Maddie grew up in a small village and has lived nineteen years of her life being a good girl. Unlike all her peers she rarely went out and almost never got drunk. She tried cigarettes when she was sixteen but she saw no fun in the coughing and smelly breath that followed. So it was her first and last time.
Having been accepted to her first choice University, she has been studying towards becoming a teacher.
She even went to church every Sunday with her family. Not because she believed in any of it but her parents and especially her grandparents did and they expected her to be there. And good girls do as they are told.
She had two boyfriends so far. Both of them respectable young men, her family approved of. She had sex with them, simply because that was what people her age did. If her parents had suggested she waited for marriage, she probably would have. She considered marrying the second boyfriend before leaving for Uni. Luckily both him and her parents thought, they were too young.
No doubt, after finishing her studies, she would have returned to her village to teach in the local primary school and would have married Ben and have a couple of kids. It could have been a content, even happy life.
If it wasn't for Lia.
Because sometimes it only takes a slight twist of fate or a special person to change the whole course of your life.
The girls had the odd seminars together and occasionally they exchanged a few words. Maddie didn't think much of Lia at first. If anything, Maddie thought she was a bit weird and stuck up. She seemed to have this aura around her that she was somehow older and more experienced than the rest of their peers.
Her dress sense was also quite peculiar. While the rest of the campus wore jeans and t-shirts, Lia preferred miniskirts, knee high boots and low cut tops. There is a fine line between elegant slutty and trashy slutty and Lia somehow always managed to stay on the tasteful side. She had very long chestnut brown hair, which she wore in various pretty plaits. Her chocolate eyes were enhanced by thick mascara and soft autumn colours on her eyelids.
Sometimes she wore glasses for lectures which just made her look even more sophisticated.
By contrast, Maddie's morning routine consisted of throwing some comfortable clothes on and brushing her teeth and caramel blonde hair. She didn't see the point of wasting time and money on hair and make up. She was taken. And Ben loved her the way she was: au naturel.
Maddie was renting a five bedroom student flat with four other girls, close to the University and the city centre. Two of the four girls were from the other side of the country and they only travelled home for the holidays. The other two lived a little closer and left about every fortnight.
Because of her boyfriend, Maddie did the four hours return trip almost every weekend, but sometimes the girls convinced her to stay and they threw small house parties with lots of cheap booze.
Lia was invited to one of these and the two of them started chatting over a couple of drinks. Lia was asking if Maddie knew any places to rent nearby, as she was commuting from the other side of the city. Sometimes she worked nights in a hotel at the weekends, in the same area and the early morning bus journeys were getting to her.
Maddie promised to ask around and wanted to know more about the work Lia did. She knew from the other girls that Lia had very unstable family background and pretty much had to support herself. Understandably she was curious, how she managed to pay for Uni, accommodation and even afford a few designer clothes.
Lia gave her an uneasy smile, that made Maddie think, it was something, she didn't want to talk about and was ready to swiftly change the subject. But after studying Maddie's face for a few seconds, Lia started talking with a slight shrug of a shoulder, slumping down onto the arm of a brown leather sofa, that has clearly seen better days.
"I do front desk work for them on weekends. Mostly night time as it pays better." She was still staring at Maddie's face intently and continued with a mischievous smile, "Some guests ask me to give them private tours of the city -- if you know what I mean. They often take me on boat trips, shopping or partying." She took a swig of her beer. "That communication seminar on Monday," she laughed, "I don't even know how the lecturer looks like."
Frankly, Maddie wasn't sure what her classmate meant by 'private tours' at all. Was Lia sleeping with these foreign tourists for money? Is that how she could afford everything? Maddie was shocked to her core. Her morals were rioting against the idea, but on the other hand, she was curious about Lia's lifestyle and was drinking her every word.
Lia was telling her about the places these men - often well-off businessmen - took her. Five-star restaurants, day cruises abroad. Then she mentioned an American guy she met a few weeks ago. How, after spending almost a whole week together, he invited her over to the States for the summer. All expenses paid by him.
"Of course I won't let him pay for absolutely everything, so I'm saving up for it," Lia said with a proud grin.
Maddie was dumbstruck and somewhat envious. Part of her wanted this glamorous, adventurous life, but the other part had huge doubts that she could ever live like that.
"Are you not scared that something might happen to you?" Maddie asked, still standing, eyes wide open with interest.
Lia noticed that she hasn't had a sip of drink since her revelation.
She was not surprised by Maddie's stick in the mud comment. She usually didn't talk about her lifestyle. On the rare occasion she did, it was an expected reaction. Jealousy and ignorance often brought devaluing comments forth. But sometimes it was fun to shock others and make some waves.
With Maddie, it was different though. It was a test and Lia watched her classmate's expressions closely. When she recognised the glint of arousal in Maddie's cornflower blue eyes, she knew that she has chosen well. Maddie will not only come around, but soon enough she will even outshine her in sluttiness.
Reserved good girls always did.
Tight little small-town girls usually turned out to be the naughtiest, once introduced to the big wide world of sin. Their sexuality was like a bottle of champagne, exploding with intoxicating sweetness when shaken. Lia couldn't wait to drink the bubbles.
"I have safety measures in place," she said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world, without revealing what those measures were. "I also got a pepper spray." She grinned pointing to her handbag. "But let me tell you, the only place, I almost had to use it wasn't with guys from the hotel, but the junkies on the number 18 night bus, going home." A disgusted grimace spread on her face at the memory, but somehow she still managed to look strangely attractive with an expression distorted by outrage.
Maddie wondered whether it was the alcohol that made her fall for Lia's peculiar details.
"That's why I need to move closer," Lia added softening her face into a smile again.
"If it's any help, I'm happy to offer you my room, when I'm away," Maddie said, finally lifting the bottle to her lips and taking a reserved sip. It was a path of conversation she walked on more effortlessly. She was a very kind and considerate person. Maybe too kind in fact. That's why she was living a life, others have written for her. "I'm gone almost every weekend."
Lia remained silent for a minute. Then sliding off the arm of the sofa onto the cushion, she patted the empty space next to her, urging the other girl to sit down.
