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Story: The Love of Priest 2

When she met Cameron, she thought he would be able to follow her lead in this emotionless sexual exchange, butit seemed like he had gotten attached. He was just another cornball Jazzy was going to have to leave in her past.

SARDINIA, ITALY

PROVINCE OF SASSARI

Priest lifted his chain off the dresser, clipping it around his neck. Once it was secured, he took a moment to glance down at it, admiring the school portrait of Jamari. He automatically reminisced to how ecstatic Jamari was about the having the photo taken since Priest and J'Ru had been teaching him how to get his waves to come in. The entire summer, Jamari didn't even take his durag off unless he was getting in the shower or getting a haircut. The school portraits were the big reveal of his hypnotic waves that crowned his head, and they turned out so nice.Priest remembered buying one of the bigger packages of the portraits just so he and Tasha could split the pictures evenly. He never would have thought that the shots would serve as one of the main photos of Jamari's obituary.

Life really had a sick and twisted way of playing out. He was having a hard time this morning due to it being Jamari's first birthday since he had passed. Priest felt guilty for being so far away at a time like this. Tasha was now grieving her son on his thirteenth birthday alone.

Priest really did wish the circumstances weren't the way they were and that he could be back in New York with the people he considered family. Tasha needed him right now, and all he could offer were his prayers and some phone conversation. Other than that, he felt pretty useless.

Shaking the guilty thoughts out of his head, Priest let out a strained sigh. He glided his Palm Angels shirt on, layering all three of his diamond-drenched chains on top of the t-shirt. Hepaired his chains with his Audemars Piguet watch, topping off his plain look with his expensive jewelry. Once he was dressed, he misted himself with his Creed Aventus cologne that Britain loved so much.

Today was going to be a long and draining day, but he was trying to make the best of it for Jamari's sake. He looked himself over in the mirror, content with the outfit he managed to put together for the day. He heard the doors of the bedroom open, causing him to glance over his shoulder, casting his dark orbs onto Britain.

She had a light smile on her face as she made her way over to him. "What's up?" he asked with a light smile of his own.

"Sorry you didn't get to see my beautiful face this morning. I had an errand to run." She was dressed in a pink two-piece equipped with a long-sleeved crop top and a set of matching shorts. To keep herself in high spirits so she wouldn’t dwell on the fact that she was missing home, she had been staying away from dark colors and opted on dressing as bright as possible. He found it amusing how she thought her attire out with every day having a different color scheme.

"You making plans without me now?" He playfully side-eyed her as his hands trailed down to her rounded ass that was doing the pink shorts well.

She squealed in laughter at the feeling of him squeezing her ass in his hands. "I actually did," she revealed, arrogantly flipping her hair over her shoulder.

"What was so important that it just had to be done without me?" Hearing her say she went out alone was definitely a shock. They had only been in Italy all of a week now, and the last time he checked, she was still afraid to do anything if he wasn't present.

She reached up, her hands cupping around his handsome face. "Don't sound like that," she teased as she steered his headdown so they could meet for a light kiss. "I'm a big girl," she stated, reassuring him that she was fine and that her early morning outing went well.

"I know, but there's still a lot of things I haven't taught you about the province yet," he explained his concerns.

Britain chuckled. Sometimes he could worry his ass off then try to play it off as if he didn't have one worrisome bone in his body. "I survived." She rubbed her hand up and down his chest to put him at ease. "I think I should do things alone more often. It forces me to learn things instead of depending on you to be my translator and my ATM," she jested.

Priest sighed at the fact that she was right; however, he wasn't much of a fan of letting her explore the province without him being her ultimate tour guide. He didn't want her running into the issues he ran into when he was learning his way around.

"I mean, I guess," he muttered with a sly shrug.

She rested her head on his chest, her arms still wrapped around him. He held her in an embrace as they swayed side to side lightly. "I know today is hard for you, P," she acknowledged, her light voice casting through his ears.

He pursed his lips. He could admit that he hadn't been himself since he woke up because of the guilt he felt. He hated that he was so far away when this was one of the days Tasha needed him the most. He would have much rather been celebrating Jamari's life with Tasha and her boys than being in Italy unpacking and turning their massive house into a home. He was having difficulties with the fact that he couldn't be there for the woman who had given him all she had left when she barely had a thing.

"I just wish I could be there," he huffed with a shake of his head.

"Did you talk to her this morning?" Britain asked, referring to Tasha.

"I did but just briefly. She sounded like she had been crying," he stressed as he ran his hand down his face.

Britain sympathized with Tasha. As a mother who lost a child herself, she knew the type of pain Tasha felt. Losing a child created a void that could never be filled. She was glad Tasha had Priest to lean on. Britain wished she had the same level of support and care when she lost Dreux.

"I have a surprise for you," Britain said in a light voice, hoping she could shake him from his sadness.Priest peered down at her, a questioning look plastering his face. She couldn’t help but laugh at how skeptical he was of her sudden surprise. "You trust me?"

Priest sighed as he nodded his head. "With my life," he declared before craning down to meet her for another kiss.

Britain grinned widely as she took his hand into hers. She led him out of the bedroom, trailing down the spiral staircase. "What did you do,Gioia?" he asked her with a nervous laugh to follow.

"Just trust me, P," she told him as they maneuvered through the still unfinished home. Britain figured her way around the house fairly quickly, so she led the way to the backyard with ease. Before he could catch sight of what she had in store for him, she stopped him right in his tracks. "Close your eyes, P."

Priest smacked his lips. "For what?"

"So you won't ruin it for yourself. Just do it."