Page 17

Priest glanced around, an accomplished smirk playing on his face. By the grace of God, he was able to wrangle the majority of the community to show up to his event. The park was full of kids, adults, and teens who were supporting his cause of ensuring that fellow families of Harlem to had a great Thanksgiving.

"You pulled through again." J'Ru smacked hands with Kaymen before Priest did the same.

Kaymen chuckled lightly. "Again, this is nothing. We’re doing what's right with what we got," he assured. Priest agreed. This was why he kept J'Ru and Kaymen in his corner. They saw his vision. They weren't just interested in maintaining their own wealth and health; they thought about others and made sure they did as much as they could to help everyone get a piece of the pie.

"That's love, bro." Priest and Kaymen shared a quick hug. Without Kaymen, Priest knew this event wouldn't have happened. He stuck his neck out for Priest and J'Ru who both had bad reputations in the city at the moment. His “lay low” demeanor had been their savior.

J'Ru, Kaymen, and Priest remained together, overlooking the joy they were able to put into families’ lives, even if it was just for the moment. Seeing people happy was enough for them. Looking over his shoulder, Kaymen chuckled. "Sylvia on the hunt for you, boy," he teased Priest.

Priest rolled his eyes before turning around to see his mother striding right over to him. She was dressed to perfection. Her Good American jeans fit her bottom half, and she paired them with a loose-fitting white button-down shirt, which she tucked into the front of her pants. Sylvia never left the house without her stilettos, but since she would be flocking around the park to play her role as Priest's supportive and doting mother, she adorned her feet with a pair of black Christian Louboutin platform heeled ankle boots. Not wanting to face the sun, she had a pair of Chanel dark shade frames on her face as she tucked a few strands of her bob hairstyle behind her left ear.

"Hey, baby." She grabbed ahold of Priest's face, kissing his cheek. Priest's nose stung at the stench of cigarettes on her clothing, which she had desperately tried to mask with some expensive perfume.

"What up?" He nodded his head at her. Priest still hadn't gotten over their last encounter when she came into his home demanding twelve thousand from him. Like expected, Sylvia tried to swindle J’Ru out of the money, but Priest was already two steps ahead of her.

Sylvia looked up at Priest, rolling her eyes at his sly attitude. Waving him off, she went ahead and greeted both J'Ru and Kaymen. "How you gone hand out meal kits in six-inch heels?" J'Ru chuckled, pointing down at Sylvia's choice of shoe.

This time, Sylvia waved J'Ru off with a chuckle. "Boy, please! I won't be handing out a damn thing," she clarified.

Priest twisted his face up, clearly displeased with the fact that his mother wouldn't be participating in something he took very seriously. "Man, if you wasn't down for the cause, you should've stayed home. Everybody out here is here to help," he scolded his mother, not liking the fact that she only showed up to flounce around and look good.

Sylvia rolled her eyes at Priest. She hated how he always spoke down to her as if she were the child. He'd been doing so since he was fifteen and got a little bass in his voice. "You ain't help me. Why should I help you?" Sylvia sneered with her arms folded across her chest.

J'Ru and Kaymen could both tell where this was going, so J’Ru immediately took Sylvia underneath his arm, leading her off elsewhere, while Kaymen led Priest in the opposite direction. "You and your mama need some fucking counseling," Kaymen laughed, causing Priest to cut his eyes at him.

"Nah, I need to put her ass in a home. She's getting of age anyway," Priest scoffed with a light chuckle. He and his little sister Jazzy always joked about putting Sylvia in a home when she was aged and gone, but they knew Sylvia would raise hell if they did so.

Kaymen threw his head back in laughter. "Nigga, you really ain't shit."

Priest smirked a bit before he felt his phone vibrate in his front pocket. Eyeing his phone, his smirk upgraded into a light smile once the name “Gioia” flashed on his screen. "I'm gone get with you in a second. I gotta take this." Priest excused himself from the conversation with Kaymen who okayed him to go take his call.

"Hey, you good?" Priest asked as he drifted away from the massive group of people that had come out for the event. He was sure it would be impossible to hear Britain if he remained where he was.

"Yeah, I'm okay. I just got here. Can you come get me from my car, please?" The number of people who came out for Priest's event was jaw dropping to Britain. She expected a crowd, but the throng of people in attendance today was more than she bargained for. She was a bit nervous since she knew Priest liked to keep her close at all times, which meant all eyes would be on her.

Priest nodded his head as if Britain could see him. "I got you."

Britain stayed on the phone, directing Priest to her. Once he got to the car, he slipped into the passenger seat. Luckily for him, Britain had left the seat reclined just for the sake of his lengthy height.

"Always got this air on max. Got your nipples all hard and shit." Priest shook his head as he turned off the vents for his side of the vehicle which made Britain laugh.

Britain peered down at her chest, using two fingers to press down on her nipples which were erect due to the low temperature of her air conditioning in the vehicle. "It's hot out today," Britain pouted before glancing over at Priest.

Priest nodded, agreeing with her. Placing his calloused hand on her exposed thigh, he gave it a light squeeze. "I like this dress," he complimented her white dress that fit her body seamlessly.

"Thank you." Britain smiled gleefully. She reached over the console, grabbing Priest's face gently. She pulled him in, peppering light kisses on his lips repeatedly. "You look handsome. Look like your name could be Priest Justice." Britain licked her lips in a lustful manner.

Priest couldn't help but to find her amusing and crack a laugh. "Yo, you're wild." He shook his head at her as she joined in on the laughter.

Britain puckered her lips, causing Priest to lean in and grant her another kiss. "You ready for the Hamptons?" Priest asked as he pulled away from the kiss.

Britain nodded her head. She was packed and ready to go. She was honestly anxious about what Priest had in store for her. Since presenting the idea of the trip to the Hamptons, he had been stressing that he wanted Britain to enjoy life. Britain was clueless as to what that could possibly allude to, but she was anticipating a great trip.

"It's like a two-to-three-hour drive, so we have to get some candy for the road," Britain noted, making sure she would be set for the drive.

Priest chuckled at Britain’s sweet tooth. "We can stop for all the shit you need," he assured her, causing a smile to etch onto her face.

Finalizing their conversation about their two-hour road trip to the Hamptons, Priest got out of the car to help Britain out. Seeing the full view of her in the dress left his bottom lip bitten between his teeth. She looked good before, but now she looked great.

Priest rested his hand on her rear before giving it a light squeeze, causing Britain to squeal a bit. "Stop it! People are watching," Britain giggled while pushing him away lightly.

Priest shrugged carelessly. "I'm down with public sex. An audience ain't gone stop me." A smirk played on his lips as Britain looked up at him, astonished by his truth.

"Wow," Britain breathed in shock. "You are one nasty motherfucker."

Priest exhaled another laugh before wrapping his arms around her waist. "You brought your camera?" he inquired.

"I forgot it in the car." She turned them both back toward her car. Using the keyless remote, she unlocked the vehicle, grabbing her camera bag from the back seat. After seeing her work, Priest wanted her to show off her skills for him and his people. He suggested she take some photos of the event for him. Britain was reluctant to do so at first, since she felt like she was stronger as a writer than a photographer, but Priest was able to convince her to come through for him.

"You forgot it, or you purposely tried to leave it behind?" Priest peered down at her questioningly.

Britain looked up at him, an innocent smile masking her face. "A little bit of both," she admitted, causing Priest to chuckle. "I'm just nervous. What if your people aren't down with me shoving a camera in their faces?" Britain asked.

Priest let out a light laugh before putting his arm around Britain's shoulders. "J'Ru love the camera. Kaymen, that nigga hate everything, but you know that. Everybody else, they're pretty mellow. Just do your thing. You with me, and I wanna see your work. Fuck what everybody else thinking,” Priest assured Britain before applying a light kiss on her forehead.

Britain okayed him as she extracted her Nikon D850 from the camera bag. Priest offered to hold it for her which allowed him to watch her focus on correcting all the settings on her camera before attempting to take any shots. A light smile played on his face. It was evident that Britain loved working with the camera. She was just sensitive about her work. Writing had always been her thing, and although “Humans of New York” never allowed her to write from the heart, it still gave her that calmness and happiness that came from doing something she loved. Photography was just something she did on the side. She liked it, but she never thought she could excel in it.

“Why you keep playing? Clearly you enjoy this." Priest motioned to the camera she had in hand.

Averting her eyes from the screen on the camera to Priest, Britain smacked her lips. "What are you talking about?"

"You. Brushing off a talent you have ‘cause you're stubborn," Priest said to her.

Britain waved him off. "Alright, Priest. What about you?"

"I don't have a talent," Priest eased out with a shrug.

"Everyone has a talent," Britain persisted. "You're good at something."

Priest licked his lips. He was beginning to wish the conversation never flipped onto him. "You'll help me find it one day," he replied with a smirk.

Britain kept her eyes on him. Her eyes were longing and filled with contentment as she nodded her head. "All we have is time, right?" A smile surfaced on her face as she snapped a quick photo of Priest.

"Time," Priest agreed with a nod, his attention seemingly distant and zoned out as he stared at her attentively. "That's all we got."

Priest craned down and kissed her lips lightly. Britain had him feeling, something he rarely did. It had him confused, but it also had him open and optimistic. With her face heated, Britain held Priest's hand as he shuffled them through the swamp of people. Overall, it was a great time and provided great vibes. It was so nice seeing people of the community come up to Priest with ear-to-ear smiles just to receive open hugs and greetings from him. His kindness and his generosity were unmatched. Seeing him treat everyone like family and interact with every child as if they were his own had Britain's heartwarming.

With her camera ready, she was able to catch a few candid and emotion-driven shots of Priest interacting with everyone. This was the most Britain had seen Priest smile, and the sight was just blissful.

"Yo, if I could have everyone's attention," Priest spoke into the microphone that projected through the entire vicinity of the park. Priest had his arm hooked around Britain's neck as he stood before everyone. Sylvia had been keeping a close eye on her son and noticed how close Priest kept this girl. He was fancying her on his arm, which made Sylvia think Britain was the reason he was restricting her from the things and funds Priest usually gave her with ease. Britain was the only new factor in Priest's life, and Sylvia wasn't pleased to see she had her son acting completely differently.

Strutting over to J'Ru who stood not too far behind Priest alongside Kaymen, she pulled J'Ru closer, certain he would know more than Kaymen. Priest was a lot more open with J'Ru than he was with Kaymen.

“Who is she?" Sylvia whispered to J'Ru, referring to Britain who had her hand folded into Priest's. J'Ru glanced down at Sylvia who had her arms folded across her chest with a light scowl on her face. Her cold set of eyes were searing into Britain. Clearly, she wasn't pleased.

J'Ru pulled his eyes from Sylvia and placed them on Priest who seemed happier than he'd been in a while. "Happiness," J'Ru smirked, causing Sylvia to scoff.

"My son doesn't have happiness," Sylvia spat lowly to only be in earshot of J'Ru.

J'Ru shook his head. Out of respect to Priest, he always remained respectful to Sylvia, but deep down inside, he had no respect for her. She was selfish and only thought about her own well-being and happiness.

"You ain't never experienced his happiness or been the cause of it," J'Ru finalized before walking away. He no longer wanted to discuss Priest with his invasive mother.

"I just wanna say I appreciate everyone coming out for the cause. My mission is to make sure no family in this community is without a holiday celebration, a meal, or a blessing. With the help of the community and my brothers Kaymen and J'Ru, we were able to attain the resources to feed 350 families for Thanksgiving alone," Priest announced, causing a wave of cheers amongst the crowd.

Priest surveyed the crowd. In the far back, his eyes were able to target a few law enforcement officers who were ready to intervene in the wholesome event if one thing didn't look right to them. Like always, they liked to provoke Priest just so he could blow up. Out the corner of his eye, he could see the lead NYPD detective on his case, Christine Vance. Seeing her prepped up in her pant suit and professional up-do with a smug look on her face was amusing to Priest. A reaction was what they wanted, so he was going to give it to them.

Removing his hand from Britain's, he gently put her behind him. Priest rotated to face Vance with a smirk on his face, just as he would do in court. "While me and my people over here feeding families throughout the holidays, these pigs were trying everything in their power to put me behind bars," Priest chuckled with an amused smirk. J'Ru and Kaymen couldn't contain their laughter as they turned to face Detective Vance.

Priest had now steered everyone's attention onto Vance and the few law enforcement peers she had around her. Everyone felt the same way Priest felt, disgusted. "I'm doing things for my people, and y'all trying to block that. Y'all made me and my boys jump through hoops and hurdles just to be able to put this event together. NYPD has all these claims about me being bad for the streets and how much I need to be locked up. It's nice and all to see that y'all finally give a damn about shit going on in our communities. However, it's clear that you guys have the wrong bad guy."

The beguiling smile painted all over Priest's face made Vance sick to her stomach. To her, Priest was manipulative and a con. His acts and tactics were the last things that could get them off his trail. They were determined to nail Priest to the cross he loved to parade around wearing and crucify him. The crowd began to boo and heckle Vance and her extra buddies in law enforcement. With her eyes searing into Priest's amused orbs, she stared at him full of disgust.

"You want a reaction from me, Detective Vance? You got it. My community and I welcome you with open arms. I hope you allow us to introduce you and your people to the real me."

The way Priest spoke channeled so much authority. Although Vance hated to admit it, she was slightly intimidated. She had a right to be. Priest was an important figure, especially in Harlem. He did great things for the community and uplifted his people. Vance was in his stomping grounds, so she had less of an advantage, even if she was in law enforcement.

A community stood stronger than any bitch-ass cop with a badge and a gun, and she was aware of that. While getting heckled and tormented, Vance gathered her people and let Priest have his event in peace without her lingering around. Even though she felt like Priest was far from the guardian angel he was portraying himself to be, she wasn't going to come between a family and a chance to enjoy a great Thanksgiving.

"You're trouble." Britain looked up at him with a challenging smirk.

Priest nodded his head, still finding the shit show Vance tried to pull on him a few moments before amusing. "I am. But I'm also calculated," Priest added. "I knew they were gonna be out here, and I also knew they would be trying to sift around for fake news so they could continue to paint me as the bad guy. Sometimes, you have to fall into other people’s bullshit to prevail. You get what I'm saying?" Priest shrugged nonchalantly.

Britain, who was barely able to focus on what he was saying since she was distracted by the movement of his mouth whenever he spoke, simply just nodded her head. "I get you."

Priest chuckled, knowing Britain was far too distracted to get what he was trying to preach. "I'll go deeper in depth while we're in the Hamptons," he assured her.

Priest was pretty much everywhere at once. He wanted to assist with handing out the meal kits, but he was constantly being pulled away to either take a picture or to be thanked by a family.

Britain stood along the long table that contained an abundance of meal kits for the families, offering some assistance by handing them out. “So, you must be the one taking up all of my son's time," Britain heard to the side of her, which caused her to turn to face who was behind the voice.

Britain was slightly stunned to catch sight of Priest’s mother. She hated the fact that she knew so much of the woman before she got the chance to meet her. Britain felt like her impression of Sylvia was already marred before she even got the chance to make one. A light smile masked Britain's face while she let out a light laugh. She really didn't know how to respond to his mother. Firstly, she didn't think she would be meeting her so soon, especially since she and Priest hadn't put a title on their situation. Secondly, Sylvia really wasn't her favorite person after Priest told her a few of his mother's choices. Thirdly, Sylvia's tone wasn't one she liked. It was like Sylvia was trying to intimidate her to solidify her place, which was stupid since Britain didn't even feel like she herself had a place in Priest's life. It was a gamble everyday with Priest, honestly.

"I'm Sylvia, his mother." Sylvia stuck her hand out for Britain to shake.

"I'm Britain," she introduced herself, shaking Sylvia’s hand.

"Nice to meet you, Britain." Sylvia smiled her gorgeous smile. "It's a shame I haven't heard anything about you. My son is so secretive when it comes to these types of things."

"Oh, we aren't serious quite yet. We're just keeping each other company," Britain clarified, not wanting to make what she and Priest had more than what it was.

Sylvia nodded as an amused laugh escaped her lips. " Company? That's nice and cute. Hopefully, that's not all you see my son as, a beau to keep you company." Her eyes then slit into Britain's, causing Britain to shift uncomfortably.

Britain flipped her hair over her shoulder and cleared her throat. "I sense that you think I'm around for all the wrong reasons?" Britain hiked a brow up at Sylvia.

Priest's mother shrugged her shoulders. "You said it," she stated carelessly. "Listen, my son doesn't need a heartbreak or an extra mouth to feed?—"

Britain couldn't stand there and allow Sylvia to come at her any type of way any longer. The fact that she would assume she was into Priest just for his money was sickening.

"I'm gonna have to stop you right there," Britain interjected. "No disrespect to you and your mothering of a 28-year-old grown-ass man, of course, but I feel as though you have just overstepped your boundaries. You don't know me, and I don't know you, which means you don't know my intentions with your son, especially since you aren't the one I've been spending my time with. Evidently, your own intentions with Priest should be questioned, not mine. Lastly, what I will say, though, is you made a great man. It's a shame that you only see him as a meal ticket instead of all the positive things he's putting out into the world." Britain felt disrespected, and it was shocking that the disrespect came from Priest's mother. Usually, when mothers tried to sift out a woman's intentions with their son, it sounded genuine and like she truly cared for her son's well-being. Sylvia, however… she just sounded bitter and selfish. It was sad.

Before Sylvia got the chance to respond, Britain was already wading away from her. Britain didn't want to bring drama to the event Priest cared so much about. Clearly, Sylvia had no clue what a time and place really was. As Britain was striding toward her car to leave, she heard her name being called. Turning around, she was faced with Priest.

"Where you think you’re going?" he asked her once he finally caught up to her, a smile in full effect on his face since he had been having such a good time.

"I think it's best that I leave," Britain informed him, causing the smile on his face to fade. It was evident something was wrong. Britain really was in no mood to discuss what happened, and, unlike Sylvia, she knew the importance of time and place.

Priest nodded his head, agreeing with her. She was upset, and it wouldn’t do anyone any good if she stuck around. "I'll be at your spot after this." He craned down and pecked her lips. "Whoever it was, I'll handle them," he asserted.

Britain looked up at him. "It was your mother, Priest."

Priest let out a heavy sigh before running his hand down his face. "What she say?" he asked her.

She smacked her lips. “I don’t wanna ruin your event, so I’ll just talk to you about it later,” she attempted to dismiss the conversation.

“You’re not ruining nothing. Let me know what’s up. What she say?” he persisted.

A deep sigh escaped Britain before she crossed her arms across her chest. "You don't need an extra mouth to feed along with a heartbreak," she recalled what Sylvia slyly told her.

"Don't believe that shit. You hear me?" He lifted her head to make eye contact with her. "I'm the only one who can question you, and I barely have room to do so since you're a grown-ass woman," Priest clarified while looking into her eyes.

"I'll handle her. Just go home and calm down ‘cause I can tell you're hot." He chuckled at her signature mean mug etching her usually soft and inviting face.

Britain nodded, agreeing with him. She gave him a final hug goodbye, and he locked his arms around her tightly. He didn't want Britain thinking he shared Sylvia’s sentiments because he didn't. Priest wasn't fully trusting of Britain yet, but he could tell that she'd been nothing but genuine and sincere since they'd met. She was truthful, through and through.

"I'll see you later," she assured him while cupping his face in her hands like she always did. The two kissed once more before Priest assisted Britain into her car. He watched her pull off before a visible scowl grew onto his face. Priest strode over to his mother. Sylvia acted like a misbehaving child a lot of the time.