Page 62 of The Love of Priest

Priest’s face softened as he sympathized with her. "Yeah." He nodded. "All I expect is honesty from you."

Britain took a seat next to him, angling herself to face him. "So, I went to Whole Foods," she began, trailing her eyes down to her hands and fiddling with them.

Using his finger, Priest guided her head back up so she could maintain eye contact with him. "Talk to me, not your hands," he advised her.

Britain nodded and kept her head up. Her eyes locked with his. She could see deep concern within them. Her sudden sadness had him worried and ready to get to the bottom of who or what the catalyst of it was. "I ran into my ex," she admitted.

Priest wasn't intimidated or bothered by the fact that she encountered her ex while he wasn't present. He was more bothered by the effect it had on her. If he later found out that Britain was still stuck on her ex, he would take a step back from what they had going on. He didn't want to be in competition with another man. That wasn't his style. "So, what's up?" He shrugged his shoulders. "He did something to you?"

Britain shook her head. "Aside from making me feel like shit, he didn't do anything else."

"Why he got so much power over you,Gioia?" Priest asked her.

Britain shrugged as she raked her fingers through her hair. "I gave him the leverage to taint me. He picked me when I was vulnerable and made me feel like the way he treated me was how any man should treat a woman. I would never allow myself to want him again, but is it bad that I want him to want me? I crave the satisfaction of turning him away, making him feel how he made me feel." Britain’s mind was wired to make her feel as though the only way she could redeem herself was to reverse the roles of their ancient relationship on Cameron. She knew there was no chance of that happening, though. He seemed happily married and happy with his daughter. Britain was stuck with the what ifs while he continued to live with no care or regard for her.

The way he spoke to her made her feel like he was just catching up with a colleague or an old classmate. He didn't make her feel like she was the woman he poured himself into, the woman who catered to his every need as if she were his mother, the woman who listened to his insecurities and patched up his opened wounds so he could be healed for the woman who now had the privilege of being his wife. Britain just wanted respect, recognition, appreciation. Was that too much to ask for?

Priest reached his hand out for her, and she took it. He pulled her closer, and Britain fell onto his chest where he proceeded to hold her. She didn’t know how much she needed his embrace until she felt her salty tears grace her face.

"You don't like to validate or concede to your pain, but that's fundamental shit you're gonna have to do in order to heal and move on properly. I'm not sure to what extent this person has hurt you, but what I can say is that it's not the end of the world. Your days are still what they are with or without him:yourdays. Don't allow his manipulative ways to revert you back to the girl you once were. You're a woman of caliber now, the one who pays her own bills." Britain and Priest both let out light laughs at the fact that he resurfaced the witty remark she slashed him with during their first encounter.

Priest knew Britain was used to a dominant-submissive relationship where she felt obliged to please the person she was with. Priest wasn't interested in any of that. The first thing he liked about her was the fact that she held her own. She could go tit-for-tat without apologizing for it. She was independent and demanded so much respect without uttering a word. One man was all it took to make her fall to her knees; however, Priest was trying to prevent that. He wasn't going to strip her of her backbone like Cameron had done. He was only going to make her stronger.

"Thank you." Britain sniffled from her cries and lifted her head to look up at Priest. With her face stained with tears, Priest still found her gorgeous. With the pads of his thumbs, he gently wiped away her tears."It’s nothing." He shrugged. "I care for you.”

Britain felt an urge within her. It was the same way she always felt whenever she told Cameron she loved him. The spark was always short-lived since he never reciprocated the three words. The words piled onto the tip of her tongue as she locked eyes with Priest. Hesitant to allow a man to know how important she considered him, Britain did something Priest had never witnessed her do before: she held back.

"Don't start holding back now." Priest shook his head. "Whatever it is, you can tell me,” he encouraged her with a set of soft eyes Britain had never seen from him before. He seemed to have let his guard down completely. He was beginning to trust her wholeheartedly.

"We're not ready for it yet." Britain shook her head, remaining openly honest. "I don't want to scare you off."

"I don't fear much, Gioia," he reminded her.

Britain nodded. "I know, but it scares me."

"Understood," Priest concluded, no longer feeling the need to press her to open up. Things flowed organically with them. He was sure that whatever she was holding back would soon flow out of her organically as well.

Later that day, Britain cooked dinner, but Priest ended up not being able to stay to eat. He promised he would be back later since he had to go get Jazzlyn from the airport and get her acclimated into the penthouse.

In his car, with the address of the private airport programmed into the GPS, Priest kept his mind on Britain. The events of their talk replayed in his head. He didn’t want to jump to assumptions that she was denying that she loved him, but he didn’t know what else it could have been.

His phone vibrated on his lap, pulling him from his heavy thoughts. Glancing down at the phone, he noticed it was J'Ru calling. A light smile graced his face since it had been a few days since he and his bro last chopped it up. Answering the call, his phone immediately connected to the Bluetooth of the vehicle. "Yuuurrr, what's cracking nigga?!" J'Ru exclaimed over the phone, causing Priest to laugh.

"Shit. About to go get Jazzy from the ramp," Priest informed him as he switched lanes to get off on the upcoming exit.

J'Ru chuckled. "She hit my line the other day asking me what's been keeping you occupied." Priest wouldn't say Jazzy was territorial over him, but she liked to be aware of any new changes that happened in his life so she could be prepared. Britain had become an addition to his lifestyle, and he knew his time with her had caused some changes within his life. When Priest spent time with Britain, his phone was shut off, making it hard to get in contact with him. Jazzy had grown used to having her brother accessible to her at all times of the day and night, so it caught her off guard that he was dubbing her calls. She wasn't rubbed the wrong way by it; she just wanted to be a little nosy.

Priest shook his head at the fact that everyone felt the need to question either J'Ru or Kaymen when it came to his personal life. "Word? She really tryna get info about what I got going on? That's wild."

"She's just concerned and nosy as hell," J'Ru assured him with a laugh. "Just to let you know, I ain't tell her spoiled ass shit. Whatever she knows is from her own digging or your silly ass slipping up," he warned Priest.

A chuckle filtered out of Priest before he responded. "Ain't shit to tell her, man. I'm just cooling it and letting life take its course before they try to burry a nigga under the prison."

"Following in your pop’s footsteps, I see," J'Ru said in a jesting manner.

"Nigga, fuck you," Priest laughed. "Difference between me and Leonard is I'll El Chapo my way out of that bitch, not dick ride," Priest declared confidently.

"Always talking out the side of yo’ fucking neck, man," J'Ru laughed. "Almost forgot what I called you for. We meeting at your spot before the trial or you wanna just ride without security, you and me?"

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