Page 152 of The Love of Priest

Priest let out a sigh. "Same here, but I'm gonna keep it pushing," he admitted before stepping aside to reveal Britain. "This my shorty Britain." He pulled Britain before him to introduce her to Jazzlyn.

Her eyes glanced over Britain, and a light smile graced her face. "I'm Jazzy," she introduced herself while sticking her hand out for Britain to shake.

The first interaction was going smoothly. The first thing Britain noticed about Jazzy was how beaming her smile was. Her pearly whites were aligned perfectly, and whenever she smiled, her eyes seemed to squint because of her high cheek bones. Jazzy had a gorgeous face that was hinted with small features of Priest, her beautiful smile being one of them. She had skin that resembled fresh golden honey, which contrasted perfectly with her jet-black hair that was currently being styled. Her features were sharp. If she was interested, Jazzy could pursue a successful career in modeling.

"Nice to finally meet you," Britain replied in a sweet voice.

Priest couldn't help but glance down at Britain. Just yesterday, she had used a tone with him that he never thought she could produce, but now she had such a sweet and innocent tone that could fool anyone.

"Pleasure is all mine. I've been begging for PJ to let us meet, but he always felt like the timing was bad," Jazzy told Britain as she jokingly cut her eyes at her brother.

Priest chuckled, accepting the fact that he was automatically the blame for everything. "That and the fact that Brit was nervous to meet you." Priest hooked his arm around Britain's shoulders."You got a reputation, Jaz."

Jazzy laughed. "I'm assuming you've heard nothing but bad things about me?" She shifted her attention toward Britain.

"No." Britain immediately shook her head. "He's joking." She jabbed her elbow into Priest's side.Jazzy and Priest both laughed.

Jazzy’s reputation was pretty much set in stone, so no one who came across her would mistake her as weak and simple-minded. Overall, she was a nice girl, but when it came to Priest, she could be hell on earth. Britain was the first girl Priest had brought around since Paula, and from how things ended with Paula, Jazzy knew it was taking her big brother a lot to love again. Jazzy was going to give Britain a genuine chance. She wanted to see what about her had her brother’s nose wide open.

"I know," Jazzy assured her before shifting her attention from Britain and onto Priest."How about you let us get ready? I promise to be nice," she teased.

Priest chuckled as he nodded his head. "No doubt." He unhooked his arm from around Britain’s shoulders so he and Jazzy could slap hands with their signature handshake from when they were kids.

Priest then averted his attention to Britain, who had already gotten sat into a seat to begin on her hair. "I'll see you in a bit. Look beautiful for me," he said to her with a wink before finally exiting the room, leaving her alone with Jazzy.

Once he left Britain’s presence, the smile that masked his face disappeared, and his mind instantaneously traveled to thoughts of Jamari. Priest was sure Jamari's spirit had traveled up to heaven already, but his physical being was still in the morgue. Tasha was awaiting the results of the autopsy of Jamari's body in hopes the investigators would have a quicker and better chance of discovering who killed him. Priest definitely wasn't a fan of the autopsy being done. Jamari already had a painful death as it was. He didn't need his body being cut up and mangled. That wasn't Priest's call to make, so it happened. Priest was already making funeral arrangements for Jamari. He wanted little man's farewell to be a beautiful one.

The ladies sat alongside each other as their hair was styled for the gala. Britain wasn't sure how to start a conversation with Jazzy, so she just remained quiet. The sounds of the hair dryer and the different members of Kenya's team talking flushed out the awkwardness that Britain was starting to feel.

"I heard you had a run-in with Sylvia," Jazzy spoke up, catching Britain’s attention.

A smug smile pulled at the corners of Britain's lips as she shrugged. "It wasn't a nice one. I don't think she likes me very much."

Jazzy let out a light laugh. "We have something in common already," she joked, causing Britain to laugh.

"Your brother said that," she recalled the joke Priest made.

"Sylvia is a lot to handle, so kudos to you for still being around after meeting her," Jazzy praised her. Britain was hoping Jazzy wouldn’t go on a rant to bash Sylvia because she wouldn't know what to say, and she wouldn't want to participate. Yes, Sylvia got on her last nerve, but out of respect for Priest, she just would rather not.

Britain chuckled lightly. "It's gonna take a lot more than a not-so-nice mother-in-law to run me off."

Jazzy angled her head to eye Britain."Y'know, I like you!" She stuck her hand out for a high five, which Britain granted her with a laugh.

"I like you too," Britain admitted. "Your brother tells me a lot about you, and you really were the girl I wanted to be when I was your age.”

"What'd he tell you, that I was a loud mouth know-it-all?" Jazzy scoffed jokingly at the way Priest always checked her about her reckless mouth.

Britain laughed. "He did say that," she stated truthfully. "However, he also said you were strong, independent, and self-aware. When I was nineteen, I was none of those things."

A small smile played on Jazzy's face. For so long, people made her feel like her tough demeanor painted her out to be a bad person. She was just a chick who knew her worth and didn’t take shit from anyone, not even Priest sometimes. Although she and Britain had just met, she quickly realized why her brother had fallen so quickly for her. She had a way with words that made every bad thing in life seem as though it would be alright.

"Britain, we're gonna have fun together," Jazzy told her, causing Britain to grow amused and let out a light laugh.

Jazzy and Britain continued having seamless conversation with each other while the guys were outside getting ready.

"How Tash holding up?" J'Ru asked Priest as he secured the top button of his dress shirt.

Priest sighed. "I called this morning. She's still distraught, but she's keeping it together."

---