At the gym Jasper says "You were doing good in dance class yesterday. Really putting in effort. I like that. "

"It was Grace's idea to go. It wasn't something I'd normally do." I reply.

"It is good to try something new."Jasper gets me set up on the leg extension machine. He's purely professional and never tries anything he shouldn't. He's nothing like I think Prince imagines Jasper is during training sessions. Prince probably thinks Jasper feels me up and grabs my ass everytime. "I ran into your dude in the parking lot here yesterday . He seemed mad and wouldn't talk to me when I asked if he needed help. And he didn't go inside. Did I do something to upset him? I can't imagine what it could be because I've never met him. " Jasper says.

"You didn't do anything. Maybe he was upset about something that had nothing to do with you." I suggest.

After a sweaty, challenging hour I take a shower and head home. When I get there I see a floral delivery truck. I greet the driver. "You Penelope, by any chance?" he asks.

"Yes." I admit.

"These are for you."He hands me the flowers and I thank him.

I go inside. "What is with the flowers?" Prince asks.

"You didn't send them?" I ask. I'm stunned.

"No."

I read the card aloud ,"Roses are red, violets are blue, your friend is a whore and so are you." They are from Gloria!

Prince takes a picture for his evidence box. Then he yells,"Come with me!" as he grabs the flowers by the vase they came in. I follow him. I don't know what he is up to, all I know is he is pissed! We get into his car. He's too angry to speak. He drives to this really fancy area. There's a pretty house with a beautiful gate. Prince parks in front of it "Stay here!" He grabs the flowers and throws them (and the vase) over the gate and onto the doorstep. The vase smashes. He runs back to the car and honks the horn before speeding off.

"That was her house right?" I ask. He gives me a big smile.

Prince takes me home. "I've started to worry about your safety. There's someone I want you to meet. He should be here any minute now." He says. "He's a bodyguard I'm hiring for you"

"What! I never thought would be something that we needed to do."

"I'm not taking chances." He holds me close and kisses me. "I hope Grace becomes more cautious."

"Oh, she told me after she bought the house, she bought a gun. She said that she might need it once she gets some tenants."

"I don't know if I'd trust her with a gun."

The bodyguard has arrived. He's a huge man. Hell, I'm scared. He holds out his hand to me,"Hello, I'm Hector." He says, "I hear you have a stalking situation."

"Yeah." I say. I take Prince aside. "Isn't a bodyguard a bit much? " I ask.

Prince whispers," I love you and I want you to be safe. I told Grace I'd take care of you."

"So, this stalker was at your dance class yesterday?" Hector asks.

"Yes" I say.

"How did she know you'd be there?"

"My friend Grace and I have no idea.The only person who may have known we were going was my receptionist at my studio. Grace and I were talking about the class on the phone during lunch. But the receptionist has nothing to do with the stalker."

"Has the stalker ever been to your studio?" Hector asks

"Yes, she came for boudoir shots before."

"I got those recently, with a very erotic letter." Prince says.

"That's unsettling. Was she in your office?" Hector asks.

"She went to the bathroom during the shoot so maybe she went in. Why?"

"I think your phone may be tapped."

The three of us go down to my studio. Hector looks my phone over. "Oh yeah, this has been tampered with. That girl has probably heard every word you've said on this phone." Hector says. 

I instantly think of all the sexy banter Prince and I have had during my breaks.She's heard it! I wouldn't want my own mother to know I talk like that! I start crying. She probably heard the time Prince and I were on the phone pretending to be Grace and one of her boyfriends. We ended up just laughing so hard. I think it was funny but I wouldn't have wanted anyone listening to that! It got a little nasty. Prince puts his arm around me.

Hector pats my shoulder,"It'll be okay, Hon. I'm going to call the cops." he says. Hector leaves. Prince look even more angry than he was earlier. We sit there in silence until the cops and Hector come in. The phone gets taken out. I show the cops some security footage I have. It's not the best quality because I was lazy and didn't put in a better system but the footage is obviously a woman in lingerie going into my office with a purse. The time on the footage is the same as the Gloria's appointment. The cops take statements. They assure us they will see what charges they can press.

We go home. I'm shaken. Prince sits down with me and holds me. I feel bad for him. I can only imagine how he must feel. "This morning, what did you want to tell me when I got home? That you'd hired a bodyguard?" I ask.

"Yes." He says.

"I wish you had some happier news for me."

"It is good news. It might seem extreme to you, but to me it makes sense." He kisses me. I kiss him. I want to get him thinking about anything else but Gloria. After awhile I ask,"Are you packed for the flight tomorrow? Last two months of the tour, you know."

"Yes. Are you?"

"No, I haven't unpacked from Michigan yet. I need to do that. I think I'll clean my closet while I'm about it. A good organizing project cheers me up and right now I need all the help I can get."We kiss each other again. 

I've just dumped out my suitcase when I hear Prince yelling for me. When I go find him he looks a bit annoyed and is holding a bottle of diet pills. I'm confused because he has no use for those. "What did you want?" I ask.

He takes a deep breath and says. "I was going to bring you your gym bag. You left it in here. Then I saw these in there because it was unzipped . If you want to lose weight, that's fine, but don't take these."

"I'm not taking those! I don't know how they got there! The last time I was around anything like that was when I photographed an ad for fat burners!"

He rolls his eyes,"You didn't hear them rattling around?" At least he's not screaming. I grab my bag and pull out a couple bottles of vitamins. "I have a habit of forgetting to take my vitamins so I carry an extra set in my gym bag in case I remember later. I probably didn't notice with these in there."

"Go get packed. We'll talk about this later." I can tell he's about to lose it. If he does, he'll meet Irate Penelope and that bitch isn't easy to be around. Angry Prince won't like her. I go back to my closet to finish packing.

After a couple hours,I've packed, done some cleaning and I realize I'm going to need a garbage bag for the worn out lingerie and beat up shoes I'm throwing out. Having an active love life sure is hard on on lingerie. I decide to go see if I can find a garbage bag. I might have to ask someone. I come upon the room Prince is in.

 He is on the phone. Probably with Annette. I listen a bit. He is on the phone with Grace! I can hear her on speaker. "Grace, I need you to be honest with me. For Penelope's own good. Is she taking diet pills, that you know of?"

"Of course not! It would never occur to her. Why?" Grace asks.

He explains his side of the story.

"You know what? I'll bet that Ex of yours put them in there yesterday. Probably to be mean." Grace says.

"I should have thought of that." he says.

"You couldn't have. You don't have the mentality of a teenage bitch. I understand their tricks to stay at least one step ahead of them. How do you think I got promoted at work over the other women? Not by sleeping with the right people like gossip says I did."

He laughs. "Grace, does she ever talk to you about my Ex?"

"Oh, yeah. She's worried about you and afraid of her life turning into a nightmare."

"I don't think it will. I hired a bodyguard for her. Maybe she'll worry less."

"What is this guy like?"

"Big, tall, former cop."

"I'd feel safer with him around."

I scurry off, find a garbage bag and get back to cleaning. I strip down to my bra and panties as there is some clothes I want to try on. I remember I'll want my sneakers on the tour. I'd better let them air out overnight instead of leaving them in my gym bag. I take out the sneakers and find a note with a piece of tape hanging off it. That note says: Because dance lessons can only do so much. I recognize that handwriting! It belongs to Gloria. 

I'm steamed! Prince passes me and I watch him put the pills in his evidence box. I run over to him. "This was in my bag too" I tell him as I hand him the note.He puts that in the box.

"Penelope, I..." He starts to say.

"Shh. If you're going to apologize, don't. I'd have assumed the same thing. I'm just glad we didn't start yelling at each other." I say.

He looks me up and down. Yeah it's daylight and there is lights on inside. I don't care. Maybe it's because Prince has seen me naked. A lot.Maybe it's because I've gone down a size over the past several months. I'm not perfect though. He smiles. I laugh. "You definitely don't need diet pills." He says, pulling me close. before kissing my neck. His hands travel my body, with the right amount of pressure over each part.

"Ooh...please don't touch me this way if you aren't going to undress." I plead.

He smirks. "I might stay clothed all day and night." He teases.

"You wouldn't dare!"

"I would."

Grace once told me about when a man was resisting sex with her when she was really horny. I'm going to try something like what she did. "Well, I do like that outfit. " I tell him. I kiss him long and slow before I walk over to my closet and get start getting dressed. I take my time. I put on one outfit then take it off. I put on another. Slowly. Taking time to check myself out in the mirror. I check my lipstick. I fix my hair. I glance at my ass.

"You're getting dressed?" he laughs

"Of course. No point in pursuing a hot time with someone who doesn't want it." I slap his his ass on the way out of the bedroom. My back is facing him. 

Suddenly, I feel a firm hand on my shoulder. I'm pulled backwards, his hands go to my waist, I get spun around so I'm facing him. He pulls me close. He takes my dress off. I go for his shirt and am met with no resistance. He gets fully naked and unhooks my bra. Next he gets down on his knees and pulls my panties down with his teeth. On the way back up he licks my inner thigh crease.I can't believe I'm more than cool with it. I look him in the eyes when he gets up and I say,"Does that mean you want to have a good time?"

He smiles and says nothing. We get on the bed and kiss each other as though we haven't in forever. Our hands travel our bodies, challenging the other not to enter the throws of passion. We're laying on our sides and he whispers,"Ready?"

"YES!" I scream. We physically  connect and he places his leg over my body as though he wants to make sure I stay as close as possible. I thrust my hips as I nibble his ear. He screams with joy. He gets me on my back and grinds me just how I like. I have an orgasm. He tenderly kisses my forehead before we finish. We're laying there, holding each other when I say with conviction,"I love you. You are the best thing that has ever happened to me"

"I love you too. Waking up next to you makes every day better." He admits. Well, that did it. I'm so full of love and adoration that I cry. Grace would accuse me of falling for a musician's pretty words. He smiles lovingly and strokes my hair. We lay there together until dinnertime.