All Chapters of Forbidden Fling: Chapter 11 - Chapter 20

Nearly a year later~“There are so many boobs—everywhere,” Chantilly says with a shake of her head.She’s right.We’re in the middle of chaos—which if you don’t know is filled with tall, beautiful women with high heels and perfect breasts—better known as the fashion show dressing room. Tomorrow all the models will have their makeup done and hair styled. Today they’re simply here to make the last adjustments to the lingerie and final prep on the Saks Fifth Avenue semi-annual lingerie fashion show.You may not think of lingerie as complicated.I mean, it’s something we wear under our clothes or to sleep.Not here.Not tomorrow with these models’ bodies highlighting the latest in Saks intimate apparel. Not with my promotion on the line.Today is the final rehearsal, the last chance to make this lingerie fashion show the best it can possibly be.“So many,” she whispers again.“And our job is to be sure they’re covered when they walk onstage.”We both eye the model wearing only a black lac

My nose scrunches at the thought of men I’ve seen running the New York marathon and the image of bloodstained shirts. Apparently, nipples aren’t only a woman’s problem. Shaking the unwanted images away, I say, “No. No blood. Yuck! The tape is for this cold air. We don’t want the models to look cold, if you know what I mean?”Stephen shakes his head. “Sometimes I question my life. You know, when I woke this morning, I never thought... hmm, I hope that sometime today I’ll have the opportunity to talk about nipple tape.”“You didn’t?”“Did you?”“Well, it’s more like when I wake, I wonder what crazy-ass stuff is going to be thrown my way. I’d say I’d rather avoid subjects like nipple tape, body glue, and boobs, but that would mean I don’t love this.” I wave my arms around. “All of it. And you know what?”My best friend’s smile broadens, lifting his cheeks and making the little creases appear by his eyes. “You love every minute of it.”“I do...nipple tape and all.”“Speaking of nipples an

“No, no!” I say to Chantilly as I stare into her eyes. “Tell me this isn’t happening.”“Shana, if I could, I would. Jenese is sick. Food poisoning, she thinks.”“Food! She doesn’t eat.”“You know if she could be here, she would. It hit her hard last night. She tried to push through and early this morning she ended up in the ER.”“No. She’s our top model. Everyone is expecting her, especially in the finale.” I take a deep breath. “We have an hour to showtime...what are we going to do?”“You could take her place.”I look at Chantilly as if she suddenly grew another head. Of all the possible solutions, this is quite possibly the furthest from my mind. To be honest, it wasn’t even a consideration. “What? That’s the most absurd thing I’ve heard in my life. I’m obviously not a model.”“It’s not that obvious. No, you have never done it, but you know the routine.” When I don’t respond, Chantilly goes on. “Shana, you’re a beautiful woman. The only thing stopping you from modeling is you.”“And

Eric laughs as he settles against the cool vinyl of the booth and listens to his future. “You guys can’t be serious? This sounds like The Hangover meets Impractical Jokers. This is my bachelor-party weekend. I was thinking bars and nightclubs. Last night was a good start.” He shakes his head. “I wasn’t thinking of crashing a fashion show. A. Lingerie. Fashion show.” He says the last part staccato like it will change Max’s mind.“Deadly serious,” our friend Max says. “I didn’t travel across the pond to sit casually at some gentlemen’s club. The fashion show is perfect. There will be beautiful women for you blokes and some nice eye candy for me. It’s a win-win.”Max lives in the UK. How he became part of our inner circle is a long story. Suffice it to say, as an investment banker, his work with McCobb, the engineering firm where Eric, Matt, and I work, brought him to our New York offices many times. He has one of those personalities that is the complete opposite of most engineers: outgo

We ran.Scaled a fence, wandered through a parking garage, and finally snuck through tunnels.It was the most fun I’d had in years.It was as if instead of an engineer who planned everything in his life, I was spontaneous and free. She did that to me. With her hand in mine, I was someone else. Helping her escape while keeping her safe were my only thoughts.From that moment on, I wanted her, all of her, but that night she wasn’t exactly in a position to consent to more than my assistance. It wasn’t that she fought me off, but then again, she wasn’t coming on to me either. She isn’t that type of woman. Her purse and room key were MIA after our little excursion. The hotel refused to provide another key without identification. Taking her to my room was all I could think to do. Once there, she fell sound asleep. Like Sleeping Beauty from the fairy tale, it wasn’t until morning when I kissed her forehead that she finally awoke.I’m a thirty-three-year-old man who admittedly still has fanta