Stephanie was done crying. As a matter of fact, she'd progressed well into the pissed-off,
what was I thinking
stage. There was little better example of that than hanging out with one of her best friends, whom she hadn't spent any significant time with in more than two years. Steph finished her story and absently pushed a few errant strands of long red hair back over her ear.
Jill shook her head and said, "Seriously? After he preached at you for V-neck tops, and jeans that were too tight, and skirts that didn't almost cover your knees?"
Steph nodded, and then answered her blonde friend. "All that shit I put up with and smiled, and then he cheats on me with the biggest fucking whore in town. Fuck, it feels good to curse again."
"You've earned it," Jill said, and then laughed. "I never knew what you saw in him in the first place."
She shrugged her shoulders and sighed. "At first he was all sweetness and romance. I mean, he opened doors for me, held hands everywhere we went, always responded to text messages like
instantly
, bought me presents for everything... He kept doing that stuff, so I just kind of accepted the preaching and going to church. Three years I wasted on that piece of shit."
"Too good to be true," Jill said. "So, where are you staying now?"
Stephanie rolled her eyes. "I'm back home. It's terrible."
"Nuh uh. Nobody deserves that torture after what you've went through. Come stay with me."
"Really? I mean, that would be great, but..."
"No buts. I've got a spare room. As long as you can deal with me hooking up every so often when I need some dick."
"God, I could use some of that. Christian was boring in bed. I mean, he had a big dick, but that was about it."
"I'll hook you up, girlfriend. Want to borrow some slutty clothes and hit the club?"
"I've never been," Steph said. She'd been with her ex over her twenty-first birthday, and hadn't drunk a drop since she started dating him.
"You're going to love it. Come on.
He
would hate it."
There wasn't a better excuse.
****
Stephanie felt a profound sense of relief when she stepped across the threshold of Jill's apartment a couple of days later. She carried a bag of clothes she'd managed to salvage from the church marm wardrobe she swore she'd never wear again, and some other necessities. They had partied for two nights straight, never paid for a drink, and hooked up with hot guys that Jill knew both nights. It was the best sex Steph had experienced in years, with no strings attached.
Jill's plans for that evening were more of the same, except for fewer drinks, and an earlier night, since they both had to work the next day. She didn't already have guys picked out for them, as she had the previous two nights, so that was an open question.
"Go put your stuff in your room," Jill said. "Then we'll run to the store and get anything else you need."
Steph walked down the hall, a little curious as to why Jill was following her. When she opened the door to the room that was now hers, her eyes shot wide open. There was a new bed and vanity in the room.
"Surprise!" Jill said. "I wasn't going to let you sleep on the couch."
"But... I..."
Jill waved her hand in a dismissive gesture. "Don't worry about it. It's rent to own, and I'm good. You can pay me back whatever, whenever."
Stephanie put her bag down on the bed and asked, "Can you get me a job where you work? Wow. What are they paying you?"
"I may as well tell you now. You're going to find out anyway," Jill said, and shrugged.
"Huh?"
"I make some money on the side." Before her friend could ask the inevitable question of
how
, Jill said, "I found this website where I can sell nudes and panties. I make three or four hundred bucks a week. Sometimes more."
Steph waited a moment, half expecting her friend to laugh and say she was kidding. When she didn't, Stephanie asked, "You're serious?"
Jill nodded. "Ten bucks for a nude selfie. Twenty if they want me to spread my pussy, finger myself, or something. Fifty for a pair of panties and a picture of me wearing them. More if they want me to buy something specific for them."
Stephanie stood in stunned disbelief, having trouble processing what her friend had just revealed to her. They had both sent nude selfies to boys before β even taken them of each other β but the thought of guys paying for them was just strange.
"Freaked out?" Jill asked when Stephanie didn't respond.
"A little, I guess. Guys really pay for it?"
Jill leaned against the door frame and answered, "It wasn't much at first. I'd have someone ask for a selfie once a week or so. Now I've got a good rep of delivering, so I'm doing really well. Some of the bitches on there hate me because I'm stealing their action."
"What if someone you know sees you on there?"
"Not really worried about it," Jill said. "I block out my face in the selfies I post on the site, so someone would have to pay to know it's me. Half of the panties I've sent out have gone to New York or California. Besides, it's not like there aren't already a bunch of nudes of me floating around. Both of us."
Stephanie blushed, knowing it was true. They had both naively expected the boys they sent selfies to would keep them to themselves at first, then decided they didn't really care anyway when they learned the truth.
"You know, there aren't many redheads on there. I bet you could make fat stacks."
Steph's mouth dropped open and she gasped at the suggestion. "I couldn't!"
"Come on. You're hot, and you know it. It's time to cut loose. You've been living like a church lady for years now. Think about it," Jill said, and then held out a hand to rub her fingers and thumb together.
Though she was blushing, and still stunned, she
was
thinking about it. What she made would never let her get a place of her own, so she'd have to depend on roommates. If she could make what Jill did on top of her paycheck, she'd be good on her own, if it came to it.
Despite the years apart, Jill could see the wheels turning in her friend's head. "Come on. Let me show you the website."