Parker's alarm went off, and she rolled over to face her phone, which was propped up on her nightstand.
"Good morning, viewers," she said groggily. "Let's go save the world."
It was something she liked to say every morning to feel motivated to get out of bed. On her phone's screen, she could see her viewer numbers ticking up. There were some people who liked watching her sleep, so she left the stream going overnight to earn a little more, but her regulars knew when she'd be getting up and tuned in then. Some of them left messages in the chat.
Good morning Parker!!
Buenos noches de Madrid
Today's the big day, isn't it?
Parker smiled. "Yes, friends. Today is the big day. Second date with Landon. And maybe more..."
Yes it was only their second date, but it'd been almost a month since their first date, and they were texting and talking all the time. First she'd wanted to wait a week after the first date, just to pace themselves. Then Landon had a two-week trip. Then Parker had a friend's wedding.
She was starting to regret that impulse to pace themselves. It wasn't like he was a stranger. She'd known Landon for months, and when he eventually asked her out on a date, it was a relief for her viewers that kept shipping the two of them.
Parker got up from the bed and brought her phone into the bathroom with her, setting it up by the bathroom mirror. She tossed her pajamas aside, and gave a spin, admiring herself in the mirror before she got into the shower. She took pride in what she saw. Her unruly dark hair, her tanned arms, her full breasts and wide hips. Such a change from just a couple years ago.
When she'd started streaming, she'd been chasing after what she thought viewers wanted: a thin, blonde, smooth-skinned version of herself. But at her viewers' encouragement, she'd stopped dying her hair. She'd stopped dieting and started actually enjoying her meals. Her curves had filled out; she wasn't fat, and anyone who fat-shamed her got shouted down in the comments. She'd ditched her desk job for one physical and outdoors, and no longer needed to go to the gym. After ending a long-term relationship and resolving to work on herself for a while, she even stopped taking the pill, after her viewers told her about how it was linked to side-effects she was experiencing. Now she felt healthier than ever, in her prime.
Parker didn't think twice about giving her viewers a shot of her nude anymore. When she first started streaming, she was protective of it, worrying that if she let them see her body, her stream would be overrun with creeps. She used to pause the stream whenever she had to change. Over time it got to be a real hassle, and once in a while she just forgot to pause the stream, realizing too late that the camera was still live, and felt mortified about it.
But nothing really changed. She was streaming her whole life, and the parts of it that she spent in the nude were not a big part of it, so those who came for the nudity soon got bored and left. Eventually Parker stopped caring about it. If anything, it helped her get over her insecurities about her body, to show it to her viewers without shame. Especially when her viewers were so supportive, not that her pride in herself was dependent on them.
In a dark and lonely moment between sexual partners, Parker had even streamed herself masturbating. It was just an ordinary part of life, she figured. And it made her feel less alone, to have hundreds of people watching her.
Now as the hot water ran down her curves, Parker was tempted to touch herself. She felt her crotch heating up at the thought of what might be in store later with Landon. Running a finger down between her vulva, she found that she was sticky and wet, not just from the shower. But she resisted the urge to rub her clit, not out of any shame, but because the best was yet to come.
She went to work for the day, as part of a national initiative to plant a trillion trees. She'd already planted thousands in the past year and a half. Now part of her work was checking up on her "babies" from before in addition to planting more.
Walking down the row of saplings, her viewers commented,
So proud of you, queen!
Lovely day out there, in'it?
wish i was touching grass rn tbh
It didn't pay as much as the office job had, but combined with the revenue from her stream, it was enough. She had tried streaming her office job for a while, but seeing how boring her stream was--hours of her sitting in front of a computer--made her see how boring the job was for her too.
Planting trees was different. It wasn't exciting in the way a high-stress startup was, but it wasn't dull either. There was practically endless work to be done, a climate disaster to mitigate. Plus, the rhythm of tree planting was soothing, meditative. Plus, the world was alive around her. Insects buzzing in the grass, birds alighting in the new trees. Sometimes she'd be planting with a team, sometimes on her own.
The manual work used to leave her feeling pleasantly sore, but now she'd grown into it. Parker sometimes imagined herself more in tune with how her ancestors might have spent their days toiling out in the fields.
She first met Landon out in the field. He helped out at a wildlife rescue, and was releasing a rehabilitated possum in the same stretch of green space where Parker was planting that day. Their paths continued to intersect like that until he eventually asked her out, making it clear that it was a "Date" date. That first night they kissed but nothing more, but it left Parker wanting the more. Wanting it harder than she was ready to admit.
It was a hot, sunny day out there, and while her hands were busy, Parker's mind kept rushing ahead to the evening. They'd had such a time trying to set up a second date, that Parker ultimately just suggested Landon come over to hang out. It was an invitation to sex, but with enough plausible deniability that neither of them had to acknowledge that's what it was. But from Landon's enthusiastic response, she was sure he got the message. Pretty sure, anyway.
Throughout the day, she felt herself getting hot and bothered, but she wasn't about to stroke one out in the middle of a park. She would just wipe the sweat from her forehead and keep working. It didn't help that her viewers all knew what was up too.
Our queen's getting laid tonight!
Landon better perform.
Oh he will. I believe in that boy
Are we calling the couple ParLan?
