Page 43 of The Love of Priest

"Sorry for not sticking it out with you today." Britain finally pulled herself from her obscene thoughts and came back to earth.

Priest heaved a sigh. He understood why Britain had to leave. He was sure if he had been disrespected by Remy or her mother like she had been by his mother, he would have done the same. Sometimes, it was better to just extract yourself from the situation completely.

"It's not your fault," he assured. "She came at you from left field, and you handled yourself accordingly."

"Priest, impressing your mother won't be something I bend over backward for," Britain clarified. She’d had enough fake mothers-in-law in her day to know better than to try to overly sell herself. Of course, no one wanted drama between themselves and their partner's mother, but Britain wasn't going to jump through hoops just to impress a woman who may have been fully aware that her son was doing her wrong. Britain wasn't assuming that would be the case with Priest and Sylvia, but she was preparing herself if it was.

Priest chuckled while nodding his head. "Heard’ju," he said before stealing the spoon of ice cream she was about to use to indulge in her ice cream. Britain shot him a stale face, causing his chuckle to progress into laughter.

Eventually, they resigned their spot in the kitchen and made their way to their new familiar spot in Britain's apartment, her bedroom. "Really?" Britain pointed down to Priest's gun that was now placed on the nightstand closest to him.

Priest nodded with a smirk. "Britain, you're just gonna have to get used it."

"I don't think I can get used to a gun on my nightstand." Britain shook her head as she got comfortable in bed. She had undressed from the nicely fitted white dress she wore to the park and was now wearing a pair of cotton shorts along with a tube top. As she laid in bed, Priest peered his dark orbs at her. He graced them over her body slowly, causing Britain to turn away from him.

"Staring that hard should be a crime," she uttered in a low voice.

A smooth chuckle filtered out of Priest. "Let’s talk for a minute." Craning down, he took up a spot on Britain’s bed, claiming his usual pillows underneath him.

She sighed lightly before rotating herself to lie on her side facing him. "Talk about what?” Britain locked eyes with him.

"You. How you fixed yourself so well?" Priest had grabbed ahold of her leg and draped it over his waist to bring them even closer. He always had to be touching Britain in some type of way. Whether they were holding hands or cuddling, he had to have her in close proximity. He had a hard time expressing his sincere emotions, so his actions and ways of affection were his last resort, and he made good use of them.

Britain furrowed her brows, shooting him a questioning look. "Fixed myself?" She eased out a chuckle. "Priest, what are you talking about?"

Priest gently placed his hand on her face, caressing it slightly. "You mask everything so well. I'm fucked up, but everyone knows I'm fucked up. You… shit, just different," Priest shrugged.

"You think it's different because I'm not opening up the same way you are," Britain claimed. "You want me to reciprocate the same level of confidence you have in me with you, but that's hard." Britain read him from cover to cover. When he initially jumped into this situation, Priest really had no intention of investing himself into Britain, but it happened. He wasn’t saying that he trusted her or loved her quiet yet, but he just had a different level of comfort with her. Although Britain had just given him her body, he wasn’t pressed over it the way he was pressed about gaining some sign of certitude and trust from Britain.

Priest released a sigh. He thought he was too straightforward. "I'm pressuring you, ain't I?"

Britain gave him a close-lipped smile. "No, you're just looking out for yourself. For all you know, I could be a psychopath." She nodded her head slowly, the same smile etched on her face.

Priest couldn't help but release a small laugh. "For all you know, I could be a psychopath," he hinted to her, mirroring the same smile she had on hers. "Two crazy mothafucka's in each other's heads." He shrugged, taking it lightly.

Britain smirked. His words gave her a level of confidence, as odd as it sounded. She was playing her game smarter than she had before. She knew if she had continued her old love habits, she would have opened up to Priest completely by now. He would have known her strengths, her weaknesses, what made her cry, what angered her. She didn't want that quite yet. Whenever she had given someone the privilege, they manipulated her and used the secrets she had let them in on against her. Britain had vowed to be in defense mode since Cameron. She wasn't going to let her tough guard down for Priest yet, even though he had done so for her. It was unfair, but this was Britain's way of playing smart.

"I'm in your head?" she asked.

Priest released a defeated sigh. He wished he would have worded that a little differently. He knew Britain would somehow find a way to flip the conversation so he would be the topic of conversation instead of her.

"This about you, Gioia," Priest attempted to revert the conversation.

Britain sat up, glancing down at Priest. A small smile displayed on her face. It was cute to see how interested he was in her. "Ask me anything," she suggested. Priest raised a questioning brow at her approach, but he wasn't going to miss his chance. He stared off for a moment, attempting to rake his mind of what he could possibly ask her. It was almost as if his mind went blank before touching base on something they discussed at their outing at La Lealtà.

"Remember at dinner one night you said you were sure everyone had steps to make them fall in love?" Priest attempted to refresh her memory.

It took nothing more to remind her of the conversation. "Yeah, I'm pretty good at sifting out people’s steps." She smirked confidently.

Priest sat upright alongside her. "Bet. Tell me what you think my steps are," Priest requested. Britain let out a laugh. Out of all the questions Priest could have possibly asked her, he chose this one.

“Your steps I would need to take for you to fall in love, right?" she asked for clarification.

Priest nodded, indicating she was correct. "What'chu think?"

"To make you fall in love with me," Britain let out a light breath. Priest could see the slightly frazzled look on her face, which satisfied him. Reaching out for her, he grabbed her by her sides and placed her on his lap. Britain’s face instantly heated, causing Priest to chuckle a bit.

"Step number one, I have to accept your family, which isn't a traditional family. It consists of J'Ru, Kaymen, and Jazzy," Britain eased out.

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