Page 104 of The Love of Priest

Priest shook his head. "I got this," he asserted as he pinched the plastic off the lamb chops they had just purchased. "Wait. I'm supposed to touch this with my hands?" He gave her a crazed look before glancing back down at the raw meat.

Britain laughed as she nodded her head. "Yes. Just let me help with this part. I do not want to nibble on dirty lamb chops."

Priest smacked his lips. "Sit down. I got this," he asserted as he grabbed a pair of tongs from the kitchen counter.

Britain couldn't help but laugh at how ill he was about touching the raw lamb chop with his hands. She instructed him on how to thoroughly clean the lamb chops so they would be safe to eat.

As he continued to prepare the meal, Britain was at his heels supervising him. She had her arms wrapped around his torso, and every so often, her hands caressed his chest to encourage him. "Who used this kitchen ‘cause it's evident that you didn't?" Britain asked him.

Priest chuckled, finding her little sly jab amusing. "My chef, Talia. She went hard for this kitchen." He smiled lightly. "And Paula," he eased out.

In the midst of her running her hand down his chest soothingly, Britain halted. "Who's Paula?" she asked. Her tone wasn't much of a defensive one, but she was curious, nonetheless. He had never mentioned the name once before, so she was wondering why he had brought it up now.

"A woman I used to kick it with." He shrugged his shoulders, being as vague as possible. It wasn't a thing Priest wanted to hide, but he wasn't sure how well Britain would take him speaking of another woman. Because of her prior situation, Priest believed these types of things had to be eased in with care so she wouldn't feel threatened.

"Kick it with or in a relationship with?" Britain squinted her eyes while tilting her head in a questioning manner.

Priest shrugged. "We were in a relationship," he admitted, remaining honest.

Britain nodded. She didn't want to seem invasive, but again, she was curious to know more. Priest never left her questions unanswered, so being the aspiring journalist she was, her mind began to flood with questions about Paula.

"Was she nice?" Britain asked, mentally face palming herself while thinking the question was completely infantile.

Priest chuckled at how childlike she sounded. "Yeah." He nodded. "She was nice," he answered.

"Was she pretty?" Britain continued with her questions.

Priest chortled another light laugh while nodding. "She was pretty. She's actually a model," he enlightened her.

"Oof," Britain breathed in an animated manner. "I guess I have some big shoes to fill."

"Nah, not at all. She was then, and you're now." He shook his head. "Feel free to make your shoes as big or as small as you need to," he told her, causing both of them to laugh.

"Why didn't you guys work?" Britain asked now that she had bypassed all the childish questions her mind was urging her to ask for her own well-being.

Priest let out a short sigh. "For starters, she was an older woman?—"

Britain eyes widened a bit. "How much older?"

"Ten years," Priest replied. "I was 25, and she was 35."

"You were being a little sugar baby, Priest?"

Britain raised her brows, kind of alarmed that he was willing to be involved with a woman ten years his senior. Britain couldn't help but to think how off she would feel if she was Paula. Britain thought her and Kobe's four-year age difference was just unreasonable, so she couldn't even fathom a ten-year age difference. She knew if she was much older than her partner, it would give her some sort of sense of entitlement over him while at the same time making her feel insecure that he would play her for some other woman who was closer to him in age. All women were built differently, though, and Paula was one hell of a woman.

Priest laughed with a shake of his head, denying that he was ever a sugar baby. "I was on the come up around that time, so I had my own. She treated me, and I treated her."

"Oh, that's nice." Britain nodded. "So, the age difference strained you guys?" Britain continued to dig into the story of his ex-girlfriend.

Priest shook his head. "Not quite. She was actually married with a seventeen-year-old son." Priest let out with a sigh. "I wasn't really down with going in on someone else's wife after they had been unified before God, so I put an end to it."

"Now, that's just trifling." Britain screwed her face up in disgust with a shake of her head.

Priest chuckled while agreeing. "Yeah, it is. To add insult to injury, this was around the time I first got wrapped up in a legal situation. I got arrested, and she told me over the phone while I was trying to get her to contact my lawyer for me." He chuckled in a bitter manner. Britain assumed that he was just trying to suppress the pain that Paula had inflicted on him. "I trusted her with a lot, so she had access to my spot. She pretty much dipped on me after cleaning me out for everything I had," Priest shrugged.

Britain's face churned into one of anger. How could Paula find it rational to do something like that while he was trying to get himself out of a bad situation? She took advantage of his weakness at that moment, which was pretty fucked up. "What?! What sick person does that to someone who's in need?!" Britain aired in frustration. "And you consider hernice?!"

Amused by her reaction to it all, he laughed. "I mean, she was at first," he shrugged.

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