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Things had been a little distant between Britain and Priest. They were being pulled in two different directions due to them working. Britain had thrown herself into her magazine, while Priest was trying his best to figure out how to get product outto New York. He had done some side work with Suzette and Matteo to get product that had no ties to Suzette’s sister. Finding a crew that could not only generate good quality shit but provide it at such a grand level as well was a very time-consuming job. Things were also getting a little heated between Priest, J'Ru and Kaymen.They were all at odds. The guys back in New York were trying their best to trust that Priest would have shit figured out soon, but they also had a business to maintain without him present.

Britain had overheard multiple spats between the three men during all hours of the day and night. The men were all frustrated with carrying their load of the business, and it didn't help that Priest had relocated all the way to Italy. J'Ru and Kaymen were both very vocal about how they felt and explained that Priest restricting them from finding product within the city or anywhere else was just a selfish and ego-driven move. In his own defense, he disagreed, which drove Kaymen and J'Ru up the wall.

The men decided that if he didn't have shit figured out by the end of the week, they would be flying out to Italy themselves to see how far he had really gotten with securing some product. If shit wasn't up to par, they would be taking matters into their own hands by making the executive decision to find product anywhere but Italy, not caring how it would make the business look as long as they kept shit afloat.

Priest was outnumbered, so of course he was scrambling like a chicken with its head cut off in hopes of getting shit figured out by the end of the week. Truth be told, he knew they were going to show up in Italy regardless and decide to cop product elsewhere, but that wasn't changing the fact that he was going to bust his ass trying to make shit right on his end.

After a short while, Britain heard the sliding door of the balcony open, and Priest stepped inside. He was now off thephone. She looked over her shoulder, noticing the vexed look that plastered his chiseled face. His jaws flexed in frustration as he ran his hand down his face. He navigated around the bedroom without saying a word to Britain, mostly just in his own thoughts.

Her orbs hawked his stature, eyeing him as he retrieved his rolling tray. Luckily, he managed to think ahead and roll up a few of his blunts earlier in the morning so he wouldn't have to go through the process while he was annoyed. The sound of the lighter sparking snaked into Britain's ears before she witnessed him exhale a cloud of smoke.Despite taking a moment to smoke his worries away, she could tell his mind was still filled with thoughts of how to get things straightened out.

"You're gonna figure it out," she encouraged him as her eyes finally drifted away from him and returned their focus back to the pages before her.

He grabbed a seat behind Britain on the couch at the other end of the bedroom. "‘Preciate it," he expressed his gratitude for her encouragement. "How's everything coming along?" he asked as he gestured toward the work she had laid out on the floor.

Britain shrugged her shoulders. "Going good. Just trying to spot any minor mistakes and any changes I need to make.”

He nodded, liking what he was hearing from her. "I'm proud of you,Gioia.In the midst of all this change and chaos, you still found the will to follow your dream," he praised her.

Britain turned herself around to face him, a smile canvassing her face. "Thanks for backing me through this," she expressed her gratitude for his support.

"Always," he asserted while placing his hand over his heart like he always would. "We good now?"

Britain furrowed her brows. "We were never bad," she stated with some confusion.

"I know that, but I was giving you your space. I knew your first session with Havani was pretty hard on your spirit."

Britain let out a light sigh. "It was, but it was also needed, which I appreciate."

Priest agreed with Britain as he took another drag of his blunt. "I'm glad you're doing it. I know we're so used to running to each other when it comes to our mental, but that too can be unknowingly exhausting for the both of us."

Britain rose to her feet, sauntering over to where he was seated. Once he realized she had made her way over to him, he leaned back, opening his arms and inviting her to take a seat on his lap. Without any exchange of words, she planted herself on his lap, resting her head on his chest. "I want to apologize," she said to him.

He blew out a stream of smoke, followed by a light chuckle. "I don't hear that often," he teased.

Britain laughed with him as she reached up to toy with the chains that laced his neck. "Seriously, though, I've realized that I spent a good portion of this relationship being emotionally unavailable to you but also expecting you to comfort me how I want to be comforted. Luckily for me, you were patient and understanding, but it was still wrong of me.”

After going into detail with Havani about how she dealt with her trauma, Britain realized how difficult it could be to make such a deep connection with her like Priest had when she was so disconnected from her emotions. She suppressed and buried everything, and when she finally let it out, it was filled with turmoil and anger. It wasn't healthy for her, and it definitely wasn't something that was easy for Priest to deal with.

Priest pressed the burning tip of his joint against his rolling tray, putting it out. Transitioning his attention to her, he cupped her hand in his, intertwining their fingers. "I appreciate the apology,Gioia," he said as he applied a light kiss to her forehead."But I want to be clear. In no way have you been a burden or a stressor in my life. You've been through more than most, and I get that. And I know for a fact I haven't been the easiest to deal with either, so in a way, it was a fair exchange," he admitted as he shrugged his broad shoulders lightly.

Britain readjusted herself on his lap, now straddling him while her hands cupped the sides of his face. Her thumbs caressed the trimmed and lined hairs of his beard as her orbs bore into his. "Then we're even," she jested, causing him to agree with a nod of his head and some shared laughter.

He wrapped his arms around her, resting his hands on her rear. It was nice having her close, especially since they spent the last few days unintentionally avoiding each other until it was time for bed. They sat in that position for a short while, mostly just basking in each other's presence, trying their best to find ways to alleviate themselves of the stress they had going on in their lives.

After a moment, Priest broke the silence as he sparked a conversation with Britain. "Y'know, I realized in that line up you got over there," Priest mentioned as he gestured toward the prints she had laid out on the floor. "I'm no longer a part of it.”

It went without saying that Britain had scrapped her piece on Priest completely from her magazine. At one point, it used to be her main focus. Now, she had drifted away from it, and the more she did, the more she realized that publishing something about Priest wasn't what she actually wanted to do at the moment. She cleared her throat, nervous that she may have rubbed him the wrong way by dropping his story without having a conversation about it. "Yeah, I decided not to use it," she admitted with some reluctance.

He raised his brows a bit. He knew something was up since he hadn't seen her working on his piece for a while now, butit never crossed his mind that she actually scrapped his story. "Word?"

Britain nodded her head in confirmation. "The timing is bad. It's my first issue, and with everything going on with you back in New York, the work itself would be overshadowed, and I don't want that. I hope you understand.”

"I get it. Good call." He lifted his hand, initiating a high five and praising her for making the executive decision.

Relieved, she let out some light laughter before granting him a high-five, and the two resumed the silence they had been sitting in a few moments prior. His attention went completely diverted as his jaws clenched in deep thought. She cupped her tender hands around his face, resulting in him switching his attention back to her.

"This was supposed to be your relaxation time," Britain jested as she motioned toward the frown that was embedded on his face.