Chapter 6

February 13th

Hey you. Tonight is the night I finally lose my virginity. I've cyberstalked Max and feel so incredibly lucky he has this kink. Because let me tell you, his socials show a man who loves animals and his grandmother. The last picture of a girlfriend was eight months ago, so it's not a cheating thing. Plus, he came to my rescue at Café Felix. That has to mean something, right? This could be it. My real life happily-ever-after moment.

Paige paced nervously back and forth in the hotel room she'd booked for the night and paid for with cash. The book club had taken a field trip to a lingerie store and bought the most seductive outfit for the night. Normally Paige slept in oversized T-shirts. This white number she was in right now was as far from an oversized T-shirt as she could get. It was see-through for one thing. The other was the pink G-string that peeped through the white gauzy material right along with her nipples. She felt completely exposed, yet powerful in her body. She felt sexy. And even though she was so nervous she couldn't stand still, she felt empowered all at the same time.

Paige had placed condoms on each nightstand on both sides of the bed for convenience and safety. The lights were lit strategically and faux candles were lit to create a romantic vibe. Paige was going to make this as romantic as possible, even though it started as a virginity-taking application.

The door opened and Eli stuck his head in. "Amelia saw him enter the lobby."

It felt strange to have all her friends here this night, knowing they'd be just waiting for her to have sex. But while she was doing something crazy, she wasn't completely crazy. She was going to have help nearby if she needed it. Eli was going to be outside the door with a key to the room. Leah had the adjoining room and both doors were unlocked. If Paige screamed "Books!" that mean everyone came running to save her.

"I hear the elevator opening," Eli whispered. "Are you sure you want to do this? We can all sneak into Leah's room and hide." Eli glanced over his shoulder looking as nervous as Paige felt. Paige worried when she saw Eli's jaw drop. "Holy shit."

"What?" Paige hissed. What was wrong?

"If you don't want him, I'll take him. Damn, this man is fine."

Paige took a deep breath. Okay, she was almost out of time to run and hide. "Does he look nice?"

"He's smiling at me and it looks like a nice smile. He seems a little nervous so I would think that's good."

This was it. Paige's stomach was doing flips. Her knees were shaking. But it wasn't just nerves. It was excitement. Something was so outside the realm of her daily life about this that made it beyond exciting. "Okay. Let him in."

Paige momentarily freaked out as Eli held the door open wide. Should she sit or stand? Maybe she should be lying on the bed. Too late. Eli was showing Max in and everything fled from her mind. She stood there, simply looking shocked that she was doing this and that was the man she was doing it with. There was no way a man this hot should be looking to buy sex. Bookworm dreams really did come true!

"Hi." Paige might have orgasmed just at his deep voice alone. "I'm Max. I take it you're Kat, the woman I'll be having sex with tonight after buying?"

"Oh, um, yes."

Max smiled at her and the phrase panty melting finally made sense. He turned to Eli and held out an envelope. "Here you go."

"What's this?" Eli asked as he took the envelope Max put in his hand.

"Your free ride to the police station, buddy." Max slapped a pair of cuffs she hadn't even seen onto Eli's wrists. "You're under arrest for promoting prostitution and you," he turned to Paige and a second pair of cuffs appeared from his back pocket, "are under arrest for prostitution."

Paige stared with an open mouth, trying to comprehend what was going on as Eli began to scream. And by scream, Paige meant he was yanking his hands as if he could break the handcuffs and screaming, hitting what was possibly E above high C, which had stray dogs barking out in the street and doors opening up and down the hall.

Amelia came running down the hall yelling, "Don't you touch her!"

Paige stood, frozen as the connecting door flew open. Leah leapt into the room screaming like a banshee. She held a hot pink taser in her hands as she looked around wildly. Her eyes landed on Max who was still trying to hold onto Eli's handcuffed hands. Leah looked from Max to Eli screaming and slammed the prongs of a taser into Max's neck before Max could even turn fully around.

"Run!" Leah yelled, not understanding the situation.

Amelia was horrified as she stared at Max lying on the ground. "You killed him!"

"I didn't kill him. I just stunned him. Come on!" Leah vaulted over Max's still twitching body and grabbed a frozen and screaming Eli. She began to run, dragging Eli behind her. Eli dropped the envelope which sent cash tumbling out onto the ground as he ran, handcuffed, down the hall to the stairs.

"Let's go, Paige!" Amelia cried before racing to catch up with Eli and Leah.

Running from the cops wasn't one of the tropes she read and didn't know what to do. She spun around and grabbed her purse. Where she messed up though was when she paused to think about grabbing her clothes. That one second it took to decide not to grab her clothes was what got her left behind. "Wait for me!" Paige leaped over a groaning Max. Only, she didn't quite make it. Max's hand shot up and grabbed her ankle. Paige pinwheeled her arms trying to stay upright before she faceplanted onto the hotel floor.

"You're under arrest," Max began to say between clenched teeth and clearly unhappy with being tasered.

"Wait, you don't understand. No money was to change hands. I even stated it on the form and in the confirmation email in the . . . I guess nobody really reads the terms and conditions, do they?" Tears, ugly crying tears, rolled down her cheeks as she tried to explain. Another hand clamped onto the back of her thigh as Max used her body to crawl to a sitting position. How much worse could this get? Her see-through baby doll was around her waist and Mr. Hot Cop had an eyeful of her ass in a G-string.

"We'll see about that down at the station." Max stood and reached down to hold out his hand for her to take. "Come on. It's not the end of the world. If it's your first offense for prostitution, you probably won't get any jail time."

Paige's heart raced so fast she thought she'd faint as she shoved down the lingerie and rolled over to look up at him. She used her hands to cover her breasts, but Max grabbed them and placed them in cuffs. The cold metal broke through the embarrassment of the situation and allowed her to focus on one word. "Jail?"

Max was gentle as he helped her to her feet. He looked at her. His eyes lingered over her see-through white baby doll lingerie. His gaze rested on her breasts which were not even the slightest bit concealed by the gauzy material. Paige raised her arms and hid herself the best she could before Max glanced over his shoulder back into her room. "Do you have clothes in there?" he asked instead of talking about jail.

Paige nodded numbly. There were too many things she wanted to explain but found she couldn't form the words as she focused on the fact she was going to jail.

"If I uncuff you, will you put them on and not try anything?"

Paige nodded again. Max pulled a key from the pocket of his suit pants. That was when she saw the badge. He really was a cop and she really was under arrest for prostitution. She had hoped she'd gotten so nervous she'd fainted and it was all a terrible dream.

Paige didn't feel her body move across the room to the dresser. How did her body not even look or feel like her own anymore? Was it because it was no longer hers? It belonged to the state penal system now.

Paige opened the drawer and pulled out her clothes. She dressed in her jeans and a sweater in a state of complete numbness. She noticed Max turned his back to allow her some privacy to change. Damn. He actually was a nice guy. Just like he was in the coffee shop.

"I'm taking it Paige is your real name, not Kat. I think Paige is the name I heard called out. What's your last name?" Max asked as she dressed.

"Turner," she told him before stepping into her jeans. "Is Max your real name?"

"Max is, but my last name is Caldwell. Now, come on. Let's get going."

Paige slipped her feet into her sneakers, but Max didn't give her time to tie them as he plucked her winter coat from the back of the chair and handed it to her.

"Really, Officer Caldwell, I can explain. This isn't illegal. I swear it isn't. I had it in the application that—"

"Detective," Max corrected. "And Miss Turner," Max said as he took hold of her arm and escorted her from the room. Paige was too worked up to realize he hadn't put the cuffs back on her. "If it's as you say, we'll get it all figured out at the station."

Oh no. She was going to have a mug shot. They were going to take her prints. Would they put her on the news? Would they tell her boss? Would Vermont news pick it up? Her parents would disown her. Well, no, they probably wouldn't, but then everyone in her hometown would say I told her moving to the big city would ruin her. And it did. It ended with her being thrown in the clink. She wondered if the electric chair at Sing Sing was still there.