Page 145 of The Love of Priest

Britain reached over the console of the car, grabbing his hand in hers. "Do you ever have that feeling that you're in the right place at the right time with the right person?" Britain asked him.

Priest glanced at Britain before bringing her hand up to his lips. "I feel that with you all the time," he admitted.

She sighed in a dreamy manner. "Same here. Is it safe to say we're soulmates?" she questioned, immediately wishing she hadn't asked him something so infantile and silly.

Priest nodded his head with a light chuckle. "Hell yeah. We locked in," he confirmed.

The rest of the car ride, Britain remained at the peak of happiness. Her relationship with Priest had developed and blossomed into something so beautiful that she sometimes felt like it was too good to be true.

Once the car stopped, Britain looked out the tinted window of the vehicle, realizing they had just pulled up to a community event. A smile covered Britain's face at the sight of the community members embracing each other with vibrant smiles and welcoming hugs. The sun beamed down perfectly on everyone, causing different shades of melanin to radiate from them.

Turning the car off, Priest glanced over at Britain, noticing how exuberant she had become once they had arrived. "I knew you would like it." Priest smirked as he got out the car to assist her out of the vehicle.

Priest definitely had no intentions of being flashy, but once his butterfly doors trailed up toward the sky, everyone just knew it was him. The ground vibrated from the loud music being projected out of the vehicles parked on the evenly cut grass.

Priest’s eyes scanned his surroundings as he made his way around the car to help Britain out. With her hand in his, she got out the car, earning a few eyes since not many knew of her presence in Priest's life. She had grown accustomed to people being curious about her, so she paid the stares no mind.

"What's the occasion?" she asked as she took a look around.

"There hasn't been a murder here all month. It's a celebration," he enlightened her with a light smile. Priest had grown up in the same projects in the same neighborhood with the same hopeless neighbors and the same careless cops. Nothing had changed aside from the fact that the community had some sort of unity now. Growing up, Priest had to deal with the fact that everyone was for themselves. Now, the community had merged to become one big family that could count on each other.

"Let me guess. You played a part in this?" She motioned her hand around, referring to the event.

Priest smirked while slyly nodding his head. "Yeah, but keep that between you and me. I don't want any bad attention"

Britain furrowed her brows. "You're doing something good. How would you get bad attention from that?" she asked him.

"I'm the same nigga who got out of these projects and is now driving an i8, and no one knows how. If some people find out I'm behind this, there would be no thanks," Priest explained to Britain in a low voice as they walked the cement that trailed the entire park. Priest wasn't much of a welcomed figure in his own hood. They seemed to hate him more than they supported him.

Britain let out a heavy sigh. Her spirits for the event had been crushed completely. "Why do people treat you so badly when you have such a pure heart?"

Priest chuckled dryly before shrugging his shoulders. "Leonard's karma maybe," he murmured as he shrugged his shoulders.

They continued walking the park, and Priest greeted a few people here and there. Britain caught a few people giving her and Priest the eye. It was evident that she was now unwelcome due to her association with Priest. The way some people's jealousy could get the best of them in such a nasty way was sad.

"Why are we here if you're not welcomed by everyone?" Britain asked, her attitude quickly growing at the sight of the side-eye one male was giving Priest as he paid them no mind.

Priest shifted his eyes over to Britain, who was walking with her arms folded across her chest and her face screwed up in a mean mug. "If the DJ play one song you're not fucking with, would you leave the club?" Priest asked her with slight amusement etched on his face.

Britain smacked her lips. "Ain't no song I can't throw this ass back to." She jokingly flipped her hair over her shoulder in an arrogant manner. She realized Priest was right and had a valid point.A few side-eyes weren’tenough to ruin a good time.

Priest laughed as his hand gripped her rear. "A fucking fool, yo.”

Their walking came to a smooth halt as they met with J'Ru and Kaymen. The men both hugged and greeted Britain politely, thanking her for showing up with Priest.

"J's here too, in case you didn't know," Kaymen advised while pointing over to Jadey, who was seated at one of the many picnic tables alongside a few women she was having a conversation with.

Britain glanced in the direction he was pointing. Seeing Jadey for the first time in a month wasn't really on her itinerary for the day. Britain gave Kaymen a tight-lipped smile while nodding to acknowledge Jadey’s presence.

"Britain straight dubbed her ass," J'Ru mumbled, and he and Priest laughed, but once they noticed neither Britain nor Kaymen was laughing, their chuckles ceased.

"Britain, you're killing me, man. Just say something to her," Kaymen pleaded.

Yes, he loved his wife dearly, and because of this, he couldn't deal with the sadness she felt from missing Britain’s friendship. The icing on the cake was Britain’s absence at the second wedding. That let Jadey know she was really washing her hands clean of her.

Britain let out a sigh. "I'll think about it," she said, concluding the discussion. She turned to face Priest. "Can we go find something to drink?"

Priest nodded, knowing that was her way of getting away from Kaymen to avoid being guilt tripped into talking to Jadey. "Nice talking to you guys." Britain smiled to J'Ru and Kaymen before she and Priest went off to grab a drink.

---