Boundaries (Part II)
Wednesday evening, 8pm
"You checked him out?"
"Of course I did, silly. He's totally legit."
"Did you talk to anybody else who's posed for him?"
"Yeah, I e-mailed one girl, and we talked on the phone a little."
Simone, the newest barmaid at the Bar, is wrapping up a short early shift as I take over, and she's heading out for a modeling session with John, a guy who was in here a couple of weeks ago.
"You sure you want to do this?" asks Vince, as he's wiping down the taps.
Simone gapes. "Wait, are you sure you're a guy? I thought guys love porn."
"Yeah, we just don't usually know the girls in the pictures."
"Is it really going to change what you think about me? It's just my body. It's not like I'm even having sex on camera, I'm just taking off my clothes. I can earn half my rent in two or three hours, and I can do it legally."
"Legal doesn't mean smart."
She shrugs. "Okay, well, do you really picture me running for president someday?"
"I think she's brave," pipes in Jocelyn. "I've always wanted to do something like that."
"You have?" I ask.
"You have?" repeats Mario, a regular and her boyfriend of several months.
Jocelyn turns to Mario and smiles. "Yeah! I get really turned on by the idea of posing for a camera, and thousands of guys lusting after me. Plus, with these babies," she hefts her considerable breasts in her hands, "I'll bet I'd be in serious demand."
Simone asks, "So why haven't you ever done it?"
Jocelyn shrugs. "It's not like I haven't been asked. Hell, this weekend in Prospect Park, it seemed like every jerk in Brooklyn with a camera phone asked me to flash him. I guess I'm just afraid of what would happen if my father found out. He's pretty old-fashioned."
"Wouldn't your father have to buy the porn magazine you posed for to find out you posed for it?" Simone offers.
"I don't know, I never thought it out that far. I just know I would never go ahead with it, and I'm a little jealous that you have the guts. So I say, you go get naked, girl!"
Simone finishes cashing out, and takes off. I dive into my shift, wondering if I'm the only twenty-something woman in New York who's not a wannabe porn star, and trying not to picture Simone naked.
"Do you suppose she talked to Lanie or Victor about it first?" Vince asks me a little while later.
"I don't know - but do you really think the magazine is going to mention the Bar? I thought they make up fake stuff to say about the models."
"I don't think that'll matter if someone comes in here and recognizes her from the photos."
"Oh. I hadn't thought about that." I've certainly thought about it for myself, in the context of my blog, which is one reason I won't post photos of myself here, but even that may not be enough to prevent me from being "found" eventually.
"Yeah, but at least she isn't planning to run for president." He wanders off to collect glasses.
I stand there wondering how much it would affect an aspiring novelist's career to have posed for nude erotic photos - and for that matter, how much money I would have to be offered before I'd consider not turning it down.
"You checked him out?"
"Of course I did, silly. He's totally legit."
"Did you talk to anybody else who's posed for him?"
"Yeah, I e-mailed one girl, and we talked on the phone a little."
Simone, the newest barmaid at the Bar, is wrapping up a short early shift as I take over, and she's heading out for a modeling session with John, a guy who was in here a couple of weeks ago.
"You sure you want to do this?" asks Vince, as he's wiping down the taps.
Simone gapes. "Wait, are you sure you're a guy? I thought guys love porn."
"Yeah, we just don't usually know the girls in the pictures."
"Is it really going to change what you think about me? It's just my body. It's not like I'm even having sex on camera, I'm just taking off my clothes. I can earn half my rent in two or three hours, and I can do it legally."
"Legal doesn't mean smart."
She shrugs. "Okay, well, do you really picture me running for president someday?"
"I think she's brave," pipes in Jocelyn. "I've always wanted to do something like that."
"You have?" I ask.
"You have?" repeats Mario, a regular and her boyfriend of several months.
Jocelyn turns to Mario and smiles. "Yeah! I get really turned on by the idea of posing for a camera, and thousands of guys lusting after me. Plus, with these babies," she hefts her considerable breasts in her hands, "I'll bet I'd be in serious demand."
Simone asks, "So why haven't you ever done it?"
Jocelyn shrugs. "It's not like I haven't been asked. Hell, this weekend in Prospect Park, it seemed like every jerk in Brooklyn with a camera phone asked me to flash him. I guess I'm just afraid of what would happen if my father found out. He's pretty old-fashioned."
"Wouldn't your father have to buy the porn magazine you posed for to find out you posed for it?" Simone offers.
"I don't know, I never thought it out that far. I just know I would never go ahead with it, and I'm a little jealous that you have the guts. So I say, you go get naked, girl!"
Simone finishes cashing out, and takes off. I dive into my shift, wondering if I'm the only twenty-something woman in New York who's not a wannabe porn star, and trying not to picture Simone naked.
"Do you suppose she talked to Lanie or Victor about it first?" Vince asks me a little while later.
"I don't know - but do you really think the magazine is going to mention the Bar? I thought they make up fake stuff to say about the models."
"I don't think that'll matter if someone comes in here and recognizes her from the photos."
"Oh. I hadn't thought about that." I've certainly thought about it for myself, in the context of my blog, which is one reason I won't post photos of myself here, but even that may not be enough to prevent me from being "found" eventually.
"Yeah, but at least she isn't planning to run for president." He wanders off to collect glasses.
I stand there wondering how much it would affect an aspiring novelist's career to have posed for nude erotic photos - and for that matter, how much money I would have to be offered before I'd consider not turning it down.