Ava wasn’t sure how it’d come to this. The photo shoot had been intended to be titillating, showing off more skin than could be called safe, but ultimately tame. Clothed, but revealing.

Not … this.

How had she been convinced to take off even the flimsy bikini costume?

Convinced? Ava derided herself. You were the one to suggest it.

‘Might as well, in case we want to use them.’

Her nipples pressed into Clash’s, and they stared at each other, flushed. Even though from the angles the photographer was taking the shots from nothing would be showing, that didn’t change the fact both of their bodies were on full display—that Ava and Clash had seen each other entirely naked.

Or more importantly, that their naked bodies were pressed together.

“You know,” Clash murmured, her lips quirked at the edges. “This is a lot more fun than I thought it’d be.”

“Fun?” Despite the flush on Ava’s face, she pretended to be a consummate professional “We’re doing this because we might want to use them, and it’d be expensive to come back for a second shoot. This isn’t for ‘fun’.”

“Well,” Clash grinned. “Maybe for you. I agreed so I could see you naked.”

“Okay, girls,” Miss Lin said, cutting off Ava’s incoming sputtering. “Spotlight in the back, Clash in the front. Cover her up with your hands.”

“My hands?” Ava asked. “Her chest? Or—?”

Miss Lin waved for them to continue. “Unless she’s trying to reveal a lot more than I’d expect, everywhere she wants to be covered.”

“Don’t go trying anything,” Clash teased, turning so her ass pressed into Ava’s pelvis. Ava’s hands instinctively followed the instructions she’d been given. One arm wrapped around Clash’s chest to preserve her modesty, covering her nipples, and the other hand … well, went between Clash’s thighs. 

Ava’s heart started slamming. My hand is on her pussy. How was everyone here acting like that wasn’t a big deal? How was Ava acting like it wasn’t a big deal?

“And what should I do?” Clash asked, completely unflustered—something Ava was honestly a bit offended at. What would the two of them have to do for her composure to break? Shoot a porno? Right there, on the set? Or would she take that in stride, too?

“On her forearms,” Miss Lin said, her head invisible behind the giant camera set-up.

Clash followed the instructions, hands wrapping around Ava’s wrists. They’d fallen into a rhythm by now, after the several dozenth pose, so they plastered on their false smiles and let the studio go about shooting their pictures.

Ava didn’t know how she stayed still, or how she fought down her earlier blush so that she was picture-ready. It faded surprisingly fast, given a distraction. She was surprised it hadn’t been burned away throughout the day, honestly, with how often she’d been flustered. They were coming less frequently, at least.

Her heart still fluttered, of course—her hands were covering Clash’s tits and crotch, for heaven’s sake—but her face didn’t feel like it was on fire, and she pushed past it.

“We should loop Techie into a few,” Clash murmured to Ava, just loud enough for only her to hear.

Techie. It took a second for Ava to remember that’d been the impromptu codename she’d picked for Brooke. Then her brain ground to a halt, her eyes flicking to her black-haired friend in the sidelines. Ava had remained constantly aware of Brooke’s presence, of course. She’d been worried about her and Clash’s intimacy throughout the photo shoot, too—what Brooke would think of it—and especially during the shared kiss that had spiraled out of control. But Brooke hadn’t seemed to mind. Her reactions had generally just been blushing, the same as Ava. She wasn’t entirely sure what to think of that.

“I don’t think she’ll want to,” Ava whispered back.

A quirked eyebrow. “I think you’d be surprised.”

What was that supposed to mean? “You’d be okay with it?” Being so intimate with her was one thing, but Brooke was a stranger to Clash.

“Why wouldn’t I? Two cute girls up in my business? That’s like … twice as good as one.” Ava couldn’t see her face—they were both pointed forward, toward the camera—but she knew Clash well enough to imagine the grin on her face. 

Ava huffed. Of course. “I mean … I guess I can ask her.” 

“It’ll be good for business. Just use those big blue eyes of yours. She won’t stand a chance.”

“Oh, shut up.”

“They worked on me,” Clash grinned.

Ava’s stomach squirmed at the easily offered compliment. The smile she had plastered on for the camera, suddenly, wasn’t quite as fake as it’d been a second ago.

Once the production set was done with their current pose, Ava called out to Miss Lin that she needed a quick break. She tugged on her ‘costume’—bikini—and beelined for Brooke.

I can’t believe I’ve been taking naked pictures with Clash, she thought, vaguely, during the short trip over. Stepping foot off the set had made it seem … so much realer.

“Hey,” Ava said. “Can we talk?”

“Sure.”

Ava guided her to the wall, away from Miss Lin and her assistants, where they had some privacy.

“What’s up?” Brooke asked.

She couldn’t quite jump into things … so she started with a segue. “Think they’re turning out alright?”

Brooke laughed, her eyebrows raising. “Uh, yeah, Aves. I think they’re turning out alright. Considering the subject matter, how couldn’t they?”

She says stuff like that so easily. Ava cleared her throat. “Right. So, um, I wanted to ask … do you want … maybe … to join us?”

“Join you?” Brooke seemed genuinely not to understand Ava’s question.

“Yeah, I mean.” She shrugged. “Clash suggested it. So she’s cool with the idea. And it’d be fun. And good for our business. A mysterious third would … stoke the flames, you know? Get people’s imaginations going.”

“Like, join you, join you?” She gestured at the set. “Join?”

For a brilliant person, the idea was taking a long time to digest. “Only if you want to?” Ava said. “But I’d like it?”

“Oh, Ava, I don’t know.” She looked hesitantly back at the set, where Clash  stood—naked, arms crossed but not preserving her modesty. She has such an amazing body. It was hard to tear her eyes away—and for Brooke too, Ava noticed. She liked what she saw, the same as Ava.

“I’d really appreciate it?” Ava said. Clash had said Ava’s ‘big blue eyes’ had worked on her … so Ava leveraged her assets more than she usually did. She scrunched her eyebrows down and gave Brooke the puppy-dog eyes.

Brooke looked away. “I’m just—I wouldn’t …”

“Wouldn’t what?”

Brooke shrugged, and she crossed her arms, shoulders hunching in. “I mean, come on, Aves. I’d stick out. Look at you two.”

“Huh?” Ava didn’t have a clue what she was talking about. “What do you mean?”

“You two are … gorgeous. And then … me. Come on.”

Ava’s brain did a few confused laps before understanding. It took a while to land on the right conclusion. Because the idea was absurd. “You’re … you’re saying you aren’t?”

Brooke crossed her arms tighter, still not meeting Ava’s eyes.

“That is—” Ava glanced around, then moderated her volume; she’d been louder than she intended to be. “That is the craziest thing I’ve ever heard, Brooke. You can’t be serious?”

“C’mon. You don’t have to pretend.”

Ava stared, genuinely at a loss for words. She found them in short order, mostly because she needed to. “Brooke, you are literally one the prettiest girls I’ve ever seen. I’m honestly … I don’t even know what to say.”

She shuffled in place. “Please.”

Ava stepped forward, closing the gap between their faces, and grabbed her elbows. She forced Brooke to meet her eyes. “You are,” Ava repeated, “one of the most stunning girls I’ve ever seen. Even with those baggy shirts and sweatpants you’re always wearing, it’s obvious. I think you’re the only one who doesn’t know it.”

Brooke’s cheeks were quickly coloring, but Ava didn’t relent. She held her gaze.

“You’re my friend,” Brooke mumbled. “You have to say that.”

There was a hint of fishing in the question, and Ava indulged happily. “That’s true, but I’m not lying to make you feel better. I swear. Like, seriously. The only reason I’m not all over you is because we’re best friends.”

Ava paused.

The words had come with too little forethought. She realized their inappropriateness a second too late.

Brooke stared. “Really?”

Ava released her, stepping back and clearing her throat. “I-I mean, you aren’t—we aren’t—we’re, um,  friends. But yeah.”

Brooke stared at her dumbly.

Ava shrugged. She floundered for a distraction. “So, uh. Join us? I’d like it if you did. And like I said, good for business.” She should’ve led with that idea up-and-forefront. Not having done so made it sound like Ava wanted Brooke posing nude with her for personal reasons.

Which was true … but, uh. Strictly friends.

Strictly professionals.

Brooke was quiet. “If you want me to … I guess I can. Do you have to clear it with Miss Lin?”

“I’ll go do that,” Ava said, seizing the opportunity to flee. She’d been … way too obvious in that exchange.

She chided herself on the way over to the head photographer, forgetting to organize her thoughts.

“Yes, Spotlight?” an amused Miss Lin asked.

“Can, uh—” Not Brooke. “—Techie join us?”

“You scheduled for two,” Miss Lin said. “But … I think I can make an exception. You two have been, let’s say, interesting subjects.”

Ava flushed. There was something not entirely professional in the amusement on Miss Lin’s face. She’s not … hitting on me, is she?

“Oh. Well, um, thanks. Awesome. Perfect.” Miss Lin’s grin deepened at Ava’s lack of composure. She’s definitely hitting on me. Now that she thought about it, Miss Lin had been a bit too eager in the gratuitous posing throughout the past hour. Ava had likely only missed it because of Clash’s distracting presence.

For the second time, Ava fled. Miss Lin chuckled as she did.

She froze, seeing Brooke on the set, standing next to Clash.

Standing naked next to Clash.

Wow. She really … jumped to it. She must’ve shed her clothes the moment Ava turned away.

Time to join them. Her heart rate picked up as she peeled her bikini off, which she’d donned to buy modesty while she talked to Brooke. She tried to fight away the thrill of exposing herself to her best friend—who, turned away, didn’t see her, but shortly would.

I’m starting to like this too much. Every day that passed, she was becoming more and more honest about how exciting she found her new life: this use of her body to draw reactions out of others. That it was Brooke, and Clash, she was exposing herself to … it made things twice as exhilarating. And she got to hide behind the, ‘it’s for the photoshoot’ excuse. 

Ava drank in the details of Brooke’s body. She was faced away, so she could get away with ogling her friend. Brooke’s long black hair cascaded down her back, glossy underneath the bright lights of the set. Ava had alluded to Brooke’s choice of clothing never doing any favors for her, but the reminder of how right she was seared into her. She’s literally perfect. Brooke’s curves were unfair; hips a mile wide, boobs that weren’t big, admittedly, but perky and just so cute, though Ava could only see them in profile, with Brooke mostly facing away. The hesitance in her posture, too, drove Ava wild for a reason she couldn’t explain. Why was she so timid? And ignorant to what she had? She wanted to pounce on Brooke and prove to her just, exactly, what her body did to Ava. And most people, for that matter.

Just friends.

“That didn’t take much convincing,” Ava heard Clash telling Brooke as Ava returned. “What’d she bribe you with?”

“Nothing,” Ava answered for Brooke, dryly. “She’s just a good friend.”

“Anything for the cause, right?” Brooke mumbled. 

The hesitance was bleeding over into her voice, too. Ava frowned. She couldn’t seriously think she wasn’t gorgeous? But she did. She was nervous to be up here. 

Ava turned to Clash. “It’s not fair, is it?”

“Huh?” Clash asked.

“How she hides it all.” Ava waved Brooke up and down. “Behind those sweatpants and baggy shirts.”

Clash blinked, but she picked up what Ava was doing. For all she was impulsive and prone to rash behavior, she was still insightful; she read the situation in an instant. She turned and grinned at Brooke. “Yeah, seriously, tell me about it. Like, why’d the nerdy girl get all the curves? It’s not fair.”

“Please,” Brooke muttered, flushing red. “Stop.”

Clash stepped forward and placed her hands on Brooke’s waist, which was more than Ava had expected—and definitely Brooke, too.

“I mean, what the hell are these hips?” Her hands slid down, running across Brooke’s curves.

Ava was surprised to see Brooke let it happen—and not only let it happen, but she melted under Clash’s admiring attention. Brooke’s face burned red, and a hesitant smile crept onto her face—a rare sight, for someone so reserved as her.

Ava’s heart soared, watching the exchange. They’re getting along. In a rather strange manner … but they were making friends.

And Clash’s hands on Brooke’s hips, the plain admiration on her face … it did something for Ava. One that had her struggling to keep her thoughts chaste.

“Okay, okay,” Brooke murmured. “I get it. Stop embarrassing me.” 

“Only if you realize what you’ve got. Stick ‘em out with pride,” Clash said. “Pull your shoulders back. Show them off. I’ve got literally nothing—and yeah, yours are small, but they’re cute. Perfect. Tons of people are into that.” A sly smile crept across her face, and she turned to Ava. “Right, Spotlight?”

“T-They’re cute,” Ava agreed, unable to stop the stutter. Is it weird I’m calling my best friend’s tits ‘cute’? Was it stepping over a line? By the way Brooke was squirming under their combined assault, her smile, and the flush on her face, Ava couldn’t find it in herself to care. She’d do anything to get that reaction out of Brooke.

“You three ready?” Miss Lin called. 

“Yes,” Brooke called back, happy to take the way out of her predicament. She leveled a look at Ava and Clash. “Let’s get set up.” She guided Clash’s hands off her hips. “Much as I appreciate the … pep talk.”

Ava was a bit sad to see Brooke’s composure return.

But a second later, she realized what was about to happen. Naked posing … with Brooke, this time, not just Clash.

I know it’s for the mission, Ava thought, fighting away a grin, but that doesn’t mean I can’t appreciate how awesome this is.

For all her initial apprehension to this convoluted plan she and Brooke had invented, things were really turning out amazing.