Page 65 of Lacey's Fight

“Gentle with her, remember her back,” Opal cautioned as she ushered them inside and closed the door.

“I’m being gentle,” Ivory said. “And besides, I don’t think she cares about her back right now.”

That couldn’t be more true.

Her back was the furthest thing on her mind right now.

What were a few small wounds compared to the giant, gaping wound in her heart?

How could she be so stupid?

Lacey knew better than to go and catch feelings. It was why she always made sure that she kept things casual. Who needed this kind of pain?

And catching feelings with a man who had such heavy baggage was even stupider.

“Want to talk about it?” Ivory asked as she maneuvered them through the living room over to the couch and then sat them both down.

“We never talk about it,” she said through her tears. They’d never even talked about not talking about it. By unspoken mutual agreement, they had just buried their trauma and moved forward with their lives.

Only they hadn’t really moved forward.

For Ivory, it had taken meeting and falling in love with Roman for her to finally accept and deal with their past. For Pearl, it had been meeting and falling in love with Jesse that had finally opened her eyes.

For her it was Benjamin “Rabbit” Blanchett.

Not that she had fallen in love with the man, although definite feelings had developed, but he had made a big impact on her in a very short amount of time. If it wasn’t for him, she wouldn’t have been forced to accept the fact she was using sex as a coping mechanism and hiding behind a sunny façade in order to hide from her problems.

She wasn’t doing it anymore.

Cowards hid from their problems. Brave people faced them head-on.

And she wasn’t a coward.

“I guess we thought it would be easier not to,” Pearl said, sitting on the other side of Lacey.

“I don’t think it’s easier,” Lacey said, brushing at the steady stream of tears rolling down her cheeks.

“Is this about The Master? Eagle told us what happened,” Opal said gently, perching on the edge of the coffee table in front of the couch.

It was now or never.

If she held onto her secrets, and the pain that came with them, then she could kiss any hope of a normal future goodbye. Lacey hadn’t ever thought she wanted marriage and a family of her own, but things had changed. Both Ivory and Pearl had fallen in love and were moving forward with their lives. They had confronted their demons and she didn’t want to be left behind.

She wanted what everyone else wanted. Peace, happiness, and a place to belong. She’d never thought that place included a partner, but then Ben came along and made her reconsider everything.

“I’ve never made love before,” she announced.

Three shocked faces looked back at her.

Obviously not what they’d been expecting her to say.

“You have never had sex?” Opal asked.

“No offense intended, but I thought you loved sex,” Pearl added.

“I should clarify. I’ve had plenty of sex, but I’ve never once made love. I love sex, and it’s always been great, fulfilling. At least physically. But I’ve never had a connection with a guy before. I mean, I like all the guys I’ve slept with, but it was never about anything emotional. To be honest until Ivory met Roman, and Pearl met Jesse, I didn’t even know a connection like that existed,” she admitted.

“And now you met someone?” Pearl asked.

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