out that she didn't ever want to sleep alone again either.