Walter pulled up in front of Paige's apartment at 8:10 and he saw a car take off just before. He parked his car and turned it off. He wondered if he should just wait in the car or go up to knock. Even though this wasn't a date, he felt he should go knock on her door. As Walter was about to knock, the door opened and Paige stood before him smiling. The look on her face was breathtaking…as was the lovely blouse and skirt she had on.

"Good morning Walter, I just need a moment to slip my shoes on. Come on in." Paige told him.

Walter nodded as he tried to get his throat to work. He stepped in and closed the door as she walked over to the front room. She sat down and slipped one of the three inch heeled shoes on her foot.

"Good morning Paige." Walter finally was able to voice.

Paige smiled back at him and then slipped the other on.

"I umm, I thought since you just left a waitress job that perhaps I should buy our breakfast today. And after your first paycheck if you want to buy you can." Walter told her as his voice wavered.

"Walter, that's so sweet, but you don't have too." Paige smiled as she stood. "How do I look? Good enough for my first day?"

"You look good enough for anything." Walter told her seriously.

Paige grinned as she stepped over and kissed his cheek.

"Thank you. I hope that was acceptable." Paige asked.

Walter just nodded nervously.

"Where did you want to go to get breakfast?" Walter asked as they walked to the door and outside.

"Well if you really want to pay for it, why don't you pick a place?" Paige asked softly as she locked the deadbolt.

"D-Do you know Kovelsky's?" Walter asked as they walked out to his car.

"Oh, the restaurant over on Vermont and Beverly?" Paige asked.

Walter nodded.

"Sure, that sounds good." Paige smiled.

As they drove down the streets Walter looked at Paige smiling.

"Umm, not that I want to say anything to take the beautiful smile from your face, but you seem much happier today than you did last night." Walter told her.

Paige laughed a little.

"Well thank you Walter. But I was still nervous this morning so I took one of my Xanax pills. I don't need them very often but sometimes when I get really stressed." Paige told him.

"Oh, sure I get that. I didn't know if you had changed your mind about talking to me about whatever it was that was bothering you." Walter smiled.

Mrs Kovelsky was grinning real big as Walter walked inside with Paige.

"There's my genius boy. How are you this morning Walter? Is this a new girlfriend perhaps? She is much prettier than that doctor you were dating, good riddance to her. Welcome to Kovelsky's." Mrs Kovelsky greeted Paige.

Paige smiled at the embarrassment on Walter's face.

"Oh uh, no Mrs Kovelsky, this is Paige. She's working with me now." Walter explained a bit nervously.

Paige laughed.

"Hi Mrs Kovelsky. It is nice to meet you. I was working for Nemos's diner until Walter hired me last night." Paige said as she reached her hand out.

Mrs Kovelsky shook her hand.

"Ah…good riddance, such a miserable old coot. You are far too pretty to work for such a man. Now this one here, this is more of a man worthy of working for." Mrs Kovelsky grinned as Walter blushed even more.

Paige giggled as she grabbed Walter's hand and squeezed it.

Mrs Kovelsky's brow rose as she watched and didn't see Walter pull away from Paige. She ignored the hostess as she quickly grabbed two menus and led them to another section that was usually used for overflow. She wasn't sure what was going on with Walter but she'd known him long enough to know this was different behavior. Not to mention there was something sparking between him and this new girl Paige. And she immediately liked Paige so she wanted to be sure they had someplace quiet to sit and eat.

Walter had started to complain but Mrs Kovelsky just turned and walked off.

Paige grinned and pulled on his hand. Walter smiled and nodded before they both sat in the booth of the table she'd put the menus on.

"I really like Mrs Kovelsky. She reminds me of a dear friend, Mrs Bonetti." Paige told him. "Is there anything you recommend? Or do I need to keep it under a certain dollar value?"

Walter blushed as he shook his head.

"Order whatever is on the menu you like. To be honest, I usually only eat lunch and dinner here. They are the only ones who carry the fish I prefer to eat." Walter smiled.

"You're not getting fish for breakfast are you?" Paige frowned.

Walter shook his head.

"Not for breakfast, but I wouldn't do that to you. Most people can't stand the smell." Walter smiled.

"Mrs Kovelsky, is it okay if we just sit here and talk for a while?" Walter asked as he paid the bill.

"Walter my boy, you sit and talk as long as you want." Mrs Kovelsky told him and then left. As she stepped out of the room she pulled the curtain that was used for private parties over and latched it so they wouldn't be disturbed.

"She is so amazing and friendly. Not to mention a great cook." Paige told him.

Walter nodded nervously.

"So, what is it that you need to tell me?" Walter asked.

Paige sighed as she nodded.

"Yes, I suppose I've put it off long enough." Paige started. "Just know, I'm going to be completely honest with you and what I tell you will be embarrassing and a little humiliating for me. I really hope you don't hate me after what I tell you."

Walter frowned but nodded.

"Walter, I've made some poor choices in my life. The biggest one was getting involved with Drew. He was my boyfriend when I was in college. I'd met him about two months before the end of fall term. My Dad hated him, said he was nothing but a bum and said if I wanted to squander my life, he wasn't wasting his money paying for college so I could help that bum." Paige explained. "My Dad was right."

"I was young and thought I was in love, thought he loved me but…well…neither of us were really. He was trying to make a name for himself in baseball, or at least that was what he always said. Never got out of the minor leagues. The month before the end of fall term I moved in with him and then I had to stop going to college. Anyway, 2004 wasn't a good year for him and long before spring training would start in 2005 we were hurting for money. Drew wasn't having any luck finding work. He came in during the evening and he'd talk about all the places he had put in applications." Paige looked towards the window as she thought back to those days.

"I'd joined him in searching for work, it was so difficult. Tech jobs were a little more plentiful back then in San Francisco. And of course I didn't have any tech skills and I wasn't having any luck with normal jobs." Paige sighed. "Mrs Bonetti helped me a lot with food, washing dishes to pay for it. But rent for February was coming due." Paige looked at Walter and he could see all the pain on her face.

"Walter, I did something I'm not proud of. I took a job dancing." Paige told him and paused.

Walter frowned as she didn't continue.

"I'm guessing this wasn't like a dance company for theater or something?" Walter asked.

Paige shook her head.

"Paige, you had to do what you had to do to survive, I'm fine with this." Walter smiled.

"There's more." Paige told him even more nervous from what he could tell.

Walter nodded for her to continue.

"It was Drew's idea, he explained how so many clubs were looking for dancers. This I knew, I was constantly getting asked as I walked the streets looking for places hiring. He said he had talked to a few owners while trying to get a job sweeping up. They had hinted around if he had a wife or girlfriend, because that was the help they really needed. He said he showed my picture to this one owner and he offered him a job for me as a prime dancer. God, I was so embarrassed listening to him. I worried about what my Dad was going to say if he found out. Drew talked to me for two days about it. Neither of us went looking for work either day, he just constantly talked to me. The owner had given him a small advance so we at least had food to eat those two days. He took me to a club not too far from where we lived. I didn't know much about the clubs back then, I figured they were all the same so I didn't think it mattered which one I went to." Paige sighed. "Don't get me wrong, the club was decent. Lots of sailors hit it up. But what I didn't know was it was the only fully nude one. I thought they all were fully nude. Oh you'd see signs that said topless, but the word was that the girls still had to put on shows behind the scene completely nude. At least at this one, there were no backroom deals. Or so I thought."

"The first week Drew came to every show I did. It helped me a lot to deal with my nerves, knowing he was there to keep an eye on my safety." Paige said, watching Walter's face, but it was like staring at a sphinx. "Then he started missing shows. So I started keeping my eyes out looking for the bouncers to steel myself. Jake was one of the biggest and he was super sweet to the girls, keeping us safe. It also helped mine and Drew's sex life. It seemed to really ramp up Drew's libido knowing guys were getting hot and bothered by me but he was the one I loved and was coming home to."

"After my second week the boss was telling me he was getting lots of requests for private dances and favors for me. I wasn't interested in the favors, but when he told me how much the private dances would earn me, well…I asked Drew about it. Drew asked a few questions about safety and I answered, he asked Jake about it and Jake promised he'd always be there if I had any private dances and would respond instantly if I called for help." Paige had a hard time looking at Walter. "So, I agreed. The dances weren't bad, but they were just another step if you understand what I mean."

Walter nodded but since she wasn't looking at him he cleared his throat softly.

"I understand what you mean Paige, you took small, almost inconsequential steps until suddenly you were miles from where you began. Please, go on, whatever you need to tell me. And take your time if you need to." Walter told her gently.

Paige nodded.

"Jake was where he always promised to be and he always threatened the guys when we went back to one of the private rooms. That helped the guys to keep their hands to themselves. Drew came to more of my shows again and he seemed to get even more turned on that I was doing this. Sometimes he couldn't even wait for us to get home and we'd have sex in one of the back rooms before we went home." Paige explained.

"It was okay, but I still didn't like it. It was great money and Drew gave up any pretense of looking for something to do on the side. Then about two weeks before March." Paige sighed. "Drew was back full time in the club during my shows, but now he was sitting with some guys. I just figured it was where he chose to sit."

"One of the girls came back after her number and was really mad. Said a group of guys were really rude and nasty. And to top it off they barely tipped her. This was a little hard for me because she was a better dancer than I am and I thought, great, if she hardly got any tips I'm not going to get anything. I'd asked where they were sitting and she told me and told me to watch out for the guy with the Mariner's cap on. I thought that was weird because Drew always wore his Mariner's cap." Paige said.

"When I got out there, Drew was there and was the only one with a Mariner's cap. I wondered what he was doing acting that way. But then I started dancing, all of the guys he was with moved up to the front row. They were all very complimentary and saying all kinds of sexual things. They were tipping me heavily too. Drew just sat there grinning as he watched, blowing me kisses. When my set was over Drew wasn't there, but I found him back by the dressing room door." Paige sighed.

"He was so excited. He said his friends loved me and they wanted lots of private dances from me. I was shocked he would bring guys from spring training to watch me dance. It was so weird and I told him he knew where they could go buy the dances. But he shook his head." Paige explained.

Paige thought back to that day as she explained further.

"To hell with that Paige. This place takes forty percent of your private dance money. You can do this somewhere else and make a lot more money." Drew told her.

Paige looked at him like he was crazy.

"Where would we do something like that? And who will keep me safe?" Paige asked him.

"We can do it back at our place and I will keep you safe. They are going to be my teammates, they aren't going to do anything wrong." Drew said all sexy to Paige. "Come on, you know how much it turns me on knowing you are doing this. Can you imagine how much it will turn me on to actually see you perform live?"

"Drew, no. I don't want to do this outside of this place…especially not our home. And there are six of them, Drew. You have no advanced combat training. At least Jake is a fifth degree black belt and former Navy seal. He can definitely handle people, especially one on one. If we went home and all six of them decided to rape me, how would you stop them?" Paige asked.

"You think my friends would try to rape my girl?" Drew asked seriously.

"Drew, I don't know your friends. You don't know them. Is even one of them from your team last year?" Paige demanded.

Drew shook his head.

"See, just because they might get assigned to your team doesn't mean they are good guys. You know some of the guys you've played with in the past. Remember Tony?" Paige asked. "He grabbed my ass and was French kissing me two seconds after meeting me. And I was fully clothed then. These guys could kill you in a minute and then rape and kill me, is that what you want?" Paige demanded.

"Of course it isn't. Maybe I didn't think this through all the way. I just thought of all the extra money we could make and how hot it would be to see you doing it." Drew said softly and then grinned at her. "You're right baby, you always are. I'm sorry for even considering this. Go on and rest up for your next show. You made a lot of tips from them though huh?" Drew grinned.

Paige smiled shyly and nodded.

"That's when Drew reached in and kissed me before I walked back into the dressing room." Paige continued the story.

"Jake called me shortly after that. Said I had a dance request." Paige said. "I'd barely sat down and taken three sips from my water bottle. But we had to respond quickly to dance requests. Turned out to be the largest of the guys with Drew. He was sitting there with his pants undone and his…manhood sticking out. I called for Jake quickly and Jake set the man straight. He tried to give some lame excuse that it hurt too much if he got a hardon with his pants on. Jake told him if he watched my show on stage with no problems, he could do this too. He was still a little miffed so Jake told him he either put it away and act like a gentleman or he was going to get a broken nose and be thrown out with no refund."

"So he complied and Jake stood right outside the door the whole time." Paige smiled weakly at Walter.

Walter just nodded.

"He was definitely more animated than most men. He did little hit and run type things. Barely graze my skin with his fingers or really bump and grind against me. I'd never come so close to calling for Jake during a dance, it was almost more than I could endure. But thankfully Jake stepped in and said it was time." Paige gave Walter another weak smile.

"I had to give all six men three private dances each. I was fairly riled up when we got home. And then who is there waiting for us? All six men. Drew said they just wanted to come up and have a few drinks and then they were leaving, they had to get up early for practice. Mind you it was almost 3 am. I said no, I was tired and we weren't entertaining them." Paige sighed.

"Thankfully the night security guard was making his rounds and heard everything. So the guys left. Drew was so mad, said I had embarrassed him. I didn't care if it embarrassed him or not. He embarrassed me. Drew kind of withdrew from me a bit after that. He always seemed under stress from the league, tired from the exercise programs. I figured he was just sulking. I didn't really think much about it at first. I suspected he had a voyeur fetish and maybe it was getting out of hand. I wasn't interested in having sex with anyone else." Paige smiled as Walter squeezed her hand in support.

"So anyway this went on for four weeks. It was the middle of March at this point. I was beginning to think Drew thought if he didn't have sex with me long enough, I'd give in and do private dances and who knows what else in our apartment for these guys. These guys were showing up at my show every time after practice. But now there were quite a few more showing up as well. So much, I had virtually no downtime from my stage performance to the next one. I don't know where these guys were getting their money, from what Drew had told me, he never made this kind of money." Paige told him.

"It was March 16, I remember it like it was yesterday. I'd wanted to order a new bed and I went online to double check our balance and our account wasn't empty, but it wasn't too far off. I couldn't believe it. I cornered Drew, demanding to know where all the money was. The asshole had been paying for their lap dances with my money." Paige told Walter. "We didn't even have enough for rent for April. Everything I had endured was for nothing, he had abused me completely. Making me a laughing stock of his friends, putting on such shows for them not just for free but losing forty percent of the dance money."

Greetings! I hope this finds you well!

Railman - It has been brought! lol

Chipbass - Thank you brother! Isn't it funny how politicians always seem to be immune to laws the rest of us aren't?

JerBr23 - Wait no more! Oh...unless you want to know more about Bobby...lol His name turns up in the next 2 chapters.

Lucy - Glad it is interesting! Yep, Walter has a little more EQ or at least is open to it more.

LouBe - Well some of the mystery is clearing up...hehe Having a mirror shoved in your face is a good way of getting you to reconsider your behavior. I was proud of Walter for making that connection and calling his Mom.

Pearliegirl - Glad you are liking it so far! Why? Because I don't want to run out and then not have anything to post. I'd love to post this story out every day as it has been such a treat, but If I did that and couldn't come up with something by the end...that would be worse...wouldn't it? hehe I believe I did get your last message...at least there wasn't anymore to approve. I do hope to continue Dark Walter one day. Christmas in Callan needs to happen. Just like I hope to continue this one day after chapter 18.

Susan - And now you know more because here is the next chapter! lol Walter and Ralph always seem to have a great connection regardless. Perhaps we'll find out next chapter why she felt like she knew Walter before...

Margaret - Glad to see you back! We'll find out more about Bobby and why Paige thought Walter was him next chapter!

To the Adventure! -Tim