Priest (A Standalone Bad Boy Romance Love Story) (62 page)

“Good for you,” I told her, trying my best
to sound encouraging. “Speaking of restaurants, would you like me to order
something in for you tonight? I’m going out for a while.”

“Going out? With who? Is this the mystery
man…?”

Rolling my eyes I said, “It’s no mystery,
mom. We’re going to dinner and a concert.”

“What’s his name?”

I sighed, “Justin.”

“Justin?”

“Not that one, Mom. This Justin is not a
drug dealer. Now, where do you want me to order in from for you?”

“Where is he taking you?”

“I told you, dinner and a concert.”

“Where are you going to dinner? Where a
man chooses to take you says a lot about him.”

“I wish you would have told me that years
ago, Mother. That way when my last boyfriend took to Compton with him and we
had dinner at his “connections” home…if you could even call it that, I may have
gotten a little suspicious.”

“I was trying to make conversation. How
did you get so sarcastic?”

“I’m sorry. You’re right, Mom. I don’t
want to fight. You decide what you want for dinner while I take a shower and
I’ll call it in for you before I go.”

I went into my room, joyously closing her
out. She could ruin my peace quicker than anyone else I knew. I’m sure it’s
just because I spent the bulk of my life wishing I had a “normal” mother like
everyone else and I still harbor just a little bit of resentment towards her
because of that. I shook off my annoyance at her and picked out a new pair of
jeans and a nice sleeveless green blouse that I’d bought with them. I took my
shower and while I was blow-drying my hair, my mom knocked on the door.

“Yes?”

“I’m not really hungry yet, honey. Maybe
you can just leave me twenty bucks for a pizza?”

I hated leaving her cash. It was like
having PTSD. My mind went back to the days that any cash she got her hands
on…even if it came from her daughter’s wallet went for drugs or alcohol. I took
a deep breath and reminded myself that so far, the time she’d been here she had
seemed sober. I couldn’t watch her like a hawk twenty-four seven. I was going
to have to trust her.

“Okay, Mom. That’s fine,” I told her. I finished
drying my hair and then I straightened it. I put on a little make-up, some
liner and mascara to bring out my pale eyelashes and a little powder to color
the bright white of my skin. I wore a pair of short boots that just covered the
bottom of my jeans. When I finished, I took one last look…I didn’t look too
bad.

When I walked out into the living room my
mom said, “Oh my God Jessie! You are gorgeous, baby!”

“Thanks Mom,” I told her. The compliment
was sweet, but there was that trust factor again. I never really knew when to
take her seriously. I really wish that we had a “normal” mother/daughter
relationship, but the fact was that we don’t. I had to learn to deal with it. I
went over to my purse and took out a twenty and a ten. I left them on the table
and told her to order what she wanted.

“Thank you, baby. I hate asking you for
money for every little thing. I’m gonna pay you all of this back just as soon
as I can.”

“I’m not worried about it, Mom. I just
want to help you get back on your feet.” That was true. I did want to see her
do well. It was just hard after all of the failures to believe it was ever
going to happen.

The doorbell rang then and I saw her run
her fingers through her hair and smack her lips a little. Some things never
changed, she was always “on” for a man. I opened the door and Justin was
standing there in a blue denim shirt unbuttoned just enough at the top so it
showed a little

chest but not so much that he looked like
a bouncer called Tony. His jeans fit him nicely and I had to tell myself not to
gawk.
 

“Hi.”

“Hey,” he said with that smile that made
you want to just eat him up with a spoon. “You look really…really nice.”

“Thanks, you too. Come in, I just have to
grab my purse.” He stepped inside and I said, “Justin this is my mom, Lynn.”

Mom tossed her hair back over her shoulder
and smiled. I could tell that she thought he was good-looking without her
saying a word. I’m sure that he could too. She was looking at him like she was
about to pounce. “I’m so pleased to meet you, Justin.”

“Nice to meet you too,” he said, shaking
the hand she extended.

“Why don’t you have a seat here with me
while Jessie gets her things together?”

“No things, Mom. Just my purse.”

“So what do you do, Justin?”

“I got it…we can go now.” Poor Justin was
torn. The gentleman in him wanted to sit down with her, I could tell. He just
had no idea what he was getting into. If he sat down, she would know exactly
how much not only he but both of his parents made last year inside of five
minutes.

“Maybe we can talk another time, Lynn?”

“I would love that,” she said. “My
daughter is a fabulous cook. Maybe next time you can have dinner here with us?”

“That sounds great,” he said with a wink
in my direction.

“Okay Mom, lock the door behind us and
have a good night.”

“You kids be good,” Mom said. It was a
comment riddled with undertones. Just as I was headed out the door she
whispered, “He’s hot, baby.”

All I could do was hope that he didn’t
hear her. I should be used to her embarrassing me by now, but maybe it was a thing
a person never really got used to. I was surprised when he led me out to a gray
Honda. Thinking he was joking I looked around the parking lot for that lifted
four-wheel drive truck.

“This is your car?” I asked him.

He grinned, “Yeah. I lied about the truck.”

I slid into the seat as he held the door.
I was putting on my seatbelt when he got in on the driver’s side. “Why?”

He put on his seatbelt and started the
car. Then he said, “Because I was trying to impress you. I honestly didn’t
think you would agree to go out with me and then you’d never know I fibbed.”

“Why?”

He laughed, “Are you a three year old in
disguise?” he asked, jokingly. “Why? Why? Why?”

“Seriously, why would you think I wouldn’t
go out with you?”

“I just assumed you would tell me that you
were already seeing someone. Or you wouldn’t think I was in your league…or even
in the ball park. It’s hard to imagine why you’re not already taken. You’re
gorgeous and from the little time I’ve spent with you, you seem smart and
funny. You’re a catch,” he was grinning, but his words struck me as sincere. I
felt my face go hot and I knew that it was the color of my hair.

“Thank you.” Trying to change the subject
so that I wasn’t the center of it, I said, “So when did you decide you really
wanted to be a runner…like full-time?”

“When I was about twelve. My dad ran the
Boston Marathon and he came in third. It was the coolest thing…I was so proud
of him and I wanted to be just like him.”

“Does he still run?”

“No. He wore out his knees. He’s had both
of them along with his left hip replaced.”

“Ouch.”

“Yeah. That’s why I train…I want to run
smart and make my body last. I’m going to retire before I start falling apart.
Back in his day runner’s ran…period.”

“Smart idea,” I told him.

“What about you? What made you want to be
a trainer?”

“I’ve always been kind of into nutrition
and fitness. I guess it gave me something positive to focus on when I was a
kid. When I was deciding what to major in I tried to go for something that
would make me happy, and this does. It’s a really gratifying feeling to help
someone learn how to make their body work for them.”

“I bet,” he said. As we turned onto Sunset
Blvd. he said, “I have another confession to make.”

“Another?”

“Yeah, you know…how I’m not a tough guy
with a big truck?”

Laughing, I said, “Uh oh, this sounds
serious.”

“It’s been received well in some circles,
and very, very badly in others.”

“You’re gay?” I was kidding, but it would
take a little of the pressure off of me if he was.

With a straight, serious face he said,
“No, but I’ve been accused of it…I’m a vegan.”

“Huh! The horror!” I was still laughing.
“You were so serious; I really thought you were going to tell me you were
transgender or something.”

“Whew! Nothing that serious,” he said.
“Being vegan is a hard thing for a man to admit sometimes. People are so
judgmental and they want to put a label on everything and everybody. Don’t let
my food choices scare you away though. This restaurant is great and the things
on the menu that aren’t vegan are highlighted so it’s easy for “normal” people
to order.”

“What makes you think I’m not vegan too?”

“Are you?” He looked hopeful.

“No, but how did you know I wasn’t?”

He pulled up in the valet parking area and
turned to me and said, “Because then you would be just too damned perfect to be
real.” While I waited for him to come around and open the door, I wondered
which one of us was too damned perfect.

The restaurant was located inside of an
old theatre. The ambience was incredible and we were seated way in the back
near a huge, beautiful stone fireplace. We were inside, but with all of the
plants and the subtle lighting it had kind of an outdoor feel to it. It was
definitely one of the nicer places I’ve ever been, but at the same time no one
seemed to be too dressed up so those of us who wore our new jeans didn’t feel
uncomfortable.

We skipped the wine list and both ordered
a beer. Justin was right; the menu was easy to read. I followed the highlights
at first, but decided since I really did love vegetables and I’d be a little
uncomfortable eating meat…even fish, in front of a vegan. I was going to go
with the buffalo cauliflower and a veggie pizza. Justin seemed amused by that.
He ordered some kind of mushroom thing that actually looked incredibly good
when it was served.

“You want to try some?” he asked when he
noticed me staring at it.

“No, mine is fine, thanks. It looks really
good.”

“It’s delicious,” he said, taking a bite.
I took a bite of mine and I have to say that I think I fell in love. It was
hardly recognizable as cauliflower and it was more packed with flavor than any
steak I’d ever eaten.

“Wow! That’s amazing!”

“Ah! She’s coming over to the dark side,”
he said with a grin.

“Maybe not just yet. Sometimes I just have
to have a steak. So why are you a vegan?” I asked him.

“I’m compelled to launch into a litany of
how it protects the earth and the animals that inhabited it long before we were
here…but I won’t,” he said with a grin. “I love animals, don’t get me wrong.
But, I became a vegan for purely selfish, and some might say vain reasons.
Plant based diets….those that are well planned are rich in protein, iron,
calcium…on and on and on. Lots of good stuff. They’re low in saturated fat,
high in fiber, anti-oxidants…Once I started this diet I was suddenly more
energetic because I slept so well at night, my skin looks amazing and I started
packing on the muscle. It helped me start winning marathons and that was always
the main goal.” I don’t know how I was looking at him but he suddenly laughed
and said, “I’m sorry. TMI?”

“No. You’re just so well-informed about
your diet. That’s great. It’s not what I normally see with people that I
train.”

“My parents are both very health conscious
and they raised us kids to be the same, so that helped a lot.”

“How many siblings do you have?”

“Five sisters and a brother.”

“Oh my God, seriously?”

He laughed, “Yeah, the vegan diet worked
great for dad too, I guess.”

“I don’t have any siblings.” I often
wished I did. When it came to my mother a little help would have been nice.
Then I think about wishing her on someone else and I feel a little bad…not for
Mom, but the other person.

“It’s fun sometimes, a pain in the ass
others,” he said. “I love the holidays with all the chaos and noise of us all
being together. I wouldn’t know what to do without that. But there are times
when you just want to disappear from the world for a day or two…I can’t ever shut
down without a sibling or two calling to make sure I’m alive.”

I laughed. “It would have to be nice to
know you’re cared about that much though, right?”

“It is, yes. I’m just as guilty of calling
them as they are calling me too, especially my sisters. I worry about them.”

There was that sister thing again,
reminding me of Paul. I changed the subject again and said, “So where is your
next marathon?”

“San Francisco,” he said.

“Oh that’ll be fun. I love San Francisco.”

“Me too. I love Pier 39 and the Giants and
even the 49ers. I went out and took the Alcatraz tour last time I was up there
too. That’s definitely worth a trip. I could just go and walk around all day.
It’s such a pretty city. You know what the best part is though?”