Chapter 1

LACEY

“Are you sure this is such a good idea?”

The flashing lights made it hard to see anybody clearly. The music was blaring loud enough for the entire city to hear. Masculine sweat and feminine perfume filled my nostrils. The crowd was all having a good time. Drunken smiles. Sexy stares. Everybody danced to their own beat.

There were no problems here. The troubles of the day were gone. There were no bills to pay. There were no exams to study for. There were no relationships to stress out about. There was nothing to wake up early in the morning for.

I couldn’t think of a better place to be.

“I’m just saying… This sounds really risky…”

I could barely hear her voice over the crowd, not that I would’ve paid any attention to her anyway.

I gave the bartender a wink after he finished pouring my shot. I held the glass up.

“Really?” she said, a blank stare in her eyes.

I kept looking at her, my smirk growing on my lips. Eventually, she joined in and picked up her own shot.

“There we go,” I said as I clinked my glass to hers.

I didn’t hesitate to put the glass to my lips. My head rocked back and the alcohol disappeared in a quick, satisfying gulp. The liquor burned down my throat for a split-second and left me with a buzz that continued to softly pulse through the rest of me. I let out a satisfied sigh, my grin even bigger than it’d been this whole night.

“Lacey!”

Despite how much she raised her voice, she was still smiling back at me.

I’d only known Madeline for a few years but we were still as close as two women could be. I trusted her more than anybody. I also knew her better than anybody else.

“Let’s have some fun,” I said.

“No. We’re not having fun until we talk about this.”

“Really, Maddie?”

“Yes, really.”

“We’re in the middle of the most happening club in the city and you wanna have this conversation with me now?”

She raised an eyebrow at me. I sighed and shook my head, still smiling even though I knew I couldn’t avoid it.

“You’re really doing it,” she said, her voice calmer than before. “You’re really leaving.”

“I’m really leaving.”

“You’ve got a good job. You’ve got good friends. You’re happy, aren’t you?”

“Of course, I’m happy.”

“Am I boring you? Is it me? Tell me it’s me. If it’s me, I can change—”

“It’s not you,” I said with a chuckle. “It’s not you or the city or my job. It’s not any of that.”

“Then what is it?”

I looked out onto the dance floor. Everybody was half-drunk if they weren’t already completely. Men and women grinding against each other in a prelude to the obvious. I could almost smell what they wanted to do to each other just by looking at them.

“Look at ‘em,” I said.

“Look at who?”

“Them. All of them. So young and wild and carefree. Everybody’s here just to drink and get laid.”

“Yes, that’s what young folks usually do at these places, old timer. That’s what we’re here to do, isn’t it?”

“I don’t know… I think I’m kind of… over it.”

“Lacey.”

She gave me a blank stare, her mouth half-open before she continued.

“You’re 26. You’re not some old woman with grandchildren who’s experienced everything. You should be having fun at your age.”

“That’s just it. I’ve had my fun. I think there’s something more for me out there.”

“Okay… But why Ivory of all places?”

“What’s wrong with Ivory?”

“What’s wrong with Ivory? Besides the fact that I hadn’t heard of it until you mentioned it to me?”

“There are plenty of opportunities in Ivory. New people to meet. New places to explore. New experiences to have.”

“New guys to screw.”

My friend arched an eyebrow at me. I never had to worry about hiding anything from Madeline. I could be completely honest with her and she wouldn’t judge me.

“New guys to screw,” I said. “Sure. That sounds like fun. But that’s not why I’m heading down there.”

“Lacey…”

She put her hands on my shoulders. Even with how serious she looked, I still couldn’t help but smile at her.

“…I’m telling you this because you’re my friend—”

“You don’t have to explain that,” I said, trying not to laugh.

“This is just a phase.”

“…What?”

“This is just a phase you’re going through. You’ve got a steady job. You’ve got a nice, comfortable place to live. You and I do the usual thing every weekend. You’re just having a little moment to yourself. A midlife crisis or something.”

“You just told me that I’m only 26.”

“Yeah, well, if you only live to 50, you’re already there…”

I rolled my eyes at her then laughed.

“You’ll get over it,” she said. “You don’t have to pick up your entire life and move to some city out in the middle of nowhere.”

“Ivory isn’t that far away. It’s only a few hours drive down south.”

“That’s not the point. The point is you don’t have to take this kind of risk.”

I pondered what my friend told me while I ordered another round of shots. The bartender was quick to accommodate me. Another dose of liquor made the warmth in my stomach burn even hotter. I shuddered from the good feeling beginning to tingle through the rest of me. If Madeline was going to change my mind, she was going to have a tough time.

She knew it, too. But that wasn’t going to stop her.

I sighed a deep breath and collected myself as best as I could to hopefully get through to her.

“Maddie… I love you. You know I do. But this is something that I have to do. I… I can’t spend my entire life in the same kitchen, on the same line. Maybe it’s a mistake. Maybe I’ll fall flat on my face. But I’d rather do that than spend the rest of my life wondering ‘what if.’”

My friend stared at me. I could feel the resignation coming from her. Her hands dropped from my shoulders as she looked out onto the dance floor.

“You’re serious,” she said.

“I’m serious. Look… I’ve already got a few interviews lined up. It’s not like I’m just packing my things and wandering around like a bum. I’ll have a place to stay. I’ve got enough saved up that I don’t have to rush into things. And if things don’t work out, I can always come back, can’t I?”

Madeline twisted her lips. She kept staring out onto the dance floor while she considered everything I had to say. She didn’t need to say anything though. I could already tell what she was thinking just from her silence.

“If you ever need me for anything, you call me, okay?”

Madeline was my best friend for a reason. Even a dramatic decision like this wouldn’t destroy the friendship that we had.

“Of course,” I said. “If anything goes wrong, I have no problem coming back to the city.”

“You were always destined for something greater, Lacey. I can’t imagine anything going wrong, even in a place like Ivory.”

She took her shot off the bar counter and held it up to me. She swallowed it down then let out a satisfied sigh. Seeing the big smile return to her face was a relief even though I already knew she supported my decision.

“What’s the plan?” she asked.

“The plan is I get a job as soon as I get there. I do a bunch of different interviews until I find the place that’s right for me. That’s the beauty of a town like Ivory. There aren’t many people down there. There are so many opportunities and not enough people to fill them. In the city, everybody’s always pushing and shoving each other.”

“That’s true. You were never the type to step on someone to get to the top. I guess I didn’t teach you very well…”

Madeline gave me a wink and chuckled in response. I was a little more reserved than she was. I’d like to think that I got whatever impulsiveness I had from spending time around her.

“You’ve got a good gig though,” she said. “Nice, fancy place. A lot of people would be jealous to be where you’re at.”

“That’s the problem. I’ve been there for too long. I don’t think I’m ever gonna move up.”

“Lacey… You know that you’re better—”

“I know, I know,” I said as I put my hands up. “I haven’t given up on myself. This is exactly why I need to go down to Ivory.”

“All right,” she said. “You’ve convinced me. Go do it, Lacey. Do it. When I visit you in Ivory, I wanna see how big and successful you’ve become. Promise me you’ll make it.”

She ordered another couple of shots for us. I didn’t handle my liquor very well. But seeing as how this was the last time I’d see my best friend in a long time, I couldn’t think of a better reason to drink.

I held my glass up to hers and sighed.

“I promise,” I said.

Another dose of liquor down my throat had loosened me up to the point that I felt like I was floating. Madeline and I were all smiles with the seriousness of our conversation now out of the way.

“Now…” Maddie said as she rubbed her hands together. “What do you say we have some fun, you and I?”

“Let’s do it.”

Madeline scanned the club like she always did. She always did a good job of finding just the right couple of guys we could have fun with. Tonight wasn’t an exception.

“There we go,” she said. “Five o’clock. Blue dress shirt.”

I squinted my eyes and stared through the flashing lights.

“Him?” I said. “Are you sure about this?”

“I’m sure, Lacey. Come on.”

We made our way over to the side of the club. Just a few steps and the ‘blue dress shirt’ and his friend standing next to him came into view. The man in blue was about as average as you can get. He had a friend in a white shirt who looked just the same. Just a couple of young guys who looked like they were trying to have a night out on the town before they went back to their uninteresting lives.

Madeline and I caught their attention quickly.

“Hello, boys,” Madeline said.

The two men eyeballed her, growing smirks on their lips.

“Care to dance, gentlemen?”

They looked at one another before the man in blue took Madeline by the hand and disappeared onto the dance floor with her. I was left alone with the other man.

Light brown hair parted neatly on his head. An inexpensive watch on his wrist. A white dress shirt that was unbuttoned at the top. He wasn’t bad but he wasn’t amazing either.

The things I do for you, Maddie.

I’d gotten used to it at this point. As long as my friend was having fun, I was having fun.

“Johnnie,” the man said as he held his hand out.

“Lacey.”

I shook his hand and looked out onto the dance floor. Madeline was already hot and heavy with the man she’d dragged out to the floor. The way she moved against him, you would’ve thought that he was special. But that’s what she did to have her fun. If some better-looking guy came along, she had no shame in swinging right toward him. It was my responsibility to make sure that Madeline could make that move.

“So, Lacey… What can you tell me about yourself?”

“There’s a lot I can and can’t tell you,” I said with a laugh. “What do you want to know?”

“Okay, okay,” he said, smiling as he looked me up and down. “You live in the city?”

I grinned back at him. I was smiling so big that he started to give me a confused look.

“Is… that a yes?” he asked.

“No,” I said. “I don’t live in the city. Not anymore.”