Praise

Content Warning: This section of the guide includes discussion of transgender discrimination, emotional abuse, sexual content, and cursing.

Emerson Grant, the novel’s protagonist, shares a humorous anecdote with his friends Hunter, Garrett, and Maggie about how a flirtation went wrong when he used language that aligns with kink practices of degradation. The four friends meet regularly to discuss their disillusionment with their jobs in entertainment and to discuss their sexual encounters. All four of them enjoy different kink practices, and they lament that “there isn’t a way to match people up by the kinky shit they do in the bedroom” (2). They start off joking about the concept, but Garrett and Emerson become increasingly convinced that such a system would benefit many members of the kink community.

The next day, the four friends learn that their company is bankrupt; they all have lost their jobs. This inspires them to put their idea into reality, and they found the Salacious Players’ Club, a sex club catering to kink.

Charlotte “Charlie” Underwood, the novel’s second protagonist, fights with her ex-boyfriend, Beau Grant, about the security deposit on the apartment they shared before their breakup.