Page 188 of The Love of Priest

"It's going on seven months now," Priest told him.

Henderson nodded. "Wow, I do wish we could've met sooner." Henderson chuckled as he glanced down at Britain.

Priest chortled lightly. "Yeah, but that's just Britain being Britain."

"Dramatic as always," Brixton mumbled, causing them to laugh since she could be a bit dramatic without trying.

Once their laughter settled, Henderson let out a small sigh. "Look, Priest. You seem like an overall great guy, but I have my concerns," he admitted.

Priest shrugged. "Lay them out. I'll clear them up for you.”

Henderson's concerns most likely were everyone's concerns. Priest had saved his ass from scrutiny more times than once, so he could handle any curveball that Henderson was getting ready to throw.Nervous as she could be, Britain opted out of interjecting in the conversation. She was going to let men be men and sort it out amongst themselves, especially since both of their egos were on the line due to Henderson being her father and Priest being her man.

"I can't lie and say I haven't seen what the media has been saying about you," Henderson stated.

Priest expected this. "Everyone has," he nodded. "The media plays their little game of making me look worse than I am. I'm no saint, but at the end of the day, I know right from wrong. If it's Britain you're concerned about, I understand, but I assure you she's in good hands," he asserted, causing Britain to inwardly applaud him. One thing about Priest was that he laid everything out in plain sight. He never hid his hands, no matter how filthy or bruised they might've been. No one had any ammunition to use against him because he was always honest from the start.

Henderson’s eyes shifted from Priest to Britain. She seemed sure of him; she lacked uncertainty when it came to Priest. If Britain was happy, then so was he. "I respect that Priest," Henderson commended him as they slapped hands."Take care of my daughter, and we won’t have any issues."

Priest nodded before placing his right hand over his heart. "You got my word, man.”

As they concluded the conversation, a woman approached the group. "Why is it every time there's a party, you guys are huddled up in the corner chatting and not dancing?" Brea, the youngest out of the bunch, asked as she stale-faced her siblings and father.

Although Britain was the sibling who stuck out like the sore thumb, Brea was surprisingly the wild child. She was able to balance a hyper-energetic personality, all the while remaining focused and fixed on her career. She was always the busy one and the one out of reach since she temporarily lived in Maryland for school. It was expected for her to liven the party up whenever she came around, simply because she never got the chance to just chill and hang out due to her intense schedule.

Brea shared her hugs with Henderson and her siblings before she halted at Priest. "A new face." She eyed him up and down. "I'm Brea. You are?"

"This is my boyfriend, Priest," Britain introduced him as they shook hands.

At the mention of Priest being Britain's boyfriend, Brea glanced at her sister with widened eyes. "He's fine," she mouthed to Britain right in front of Priest, complimenting his good looks.

Britain laughed before mouthing, "I know right," back at her sister.

"Y'all do know we see y'all, right?" Brixton pointed out, causing Britain and Brea both to shrug.

After some light conversation, Brea convinced everyone to join her to dance alongside Seven, who was living her best life on the dance floor that was put on the rooftop. Priest was using the fact that Denim was too engaged in his chains as in excuse not to join them in dancing, but Britain had him hand Denim over to Henderson. As always, she was making him step out of his comfort zone and put down that tough wall he always had up.

The DJ had the rooftop blaring with “Feel So Good” by Mase. "P, I know you know this!" Britain laughed as she urged him to loosen up a bit.

Priest chuckled as he placed his hands at her hips as she wrapped her arms loosely around his neck. "Buy an E, get a key, to the Lex. To hold, East, West, every state. Come on, bury the hate. Millions the only thing. We in the area to make. Better friend or ex-friend. In a Lex or a Benz. Let's begin. Bring this BS to an end. Come on," Priest smoothly rapped along to the lyrics of the song, causing Britain to smile from ear to ear.

"Bad, bad, bad, bad boy. You make me feel so good. You know you make me feel so good. You know you make me feel so good." Britain cupped her hands around his face as he smiled down at her. "Bad, bad, bad, bad boy. I wouldn't change you if I could. I wouldn't change you if I could. I wouldn't change you if I could."

Leaning down, Priest pressed his lips against Britain's for a light kiss. She was truly a breath of fresh air, and even though it felt like she was pulling his teeth to do things that he usually would turn the other cheek to, Priest had to admit that she made him have fun. She stripped away his worries, even if it was just for a couple of minutes. She showed him a good time, and that was all that mattered.

The song ended, and Britain had Priest in laughter at the little shoulder dance she was doing as she tried to mimic Mase from the song’s music video. Eventually, everyone was told that dinner would be served, so the guests all took their appointed seats. Priest and Britain were seated amongst Seven, Henderson, Brea, Brixton, Jadey and Kaymen. The vibe was comfortable, and the conversation was seamless.

With a champagne glass in hand, Seven rose from her seat, prepared to thank everyone. "Thank you, guys, for showing up and showing out for my 21st birthday tonight," Seven began, causing everyone to laugh and cheer on the fact that she was so head strong about this being her 21st birthday, not her 50th. "It shouldn't be that goddamned funny to y'all," she warned jokingly, causing the laughter to intensify.

"On a serious note, I really appreciate you all for coming out with so much positive energy and happiness. This night will go down in the books for me. I have a quick little announcement to make before we can all enjoy dinner," she announced as her soft brown eyes glanced from Henderson to her children. "As you all know, I've been taking a long break from the hectic duties of being a surgeon. Although I've been living my best life running my private practice and not being in an operating room, I have to admit that I miss the thrill. I've decided to return to my surgical duties and head back to the hospital full time," Seven announced, causing an array of claps to fill the roof top.

Seven was a damn good surgeon, so when she took her little impromptu break and opened up a clinic, everyone was confused. Britain believed her mother was just having a midlife crisis, but she seemed content. Her decision to head back to the hospital was definitely unexpected, but everyone was happy for her.

"So, that means Brix and I are like out of a job?" Britain asked jokingly as her mother concluded her announcement and took a seat.

Laughter surrounded the table at Britain's question. Seven shook her head at her daughter. "No, Mocha," she laughed. "Pops and I hired someone else to run the clinic full time.”

Priest chuckled as he tossed his arm over Britain's shoulder. "Your family's cool," he leaned in and whispered into her ear. His confession caused a smile to flash across Britain's face while her eyes lit up.

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