Page 53 of Desert Thorns
I frowned. “What do you mean?”
Pink tinged her cheeks. “I struggle with a smut addiction.” She waved at her floor-to-ceiling bookshelf boasting hundreds of romance novels sorted by color. “These books here are innocent, but the ones on my Kindle?” She shook her head.
Oh my . . . “I had no idea.” I’d always thought she was so innocent. Heck, I’d been jealous of the fact that she didn’t have my issues.
“I know. You’re the first to know, so . . .” She lifted a shoulder. “And then there are the thirst traps on social media. Somehow those shirtless men keep showing up on my feed. It’s so frustrating.”
“Same, girl! I deleted my accounts because of them.”
“I would, too, but it’s my main platform for promoting my clothing brand. And it’s strange, because some of them are actually Christian men, and thenboom! Shirtless video.”
“Right? Why do they do that?”
“I don’t know. For attention?”
Both our phones rang at the same time. Since mine was charging on Bella’s desk, she answered hers and put it on speaker. “Hey, Coco. I’m here with Harley.”
“Wassup, Harry!” she yelled, making us laugh. “I have amazing news!”
“Spit it out already,” I answered, grinning.
“I’m officially Tatum Grady’s assistant.”
The squeal Bella let out nearly damaged my eardrums. Good thing there was no bathtub she could fall into. “That’s amazing! Congrats!”
“I agree,” I said, rubbing my aching ear.
“Thanks, ladies. Did I interrupt something?”
A wide-eyed look from Bella made it clear that I was the one who did the talking. “Are you alone?”
“Uh . . . yeah?”
“Good, because I just told Bella how frustrated I am that I keep getting tangled in sexual sin. I slept with Kingsley.”
“Oh.” A brief pause followed in which I pictured Coco pursing her lips. “That’s not good.”
“No, it’s not.”
“And I told Harry that I struggle with staying away from spicy books. There, now you know, too.”
My chest swelled, and I squeezed Bella’s hand, smiling at her.
“Well, while we’re at it . . .” A deep sigh came over the line. “I had a porn addiction while I was married to Terrance. I eventually got over it, but it tooktwo years.”
Bella and I gaped at each other, then burst out laughing. Nothing about this was amusing, yet the fact that we all struggled with the same sin and didn’t know was almost comical.
“Why have we never talked about this?” I asked after somewhat recovering.
“Because Satan wants us to struggle alone,” Coco said. “He wants us to feel ashamed, because that’s what keeps us from talking to others and God.”
Bella nodded. “My thoughts exactly. Does the church offer some kind of program?”
“Only for men.” I rolled my eyes. “Because women don’t struggle with this kind of stuff.” I didn’t bother to keep the sarcasm out of my tone. “It’s kinda wild how we women are held accountable for how we dress, but men aren’t. Yet help is only offered to men.”
“Maybe we could request a course specifically geared towards women?” Bella shrugged. “I bet we aren’t the only ones struggling.”
Bet not. Hearing that both my friends battled sexual sin and lust made me feel less alone and oddly gave me hope. “Coco, would you mind praying for us? You’re the prayer warrior here. And any tips are welcome.”
