Page 47 of Priest

She rests a hand on my arm. “I don’t need that. I shouldn’t have said anything.”

“I don’t want you to keep things from me.” Even though I know she has many secrets, I want her to trust me. “I know it must be hard adjusting to this life, but it won’t be forever.”

“I know, but I also don’t need expensive things. It didn’t buy me happiness before.” She picks up a generic brand and puts it in the cart.

I get the feeling this is a fall from grace that’s bigger than I even imagined. How horrible could her family be if she’d prefer to live like this? She’s so apologetic every time she puts something in the cart. I don’t want to follow her around, but she looked worried when I said I’d wait outside.

Every time I think I have Bella worked out, she throws a curveball at me.

When we leave, she sees a Victoria Secret store and she bites her lip. She still hasn’t bought any underwear yet.

“Did you wanna…” I thumb toward the store. “I’ll wait outside.”

“You don’t have to wait outside,” she says. “I’m sure you’ve seen plenty of women’s underwear before. Even a man of God.”

She has no clue that I’m abstaining and seeing her in underwear would tip me over the edge. I may be a man of God, but I’m still a man. I’ve got eyes.

I clear my throat. “I can kinda… just hang back.”

She giggles. “You’re too funny, Priest.”

I look down at her. “Why am I funny?”

“You look so… I don’t know, embarrassed?”

“I’m not embarrassed. I just thought you’d like some privacy.”

“They have chairs.” She points to them in the middle of the room. “You could hang there.”

I’m well aware of the ‘boyfriend’ chairs, but I refrain from saying anything.

“Well, that’s where I’ll be. I’ve got a couple of emails to catch up on.” While I try not to picture you in there naked.

She smiles. “Deal.”

So I spend the next half an hour sitting on the ‘boyfriend’ chairs, waiting for her. I glance up every now and again, just to make sure she’s okay, and look back down at my phone. I don’t know why I’m always on high alert around her. Like she could just flee at any minute. I guess that’s the nature of being a runaway. The second anything gets too hard, they take off, and that isn’t what I want for Bella.

She takes a bunch of stuff into the dressing room and I read a text from Dan telling me he’ll be back mid-week. I haven’t had a chance to fill him in about Bella. I didn’t want to ruin his vacation, and it isn’t like I haven’t stepped up to take care of the situation.

I still need to talk to Rock and Jett about finding this motherfucker Rueben, but I might just go about my own investigations first. I highly doubt he’ll show at the Soup Kitchen, but then again, he could just be dumb enough. If he thinks I won’t touch him because other people are around, he’s got another thing coming.

Another ten minutes goes by and I’m cracking my neck side to side, avoiding looking up because there are chicks everywhere looking at itty bitty panties and bras that seem to have not much to them.

Then I hear, “Priest!”

Shit.

I jump up, sprinting into the dressing room, passing by an attendant that gives me a surly look. I ignore her. “Where are you?”

“In here!” I see a hand wave at me from the door at the very end. I move faster than my legs will carry me. Realizing that she’s in no danger, I come to a halt in front of the semi-closed door. I knock, even though I can see her through the crack in the door.

“Bella? Are you okay?”

“Priest, thank God!” She’s climbing up onto the stool as my eyes shift from her face down her body.

Fuck me till Sunday.

She’s wearing a pink and white set with lace around the top of the cups. And they’re see- through. Her perky, perfect nipples stare back at me as I shift my eyes down briefly to her pussy…

---