Page 49 of The Love of Priest

Diane took care of Britain's robe, concealing Britain's bare bottom half with a white folded sheet. "It's nice to see him have someone around finally," Diane stated as she applied the warm oil onto Britain's back before working it in with her soft, cloudlike hands.

"He's usually here by himself?" Britain asked Diane, a spark of curiosity lighting within her.

Diane nodded her head. "All the time. He considers himself the popular loner." She remembered the phrase he used to explain his state of always being alone. "I guess that's finally changed with you around. If I must say, you two seem to radiate off each other," Diane complimented.

"Thank you." A smile pranced onto Britain's face. She was glad Diane couldn’t see how much she was gushing at the thought of Priest. She now wanted to live up to her name, Gioia. Just as much as Priest wanted to show her the joy in life, Britain wanted tobehis joy in life.

Britain was determined.

ChapterSixteen

Priest's eyeshawked over Britain as he watched her attentively. She was focused as she put different sized buds of weed into the grinder, rotating her wrist four times before it was all ground up. Britain wasn't a smoker, but she was intrigued by the process and effect of it, but not enough to try it, though.

Just a few minutes before, she had asked Priest how to perfectly roll a blunt just like she had seen him do in a matter of a minute. Priest laughed her off, but she remained persistent. He warned her that she wouldn't be perfect her first time around, but consistency would get her to where she wanted to be.

"Is this okay?" Britain glanced over her shoulder at Priest after she dumped the ground weed from the grinder onto the rolling tray.

Lounging on the bed, Britain sat between Priest's legs with her back to his chest. He was sitting against the headboard, using his fingertips to caress small circles on her bare thighs. Looking over her shoulder, Priest examined how well she ground the weed. He nodded, satisfied with the outcome.

An accomplished smile spread across her face. "It looks like parsley." She pinched a small amount between her fingers, holding it up to her nose to take a deeper sniff of it. The sticky leaves clung onto her finger, causing her to use her acrylic nail to scrape it off.

Priest laughed, finding her comparison of weed to parsley comical. "Alright, don't never say no shit like that again," he warned jokingly. "This that pressure. This'll have you smacked."

She nodded her head with a laugh before taking the already split leaf into her possession. "Alright, what's next?" she asked him as if she were an eager student.

Priest rested his head on Britain's shoulder. "Now you fill it up to your liking. Not too much, and damn sure not too little," he advised her.

Britain nodded and did as she was instructed. He watched her precisely fill the leaf with her desired amount of weed. He would have rolled a little more, but he was going to let Britain have her little moment. She glanced over at him nervously, hoping she completed the step correctly. He nodded in reassurance before reaching out to even out the distribution of the weed within the leaf.

"Alright. You can do the rest." She sat it down on the rolling tray before handing the tray over to Priest.

He chuckled at how easily Britain gave up. He took the tray from her, proceeding to add more weed before he began rolling it. Britain smacked her lips. "You told me that was enough."

"I mean it was… for you," he assured with a shrug. "But for me, I put some more."

She rolled her eyes slyly before turning around to face him. He felt her hard gaze fall upon him as he utilized both his hands and lips to roll the blunt to his liking. It stunned Britain how fast he could get one down. She knew if she had continued her attempt, she would still be in the process.

Priest patted his pocket for a lighter, but, to his dismay, he came up empty. A smirking Britain wagged the lighter in his face tauntingly, causing him to smack his lips playfully. "You really wanna play games?" Priest chuckled.

"I have a proposition for you," she prompted, her smirk still all over her face.

"What?" He raised a brow.

"I come to your trial when we get back," she proposed with a hopeful look in her eye. Although Priest never spoke about it much, Britain was fully aware that a day after they returned to home, he would be gearing up to end the recess on his trial. Things were about to get kicked back into gear, and it had the media anxious. Ever since Priest called law enforcement out at his event, everyone was wondering what else he had in store.

Britain handed Priest the lighter, and he quickly flicked it, lighting his blunt. Reading the look on his face, Britain could tell he wasn't pleased by what she’d just proposed. He inhaled another hit from the blunt, exhaling the smoke from the corner of his mouth so it wouldn't hit Britain in the face before shaking his head. "I'll give you anything but permission to attend my trial," he stated firmly.

"Why not?" she asked.

Priest shrugged. "That's just not a place you should be." Honestly, Priest wanted to protect Britain. If she came to this trial, her life would be turned upside down. Priest loved the fact that Britain’s face was known to others, but he didn't need anyone knowing her name, and he for damn sure didn't want her getting tangled in his mess.

"Priest—"Britain tried to get another word out, but he shook his head, interjecting her.

"Brit, you said it yourself. You're gonna have to separate the Priest I show to the world from the Priest I show to you. You going to my trial would cause an interference. In that courtroom, a lot of shit gets discussed that doesn't even make it to the news or the paper," Priest explained as he bore into her eyes so she could understand every word he said. "If I let you into that court room, Gioia, you will fear me," he stated coldly, causing Britain to avert her eyes from his.

Priest was used to the intimidation he placed on Britain, but he would never settle for fear. "Okay," Britain agreed with a nod of her head. "I won't go."

Ashing his blunt on the tray, Priest nodded alongside her. "If I was willing to jeopardize you, then you would have a front row seat," he asserted. "But I'm not."

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