Page 28 of The Love of Priest 2

Britain reached up, placing her hands over Priest's, who still had his hands cupped around her face.

She pulled his hands from her face, cupping them in her grip.

"P, you can't spring life plans on me and expect me to follow suit," she told him.

"You didn't consider me and my wants in any way.

Right now, you're thinking for you for the first time.

"Britain's voice cracked in pain. "I'm not upset with you for that.

You're doing what I've been encouraging you to do for so long, but for something like this, you were supposed to think of us not only of you. "

"Damned if I do, damned if I don’t, right?" Priest scoffed in defeat as he shook his head.

"No, no, no," she quickly shook her head, not wanting him to punish himself for doing what he had always needed to do.

"This is a good thing, P. You're putting you and your needs first. What's for you won't always be meant for me, and that's okay.” Her eyes scorched with tears as her voice croaked in pain.

It was hard putting on a brave face when all she really wanted to do was cry in anguish. "You're making yourself happy."

" You make me happy," he corrected Britain.

Britain smiled through her tears as she nodded. "You make me happy too, but our lives are about to go in two different directions."

"Britain, don't say that." Priest shook his head in despair. "We can make this shit work. This is us we're talking about," he encouraged her.

"We want two different things, Priest."

Priest pulled his hands from Britain’s, running them down his face in distress. "So, you expect me to go to Italy and just forget about you over night? That's impossible," he denied as he screwed up his face. "Meet me in the middle, Britain. Compromise with me. Make this shit work."

"Priest, I was so willing to stick it out with you if things went bad because I've already gone through my stage of just thinking for me and living for me. Right now, it’s your time, and I can't stop you from doing that," she explained to him. She felt she would’ve been selfish if she told him to stay in New York.

Priest was unhappy there, and he would never be content.

He was taking a big leap of faith, and Britain didn't want to come between that.

"Why can't you just trust me on this one?" he asked. "You really think I would take you to Italy for an unhappy life?"

"Priest, you can't give me everything. You telling me about a ring, house, and career right now feels like those are just incentives for me to follow you to Italy.

I don't want you to feel like you owe me that, and I don't want to feel like I'm entitled to all those things because I gave up my life here," she expressed her concerns.

"I wanted things to be organic for us. "

"You want ," Priest quickly corrected Britain. She was speaking in past tense as if she had already exiled him from her life.

Britain inhaled a deep breath, ordering her emotions as she nodded her head. "Right," she agreed. "I want things to be organic for us.”

Priest sighed gravely as he leaned against the counter.

His eyes shifted from Britain to the clock that decorated the wall.

"We should start getting ready for dinner," he said, completely disregarding the conversation they were having.

He was trying his hand at avoidance. Priest was never one to run from his problems, but at that moment, he couldn't bear to face them.

Parting ways with Britain wasn't something he thought he could stomach and recover from easily.

Britain cleared her throat as she shook her head lightly. "I'll just meet you there,” her soft voice announced as she ran her fingers through her hair.

"You want me to send Cyro over to drive you?"

Britain shook her head. "I'll drive," she assured him with a tight-lipped smile.

"Alright." He nodded as he inched his way closer to her. "Let's not let this shit get to us tonight. I love you." Priest craned down, pressing his lips against hers.

Britain wrapped her arms around his torso, clinging to him. In the midst of the embrace, she inhaled his scent into her nostrils. "I love you too," she professed.

It took them a while to finally pull away from the hold they had on each other, and even then, they couldn't stop themselves from granting each other multiple kisses. Eventually, Priest mustered up the strength to head out of the apartment and make his way to the penthouse.

As he drove, his mind couldn't help but think of the pain he was going to endure leaving Britain in New York while he went off to better himself in Italy.

He was glad that she understood his reasoning and wasn't shaming him for his choice.

In order to be a better version of himself, he needed a break from his normal life.

Italy was where he needed to be to center himself.

Arriving at his building, he parked his vehicle in the garage before taking the elevator to the penthouse.

The thick steel doors of the elevator parted, allowing him to enter the home.

Inside, Jazzy scurried over to him, needing his help to zip up her top.

"At least you have perfect timing for some things," she scoffed jokingly once Priest successfully zipped up the top she had been struggling with.

"Just for that…" Priest snickered as he dragged the zipper halfway down, causing Jazzy to groan.

"Quit playing!" She elbowed him.

He chuckled before zipping the top back up like he had just done. She thanked him before flipping her hair over her shoulder. "Where's Britain?" she asked, causing him to purse his lips.

"She said she'll meet us there," he told Jazzlyn with a shrug.

She eyed Priest suspiciously but refrained from questioning him any further. "Alright then. Hurry up before J'Ru starts calling," she rushed him.

Priest did as he was told and went straight into his bedroom to start getting ready.

He chuckled at the sight of the outfit Jazzy had already laid out for him.

After his steamy shower, he got dressed in the ribbed black Gucci turtleneck, matching black chino slacks and navy-blue double-breasted overcoat Jazzy had selected from his wardrobe.

With ease, he stepped into his Alexander McQueen’s before making his way to the mirror.

With a deep breath, he ran his hand down the overcoat, taking in the look.

To complete his attire, he added his diamond drenched Cuban link chain, along with his chandelier Patek Philippe wristwatch.

He checked his phone for the time, realizing that he was twenty minutes late for the dinner. After misting himself with his Creed Aventus cologne, he swiftly made his way out of the bedroom. "Awweee, you look nice," Jazzy playfully cooed once he made his entrance into the front room.

He chuckled lightly with a shake of his head. "‘Preciate you for picking this out for me. I was about to wear sneakers and a tee," he admitted shamelessly as he pressed the button for the elevator.

Jazzy sighed deeply. "What would you do without me?" She dramatically shook her head as she stepped onto the elevator before him.

The way down was swift, and luckily for Priest, Jazzy had already made the call for Cyro to be awaiting them in the garage.

The two slid into the plush leather seats of the Escalade with ease.

After thanking Cyro, a comfortable silence surrounded Jazzy and Priest as they kept their attention on their phones.

Priest sent some texts to Britain, updating her on his location and then asking if she had yet to leave her apartment.

His brows furrowed when he saw that she was reading his texts but not responding to any of them. With an exasperated breath full of annoyance, Priest stuffed his phone into the pocket of his overcoat. Britain clearly had no intentions of showing up for dinner tonight.

"What's up with you?" Jazzy asked her brother.

Priest shook his head. "Nothing," he replied dismissively.

Arriving at the restaurant in Manhattan, Priest exited the vehicle before making his way around to assist Jazzlyn out."When I said dinner, I meant for everyone," Priest said to Cyro who was preparing to peel off the premises until he was called to return.

Cyro chuckled lightly, knowing better than to fight Priest on the dinner invitation. Valet handled the Escalade as Jazzy led the way into the restaurant. The host ushered them to their lengthy dinner table, which was already filled with Priest's guest.

Despite Priest wanting to avoid the thought of the dinner being a goodbye to everyone, it truly was.

He invited not only his friends and family, but some of his staff as well.

Along the right side of the table were J'Ru, Aja, Jadey, Kaymen, Nia, Mirsad, and Remy.

On the left side sat Tasha and her sons, King and Jaden.

Then there was Talia, Cyro, and Mr. and Mrs. Cox.

"Late like always," J'Ru shamed Priest with a look of disgust.

Priest chuckled as he claimed his seat after greeting everyone. "My apologies," he offered as he rested his hand over his heart. "The traffic was pretty bad out there," he lied, placing the blame on traffic like he always did.

"You're fine, Priest. J'Ru's just hungry," Aja assured him as she swatted J'Ru's hand from taking her crab cake from her plate.

"As always," Kaymen butted in, causing the table to laugh.

"Lay off the back and forth," Priest teasingly scolded J'Ru and Kaymen. "We're here to celebrate," he announced.

"Where's my daughter?" Remy wasted no time in questioning Priest as his orbs scanned the table in search of Britain. Even though he didn't come to dinner solely for Britain, he still was expecting to see her, especially since Priest claimed they were celebrating.

Priest cleared his throat before glancing in Remy's direction. "She couldn't make it," he informed Remy, evoking various questioning looks from a few people's faces.