Page 97 of The Love of Priest

"And you always talking shit under yo hot-ass breath," he retorted. "Get your stupid ass out ‘cause I ain't giving you a piece of shit," he warned Priest before getting out of the vehicle and slamming the door shut.

Sitting in the car, Priest couldn't help but to laugh, reminiscing on the times they had to do their early morning trips to Bueno! due to their crazy shifts at Mansfield Landscaping. Those mornings were always filled with constant bickering due to Priest always holding J'Ru up by taking his slow, precious time with everything he did. Bueno! was a landmark for them. They had spent a shit load of cash at the place since they were bad-ass kids cushion-searching for change.

Fortunately, God had put J'Ru and Priest both in the position to own Bueno!. They vowed to keep everything running exactly the same. However, they had remodeled it to bring it up to code and upgrade all the appliances, and they made sure the checks the cashiers and the cooks were receiving were a lot heftier. J'Ru and Priest were serious when they said they would eventually buy the block when they were just two young and irresponsible fourteen-year-olds. They stuck to their word, and now, the block was theirs metaphorically and literally. Getting out of the car, Priest made sure to lock up the vehicle. He followed J'Ru inside the corner store. The scent of the hot grease from the cooking station and the overpowering aroma of fried foods comforted his nostrils.

"You crazy motherfucka! What the fuck you doing here?" Carlito, J'Ru's long-time friendly rival, pointed at him upon his entrance. His thick Hispanic accent was distinctive, which made him even funnier since he only stood at five-foot-three with a reckless mouth. Carlito was one gangsta-ass dude who all the niggas on the block looked out for. He was down for sure, and he always had something crazy coming out of his mouth.

J'Ru raised both of his middle fingers up at Carlito. "Aye! Fuck you, Carlito," J'Ru laughed.

"Priest!" Carlito pointed at Priest in excitement. "The important one." He dubbed J'Ru as the less important.

Priest and J'Ru both laughed, having gotten used to Carlito saying stupid shit. "He gone beat the brakes off of your short ass one day," Priest warned Carlito.

Carlito stuck his middle finger up at Priest as the three laughed in unison. "Come get your short ass behind the grill and make me a chopped cheese," J'Ru told Carlito as he grabbed a bottle of soda from the fridge.

"What about you?" Carlito asked while eyeing Priest, checking to see whether he wanted something as well.

"Same thing on a roll, and hold the fucking ketchup, Carlito. Heavy handed ass," Priest chuckled as he went ahead and grabbed a water from the fridge. Scanning the store, his eyes landed on a bag of Chester’s Hot Fries, which caused him to chuckle at the thought of Britain. He made his way over to the aisle and grabbed two bags to add to his purchase.

"You don't even eat those." J'Ru pointed out while looking at the bags of chips he would usually get a side-eye from Priest for indulging in.

"They not for me," he informed J'Ru.

J'Ru smirked. "Such a fucking simp," he clowned Priest with a chuckle. It didn't take much thinking for J'Ru to conclude that Priest was buying the chips for Britain.

Priest couldn't help but to laugh a bit. As much as he wasn't trying to make shit obvious, J'Ru could see right through all of it. He was sure if Kaymen was present, he would be able to see through him as well.

"Man, shut the fuck up," Priest said to J'Ru as he bypassed the swinging door to the cash register which was barricaded by thick bullet proof glass and a wall of a variety of candy bars.

Priest punched a few keys into the register before going into his pocket and placing a twenty in the drawer to cover both his and J'Ru's bill. "You're a stand-up guy. Y'know that?" J'Ru pointed at Priest, commending him. "I was getting ready to just walk out of this motherfucka." He shrugged his shoulders.

"Stealing from yourself," Priest shamed J'Ru with a shake of his head and a chuckle.

Carelessly, J'Ru shrugged once more. "Grab me a tee while you back there." He pointed to the wall of stocked plain tees.

Priest turned on his heels to grab the requested tee for J'Ru. "Black v-neck?" He raised a brow at J'Ru.

J'Ru screwed his face up in disgust. A v-neck was the last thing he would ever wear, especially a black one. "Have some fucking class," he said to Priest, who was overtaken with laughter while grabbing the white crew neck in his size.

Finished behind the counter, Priest exited through the door. He handed J'Ru the tee as he carried his items in his hands. "Yo, Carlito. Where Mrs. Cox? She usually be here around this time," Priest asked. Mrs. Cox was the sweetness in Bueno!. She always made the visit to the bodega a memorable one with her hearty laughter, words of encouragement, and soothing voice. Priest hadn't stopped by in a while due to everything he had going on with his life.

Behind the grill finishing up both of the men's sandwiches, Carlito shrugged. "She's been sick. I told her to get that shit outta here. I can't be fucking sick." He shook his head with his face screwed up.

Priest chuckled. "I hope Mr. Cox roll in here and beat the fuck outta you for talking to her like that." J'Ru pointed at Carlito.

The three men laughed, aware that Mr. Cox didn't have one violent bone in his body. J'Ru and Priest thanked Carlito for the sandwiches before exiting Bueno!. Getting in the vehicle, Priest sat Britain's chips in the back seat before opening his sandwich on his lap to multitask between driving and eating.

They were set on searching for Jazzy, though Priest knew it wouldn't be too hard. Jazzy only had a few people to run to. "Might as well slide through Taylor's crib. Her and Jazzy can't stay away from each other for too long," J’Ru suggested.

Taylor was Jazzy's best friend who Priest really didn't want her mingling with. Taylor wasn't really a bad person, but whenever she and Jazzy linked up, Jazzy ended up jumping off the deep end. Priest was sure Taylor played a slight role in Jazzy's decision to drop out simply because Taylor didn't want her leaving in the first place. Priest wasn't blaming Taylor completely, nor was it causing him to dislike her. He just wished she took more of a backseat when it came to decisions Jazzy needed to make pertaining to her own life.

"We going to Taylor's for you or for Jazzy?" Priest smirked. Taylor was older than Jazzy by three years, which was why Jazzy took Taylor's word as bond, no matter what it was. J'Ru had his fair share of dealing with Taylor. The two made it crystal clear that it was just sex, nothing more, nothing less.

J'Ru waved Priest off. "I haven't kicked it with that girl in that way since last year," he informed Priest as he took a bite of his food.

"Tryna be a better man?" Priest chuckled.

J'Ru groaned dramatically. "Just stop fucking talking, PJ! Please!" Priest couldn’t help but find amusement in teasing J'Ru. He always got super defensive.

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