Page 87 of The Love of Priest

J'Ru stood up, giving Priest a brotherly hug. "Chilling, waiting for your late ass like always," he jested, causing Jazzy, Priest, and the woman across from him to laugh.

"My bad. The drive was crazy ‘cause of this one." Priest put the blame on Jazzy and the absurd comment she made in the car.

Jazzy laughed as she went ahead and hugged J'Ru, greeting him. "Priest is just over dramatic." She waved her brother off. "But you didn't tell me you were bringing a guest. I would have invited my ex," Jazzy stated while nudging Priest in his side, signaling for him to fix his eyes on the person seated across from J’Ru.

Priest’s eyes finally gravitated to his right, and he was stunned to see that Jazzy was right; it was her.

He saved face, keeping a stern look as he eyed her up and down. She was just as gorgeous as he remembered. Smooth, golden caramel skin, daunting brown eyes, and plump lips. Whenever she spoke or smiled, her gorgeous face would indent with two dimples in her cheeks. Her smile was always a contagious one. She could convert anyone's mood with it. She had the stature of a model- slim, tall, elegant and graceful. At one point, Priest never even believed she walked. It seemed like she floated on clouds most of the time. She could make the simplest outfits so chic. Her basic black crew neck tee fit her nicely as she paired it with a retro pair of Levi jeans. She dressed the outfit up with a pair of nude snakeskin, open-toe stilettos.

J'Ru eyed Jazzy, scolding her silently for her little remark. "Paula actually finished having dinner with her folks, and she noticed I was waiting for y'all’s late asses and came to say what's up," J'Ru explained. "She cool people," he vouched.

Paula smiled, thanking J'Ru for referring to her as cool people. "Long time no see, Priest," she finally spoke to Priest.

Jazzy’s eyes widened in shock at how bold Paula was to even attempt to have a conversation with Priest. She was old news, but if anyone knew how to make Priest fall to his knees, it was Paula.

Priest noticed that far too late, which was why he had to take to extremes to distance himself from her. It was just way too toxic. "I've been around," he shrugged as he took a seat at the table. Everyone could tell he was nowhere near interested in the conversation, even Paula.

She let a light chuckle grace out of her. "You lost my number?" she asked with a tilt of her head.

Priest cut his eyes at her. The look within them was a vile one, indicating he was disgusted and wanted her out of his sight immediately."Probably did, probably didn't. I had no intentions of using it anyway," he spewed without any remorse. His attention averted from Paula and landed on J'Ru. "Yo, what’s this all about? Seem like y'all like fucking up family dinner every chance y'all get." He shook his head.

"Chill, man. It ain't even like that," J'Ru claimed.

"Yeah, Priest, it isn't even like that," Paula agreed. "If I'm that much of a bother, I'll leave." She stood to her feet, grabbing her clutch off the table.

"Yeah, you do that," Priest dismissed her without sending another glance her way.

Paula let out a sigh of disappointment. She didn't know why she even expected anything else from Priest. When he was hurt, he turned cold. "You have a beautiful establishment, Priest. Good luck to you and enjoy life." She remained positive with a smile gracing her face. For a second, Priest could feel himself falling for her soft voice, but the feeling left as quickly as it came.

Paula realized Priest wouldn't be rendering her a response or even offer her a second of eye contact, so she refrained from saying anything else to him. "Jazzy, J'Ru, it was nice seeing you two again." She waved at the two as she began making her way out of the restaurant.

Jazzy chucked up the deuces, sending Paula off as J'Ru mouthed an apology to her. He honestly hadn’t expected Priest to be that cold toward her. Jazzy and Priest took their seats at the table, both letting out deep sighs.

With Paula now out of his presence, Priest seemed to revert back to his laid-back personality. "Stop meddling," he pointed a finger at J'Ru, warning him.

J'Ru scoffed. "What you talking about? I don't meddle."

Priest wasn't buying anything J'Ru was telling him. He knew J’Ru thought Paula would be the quickest person to get him to forget about Britain. He didn’t think it was in Priest’s best interest to be getting comfy with the woman writing front-page stories about him. It was a conflict of interest.

"We'll chop it up after this," Priest advised J'Ru.

J'Ru nodded before shrugging. "Cool with me."Seeing Priest pay Paula dust truly shocked J’Ru. He really thought a blast from the past would’ve had Priest reconsidering his situation with Britain, but he was wrong.

As the awkwardness and hostility Paula left behind subsided, Priest, Jazzy, and J'Ru enjoyed each other’s company at the table.

"I'll have a glass of Merlot," Jazzy attempted to order herself an expensive glass of wine with a smile on her face.

Both Priest and J'Ru cut in, not giving her the chance to fool the server. "She'll have a sparkling water," they both said in unison while shooting her chastising glares. Jazzy let out a groan. Dealing with Priest and J’Ru together always managed to give her a headache, especially when they both acted like they were her father. The two were so overprotective of her that sometimes they even argued with each other about her. Jazzy was grateful to not only have Priest, but also J'Ru, but sometimes they both got on her last nerve.

"You guys do know I drink while I'm in France, right?" She looked between the two.

They both shrugged their shoulders carelessly. "You're in the U.S now," Priest reminded her.

After finalizing their orders, Priest, J'Ru and Jazzy picked their conversation up right where they left off before the server swung by. "So, how are things looking? Is Abraham confident he got this?" Jazzy questioned her brother about his case. She reminded him so much of Britain at the moment. She had that same tone of worry and concern Britain had when she got to overthinking. Unlike Britain, Jazzy had never attended a trial date, so the things being told on the news and the blogs kept her up to speed, especially because Priest never liked to discuss anything with her.

Priest’s eyes bore into his sister. "Don't worry about it," he told her. "Just enjoy me as much as you can."

"You take everything so lightly." Jazzy rolled her eyes with deep annoyance. She hated how he could just brush the entire situation off as if the harsh reality of him not being around wasn’t hovering over everyone’s head. If Priest got put away, Jazzy would have no idea what to do with herself. All her life, she looked at her brother as a father figure. He raised her, despite the fact that he needed someone to raise him as well. Him being locked up and not within arm’s reach would be devastating.

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