𝙹𝚄𝙻𝚈 𝟹𝚁𝙳

𝚂𝙰𝚃𝚄𝚁𝙳𝙰𝚈

𝟷:𝟶𝟶 𝙰𝙼

Cherish turned to face Priest. He looked so peaceful asleep. This crazy, toxic acting man was what her heart wanted so badly. She knew they couldn't be together, no matter how much she keeps putting herself into these situations with Priest. She reached out her hand and started tracing his tattoos. The Cherish tattoo above his heart, her fingers lingered. Softly tracing each letter. Her eyes landed on his soft lips before her thumb traced the outline of the bottom one. She lowkey felt like a creep, but she couldn't help herself.

Why am I be so sensitive right now? She thought as tears glossed her eyes. It was the realization hitting her of what'll happen the moment she moves from him. That's something she had never been able to do, but if she's being honest with herself; Assad is the person who possibly could change that. She may have just gotten to know things about him, but that feeling he left within meant he made a mark in her life. Not many people is able to do that when it comes to her.

"Why you touching on me like a creep?" Priest asked, with his eyes still closed.

"We're toxic, Priest." Cherish sniffled as he opened his eyes. "Ugh! Why the hell am I crying? Then laying here being all dramatic about it. That's where Honesti gets it from." Cherish rambled.

Priest rolled on top of her, not pushing his weight down on her. His body between her legs as he kissed away her tears. "So what?"

"That's never been us."

"I know you don't like that toxic shit, baby. You just got a nigga going crazy. I didn't think I'd be acting like this, but I can't help myself as much as I try to."

Cherish teary eyes stared into his eyes. Say it, Cherish. Just tell him you're still in love with him and never stopped. That no matter how much you love him, y'all can't be together. That you don't deserve him. Don't forgive yourself. That you feel like he deserves better. He loved you and was there for you when you were the most broken, and he shouldn't have to continue dealing with a broken person.

"What is it, mama? Your eyes telling me you want to say something." Priest's thumb caressed her cheek.

SAY IT, CHERISH! Cherish nervously bit down on her lip.

Priest's thumb moved, pulling her bottom lip from between her teeth. He stared at her lips before looking back into her eyes. "Tell me, baby."

"I went out on a date with Assad, and it won't be the last one. I thought that I needed to prove that I can move on, since we keep finding ourselves in this position. Instead, it just clarified what I already knew." She said as he continued to look in her eyes as if he was searching for something. "While something keeps drawing me back to you, it's a physical thing. The sex is what keeps me coming back, but I... I don't love you anymore, Priest. I care about you so much that would never change, but it's just the sex I can't let go of. If anything, that one damn date showed me what being with a man like Assad will feel like. I liked it. I want it. I don't want you." She lied.

She saw that hurt flash all in his eyes and instantly wanted to say that it was all a lie. To be fair, how many times can she hurt him? She felt her heart crack just knowing she more than likely broke his heart again. Before she could say anything else, Priest moved off her. He grabbed his clothes as she watched him get dressed. He walked back over to her bedside before grabbing his phone and looking at her.

"I'm sorry if I keep hurting you. You don't deserve that." Cherish's voice cracked.

"No, I apologize. For keep pushing what you don't want on you. I hate how much you have a hold on me, but I can't force you to be with me. No matter how much I wanna act a fool. Go off on your ass. Threatened you. I won't. I make no apologies for loving you, Cherish. For fighting to get the love of my life back, even when things are happening that you don't understand. I make no apologies for doing my best to show you how much you still mean to me, despite everything. No matter how crazy I get, how I show you that scary side. I make no apologies for it, but one thing is clear; I got it. Message received."

Priest spoke his piece before leaving. Cherish placed a hand over her mouth to muffle her cries. As painful as it was, she had to do it. At least that's what she was convincing herself. She damn near cried herself to sleep before she started to reminisce on the day her and Priest had their first argument. It was when she first trusted Truth. When she first realized she was in love with Priest, and when she admitted to feeling the safest with him.

Five months after Cherish and Priest met each other, Cherish could not explain how she trusted Priest as fast as she did. How her feelings were something she couldn't understand. They often chilled at his house after he would make the time to spend time with her. It was a Thursday, and she didn't have any classes, so she decided to spend the night at his place. Which makes the fifth time she had stayed over. Cherish knew everything about Priest, and he knew everything about her.

Walking into Priest's kitchen, Cherish leaned against the wall, admiring him cooking. It smelled so good, her stomach was growling. Thankfully, it was almost noon. While Cherish eats breakfast food, for some reason she didn't eat in the morning time. She always ate at noon or after. Priest was shirtless with only a pair of boxer briefs on. Biting her lower lip, she continued to stare at him.

She still find it hard to believe that Priest 'Soul' Blackmon wanted her as badly as he did. She was that stubborn/good/smart girl, and he was hood through and through. Cliché right? They weren't even official, at least not to her, but to Priest. That was his girl. He's a hood ass nigga, so he didn't think he had to actually ask her to be his girl until his mother made him realize that's exactly what he needed to do.

"You just gon' stare, beautiful?" Priest licked his lips while looking at her. Cherish only wore his shirt with a pair of lace panties underneath. They hadn't had sex yet, which was even more mind-boggling. The things Priest did for her and hadn't had the coochie yet were unbelievable. He eats her out faithfully and wasn't pressuring her for sex.

"I can't admire you cooking?" Cherish smiled while walking over to him. She wrapped her arms around his back while looking to see what he's cooking. This was something Priest didn't want to end. "Months later and it still surprises me you can cook so good."

"You not fucking with an average nigga, baby." Priest turned around before leaning down to kiss Cherish. He grabbed her booty and pulled her body incredibly close to him. Priest normally went for thicker girls, but he loved everything about Cherish.

"Oh, I know." Cherish said against his lips. Giving hers a few pecks, he pulled away.

"Go sit down, baby. I'll bring your food to you."

While they ate, they talked about some of everything. It was one of the things she loved about Priest, his ability to hold deep conversations. He wasn't just a hood nigga, but he was smart as well. The way he articulated certain things he spoke about always reminded her that there was more to him. Priest just stared at Cherish while she talked, they were done eating but still at the table. "What?" She asked.

"You're so damn beautiful. I can't stop telling you that." He licked his lips while pulling her chair closer to him until he could lift her onto his lap. Cherish smile was so big. "You mine, baby. You been mine. If you need to hear the words, then I want you to be my girl. I never gave that title to anyone, and it comes with a lot." He spoke, pecking her lips. "Security." He pecked her lips again. "Devotion." He pecked them again. "I'll always be committed and won't cheat on you." His lips landed on her neck as she closed her eyes. "If it isn't clear already... Anything you want, it's yours." She held on to his forearms as his kisses made its way up to her ear. "Anything. You trust me with everything, and that's something I would always cherish."

"I want to do what it takes to keep a smile on your face." Moving his hands up her legs until his fingers brushed the fabric of her panties, Cherish opened her eyes to look into his eyes. Moving her panties to the side, his fingers played with her lower lips as she gasped while attempting to close her eyes. "Look at me, baby." Opening her eyes, she looked back into his as he licked his lips. "I want to be your best friend and your lover so that when we take it to the next level, I won't just be fucking you. I will not only be making to love your body, but your mind as well. You make me feel soft as hell, but you're worth it."

"I'm ya man? Hmm. Cherish Ayanna Smith." Nodding her head, a moan escaped when he entered one finger, then two, and curved them up, causing her nails to dig into his arms. She was already dripping. "I need to hear you say it, baby girl."

"Yes! You're my man. I'm yours, Priest." She pressed her lips to his. He pinched her clit between his thumb and index finger, sending a shock through her body.

"That's what I like to hear. I told you that you been mine, though." He said against her lips as her pussy tightened around his fingers.

Fast-forward to two in the morning, Cherish was asleep with her back facing Priest. He had his arm wrapped protectively around her, even in his sleep. A constant vibrating woke her up. Frustrated, opening one eye, she grabbed the phone before answering. She did not know it was Priest's phone, since hers and his were right by each other.

"Hello." She spoke in a raspy tone.

"Where is Soul?" A female voice asked, removing the phone from her ear. Cherish noticed she answered Priest's phone.

"Who is this?" Cherish asked, fully awakened at this point.

"Kola. Who the fuck is this?" Kola shot back.

"This his girlfriend, Cherish. Who the fuck else?" Cherish rolled her eyes. She didn't know why she was entertaining the girl.

"Cherish? Well, Soul didn't tell me he had a girlfriend when he was deep in these guts the other day. You must be a hoe he just fucking." Kola laughed.

"Bitch, don't call my man phone again." Cherish frowned. Just because she was a good girl didn't mean her mouth wasn't slick. Cherish had already fought one girl who jumped out of a car and came swinging on her, while Cherish was outside with Priest, who was kissing all up on her.

"If he was so much your man, I wouldn't be calling him at this time. Check your supposed man, hoe. Don't snap on me." Kola laughed again, causing Cherish to hang up.

"Priest, wake up!" Cherish yelled. On instinct, Priest grabbed his gun and pointed at the air. Confused, he looked at an angry Cherish. "Who is Kola?"

"What?" He asked confused.

"You heard what I said, who is Kola? You know, the bitch you were just fucking." She tossed his phone at his legs.

Priest tilted his head because Cherish was dead serious. Priest didn't know if Cherish would give him a chance, but the moment he got her number from Marcus, he stopped letting females give him head and the few that he slept with he hadn't after that. He definitely didn't know a Kola, but that was due to him never remembering names and saving theirs under something else during the time they were needed.

"I don't know. Probably some hoe that used to suck my dick or that I used to fuck."

"Or that you're still sleeping with. She was real comfortable blowing up your phone at this time. I'm not about to play these games with you." Cherish shook her head. "How am I supposed to trust you when you got hoes calling all times of the night? Are they who you're with when I don't see you for days? When you claim to be handling business." Her voice cracked.

"You tripping for no reason, baby." Priest sighed.

"You must think I'm stupid?" Cherish got out of bed and started looking for her clothes. Priest didn't know how they got here. They spent the whole day together. Shopping. Took her on a date. Came back to his place and watched movies while playing around and ate her pussy so good. Now, here she was angry with tears rolling down her cheeks.

"Where you going?" Priest asked.

"Home! I'm done with this for real. I don't even know why I'm surprised." She sniffled.

"Calm down, baby." Priest got out of bed and walked over to her.

"I'm not calming down, shit! You are so slick with it, too."

"You not gon' believe your man, but you'd believe some hoe calling at this time?" Priest frowned.

"I can't believe I trusted you." Cherish continued to look for her things.

"Now you don't trust me?" Priest asked, but she ignored him. "Aight then, get the fuck out." Priest went to lie back in his bed. Laying on his stomach, he closed his eyes. He figured she would go into the living room and cool off because she's stubborn.

Cherish nodded as if he could see her. She grabbed her phone and left out of his room. Priest had fallen back asleep, and Cherish left not long after. She didn't know where Priest had put her things. She was so angry; she left with nothing but his T-shirt and her tall Chestnut UGG boots. It was cold outside due to it being October. She had tears running down her cheeks as her arms hugged her body. She was walking with no destination in mind and luckily for her, no men were outside.

"Cherish?" She heard a voice call out. Looking to her side, she saw Truth. He instantly threw his car and park before jumping out. "What the fuck happened? Are you okay? Did someone hurt you?" He looked at her.

"I had an argument with Priest, and he told me to get out, so I did." She sniffled while shaking.

"Come on, before you have pneumonia in the ass." He grabbed her hand, but she hesitated. "You can trust me, Cherish. I won't hurt you. I promise."

Gripping his hands, she allowed him to lead her to his car. He turned the heat on high before taking off his jacket and giving it to her. He was shocked because he knew Priest couldn't never put her out with nothing on. Not the way he was going on and on to him and Shooter about how much she means to him. If he did, that was wrong on so many levels.

"Tell me what's wrong?" Truth spoke in a softer tone, since Cherish was still sniffling.

"I don't wanna talk about it."

"Well, how about telling me your story? I mean, only if you want to. Maybe it'll take your mind off what happened between you and Soul."

Cherish looked at Truth, and she couldn't explain it. He reminded her so much of her brother, in the sense that you didn't have to know him personally to know he was a good person. That he was a trustworthy person. Looks could very well be deceiving, but it was Truth's energy. With that in mind, she took a deep breath, sniffled before he handed her a napkin from his cup holder and told him her story. She could feel in her heart that she could trust him. Truth was speaking some real stuff to her, and she was soaking it all in.

Truth ended up taking Cherish to his house while he blew up Priest's phone until he answered. The moment Priest answered, Truth told him that he found Cherish crying and walking with basically nothing on. Priest quickly got up like his ass was on fire to make it to her.

"My ride should be here." Cherish told Truth.

"You didn't have to call no Uber, Cherish. I would've taken you home. You my brother's girl, which makes you sis." Truth told her. Before she could respond, there was a knock at Truth's door.

Truth walked to the door, he knew it was Priest from the camera notification on his phone. Priest walked in, and the moment Cherish noticed him, she rolled her eyes. "So, you just gon' leave without telling me? Anyfuckingthing could've happened to your stubborn ass!" Priest frowned. He held a couple of bags in his hand that held clothes for her.

"I told you I was leaving, and you told me to get the fuck out. Or do you suddenly have amnesia?" Cherish frowned before her phone alerted her the Uber driver was outside.

"My ride is outside. Lose my number, Soul." Cherish told Priest.

"What the fuck you call me?" Priest said from behind her. He never liked her calling him Soul.

Cherish stepped out onto the porch and hugged her body from the cold weather. It was then Priest noticed Cherish was wearing men's clothing that didn't belong to him. He knew they belonged to Truth, but it had him hot thinking about what she was wearing or wasn't wearing when she left the house. Truth did say she basically didn't have anything on, and he knew like hell she didn't come outside with just her underwear on.

You could not tell him that he wasn't in love with her already. His mind was never going that crazy for any female. The thought of her trying to cut him off was something he wasn't having. She meant a lot to him, and he wish she would stop trying to push him away and understand that. "What you come outside in, baby?" Priest asked Cherish, which she ignored. Seeing someone around his age driving a car had him thinking Cherish called another nigga to pick her up.

"This what you doing? I see you forgot who you were dealing with." Priest grabbed Cherish's waist and pulled her to the side. Making his way to the driver side of the Uber driver's car, he opened the door and pulled him out.

"I don't want no trouble, I'm just here to pick up someone." The driver spoke with a shaky voice.

"The fuck you doing coming to pick up my girl? I thought I made it clear to any fucking nigga that she is off-limits!" Priest hemmed him up by his coat. Priest was so tall, meanwhile the driver was only 6'0. Cherish tried to pull Priest back, but it was to no avail. "Answer me, punk ass nigga!" Priest held his gun underneath the boy's chin. He never in life went this hard over a female. Cherish had him out in the streets acting crazy over her.

"Priest, please stop." Cherish cried. She was scared. You could hear it all in her voice. "He's just an Uber driver. I don't know him."

"You think I'm fucking stupid." Priest looked at her, and she took a step back in fear. She knew Priest would never hurt him, but she was scared from the look on his face that he would hurt an innocent person. She didn't need that on her conscience.

"Soul, what the fuck?! That's her Uber driver." Truth pulled him away from the driver.

"Get yo ass out of here. Breathe one word about this and yo ass gon' be maggot food, my nigga!" Priest snapped. The driver sped off.

Priest looked at Cherish, who only shook her head. Her tears were already dry because of the cool weather. She turned and walked away. Priest and Truth called her name, but she only responded that she rather walk home.

"Baby, stop." Priest grabbed her arm, which she snatched away.

"Don't touch me before I mace you."

"You gon' mace your man?" Priest smiled. She got the warmest feeling just from his smile, but she was mad right now.