Sex & Lies

by Michelle Iannarelli

  “NO! That’s not true…at all. Lacey, I swear, I think that you are a beautiful woman and you looked hot as hell last night. The ‘oh God’ part was that I was so drunk that I took advantage of a married woman.”

  Lacey looked down at the floor. “My husband was killed a little over a year ago.”

  Ryan just looked at Lacey who now had tears in her eyes. “Come sit down.” Ryan moved over to make room for Lacey to sit beside him.

  Lacey sat down. “I’m sorry, it never gets any easier to say aloud.”

  Ryan hugged her. “I’m sorry. I had no idea.”

  “I don’t talk about Dirk much, so how would you know.”

  Ryan decided he should change the subject before Lacey completely broke down. “So uh, how did I end up here then, if it wasn’t that we hooked up?”

  “Dane and I were leaving the wedding and you came stumbling across the parking lot. You were a mess and we didn’t want word to get back to Alex or Miguel so we literally pushed you into our limo. The original plan was to have you stay with Dane but when we stopped at my house you leapt out of the limo and started puking everywhere. So Dane and I brought you inside, stripped you down, showered you off and put you to bed.”

  “I’m really sorry. I just couldn’t handle seeing Faith with Zac last night.”

  “I know. You talked about her half the night.”

  “Oh, Lacey, I’m so sorry.”

  “Ryan, stop apologizing. We all have bad days.”

  “Lately, I’ve had way too many of them.”

  “I know it isn’t any of my business but have you told Faith that you love her?”

  “I pretty much made it your business when I spilled my guts to you last night and yes, she knows.”

  “Then she’s a fool.”.

  Ryan smiled at Lacey. “Thanks.”

  “I’m going to get your clothes from the dryer.” Lacey stood up.

  Ryan grabbed her wrist. “Thank you for being such a good friend to Alex and for taking care of me.”

  “No problem.” Lacey walked out and exhaled. She needed a cold shower.

  Miles sat down on the couch next to Eden and she handed him Cruz. “So who was that on the phone?”

  “Dane.”

  “What did he have to say that you had to walk out of the room?”

  “I walked out because I needed to look something up in my laptop.”

  “Likely story.” Eden laughed.

  “Baby, it’s nothing you need to worry about.”

  “Ok. If you say so.”

  “He did say that Ryan was a mess last night and ended up staying at Lacey’s house.”

  “Lacey’s?”

  “Yeah apparently they were lucky enough to find him stumbling around in the parking lot and attempted to get him home to Dane’s but he got sick at Lacey’s and ended up spending the night there.”

  “Poor Lacey.”

  “Yeah, I was hoping she’d hook up with Dane.”

  “Dane would never hook up with a married woman. He is a bit of a womanizer but very respectful of married women, especially military wives.”

  “Lacey’s husband was killed…”

  “Oh my God. I had no idea.”

  “She doesn’t like to talk about it. I guess I just thought you knew.”

  “No.”

  “Are you alright?”

  “I don’t know how I would ever get over losing you?”

  Miles reached his hand over and squeezed Eden’s hand. “I’m not going anywhere.”

  “Promise me that no matter what, you won’t…”

  “I love you and Cruz too much to put my life at risk ever again.”

  Eden smiled and then she leaned over and kissed Miles.

  Ryan came walking out of the bedroom to find Lacey cooking him breakfast.

  “Jeez, you don’t have to feed me too.”

  “It’s nice to have company.”

  “Well in that case, I’m starved.” Ryan winked.

  “Why don’t you pour yourself some coffee while I finish up these pancakes.”

  Ryan grabbed a mug and poured himself some coffee and then placed it down onto the table and turned around to see if Lacey wanted a cup and her lips were inches from his.

  Lacey looked at Ryan and her stomach twisted. She saw him move closer and before she knew it they were kissing.

  Ryan kissed his way down Lacey’s neck but before he got any further Lacey pulled away. “I’m sorry.”

  Ryan stepped back and slid his hands inside his pockets. “No, I’m sorry. You were just so close and…”

  “Don’t apologize. If you didn’t kiss me, I may have kissed you.”

  “Then why did you pull away?”

  “Because I know that we’d have sex and then you’d leave.”

  “You’re right.”

  “Besides, it isn’t me that you’re in love with.”

  “Do you think it’s possible to love someone and hate them at the same time?”

  “I do.”

  Ryan sat down and reached for his coffee. Lacey went back to flipping the pancakes.

  Dane woke up frustrated and alone. He dreamt of Lacey all night. He couldn’t believe that he’d never noticed just how sexy she was until he saw her in that little black dress. He needed to stop thinking about her because she belonged to someone else and he wasn’t about to come between a fellow Marine and his wife.

  “Dane.”

  Dane looked up and Faith was standing there. “Hey.”

  “Are you alright?”

  “Yeah, why?”

  “Because I called your name three times before you heard me.”

  “Oh, I’m sorry. I was just…thinking.”

  “Well, I will let you get back to it.”

  “Do you want to sit down?”

  “Sure.” Faith pulled out the chair and sat down.

  “So where’s your fiancé this morning?”

  “Zac is at the gym. I was a bit too hungover to make it there today and he isn’t my fiancé.”

  “Maybe you should tell Ryan that.”

  Faith looked down and then she took a sip of her coffee. “What’s the difference, he hates me.”

  “He didn’t seem to hate you last night when he was spilling his guts…literally.”

  “You were with Ryan last night?”

  “Lacey and I found him stumbling in the parking lot. Lacey ended up taking care of him because when we stopped at her house he started puking everywhere.”

  “My God!”

  “All he kept saying was that he loved you and that you broke his heart.”

  “I love him too but he’s such a jerk.”

  “Is that why you’re wearing Zac’s ring?”

  “I don’t know. I never officially told Zac yes. I love Ryan but then he told me that he hated me.”

  “I don’t know much but even if Ryan hates you, I still don’t think that is reason enough to stay with someone that you don’t love.”

  “You’re right. It isn’t fair to Zac.”

  “It’s not fair to you either.”

  “I just wish…”

  Dane reached out his hand and placed it down on Faith’s hand. “Don’t wish. End it with Zac and then go and do or say whatever it takes to get Ryan to give you a second chance.”

  Ryan finished washing the dishes and walked through the house to look for Lacey. “Lacey.”

  “I’ll be right out.”

  Ryan pulled his phone from his pocket to check his messages and he found one from Alex. He opened it and found a picture of him dancing with Faith.

  “Is everything alright?”

  Ryan shoved his phone back into his pocket. “Yeah. I’m going to head out now.”

  “I’ll go grab my keys.”

  “No, you’ve done enough for me already. I can get myself home.” Ryan walked over to Lacey and hugged her. “Thank you for everything.”

  “Hey, I’m always here if you need a friend. Remember that.”

&nb
sp; “That goes for you too.” Ryan pulled away and kissed Lacey on the cheek before walking out the door.

  FAITH SPENT THE LAST two days eating ice cream and avoiding life itself. She knew that Ryan was her true love and she had to find a way to make him see that they were meant to be together. However, that also meant that she needed to let Zac go. While she may not have been in love with Zac, she really did like him. She loved him but she knew she’d never be in love with him. The idea of hurting him was weighing hard on her heart but she needed to break up with him and now before she lost her nerve.

  Faith exhaled and then she knocked on Zac’s door.

  Zac pulled the door open and smiled when he saw Faith. “Hello, Beautiful!”

  “Do you have a minute to talk?”

  Zac looked at Faith who wasn’t her normal bubbly self. “I do but I’m fairly sure that I don’t want to hear what you have to say.”

  Faith walked in and Zac closed the door. Faith reached for Zac’s hand and he noticed that she wasn’t wearing his ring. “Zac.”

  “You don’t want to marry me.”

  Faith’s heart broke just looking at the disappointment on Zac’s face. “I’m sorry.”

  “Don’t apologize, it’s my fault. We barely dated before I proposed and even when you said you needed time to think, I asked you to wear my ring and…”

  “I do love you, it’s just that I’m not in love with you. Zac, you deserve someone who is completely and totally in love with you.”

  “Can I ask you a question and you have to answer me honestly?”

  “Sure.”

  “Is there someone else?”

  Faith looked down at the floor. “Am I with someone else, no. But if you want honesty then yes, I’ve been in love with someone else for a long time now.”

  Zac let out a sigh. “I always felt like I needed to give you more, like you weren’t satisfied. I even thought that if I asked you to marry me that you’d feel secure. Now I realize that no matter what I gave you, it wouldn’t have been enough because you’re in love with someone else.”

  “Oh, Zac. I’m so sorry. I never meant to hurt you. I didn’t think that he could ever love me so I did my best to forget him.”

  “Faith, don’t get me wrong, I’m hurting right now but I’m also grateful that you cared enough about me to be truthful and not use me like my ex did.”

  “I hate myself for hurting you.”

  “Don’t. I’ve learned a lot and we can’t help who we love. God knows that I was with that evil wife of mine far too long before I was strong enough to leave her.”

  “But you did and one day you will find someone who will love you the way that you love her.” Faith handed Zac back his ring.

  “Keep it.”

  “I can’t.”

  “It’s a bad luck ring now.” Zac let out a chuckle.

  Faith looked down at the ring and then up at Zac and gave him a half smile. “I guess maybe it is, but even so, I can’t keep it.”

  Zac reached his hand up and placed it on Faith’s cheek. “I’m going to miss you like crazy.”

  “I’ll miss you too.”

  Zac leaned down and kissed Faith goodbye. It was a short sweet kiss on the lips. “Goodbye, Faith.”

  Faith stepped back and tears started to roll down her cheeks. “Goodbye, Zac.”

  Ryan was sitting in his office when he caught a glimpse of what looked like Faith almost running by his office. He got up and followed her down the hall toward the elevator.

  “Faith.”

  Faith pushed the button for the elevator willing it to come faster. She didn’t want to see Ryan of all people right now.

  “FAITH!”

  Faith jumped into to the elevator and pushed the close door button but Ryan stuck his foot in the door and the elevator door reopened allowing him to step inside.

  Faith refused to look at Ryan she just stood there looking down at her feet.

  “Faith, what’s wrong?” Silence. “Did you have a fight with Zac?” Silence. Ryan exhaled and ran his hands through his hair. He was getting frustrated that Faith wouldn’t answer him.

  Faith wasn’t ready to discuss Zac with Ryan just yet. She needed to get her emotions in check and she certainly didn’t want to break down and cry over Zac in Ryan’s arms.

  Ryan finally grabbed Faith by her arms. “Are you going to tell me what’s wrong?”

  “What’s the difference, you hate me!” Faith decided that maybe if she threw that back in Ryan’s face that he’d get annoyed and get off on the next floor.

  Ryan let go and stepped back. He could hear the hurt in Faith’s voice. “Well I promised Alex that I’d look after you while she was gone.” He wasn’t about to admit the truth, that it was killing him to see her looking so sad.

  “You’re an asshole, Ryan.” The elevator doors opened and Faith stepped out. She’d wait for another elevator to come, one that Ryan was not on.

  Lacey returned to her desk to find Dane sitting in her chair. “Taking a demotion?”

  “Maybe, your chair is a lot comfier than mine.” Dane smiled.

  Lacey felt that surge of heat she always felt when Dane as much as looked at her with those big brown eyes. “So why are you really here?”

  “I was wondering if you had any pain relievers?”

  “I think I do, in my handbag.” Lacey opened her drawer and pulled out her handbag and began to rummage through looking for pain relievers. “Do you have a headache?”

  “A headache I could handle. I have this damn pinch in my neck.”

  Lacey pulled the bottle of pain relievers from her handbag and placed them down onto the desk. “Let me go and grab you some water. I’ll be right back.”

  Before Dane got to open the bottle Lacey was back with his water. “Thank you, Dear.” Dane popped the pills and reached for the water.

  Lacey walked behind him and started to massage his neck. “Is this the spot?”

  Dane exhaled in relief. “Exact spot. How did you know?”

  “I was studying to be a massage therapist before I got married.”

  “Why did you give it up?”

  “Dirk was transferred to Japan and I went with him.”

  “It’s never too late to go back.”

  “I couldn’t afford to go back to school now.”

  “Cruz has scholarship programs.”

  “No, I’m good, really.”

  “Yes, you are good, really.” Dane smiled. Then he undid his tie and slipped off his jacket.

  Lacey continued rubbing his neck until Dane leaned his head back against her breasts and looked up at her and smiled. “You are a Goddess.”

  “When a muscle gets hard like that it just needs to be rubbed out.” Lacey realized what she said as soon as she said it. She wanted to die on the spot.

  Dane laughed a bit and then he stood up and whispered into Lacey’s ear. “You can rub my muscle out anytime, Dear.”

  “I, uh.”

  Dane winked. “Thanks again, I have to run to a meeting.”

  Lacey sat down and dropped her hot cheeks into her hands. She was so embarrassed.

  Miguel and Alex were stretched out in a hammock on the private island he rented for their honeymoon.

  “I never want to go home.”

  “Miguel, you know that is not true.”

  “I never want to let you out of my arms.”

  “Ok, that could be true.”

  “Could be? Alex, if it was up to me I would just stay like this forever.”

  Alex kissed Miguel.

  “I wish that Ryan and Faith could be happy, together.”

  “I know you do but I don’t know, do you really think that your brother is capable of being faithful?”

  “He never had a reason to before. I’d like to think so.”

  “It isn’t that I don’t want them to be together but I’m afraid that it could put you in a bad position, if things don’t work out, since you are so close to both of them.”

  �
��I know. I just want everyone to be as happy as I am, I guess.”

  Miguel held Alex in his arms and got up from the hammock. He placed her down on the soft white sand and untied her bikini bottom. “I’d be even happier if I was inside you.” Miguel wiggled his brow.

  Alex shoved his swim trunks down and smiled. “Me too.”

  Miguel pushed himself inside Alex with a groan. “Definitely happier this way.”

  “Mmm, definitely.”

  Ryan walked back into his office and Zac was sitting inside waiting for him.

  “Zac, hey.”

  “I saw you follow Faith to the elevator.”

  “Yeah, I told Alex that I’d keep an eye on her while she is on her honeymoon.”

  “So I guess Faith told you…”

  “To be honest, we used to be close friends but we had a disagreement a while back, so she didn’t want to talk to me. I shouldn’t have wasted my time following her but she looked upset when she rushed by my office.”

  Zac was starting to put two and two together. Ryan was the man Faith was in love with. He’d bet his Ferrari on it. “So what was your disagreement over?”

  Ryan wasn’t sure why Zac was even asking but he knew that he needed to come up with some lie and quickly. “She doesn’t agree with my lifestyle.”

  Zac stood up. “Maybe that’s because she’s in love with you?”

  Ryan looked up at Zac. The moment Zac saw the shocked look on Ryan’s face he knew for sure that he was correct. “She…she told you that?”

  “No. I figured it out myself.”

  “Zac, look, I don’t want to come between…”

  “It’s too late.” Zac got up and walked out.

  RYAN KNOCKED ON FAITH’S door repeatedly until she opened it. “Is Alex alright?”

  “Yeah.”

  Faith slammed the door in Ryan’s face.

  “Faith open the door or I’m going to keep banging on it until the neighbors call the police.”

  Faith giggled. She’d love to see the police handcuff Ryan and drag him off in front of an angry mob of her neighbors…right to her bed. She mumbled aloud. “Give it up, Faith.”